photo by Eric Gehring; photo courtesy of Sado-Domestics

Album Review of Sado-Domestics: Beach Day in Black and White

The Sado-Domestics are singer-songwriters Chris Gleason (also of Los Goutos and Noise Floor Delirium) and Lucy Martinez (also of Lucy and the Dreamers); on Beach Day in Black and White, they’re joined by Jimmy Ryan on mandolin/vocals and Eric Royer on pedal steel. You’ve read about some of these musicians’ exploits at the blog over the years. I’ve reviewed a Los Goutos album and live gig here at the Blog, as well as a Noise Floor Delirium recording. Jimmy Ryan was half of the opening duo reviewed as part of the Los Goutos show. Jimmy was also onstage as a member of the Charles River Reprobates for a gig you’ll find reviewed if you scroll down to the bottom of the Los Goutos review. If we’ve given these musicians receive a bit of attention here at the Blog, it’s only because they deserve it; they’re highly acclaimed members of the Boston music community. However, if you’re not yet plugged into Chris & company’s sizeable corner of the Boston music scene, you’re in for a treat.

image courtesy of Sado-Domestics

The Sado-Domestics are practically a dictionary definition of Americana music. There’s a blend of folk and country music underpinning the sound, the song-driven mentality you’d expect from singer-songwriters, an overall jangly, chuggin’-along sound that typically accompanies a mellow-to-moderate pace but with the ability to amp things up like a rocker, an obviously irreverent streak, and the propensity to feature disquieting musical and lyrical vibes just often enough to keep the listener uncomfortable at times and engaged throughout.

The disc opens with an engaging style and twang on its catchy, pleasant, smile-inducing ode to moderate snowfall, not unlike this week’s disappointingly weak storm, “Winter Coating,” with Chris’ voice taking the lead and Lucy’s harmonizing. The song keeps an insistent pace, providing a welcoming entry into the disc.

“Get in the Wind,” next up, is a more old-fashioned country crooner, with Lucy’s lead vox serving as a steadying force, swaying but resisting the urge to go fully Patsy Cline, even though this number might tempt a singer to do so.

photo by Jenny Jarad; photo courtesy of Sado-Domestics

“Move On” is a slow-to-mid-tempo Americana number with a little bit of a hitch in its getalong, progressing steadily even as the rhythm implies it might not. An engaging music limp, as it were.

“Out of My Yard” provides a new sonic atmosphere for the collection, combining some almost-ominous vocals with a twangy musical wail . There something a little disquieting about the song’s vibe, and Jimmy’s haunting vocals are perfectly suited to this tune’s vibe. You’ll also notice how the intensity ratchets up a little during the song’s insistently picked bridge.

“Mountain Song” is perhaps the rockin’est song on the disc. A distorted guitar and heavy, thumping rhythm create a tempo that seems much faster than it really is. Lucy tops it off with some clear, forcefully confident vocals, not fast or loud but, in fact, much more effective by being instead steady and unflinching. I’m pretty sure this is the song on Beach Day in Black and White that I’m most likely to still be playing regularly years from now. But, you know, I’m a rocker at heart, so to the extent your tastes differ, you may find yourself most impacted by a different number.

photo by Jenny Jarad; photo courtesy of Sado-Domestics

Chris and Lucy blend their voices most effectively on “Spooked a Horse,” a song they co-lead sing. The rhythm fits the song title, and, you might correctly assume the title, this is one of the more western-flavored Americana songs on this album. Next, Americana song “Bury It” opens almost Gospelly before plugging along as a cleverly instrumented rustic knee-slapper.

“Bacchus Lounge” is a smooth, groovy, twangy-folky tune that tells a colorful story about New Orleans and a positive Mardi Gras experience.

Twangy strummer “Meteorites” forges ahead steadily and purposefully, with a hint of psychedelia toward the middle, but that was merely foreshadowing, as the following tune, “Take a Walk With Jimmy” goes all in on the psychedelic vibe – not surprisingly, of course, as the track would be an inspired background music selection for a dispensary commercial.

To close, the album returns to the wintry theme from which it began, with pickin’ swayer “‘Twas the Season” putting Beach Day in Black and White to bed.

And that’s it. Another dependably good album from a few of Boston’s mainstay musicians. Very good music from creative people you can count on, as it were. Beach Day in Black and White is a well-written collection of songs that’ll embed themselves easily into the memory of music fans, particularly those who favor the Americana genre.

photo by Jenny Jarad; photo courtesy of Sado-Domestics

Looking Ahead

If you want to catch a Sado-Domestics gig, they currently have three upcoming shows listed on the “Shows” page of their website: Sunday, February 25th at Sally O’Brien’s in Somerville, MA and two gigs – Sunday, April 7th and Sunday, May 5th – at The Square Root in Roslindale, MA. Be sure to check the page periodically for updates as more shows are added.