Tag: monoblogue music

For the second time in just over three months, Tomas Doncker and his band will put out a new release. And while the last compilation mostly featured his remakes of classics by blues legend Howlin’ Wolf, this time he teams up with a Pulitzer Prize-winning poet.

To be released next Tuesday – with a more formal sendoff during the Dodge Poetry Festival the following weekend – “Big Apple Blues” features ten original compositions between Doncker and poet Yusef Komunyakaa, who won the Pulitzer Prize for poetry in 1994. It’s the second time they’ve teamed up, and while I didn’t listen to the first piece between the two I noticed that Komunyakaa has more or less perfected the art of song lyricism as opposed to poetry. While they may seem like two peas in a pod, writing lyrics which make sense musically doesn’t always come naturally to a poet. There’s only one instance, Can’t Say No, where Doncker’s vocal limits are stretched by the song’s lyrics.

So while there are a handful of songs which sound a little too poetic, like The New Day, Coney Island, or the spoken word portion of Hellfighters of Harlem, the lyrics also do a great job of painting an image, like the “Sunday go-to-meeting clothes” of The New Day. The poet’s influence also very apparent in At The Midnight Hour as well as the reversed chorusing of Little Blue Room, one of the better tracks on the album. That song flips the typical lyrical arrangement around in a clever manner.

Meanwhile, true to its name, the album takes you on a musical tour of New York City as many of ten songs contain some sort of reference to the Big Apple.

Now some of this is lost on me since I’m not from New York and haven’t ever been to the city. But if you strip away the lyrical assistance and focus on the music, you’ll notice that there’s somewhat of a jazz influence to it. However, it’s brought home to its blues roots by the liberal use of David Barnes’s harmonica on many tracks as the lead instrument carrying the tune. It provides a smoky jazz feel to the title track and shuffles its way through That Horse, just as a couple examples.

Yet other parts of the band shine through on other tracks, such as the guitar work in Ground Zero and horn section of Fun City, which closes the album. What struck me as a little odd was ending Fun City with 30 seconds of city noise. It’s a minor quibble considering the ten songs combined run just over 43 minutes, but maybe 10 to 15 seconds of that would have been enough.

One thing this new release shows, though, is the talent of Tomas Doncker’s band. They successfully pulled off a good tribute to Howlin’ Wolf yet made this subtle but noticeable change in musical direction without missing a beat. Given the rapid succession of releases it wouldn’t surprise me that both were in the pipeline at about the same time.

So if this is representative of true Big Apple blues, the genre seems to straddle the edge of jazz moreso than rock. I think it’s rather fitting that I’m reviewing this on the same weekend as the Autumn Wine Festival here because it seems like something that would fit right in there. But don’t take my word for it – listen for yourself and if you like it, go ahead and pick it up when it becomes available Tuesday.

I knew that if I reviewed music long enough I would eventually run into new material from a group I’d previously discussed, so here you go. While the single is part of the album I originally let you in on, it’s been reworked to the extent one can call it a new release.

So just to bring you up to speed, back in April I took a listen to a Europop group called Latimer House, who earlier this year put out the full-length release “All The Rage.” Among the songs of the ten-track set was Birdcage Walk, which I described as having an “echoing chorus and cheerful keyboards.” Those elements remain on the newly-released single, but in condensed form as the original 4:36 running time was reduced to 3:12 by excising the last stanza and chorus, instead drawing the song to a close with a rather quick fade.

Now I’ve heard this technique with certain longer songs on various radio stations, and it always drives me nuts because I think of a song as a composition of a whole. On the other hand, when I discover a song that I like and have heard numerous times on the radio has a longer version that was butchered up for mass consumption by the decision of some nameless record executive, it’s like finding lost treasure. Back in the old days, the longer versions often ended up on the cutting room floor, but digital recording and ease of storage make it easier for many alternate versions of the same composition to exist: as one example, years ago I got a promo CD copy of a relatively obscure David Coverdale single called Slave, one which had both the radio version and the album version on it. The album version was only about 30 seconds longer but sounded a lot better to me, so why mess with a good thing?

