Ags Connolly - How About Now

(Drumfire Records, 2014)

Country isn't a dirty word, particularly when it's coming out of Ags Connolly's mouth. Anyone who has caught Ags in the last few years will likely be able to attest that he has a voice of extraordinary power, capable of transporting you from a dank open mic pub in Witney to the Grand Ole Opry. His songs are deeply rooted in country, full of hardened wisdom and homespun turns of phrase; Ags’ previous release, The Dim and Distant Past EP, was a solid demonstration of his songwriting skills – indeed all four songs are present again here, largely unchanged. But with a group of sympathetic country session musicians behind him, Ags has taken a bit of a star-turn.

While one could worry that session musicians could suck the soul out of Ags’ songs, or embellish them to the nth degree, the musicianship throughout How About Now is truly fantastic, lending Ags’ simple songs a classic, authentic country sound. Lap steels coo, a stand-up bass gently plods, and an electric guitar accents the chords in a manner that would make Luther Perkins proud. Perhaps the best compliment that can be paid to Mr. Connolly is to say that many of the songs on How About Now sound like country standards – ‘Good Memory for Pain’, ‘Get Out My Mind’, ‘The Dim and Distant Past’ and ‘Trusty Companion’ are all great songs by anyone’s standards, regardless of genre, strongly composed and sharply executed. There are also some deeply personal songs here, dotted with references to particular lovers and old haunts (I never thought I'd hear a shout-out to The Angel in a song); all of this helps to flesh out Ags' deeply likeable and genuine persona, a man who loves and hurts, with country – and perhaps some Old Hooky – pumping through his veins.

On the whole country music seems to have a bad rep for perceived flag-waving, finger-pointing, and general backwardness, but Ags’ music is full of heart – more 'Man in Black' than 'I Kiss My Baby With My Fist'. These are songs of love and loss from a good ol' boy, a perfect soundtrack for crying into your beer at the end of the night as you mull over missed chances and being dealt a bad hand. These are also odes to Ags' main muse - country music itself. Both 'When Country Was Proud' and 'I Saw James Hand' document his baptism and confirmation as a country fan and musician. How About Now is the most assured debut to come out of Oxford in some time, a very strong collection of songs from an artist with a clear handle on his identity. To paraphrase a good ol' boy, if you didn't know were country, then this might make up your mind.

[Originally published in Nightshift Magazine, Issue 224, March 2014]
http://nightshift.oxfordmusic.net/2014/mar.pdf