Category Archives: Album Reviews

Album Review: Norwood – Notes to My Blood

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Norwood

photo courtesy of Norwood

by James Morris, Contributing Blogger

Album Review of Norwood: Notes to My Blood

There is a refreshing “don’t give a damn” ethos at work on this new album, Notes to My Blood, by Norwood. I mean, come on, you’re only 17 seconds in when you are hit with the first F-word on the album. “Prayer” is a nice, loose acoustic opener. No frills, just a polite acoustic word with the Almighty to “make me punk as f***”. Maybe he longs to trade in the acoustic and go electric, thrash the hell out of life and kick a few amps in. What I like is that the next song kinda does. The natty titled “Randolph Carter Rides Again” kicks straight out of the blocks and immediately you realise that Norwood does not appreciate being cast in one mould or tied to a genre. Its like Chris Norwood explains, “These songs are for the people who take life on a person-by-person basis.”

Norwood - Notes To My Blood

image courtesy of Norwood

So expect a varied journey through some great songs that don’t sit in a box of convenience. I am immediately struck by the lyrical nature of the songs that spring from the pen of Chris Norwood. Even in his promo blurb he comes across as creative and thoughtful, as if the imagery of words express themselves from his very soul. The imaginative approach to what is written, as a songwriter myself, makes me very respectful of his approach and his need to express himself without cliche. He says he comes from an ordinary, unremarkable background, “I don’t have a romantic legacy to fall back on, nor do I have the charm of someone who comes from absolutely no background whatsoever. All I have are my guts and a good sense of rhythm.” Guts and rhythm are serving him well on this record.

The album forces you to sit and listen. It’s not something you just put on in the background. You need to take the time to hear the songs and unravel the lyrical twists and turns. There is so much music these days. It’s too easy for people to zone out and find that, with music playing everywhere, they don’t remember any of it. Well stop and take 40 minutes out to actually play this album and do nothing else.

Although the songs are all individual and distinct, there is a clever lyrical and strong musical thread that runs throughout. The band behind Mr. Norwood are perfectly suited to his musical needs and provide a strong backbone to his free-falling style.  “I pride myself on being rough around the edges,” he claims. The trick, therefore, is to surround yourself with a bunch of musicians that click together, and this band that comprises of Nastasia Green, Keith Michael Pinault, Hajnal Pivnick, and Max Maples, each play their part in making this record work so well.

Norwood

photo courtesy of Norwood

Track 3 is “Art Is Never Free” and again takes you in another direction from the previous songs. This is not a problem. The variance is anchored by the ability of the band and a wonderful, almost Hurricane/Dylan weaving violin running across the tracks. It tells you an unorthodox tale set to a great upbeat, catchy tune, slightly reminiscent of the sort of thing The Beautiful South may have done back in their day.

I’m going to say now that, like a film you are planning on going to see and don’t want someone to tell you how it ends, I am not going to tell you what each of the songs is about. So much of the pleasure for me listening was hearing the stories, working stuff out, and getting immersed in the richness of the words chosen to be sung. So go get the album and discover the delights for yourself.

Meanwhile, I will tell you a bit more of how the album made me feel as I wander through the track listing as it plays in my ears.

“New Song” is slower and sounds classy; it reminded me of just how much the band work so well, but also the production on the album is handled with great delicacy allowing everything to breathe.

This is once again demonstrated on “Moonlight,” which is probably the most commercial-sounding tune. Like They Might Be Giants but more interesting.

Norwood

photo courtesy of Norwood

“I Never Told You” and “Pretend” show how the individual and combined voices of Chris Norwood and Nastasia Green work so well together. Voices made for each other. Both songs have more of that great violin I spoke of earlier, and the words and continuing fine tunes just keep you captivated.

“Middle Child” and “Skin” keep it moving and keep you interested, and then the album is rounded out with “When The Time Comes,” a lively, enjoyably acidly angry song. “You can’t hurt me anymore,” they cry in defiance.

