Tag Archives: Courtney Marie Andrews

Fresh Juice

Fresh Juice 23rd March 2026

Skaracha – Stuck In My Head

If proof were needed that a classic music style can be revived and resonate with relevance today it is here, with Skaracha (the clue is in the name). This nine piece are the first home‑grown Jamaican ska band since the fabulous sixties, roaring out of Kingston with ‘Stuck In My Head,’ a belter recorded live at Tuff Gong Studio in 2025. These young bloods and seasoned pros steps forward to revive the grand tradition of Jamaica’s ska originators, fusing fresh compositions with hand‑picked classics. Though ska has travelled the world and sparked scenes far from its shores, Jamaica has long awaited a dedicated ska ensemble of its own and today, Skaracha brings the music proudly home. You can get yourself a copy of the single at https://www.tipatop.bandcamp.com

Sharp Pins – Popafangout

I am a little bit behind with this one although not as far behind as Sharp Pins are. They go all the way back to 1967 with so many period flashes (everything from Byrds electric jangle to Beatles harmonies and a lovely swish of ‘Itchycoo Park’ flanging to top it all off) this could easily be sold as a forgery passing itself off as original UK psych. What I actually mean by ‘behind’ is that the album from which this tune is lifted, ‘Balloon Balloon Balloon,’ was released back in November and I have only recently come across it. Still, after the ska adventure on our first song this stands as further evidence of older styles ongoing validity if delivered with conviction, honest spirit and a foundation of great song writing; which this music from Chicago based musician Kai Slater clearly is, so check out the album, if you feel so inclined, here https://amzn.to/4uHVCbk

The Lemon Twigs – I Just Can’t Get Over Losing You

As I have taken us back to a 1960s vibe why not step back a couple years more, away from the flowery multi-coloured days of ’67 and into the beat band era that brought us the first Beatles records. The Lemon Twigs are a New York born duo of brothers, Brian and Michael D’Addario, known for their virtuosic musicianship and a flamboyant blend of ’60s and ’70s‑inspired rock, baroque pop, and theatrical songwriting. Here, with a track from their forthcoming album ‘Look For Your Mind’ out 8th May on Captured Tracks, they really nail that early guitar pop period with aplomb. Not so much a Fab Four homage as a loving appreciation of the whole scene, there are just as many echoes of The Hollies or Hermans Hermits in this as anything and, again, it has a place. You want to write a good pop song about losing someone in 2026 and have a choice between sounding like The Beatles or Ed Sheeran, which way do you go? Personally, I am picking the former every time and happily I am not alone. You can pre-order the album here https://amzn.to/3PinYJi

Courtney Marie Andrews – Keeper

Having enjoyed some retro stylings with the opening three tracks you would be forgiven for expecting this country tune to have a similarly vintage feel. But modern country generally does not revive its original sounds from sixty or seventy years ago, even though a piece of modern country such as this retains a classic charm. So this number, ‘Keeper,’ finds Courtney Marie Andrews standing at a pivotal moment in her evolution, carrying forward the emotional candour that defined earlier albums like ‘Honest Life’ and ‘Old Flowers’ while stepping into a more expansive, quietly assured phase of her songwriting. As part of her latest release ‘Valentine,’ the track deepens her shift toward richer textures and a more panoramic sense of self‑reflection. It’s a song that bridges where she’s been and where she’s headed, capturing the clarity and vulnerability that continue to anchor her work. You can get a copy of the album here: https://amzn.to/3PdflQe

Paper Wings – Mountains On The Moon

Maybe I spoke to soon with the last track, the sound we enjoy here does actually recall the early bluegrass tones of acts like the Louvin Brothers or Bill Monroe, although with a far greater emphasis on melancholy and reflection. They are a duo made up of Wila Frank and Emily Mann who weave their knife‑sharp harmonies, clawhammer banjo, and Appalachian‑tinged folk into a just released fourth LP record, from which this is the title track. Across its twelve tracks, the album blends longing, resilience, and old‑world lyricism into a sound that feels both timeless and freshly carved, presented with quiet confidence and luminous craft. You can buy the latest CD here: https://paperwingsduo.bandcamp.com/album/mountains-on-the-moon

Julian Lage – Night Shade

And we end with some of the sweetest sounding jazz guitar around in 2026. The six new tracks that I have picked today kind of skirt around a belief at the heart of everything Fruit Tree Records champions. Namely, that the many sounds and styles in music that have evolved over the past seventy-five years, which often get tied to a specific period in time, are actually timeless when played with heart, passion and inventiveness. This is a great example, Julian Lage may not be breaking any new ground with this performance but does that take away just how beautiful a piece of music it is at all? Absolutely not. It comes from Julian’s latest Blue Note album ‘Scenes From Above,’ where it appears as the record’s seven‑minute centerpiece. You can buy the album via this link: https://amzn.to/4cZDfsi

