I’m a bit fed up with all this snow malarkey; to be honest it’s only fun if you’re a kid or a stressed out teacher hoping for a sneaky day off, so what I need is some heart warming music to listen to whilst sitting by the fire and sipping on mulled wine. Thankfully DEMONS AND DOUBTERS, a 5 track EP by singer songwriter Ian Parker has arrived to help me with my cold winter nights, now all I need is a dog to stroke and some fluffy slippers.

Ian Parker is a singer songwriter who signed to German blues label Ruf Records in 2003 after being personally introduced to a US record producer, David Z, who has worked with Prince and Fine Young Cannibals. He now resides back in the UK under the management of Ralph Baker of Equator Music, and recorded this EP at Bath’s famous Riverside studios.

The five songs in this EP are mainly guitar based and Country tinged, there are not a wide variety of instruments on offer, or many surprises thrown in, but as a listener you’re not really expecting that, and too much going on would probably just detract from Ian’s guitar work and voice. The reason why this music is good for late night relaxation listening is because Ian has a gentle, rich, resonant voice, which is suited to the acoustic guitar and creates a mood of contemplation and intimacy.

Those listeners who do not like Country music would be advised to stay away; the actual songs are not conventional Country style, there’s just quite a lot of slide guitar on some tracks that could detract from the listening experience if you’re not into that sort of thing. The best songs are actually the ones that are contain less slide guitar and embellishments, GROW for example just starts with vocals, finger picked guitar, piano, and then flows into a lovely cello led chorus that fills the heart with joy.

First track WINDING RIVER, is a gentle opener, with a catchy chorus and pleasant guitar solo, it sets up the tone of the EP well evoking rustic images of mountains, seas, stars and man battling the elements and himself, ‘Winding river flowing freely across the land, taking with it the heart of every man’. It’s a promising start and a good pop song with strong lyrical and emotional sentiment, ‘Suffering may come our way, the river is long…time will make all things well, the river is long.’

Another stand out track is LOST, which has a Neil Young vibe to it, with shimmering guitars, rasping, grungy vocals, and a super catchy chorus. This track also has some cool harmonica and a rocking guitar solo, and is probably my favourite track on the EP. On this track Ian sounds a bit of a cross between Michael Stipe and Scott Weiland from Stone Temple Pilots, and it’s his best sound, on other songs his voice doesn’t sound quite as powerful.

What is good about the track LOST and GROW is mirrored by what is not so good about some of the other tracks. KEEP ME WALKING has a bit too much of the slide guitar on it and a familiar feel, it’s not a bad song, I’ve just heard it somewhere before. LOVERS AND FRIENDS also feels a bit unoriginal and doesn’t really use Ian’s voice to the best possible effect, It doesn’t really go anywhere as a song, but as always contains meaningful lyrics and good musicianship, and to be fair a fan of Country music will lap it up.

All in all this is a satisfying collection of songs to listen to. Very much self reflective and mature, it will enrich the listener and bring comfort to any cold winter night. With elements of Neil Young, Ryan Adams, Ben Harper, and traditional blues thrown in it should appeal to a wide spectrum of people.

Listening to Kill It Kid for the very first time conjures up images of some deep south Americana outfit, all toothless grins and whisky soaked heartbreak, you'd imagine this band to hail from some backwater town down by the Mississippi. So learning that Kill It Kid are a bunch of fresh faced youngsters from Bath comes as something of a shock, the heady mixture of Tom Waits, Seasick Steve, Allison Krauss and Robert Johnson influences at the very least giving this outfit a fresh sounding musical take in 2009.

Closest comparisons are perhaps Gomez, Kill It Kid indulging in similar sounding Americana tropes and gravel throated melodicism, vocalist Chris Turpin sounding for all intents and purposes like the grizzled offspring of Tom Waits, Ben Ottewell and Seasick Steve.

New single HEAVEN NEVER SEEMED SO CLOSE is a bluesy bluster of slide guitar licks, flailing riffs, heady strings and frantic drum stomps. Turpin growls and hollers his way through proceedings, wringing forceful melodies from the ether as the rest of the band grinds its way through proceedings, part Grinderman, part Tom Waits backing band. The acoustic flips side MY LIPS WON'T BE KEPT CLEAN, sees Turpin duetting with Stephanie Ward, another vocalist whose style suggests a definite Americana influence; the duo sparking off each other in fine style amidst delta blues string surges and roughly strewn guitar chords.

HEAVEN NEVER SEEMED SO CLOSE introduces Kill It Kid as a band certainly doing there own thing, a breath of fresh air these days; and as such this is highly recommended stuff.

This Bath five-piece has received rave reviews in The Clash (where ‘Burst It’s Banks’ was single of the month), The List and even BBC Newsbeat, and now they’re getting one here.On first receiving the album through the post, I was somewhat deceived by their youth and relative fresh-faced countenance.  Within seconds of opening track ‘Heaven Never Seemed So Close’ kicking in, I was sold. 

The album begins with a dirty, bluesy stomp that made me think of the ‘white boy blues’ explosion of the mid to late 60s.  ‘Heaven Never Seemed So Close’ was raucous enough to put me in mind of the two Rod Stewart/Jeff Beck albums with its raunchy blues playing and raw vocals. Vocalist Chris Turpin may look like butter wouldn’t melt, but he nearly landed the band with a dry cleaning bill when I almost dropped my coffee in surprise at the power of his voice in opening seconds of the album.  Like so much about this band and what they do, you really have to struggle to remind yourself that Kill It Kid hail from Bath and not the Bayou.

It isn’t all Turpin’s show though.  Steph Ward is a subtle, affecting vocalist whose contribution is to provide the velvet glove to Turpin’s iron fist delivery.  When she takes centre stage on tracks like ‘Private Idaho’ and ‘Fool For Loving You’, the mood changes and the album exudes a different kind of power.  Steph’s style is, to me, Laura Cantrell with a dash of Julie Driscoll thrown in.  Together, she and Chris cook up a storm, notably on the playful country honk of ‘My Lips Won’t Be Kept Clean’.

So there you have it: this album is 100% ‘carpet-burn-to-the-chin-from-your-jaw-dropping’ brilliance.  This album is a million miles away from the current musical ‘plat du jour’, yet possesses the sort of magnetism and energy that would make even the most die-hard 80s acolyte cock an ear.  This is down to virtuoso musicianship from a band that knows their influences and has mastery over their staple ingredients to create something fresh and ambitious whilst ticking every box of the genres they stand astride.  Just forget whatever else it was you were planning to buy or see this weekend, Kill It Kid are here and you cannot resist them.