I like this album a lot. It’s that loose styled defiance, combined with being able to write melodic and interesting songs. There is no harm, of course, in being backed up by a tight strong band. All this makes me recommend you go and get Notes to My Blood soon because it is already out there my friends and it is waiting to be heard.

If you want to see them live, you can catch Norwood on Saturday, September 17th at the Bitter End in New York City.

Album Review: Stewart Eastham – Dancers in the Mansion

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Stewart Eastham

photo by Katrena Rochell; photo courtesy of Skye Media

Stewart Eastham – Dancers in the Mansion

Album Review of Stewart Eastham: Dancers in the Mansion

It’s always fun to stumble across a talented, old-fashioned country dancehall-style crooner. That’s the essence of Stewart Eastham, though he is capable of performing the whole breadth of styles encompassed by such a description and subtly incorporates some external influences while he’s at it. As a result, his latest collection, the 15-song Dancers in the Mansion, is a welcome listen; a fresh adaptation of a comfortable old musical friend.

Stewart Eastham - Dancers in the Mansion

image courtesy of Skye Media

Stewart’s music swings, and his voice is medium-deep but comes across with the power of the deepest country voices. I’m not comparing him to Kenny Rogers, but some of this album is stylistically similar; Stewart could share a stage with The Gambler in Kenny’s heyday. The rest is reminiscent of old-school, slide guitar twang-driven, Opry-ready tunes. All the while, though, Stewart maintains a fresher, more modern edge to his vocals. The result is a record that should appeal to traditionalists while also drawing in many newer-country fans.

Stewart Eastham

photo by Katrena Rochell; photo courtesy of Skye Media

Stewart does show off some variety over the course of the album. The disc opens with “In the Morning,” a side-to-side sway-inducing number that’s a bit of California country meets jazzy Americana. Occasionally during “Windshield” the music recalls for me the Eagles’ “Desperado,” perhaps “twanged-up” a bit, and it’s delivered in a way I could envision Garth Brooks singing it. There’s a hint of Waylon Jennings in “Jackpot.” And Stewart’s tone and delivery of “Fruit Cocktail Cannery Blues” reminds me a lot of Joshua Kadison.

Stewart Eastham

photo by Katrena Rochell; photo courtesy of Skye Media

But regardless of the stylistic variances on individual tracks, there’s a traditionally country dancehall twang and swing that permeates the disc. “Lonesome Melody” is one such heartfelt crooner, and it’s paired on the disc with the title track, the energetic, emphatic, fast-pickin’ and ivory-ticklin’ country dance number “Dancers in the Mansion.” Elsewhere, Stewart lends his deep voice to a song like “Carry On,” an old-fashioned country heartstring-tugger that sports a hint of ’70s pop-country behind its more traditional steel guitar-driven, storytelling crooning.

Throughout, this is an impressive album, delivered with strength, power, and sincerity by an artist well-suited to carry this brand of traditional country music into the next generation. If this sounds like a style of music you like, give Stewart Eastham a listen.

Looking Ahead

Keep an eye on Stewart’s website for upcoming gigs.

Album Review: TOS – Killer

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TOS

photo courtesy of TOS

TOS – Killer

The Backstory

For those of you who read my review of TOS’s CD release show, you know the backstory. I stumbled across this incredibly talented young band solely because I was looking for some live music here in the outer Boston suburbs one weekend. I’ve been listening to the Killer CD ever since, including most days during my commute. (I have also more recently reviewed another of the band’s concerts, and I may continue reviewing their shows regularly if they keep scheduling gigs a whole lot closer to my house than any of my other favorite local bands.)

Album Review of TOS: Killer

TOS - Killer

image courtesy of TOS

TOS is a rock band with timeless songwriting, talented musicianship, and a unique, identifiable, modern sound.

The band is led by singer/songwriter Sophia Ward, whose sensitive-but-powerful, often haunting vocals provide an appealing delivery of her well-crafted lyrics; both the delivery and songwriting lend artistic credibility to TOS, a band that can be easily considered both rockers and artists.

