Heavy America - ...Now (2017)

OFFICIAL: http://www.heavyamerica.us
FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/heavyamerica/

TWITTER: https://twitter.com/heavyamerica

Written by Frank McClure, posted by blog admin

Sterile rock and roll is the order of the day on the big corporate radio stations and even internet broadcasts with stagnant artists from Nickelback and even Papa Roach still pumping out and selling large amounts of albums.  Even the more raw genres like metal and punk are stuck in third gear with an overload of quantity and a sparse supply of quality representing the bulk of the ratio.  To the rescue comes the heavy, weathered knuckle-dusted hard-rock of Heavy America.  This Boston bred three-piece knows how to drop heady, thinking man’s riff bombs with a surplus of heft and just enough smarts to pull the wool over the competition’s eyes.

With a recording job that’s in the red and sounds like it was cut straight to tape without digital tampering, …Now, the lengthiest platter in Heavy America’s discography sounds positively throwback but current as well.  There is no shortage of nail-biting, twisted riffing and attack ready rhythm work throughout the record’s 9-song arc.  The music has a noisy yet melodic quality; harrowing and soothing at the same time as so deftly illustrated by multiple personality rockers like “Proud Shame,” “Bleed Mary,” “Casting Stones” and “I Can Take It.”  Wandering in and out of workingman’s power blues riffs and diamond sharp tunefulness; these jams are easy on the ears but unafraid of applying raging rapid rock grooves in all of the right places.  The vocals soar and snarl as the rhythm section provides plenty of backbone for the snapback with thanks due to the punchy drumming and hypnotic low end clarity.  Other tracks go for ground quaking, earth-shaking rock flair unhindered by syrupy balladry, the pummeling trifecta of sun burnt blues-riffers “Pray for Me,” “Goliath” and “Achilles Fail” holding court with an iron gavel.  A smoldering, dying camp pyre of somber, somewhat acoustic-leaned folk/blues makes “Heavy Eyes” a proper respite from all of the giant killing rock, even if they never fully unplug their instruments for a full Bob Dylan style mellow out.  Only the slight misdirection of “Sweet Kisses” fails to find firm footing in the track-listing, even if it’s not an outright bad track in its own right. 

…Now feels urgent and comfortable in its dogged ways.  It refuses to let the flame of soulful hard rock die out while adding some new flavors to the well-worn genre in terms of musical diversity.  For that, Heavy America is surely a band to watch in a very crowded scene. 

Cranford Hollow - Color/Sound/Renew/Revive (2017)

OFFICIAL: http://www.cranfordhollowmusic.com/

FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/cranfordhollow/

INSTAGRAM: http://www.cranfordhollowmusic.com/#tour

VIDEOS: http://www.cranfordhollowmusic.com/#tour

Written by Pamela Bellmore, posted by blog admin

Cranford Hollow are far from content revisiting elements of traditional music without trying to make something new and individualistic from it. Their latest release Color/Sound/Revive/Renew brings them ever closer to something wholly unique in the Americana genre, so much so that they scarcely can be categorized in such narrow terms. The eight song collection certainly sports a strong bluegrass/classic country/blues influence, but John Cranford and his band mates twist those influences in such a novel way that it often takes on the aspects of something wholly their own. Five albums into their career, this album represents a possible turning point where the past truly begins receding in their rear view mirror and they approach something akin to a full on transformation of their influences into something defying categorization. The South Carolina based band began life as a shit-kicking, tough as nails whiskey soaked four piece with a strong fidelity to the singer/songwriter tradition in Americana music, but their evolution has led them to unexpected heights.

There’s almost a progressive edge to some of these tracks. Cuts like the opener “Songfield” make unabashed use of theatrical atmospherics to enhance solid songwriting and there’s never any sense of them overreaching for effect. Primary songwriter and second guitarist John Cranford has a sandpaper yowl that’s, nevertheless, capable of enormous sensitivity and his lyrical prowess remains one of the band’s defining strengths. The lyrical prowess is further demonstrated on “Long Shadows” and made all the more memorable thanks to stunningly sympathetic accompaniment from Eric “Thunder” Reid’s intense fiddle playing. His musicianship is an excellent match for Cranford and lead guitarist Yannie Reynecke’s six string work. The three engage in a near constant dialogue throughout the course of Color/Sound/Renew/Revive that’s quite unlike anything else you’ll hear in the genre. The brief bursts of flash coming from Reynecke throughout this collection unequivocally prove he has the chops and presence to dominate any recording but, to his credit, Reynecke is resolutely committed to serving the song. Drummer Randy Rockolata and bassist Phillip Simans are key components in the band’s quality and never overplay their musical hand. Instead, they lay down inventive and tasteful support for the top line melodic instruments that never wavers.