It’s also a shame because the band released this single both in an electronic form and as a red translucent 7″ vinyl version. Understandably, the confines of old-fashioned record production dictate a time limit to songs, but the B-side of this single runs 4:34 so Birdcage Walk could have remained at its full length.

That B-side is a new song called Until Then, which impressed me as a song which successfully integrates a few of the elements of rap, funk, soul, and jazz, with funky riffs being punctuated by slow, horn-punctuated interludes which emit a smoky jazz feel. It may read like a mess, but these guys made it work as an enjoyable song – one that perhaps should have been the A-side. (Of course, there’s no law that says you always have to play the A-side first.)

I’m also told that Latimer House went into the studio for a few days at the end of July to begin work on a new full-length album for early 2015. So if it gets in my hands quickly enough you may hear about a third helping of Latimer House first, before a lot of others give a second helping. These songs are beginning to percolate on stateside radio, so 2015 has the potential to be a breakout year for Latimer House.

Just leave those songs full-length, guys.

With all the attention being paid to country music these days, there are a lot of people trying to cash in on the imagery and adopting that “gone country” attitude. Billy Roberts is one of those guys, but as a native of Australia where country is not nearly as much in vogue, he had to embark on a journey to Nashville to take the initial step toward his dream of being a musical star.

The funny thing is: he didn’t really make a country album, or at least not one which would compete for space on the country charts with folks like Luke Bryan or Florida Georgia Line.

Granted, on “The Last of the Originals” many of the songs have country roots in them, but it’s more the classic traditional country you hear in tracks like With You, Not That Special, or the lyrically poignant I Was Young.

But you can also find a lot of other influences as well – the rollicking and rocking Mrs. Jones leads off the album and makes the listener believe this may not be a country set after all. Nor do you normally hear the sort of plucking rhythm guitar of the next song, I’m Gonna Get That Girl, on your latest generic country set. My Baby Gone Cold, conversely, has a more bluesy feel to it, and later on in the lineup No More Mr. Nice Guy is not a rehash of the Alice Cooper classic but an original shuffle featuring a dash of harmonica. As the album’s closing song, Red Head Baby is a good rocker to leave listeners with.

There are two tracks which deserve a special mention, though. The seven-minute long (and how many country songs go past five?) Davy Crockett and the Alamo is a slow ballad in its first half before kicking it up several notches for the finish. And I really, really liked the haunting guitar and harder edge of Never Know.

That song, coupled with the refreshing lack of twang in Billy’s voice and the use of production tricks like vocal distortion, set “The Last of the Originals” apart from the rest of the pack, and make it, well, original.

So what’s not to like about it? One thing Billy will learn as he moves on with his musical career is how to better frame songs to his vocal range. At times he gets a little too monotone with his vocals, and it gets me to thinking how others could have handled the song. Musically this is a fine effort, but the vocals could stand some polish.

But this album, if promoted right, can have crossover appeal. Traditional country fans would probably prefer certain songs while those of us who occasionally enjoyed The Eagles or Neil Young – who Billy lists as an influence – will like the edgier tracks.

Just released a couple weeks back, I can implore you to not just take my word for it – listen for yourself and see if modern country is ready for an Australian influence.

Sometimes there’s a mood for songs which tell a somewhat rambling story, with twists and turns behind every corner. In listening to the ten tracks which make up Michael Leonard Witham’s forthcoming debut release “A Scandal In The Violets” it’s apparent that Witham is working in that storytelling vein, using a sound which veers between weepy classic country to more of a country-rock or classic acoustic feeling.

To hear him tell it, Witham is far from classically trained – he found an old, broken guitar sitting on a Louisiana dumpster, repaired it, taught himself to play it, and just a few months later:

In early 2011, a mere 5 months after the pivotal dumpster dive, he was chosen as one of a handful of artists to perform in the Arkansas Times Musician’s Showcase, an annual music event in central Arkansas which features the best talent in the region. Over 200 bands submitted music, and Witham was the only solo performer selected on the strength of his home recordings made in a closet with an iphone.

That is the legend, so how is the finished product?

As I said up top, the ten songs on the album tell a story, and some have great titles: the opening track Sorry Girl But The Show Is Over, Sideways Grin & A Wandering Eye, Last Plea To Ashley Ann, and my personal favorite The Good Doctor’s Double Vodka Blues. The country influence comes out most in Down For Good and Ordinary Hand, where Witham laments that he had an “extraordinary hand” but “played it wrong from the get-go.”