Her comrades are talented enough to be up for the task. Many of the songs seem to be driven by the rhythm guitar, generally acoustic, delivered ably in varied stylistic formats by Jonathan Sommer. This frees up lead guitarist Jackson Parker to add texture to the songs with his electric axework, his solos proving difference-makers on a few tracks. Then there’s the rhythm section. For the most part I’d label bassist Jae Mannion and drummer Mitch Rolla as steady and dependable. Occasionally one or the other will add a hook or featured run to a song while the other holds down the rhythm fort; the two work together well as a team.

TOS

photo courtesy of TOS

The album-opener “Death of Me” is the standout on the disc, though it’s one of a half-dozen I’d consider exceptional. But this song is appealing on multiple fronts. It introduces the listener to both Sophia’s quintessential somewhat haunting vocal and her occasionally called-upon insistent wail, the strumming rhythm guitar that propels most of the song, the subtlety of the rhythm section (there’s an occasionally recurring bass hook that unassumingly raises the song’s memorability level), and a lead guitar line adds texture in fortuitous spots. As a result, it’s a potential fan favorite with staying power.

Throughout Killer, it’s the variety on the disc that helps it stand up over multiple listens. That begins with the songwriting. There are a couple of my favorite lines that exhibit the lyrical cleverness I look for.

First, during the band’s anti-love song, “Need This Love” – one of my favorites – in a tone that reaches sadly into the soul, supported by a blues-infused rhythm, you’ll hear “I need this love/To go away/’Cause all it’s brought/Is tears and hate.” Great blues lyrics from this alt-rock outfit.

TOS

photo courtesy of TOS

Also, in “Mouthful.” Musically, this song crept up on me but is now on heavy rotation on my stereo. Sophia’s voice dances around the melody deftly in fits and spurts in this one. It’s moody, at times either sultry or sadly angry, and delivers another of my favorite lines on this disc, “Your biggest mistake starts with my name.”

Oh, but the songs get deeper. “Ghost,” anyone? Another haunting song with powerful musical builds and tempo variance. It’s a catchy song you’ll find yourself singing along with, one of the standout tracks on the disc… about being abducted in the woods and held captive. It’s jolting every time you realize what you’re singing along to, but it’s oh-so-well-written.

Lest you think the album’s serious and/or angry, don’t. Even the aforementioned songs are fun listens in all their seriousness. Also, at the absolute opposite end of the spectrum, beginning with an electric guitar riff that’d make a ’70s metal band proud before flowing into a rather pop-rocking, energetic song, is “Reckless.” A partying song that features an excellent, well-placed electric guitar solo.

TOS

photo courtesy of TOS

Another amusing tune that’s a personal favorite is “Cry Baby,” an energetic, rock-strumming-driven ditty with the electric axe line almost a modern twist on ’60s surf rock-style guitar.

And while “Soul Keeper” is yet another relationship song that’s not exactly cheerful, it’s not all romantic doom and gloom in TOS’s repertoire. “Waterfall” is reminiscent and wistful, while “The One” is rather romantic and hopeful, even if its opening reveals that it’s a bit neurotically so.

The disc closes, though, with its title track, “Killer.” Another anti-romantic song. The guitar line is like something Metallica would come up with if it were to write a heavy alt-rock song. And “Killer” does, indeed, close the album emphatically with power-howled vocals, aggressive stop-start drumming, mile-a-minute acoustic guitar picking… every tool in TOS’s kit but the kitchen sink. The ideal album-ender to leave the listener content and out of breath.

So yeah, I’ve been enjoying having this CD in my car the last several weeks. It’s a rockin’ disc from a tight, talented group, containing enough depth and musical variety to remain interesting across dozens of listens.

