Grooves & Cuts – August 2024 – #3
These reviews are recent older releases from earlier this year. They got away the first time & are worth a look.
Due to the overwhelming late entry submissions Grooves & Cuts will soon cut back to a shorter copy to allow for more titles, a brief music column & vintage music by obscure artists who deserve a second chance. Thanks for reading.
Spilled Mercury:
As for the future – self-titled
It’s nice that the Bossa Nova isn’t a forgotten genre. I was a youngster when that craze was hot in the ‘60s but for some reason I liked it. Not that I could listen every day but even when some artists commercialized it in America the music was invigorating (Eydie Gorme’s “Blame It On the Bossa Nova”).
With this set new Brazilian music is configured with Bossa Nova suggestions, Astrud Gilberto sexiness with deep bellowing trombones such as the one on “Don’t Do It Again.” Hey, it’s different – what was old is new again.
The reasoning is, that this band manages to differentiate the past from the present. There’s a more exhilarating samba & mambo peppering with clever vocals on “Koan for the Music Business.” It has the ’60s instrumentation up front (reminiscent of the old “Brazilville”) the presentation exhumes memories of a time when we all inhaled deep perfumes of melody from many countries – “Love Is Blue” by Paul Mauriat was big at this time too, so was Germany’s Bert Kaemphert all during the heyday of The Beatles & The Rolling Stones.
The songs on this self-titled showcase (Dropped June 14/Independent/77:00) are all laid out with a variety of vocal stylizations, with expressive instrumentation (like the game show type music of “Letters On the Line”) that may appeal more to older listeners than younger. However, youth that likes to dance would find this hypnotic since this type of music bypasses the heart & mind & goes right for the feet, hips & ass.
More serious is “Look Around” which is marvelously rendered. Smoky, cocktail, lounge-type nightclub tune that even Billie Holiday could’ve sung. There are 10 tracks with 9 bonus songs. 19 melodic productions on this debut from a NYC collective.
Arranged & produced by As for the future (the band name doesn’t suggest Brazilian-oriented music) & recorded not in Brazil but in Brooklyn, the Big Apple, Kingston, NY, North Hollywood, Massachusetts & Connecticut, the atmosphere is genuinely & faithfully Brazilian.
Color image courtesy of the band’s Bandcamp site. Insert with lyrics & credits included. CD @ https://asforthefuture.bandcamp.com/album/as-for-the-future & https://linktr.ee/asforthefuture
Marc Douglas Berardo – The Beauty of This Now
This 10-song set The Beauty of This Now (Dropped May 31/Independent/38:00) provides some light balladry, smooth ride melodies & if Marc Douglas Berardo (acoustic guitars/vocals) sounds like anyone I’d have to mention Marc Cohn (“Walking In Memphis”) or the poignant vocals of the late Kenny Rankin (“Silver Morning”) & Jim Croce. There’s a seriousness to Marc’s compositions that’s not apparent in the slew of artists who seem to have a lot of nothing to say in an album’s worth of music.
What Berardo possesses is a good, diversified set with a warm homegrown voice. The female vocalist adds a nice contrast. Some songs like “Another Day In July” have a Euro-touch but the vocalizing is right out of the Harry Chapin songbook. Nice job. Other highlights are: “Listening Now,” “That Alone Will Set You Free,” “Changing” & “On My Way Home To You.”
Recorded in Austin & produced by Walt Wilkins & Ron Flynt (B3 Organ, Wurlitzer piano & baritone guitar) the set is an old-fashioned simple set of well-written good story songs & an honest vocal with no showboating.
The Rhode Island-based Marc is cut from the same cloth as James Taylor, early Elton John & the efforts of both Luka Bloom & Pierce Pettis. Songs don’t require any analysis since they are easily relatable by anyone who listens.