There’s more of a Dylanesque sound to some songs thanks to the harmonica, like Oh The Evil!!! or Where The Witches Live, while Miss L.A. is perhaps the one edging most toward country-rock.

Another take I received from listening is that Witham “fills” his songs with lyrical content. Most of the songs don’t have a bridge in the middle, although I noticed a short one in Defective Heart. At times he would use a long instrumental coda, though, such as in Sideways Grin or Double Vodka Blues.

But the one thing a listener will notice from the beginning is Witham’s voice. At times I found it a little cloying, and for many it could be an acquired taste. I don’t think Michael would get very far on “American Idol” because his is not a typical singing voice with lots of range, yet for the most part his songs have an honest quality about them which may not work with the more mainstream generic pop or country star singing them. It’s a hint of weariness and desperation which comes through in the vocal styling.

Normally I tell people what I think but invite them to listen for themselves. But because this is a forthcoming release, I got to listen to the whole thing but only a couple tracks are set for public consumption – a teaser, if you will. Still, the two tracks – Sorry Girl But The Show Is Over and Oh The Evil!!! – do provide a very good sample of what Witham is about. So listen to that sampler for yourself and, if you’re still enjoying it come the scheduled release date of October 21, rest assured the rest is something you’ll like as well.

I’m back after another hiatus from monoblogue music.

When I was sent the copy and description of the recently-released album “The Warming House” by New York-based artist Nehedar, I was told it was “hard to pin down.”

On that front, I definitely agree.

But Emilia Cataldo, who performs under the Nehedar moniker, has a way of doing many things well on her seventh and latest effort, just released Tuesday. From the opening horns of Is It Annoying to the rollicking closer The Ballad of Sadie Farrell – who, indeed, was a real person in 19th century New York – “The Warming House” makes a lot of twists and turns, driving off occasionally in unexpected directions.

After the somewhat soulful opening track I was expecting something in the same vein, but instead I was greeted with the bluegrass/country sound of Not Your Whipping Woman before hearing the Latin flair of Don’t Look. Three songs, three completely different vibes, with Come Into The Light making it four-for-four as an acoustic ballad.

That song seems to be one of the early picks for more commercial success as the first video released from the new set.

Jarring chord changes and an edgier sound punctuate the next song, Lashon Hara Barbie. This makes sense when you realize that, in her Jewish heritage, the term is loosely translated as “evil tongue” – hence the lyrics:

Sticks and stones may break my bones
but the things I say destroy me
I am not immune to loose lips sunk ships
I’m lashon hara barbie

While Come Into The Light got a video treatment, I think the best crossover potential comes from Flying, a midtempo song which features the horn section punctuating many of Nehedar’s songs as well as catchy harmonies.

The next three tunes, which include the title track, Watch The World Burn, and The Tree, come across as the three most conventional rock songs. But there are unusual quirks in these as well – listen to the bass line of The Warming House or the trumpet solo during Watch The World Burn and decide whether these push the songs beyond conventional. Everyone wants to put their signature on their music and it seems Nehedar uses the little touches to do this.

It’s not that the album is perfect – to me she sometimes tried too hard to be cute with the lyrics and I’m not crazy about the cover art – but after several bites of the apple, Nehedar could be poised for further success. She was obviously regarded well enough to crowdfund this effort, her first such album. As always, though, don’t just take my word for it – listen for yourself and judge.

They have always said that you can’t judge a book by its cover, but in this case a lot of clues about the debut EP from Stockholm’s The Lost Poets can be found: the release is a stark yet mysterious five-song effort which may not seem attractive at first glance – or first listen – but is intriguing enough to have staying power in the mind’s eye. In short, it’s worth the listen and I’ll tell you why.

First, though, you have to eliminate your preconceived notions of how a rock band which lists influences as “Queens of the Stone Age, David Bowie, The Raconteurs, Soundgarden and Nick Cave” should sound because The Lost Poets are a two-piece band. Vocalist David Rosengren also handles the guitar while bandmate Petter Ossian Stromberg handles both bass and drums.

