Tag Archives: Geoff Wilbur

Single Review: Ben Davis Jr. – “Winding Binding Road”

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Ben Davis Jr.

photo courtesy of Broken Jukebox Media

Single Review of Ben Davis Jr.: “Winding Binding Road”

I first heard Ben Davis Jr.‘s amazing talent when I listened to his 2019 Suthernahia album, an awesome mix of lyrical, musical, and vocal originality that somehow got lost in my CD pile until it was kind of old. Seriously, go check out songs like “I Think You Should,” “I Can’t Get Enough,” “Sunday Morning”… well, OK, the whole disc, showcasing Ben’s amazing bluesy Americana, with an original “Suthernahia” small-town spin I guarantee you’ve not heard before. This dude is truly one of a kind, absolutely something special.

Ben Davis Jr. – "Winding Binding Road"

image courtesy of Broken Jukebox Media

And that brings us to his newest release, the single “Winding Binding Road,” which is what I’m officially reviewing tonight. Hip, country-rock guitarwork kicks things off energetically, soon joined by Ben Davis Jr.’s inimitable, easily identifiable, twangily smooth, relatably earnest voice. The tempo stays up all the way, driven by a dancing guitar line and a steady, pulsing beat, buoyed by a mid-song key change, even maintaining its pace through a lighter fret-picking bridge late in the song.

A fun, danceable number, “Winding Binding Road” will leave you panting, out of breath if you remain on the dancefloor for the entire song. Panting and grinning. It’s a terrific introduction to the exceptional talent of Ben Davis Jr.

Having said that, while you’re checking out this song, like I said earlier, do yourself a favor and explore more of his music catalog. You will thank me later.

Looking Ahead

The “Tour Dates” page on Ben’s website currently lists for upcoming shows, all in October: Tomorrow, Saturday, October 14th at Club Vinton in McArthur, Ohio; Friday, October 20th at Loose Rail Brewing in Canal Winchester, Ohio; Saturday, October 21st at Market Street Listening Room & House Concerts in Waverly, Kentucky; and Saturday, October 28th at Twisted Vine Family Vineyard in Patriot, Ohio. Be sure to check Ben’s website regularly to see more upcoming performances when they’re added.

Album Review: Carole Sylvan – Love

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Carole Sylvan – Love album coverAlbum Review of Carole Sylvan: Love

Carole Sylvan‘s hall of fame voice is the driving force behind this soulful, blues-influenced R&B album, Love. An established New England/New York treasure with an admirable career-to-date, a solo album like this provides an opportunity to experience Carole’s performance skills in all their glory.

The album showcases Carole’s vocal range right off the bat, from explosive power to soft, rich, resonating warmth, with its first two songs. Memorable, powerful, energetic “What Do You Call It? (I Call It Love)” provides get-to-your-feet energy, while the smooth, flowing “To Love Somebody” follows with laid-back, jazzy warmth.

Not to be outdone, and perhaps it’s the choir-like harmonies, but “I Still Love You Anyway,” a balladic powerhouse with soaring verses, is so powerful that it’s almost a religious experience.

Fourth track “Love to Love” is the bluesiest cut so far on the disc, with playful, tempo-boosting horns making frequent, well-timed incursions into the song, seeming to battle with Carole’s voice for emphatic power. Then the lyrics – and Carole’s delivery – join the playfulness on the funky-soulful “Keep It Clean.”

Carole’s vocals launch into powerhouse/diva orbit on the powerful “Lighthouse,” a song during which her voice will give you goosebumps during some of its most commanding moments.

The funk returns on “I Cry For You,” which I can envision as an on-stage showpiece; also, a song on which you’ll be convinced Carole coolly sings “well, well, well” way more often than she really does – that’s once; actually twice, but consecutively and not again. (Go back and listen again; you’ll see I’m right.)

Next up is the most widely-recognized song on the album, “Tennessee Whiskey.” Carole’s version is of the soaring, soulful variety and, once you’ve heard it, may well become your favorite rendition of this ubiquitous standard. The music and tempo is pretty straightforward, with few liberties taken, though the instrumental bridge is quite nice, particularly the nifty horn-work, but oh, mostly you’ll simply dig that voice! (Fun quiz: How many syllables are there in the word “warm”? Ha! Yeah, you’re not even close!)