TOS at The Pleasant Cafe

photo by Geoff Wilbur

Looking Ahead

Get out to hear TOS if you can. This is absolutely one of the best live bands in Boston. TOS’s next performance is Saturday, September 10th at the Remember September Music Festival in Brockton, MA. The band also has an upcoming Saturday, September 24th gig (11:00 AM-1:00 PM for you morning people) at the 22nd Annual Weston Car Show in Weston, MA, a Saturday, October 1 early afternoon (2:00 PM) set at MaynardFest in Maynard, MA, and a Friday, October 10th gig at Out of the Blue Too Art Gallery in Cambridge, MA with Company One and Pillbook. Check the band’s website for more information on those gigs and others as they’re added. You can also sign up for their mailing list like I did.

Album Review: Angie and the Deserters – Blood Like Wine

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Angie and the Deserters

photo courtesy of Miles High Productions

Angie and the Deserters – Blood Like Wine

EP Review of Angie and the Deserters: Blood Like Wine

Angie and the Deserters - Blood Like Wine

image courtesy of Miles High Productions

Your jugular. That’s what Angie Bruyere grabs you by with the opening strains of “Country Radio,” the first track on this energetic, engaging six-song collection. Americana-billy, if I had to give it a name. Angie and the Deserters pair a country twang with a rockin’ attitude and rhythm, with an engaging fiddle mixed in for good measure. If I had to compare Angie’s voice to anyone’s on this first track, I’d say it reminds me of Sarah Borges.

But it’s followed by the crooning twanger “Smile,” a Patsy Cline-ish, school-dance-in-a-gymnasium ballad that’s soaked in slide guitar and fiddle in all the right places. Two songs in, and it’s obvious Angie and the Deserters have range.

Angie Bruyere

photo courtesy of Miles High Productions

“The Gift” is a rather spooky, deserted old-west flavored, haunting tango.

“Ain’t Goin’ Down” comes across like an Angie and the Deserters spin on Tom Petty… if Tom Petty had a hoarsely sexy voice that cracked with emotion like a young Demi Moore and combined it with a country bad-girl attitude.

“Don’t Cry” is a more sensitive number, Americana-meets-Fleetwood Mac at times. It’s smooth enough to cross over to fans of soft rock, top 40, country, classic rock… I can see nearly endless avenues of appeal for this well-written, melodic track.

Angie Bruyere

photo courtesy of Miles High Productions

The package is wrapped up by “On My Way,” another rockabilly-Americana blend, though this is a mellower, more wide-open-spaces take on the genre. Still, as throughout the disc, Angie’s voice cracks in all the most alluring spots, providing an edge to an otherwise smooth, crisp sound.

From beginning to end, Blood Like Wine just jumps out of the speakers and grabs the listeners by the throat… or maybe the ears. But with just six songs, it ends too soon; but not for long. Impatient new fans can reach back and seek out the band’s 2015 debut, the full-length album West of The Night. And Angie and the Deserters also plan to release another EP in October, sharing the second half of the band’s recent Nashville recordings. Not such a long wait to hear more of what this group has to offer.

Album Review: Body English – Stories of Earth

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Body English

photo courtesy of Body English

Body English – Stories of Earth

Album Review of Body English: Stories of Earth

Body English -Stories of Earth

image courtesy of Body English

Supertramp meets Phantom of the Opera. Gordon Lightfoot covers Looking Glass’ “Brandy (You’re a Fine Girl).” Don McLean co-writes with Harry Chapin and Squeeze. High-vocalled soft-progressive ’70s-style pop-rock with a modern twist. Body English is a unique group that combines disparate elements of that certain style of classic rock with a modern progressive flair. It’s a style from that era whose sound is not as often updated by modern rockers and, as such, Stories of Earth is an especially interesting bit of ear candy.

Body English

photo courtesy of Body English

This collection kicks off with perhaps its most commercial, catchiest track, “Kiss Them.” Blending ’70s pop-rock guitar and dynamic, emotional vocals before a wall-of-sound backdrop at times, this track is an energetic, cheerful welcome.