There’s simmering emotions powering the track “Noise” and a particularly powerful performance from Rockolata on drums. The revolving, modulated strength of his drumming seems to hint the track will be an all out rocker, but it actually gains more suggestive force from its restraint than a far more all out aural assault would have ever brought listeners. Cranford’s emotional delivery is freer of the phlegmy growl we hear on other tracks, but it has much of the same hard bitten tone we’ve heard on earlier tracks. There some voice over from a President John F, Kennedy speech overheard during the opening of “North” while the band builds a a gradually escalating mid-tempo track behind it. Piano plays an important role in this song’s development, but it never blankets the track and there’s ample room for the other instrumentation to weave their magic. Cranford’s lyrics have an overarching topicality, but studiously avoid anything ripped from current events. Instead, this is topicality speaking to universal human experience, the politics of life and heart. This is the sum of Cranford Hollow’s music and their artistry grows with each new release.

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

Jerad Finck - New Kids (2017)

Photo by Michael Sparks Keegan

OFFICIAL: www.jeradfinck.com

FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/jeradfinckmusic

TWITTER: https://twitter.com/jeradfinck

LISTEN NOW: https://soundcloud.com/jeradfinck/new-kids-master/s-266fn

 

Written by Shannon Cowden

Jerad Finck’s rapid emergence as a vocal and songwriting force in the modern indie scene virtually assures that any obscurity Finck continues to experience will be short lived. His latest release “New Kids” finds him evolving as a songwriter and performer in impressive ways. Much of the responsibility for this development, naturally, should be laid at the feet of the experience he’s garnered playing alongside marquee acts like Cracker, Daughtry, Sister Hazel, and Parachute, as well as many others. The new song is the next collaboration between Finck and writer/producer Denny White – it produces memorable results. White enhances Finck’s musical depths, but it all begins with Finck’s writing and performing acumen. His upbringing pursuing jazz in a serious way put down the foundation for him to excel as a pop performer – there’s nothing here that’s a shortcut, no pandering, and instead Finck connects with musical textures and songwriting that should strike a resonant note with a wide audience.

There’s a fair amount of instrumental effects present in the song. Much of the playing is surrounded with an appealing and atmospheric echo that never risks self indulgence – instead, it sets up a nice cinematic landscape for Finck’s songwriting. He has equal parts finesse and passion in his voice. The finesse comes through in how Finck never pushes too hard on the listener and maintains just the right amount of distance while still engaging the listener. The passion finds its mark with the phrasing he employs. Some words are stretched out, elongated, while he stresses certain passages in an idiosyncratic way that he can claim as a personal style. Men and women born with the natural physical talents necessary to carry a tune are one thing, but few among those so blessed can claim, even after years of study and performance, that they ever possess a style uniquely their own. Finck can certainly do so.

The lyrics have a measured intelligence not common in the pop world and Finck has a strong focus with the writing that ensures there’s no excessive verbiage. It’s an ideal fit for the song’s length, as well, and there’s a keen eared balance between singing and music that not all songs of this stripe achieve. There are an assortment of talented musicians working their magic on “New Kids”, but the song is notable in  how it serves the right intentions by fixing on the goal of communicating with the listener rather than impressing them with showy displays of virtuosity. It is unfortunate, in our modern era, that pop music like this has become increasingly scarce. Jerad Finck is a reminder of the sort of power the best pop can contain and serves notice that not everything boils down to the lowest common denominator – instead, songs like “New Kids” speaks to the artist’s experiences with the hope that an extensive cross section of the buying public will respond in kind.

Grade: A

Humphrey/McKeown - Tapesty of Shadows (2017)

Written by Lydia Hillenburg, posted by Jason

OFFICIAL: http://www.hm-music.com/
FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/HumphreyMcKeown/ 

Heather Humphrey and Tom McKeown first began working together in 2006 and found some initial success working as a songwriting team and peddling their creations to a variety of artists. It wasn’t long, however, until they found themselves chomping at the bit to take their songwriting vision and do something with it themselves rather than feeling beholden to the whims and professional vagaries of another. It resulted in five albums, thus far, of uniformly high quality. The latest release from the duo, Tapestry of Shadows, is a twelve song affair with the sort of focus and wide ranging vision we typically associate with the greatest of artists and acts. Their sure-handed invocation of Americana music never follows a predictable path, but contains recognizable elements reaching out far from a mere regurgitation of the style’s trusty tropes. Tapestry of Shadows delves deep into universal human experiences and has a spark of the personal that will draw in many listeners.