“The Only One Around” is a hip, jazzy number that’s perhaps the most of each – the hippest and the jazziest – found in this collection.

Carole closes the disc with a one-minute “Love to Love (Reprise),” tying the disc together nicely with its recollection of the cool groove from “Love to Love,” providing a nice fade-out ending to Love.

More Recently

Love was a 2021 release. In 2022, Carole released another full-length disc, Something Goin’ On.

Carole was inducted into the New England Music Hall of Fame this year, celebrated during the NEMHOF induction ceremony on September 30th.

Carole has also been nominated for a New England Music Award in the Soul/R&B Act of the Year category. Voting has concluded, but NEMA winners have not yet been announced; that will occur during a ceremony in Foxborough, MA on November 12th.

Album Review: Gráinne Duffy – Dirt Woman Blues

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Grainne Duffy

photo by Rob Blackham; photo courtesy of Cobra Promotions

Album Review of Gráinne Duffy: Dirt Woman Blues

Holy moly, do we at the Blog ever love Gráinne Duffy, as evidenced by all the unabashed gushing in my review of her Voodoo Blues album a couple years ago. Well, she is back and every bit as talented and engaging as ever on her new album, Dirt Woman Blues, so get ready for several paragraphs of effusive praise.

Grainne Duffy – Dirt Woman Blues

image courtesy of Cobra Promotions

Indeed, if you’re not yet familiar with Gráinne, you’ll have your “oh, my god!” moment – the one I had when I first heard Voodoo Blues – on disc-opener “Well Well Well,” a snarling blues number that somehow manages to be grizzled and gritty yet crisply modern and energetic. And that voice! I stand by my Joanna Dean comparison, but I’m hearing a bit of similarity to Danielle Miraglia – Boston’s resident flagbearer in the “how is she not already world famous?” music club, blues division. There are hints of Janis Joplin in there, too. So, basically, one song into the album, and you’ll realize you’re listening to one of the best blueswomen on the planet… and you still have eight more new songs to enjoy for the very first time!

Grainne Duffy

photo by Rob Blackham; photo courtesy of Cobra Promotions

By comparsion to the disc-opener, “Dirt Woman Blues” is a tonally darker and more brooding blues number. There’s not the hint of rock ‘n roll you found on “Well Well Well.” “Dirt Woman Blues” also features this neat little audio trick, a flip to grainy AM radio-quality vocals at the beginning of the chorus, as if the whole world reverts from technicolor to black and white, truly fitting for this raucously pleading, distortion-infused, internally-wailing blues plaint.

“What’s It Going to Be?” follows, introducing a lighter, strumming personality – almost what you might expect from Sheryl Crow, if she sang the blues. It’s a welcome respite from the preceding intensity; very cool.

Grainne Duffy

photo by Rob Blackham; photo courtesy of Cobra Promotions

The next track, “Running Back to You” is a groovy blues Gospel-style number that glides along smoothly until the chorus, when Gráinne’s vocals intensify. I’m also fond of the bridge after the second chorus, first the nifty vocal turns of phrase and then the heartfelt cries of the guitar solo.

Next up, the beat that drives the rhythmic “Rise Above” meld with Gráinne’s muddy pop-soul vocals to create what could best be described as cool, bluesy alt-rock. It’s followed by “Sweet Liberation,” a jangly, distorted-guitar blues-rock love-in that harkens back to the ’60s and ’70s, the era of peace, love, and… well, liberation. Oh, and the song ends in a badass, semi-frantic, axe-filled jam leading to an era-appropriate quick stop.

Grainne Duffy

photo by Rob Blackham; photo courtesy of Cobra Promotions

The blues Gospel returns on “Hold On to You,” the musical equivalent of a slowly-moving, howling, oh-so-blue raw nerve. “Yes I Am” follows, a raucous blues-rock protest anthem.

“Killycrum” closes the disc with a smooth, folky blues groove, and it’s on slower songs like this one, when the music is less dense, that the well-placed, effective cracks in Gráinne’s vox are at their most effective and apparent.