Photo courtesy of Marc’s website. CD @ Amazon & Bandcamp + https://www.marcdouglas.com/
Cary Hudson – Ole Blue
While his day job is as the lead singer of the alt-country Southern rock band Blue Mountain, the Mississippi-born Hudson (guitars/piano/harmonica) has offered his fans a bonus with his 8th solo album. Cary began this side of his career when the band was on hiatus & he never stopped. Blue Mountain has since ceased in 2013.
Cary, an established lead guitarist has played for Bobby Rush, RL Burnside, Big Jack Johnson, Shannon MacNally, Dayna Kurtz & others. But on this solo effort, he has a slinky vocalizing style that is quite attractive, smoky & tinted with a little of Dr. John on “Who Been HooDoooin U.” Nice piece.
Slipping into more country gear on Ole Blue (Dropped March 22/Old Trace/Black Dog/Malaco Music Group) the tune “Delta Darlin,’” comes on soothing like a song you’d sing on a southern humid day lying in a hammock with a jug of shine & a strong black stogie while a bevy of beauties soap down your blue pickup truck in the driveway while sipping icy cold lemonade & humming this song. Life is good.
Cary strolls down an easy street in the jazzier in the answer to Roger Miller’s classic “King of the Road,” with “Queen of the Road,” a finger-snapping & jazzy guitar turn that’s sung by Anna Hudson. Nice change of pace. Anna returns with the lovely “Goodbye,” toward the coda.
It’s a well-produced & absorbing sounding album that’s varied in its material enough to keep the interest quotient up. Both Cary & Anna Hudson sing exceptionally well throughout. But I could have done without “Country Funk.”
CD @ Apple Music + https://hemifran.com/artist/Cary%20Hudson/ & http://caryhudson.com/
Birdfeeder – Woodstock
This trio is made up of some people who have been around for a while. Princeton, NJ’s Chris Harford was a mainstay in the local New York club scene of the 80s with a diversified approach to his music & issued some interesting albums including some with a unit known as the Band of Changes. Pennsylvania’s Kevin Salem played with Chris in the past & was a member of a notorious band known as Dumptruck. He played with Yo Lo Tengo & Freedy Johnston.
Drummer Mark Mulcahey was a member of the wonderful band Miracle Legion. Together they have pieced an interestingly melodic if not eccentric 8 pieces. With composers like this, there are virtually no boundaries in themes, subjects, or topics for songwriting. They will always find something worth writing about no matter how peculiar. Yet, it’s not so much weird as clever.
There isn’t much originality in their CD artwork on Woodstock (Dropped April 23/Soul Selects Records/26:00) – a run-down house with two ladders leaning against the face & an interior that has no lyrics or information.
But the music contained is rootsy, with some good ballads & acoustic guitar fingerpicking & unlike some alternative types, these men tiptoe across compelling compositions. Highlights include “She Stood Up at the PTA” & “So It’s a Bomb.” Kevin Salem (guitar/producer) along with Chris Harford (guitar/bass) & Mark Mulcahy (drums/vocals) sings with authority & maintains a little juvenile angst in his tone.
“So Triangular” has that late 70s punk as literature richness in its construct. The melody is upbeat & catchy with Salem’s voice vivid. While the showcase is stripped of any indulgent playing (this isn’t XTC or the Police) the performances ripple with notes like a stone thrown into a pond. They wanted to keep it simple.
Color image courtesy of Big Hassle Media/Square Space. CD @ https://birdfeeder-woodstock.bandcamp.com/album/woodstock & https://soulselects.com/store/p/birdfeeder-woodstock
Pamela McNeill – Wave After Wave
This 6-track EP by a native Minneapolis-bred artist who started her career in 1999 & went to the UK & back is a spare set produced by John Richardson (drums) & Adam Ollendorff (acoustic & electric guitar) & recorded faithfully in Nashville, TN.
Ms. McNeill has all the facilities of a commercially attractive mainstream vocalist. Just enough vocal power to not be too overindulgent & lots of sweetness in her absorbing tunes. “Give Back My Love (Reimagined),” is a soulful country number instantly catchy.
