Monthly Archives: September 2023

Album Review: Ghosts of Sunset – No Saints in the City

Posted on by
Ghosts of Sunset

photo courtesy of Head First Entertainment

Album Review of Ghosts of Sunset: No Saints in the City

Melodic hard rock with fast-paced guitars, high-pitched sidewinding vocals, and a hard-pounding rhythm section. Ghosts of Sunset are a feel-good rock ‘n roll band whose comfortably familiar but uniquely original sound would be equally well-suited to a dive bar or an arena stage.

Song-by-song, here’s what you’ll find on this cohesive-yet-diverse album, No Saints in the City.

The record kicks immediately into overdrive, opening with “Tonight,” the kind of gettin’-pumped-up-for-a-night-out anthem that’s a great table-setter for any hard rock album.

Ghosts of Sunset – No Saints in the City

image courtesy of Head First Entertainment

Next up is my personal favorite song in the collection, the title track “No Saints in the City.” The guitar hook reminds me of Sleeze Beez’s “Stranger Than Paradise” (an underrated rocker from melodic hard rock’s heyday), but that’s where that comparison ends. The steady beat, the slow builds toward the chorus… this is a total crank-it-up rock song!

“Look Me Up” keeps the energy high as the band’s lyrical content remains focused on the untrustworthy, dirty city streets, driving the song with some recurring hooks and energetic late-song axework.

Next, Ghosts of Sunset slows things down with “If You’re Not Coming Back” because what good is rock album without a ballad? Of course, you can count on this band not to serve up any old standard heartbreak ballad. This one’s dark and gritty.

A faster tempo returns briefly with “Queen of Used to Be” before the band slows things back down with the Skid Row-reminiscent ballad “Love Ain’t Enough.”

Ghosts of Sunset

photo courtesy of Head First Entertainment

“Bastard of the Bowery” brings a new vibe – a stripped-down, funky rawness – to the mix.

“Puzzled Heart” follows, with a modern spin on the classic psychedelic sixties/seventies rock sound.

Softer, more lightly instrumented, melodic “Tonight You’re Okay” stands out for its airier touch. It’s a tuneful track that’ll become a quick favorite, easily justifying its inclusion among its heavier album-mates.

“Us Against Them” is a chunky rocker that returns to a seedier storyline before the album closes with the heavy, gravelly-vocalled ballad “Something to Believe.”

You’ll feel the power of the songwriting on No Saints in the City perhaps even more than you’ll feel the power of its rhythm section. Ghosts of Sunset is definitely a band you need to check out – a unique voice even in a crowded classic-based melodic hard rock market – and No Saints in the City is an album you owe it to yourself to test-drive.

Liner Notes

Ghosts of Sunset are John Merchant (ex-Dutch Henry frontman) and multi-instrumentalist Todd Long (ex-The Verve Pipe). However, for the lead guitar parts on most of the songs on No Saints in the City, the duo tabbed a parade of top rock ‘n roll axemen. Guest guitarists include Scotty Griffin (Riley’s LA Guns) on “Tonight,” Alex Kane (Life Sex & Death and Enuff Z’Nuff) on “No Saints in the City,” Eric Jayk (Wildstreet) on “Look Me Up,” Mark Tremalgia (Little Caesar) on “If You’re Not Coming Back” and “Something to Believe,” Denny Smith (The Great Affairs) on “Queen of Used to Be,” Lou Musa (The Verve Pipe) on “Love Ain’t Enough,” Mark Knight (ex-Bang Tango) on “Bastards of the Bowery,” James Stevenson (Gene Loves Jezebel) on “Puzzled Heart,” and Loren Molinare (Little Caesar) on “Us Against Them.” Merchant provided all of the axework on “Tonight You’re Okay” himself; so hey, that means one of my favorites on the disc was sans guest shredder.

More Recently

Since the release of No Saints in the City, Ghosts of Sunset released another album, Breathe, in March of this year. The band also has a YouTube video for  “Afterthought,” one of the songs from Breathe.