And with that, after just nine songs, it’s over. Beginning to end, Dirt Woman Blues is a great disc. On it, singer-axeslinger Gráinne Duffy again solidifies the expectation that a well-deserved coronation as blues royalty draws ever closer. And if you don’t yet know her music, this is your chance. You’re in for a rare treat! And it makes me jealous because you only ever get one first listen to Gráinne Duffy.

Grainne Duffy

photo by Rob Blackham; photo courtesy of Cobra Promotions

Looking Ahead

To find out where Gráinne is performing, follow her Facebook page. Via that, you’ll discover info about two upcoming shows in Northern Ireland: a Saturday, October 14th show at the Braid Arts Centre in Ballymena and a Friday, November 24th show at The Court House in Bangor.

 

Single Review: Jason LaPierre & Kelsey Blackstone – “When I’m With You”

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Jason LaPierre & Kelsey Blackstone

photo courtesy of Kelsey Blackstone’s management

Single Review of Jason LaPierre & Kelsey Blackstone: “When I’m With You”

Soulful pop vocalist Kelsey Blackstone and jazz-trained guitarist Jason LaPierre team up to deliver “When I’m With You,” a memorably catchy, timeless single that harkens back to the jazz-infused pop hits of the seventies. At first listen, I immediately thought – stylistically – of Little River Band’s “Reminiscing.” Of course, the differences are obvious. “When I’m With You” sports a rich, modern sound bed, for example, and you’ll find soaring background vocal howls, via studio magic, in place of some of those seventies harmonies. Beginning to end, Kelsey’s voice features a smooth soulfulness that rounds the edges of this lively song, but do keep an ear out for the hint of a growl where appropriate.

Jason LaPierre & Kelsey Blackstone – "When I'm With You"

image courtesy of Kelsey Blackstone’s management

This tune will have a place on my permanent personal playlist, and if you give it a listen, it’ll probably find a spot on yours, too. While you are likely to find “When I’m With You” on several year-end “song of the year” lists this year, the accompanying cool, playful music video has, at least, landed “When I’m With You” a 2023 New England Music Awards “Video of the Year” nomination. (Voting ended on October 1st; we’ll learn how Jason and Kelsey fared when the results are announced in November.)

Jason LaPierre & Kelsey Blackstone

photo courtesy of Kelsey Blackstone’s management

Looking Ahead

Of course, the results of NEMA “Video of the Year” voting will be announced on November 12th at the New England Music Awards ceremony/concert in Foxboro.

Also, Jason and Kelsey each have linktrees (Jason’s here and Kelsey’s here) to direct you to their social media accounts and help you stay current with their release and performance schedules. Per Kelsey’s Bandsintown listing, you can catch her October 12th at the Rockwood Music Hall in Boston, October 19th at Skidmore College in Saratoga Springs, NY, and October 28th at the Midway Cafe in Boston. I don’t see any live performances listed anywhere for Jason, but his Spotify artist page does show he has collaborated on three more singles since the spring release of “When I’m With You,” so he has been keeping busy.

Album Review: D.C. Anderson – House Concert

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D.C. Anderson – House Concert

image courtesy of D.C. Anderson

Album Review of D.C. Anderson: House Concert

This is a cool concept for an album. D.C. Anderson is an accomplished stage and screen actor, and these 11 songs – including 3 on which he’s credited as the lyricist – are enjoyably combined in a house concert-like set; hence, the album title. The performance is stripped-down, with only pianist David Robison for accompaniment, allowing D.C.’s voice to carry the remaining weight, his nuanced delivery providing all the necessary “color” and support. There’s a theatrical delivery to every song on the record; stylistically, it’s the sort of album you might expect from a star of musical theater, an anthology of songs performed as if from Broadway soundtracks, whether or not the songs were drawn from actual musicals.