Pamela seems well-schooled in the retro poppy country environs of the 60s where female artists like Skeeter Davis, Merilee Rush & Sue Thompson had many delectable hits on the charts. Pamela’s songs have that thrust, toe-tapping energy & danceability. Wave After Wave (Dropped May 30/Farm To Label Records) is a satisfying set.
Pamela’s no stranger to the formula & recipes for hit-sounding material. Not quite as compelling as Lucinda Williams, or as diversified as Emmylou Harris, Pamela does have a formidable presentation in her pieces. There’s a juvenile luxuriant sound to her songs that deal with youth more than hard living & difficult times. “Hurricane,” is a ballad that comes across with maturity.
Despite her excellent voice her material could use a little more grit to benefit her repertoire. This set is filled with good music but it’s all parallel – a sensible mix of pop-country that’s relatively a smooth ride. “In My Next Life (Reimagined),” has a little too much vocal treatment for my taste. I say that since I know how well Pamela sings without the extraneous tweaking.
These aren’t songs that require any deep analysis. They’re for enjoying as well-performed pieces “Give Back My Love (Reimagined),” “Hurricane,” “The Ocean” & Pamela McNeill has succeeded with the genre with musicians Tom Bukovac (guitar), Rachel Loy (bass), Billy Justineau (keys), Sarah Buxton & Justin Cortelyou (bgv).
Color image courtesy of Pamela’s Facebook. CD @ https://www.pamelamcneill.com/home-page & https://farmtolabelrecords.com/product/wave-after-wave-by-pamela-mcneill-vinyl-ep-digital-ep/
Hermanos Gutierrez – Sonido Cosmico
Something quite different comes from the “cosmic sound” of an Ecuadorian-Swiss sibling duo of Estevan (electric guitar/bongo/cowbell/clave/conga) & Alejandro Gutierrez (slide guitar/electric guitar). The 12 instrumental passages were produced in Nashville by Dave Auerbach (mellotron/electric guitar/bass/tik-tak bass) for Sonido Cosmico (Dropped June 14/EasyEye Sound/Concord).
The melodies explore a world beyond with ethereal-sounding landscapes & expansive guitar tonalities that are expressive & “speak” through their varied notes.
This has been done before by two Brazilian native brothers known as Los Indios Tabajaras who scored with their instrumental “Maria Elena,” in 1963 on a major label. I hear similarities in the performance though Hermanos Gutierrez on this set is a little more spacey. They still manage to sound grounded in their exceptional performance (“Abuelita”). Great care has been taken to keep the music smooth & organic without much embellishment & showboating.
Each melody translates a tale through their guitar picking & creates an atmosphere that’s relaxing & visceral. It’s not jazz though it does cruise along in that lineage in its way with evocative runs as if going through a gauntlet – being touched & prodded gently through the run by other instruments. What can also be appreciated is that none of the melodies last their stay. The tunes are short, sweet & memorable.
“It’s All In Your Mind,” has guitar mindful of the tone of the late Roy Buchanan & very reminiscent on “Until We Meet Again,” of the late Peter Green’s amazing guitar instrumental “Albatross” recorded by Fleetwood Mac in 1968. Hermanos Gutierrez provides compelling music, to say the least.
A 4pp insert with credits included. CD photography by Jim Herrington. CD @ https://hermanosgutierrez.bandcamp.com/album/sonido-c-smico & https://www.hermanosgutierrez.ch/
Evan Boyer – The Devil In Me
This young singer dives into a deeper end of the pool composing tunes that deal with messing up, dealing with the consequences, accepting flaws & redemption. Take a deep breath & jump into Evan Boyer’s The Devil In Me (Dropped June 7/Medicine For Mary Records). The music starts with cold splashes in the face with “Mockingbird & Monticello” with its double-fisted arrangement & tight performances. Quite a ride.