So it shouldn’t be surprising that the leadoff track, Ode To K, has a simple yet powerful arrangement through most of its length. To me, it was a very straightforward song which began to reveal what The Lost Poets are all about, and it’s not upbeat bubblegum pop.

Instead, what you get is a almost menacing, grungy, snarling tone like that exhibited on the second song, Lying Down. It’s heavy, not in a bombastic sense with sledgehammer riffs, but more of a constant weight, although its ending near-silence, evoking a skipping record, struck me as odd.

The slow-developing Die To Live takes its acoustic opening about as far as one can take it without becoming trite and boring, transitioning quickly at that point into a plodding, churning heavy midsection chorus with distorted lyrics before fading away and restarting. I’ve always been partial to that soft to hard transition in various metal songs, and it’s developed nicely on this track without veering into Metallica Nothing Else Matters territory where the heavy stuff is too little and too late.

Repetitive lyrics such as you’d find in a blues song are the hallmark of the title track, Insubordia. Yet it’s not a traditional bluesy sound that the lyrics are paired with; instead, this intriguing rhythm goes in a different direction. It’s quite the haunting song.

Finally, to keep the listener off-balance, the last track Inside The Cage is a brief, distorted acoustic track, with the accents coming through on the chord changes.

On many of these albums I review, I take issue with self-production because there’s either overkill or missed opportunity with the sound. This effort has a nice production touch, as the two members seem to know just what they are looking for and execute it well, particular when one figures it was laid down as several tracks. Having the drummer and bassist as the same person may have helped in that regard, although it would be interesting to see what The Lost Poets do for a live show.

But if you’re into a a slow, almost soul-crushing grunge sound, this might be the EP to check out. Given my partiality to metal and grunge I actually rather liked it, so I encourage you to listen for yourself.

When I read the description of Eric Frisch’s debut full-length effort called “Goodbye Birdcage” I expected something different and refreshing. In my mind’s eye I was thinking along the lines of finding some obscure half-century old vinyl record from a bygone pop era.

Unfortunately, while Frisch brings some of that spirit and sound into the present day, “Goodbye Birdcage” has nearly as many misses as hits. It’s a ratio which may have lent itself to a less ambitious effort where Eric concentrated on the best five tracks and worked on the production end.

The sound Eric was going for is well established on the opening track, Pretty Girls. It has the requisite horn section and doo-wop style harmonies which remind the listener of retro pop. The video is sort of amusing as well, and captures the offbeat vibe I think Eric was looking for with the overall composition.

Another effort in that vein is the next song, Telephone. Not only did Eric nail the style of music he was shooting for with that song, the lyrics tell a story in a compelling manner that makes it the album’s best song.

On “Goodbye Birdcage” I thought the ballads tended to be a little heavy on the production, rather than being clean. One case in point was Learn To Swim, which could have been a better song with a somewhat different chorus at the end. Similarly, one would expect the title track to be on the uplifting side, but it instead sounded sad and mournful.

And then there were the tracks which just made me wonder. Perhaps The Sun In Santiago would have worked better as an acoustic track, but the production used made it a little tedious. And heaven only knows why the crowd noise was in Heaven Only Knows.

Luckily, things got better with the final three tracks. All Over Town was sort of a reprisal of the theme of Pretty Girls, but Stick Around had a more conventional, guitar-driven sound. And while I listened to Mary Ann expecting one lyrical payoff, Eric surprised me by taking the story in a different and unexpected direction.

The album is a pretty brisk one, clocking in at just 31 minutes long for the nine songs. It’s a length which suggests that the choice of going to EP length, cutting out a couple tracks, and using this as a sampler may have been a better one. It also shows the pitfalls of self-production, as it was unclear whether some of the chatter between and within tracks was there to add ambiance or just something missed in post-production. Overall, the album had a analog tone, which fit with the idea of the sound.

I wanted to like this one, but there are too many songs which aren’t worth the listen. If you’re into music that’s retro, though, you may get into it. It may not win a lot of converts but if there’s the potential for you to be one, listen for yourself.

When I first began doing my Saturday music reviews, a goal of mine was to promote these bands and alert you as to when they would be in the area. It was a long shot that any would come, being unsigned, unknown, and all, but if you remember my very first review of an Australian group called Monks of Mellonwah, they will indeed be coming to the region.