What better way to kick things off than with Rodgers & Hammerstein’s “Some Enchanted Evening,” which D.C. opens with haunting vocals, evoking images of a pitch-black theater, a performance beginning, with the singer walking into a single spotlight before a silent audience, anxious with anticipation. The voice and piano build over the course of the song, increasingly emphatic. What a great way to kick off an evening, an album, or, of course, a house concert. As you may know, I love a record with well-ordered songs, and this is a strong way to start.

Next, D.C.’s performance of “I Wanna Know You” from Anne of Green Gables is a powerful follow-up, with the vocals-and-piano arrangement giving this recording a much more fragile intimacy than is likely to be easily achieved on a big stage.

“There Ain’t No Devil” brings – believe it or not – a lighter, softer, more relaxed tone to the album, though still very theatrically delivered, which can safely be said about any of this collection’s eleven songs.

The slightly playful airiness continues, as evidenced initially by ivories that sound mischievously tickled at the opening of “While There is Still Time,” offering an enjoyable glide through lyrically heavy waters. Unabashed fun follows, as D.C. enthusiastically delivers the satirical “Loving That Lamb of Mine,” delivering Alan Chapman’s playful lyrics with zest.

D.C.’s voice cracks with emotion next, as he delivers a stirringly serious, slow-paced performance of Todd Almond’s “God is Good.” D.C. is the lyricist for the next number, “Janice and Martin,” which adds a bit more pace and feels perhaps closer to folk – theatrical folk, mind you – than the other songs in the collection.

This House Concert turns playful again, dipping into Song of the South for the ebullient “Sooner of Later,” which is, in fact, a quite proper lyrical follow-up to “Janice and Martin.”

D.C. wrote the lyrics for the next two tracks. First, “Crazy Still to Do,” sounds like it should be my favorite song from an irreverent musical, with cool lyrics like “I’m sorry for what’s missing. I’m missing something, too. But so’s you hear, I’ll make this clear, I’m crazier than you.” With a nod to song ordering, it’s the third of a really well-arranged sequence, both topically and musically.

Next up, “Song for Artists” is a bit more serious and sincere, as it soars musically and vocally, delivering a message of, as you might guess from the song title, thanks to artists. Following, D.C. closes the record with a slow-building, powerful delivery of Susan Osborn’s “Bright Angel,” setting the song down for a soft landing to draw his House Concert to a close.

I’d recommend a beginning-to-end listen of this record. The songs, in order, ebb and flow enjoyably, with tempos (and levels of seriousness) varying throughout. And, after a few listens, certainly you’ll have favorite songs that you’ll want to play individually from time to time, as well. Personally, I’m particularly fond of D.C.’s arrangements and delivery of “Crazy Still to Do” and “Some Enchanted Evening.”

More Recently

House Concert was released in early 2022. More recently, in 2023, D.C. released the album Sharing the Night with Darkness.

Looking Ahead

D.C. will be performing live in Chicago on Sunday, October 22nd and in New York on Sunday, November 12th. You can find time and location details for those performances on the “calendar” page of D.C.’s website; check back periodically as more performances are added. You’ll also find the occasional update about D.C.’s goingson on his Facebook page.

Single Reviews: Brian Muratori – “Jagged Edge” and “Endless Summer”

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Brian Muratori

image courtesy of Brian Muratori

Single Reviews: Brian Muratori – “Jagged Edge” and “Endless Summer”

The Backstory

I’ve known Brian Muratori for decades. When we were both “under 21” we used to hang out at the same all-ages dance clubs in West Michigan. Of course, back then, he wasn’t a professional singer, and I wasn’t a music journalist. His first professionally-recorded album, The Italian Rocker, was released a couple years before I started writing reviews. (The dude’s younger than I am; he just got an early start.) I did eventually get a chance to review one of his recordings, his “Starting Over” cassingle, for Geoff Wilbur’s Renegade Newsletter in the mid-’90s. (I’m pretty sure it’s been decades since I last typed the word “cassingle.”) Well, the cool thing is that Brian and I are both still at it, continuing to ply our respective trades in the music business.