Boyer sounds like he’s cut from the same pine as singer-songwriters he probably isn’t even familiar with. Marc Cohn’s (“Walking In Memphis,” “Silver Thunderbird”), Joe Henry’s (“Trampoline”), & Peter Himmelman’s (“Only You Can Walk Away,” “The 5th of August”) types.
Boyer has a great sense of songcraft & his voice is warm with all its energy & whatever sediment is left at the bottom. He could get grittier but right now his singing is quite expressive, delicate & sincere. “Cedar Creek” is a ballad that is not syrupy or sweet – it tells a story with an insightful edge.
Boyer’s music like most popular music on first inspection has its similarities — but it’s like the difference between polyester & wool blend cloth – the fabric has to breathe & Boyer’s music breathes. The 8-song set was produced by Bradley Prakope & recorded in Denton & Dallas, TX.
Boyer manages to blend his Americana spices well with his more pop-rock-generated arrangements. The addition of some female vocals lifts the showcase from the banality that can be commercial music. The songs have a generous dose of individuality. The North Carolina native certainly watered his rootsy endeavors well because he is genuinely listenable & has the material to maintain a solid career.
With “The Devil In Me,” Boyer turns out a strong Steve Earle vocal weapon. Dramatic but not pretentious. With “Sweet Mary,” Boyer successfully peels back the skin of the styles of both John Prine & Mickey Newbury on his close-out tune. Well done.
CD cover image by Will Von Bolton. Lyrics are on the inner sleeve. CD @ Amazon + Apple Music & https://www.evanboyermusic.com/product-page/the-devil-in-me-whisky-smoke-vinyl
Song premiere: https://americanahighways.org/2024/01/31/song-premiere-evan-boyer-home-to-you/
Jeff Evans Porkestra – Willow Pillow – EP
This veteran of the Atlanta roots-alt country underground has released a healthy 9 albums in his career. With this, his debut Porkestra release he self-produced the 6 short cuts with some help from Sean McPhearson (bass).
On this brief sampling Willow Pillow – EP (Dropped April 19/Independent) Jeff sings in a homegrown style with beautiful backup vocals by a host of females. This isn’t knock-your-socks-off country music but a homespun, & laid-back-and-savored trip down through Mark Twain-type scenarios. Evans has the perfect narrator voice for these types of tunes. I started listening more to songs like this & appreciating them when I discovered a band called “The Cat Mary,” (a band somewhat in the tradition of Lyle Lovett with a dash of Little Feat) who issued a track called “Her High Lonesome Days” which is an intense narrative.
Jeff doesn’t keep everything rural he rocks out a bit on “Willow Pillow” with some savoring guitar chiseling as he narrates a barely audible tale. As if he’s talking to you during a live performance.
Despite the lack of polish, the songs have an atmosphere. It’s not whiskey but the tunes have enough musical alcohol to give a listener a buzz. The playing is elementary, but it’s delivered with such entertaining value that it’s not novelty-oriented despite some of the sillier song titles. Jeff sings at times like he could’ve been a vocalist for The B-52s if they’d gone into a country vein.
On “I’m Going To Town,” Jeff’s less rambunctious vocally as The B-52’s Fred Schnieder but has that drawl that made Dante & the Evergreen’s version of “Alley Oop,” so delicious. The meandering lead guitar also adds to its charm.
Color images courtesy of Carole Keith. CD @ Amazon & Apple – https://www.facebook.com/p/Jeff-Evans-Porkestra-61556320586500/
Lara Taubman – The Gospel of Getting Free
This 10-song set is interesting in that has all the warm folky riches of singers like Judy Collins, Cris Williamson & Mary Travers. Ms. Taubman conveys beautifully her lyrical tunes & the light arrangements drift through making them all fanciful & mediative. Nothing is heavy, just down home sweet, with the atmosphere sensibility of apples in a bowl, honey jars on the shelf, fresh cut flowers in the window & a rain barrel filled with water dripping drops from tiny holes.
