WHEN I suggest there is something gloriously old fashioned about his latest album, Ready the Horses, Jarrod Dickenson gives a little chuckle at the other end of the line.

"Oh, I'll take that as a compliment," he says.

Ready the Horses is the second album from the Texas-born singer and songwriter who will be bringing his band to Manchester's Deaf Institute next week.

Jarrod recently appeared at the Country 2 Country Festival in London and his unique blend of soulful country blues has gained him a growing following in the UK.

"It has certainly been a very nice surprise for me over last few years to find the kind of welcome I've got in the UK," said Jarrod. "People have been very kind and open and eager to listen to my songs which is not always the case everywhere in the world so it's very nice to have that.

"I would hope that a good song is a good song anywhere and at its core, people can relate to it."

A strong element of storytelling is at the heart of many of Jarrod's songs.

"I try my best to tell a story," he said, "but often the songs are not necessarily autobiographical.

"I just think making up characters can present something far more interesting. I like to make a song seem like a three-and-a-half minute film so people can see it in their head.

"In the UK are people eager to participate and find something that's not necessarily mainstream and which goes a little deeper than a lot of what's out there."

As well as traditional storytelling, Ready the Horses also relied on traditional recording methods.

"I guess there's a nod to the records I grew up listening to really and the way they were recorded," he said.

"It was just a bunch of guys in the studio playing live on to a two inch tape machine which was a very old fashioned way of doing things but which gives the whole record a warm sound.

"We were very excited about it as it was the first time I'd worked on tape.

"On my previous album Lonesome Traveller we recorded it live but there was a computer in the background.

"With the new record I don't think any song took more than two or three takes and some like In the Meantime we nailed it first time

"Seeing that the studio costs were all coming out of my pocket and since my pockets are painfully shallow, the fewer takes we did it in the better," he laughed. "But it was a blast and we're all very proud of the way it came out."

For his UK shows Jarrod will be joined by some of the musicians who feature on the album including guitarist J P Ruggieri who will also opens the show and Jarrod's wife Clare.

"We try to do that as much as we can," he said. "It's great to get out on the road together.

"I love the Deaf Institute, it's one of my favourite venues in the UK."

Jarrod Dickenson, Deaf Institute, Manchester, Wednesday, March 22. Details from wegotickets.com