Brian Muratori

image courtesy of Brian Muratori

The Review

Stylistically, Brian’s voice is that of a top-flight lounge crooner, a performer with a firm grasp of all the pop, soft rock, and pop-rock vocal stylings necessary to make an evening of music into a fun, memorable event. Brian has released several singles over the past year. I’ve chosen to review two that are representative of his skills – one from Brian’s At the Hollywood Party collection and the other his most recent, post-Party single. The first, “Jagged Edge,” was released in late 2022 and is included on Brian’s At the Hollywood Party album on Spotify. The other single, “Endless Summer,” is Brian’s most recent release; it dropped – fittingly for a “summer” song – late in the summer, just a few weeks ago.

“Jagged Edge,” kicks off with light, classic soft pop-rock power-synth and a pleasant rhythm, and it’ll soon have you bopping along as well-placed oohs and ohs complement Brian’s groovy delivery, with his insistent vocal build-up leading into smooth choruses.

Brian Muratori

photo courtesy of Brian Muratori

“Endless Summer,” meanwhile, begins with a beach-pop chorus of “oohs,” leading to soft adult contemporary verses and chorus, with occasional dancing guitar riffs adding color and flavor. This cool summer number is an updated, groovy throwback tune that harkens back to soft rock’s heyday.

“Jagged Edge” and “Endless Summer” are fun songs, and Brian’s voice can carry them well, mustering up all the storytelling nuance necessary to deliver a great final product. They’re convincing proof that “an evening with Brian Muratori” would be a fun live event. While I picture an upscale night of dinner an crooning, his style would also play well in an intimate theater or smoky barroom setting, if smoky barrooms were still a thing. These tunes would also be well-placed in Hallmark movies, likely with some crisper, less jagged production to help them blend more easily into the soundtrack.

In the end, these singles – and Brian’s other songs, some of which you’ll find on Spotify – paint a picture of a talented, modern-day crooner, and I’m pleased to hear Brian carrying on that fine musical tradition. Stylistically, Brian’s music is well-timed to take advantage of the existence of the yacht rock genre, into which his music fits easily.

Beyond These Songs

If you dug the two songs I reviewed, other standouts I’d recommend to yacht rock fans include Brian’s 2022 single “You Had to Go and Change on Me” and, from At the Hollywood Party, “Alligator Drive” and “Ooh Baby I Think You’re Driving Me Crazy.”

Looking Ahead

Brian Muratori’s Facebook page would be a good place to start if you want to remain abreast of new single releases and other artist news. You can also find new songs, as they’re released, on Brian’s Spotify and Bandcamp pages.

Album Review: Burnt Out Wreck – Stand and Fight

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Burnt Out Wreck

photo courtesy of BJF Media

Album Review of Burnt Out Wreck: Stand and Fight

Burnt Out Wreck delivers guitar-driven, powerful melodic hard rock reminiscent of Judas Priest and AC/DC, particularly those bands’ more melodic offerings. Any ’80s-style hard rock fan is gonna love this disc. And the band gets bonus points for its ’80s “pedigree” – frontman Gary Moat was the drummer in ’80s rock band Heavy Pettin. Though not an arena-filling headliner back in the ’80s, at least not in the U.S., Heavy Pettin was a band we were all aware of and respected. Beyond ’80s rockers, others who may enjoy this album (and this band) are those who dig catchy songs and crunchy guitars.

Stand and Fight kicks off with a chunky classic rock guitar riff on repeat, joined soon thereafter by Moat’s gravelly hard rock vocals and a steady, forceful rhythm section, launching into fun album opener “Big Up Yourself,” setting the stage for the rest of this top-shelf “new classic” hard rock disc. The songs have a familiar, comfortable style, performed with the enthusiasm and attention to detail that will make this recording a worthwhile addition to your collection (and your album rotation).

Burnt Out Wreck – Stand and Fight

image courtesy of BJF Media

There are a couple songs that’ll have you singing along rather embarrassingly, and hooky title track “Stand and Fight” is the first of them. Steady verses are laced with persistently insistent guitarwork that ratchets up tension, leading into the song’s chorus with its fun, oft-repeated lyric – one you’ll unconsciously sing before realizing it; then you’ll look around hoping no one heard you sing “Stand and fight, just kick ’em in the balls…” There’s some cool axework in here, too, with solos serving as apt bridges, that’ll make this one of your favorite songs. Just be cautious about when and where you listen to it in public.