This third album by Ms. Taubman was produced by Steven Williams. The Gospel of Getting Free (Dropped June 21/Continental Song City/Atomic) will easily, if temporarily, erase any anxiety from your head. The songs are at times light as a feather & don’t sound like they were nurtured in a recording studio in Brooklyn, NY & CT. But they were. These are not Laurel Canyon compositions. There are no fruity hippie asides, no radical stabs just solid compositions plugged in & let loose for open ears to capture them.
Each has its intrinsic tales, tightly woven & colorfully showcased. The two opening songs “Home at Last,” & “The Siren,” are gentle wisps of palatable playing much the same as the beautiful pieces of the late Judee Sill (“The Kiss”) & the vocals of Mimi Farina.
Ms. Taubman (lead vocals/autoharp) also has the Broadway vocal distillation well contained when she sings “The Reason I Was Born,” with all the gusto of a Cole Porter-George Gershwin-Stephen Sondheim signature. Her diversification is savoring since all this will keep her music entertaining & interesting. Lara’s tonality, intonation & phrasing is impeccable. Her manner is informal since she isn’t trying to impress anyone with range or showboating – her power is in her songwriting & interpretations of her compositions.
There’s a touch of Greenwich Village & Washington Square folky mixed in, but it doesn’t run through the songs in a retro way but more in a nostalgic narrative tint. Since that area of downtown New York unfortunately doesn’t hold that folky mystique anymore like the late 50s & early 60s. (It’s true because I was there). The song “The Odyssey,” is captured wonderfully by Lara as she narrates the piece.
Now, with the tune “Sugar” this is a singing lesson. Lara’s varied tonalities throughout the song are “acting” & adds color to the tune beyond mere singing. This is excellence, yes again, it’s a little Broadway but this is done with such finesse & it’s faithful – probably the best tune on the set & there are many. Impressive.
A pleasure to listen to the alchemy of this artist. Good songs, lyrics, musicians & done with class.
A 12pp stitched lyric insert is included. CD cover photo courtesy of Paul Story. Portrait image courtesy of Lara’s Bandcamp. CD @ Bandcamp & https://www.larataubman.com/
Matt Krahula & The Nightmare River Band – Last Goodbye II
This is an interesting compilation LP with various artists who perform the music of Hawaii’s multi-instrumentalist & upright bassist Matt Krahula who also produced the overall effort.
The lead track “Last Goodbye” is quite musical & upbeat as performed by Bunny Day & The Mercy Buckets out of Kentucky. This track was produced & performed more specifically by Lacey Guthrie & Amy Lee. It’s quite an infectious piece of music sung extremely well. Many of the songs on this edition were demos that sold well on Matt’s earlier “Last Goodbye” set by The Nightmare River Band (Amazon).
However, these songs are from the newly issued 11-track Last Goodbye II – (Dropped June 14/Independent) & are more polished representations. “Walk On” is your basic rocker ala 60s catchy workout & vocals by Bird Streets produced & performed by John Brodeur. Mainstream fodder for sure but well done.
The album represents nothing scorching or versatile. The majority are pop-oriented commercial numbers, but they’re not toss-offs. They’re all well-written, produced & performed songs that possess the potential of having been chart hits in any era. “Oh Me, Oh My,” is distinctive with its duet by Panama Wedding. A strong ballad with defining vocals produced & performed by Peter Kirk.
Some tunes that aren’t so commercially treated (“Life Just Stops”) are more English-oriented with troubadour melodies similar to Al Stewart (“Time Passages,” “Genie On a Table Top”), Clifford T. Ward (“Gaye,” “Wherewithal”), Peter Sarstedt (“Frozen Orange Juice,” “Where Do You Go To My Lovely”). This track is performed & produced admirably by Dan Romer out of L.A.
A catchy performance comes from The Quiet Hollers’ “Mary,” & they’re out of Kentucky – performed & produced by Shadwick Wilde. Quite good. Though this has its typical rural instrumentation the vocals are wholly in that English troubadour style. The majority of the tunes are all good in their distinctive way.
