Louisiana and UK-born and now based out in California, Beaux Gris Gris & The Apocalypse are: Greta Valenti (aka Beaux Gris Gris) on vocals, Robin Davey on guitar, Phil Watson on drums and Charlie Kay on bass. The Rougaroux is the band’s third single and, I have to say, it’s a stormer. Described as: “A halloween howl, direct from the Louisiana swamp,” Beaux Gris Gris also reckons that the song is their dirtiest-sounding offering yet.

If, by chance, you grew up in South Louisiana, you’ll probably know all about The Rougaroux. But, for those who didn’t enjoy that privelage, let me tell you. The Rougaroux is a Cajun werewolf who prowls the swamps, bayous and cane fields looking for victims…

“Every kid growing up in Louisiana hears about The Rougaroux,” says Greta. “He is the monster in the dark. Something that can infect you with darkness. I think about him a lot – this shapeshifter that has lasted centuries of tales. I think he’s all of us: the wild, hungry, untamed part of yourself. Some of it good, some of it bad, but he is here, nonetheless. So, I wrote a song in the spirit of so many songs I love, from deep southern blues to Warren Zevon and my favourite band, Sam the Sham and the Pharaohs. It’s swampy, dark and sexy. And it’s REALLY fun to perform live and we get everyone howling. So please enjoy!”

Enjoy it, you most certainly will. Heavy, bluesy guitars and swirly organ paint a vivid picture of the song’s swampy setting. There’s an authentically witchy tone to Greta’s voice and,when she howls, I guarantee that your blood will curdle – to some degree or another. Robin adds wails and screeches from his guitar to complete the evil spell – and you just HAVE to watch the video…

We’re well aware of the talent that Toronto-via-Aukland cowgirl Tami Neilson has for attracting the participation of high-profile collaborators. For her excellent 2025 album Neon Cowgirl, she was joined by a cast of guests that included Neil Finn, Ashley McBride and JCD McPherson. And new single, Too Many Mamas doesn’t even mark the first time that she’a worked with the great Willie Nelso, either. The pair have a track record, in the form of 2022 single, Beyond the Stars.

Written during a tornado-enforced break during this summer’s tour with Bob Dylan, Too Many Mamas is Tami’s (along with co-writers Kate Wilson’s and Sarah Lentini’s) scathing response to Willie’s and Waylon Jennings’ 1978 classic Mama Don’t Let Your Babies Grow Up to Be Cowboys.

Willie was instantly smitten by Tami’s chutzpah. Indeed, he was moved to remark: “Tami writes the way she sings – full of heart and truth and hard-won experience. She’s hell of a storyteller and part of our tribe.” After a plaudit like that, I guess he had no option, other than to join Tami in the studio and face the music.

Too Many Mamas is a joyful country waltz. Tami’s vocals are as forceful as her lyrical message as she sings: “Too many mamas listenin’ to Willie,” and her voice is loaded with cynicism. Her words are punctuated by beams of pedal steel. Willie sounds so very contrite as he joins in to respond to Tami’s accusations but the mood is overwhelmingly upbeat and celebratory.

It’s four years since Southport indie four-piece Bobhowla enticed (then) Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham to approve the use of his voice on the original recording of Tainted. Written by Bobhowla frontman Howard Doupe, Tainted is a song that confronts one of the gravest scandals in modern British history: the infected blood outrage. And, at the heart of the song, the former GM Mayor can be heard making his spoken comment: “This was acriminal cover-up on an industrial scale.”

Bobhowla decided to re-record and remaster Tainted after the Infected Blood Enquiry exposed the devastating consequences of the scandal and the institutional failures surrounding it. “When I originally wrote Tainted, it wasn’t intended as a party political song. It came from anger at what had happened to people, how long they had been forced to fight to be heard and the scale of institutional failure surrounding them,” says Howard.

He continues: “Andy’s words captured that extraordinarily powerfullty, which is why I approached his office about using them. He listened to the original recording himself and very kindly gave us permisssion.”

The song is an authentic chunk of late 80s/early 90s indie rock. Howard’s words: “Did you think it was easy, falling one-by-one? Why’re you looking so queasy? Have you given it all?” are harsh and vivid. And he delivers them to a punchy backing of guitars, with a hint of strings added for good measure. The guitar break is fast and choppy, but it backs away to allow Andy B space for his cameo. After all, some things need to be said. And, sometimes, they need to be said again.