From first song to last, the album is all relatively straightforward – and unflinchingly straight-line – melodic hard rock, but various rhythms and guitar hooks keep things fresh. A three-song sequence early in the disc is a good example of the song-to-song variance: “Lion” sports a more sidewinding rhythm and limits backing instrumentation during some of the verses; “Ain’t Done Nothing Wrong” begins with a bit of an echo that suggests open spaces before launching into its distinct rhythm guitar riffs that vary consistently throughout the song; and “More Than Anything” utilizes a slightly faster pace to set itself apart.

You’ll have your own favorites on this disc. Mine are the first two tracks, “Big Up Yourself” and “Stand and Fight,” and disc-ender “I’m a Loser Too,” and not just because it’s embarrassing to be heard singing along to the title lyric, which I guarantee you won’t be able to stop yourself from doing. There’s an almost country twanginess mixed in with more obviously bluesy rock guitarwork than found elsewhere on the album. It stands out in part because of its stylistic difference, but it’ll also draw you in with its fun lyrics (such as, “I’m in a bar drinkin’ whiskey, she’s kind of cute for her age…”) and its end-of-the-night, the-bar-is-closing vibe. Yeah, the album’s over, and you don’t have to go home, but you can’t stay here. Or you can just stay where you are and replay the album from the beginning again. It’s a great new classic rock record and a heckuva fun listen from beginning to end.

Looking Back

This is the third Burnt Out Wreck album I’ve reviewed at the Blog. Be sure to check out my 2017 review of Swallow or my 2020 review of This Is Hell for more Burnt Out Wreck content. In fact, one reason this review is comparatively short is because I’ve already written two previous reviews and am beginning to run out of adjectives to describe the band’s sound; I’ve said it all before. If you’re a classic hard rock fan, particularly of ’80s-style melodic hard rock, and especially of the bands in that category with crunch and bite to their music, then you owe it to yourself to have Burnt Out Wreck’s albums in your collection.

Looking Ahead

The “Events” tab of Burnt Out Wreck’s Facebook page lists a couple of upcoming shows in the UK: Saturday, November 18th at The Yorkshireman Rock Bar in Sheffield and a June 14, 2024 show at Axminster Guild Hall in Axminster. Burnt Out Wreck is also scheduled to appear at the Highway to Hellfest in Glasgow, Scotland in February 2024. And watch Burnt Out Wreck’s social media feeds for more dates as they’re added. For example, the band’s Twitter feed also mentions an early November appearance at Hard Rock Hell.

Album Review: Noise Floor Delirium – Life Street Closed

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Noise Floor Delirium – Life Street Closed

image courtesy of Noise Floor Delirium

Album Review of Noise Floor Delirium: Life Street Closed

Noise Floor Delirium is a Chris Gleason side project. Of course, I’ve reviewed Chris’ band Los Goutos at the Blog. I’ve not (yet) reviewed Chris’ other band, the Sado-Domestics. And this, of course, is a Noise Floor Delirium review. On Noise Floor Delirium, Chris is joined by Jimmy Ryan (mandolin) for “Coming Apart” and by Lucy Martinez (vocals) for “Luck Comes Last” but is otherwise responsible for all of the music, lyrics, instruments, vocals, engineering, mixing, and production on Life Street Closed.

Of course, Chris’ bands’ music is never simply straightforward, so why would you expect any differently from this project? I’ll begin the review with a 50,000-foot overview of the album: It’s an engaging, intriguing collection of offbeat, grainy-lensed, slightly funhouse-mirrored Americana. And, though I can’t flesh out all of the details of a storyline – this isn’t helped by the fact that the vocals are so embedded into the soundscape that I forget to pay attention to them while enjoying the music – Life Street Closed seems to be a concept album along the lines of Pink Floyd’s The Wall, but without the accompanying film, which might be more related vignettes than a storyline but would still be worth watching. The album is clearly a well-crafted labor of love for Gleason, a project that earned Noise Floor Delirium a New England Music Awards nomination for Americana Act of the Year.

