Well, the hyped and long-awaited new album from Patricia Barber has arrived! Considering the quality of her other recordings and with this one being recorded in DXD at 32-bit/352.8 kHz, there was little doubt the audio quality would be at a high standard. However, this means nothing if the music is not at a high caliber as well. While Patricia typically has distinctive interpretations of standards, the music won’t be for everyone, but she definitely has a legion of fans as well. Of note on her recordings is the talent of other performers, in particular her bassists. This is mentioned as her cover of “The In Crowd” as a duo between Barber and bassist Mulcahy is a particular standout. Check it out on Tidal.

If you were lucky enough to catch the husband/wife duo “Birds of Chicago” at the Regina Folk Festival in 2015, you may have had the pleasure of hearing Allison Russell with her husband JT Nero. Born and raised on Montreal, music saved Allison as she suffered from a traumatic childhood of abuse.  Since the duo group with her husband, she has also been part of the folk supergroup “Our Native Daughters” along with Rhiannon Giddens. “Outside Child” is her first solo album and is a rather therapeutic effort considering her past and where she has come since then. The album would be classified in the Folk/Americana genre and features the soulful vocals of this talented multi-instrumentalist.  You can find it on Tidal here:  https://tidal.com/browse/album/184088038