VALHALLA

Sunday, October 22, 2017

Gina Clowes - True Colors

FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/gina.clowes.7

The dozen songs featured on Gina Clowes’ True Colors reveal that Gina Clowes is a creative force beyond her current role as the ~~as being far more than just the~~ banjo player for Chris Jones and the Night Drivers. Her first solo effort shows that she’s not just a first class musician, but she’s a top shelf songwriter and capable vocalist as well. The album is largely devoted to songs with lyrics, but Clowes fortunately doesn’t resist the temptation to add some instrumentals to the track list and their inclusion makes True Colors a much richer, more varied release. She adheres to the bluegrass style for much of this album, but that sound comes about in different ways for her. Some of the songs on True Colors are straight forward traditional bluegrass while others put off a more confessional, Americana songwriter type of vibe, but she seems equally comfortable with both approaches. A couple of songs veer away entirely from the bluegrass mold and have more folksy origins, but they sound perfectly in keeping with the album’s mood and sonic architecture.

The clawhammer banjo of Clowes’ brother Victor Furtado and Clowes’ own banjo playing team up with stylish effect on the album’s opener “Puppet Show”. This is certainly a more sharply worded, even a little barbed, reflection on a relationship and Clowes sings the words with just the right amount of resentment without ever careening over the line. There’s a low-key, simmering musical mood driving this song that exerts a strong effect over the listener. “Saylor’s Creek” brings all of the typical instrumentation to bear, but another family member contributes much to the final outcome. Sister, Malia Furtado’s fiddle playing has a lot of influence over the atmosphere of this instrumental inspired by an American Civil War battle and it adds a tremendous amount to other tunes throughout the course of True Colors. The album, as a whole, has quite a live sound and excellent separation of instruments – the players on this song in particular weave a colorful tapestry of sound that conjures the dramatics of the song’s subject matter.

“Dust Can Wait” is another gem of an instrumental that sweeps the listener along at a brisk pace and has a little more stripped down sound compared to the previously mentioned tune. “For Better or For Worse” utilizes the guest vocals of Heather Berry Mabe to memorable effect and she gets deep inside this narrative about a struggling relationship. This is a song that knows more than it says and has real maturity that will resonate with many listeners. “Goodbye, Lianne” has the salutatory air implied in its title and trots along at a fine pace with each of the primary instrumentalists taking their turn with melodic breaks. “I’ll Stay Home” is much more of an acoustic singer/songwriter type of track and retains all of the personal touches common to the earlier songs whilst taking a different approach. We’re lucky to hear and see Gina Clowes’ many different faces on True Colors and it reveals a musical artist who has only begun to reveal the many layers of her considerable talents.

Stephen Bailey

Donna Ulisse - Breakin’ Easy

URL: http://www.donnaulisse.com/

Breakin’ Easy will likely end 2017 rating high as one of the best releases coming from the Americana or Bluegrass genres. Donna Ulisse’s vocal talents, songwriting skills, and astute choices for collaborators comes together on these dozen songs in an astonishingly complete way that makes this a solid listen from first song to last. There’s really no filler to speak of – she comes out of the gate with great energy, subverts a few expectations along the way, and never disappoints with pandering to the lowest common denominator. Purists of the form will find nothing disagreeable here as well; it’s apparent, on every song, that Ulisse has logged the needed time to be considered a genius of sorts with the style and she brings a clear vision for what she wants to accomplish to these tunes with the brilliant hand of Doyle Lawson in the producer’s seat. Breakin’ Easy is sincere, skillful, and relaxed.

Well-known for her Bluegrass and traditional country flavor, Donna ~~even~~ indulges in some blues along the way. The influence of blues on “Without Trouble Please” lives in its lyric and, lesser so, vocal, but there’s other forces shaping this song as well. The predominant style working here is bluegrass and Ulisse is easily at home with the material. “Back Home Again Feelin’” is a tune even casual fans will relate to and its breezy familiarity never feels put on. It is definitely within the bluegrass tradition, but Ulisse’s take on the form isn’t fixed towards one end – this doesn’t sound like some ancient bluegrass song plucked from the distant past but, instead, sounds completely modern while still using a long standing form to communicate with its audience. “A Little Past Lonely” tips its hat to Ulisse’s honky tonk past, surrounding its changes and the melody is largely carried by the album’s unsung instrument, the fiddle. It has a suitably melancholy atmosphere without ever slipping into bathos and the fiddle’s tone dovetails neatly into Ulisse’s voice.

