Like many others, I make the annual pilgrimage across the Atlantic to Nashville each year to hear the best of Americana music at the AMAs. What undoubtedly makes the long trip so worthwhile is finding previously undiscovered gems – this year it was Lindi Ortega, last year Mandolin Orange, both of whom will have CDs in my Top Ten this year.
But the thrill of discovering new Americana talent is even more pleasurable when it’s unearthed on my doorstep, in Scotland. The Dirty Beggars are such a talent, easily rivalling the high quality of Nashville’s renowned Americanafest programme.
‘Time to Reminisce’ is the eagerly awaited follow up to The Dirty Beggars’ 2011 debut CD, ‘Bite the Bullet’, and takes the form of a three-track EP to be launched later this month. The band’s unique sound – beautifully described by a previous reviewer as ‘brooding twang’ – combines guitar, banjo, fiddle, mandolin, harmonica and double bass, and has been noticed by growing audiences at their gigs in the UK and more widely in recent years.
‘Time to Reminisce’ clearly demonstrates the band’s growing maturity over the last two years, with a highly polished offering that still maintains the band’s energy and youth. The three tracks sit well together and the EP has been on a continual loop on my music player since I received an advance copy to review. Although not previously released, the tracks could easily be mistaken for covers of classics. ‘Unforgiven‘ has a lovely familiarity that actually had me checking the liner notes because the melody and lyrics were so quickly memorable. But all tracks are original and written by Kieran Begbie, the band’s talented lead vocalist and guitarist, with input to the arrangements by all members of the five-piece band.
Begbie’s strong vocals and the band’s harmonies have noticeably evolved since their début CD, and the lyrics suggest Appalachian blood running through their veins as well as Scottish. The Dirty Beggars are regularly compared to the Old Crow Medicine Show, Gillian Welch and Dave Rawlings, and these influences are clear, but such comparisons could easily underplay the band’s own unique style and originality.
The ‘Time to Reminisce’ EP will be released by Wayward Sounds Records and available on iTunes and Amazon for digital download from 11/29/13. I highly recommend it and encourage you to support this young band – my only disappointment with the EP is that it is too short!
The Dirty Beggars are clearly on a fast-moving upward trajectory and are busy planning a US tour in 2014. (Details will be on their Facebook page in due course.) I long to see The Dirty Beggars on Nashville’s Americanafest stage, where they would be a perfect addition to the ‘BBC Introducing’ showcase, presented by Sir Bob Harris, following this year’s débuts by Blue Rose Code and Emily Barker. If ‘Whispering Bob’ is reading, please take note…..