Logan Richard is a regular visitor to these pages. He last appeared in June, when we expressed our thorough staisfacction with the Prince Edsward Islander’s most recent album, Character Traits – Deluxe Version.

It seems that our Logan isn’t the kind of guy that needs to take much rest between asssignments. His next, yet-to-be-named album is already in can. New single, Trying to Find Something, is the first taster of what Logan has in store for us.

The song’s lyrics recall a bout of writer’s block that Logan suffered whilst trying to come up something that he considered to be suitably clever, original and relevant. “We had four days to record ten songs,” he remembers. “So, in the days and weeks leading up to those four days, I was trying to write a song every day to make sure we had as many songs to pick from as possible. Towards the end, right before I went into the studio, I was running out of things to write about. I felt like my well had run dry and that there was nothing left for me to say. And that’s where this song was born.”

It’s a song that belies its difficult conception. Trying to Find Something is punchy and upbeat and the flavour is positively countrified. As ever, Logan delivers a clear, tuneful vocal. The guitar sound has a hint of Creedence to it – and is that the old paper-and-comb trick that Logan employs during the instrumental break? Whatever – the signs are certainly good for the next serving of Logan Richard.

Each familiar names in their own right, this represents 4 days they spent together, in a studio perched near some cliffs on the Isle of Wight. The vanguard for a fun album’s worth of collaborations, this represents yet another notch in the Spencer Cullum plan to dominate the world.

The British pedal steel player has built up a hefty rep, stateside, only more recently making waves this side of the pond. But, honing his skills elsewhere has only meant the greater the joy we can catch up with now. Hollow End we know better as Max Kinghorn-Mills, and Rae, well, as herself, and it seems such a natural grouping, abetted by a rhythm section of Dom Billet, Harry Bohay and Rich Ruth. Inspired by a mix of Kenneth Graham’s characters and Syd Barrett, the song is both woozily jaunty and jauntily woozy.

If you like a “Canterbury Sound”, with added pedal steel and recorder, this is definitely for you!

A lot has happened for Montana-bred, Nashville-based 4-piece folk band TopHouse since their 2021 album, Snapshot, alerted the world to their presence. Their live following has rocketed, they’ve made their debut Grand Ole Opry appearance and their 2024 EPs, Theory and Practice have attracted widespread attention.

It seems only logical, then, that TopHouse’s next step should be a new album. The Bigger Picture is in the can and it will be with uis on 12th February 2027 – watch this space…

In the meantime, the band – Joe Larson (vocals and guitar), Jesse Davis (guitar & mandolin), William Cook (violin) and Andy Lafave (piano) – are offering a few hints about what they have in store. New single, Winter, is the latest such hint.

Joe’s strident vocals are punctuated by sharp bursts of guitar and mandolin and backed by smooth-flowing fiddle and piano. “I am ready for winter” is Joe’s lyrical message and the backing echoes that message. Sprinkles of mandolin and piano seem to symbolise falling snow, whilst blasts of full instrumentation hint at the warmth of a roaring fire. Give it a listen – it might help your winter preparations along, too.

You could be forgiven, maybe a year ago, for never having heard his name, but, this year, nope. Not only touring alongside Kris Drever, he has spent innumerable Glasgow studio hours, clocking up appearances across as varied a range of genres as you can think of. featuring on the latest releases from An Danssa Dub and Rebecca Hill & Charlie Stewart, to name but two.

Of an affably rusty vocal, he is an adept player of both banjo and guitar, his unassuming manner masking a deft gift of wordplay and story telling. The front runner for Broken Bell, an album due in January, Weaver’s Cottage addresses the brief span of a human life against the, hopefully, enduring natural world, and was inspired by the sight of. sparrowhawk perching silently in his garden.

The song would be gorgeous just with Morrison’s voice and banjo, but a complex and contrasting arrangement adds nuance aplenty; the piano is Fergus McCreadie and the saxophone Norman Wilmore. With backing vocals from Drever and from Kathleen Macinnes, bass by Euan Burton, I can’t wait for the album. (Below is the stripped down solo version)