With th e release of The Black and Wretched Blue, Emma Hill finds herself physically back on familiar turf, in her home state of Alaska, but there are some sonic touches on the album that conjure up a distinctly more southerly territory. It's a fitting dichotomy for an album that resonates with wanderlust and longing for home.

Hill's honey-smoked voice takes on a soulful growl in many of the numbers, and combined with the horns that periodically kick…

y bar favourites, the Ruminants, celebrated the release of their debut album on April 19 with a barn burner at Mikey's Juke Joint. Which was only fitting, since the self-titled album was actually recorded in a barn.

It was a savvy move. The acoustics of the big old Rockyford barn lend an extra level of heartache to the soulful harmonies on tracks like Time is a Bleach and The Note. You can all but hear the lonesome freight train wailing in the distance…

The Preachers sta rted life in a rather unlikely manner. As a Corb Lund tribute band, their aim was to spread the musical gospel of Alberta's favourite former punk now reborn country roots musician, and, while doing so, play every hotel in southern Alberta. The jury is out as to whether or not they achieved…

The ukelele is an unlikely blues instrument, particularly when it takes centre stage as lead instrument on a bluesy album. But then, there aren't many ukelele bluesmen like Manitoba Hal.

An accomplished blues guitarist, Manitoba Hal Brolund began to flirt with the sonic possibilities of the ukelele back in 2008, eventually recording three ukelele albums in addition to seven earlier guitar-based recordings. His latest, Flirting with Mermaids, is a testament to just…