Single Review: The Baby Breaks – “Dopamine”

Posted on by
The Baby Breaks

photo courtesy of The Baby Breaks

Single Review of The Baby Breaks: “Dopamine”

Aussie alt-rockers The Baby Breaks serve up a catchy number with potential mainstream crossover appeal with “Dopamine.” Stylistically, on this track, the band showcases a loose, raw sound, with a lot of instrumental interference intruding upon the primary melody. Intentionally so, of course, to create a “party-in-a-song” delivery style. That party-band style arrangement – and the presence of a horn – give “Dopamine” a bit of a ska-meets-college rock vibe. This song itself sounds like something you might hear at a Los Goutos concert here in Boston. (Hey, maybe a great double-bill if The Baby Breaks tour out this way one day.)

Regardless, “Dopamine” is a playful, fun number. I’d recommend giving it a listen and exploring a little deeper into The Baby Breaks’ song catalog, as well.

More Recently

Since the release of “Dopamine” in 2021, The Baby Breaks have dropped three more songs on Spotify – “Carousel of One” in 2022 and “Think” and “St. Lennies Blues” in 2023 – with “St. Lennies Blues” sporting a release date of just earlier this month. That most recent release sports a full-on semi-psychedelic wall of sound, by the way, so don’t necessarily think that everything you’ll hear from The Baby Breaks sounds like “Dopamine.”

Looking Ahead

I don’t see any upcoming shows listed for The Baby Breaks, but you can keep an eye on the “Events” tab of their Facebook account for future gigs as they’re scheduled.

Album Review: Samantha Preis – Through Fog

Posted on by
Samantha Preis

photo courtesy of Samantha Preis

Album Review of Samantha Preis: Through Fog

If you’re a longtime reader of the Blog, you know how much I love Samantha Preis’ prior full-length release, Good News. That was a mostly piano-based release that featured Samantha’s skills as a jazz vocalist. Those same rich, crisp vocals with their penchant for well-placed thin wispiness are back, but on Through Fog, they’re accompanied by acoustic guitar, serving up a different musical palette.

The quality and attention to detail on Through Fog, guided by Samantha Preis‘ steady, precise vocals, provide a quality listening experience beginning to end. The songs are pleasant to listen to, but they’re subtle and complex, and it takes a few listens for favorites to emerge.

Album Cover: Samantha Preis – Through Fog

image courtesy of Samantha Preis

Throughout the disc, listeners are treated to Samantha’s deeply emotional vocals, with pacing, vocal emphasis, and cadence delivering an enthralling, deeply moving listening experience, with the guitar picking and strumming serving as melancholy accompaniment. Much of the content, lyrically, is quite heavy, though I’ve not gone into great detail in the review; I’ll leave that for you to experience during your first listen.

The music and singing are enthralling, making Through Fog a satisfying beginning-to-end listen. And favorites develop, especially after multiple listens.

Opener “The Gun and the Gold” is one such song, a developing favorite, with Samantha’s “wo-oah, wo-oah, wo-oah” providing engaging vocal bridges.

Next up, “Romance,” deftly utilizes that old jazz vocalist’s trick of changing tempo with almost every word, placing emphasis where it deserves, blurring the line between speaking and singing very tunefully. Notice – and you won’t be able to avoid noticing – the pattern of the “making eyes” section of the song.

“Mexico Sun,” which follows, is mostly soft and meandering, lyrically deep and thoughtful, with a well-placed musical storminess in a couple of spots as both the guitar and vocals intensify before trailing off again, providing an emotional journey that seems to let off musically right where it started. Stylistically, “Men I Don’t Recognize” kind of does the same thing, though with a very different vibe, darker and quite a bit more haunting.

“Crow” is a bit thicker instrumentally and more vocally insistent and varied than the norm on Through Fog, with strings providing well-placed emphasis, as this song extends the dark, heavy nature of this portion of the album. In the context of this musically low-key song collection, this is what passes for cranking up the volume.