The album kicks off with an ominously Deliverance-esque “Matilda Stomp (New Chemirocha Blues),” with its banjo-ey twang and heavy stomping beat. It’s also exceedingly memorable, one of the songs on this disc that’ll stay with you.

The creepy-music factor gets amped up even more on the next track, “This House Isn’t Haunted Anymore,” which is another you’ll find stuck in your head for days. Thanks to the foreboding music, I don’t believe the song title. This song is a slower, quieter creep with vocals that are spoken-sung so quietly you’ll find yourself leaning in to hear them.

“Mendacious Alibi,” next, slips into a cool lo-fi blues vibe, with a steady rhythm that, perhaps subconsciously spurred by the “end of the road” lyric, suggests a slow-moving highway traveling song. I picture the road dark and wet, though that visual may simply harken back to the picture on the album cover. As a nifty bonus, I think I hear a little slow-jamming Tom Petty in the song’s guitar and pace, too.

“Marsh Marigolds” seems to rise from the ashes, with the music mimicking the sun coming out following a rainstorm – this despite, or perhaps because of, lyrics like “all of our demons are near” and “hell is empty this year.” My first inclination was that this song had some raw Beatles-ish elements, and it does, but it will mostly give you big-time Pink Floyd vibes.

“Coming Apart” follows, a more light-touch, country-styled Americana number, driven by finger-picking, a slightly hillbilly tempo, and some light blues-rocking distorted guitar in key spots for emphasis.

“Back-Talking” continues the bluesy vibe but returns to the album’s haunting motif. It’s a great transition song for the album, and though its role in this collection is as a progressive album track that deftly moves the record forward and includes some neat musicianship, you’ll absolutely find yourself drawn into the lyric “Not talking smack, just talking back.”

After “Back-Talking” cleanses the musical palate, the subsequent “Bottom of the Sea” reveals an eerie, Americana tumbleweed vibe, again recalling The Wall or some of Bowie’s spacier work. “Nine-Tailed Fox” paints a similar musical color but with a slightly different rhythmic brush atop a more motivated beat.

The disc ends with “Luck Comes Last,” which feels like the conclusion of a story. Or of an album. It’s a slow-paced song, similar to “Marsh Marigolds” or “Bottom of the Sea,” with a musical slow-build that suggests the clouds are opening once again after the storm has passed.

With so much stylistic variance, you’d think this album might lack cohesion, but there’s a familiar sonic landscape underpinning every track, resulting in a sound that provides quick identification of each song as part of this particular Noise Floor Delirium collection.

More Recently

As noted, Noise Floor Delirium was nominated (and is a finalist) for the New England Music Awards in the “Americana Act of the Year” category. Voting for the New England Music Awards runs through tomorrow, October 1st.

Looking Ahead

One of Chris’ bands, Sado-Domestics, has announced plans to release a new album this fall.

Album Review: Dreadnaught – Northern Burner

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Dreadnaught – Northern Burner

image courtesy of Dreadnaught

Album Review of Dreadnaught: Northern Burner

Maine experimental progressive rockers Dreadnaught return with this all-instrumental production, Northern Burner. The disc dropped in December 2021, celebrating the band’s 25th anniversary. For those who like their progressive rock playful and weird (hence the term “experimental”), Dreadnaught is the poster child for that musical subgenre. And, once again, with the release of Northern Burner, the band has unleashed an album that seems interesting at first and then rewards those who will afford it multiple listens with song-to-song familiarity turned on its ear via unexpected twists and turns.

On disc-opener “Pink Light,” there’s a thumping bass setting the baseline (bassline?) for the layered guitarwork with distortion slathered on top. “Pig and Pony” opens things up a little bit early on, though that airiness is filled with an electronic recurring ditty and, again, that thumping bass.

“Rum Cake,” though quite short, is a haunting journey as if down a long hallway, stumbling along… perhaps looking for rum cake? Or maybe after having a bit too much rum cake? Or just too much rum?

It leads into the 8-minute-plus “Monsignor Bananas,” which seems to assemble musical phrases from all of the previous songs, and, while it diverges into a variety of different directions, the song periodically returns to previously introduced musical themes. It’s also worth noting that, as can so often be the case in longer-form Dreadnaught songs, this, the longest track on the disc, sports dramatic tempo and mood swings.