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Fresh Juice

Fresh Juice 24th November 2025

Muireann Bradley – No Name Blues

Muireann has been bedazzling audiences both live and through our TV sets for the past couple of years thanks to her mastery of that early acoustic, ragtime infused, rhythm and blues style. Hers has been an act based on the authentic re-interpretation of this vintage folk material, breathing fresh life and lustre into songs that may have previously felt like the belongings of another age. With the youthful Bradley touch, they once again found a home in the modern day musical firmament but where would she take her act after establishing such firm roots in retro soil? Well, it looks like she might just be in for the long haul because, as heard on this new recording, Muireann has added songwriting in the style of her closest inspirations to her arsenal and it sounds pretty damn fine as well; the name of the release is the ‘Rose Dogs EP’ so go and dig it out.

The Hanging Stars – Sister Of The Sun

There are some classic echoes vibrating from the speakers with this track too, this time however it is the Beatle-esque harmonic guitar pop favoured by the likes of The Byrds, Teenage Fanclub (whose Gerry Love collaborates with the band on this very tune) or other such psych-flavoured sonic visionaries that we recall. It is all very well making these comparisons of course but they are of little value if the band playing does not live up to such top drawer likenesses. Fortunately, The Hanging Stars have learned from the best and have both the hooks, the imagination and the execution to turn out music that is easy to love and hard to shake off. They have been busy working on their sixth album which, on the evidence of this track, promises to build on the shimmering cosmic folk-rock of their previous releases, and it is due to appear in the first half of 2026

Sabine McCalla – Two Of Hearts

This sumptuous track is taken from Sabine’s brand new album ‘Don’t Call Me Baby’ released on Gar Hole Records. Sabine has been quietly building a music career whilst her sister Leyla McCalla (who features on the new record supplying some guest vocals) has received the vast majority of the attention, especially for her sublime 2024 album ‘Sun Without The Heat’. However, just like Leyla, Sabine has a winning way with a lilting melody and an authentic Americana sound that fuses folk, gospel and soulful influences. The impressions burned into her writing by New Orleans is clear to hear also and there is an inviting element of performance and charm to her delivery, maybe something that comes naturally when you are offering the world songs that are this immediately enjoyable, singable and repeatable. There is something about this McCalla family that I really like.

Billy Bragg – Hundred Year Hunger

On the strongly recommended compilation retrospective album ‘The Roaring Forty (1983-2023)’ Billy Bragg’s career in protest music and personal songwriting is presented with forty killer tunes over a forty year period. It is a pretty damn fine statement of the mans body of work and humanitarian writing which might well have stood as a full stop if not for the fact that Billy is ploughing on, ever relevant, ever opinionated and compassionate, always articulate and worth listening to in a debate. This new song is proof positive of this, a piece that has been written under the shadow of the famine in Gaza that clearly puts across the key message of “existence is resistance”. In doing so Billy is focusing in on how hunger and displacement have been used as political weapons and cleverly places the tale in an historical context of Israeli policies and long running resilience against the abandonment of ancestral land. Billy Bragg is a musician who can not only do this, but also present it as a work of art that moves the soul as only the best compositions can.

Courtney Marie Andrews – Cons And Clowns

Courtney Marie Andrews has been a reliably consistent purveyor of yearning country music for a good fifteen years now. This heartfelt ode to outsiders has been issued as a leader track from a new album set to be released in January of next year. The record will be called ‘Valentine’ and has been co-produced by Jerry Bernhardt, who has worked with at least two other Fruit Tree Records favourites, namely Ron Gallo and Yola. Courtney has certainly been pouring a lot of herself into her music over the years, resulting in material that does not have even a hint of fakery to it, This singer is the real deal alright and with some of the sneak preview songs from albums due next year that Fresh Juice has featured this week and last, 2026 is already shaping up to be a year with great new music in plentiful supply.

The Tiger Lillies – Stupid Life

We delighted in the dark depths of a night of live Tiger Lillies entertainment at the start of this month (our live review is here https://fruit-tree-records.com/2025/11/12/tiger-lillies-wiltons-music-hall-london-1st-november-2025/) and this is a new song from the album they were launching that evening, ‘Serenade From The Sewer’. Performed in their trademark scorched cabaret style, this is one of a vast catalogue of Martyn Jacques songs that exaggerates the absurdities of life itself and societal routines with a refreshing air of futility and a finely tuned sense of theatrical colour. They may well penetrate the atmosphere like ancient spirits re-awakened but they are simultaneously wholly unique and exhale a certain timelessness. They also, in a far more practical sense, write some startlingly good, melodically bouncy and memorable songs.

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