The opening track makes this apparent. “Beautiful” doesn’t go in for any of the trite musical or lyrical explorations of the subject and, instead, hits a solidly soulful and melancholy note quite unlike anything happening today in the genre. The album’s third song, “You Don’t Know Me”, has a bittersweet sentiment conveyed by a musical arrangement placing a premium on imagination over obvious turns. Any predictability in the performance has a pleasing variety – listeners can come to expect it and admire how well Humphrey, McKeown, and their collaborators pull it off. “Flower on the Wall” has a more traditional slant than many of the other songs on Tapestry of Shadows, but it never smacks of the imitative. Instead, it serves as one more testament to the duo’s ability to refurbish traditional minded material in a thoroughly modern way.

“Someday” has a light, relaxed musical feel and the trading off of vocals between Humphrey and McKeown finds just the right balance for it to prove an entertaining listening experience. Their lyrical skills are always welcome – few songwriters, singly or in tandem, are so adept at balancing the disparate elements that go into making a great song while paying justified deference to all of them. One of the album’s high points, songwriting wise, comes with “Sasha on the Carousel”. This image-heavy song has a strongly personal air but, still, retains enough universality to allow everyone to enter into its world. The slight elegiac air pervading the track gives it a faintly sad air while never belaboring the emotion. “Passing Shadows” opens up with some hard-charging mandolin playing soon joined by some strong and simple drumming. The song does an exceptional job balancing its attitude between alternating Humphrey and McKeown vocals as well as different musical moods. The album’s finale, “Sunshine Today”, has a bright uplift quite different from the earlier songs but never so out of the ordinary that it doesn’t sound wholly consistent with what has come before. It’s an excellent finale for an album that personifies all the best qualities associated with the singer/songwriter or Americana form while avoiding all of its excesses.

Grade: A

Charles Wright - Something To Make You Feel Good (2016)

URL: http://expressyourself.net/

Charles Wright - Something To Make You Feel Good

R&B legend Charles Wright, composer of the seminal and frequently sampled track “Express Yourself”, continues to be on the abiding creative forces working within the genre. His latest full length release, Something To Make You Feel Good, is a powerhouse thirteen track offering that exuberantly echoes the past while remaining firmly planted in a vital present. This Clarksdale, Mississippi native might hail from the spiritual home of the blues, but his musical palette is much wider and resplendent with varied shades that far outstrip any easy labels. The collection is immaculately produced and highlights Wright’s various talents.

The opener “Answer to my Prayers” is a slice of beautifully simmering R&B soul favoring subtlety and nuance over heavy-handed overstatement. Wright’s voice plays well against tasteful backing vocals and he shows every bit of the phrasing command you’d rightfully expect from such a master. Wright isn’t afraid to indulge his audiences with some humorous, if still musically substantive, musical work. “Looking for an Ugly Woman” has to be heard in a certain light to gain a tight grasp of its merits. If you take it too seriously or straight, you lose the point. The real sad sack of the song, if there is one, is its narrator who thinks the only way he’ll get what he deserves is finding a woman too physically unattractive to fail appreciating him. The inventive bass playing and deep groove make it musically worthwhile, but it’s probably best listeners not take its lyrics very seriously. The multi-part vocal harmonies powering “Better Watch Out” are, arguably, the song’s most memorable component, but the careful and deliberate arrangement shows a sensibility for melody lacking in many young composers. It drives home one of the album’s central lessons – the abiding virtues of the genre can continue to thrive and gain the attention they deserve if addressed by artists deep and aware enough to frame them in sleek and modern frames. Wright does that on every song.

"She Don’t Believe In Love” is a romping funk number eliciting from Wright one of his most inspired performances on Something To Make You Feel Good. The quality driving this track illustrates another key point about the album – despite the melancholy subject matter underlying many songs, the music and individual performances never fail to capture a positive, eternally youthful energy. “Happiness” is cast in the same sunny mood and the forceful introduction of brass gives it additional melodic heft. “Throwing in the Towel” is one of the album’s most enjoyable later numbers, an irrepressible, driving song with percussive piano and an unique tempo. There’s ample humor here, as listeners will find elsewhere on Wright’s latest release, but it’s tempered with a certain restraint enriching its artistry. The album’s final song “Storybook” brings Something To Make You Feel Good to a surprising finale. Instead of slowing things down with some meditative curtain closer, Wright invokes a powerful funk groove to power his latest release home. Charles Wright is still a trailblazer and his idiosyncratic mix of talents grows more flavorful with every year. 

9 out of 10 stars

Written by Jason Hillenburg