“Baby Back Again” is one of the album’s more meditative ballads and gets a lot from another head turning Ulisse vocal. She takes her time setting up this song, following the arrangement, and maximizing the relationship between her singing and the superb backing she receives. “We Are Strong” is one of the album’s best cuts, if for no other reason, than the fact that it takes a positive message that might have risked corniness, treats it seriously, and instead turns into a wholly believable and rousing bit of songwriting. The lyrical imagery is especially pointed and helps make for a better song. “Where My Mind Can Find Some Rest” and the album’s finale “We’ve Got This Love Thing Figured Out” are very different numbers lyrically and, even, musically, but they make for an ideal final curtain when taken together for that very reason. The former is another tune suffused with weariness, but hope lives there as well. The latter brings Breakin’ Easy to a close on the same life and heart affirming note that has inspired much of the work. Donna Ulisse has turned in a winner here and she deserves every bit of the praise that’s her due for its excellence, and probably more well-deserved awards to come.

Scott Wigley

Romeo Dance Cheetah - Magnificent Man

Romeo Dance Cheetah - Magnificent Man

URL: https://romeodancecheetah.com/

The cover of Romeo Dance Cheetah’s Magnificent Man gives some warning, for novices, of the whacky and distinctive point of view dominating the album’s nine songs. It’s gaudy, assertive, and colorful, but there’s real luster surrounding its imagery and feel. He certainly demands that you don’t take him seriously throughout much of Magnificent Man, but he likewise presents the material with such a knowing flair for what will work captivating his target audience that one ends up respecting the design and spirit of this album. His humor definitely can be heard as going over the top by some at a few points during Magnificent Man, but never so far over the edge that you feel an urge to turn off the song. There’s a natural exuberance coming across with these songs that is definitely the product of youth, in some respects, but there’s also a major part of Cheetah’s talent is wider and wiser than his age might otherwise imply.

“Magnificent Man” doesn’t have any shame. Cheetah grabs the eighties arena rock style by the throat and gives us his best imitation but it never lacks ample style. The production has a ton of muscle, but there’s a lot of open space in the sound that lets these impressively large tracks breathes quite freely. The other songs of that type on Magnificent Man, “Party Poopin’” and “The Air Guitar Song”, hinge on the production and vocals. In both cases, Cheetah strides across the recording stage with immense confidence and owns these tunes with a level of authority we’d normally associate with older artists. The thrashing guitars of “Porcupine Love” come roaring out of the speakers and get up in the listener’s face. Like the other tracks on Magnificent Man, this one never overstays its welcome but it impressively maintains a high level of energy for its entirety without a discernible lull coming at any point.

“Gone with the Wind” has a light bluesy panache that might seem like a surprise, but the guitars and vocals carry it off with equal aplomb. His vocal alternates between an oddly, at first at least, self conscious tone and more traditional singing./ We go back to more conventional ground with the song “1970’s Disco King” and this late song rates as one of the album’s possibly more underrated moments. It never comes off with the overblown production and sound of the earlier tunes, but it’s an effective number in its own way. The final one two punch of “Laser Beam Makeup” and “Live the Dream” couldn’t hardly be any more different. The sheer freakiness of the first song is completely flattened by the latter’s sensitivity and rousing emotion. The sheer amount of variety on the album will be surprising for those expecting some sort of one trick pony there’s clearly more room to run for Romeo Dance Cheetah if he continues the approach we hear on Magnificent Man. It’s a hell of an album and entertaining all the way through.

David Shouse

Tuesday, October 17, 2017

The Commotions - Volume II

FACEBOOK: https://ru-ru.facebook.com/TheCommotionsband/

Great R&B/soul acts like this are scarce on the 2017’s music scene. This form, complete with horns and a strong blues influence, is often viewed as a retro or archaic musical style lacking any modern relevancy. While it has seemingly fallen out of commercial favor, the artistic potential of the music has never been exhausted and it is as true as ever that bringing something of yourself to the music is essential for making this style rise above its vast past. The Commotions’ songwriting brings that quality to the fore along with a depth of intelligence informing every aspect that’s quite unlike anything we’ve heard from the genre in many years. The Commotions hail from the Ottawa, Canada area but their upbringing in the Great White North doesn’t seem to impede their understanding of such an inherently American form. Volume II blows their fine debut release out of the water and the sprawling nature of the release isn’t taxing at all – instead, it comes off as a true creative outpouring.

