Roots

Latest CD releases reviewed

KELLY JOE PHELPS
Tunesmith Retrofit Rounder ****

There is a sense of misty reflection to Kelly Joe Phelps's singing and songwriting that can pass you by. But linger, give his music the time it demands, and the reward is an album of beautiful playing and ghosted songs graced with subtle melody and intriguing lyrics. In recent years Phelps has moved from country-blues champion to exploring his own songwriting ambitions. These are complex songs presented in a stripped-down setting, typically just his breathtaking finger-style acoustic guitar or else just soft brushes, distant bass, the occasional harmonica (as on Big Shakey). There are folk influences, but it is the folk-blues that are dominant on the 12 tracks. And though his songs are very good, my favourite track at time of writing is the gorgeous instrumental rag, MacDougal. Perfect music for a late summer's evening. www.kellyjoephelps.net  Joe Breen

SETH LAKEMAN
Freedom Fields Relentless ****

Seth Lakeman is a fascinating artist, a definitively English singer and songwriter completely bound up in the stories and history of his local area in the Moors district. His songs recount events and times from the distant past. Or do they? The White Hare could have contemporary relevance, though 1643 and Take No Rogues are clearly set in a different age. Yet it is the passionate way he tells these stories of civil war, infidelity and disaster, his propulsive acoustic guitar driving the urgent melodies, that sets him apart and makes sense of his Mercury Prize nomination last year. This is particularly true of the dramatic story of The Colliers, a classic mining tragedy that he relives with such fire it could have happened last week. This is folk-rock with a real edge. www.sethlakeman.co.uk   Joe Breen

GEOFF REACHER
Avec Reacher C'est Plus Sûr Orange Twin/ Secretly Canadian ***

Geoff Reacher escaped from a small Texan town about 15 years ago and never looked back. A stint playing back-up to an array of acts (Handsome Family, Magnetic Fields, Johnny Down, Elf Power) attests to Reacher's range of interests and influences, and it's something he puts to good use on his debut album for Athens label Orange Twin. Landing somewhere between pre-1945 blues'n' country and a sound that owes more to post-1985 Detroit than anything else, the music here (electro-country, if you will) is singular, intense and personal: songs of love and death wrapped up in experimental electronics, a little bit of hip-hop and sequenced beats. An acquired taste? No, we like it very much already. www.reachers.com  Tony Clayton-Lea