On “Spaceship,” Samantha goes a bit more singer-songwritery than usual, with verbal picture-painting, thoughtful musings, and some cool, almost seventies-ish “oo-ooh” vocalizations. Where much of the rest of the disc might be introspective, somewhat experimental vocal jazz, this is clearly meant for a quiet room full of people, almost to the point that you expect to a few random claps from listening room patrons who simply can’t help themselves as the song comes to a close.

“Decorate Ourselves” has a little richer music bed, with the vocals taking a bit more of a starring role, staccato at times, playing the role of percussion at those times in particular.

“The Goodnight Song” rises and falls like the waves, guided by rhythmic strumming and vocal peaks and valley, suggesting a new, very mellow take on a drinking song, featuring – and closing with – “and we’ll meet further on down the road.”

Piano makes its appearance as the featured – and only – instrument on final track “Fleur de Lisa,” a melancholy, purely instrumental epilogue to an album that’s surprisingly emotional and powerful for such a quiet, calm collection of songs.

My three personal favorites on this disc – if I were to listen to them individually – are probably “The Gun and the Gold,” “Romance,” and “Spaceship.” However, I’d recommend taking in the entire album in one sitting. Samantha Preis has a powerful journey for you on Through Fog. It would be a shame miss any parts of the experience.

Looking Ahead

Samantha doesn’t have any upcoming shows scheduled at the moment, but when she does, you’ll find them here on the “tour” page of her website. You can also be a part of Samantha’s musical journey by becoming a member (shouldn’t it be “patron”?) at her Patreon page.

Single Review: Leah Belle Faser – “Trash Talk”

Posted on by
Leah Belle Faser

photo courtesy of Michael J. Media Group

Single Review of Leah Belle Faser: “Trash Talk”

Leah Belle Faser is going to be one of your favorite country music artists. I already suggested as much in my review of her Hermi’s Bridge EP in 2021. Well, it’s still true.

This fun, catchy single is just more proof. With “Trash Talk,” Leah delivers an energetic pop-country number with a message targeted squarely at young adults who are buried in dating life. And she delivers it with an attitude and a phrasing very Taylor Swift-like. I mean, it’s pure, unadulterated Leah Belle Faser, with her easily identifiable voice and cadence, but she’d definitely fit on a T-Swift-heavy playlist.

Leah Belle Faser – "Trash Talk"

image courtesy of Michael J. Media Group

Digging deeper, Leah’s delivery of the phrase “un-laaa-dy-liiike,” punching the syllables so they jump off the record, is one of the many small details that sets Leah apart from other up-and-comers.

As for the song itself, in very Swift-like fashion, “Trash Talk” obliterates a former beau. And if this is really autobiographical, all I can say to the object of this character assassination is, dude, this may be exaggerated, and it may be unfair, but if there’s even a hint of truth to it, you’d better hope your name never gets out because you’ll be undateable, and deservedly so. Man, these lyrics are scorchin’. Of course, if the song isn’t autobiographical, well, then Leah sure delivers it as if she means it.

If you’ve not yet heard Leah Belle Faser sing, you’re missing out. Hermi’s Bridge was a great EP, and this song, despite its scathing review of an ex-boyfriend, is light, clever, catchy, and memorably delivered.

More Recently

Since “Trash Talk” came out in 2022, there are several more recent videos on Leah’s YouTube page. Slow, swaying crooner “Because” is Leah’s most recent single. And in-between “Trash Talk” and “Because,” it appears Leah released “If He Was a Truck,” a clever, slow-ish but lively-voiced, slide guitar-drenched number. And if you do explore the YouTube channel (rather than Spotify), you’ll find some nice recent covers, too.

Looking Ahead

Leah’s next show is Saturday, September 16th, delivering an acoustic opening set for LeAnn Rimes in Douglasville, GA. After that, she has a lot more performances scheduled around Georgia over the next few months (plus February, July, and September 2024 dates booked at the Chateau Meichtry Family Vineyard and Winery). Outside Georgia (and returning to 2023), she has a Nashville show scheduled on October 18th. Click here for more information and to see additional performance dates as they’re added.

