American Americana duo J T Nero and Allison Russell joined for this short UK tour by guitar and dobro maestro Steve Dawson. Nero plays rhythm guitar, Russell on 5 string banjo, some ukulele and clarinet, both sing and write the songs and tell stories. Their songwriting tends towards the personal, the emotional, and that brings a genuine passion to their vocals. The voices blend well, Nero's near Waits-like gruffness a sharp contrast to the soulful power of his companion. Dawson adds a layer of complexity to the melodies, and some wonderful solos. A simple highlight came when Nero wandered off to leaving Allison to sing in French (she's originally from the Montreal area) with sympathetic accompaniment from Dawson, and the two combined well again when guitar and clarinet played off one another.
In the face of a flaccid Edinburgh audience Nero and Russell battled hard to bring entertainment beyond their music and gradually succeeded in winning over a tough crowd. There's a lot of history to their songs, a strong sense of the colonial and slave based past that shaped much of what North America, and particularly the US, has become today. They care deeply about the future and write and sing about what they feel. An impressive set and well worth seeing should they turn up here again.
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