“Fantasy in a Pink Light” is the spaciest song so far, very airy and open, with the sounds of wisps and softly played instruments echoing as if in a big, nearly-empty concert hall, slowing things down so much that the song is either a palate cleanser or a test to see if the listener will drift off to sleep and miss the rest of the album.

It leads into “Sundown at the Barnyard,” which, with the way it starts slowly and picks up energy, seems to almost mimic sunrise at the barnyard (oh, so close!), with the energy picking up and building toward a climax as the song carries on – again, repeating instrumental themes found in previous songs. Less than halfway through the song there’s an almost psychedelic rock guitar solo that stands out, if only because it resembles earthly music on an album that’s almost entirely ethereal and otherworldly. Of course, if you’ve learned to expect anything from Dreadnaught’s music while reading this review, it’s that the psychedelic guitar will return. It does return later in the song. And near the end, “Sundown…” makes another transformation, providing a sequence that channels a square dance. Not just the square dance music, the entire dance.

“Pony and Pig” opens mostly rhythmically before finally recalling the main themes of “Pig and Pony” about halfway through. The song becomes more expansive as it moves along, as if turning a small listening room-type musical theme into an expansive one suitable for an amphitheater. Interestingly, Dreadnaught chooses to close the song with a big Hollywood-style musical close.

Album-ender “Throwing in the Towel” has the sort of expansive, “well that was fun” flavor of a closing credits number from a movie, fading out to signify that the show is over. Get up from your seats and go home. Of course, if you’re already home, maybe go to the fridge and get a snack.

In the end, if you’re open to the more experimental, cutting edge of music, Dreadnaught’s music will grow on you. Or it may just never strike a chord with you. And even if you enjoy it, as I do, you’ve gotta admit it’s odd. But it would also make for a very interesting, certainly very fun live performance. With that in mind, Dreadnaught actually did follow this release with a couple of live performances “of the album in its entirety and other choice cuts” in early 2022.

Dreadnaught’s promotional material promotes the disc with the statement: “25 years, millions and millions of notes, and cases and cases and cases of High Life beer later we bring you Northern Burner, a musical transfiguration spanning the barnyard, outer space, and make believe.” Of course, I get the space reference, and the whole thing’s make-believe. Even upon multiple listens, I’m not sure I hear the barnyard, aside from the sunrise over it, but that’s the beauty of Dreadnaught’s music – it is whatever you think it is, whatever your mind’s eye hears. (And yes, I know eyes don’t usually hear, but when listening to Northern Burner, they do.)

More Recently

Dreadnaught’s bass player and producer Bob Lord has released another solo album, The Six Observables, which was just recently released, in July 2023.

Single Review: Tomás Doncker – “Red Cross Store”

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Tomás Doncker – "Red Cross Store"

image courtesy of Frank Roszak Promotions

Single Review of Tomás Doncker: “Red Cross Store” (True Groove)

If you read my review of Wherever You Go, then you all know how much we dig Tomás Doncker here at the Blog. The man does not disappoint. Well, a couple years ago, he released his rendition of Mississippi Fred McDowell’s “Red Cross Store.” Tomás updates the song, delivering it with more electric power, boosting it with both his guitar and his vocals. The song churns along, with the vocals giving voice to the justifiable anger and frustration in the lyrics. Tomás does this old blues classic justice with his powerful interpretation.

I guarantee you’ll dig Tomás updated, modernized version of “Red Cross Store,” but if you haven’t heard it before, I’d also suggest you give Mississippi Fred McDowell’s original recording a listen.

More Recently

Since the release of “Red Cross Store,” Tomás has released the single “All Together Now” (with Amp Fiddler) and the album Born to Be, plus several releases with Tomás Doncker & The True Groove All-Stars.

Looking Ahead

This Facebook post lists a UK tour for Tomás Doncker & the True Groove All-Stars, starting on October 19th in London and ending October 28th in Oakham. Check the aforementioned Facebook post or this Instagram post for details.