In this case, MoM is backing former Creed singer Scott Stapp on a handful of Northeast dates, with the closest to us being Lancaster, PA on June 20.

Since I didn’t get something to review this weekend, I thought I’d pass that along. I’ve actually been meaning to do an update like this, but what got me thinking about it was my review last week and the fact Matt Townsend would be playing a show in Washington, D.C. in September. So I looked and a couple of the European-based bands are playing shows over there, while others seem to be content trying to promote themselves in other ways.

But I’m glad to be of assistance to Monks of Mellonwah, even if it’s in a very small way. I remember enjoying the album when I reviewed it so I imagine the live show will be quite good.

A self-titled effort from this North Carolina-based artist, Matt Townsend and the Wonder of the World reminds the listener a lot of Bob Dylan. A lot.

This isn’t to say that Matt should run out and begin his own tribute band, but it’s the first impression one gets upon firing up this release and dropping the first song, Seventh Story. But fortunately for this listener, it’s really only the voice which is reminiscent of Bob Dylan because Matt forges his own musical direction, albeit with a few fits and starts.

After the country-tinged opener, Townsend shifts gears a little bit with the harmonies and additional instrumentation of Carry On. That song, along with the following Hollow City Streets (Free Me to My Soul), seems to have the most complex instrumentation of the nine songs on the full-length release. Overall, these songs are unusually long for the genre of music as the album runs nearly 47 minutes. Based on that fact alone, real fans will find a lot to love.

Lovers of ballads will certainly enjoy the fourth song of the set, Wind Without The Rain. Another relatively simple song is Desire Like A Lion, the subject of this video.

The organ-based melody of Love I’m Coming Home may also be a good choice.

One unusual thing I noticed about some of Townsend’s songs is how they build up through additional instrumentation. As an example, listen to the closing song, Gratitude In Being, or The Garden Where the Grass Forever Grows. Although the former features an odd transition near the end of the song and the latter seemed a touch disjointed to me, the technique of adding instruments as the song goes is used to good effect nonetheless.

For those who prefer something in a more conventional vein, the middle song Takin’ A Moment would do them quite well.

This album came about in an unusual way, with a primary source of income being crowdfunding. Although Matt didn’t reach his stated goal, he apparently did well enough to get this far. It’s also worth noting that Townsend finds music to be a lifesaver.

Creating music for me has been literally a life saving enterprise. Writing songs and playing music has helped me survive some of the darkest times of my life. I am so grateful to be able to do it at all, because there was a time when I couldn’t.

As a whole, I would say Matt did a fine job, with my one musical quibble being an overly prominent bass drum in the mix. But the musicians, playing instruments up to and including a musical saw featured on a number of tracks, did a nice job bringing the project to life.

And since Townsend lives in Asheville, North Carolina “by way of Burlington, Vermont,” he indeed tours the area on occasion. Among a number of stops in North Carolina and Vermont, Matt has a show slated for September 4 at the Treehouse in Washington, D.C. So if you would like to find out what he’s all about in the days before his first full-length CD is released June 23, listen for yourself. With the musical roots of this region it should be fertile ground for Matt.

You’ve seen the name Tomas Doncker in this space before, as his band has served as backup musicians for True Groove Records labelmates Marla Mase and Lael Summer, whose releases I’ve previously reviewed. But this time Doncker serves as the frontman for a project a couple years in the making that’s near and dear to his heart – a tribute to the late bluesman (and Rock n’ Roll Hall of Fame member) Howlin’ Wolf.

But while Doncker puts his stamp on seven of Howlin’ Wolf’s classics, mainly released between 1958 and 1962, he also adds a couple originals in the same vein. Blind Melon Morpheus (Missed the Train) is the harmonica-solo introduction to Shook Down, and if you didn’t know they were originals you may have thought they were outtakes from the master himself, with a dash of additional organ and background harmony on the latter. The compilation also features both a more traditional offering of Moanin’ at Midnight and what Doncker calls the “Ras Jah Ames Dubmix” with more echo and sampling to close the set.

