This is the first time this year I have put finger to keyboard about the latest music to enter my collection. So here we go.
The debut album Mountain Echo from the young Welsh singer songwriter Jodie Marie is highly impressive. Although comparisons have been made to Duffy, the only thing they have in common is coming from the same neck of the woods. Jody has taken her time to write and record a solid set of songs with influences of jazz, blues and folk. But I would liken it more to the soul sounds of the late sixties. That will do for me.
I already had owned one album from Canadian Alana Levondoski. But it was over two years ago that having loved Unsettled Down, I was writing how I was looking forward to listening to Lions and Werewolves. So here we are at last. Her latest album is full of the same gentle rock songs as the first. Her voice is also terrific. Just my cup of tea. She is currently holding song writing classes, so hopefully some new talent will be inspired by her music.
I have only just caught up with the American sisters Allison and Catherine who make up The Pierces. I started off with their latest album You and I that has at last put them on the map. Their folk tinged songs have been made more glossy and ramped up for this recording, and probably this will find a larger audience. I had to go back to their first album, of the four released to date, to find something else that appealed. In fact I actually prefer the self titled The Pierces from 2000 that is more rooted in it's folk origins. They have supported Coldplay on two tours of North America, but it is here in the UK that they have found success at last.
There is hardly anything more for me to say about Amy McDonald than I have already written. Her latest, and eagerly awaited by this writer, album Life in a Beautiful Light is as awesome as her previous two. Perhaps not the standout tracks that littered her previous recordings, but nonetheless a superb set of uptempo folk rock songs as there ever were.
One big disappointment amongst my most recent acquisitions is the latest album from Lisa Miskovski called Violent Sky. Her first album from 2003 Falling Water is excellent, full of good songs and became a huge hit in her native Sweden. And listening to excerpts from her follow up album Changes, I was also very impressed, but the album was hugely expensive. So she fell off my radar until I heard good reviews of her latest album. Unfortunately, it is unrecognisable from the first. She has changed to a much harsher, and probably more modern, style. Not for me.
I have now downloaded Lisa Miskovsky's album Changes and yes, it is very good. And I also went for her 2004 album Lisa Miscovsky. Another (mainly) solid set of songs. "What If" could become a big favourite. There are just a couple of tracks that spilled over into Violent Sky territory, but nothing too adventuress thank goodness.
Last year, Tina Dico released a double album called Welcome Back Colour. One CD is called Welcome Up (up tempo songs) and the other Welcome Down (slow and quiet tracks). There are recordings of some old songs from the three albums already in my collection and some new compositions. I definitely preferred the first CD, the second basically acoustic CD is just a bit too slow. But I overall I was pleased that I found it. Tina also has a brand new album out called Where Do You Go To Disappear (actually London) which is already on my Christmas list. And I really hope that comes with a tour.
I have left until last my favourite album of the last twelve months. When Alison's sister Anne and her family came to stay in late autumn, we just happened to be in Aylesbury. While the two sisters were in a dress shop, I wandered into HMV where I heard an amazing track being played. I asked Emily (Anne's daughter) if she knew who was singing, and she replied with Christina Perri. The track was "Jar of Hearts" from the album Lovestrong. Her highly successful hit is not the only good song on the collection. She wrote or co-wrote every track, and there is not a single dud. Fantastic.
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