Perhaps it’s not surprising that Italy should emerge as a force on the international Americana scene. It is after all shaped like a cowboy boot! But joking aside, there have been some great bands surfacing over there for a number of years. Hailing from the rural east-coast town of Forli, Satellite Inn were briefly labelmates of Whiskeytown on the North Carolina-based MoodFood label. More recently Rusties and the excellent Chris Cacavas-produced Lowlands continue to raise their profiles.

Rather than remain in his homeland, though, Turin’s Trent Miller has sought his fortunes in the UK. His debut solo album Cerberus (2009) showed the influence not only of Steve Earle and Townes Van Zandt, but also the haunting desert noir of The Gun Club and Thin White Rope. Now signed to the new label set up by cult magazine Bucketful Of Brains, the new album with his band The Skeleton Jive, Welcome To Inferno Valley is already picking up bucketfuls of praise.