Fans of bluesy rock probably know the songs as many have been covered by various artists over the years, with perhaps the best known being Jeff Beck and Rod Stewart’s rendition of I Ain’t Superstitious. Doncker’s version is far more upbeat than the Beck/Stewart version, honed to a toe-tapping tempo and featuring a heavy emphasis on the harmonica. And when it’s vowed in the spoken word portion of Smokestack Lightning that “I’m gonna show you how to play the blues,” Doncker delivers – although I think it’s expressed even better in his rendition of Back Door Man, with a great guitar coda.

This isn’t to say the lesser-known songs don’t have highlights. With just a hint of keyboards, the guitar-driven Evil is a great introduction to the set, which transitions well to the slower and more traditional Killing Floor. But I thought the best (if not necessarily truest) rendition on the album was that of Spoonful, which mixes great harmonies and a sizzling solo that make you want another one.

Howlin’ Wolf packed a lot of music into a relatively short recording career – he was in his late forties when his first solo record came out, and he only lived to the age of 65. But he lived at a pivotal time in musical history, and his impact is well remembered by Doncker in his tribute. If you don’t believe me, listen for yourself and pick up the album when it comes out July 8.

In my eyes, the upcoming release from south London’s Mangoseed, a new entrant in the world music genre, is either going to land with a resounding thud or set the world on fire – it seems like this edgy compilation isn’t just going to settle into mediocrity.

Pointing toward the former is the fact that the album is self-produced, and on first efforts the lack of professional guidance often shows. Because of this, you get seemingly aimless and filler tracks such as Bali Men, Bali Men Interrupted or Interruption (yes, all three are separate tracks on this 15-song compilation.) These almost seem as if they were recorded on a old cassette recorder, although that ambiance works surprisingly well on another brief tune, the almost bluesy I Shoot My Friends. At first listen, I thought The Soul Bird fell into this category but then realized it was intended as an intro of sorts to She Is All.

A second strike against them is the hard time they had finding a drummer – one track in particular, Rise And Shine, seems to my ear to be either a tad too fast or a touch too slow. It’s hard to put a finger on it, but the song just seems off somehow. Now that they’ve settled on Irishman Sam Campbell, that may be rectified in a future release or on live performances. (The remaining band consists of lead vocalist Nicholai La Barrie, guitarist Karlos Coleman, and bassist Richard Hardy. Sometimes it sounds like a lot more than four with the overdubbing, but the live shows have four guys.)

So now that I’ve gone through the half-dozen or so misses on the compilation that could doom a band to failure, let me tell you why they could succeed beyond their wildest dreams. Simply put, a lot of songs are very catchy, beginning with the album’s opening track Lioness. Yes, it has the oversampling common to dub music but its guitar-driven introduction showed these guys didn’t forget how to rock. That same complexity also drives the next song, Careful.

There’s more of a straight reggae influence in the band’s lead single from the album, Brix-Tone. It’s an homage to their hometown of Brixton, and makes for an interesting video.

Track number five, Devil In The Road, is the highlight of the album. To me, it’s the potential best live song, something the band can work onstage and extend to give the feel of a jam band. (Maybe they have in one of their frequent shows about London.) There’s also a high level of energy apparent in tracks like Army Of One, Standing On High, and Thief Head, which all feature a staccato chorus and, in the case of the latter, a bass line which at times I can really get into.

But the band also shows a little something different on certain songs, in particular a little bit of harmony on This Life, where the band sings about being “so far away from you/so far away from me/so far away from all I used to be.”

The overriding question is whether eight good songs are enough to take Mangoseed to the next level, or if they can at least give them some quality time with a producer who can smooth out some of the rougher edges while keeping their authentic sound. Unlike some others I’ve reviewed of late, Mangoseed is one band for whom it’s obvious they’ve grown together in front of live audiences as opposed to experimentation in the studio.

On the other hand, if you’re a student of the dub style and don’t mind the short tracks, you may find that “Basquiat” is just the British import you’ve been waiting for. The last decade or so has been kind to bands who run in that sort of vein, so they may just find a willing audience on this side of the pond. As always, I encourage you to judge for yourself and if it suits your fancy, buy “Basquiat” when it comes out May 22. Enough sales across the Atlantic and the band might follow.