“Good Enough” nicely winds up and gets off to a sweeping start with Noelle’s singing backed up by some great backing vocals. The good attitude coming off of this performance is impossible to ignore and Noelle taps into that energy without ever dominating or obscuring the musical quality. The horns are a big part of why this song succeeds with such ease. It’s a great beginning. :Masquerade” will make a great live song and promises to be one of the album’s best chances to garner some radio play. There’s more of an instrumental quality driving this song than the orchestral approach you hear on many of the other songs included with this release. Noelle gives us one of her best vocals with the song “Let Me Kiss You, Baby” and it raises the musical fire of the song up several degrees thanks to the way the players feed off her vocal pyrotechnics. “Too Little, Too Late” is another great uptempo number and pairs up nicely with the aforementioned song. Jeff Rogers gives a nicely soulful vocal performance on the song “Say Yes to Me Tonight”, but this song might have benefitted from being slowed down a little further. His vocal for the song should pick up its energy level a little, but there’s no such quibbles with the song “Right Kind of Wicked” and Rogers digs deep with this one in a way that will leave few, if any, unimpressed.

Rogers scores again with the bluesy “Don’t Walk Away”, but there’s some funkier elements sneaking their way into that track. The band’s one attempt at a slower, more intimate ballad comes with “Loving You” and it affords listeners a nice change of pace from the across the board liveliness of the earlier songs. The final cut “Come Clean” is a Rebecca Noelle gem with the same bluesy atmospherics as the earlier “Don’t Walk Away” but forsaking the funky aspects. There’s something on this album for everyone. The Commotions’ Volume II has ambition to burn, but they keep things accessible throughout and are definitely out to please the audience.

I-TUNES: https://itunes.apple.com/ca/album/volume-ii/id1282594243

Laura Dodero

Sunday, October 15, 2017

Dynamos - Shake, Rattle, & Roll

URL: http://www.dynamosmusic.com/

“Shake, Rattle, and Roll” is Dynamos’ first release since their debut EP Cold Comfort landed on the scene with a roar. The Southern California based band boasts five members, including bidding superstar vocalist Nadia Elmistikawy, who come together on their past recordings and new single alike with combustible chemistry that positions these young performers as one of the most promising musical acts today. Top shelf production helps accentuate the band’s interplay with a warm blanket of sound enveloping the material and performance that never draws attention to itself and, instead, serves the musicians and songwriting alike as it should. “Shake, Rattle, and Roll” has a deceptive simplicity, but there’s some sly winking going on that the band never plays up and, instead, contributes to the intelligence and bright, boisterous spirit that defines the best rock and roll. Dynamos have upped their game with this release and are poised to ascend to the next level.

Nadia Elmistikawy’s vocal is the song’s defining strength. She doesn’t show up immediately in the tune, but after a brief introduction, and it has a powerfully transformative effect when her presence exerts its influence over the track. Her extensive vocal training allows her to pursue a variety of approaches over the song’s condensed running time and she never oversteps her boundaries at the expense of her surrounding players. Instead, her emotiveness brings a richer, more meaningful feel to the lyrics and helps highlight the slightly under the radar intelligence informing the lyric and song structure alike. Rather than positioning her voice against the arrangement, Elmistikawy shows the good instincts to sing alongside the instruments instead and it results in a much more unified performance than we would have otherwise experienced. She’s a multi-faceted vocal talent who gets under the skin of a song and makes it an expression of her personal identity.

The players serve the track well. The way “Shake, Rattle, and Roll” opens with the rhythm section setting the early direction with jagged guitar contributions soon takes off into full fledged rock flight that couples power together with undeniable stylishness. Bassist Nick Schaadt and drummer Ian Nakawaza make for an impressive rhythm section tandem and they give the guitars of Jacob Mayeda and Carlos Barrea a strong platform from which they can weave crackling rock magic. The instrumentalists never succumb to any sort of over indulgence – these are players, despite their young age, who recognize that the notes you don’t play often have more weight and value than those you do. Despite the brash rock and roll spirit on display here, the performance is thankfully tasteful and never relies on cookie cutter histrionics common to heavy handed, artless rock tracks. Dynamos, instead, stand out from the pack and their single “Shake, Rattle, and Roll” grabs the presumably moribund genre of rock music and gives it a jostle guaranteed to shake some life into the form.

I-TUNES: https://itunes.apple.com/gb/album/shake-rattle-and-roll-single/id1292043281

Scott Wigley

Wednesday, October 11, 2017

Stranger Friends

INSTAGRAM: https://www.instagram.com/strangerfriendsband/

With a musical style that combines the harmony of the Everly Brothers and the grit of Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, Stranger Friends will release their self-titled, self-written EP on October 20. Band members Jamie Floyd and John Martin met through a mutual friend in 2010. To their surprise, songs came naturally, as though these strangers had been friends all along. And their vocal blend was instantly, undeniably special. Since that time, they have followed their musical instincts from recording sessions in a garage in Nashville to writing songs for television and film. But that’s just some of their background.

