Latest releases reviewed

MARY GAUTHIER Mercy Now Lost Highway *****

"It's a small hotel, the heat pipes hiss, the bathroom's down the hall and it smells like piss . . ." so begins the sinuous Falling Out of Love, the opening track on Mary Gauthier's fourth and best album to date. This is gothic country, graphic songs from the underbelly of the American dream. And yet this late-blooming Louisiana singer-songwriter brings dignity, a degree of muscle and the measured view of a survivor to her tales of working class life. I Drink, in its stark Prine-ish recitation of past abuse and hard reality, touches bottom and then rises on the back of a great refrain. She is blessed with the warm touch of ace producer Gurf Morlix, who, apart from playing everything he can lay his hands on, creates a deceptively simple but always apt backdrop for this rewarding mix of the personal and the political. www.marygauthier.com Joe Breen

KELLY JOE PHELPS Tap the Red Cane Whirlwind Rykodisc Records ****

Voice and guitar might seem a humble offering, but in the skilled hands of Kelly Joe Phelps less is so much more. This is his first live release, recorded in two of his favourite American west coast venues. The communion between the adoring audience and the folk-blues guitarist is palpable. They hang on his every note, the crispness and clarity of each filling the empty spaces, his husky voice bringing alive colourful tales of life's bitter harvest. Initially an acclaimed reader of country blues - Skip James's Hard time Killin' Floor Blues and the Rev Gary Davis's I Am the Light of the World are luminous examples here - the Washington-state born songwriter has grown to create a distinctive brand of more folk-leaning music such as the tale of Tommy with a sparkling finger-style to match. This can be sampled when Phelps returns for dates in Dublin (Whelan's, March 4th), Galway (5th) and Belfast (6th). www.kellyjoephelps.com Joe Breen