Leah also checks in regularly on Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok, so if you follow here on one or more of those platforms, you’ll always know what she’s up to.

Album Review: Dirtbag Republic – Tear Down Your Idols

Posted on by
Dirtbag Republic

photo by Matt Leaf; photo courtesy of Head First Entertainment

Album Review of Dirtbag Republic: Tear Down Your Idols

Dirtbag Republic‘s vocals are raw but its instrumentation is full and rich, giving the band’s catchy, memorable, (sometimes) singalongable, energetically straight-forward hard rock just a hint of a punk edge. Add fun, unapologetic lyrics, classic rock guitar runs, and an in-your-face delivery to the mix, and you’ll discover a new favorite band. My first inclination was to compare Dirtbag Republic with the London Quireboys and Dogs D’Amour, but no, if you dig a little deeper, this is a top-shelf, talent-heavy Sunset Strip-caliber hard rock outfit with its own inimitable style. This band checks so many boxes – with plenty of bonus “style points” – that I can only categorize its potential fans base as “fans of guitar-driven rock ‘n roll.” And, I might add, why are you not already listening to these guys?!

There’s so much to write about this album, I’ll do a song-by-song, as-I-listen review.

The disc opens with a guitar riff that screams “rock and roll!” as “Main Objective” kicks of with a frenetic-paced journey through Dirtbag Republic’s original sound, sporting classic rock guitar riffs, rough-as-broken-glass vocals, a vocal line that stylistically moves around the pocket, rarely landing directly on the beat, a couple Enuff Z’Nuff-ish distorted harmonies, the anthemic lyrics “as long as I am still alive, rock and roll will never die,” and a guitar line that simply does not stop, slow down, or break to take a single breath.

Dirtbag Republic – Tear Down Your Idols

image courtesy of Head First Entertainment

Whew, when that song’s over, you want a break? Ha! You wish! The tempo doesn’t slow a bit on “Skinny.” There is just the slightest hint of space in the not-quite-so-wall-of-sound sound bed, but man, the lyrics are biting, culminating in the oh-yes-you-will-sing-along chorus “She’s too skinny, look a little closer. She’s too skinny, anorexia nervosa.”

So, yes, two songs in, and you’ll be hooked. You’ll know this is one of your new favorite bands. As a reward, you get a little break from a tempo that is now a little less way-too-fast. But the songs are still as rockin’, and the lyrics and delivery just as much fun. “Wannabes,” for example, is next, and it’s all about… well, being a rocker.

On “Days Are Gone,” about wasted teenage years, you’ll find yourself singing along with the chorus “long gone, those days are gone.” See, I told you there’d be lots of singing along.

“Don’t Answer to No One” is another would-be hit single (if you could find hard rock on the radio). It’s yet another Dirtbag Republic song with a monster hook and a singalong chorus. Do you detect a pattern? Yeah, but it’s a catchy-as-hell, fun, rockin’ pattern. And there’s a moderately-nuanced distorted guitar bridge just past the midway point that you should listen for – it’s one of those guitar parts that, if it’s done properly (and this one is) lets you know “there are no new lyrics, but that’s OK because you’ll enjoy our musical arrangement as we repeat lines from the chorus a few more times until the end of the song.”

What’s next? Oh, yeah, it’s the title track “Tear Down Your Idols.” It’s another rollicking, hooky, memorable song you’ll find yourself singing along to during and long after listening to the album. Gotta say, though, based on the lyrics, it sounds like maybe your idols have kinda turned into money-grubbing losers who deserve to be torn down, or at least knocked down a peg or two.

When you listen to how the band sings “Sorry,” you almost can’t tell they’re Canadian… except that they have a song called “Sorry,” which is the most stereotypically Canadian song title of all time. It is also, though, a rhythm section-driven, hard rockin’ number you’ll dig. Next up, “Did All I Could” utilizes somewhat sidewinding guitarwork and more finesse-driven drumming to provide a cool new vibe without sacrificing tempo.