These two have been together a while now and their efforts are starting to really pay off with the recording of the soundtrack for the Burt Reynolds movie - Dog Years - featuring their track “Yet To Come” which will be out in 2018.

Their new EP comes with much to prepare for that, and it should get heard by their fans combined with it over the next year. The production is pretty-slick, as with most good country and rock artists. They come blazing out on the opener with “Country Song” and you can’t deny how awesome they are on this killer track that contains every good element they consist of.

They only prove to improve with every track, as the following “Sacred Garden” offers up with the greatest of ease. It has a charming groove to it that keeps you interested the whole time, like being on the beach or somewhere with a cool breeze. They immediately get under your skin with a fun-loving track here which has everything going for it. You get invited into the garden of peace, as they sing together about it. This is a truly remarkable song from beginning to end, with a captivating spirit all its own to wash over your ears with its fabulous melody that won’t go away, even once it’s over.

“I Ain’t Dead” is the peaking point on the EP, with a hypnotic track of epic-level efforts. Led by the vocals of John Martin, this is a wildly delivered track that doesn’t grab you quite as much the first time as it does with repeated listens. But once you’re in the groove this is the track that stands out the most if you let it do its magic all the way. It’s worth the price of admission alone to me. Don’t let the other tracks fool, because they’re all one hundred percent efforts.

It should just be noted this track is a must hear without a doubt, as they captured all their best in-the course of laying this one down.

Between the lines you’ll also find much solitude in the lyrics of “November & June” with Jamie Floyd coming through stronger on this one. It brings the mood back up to happy and keeps the EP grounded before it’s all over with the closing being the last-but not least of the bunch as well. “Don’t Get Back Up” is a love song with a great message of positivity and it works as well as any other track, so it marks no dips in the EP to speak of. Once you get used to these songs, they’re hard to stop playing, and that’s a testament to it and them. Stranger Friends have arrived in their own ways.

Randy Jones

Tuesday, October 10, 2017

Flotation Device Warning - The Machine That Made Us

URL: http://www.flotationtoywarning.co.uk/

First coming together on London’s north side and literally working their way up from regional status, Flotation Device Warning are cutting edge without ever sounding elitist or removed from the audience’s experiences. They often tackle larger than usual musical structures far removed from pop song formulas, but there’s plenty of qualities in the songs included on The Machine That Made Us that you’ll never forget this is fundamentally sound songwriting that, thanks to layering of instruments, often sounds much more complex than it really is while still readily connecting with listeners. This is the first full length follow up to their debut Bluffer’s Guide to the Flight Deck and the band’s talent for memorable titles proves to be strong on this new release. There’s a lot on The Machine That Made Us that is familiar, but very little that is predictable.

They take the occasion to walk fine lines between quirkiness and a traditional approach with songs like the opener “Controlling the Sea”. Keyboardist Vicky Wood joins Paul Carter in a loose vocal harmony that has a pleasing rise and fall that speaks directly to the listener. Rarely are melodies on The Machine That Made Us so comfortable and direct. Any sense of the peculiar heard in the first song is amplified to the ninth degree with the song “Due to Adverse Weather Conditions, All of My Heroes Have Surrendered” and it hangs together as a coherent bit of songwriting despite multiple turns in the arrangement. In the hands of the band’s lesser contemporaries, these sort of melting pots of musical ideas comes off as a handful of different sections ramroded together in an attempt to suggest a cohesive song. Flotation Device Warning, however, are quite talented at writing extended pieces that make total sense and it’s a talent they further expands on the deeper we go into this album.

The lush beauty of “A Season Underground” lulls listeners into a near trance like state and maintains a straight ahead musical thrust for the duration of the song. There’s a pop sheen that makes the song glow slightly, but it keeps a low-key pace that doesn’t even rise to a mid tempo saunter. “I Quite Like It When He Sings” begins life as a practically ambient piece with vocals but, a considerable way in, evolves into a second half more in accord with the album’s other languid tracks. The first half is especially successful thanks to its atmospherics and the post production effects applied to her voice never drag it down. It’s arguable that the band never comes closer to embracing any commercial inclinations than they do with the song “When the Boat Comes Inside Your House”, but its commercial inclinations on their own terms and firmly grounded in the pensive orchestrations that are a hallmark of their style. “The Moongoose Analogue” is divided into four distinctive sections, alternating over the course of twelve and a half minutes, and has a thoughtfulness and inward looking quality to its plaintive keyboards and threadbare melodies that justifies its length. The Machine That Made Us is a bracing release thanks to its immense creativity and the sense of a band willing to take chances that are all their own. Flotation Device Warning has released a sophomore full length album that sets a new standard for their work.

YOU TUBE: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fRg1DcSxY_E

Shannon Cowden