It’s a diverse bag here – two American singer songwriters dealing in varied parts of the Roots arena, and an American-born guitarist/singer now based in Germany. The music is equally varied, from big-sounding acoustic rock with mainstream potential to warm intimate country folk crossovers and cool continental jazz blues folk combinations. Does that whet the inquisitive appetite? Well, if so, drop in.
Marc Broussard, in Momentary Setback, offers a young singer songwriter covering the typical big subjects: love, wanderlust, crises of faith and affirmations of personal beliefs. What makes him stand out from the pack is the sound of the album – it’s big and bold, with huge brush strokes in the arrangement department, while not wavering from acting as a showcase for Broussard’s vocals, songs and acoustic guitar playing. Vocally, Marc Broussard sounds not unlike Marc Cohn at times. He has the big gruff voice with its strong, bluesy, soulful sound, ideally suited to songs like ‘Just Like That’, where the backing is suitably funky, complete with Hammond organ. It’s not a completely retro effort, either, as ‘Blue Jeans’ comes complete with trip hop drum programming, and ‘The Wanderer’ offers a disarming slice of country/folk romance with a bubbling string arrangement behind. Broussard’s Christian beliefs come through on ‘My God’, a clear, straight affirmation of his Christianity, without resorting to proselytizing or preaching. Also, strains of American FM rock come through in ‘Gotta Be More’, with a nod to Hootie and the Blowfish. While a little overdone, perhaps, on the production scale, the epic sonic scapes point to the mainstream while retaining strong roots credibility – it’s called getting the balance right, in other words.
Marc Broussard has a Web site here.
Jens Hausmann’s Back on the Track has a very clean and cosmopolitan feel and atmosphere, more akin to a European acoustic production than an American one. This is not surprising, as the album comes from an artist based in Germany. While Jens Hausmann was raised in Morehead City, North Carolina, he went to school in Germany and has based himself there since. He took up the guitar over twenty years ago, completely self-taught; later, he studied music and English, and for two decades has been performing live and working within a myriad of styles, from his roots in folk and jazz, through blues, rock, pop, funk and classical music.
Back on the Track is his debut solo album as a singer songwriter, and its production values are pristine, with the guitar sound strong and distinctive upfront. The song material is, while universal in outlook, very European in style, and has that distinctive Mainland European sound. While listening, I was transported back to many bars and coffeehouses in Germany and Belgium, such is the ambience created.
Lyrically, the songs deal with the perennial themes of love and loss and reaching for better things, as reflected in the title track. At times, there are hints of Rory Gallagher and Bert Jansch in the vocal department, while his instrumental prowesses are well in evidence. ‘Blind Side’ and ‘Lover’s Grief’ contain some razor sharp guitar playing, and ‘(Music Is Like) Hide and Seek’ captures his dexterous playing and laid-back vocals in a stand-out example of his ouvre. Back on the Track will introduce American ears to an intriguing new European-based, though American-born, talent.
Jens Hausmann’s Web site is here.
Penny Nichols’ I’ll Never Be That Old Again is a five-track EP sampler from her full album of the same name. Her music operates in a country/folk direction, and the clear, spacious production recalls the work of artists like Tim O’Brien and others. Nichols has a clear, purified vocal style somewhere between Alison Krauss and Judy Collins.
Penny started her career as a folk singer in coffeehouses around Orange County, California. She shared stages with many legendary artists, such as Jackson Browne, the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, Linda Ronstadt and the Stone Ponies, Jennifer Warnes, Mary McCaslin and others. Bearing this in mind, her music is completely rounded, and her writing style equally mature and deliberate. I’ll Never Be That Old Again offers three original songs and two covers. The latter includes the classic ‘Darcy Farrow’, a tragic tale almost browbeaten to death during the early-to-middle 1970’s folk period. That she restores some of the song’s original aching beauty is no mean feat on her part! Likewise, the new treatment she gives to the traditional ‘A Sailor’s Life’ takes it light years away from Fairport Convention’s brooding cover. The song breathes with a new life and pulse. Her own material’s not bad either – ‘Stranded (In the Wake of Your Goodbye)’ is a strong no-holds-barred account of the aftermath of an LGW (love gone wrong), while the title track, ‘I’ll never be that old again’, is a good one, too. Radiating friendly hometown warmth, Penny Nichols’ music invites the listener to grab a chair and listen to her intimate stories.
Penny Nichols’ Web site is here.
So there we go – from the fireside to the coffee house and the open road, these singer/songwriter types have it all. Diversity is the name of the game, and with two American singer songwriters dealing in varied parts of the roots arena, and an American-born guitarist/singer now based in Germany, the recipe is made for an interesting musical journey.
[John O’Regan]
(Ripley Records, 2003)
(Dela Records, 1991)
(Pensong Productions, 2002)