The next song, “Superficial” is another standout. I’m not sure if it’s the music that’s so catchy or if it’s just fun to sing along with the word combination of “superficial unconditional.” Regardless, I’m starting to wonder if I’ll run out of fingers counting how many of the songs on this 11-track disc are memorable, though I think maybe I counted the first two songs twice, so that contributes to the digit scarcity.

Penultimate song “When I Was Young” opens with a bit of a raw, Green Day-ish vibe before developing into a straight-forward, driving guitar rocking number, reaching a tempo and pace that continues through the end of the album on disc-ender “Turn Back Fast.”

Whew! What a disc. If you like rock ‘n roll but don’t like Dirtbag Republic’s Tear Down Your Idols, then you don’t like rock ‘n roll.

Looking Ahead

According to this Instagram post, Dirtbag Republic is mixing its new album, slated for a 2024 release. I can’t wait!

Single Review: Dead Posey – “Can’t Take Me Down”

Posted on by
Dead Posey

photo courtesy of DRPR

Single Review of Dead Posey: “Can’t Take Me Down” (Position Music)

Dead Posey is comprised of lead singer Danyell Souza and guitarist/multi-instrumentalist Tony F. The single “Can’t Take Me Down” was a March 2022 release from the band’s then-upcoming EP Blue Monday.

Dead Posey – "Can't Take Me Down"

image courtesy of DRPR

“Can’t Take Me Down” is catchy, hooky, distorted, melodic industrial hard rock. It has the danceable energy of a dance club floor-filler, the raw emotion that has typified the best industrial rock for decades, and a more mainstream hard rock appeal, likely in large part to Danyell’s powerful-yet-clear hard rock vocal skills. And did I mention that hook? Oh, you’ll remember this song, probably sing along to it, and definitely enjoy its raw energy. Of course, as with so much of the music I choose to write about in this blog, this is a song that’ll appeal to listeners both within and beyond fans of its core genre.

More Recently

“Can’t Take Me Down” was the third song released, at the time, for an upcoming “album.” With the release of the band’s cover of New Order’s “Blue Monday” providing the fourth song, a 4-song EP Blue Monday was released in September 2022.

Dead Posey does have a cool, newer March 2023 single, “Bad Things (Come With Me),” which you can find here on Spotify.

Looking Ahead

The “tour” page of Dead Posey’s website doesn’t currently list any upcoming dates, but be sure to check back.

 

EP Review: Ian Jones – The Evergreens

Posted on by

EP Review of Ian Jones: The Evergreens

Ian Jones‘ emotionally expressive, mostly-crisp, broad-ranging voice is the heart of his Americana style, one that’s earnest and heartfelt, while being light and hopeful.

The Evergreens is a disc with a cohesive song collection that provides a great beginning-to-end listen while still producing a couple of potential crossover hit singles.

The EP-opening title track, “Evergreens,” is a softly pleasant place-setter that paints a vivid picture of a landscape of, well, evergreens.

Things turn quickly to a slightly darker tone on “Born Again Sinner,” a lyrically introspective yet outwardly hopeful song that’s augmented with one of those haunting guitar lines that I way-too-frequently compare to Chris Isaak’s “Wicked Game.” This one’s not full-on “Wicked Game,” but it’s in the same zip code. Regardless, this is one of the songs you’ll remember long after your most recent spin of the disc, and it’s one of Ian’s songs with the potential to appeal to fans well beyond the Americana singer-songwriter genre.

Next up, “Liars, Criminals, Beggars, and Thieves” is a very folky storytelling-style song, one that’ll be a quick favorite of folky singer-songwriter fans. I would expect it to be an oft-requested number for Ian, particularly from his most ardent fans.

“Hallelujah” is an uplifting, hopeful track with a lilting guitar line that supports Ian’s earnest vocals, while “Promised Land” is a reminiscent love song with well-crafted lyrics (“The road’s long but it always feels right, like it does when you’re holding me tight”) and a twangy, dancehall-flavored production style.