Another standout on this disc, “Prose and Poetry” adds a nicely sensitive, folk-reminiscent vocal crackle to a building, eventually relatively psychedelic (perhaps a bit Who-inspired) musical backdrop by mid-song.

Body English

photo courtesy of Body English

You’ll certainly have your own favorites. Perhaps “I Don’t Wanna Be a Housewife (For Someone Else’s Family)” with its horn-driven opening and clever lyrics. Maybe the energetic “Rock and Roll Will Save You,” a song that somehow incorporates the occasional rockabilly note into its otherwise very progressive DNA. Or possibly the 10 1/2 minute magnum opus that closes the disc in true ’70s progressive rock form, “The Humour in the Heart of the Old Grey Mountain.”

Give this album a few listens. Its spin on the genre is a bit unexpected, but it really grows on you.

To check it out, you can find a stream of Stories of Earth on SoundCloud.

Album Review: Idlewilde – 90 Proof

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Idlewilde – 90 Proof

Album Review of Idlewilde: 90 Proof

Idlewilde - 90 ProofTogether since 1981, Southern New England’s Idlewilde knows its way around the blues. Though I’m aware they’re a group of top-shelf musicians with good day jobs, if I hadn’t known otherwise before being handed this CD, I’d’ve pegged these guys as full-time blues cats. 90 Proof is a fun, diverse collection of rock and blues songs that, after just a few listens, quickly became an old friend (as a blues album should).

Featuring Dale Binsberger (bass, vocals), Jon Gould (lead guitar, vocals), Ryan Snyder (drums, vocals), Phil Spillane (guitar, harmonica, vocals), and Denny Hartzell (“all things keys”), Idlewilde delivers grit and growl that lets you know these guys are blues veterans.

I’m a big fan of the bit-by-bit album opening, and Idlewilde leads with instrumental “Bodeca,” whose sparse intro gives way to blistering guitars, a pulsing, catchy rhythm, and playful blues organ.

“Red Clay” is strung-out, soulful, growling-vocalled, classic blues. It’s followed by mid-tempo yet raucous “When I’m Gone.”

“Trouble,” which features a truly gravelly growl and harmonica opening, settles into a groove that recalls a bit of “Cheap Sunglasses”-era ZZ Top.

And in that vein, the album continues, a club-rocking mix of blues and blues rock that I’m sure translates well to live performance and produces a rousingly fun night for local clubgoers and is well-represented throughout this disc.

There are a few other songs well worth mentioning in this collection. Musicians, for example, are likely to most appreciate the energetic “Telecaster,” an ode to a bluesman’s beloved axe.

Perhaps the most soulful blues song on the disc is “A Darker Shade of Blue.” You may find yourself listening to that one with your eyes closed and your head swaying.

My favorite song on the album is probably “Damn That Rock & Roll” because it’s just so blue. Great organ opening combined with soulful harmonica, a blue beat, and anguished, all building to climax ever-so-slowly. It’s a smoky barroom-flavored, cascading, classic soulful blues number.

And the second of the two “bonus tracks” that close the disc, “The Whiskey Song,” is an old Irish drinking tune that sounds like it was a lot of fun to record.

Idlewilde is, indeed, a longtime favorite “’round these parts,” and with 90 Proof delivers a solid album showcasing plenty of blues-based variety for broad appeal. I’d also consider it proof these guys must put on an energetic, fun live show, one I look forward to catching when the opportunity arises.

EP Review: Mark Webb – Home

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EP Review of Mark Webb: Home

The 5-song collection from Greenville, South Carolina’s Mark Webb kicks off in impressive fashion, presenting a pure, Opry-ready country music sound with Mark’s medium-deep, soulful country voice in such a way that it grabs the listener from the very first note, then again from the very first vocal. Immediately, it’s clear this guy is a big-time talent.

Mark’s talent also manifests itself in the varied song styles he can perform within his musical sweet spot, ranging from old-fashioned country to a folkier Americana-infused brand of softly rocking country. None of the tracks on this EP are particularly loud or brash, perhaps because Mark lets his smooth-yet-textured voice tug at the listeners emotions via carefully crafted lyrics, which touch upon everyday people’s experiences and emotions.