Color image courtesy of Matt’s website. CD @ Apple Music + Bandcamp & https://www.krahula.com/
The Flying Salvias – Henry’s Hideaway
I’ve shuffled through several Americana sets, folk rock & even ambient excursions. But this is the first lounge-oriented/nightclub easy-listening showcase I’ve wallowed through in a while. You don’t have to be old but every now & then a set of music that never goes out of style is a pleasant diversion. Especially when the duo does it so well & respectfully.
This is basically what my Mom & Dad would listen to in the 50s either on occasion as leisure music or on The Ed Sullivan Show, Hollywood Palace, or a live act in one of New York City’s swanky clubs. I can’t call it retro because the music’s still alive, in vogue & on many stages. Even folky-jazz chanteuse Joni Mitchell had tackled such tunes on her LPs when she dipped her voice into Lambert-Hendricks & Ross pieces like “Twisted” & “Centerpiece.”
Kicking off on these 8 piano-led morsels that comprise Henry’s Hideaway (Dropped May 1/Polywana Records) vocalist Kathleen Salvia is marvelous in this setting with an Annie Ross/Annie Golden garnish. She’s not a cabaret jazz singer like Billie Holiday though she could easily tackle that songbook. Her vocals are more Simonized (a fancy past word for highly polished). But along with her husband, pianist Henry Salvia (also Rhodes/synth/acoustic guitar), they both provide solid showmanship.
Their repertoire has variety. Kathleen has the right voice & what’s equally amazing is that despite sounding vintage the songs are originals – not oldies. Kudos for mastering that magical touch. Ms. Salvia’s not as pop-oriented & may not have the range of the excellent Vicki Carr, or rough & jazzy Billie Holiday. But she is more in the house of Ella than most. Maybe she should add some scatting to her performance & replicate it in a significant way. The showmanship that was Anita O’Day during her set in the video of Jazz On a Summer’s Day 1958.
The tunes aren’t embellished with any blues overtones or rock tactics. The majority are entrenched in the time-honored styles on Tin Pan Alley & perhaps before that time. They may not be songs as clever as the best of the Gershwin’s, Cole Porter, Irving Berlin, Hoagy Carmichael, or Stephen Sondheim but the attempt, the spirit is unwaveringly intact. Especially on stuff like “Take Me With You When You Go Too Far.” Even the tune Henry tackles vocally is warm. Frank Sinatra, Vic Damone & even Lenny Welch don’t have to worry. It’s a good tune. Henry has a nice light Peter Duchin touch on the ivories.
With the walking bass of “Curious Bling,” the duo calls up the ghost of Henry Mancini’s cool & Ms. Salvia is resonant, steady & smooth alongside Henry’s jazz-inspired piano. This is constructed in a distinguished Lambert-Hendricks & Ross mode.
Produced by Gabriel Shepard the set glides across samba-inspired tunes, moody mid-tempo jazz ballads & plain easy listening with pizzazz ala Mel Torme. While I’m not enamored of every tune Kathleen performs she does turn in excellence at every curve. Her phrasing’s wonderful & her voice is silky smooth without sounding too vocal-coached.
Not quite as alluring as Astrud Gilberto in the samba bag Kathleen does give it a good delicate stroke that makes her performance accessible on “Take It.” Far better than a swipe at being seductive in a breathy Claudine Longet style. I think these musicians assert themselves well. It’s all enjoyable if you wish to try something different from another era. The small combo of Alex Baum (acoustic/electric bass), Kent Bryson (drums) & Russ Gold (percussion) is tight. Good performances are maintained in a high fashion.
Color image courtesy of their website. CD @ Apple Music & https://flyingsalvias.com/home
Theo Kandel – Eating & Drinking & Being In Love
This singer-songwriter was born in NY but is now based in L.A. Theo is also a multi-instrumentalist & Eating & Drinking & Being In Love (Dropped June 28/Nettwerk Music Group) was his debut album. The set was produced by Jack Kleinick in NYC. Subject-wise Theo lingers in tales of road trips, being nostalgic & late summer nights with friends all of which are embellished in his single “The Painters.”
