I don’t know how he pulls it off, but not a month goes by without new music from Andrew McLatchie as Half Deaf Clatch. After a number of thematic releases, the British singer/songwriter/guitarist has now once again delivered a normal full-lengther, as far as you can speak of normal with this extraordinary musician. In his own words, Outsider Blues is “an original, modern, stomping country blues album, chock full of acoustic slide guitar, tenor banjo, acoustic bass, organ, percussion, and gravelly vocals” and that’s exactly what it is.

These are eight self-penned tracks, recorded live without any artificial frills, including new versions of The Lighthouse II (2024) and Too Poor To Die (2020). The guitar complexities and vocal delivery are as captivating and magnificent as we always hope for, but the lyrics are also consistently masterful and congenial: “You’ve never heard it on the radio // Or on a YouTube video // There’s only one place it can ever be found // That’s here right now, where it’s safe and sound” (from Secret Song). Truly unique.

Outsider Blues—written, performed, recorded, mixed, and mastered by Andrew McLatchie—is out now digitally and on CD through Speak Up Recordings.

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