Mark Webb - Home

image courtesy of Gold Ship Records

EP-opener “Queen” is a mid-tempo twanger with enough thump supporting soaring musical and vocal moments to satisfy fans of multiple country music sub-genres.

It’s followed by “Can We Make It Right,” a soft-touch, mid-tempo number that’ll get the listener swaying side-to-side with its rhythm, seasoned by Mark’s Southern-sweet vocals and guitar-strumming with a more Eagles-like soft country-rock flavor.

I’d consider “Come Back Home” as a more traditional country song in the vein of “Can We Make It Right.” In tempo and vibe, though, this also recalls for me the Eagles; in this case, “Peaceful Easy Feeling.”

Sandwiched between the two is “Weak Enough,” a relatively pure country ballad-style track. It opens with sparse strumming that emphasizes the raw, heartfelt tenor in Mark’s voice. A little slide guitar twang joins in, as the music builds with the song’s emotion. Altogether, the song is well put-together, tugging at enough heartstrings with its odd refrain “I’m not weak enough to leave you now.”

Mark closes the EP with “Friend of Mine (Just Like You),” another emotional tune, this one a slow, soft-touch ballad on which his rich, full voice particularly shines. It’s deep, heartfelt country music with perhaps a hint of folk and just the scarcest country twang. Mark sings as if he’s pouring his heart out on this one, and it feels like the sort of song that would quiet a room as the audience connects emotionally and soaks it all in. Terrific end to a solid disc.

From beginning to end, Home is an enjoyable listen. It’s an EP that shows off Mark’s considerable talent. And hopefully it marks the beginning of big things for this talented country singer/songwriter.

Looking Ahead

Mark has a few upcoming live dates listed on his website, including a Saturday, September 17 show in Bristol, TN at the Bristol Rhythm & Roots Reunion and a Thursday, October 13th Fall For Greenville gig with Turnpike Troubadours at Peace Center Amphitheater in Greenville, SC. There are also some dates listed with information TBA. Keep an eye on the “tour” page of Mark’s website for further information about catching him live.

Album Review: Simon Scardanelli – What In The World?

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by James Morris, Contributing Blogger

Review of Simon Scardanelli’s newly re-released 1981 debut album: What In The World?

Time and its passing are no one’s friend. It’s a fleeting mistress whose seduction of your youth soon leaves you withering on the branch and you stare back behind you and wonder how the futures you planned became the memories of the past. Why, I hear you say, should I speak so coldly about this passing of the years? Well, to my mind time has moved too swiftly for the undeniable musical talents of Simon Scardanelli. Too long ignored, it seems inconceivable that 35 years have passed since What In The World?, his 1981 debut album release. It is a great injustice in the musical firmament that greater notice has not been taken of the brilliance of Simon Scardanelli. In 2016, he released the wonderful Make Us Happy, perhaps his best album to date. Now he is sticking his head above the parapet again, in his own belligerent and self-determined fashion, by re-releasing this long forgotten album.

Simon Scardanelli

photo courtesy of Simon Scardanelli

I know he had second thoughts about re-visiting this so many years later. As is Simon’s way, he never felt the original album back in 1981 was good enough but maybe hoped it could be a springboard to the next chapter. Falling out with the studio over the mixes and not co-operating with its promotion didn’t help sales, and so the album came and went. After the ice had thawed he managed to regain control of the recordings, and presented here for the first time is his take on the record with his preferred mixes and track listing which both differ from the original vinyl release. Mind you, I think you may be hard pressed to remember the original LP unless you are the die hardest of die hard fans.

For those that don’t know, after this album Simon went on to play keyboards in mid-’80s band the Boomerang Gang, and then in 1988 he formed, with his Canadian compatriot Shark, the duo Big Bam Boo who signed to Polygram and released the album Fun, Faith, & Fairplay.