He tries to capture the good feelings he knew from the past & past decades. But were those decades so fun? The past always has a tint of good times but for some, it may not be the way to remember it. Am I Criticizing Theo’s music? No. He makes an effort to help a listener recapture the times that were, indeed, good.
While on the surface Theo doesn’t do anything that hasn’t been done before but he has found his level. His comfort zone. The melodies are bright & have a typically mainstream thrust with just enough commercial attraction that doesn’t go too sugary & silly. The songs are arranged & played with an instant likeability. Will they sustain over decades? Maybe. But there is a pop 60s thread that runs through Theo’s material. There’s little that’s intense or heavy here but the songs have a danceability & are never excessive. They don’t wear out their welcome with solos & outlandish runs.
Theo injects innocence & humor into his taking advantage of being young without a care in the world…for now. So, enjoy it while it lasts & that’s basically what many did through the 40s, 50s & 60s when Big Band/Swing teeny boppers danced & boogied, the 50s baby boomers went to sock hops & American Bandstand & the 60s hippies hit the festivals. Each generation had its moment of leisure & Theo is exemplifying this today for today.
While Theo doesn’t possess a commanding or authoritative voice his pop garnish is honest & innocent & conveys the truth as he understands it. As he does in the juvenile “On My Mind (Driving)” & reflective “Honeydew Moon” both warmhearted. Fortunately, Theo doesn’t dress up his repertoire with too many cliches, silly instrumentation, or gimmicks & that may be what makes him worth the most serious consideration. He’s treading the areas of early Beach Boys who also sang about school days, driving the strip & young love before their music got serious.
Theo is mining a musical vein that is not as covered as much today as in the early 60s & that may be just the key to fitting the door of many young people’s hearts tired of aggressive rap, repetitive country-pop, monotonous techno & valium-induced balladeers. I find him listenable because he’s a good, clever & simple songwriter.
Color image courtesy of Theo Kandel. CD @ Bandcamp & https://www.theokandel.com/music
J.M. Clifford – Trains, Thinkin’ & Drinkin’
Hard to believe this NYC elementary school teacher/singer-songwriter & guitarist is from Brooklyn, NY. With rural rich washes in his vocal J.M. Clifford sounds like a natural. Maybe that’s all you need if those Appalachian mountains are in your soul. But how did it even get there? Mr. Clifford has a friendly vocal style much in the way as the late John Denver. The musicians that surround him are genuine in the heart & soul of the music.
Produced by platinum-selling artist Ron Pope all but one are Clifford originals. Drawing on country inflections, lots of bluegrass, sawdust folk & whiskey-drenched Americana this album features many well-sung pieces & paces the project with finger-picking instrumentals — lots of tradition in each note.
But on J.M. Clifford’s new LP Trains, Thinkin’ & Drinkin’ (Dropped June 7/Brooklyn Basement) he keeps it all equally smart & simple with no less daring traditional approaches (“Billy Goose”). This has the Hartford delicacy but in some manner a stretch into Leo Kottke’s type of energetic instrumentals.
Some tunes “Complicated Man,” “Old Brown Shoes,” “Cumberland Mornings” & “Raised In the Ashes” are augmented with the more traditional tunesmith arrangements common with the late John Hartford who drew upon tunes long buried in songbooks from an earlier time. Now if we could only get Clifford to get a Mississippi riverboat license. Hey, not so crazy, John Hartford famously had one & he was from New York City too.