Finally, the EP ends with the rollickingly memorable, energetically uptempo country ditty “Last Call.” A mainstream country audience would really dig this fun number. At the very least, I’d expect some country bars to use it as a night-ending, “I don’t care where you go, but you can’t stay here” kind of closing-the-bar number.

The two songs on this EP that stay with me for days are “Born Again Sinner” and “Last Call,” though a couple of the other songs rival them as favorites while I’m listening to the record. It’s only 6 songs long, but The Evergreens is an exceptionally solid, must-hear collection.

More Recently

Since the release of The Evergreens in October 2021, Ian has released a full-length album. Results Not Typical dropped in April 2023.

Looking Ahead

Check the “Tour” page of Ian’s website for upcoming live performances. He currently has three gigs listed for later this week: tomorrow (Thursday), September 7th at the Madison Avenue Pub in Everett, WA; Friday, September 8th at Whistlin’ Jack’s in Naches, WA; and Saturday, September 9th at Slim’s in Seattle, WA.

Album Review: Kristian Montgomery & the Winterkill Band – A Heaven for Heretics

Posted on by
Kristian Montgomery & the Winterkill Band – A Heaven for Heretics

image courtesy of Kristian Montgomery & the Winterkill Band

Album Review of Kristian Montgomery & the Winterkill Band: A Heaven for Heretics

How this album didn’t rake in a bucketload of local and regional music awards – or even some major nominations – I’ll never know. Granted, Kristian Montgomery & the Winterkill Band release new albums so quickly it’s hard to keep up, but still, this is another gem from one of the most dependably consistent, best recording artists in New England. And Kristian and band are prolific artists, at that, constantly cranking out incredible new sounds.

Kristian’s musical style is bluesy roots rock with sneakily nuanced songwriting, hooks (both conventional and unconventional), a subtly country-rock flavor, and a punk rock attitude. If I had to categorize A Heaven for Heretics in just a few words, I’d call it rockin’ swamp-blues boogie. There’s this eerie, otherworldly production value that makes me picture a rock band on an outcropping of land in the middle of a bayou, with moss hanging creepily over the twisted limbs of the surrounding trees. And if you listen to this disc, don’t you dare tell me you can’t picture that image, too.

“I’ll Break Your Heart Again” opens the album with an off-kilter twang, with a heavy beat, a seemingly storytelling dancing guitar line, and well-placed pauses that raise the tension as the song embodies the emotion of slow-paced, inevitable frustration. It’s followed by “Come Carry Weight With Me,” a song with a slightly melancholy but mostly resigned rhythmic to-and-fro that’s nearly as hypnotic as its oft-repeated earworm guitar riff.

The mood picks up quickly with the energetic rockabilly beat of “Times Like These” that, before you know it, will result in an unavoidable fit of air drumming. “Here’s to the Men Who Have It All and Still Want More” is a swampy dirge with surprisingly subtle guitar elements that are almost progressive in nature, though they’re easy to miss if you’re not listening with headphones on. With or without that extra-cool detail, though, the song is deep and blue.

“Ain’t Got Nobody But Me” continues the album’s mood but with more playful vocal and guitar stylings and some deep, sometimes clever lyrics.

“The Year the Bottom Fell Out” is a rawly heartfelt, wailing, slow blues-rock number that’s delivered as a first-person autobiography, one of those songs in which the lyrics speak volumes yet still the sadly expressive guitar sings as impactfully as the voice.

“Family Owned” is a raucously hillbilly mid-tempo roots-rocker that’ll beat you into submission with the incessant momentum of its rhythmic beat. It’s followed by “Secret Watering Hole,” a mellower, jangly-rockin’ song that doubles down on that whole swampy blues sound.

“If I Live to See Virginia” opens with a bit of jazzy blues flavor, sporting a more playfully non-linear drumline, bluesy rock vocals, and buzzy guitar. It’s a cool, moderately different sound than the rest of the disc, though it’s still a cohesive part of the same musical collection. With some syncopation and experimentation, this song is a reminder of the breadth of musical talent Kristian and band have, a hint that their musical repertoire could expand significantly, if necessary, just to keep things interesting.