Anyway, this is all 30-odd years ago, and much musical water has flown under the bridge. Simon has made many great albums, and his current style is far removed from what he was doing back in ’81, so I think it is very brave to go back and release a debut album that may confuse some listeners. Actually though, if you are a fan of Simon’s work, then you will find something tantalising in this time capsule.

Remember this was the time of Kraftwerk, Talking Heads, Bowie’s German period. A transition from ’70s prog rock to new wave synth pop. If you take this album with those thoughts in mind, you can see how it would stack up.

It opens with the track “Astral Suicide,” a slice of lunacy and pomp that immediately sets the bar. It is quickly followed by a crazily catchy song “A Pocketful of Spies,” something that could easily have been charted by someone like “The Thompson Twins.” Both these songs have all the hallmarks of embryonic Scardanelli. If you are familiar with his later releases you can hear that unique voice starting to warm up to what it will later become. You can hear the non-conformist lyrical style developing and the ear for a good tune. You can sense he is on to something and time will set it free.

The track “Day After Day” is proto synth city. I know that Paul McCartney was credited as being ahead of his time with his use of the then-new synth technology on his 1980 album McCartney II. Here on this track, Simon shows similar pioneering spirit, and some of the sounds did put me in mind of the outakes on that McCartney album.

There are many contemporaries that you can hear in the music, maybe Bowie in particular. But I know that Simon did not listen to much other music for fear of being influenced. This is why, most likely, he has never conformed to a genre or style throughout his career. The album was recorded in Germany, and a lot of free reign was given to the creative process. I think that a lot of fun was had in the studio pushing the technology and creating the layers that so identify this music with that time. Simon and studio engineer Nigel Jopson hired Kraftwork’s sequencer only to find it so complicated they didn’t use it in the end. You can picture the size of the equipment then, the wires, patch bays, knobs and generally unwieldy nature of the technology.

There is a bridge developed through this album between the last gasp of prog rock and the emergence of New Wave. As you get nearer to the end of the album you hear that prog rock influence in tracks “Those In Peril” and “You and I.” There are momentous crescendos of dynamic pomposity, sweeping you up and taking you back to those memorable musical times.

The album is an exhausting but pleasurable listen. It is relentless in its voracity with a brief moment of calm on the piano ballad “Lately,” which seems to juxtapose the rest of the album.

The final title track of the album “What In The World?” is maybe the closest you get to more familiar Scardanelli. Driving guitars and layers of synth lines make the audio connection to Big Bam Boo and then possibly even to his band venture Dr. Scardo in 2013. It is a fitting end to the album and both fascinating as a time piece and enjoyable as an album of music.

Any filmmaker or TV ad man that is looking for good genuine ’80s music that hasn’t become hackneyed by overuse should take note. This is a real gem of undiscovered ’80s music. Fresh, authentic, and at times exceedingly catchy. For fans of ’80s music it is a definite must, and for fans of Simon Scardanelli it is a revealing and rewarding listen.

 

Album Review: “Les Paul’s” (The Paul’s) – Night Worker

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Album Review of “Les Paul’s” (The Paul’s): Night Worker

"Les Paul's" (The Paul's) - Night Worker

image courtesy of Paul Robert Thomas

“Les Paul’s” (The Paul’s) are Paul Odiase and Paul Robert Thomas. Hence, the clever name. And while I may take issue with their punctuation, their music grew on me steadily over the course of multiple listens.

On The Pauls’ new disc, you can clearly hear the David Bowie influence. Some songs are upfront and overt about it, but you can hear the essence throughout. In the album’s promo material, the songs “This Song,” “On Charles De Gaulle Street,” and “Night Worker” are specifically called out as Bowie tributes. But stylistically, almost the entire disc clearly bears a Bowie-esque flavor.