I’m impressed that a young man like J.M. would take up this truly vintage music & keep the music’s heart beating in the 21st Century. I know Hartford & musicians like David Grisman & Jerry Garcia would be proud of him. Musicians joining J.M. are Bronwyn Keith-Hynes (fiddle), Seth Taylor (guitar), Jeff Partin (dobro) & Jeff Picker (bass). CD @ https://www.jmcliffordmusic.com/
Michael Menager – Line In the Water
Born in East L.A. & schooled in San Francisco this troubadour was buffed & shined by the works of Shakespeare, John Donne & Beat Generation writers such as Jack Kerouac & Allen Ginsberg. Along with that writing thrust he was also immersed in the blues of Mississippi John Hurt, the Reverend Gary Davis & the formidable Dylan, Tom Waits, John Prine & Townes van Zandt though Mike looks a hell of a lot more like Buddy Miller crossed with Van Morrison.
The music is classic Americana on this smooth 10 shots of bourbon on Line In the Water (Dropped May 31/Zenith Records-Australia/36:31). Not as dark as Waits, but close to that “Love & Theft” album trio by Dylan. Mike’s stories are intense (“What Is It Really That I Need?), well-arranged with a late-career Tom Waits-type band showcase with stilted percussion & meandering bass. Quite cool since Mike doesn’t try to emulate Waits, Chuck E. Weiss, or Captain Beefheart in the process. His voice is friendlier & more attuned to the Tom Paxton/David Axelrod school of folksiness while maintaining the necessary broken glass in the bathroom, torn shower curtain & doorless pickup truck attitude. More bandana than a baseball cap.
“Baby, I Can Change,” & “Line In the Water” have a darker Canned Heat, Jim Carroll, Lou Reed, Tom Waits & John Hammond blues vocal concoction & intonation. Mike’s voice is deeper & has lots of character. The set was produced by Heath Cullen in Australia & features Mr. Menager (vocals/acoustic guitar) with the Devil’s Creek Rounders: Rusty Lavonne, Bess Maloney & Slim Fitz.
I believe that anyone who enjoys the atmospheric, moody storytelling of the artists mentioned in this copy — Mike’s set is highly recommended. The showcase is never overbearing or showy. It’s music spare, ruralized & urbanized where required. It’s made with natural ingredients; no embellishments & Mike is a purist with this approach. Each tune has its steely mélange, its density & appeal since little here is economical or juvenile.
Photo courtesy of Brian Rapsey. A 12-pp stitched lyric insert is included. CD & song samples @ Bandcamp & https://www.michaelmenager.com/
In These Trees and Tartie – The Quiver
This is like the thinking man’s Abba laid out in a storyline album. The 2 female voices on this debut are absorbing & nebulous & characterized by their colorful mainstream catchy melodies. Produced by David Baron (keyboards) & features guitarists Jeff Pevar & John Andrews & Ben Zwerlin (bass), with drummers Jerry Marotta, Jeff Lipstein & Aaron Johnston among other musicians.
The 10 lucid pieces appear on The Quiver (Dropped March 19/Independent-Australia) smooth & relaxing throughout the set. Yet, nothing is silly, pompous, or sugary. Australian singer/songwriter Tartie & U.S. alternative radio producer Binnie Klein make up the duo who splash a generous amount of sweetness on these well-arranged numbers. The title track “Quiver,” & the short “Dilemma” are standouts. With “Ghosts In Our Room,” & “Meet Me On the Mountain Top” will grab attention.
The songs explore love, memory, heartbreak, ecological grief & having hope. There’s a mystical drive in many melodies with determined expressive vocals akin to Kate Bush. So, while the set adheres to a pop sensibility the team maintains a logical sensible imaginative vocal approach that makes it intriguing.
One of the catchiest “Sky, Ocean” with nice overlapping vocals is a meticulous performance. Aggression? That comes with the wonderful “One Through Ten,” which lets loose with drums while the best example of their unified voices is featured on “Hailstorm” — which unfolds in a McGarrigle Sisters/Roches style — quite exceptional.
Binnie Klein photo courtesy: Mistina Hanscom & Tartie’s photo courtesy: Natasha Librero. A stitched 24-page lyric insert is included. CD & music samples @ Bandcamp & https://www.inthesetrees.com/
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Grooves & Cuts – #3 – August 2024
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