The disc closes with what’s recently been my favorite song on this disc, the energetic, blues-rockin’, playful “Peach.” No, it’s not a song about a fruit, and yeah, it’s a lot of fun!

Honestly, I am never disappointed by Kristian Montgomery & the Winterkill Band. If Kristian and his band aren’t on your radar, you need new radar.

Since This Release

A Heaven for Heretics, which dropped in January 2022, isn’t the most recent album from Kristian Montgomery & the Winterkill Band. The band’s new album is Lower County Outlaw. Watch for that album to be reviewed in the blog, too – probably by Blog contributor Eric Harabadian. But there’s no way the Geoff Wilbur’s Music Blog virtual, metaphorical writer’s room was going to skip forward to a Lower County Outlaw review before first voicing a “must-hear” declaration for A Heaven for Heretics.

Looking Ahead

I see no upcoming shows listed on the “Events” tab of the band’s Facebook page, but keep an eye out there for future live performances.

Single Review: Paige Davis – “In Good Spirits”

Posted on by
Paige Davis – "In Good Spirits"

image courtesy of Paige Davis

Single Review of Paige Davis: “In Good Spirits”

You’ve read about Paige Davis here at the Blog before. She’s one of the best of the current batch of talented young country singers to emerge from the thriving (yes, really) New England-to-Nashville country music pipeline. This song, “In Good Spirits,” has a lot more twang and sass than I had heard from Paige before, as she deftly and entertainingly compares relationships with people to relationships with alcohol, then runs through her relationships with alcohol, from Jack and Jim to Stella and brandy.

The song is lyrically clever and musically catchy; I’m sure it must be a regular crowd-pleaser, too. “In Good Spirits” has been out for a while, but it remains Paige’s most recent release (for a few more days), and I can attest to the fact that it has held up to extensive repeat play on my own personal playlist, remaining a favorite during my writing hiatus. (I’m glad to share it with you now that I’m churning through my overdue reviews.)

Looking Ahead

You won’t have to wait long for Paige’s next single – “Growing Pains” will drop on September 8th, and I can’t wait to hear it! To catch this wicked talented Nashville-based New Englander live, keep an eye on her Instagram and Facebook accounts for gig announcements.

 

Single Review: Karen Morand & the Bosco Boys – “Beautiful Scars”

Posted on by
Karen Morand & the Bosco Boys

photo courtesy of Trespass Music

Single Review of Karen Morand & the Bosco Boys: “Beautiful Scars”

Intense and powerful; that’s “Beautiful Scars.” The rich, powerful music bed will suggest a much faster pace than you’re actually hearing, as you’ll discover when you take a step back with a more thoughtful ear, maybe not on the first listen. What you’re hearing is power, not speed. And Karen Morand & the Bosco Boys also know how to take a step back by stripping back the instrumentation for emotional effect during bridges, when warranted. Background vocals are added for emphasis.

Karen Morand & the Bosco Boys – "Beautiful Scars"

image courtesy of Trespass Music

Stylistically, it’s probably best categorized as heavy folk-based Americana, but Karen’s voice has rock ‘n roll edges and impact, and the rhythm is intensely country-rock, particularly in the more instrumental-filled portions of the song.

I’d definitely consider this a single with crossover potential, appealing to Americana, country, folk, and rock fans, as well as to those who simply appreciate a well-crafted song. (I often don’t look at the promo material until after I write the first draft of my review, and I notice that it also mentions “soulful roots” as one of several stylistic descriptors; yeah, that’d fit, too.)

“Beautiful Scars”, released as a single in November 2021, appears on Karen Morand & the Bosco Boys’ Ghost Hotel album, which dropped in February 2022.

Karen Morand & the Bosco Boys

photo courtesy of Trespass Music

Looking Ahead

Keep an eye on the “Events” tab of Karen Morand’s website for future live dates.