Night Worker opens with “Say I,” a soft-touch but medium-fast-tempo number whose horns give it a festive nature and whose music video drives home its anti-war/pro-peace lyrics.  It’s one of a few tracks that particularly stand out on this album

“Night Worker” is a good, somewhat progressive, old-style soft rocker, mixing a Bowie-styled soft gravel vocal with a guitar line that softly drifts in and out of the song’s steady rhythm.

Possibly the sneakiest catchy track in the collection is mid-tempo “Peat Bog Soldiers.” Supported by an ’80s-reminiscent heavy synth backdrop, an infectious beat, and an earnestly important vocal delivery, the song’s irregular rhythm belies its earworm quotient.

It’s immediately followed by well-matched, faster-tempo, synth-driven “Six Feet Under,” whose lyrical phrasing and vocal fast-slow tempo are nearly hypnotic.

The album winds down with mellow, late ’70s/early ’80s Bowie-esque “Till My Day is Done,” pop-rock-slightly blues “Those Schizophrenic Blues,” and, finally, faster-tempo “Down, Down, Down,” a tune whose serious delivery is probably the main reason it’s not a full-on dance number.

In all, “Les Paul’s” (The Paul’s) deliver an album that makes some interesting artistic choices, paying tribute to David Bowie and using his ’70s or ’80s sound as an inspiration, jumping off from that starting point to explore surrounding artistic directions. If that sounds interesting to you, you’ll likely find a few tracks on here you’ll quite enjoy and, eventually, sing along with.

Album Review: Staircase Wit – Get ‘Em Next Year

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EP Review of Staircase Wit: Get ‘Em Next Year

When I’m out, I often chat with people about the music they like, and sometimes I discover interesting new music that way. In the case of Quentin Harrington, the singer/songwriter behind Staircase Wit, I found his 4-song EP, Get ‘Em Next Year, as a result of a conversation with someone in his family. While people are often mistaken about their relatives’ talent level, this was not one of those cases. This dude’s got some serious songwriting chops. And he’s a versatile musician, as well; he recorded most of the guitar and bass parts on Get ‘Em Next Year, recruiting friends to fill out the sound.

Staircase Wit - Get 'Em Next Year

image courtesy of Quentin Harrington/Staircase Wit

Quentin’s songs are energetic pop-punk numbers delivered lightly instrumented and with attitude. The songs turn interesting phrases, change tempos, and entertain.

First track “It’s Useless” reminds me of Wally Pleasant, a full-on acoustic aural assault with clever lyrics and a mischievous delivery; this folk-delivery-on-steroids style made me reconsider Wally Pleasant, realizing the man whose style I had always considered quirky folk was actually an acoustic pop-punk performer years before the genre existed.

The music calms down a bit on “Cigabutts,” a strong example of a more laid-back style.

The cello and vocal harmonies on “Cello, You Got a Bass” are courtesy of Julia Knowles. This song is a soft, engaging songwriting departure, adding a rich sound during the cello parts but a musical sparseness elsewhere, while also maintaining its edge with a snippet of well-placed dialogue, as you’d expect inserted into a movie soundtrack music video.

Quentin Harrington/Staircase Wit

photo courtesy of Quentin Harrington/Staircase Wit

Get ‘Em Next Year closes with the restrained energy of mid-tempo, youthfully nostalgic “Night of Our Lives.”

My favorite song on this EP changes by the day, depending on which songwriting angle fits my mood. This recording is one of those cool discoveries where you can hear the songwriting talent in a relatively raw, bare bones format, enjoy the catchy, fun songs, and wonder what comes next from the music’s clearly-talented creator.

Background

This album was the culmination of Quentin’s persistent desire to continue pursuing his passion for music. He was previously in the band Our Names Forever, which achieved a level of local success, gigging regularly in Cambridge and performing at venues like the main stage of the Palladium in Worcester. You can hear his former bandmates on this recording during some of the group vocals on “It’s Useless.”

Quentin’s creative pursuits currently include screenwriting and photography, but he continues to write songs, as well. I certainly hope he’ll again feel compelled to share some of his new songs with the world.