Single Review - Give Me A Song - Lars Pluto and The Reavers

There is often a discussion about “What is Country” or whether a song actually is “Country”.  When Lars Pluto sings, it is 100% Country – with that voice of his, it can’t be anything else!  Passionate about his music, passionate about the genre Lars Pluto is certainly a character on the scene, and his performances – whether on stage, in a stage show or in a recording studio are also always 100%

 

Lars has released his new single Give Me A Song which is following the well-known theme of Heartache – but he has recorded it in an up tempo 90s Country style, because of course he has!  Lars has also chosen to release the track on a Tuesday, because of course he has.

While the song musically has all the hallmarks of a bouncy 90s country track it is very well written, treating Heartache as though it is a person, and Lars is talking directly to her/him/it.

If you’re gonna hang around too long, Heartache give me a song

A broken heart is a blessing in disguise to a songwriter – let’s face it, it’s the backbone of Country song writing, and Lars takes that idea and makes the theme into the theme of the song.  I guess this is the musical equivalent of putting a brave face on things.  It is no great surprise for this bad boy of UK Country to put his own twist on things, and to also show off his abilities and the talents of his band The Reavers – Tom Wright on Electric guitar and backing vocals (as well as producing the track) Phil Bloomberg on bass and Mikey Cinacio on drums.  It’s a sad tale but a fun song, which no doubt will get people dancing, smiling and thinking about heartache all at the same time!

As Lars describes it

The boys all played the hell out of this tune.  I hope y’all like it as much as we do

Reckon we will Lars, reckon we will.

 

Give Me a Song, the new single from Lars Pluto and the Reavers is available to download and stream now

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Artist and Album Profile - Scott Southworth

If you‘ve been following our daily Livestream postings (every day on Facebook at 11am for over a year) you may have noticed the regular Tuesday posting – Scott Southworth Live From the Lost Highway.  In truth, we only came across Scott because he was on the same bill as our UK friend Ags Connolly, but as Scott has continued to stream, we have continued to list him.

 

Scott recently very generously arranged for his US distributers to send across his 3 albums – The Last Honky Tonk In Town (2016) Hey Hillbilly Singer (2018) and his most recent release These Old Bones (2020).  Our first reaction was to get the CDs into the truck and play them while driving, which is a great way to get a feel for an album before reviewing.  After only a few minutes it was windows down, music turned up live and singing along!

Scott’s music is genuine authentic traditional Country – in the singing style, the instrumentation, the themes, in fact, everything about every song is Country!

 

With 3 albums of 11 tracks each, it would be crazy to try and review each individually, but as a taster, the first album – The Last Hony Tonk In Town - opens with a lament to the loss of traditional Honky Tonk Bars with When the Last Jukebox Dies and includes the song Mama Was A Roller Derby Queen. Album 2 Hey Hillbilly Singer starts off with the title track which has the opening line “Hey Hillbilly singer sing me a song about a cold-hearted woman done a good man wrong”.  Trad country themes at their finest!  Each song is stuffed full of the phrasing you’d expect, lyrics you will pick up instantly and sing along and a melody that makes you want to be dancing on the Bar’s tiny dance floor wedged in between the stage and the jukebox!

The most recent album is These Old Bones which carries on where the preceding recordings left off.  From Steel Guitars and Broken Hearts – which almost summarises everything we think about Country Music – through Ain’t Easy Leaving You and Where I’ll Be to the single release Brown Liquor Scott leans mostly on guitar and steel, with a drummer out in the back there and occasional keys all supporting his powerful vocal which oozes Hill Billy Country!  Mixing up tempo that will have you clapping and stamping to the slower songs that will have you wanting to take someone in your arms and two-step till closing time.

Every track on every album will transport you to the traditional bar of history and Country Music folklore, and every song is sure to have you singing along, even on your very first listen.

As a body of work, these three albums are some of the finest I have heard, certainly from a lesser-known singer and I would hope that a festival organiser will consider bringing Scott over to the UK!  Treat yourself to Scott’s newest Album These Old Bones, and then treat yourself to his back catalogue too!

 

In addition to his (current) weekly Livestream you can find and follow Scott on Facebook, Instagram and his website, plus of course on Spotify.

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