Nick Black - Deep Blue

Nick Black - Deep Blue 

URL: http://nickblackmusic.com/ 

There’s an amazing mix of power and beauty on Nick Black’s second album Deep Blue. He uses a lot of different instruments to achieve that effect, but the key elements on this release on his voice, guitar, horns, and keyboard color. His voice is placed up front in the mix, but the aforementioned contributions certainly play a crucial role in getting the song over for his target listeners. The guitar work never becomes too omnipresent – Black knows that overplaying in this soul and R&B style he co-opts will ultimately drag the music down and ends up in a creative dead end. There’s a sense of endless possibility surrounding Black’s music on this album and a feeling that he’s going for broke in attempt to take his work to another, higher level than before.  

His instincts for making Deep Blue work are obvious from the start. Songs like “Grownups” and “Ocean” show, in some ways, the two primary competing elements in the album’s songwriting character. Black alternates between straight ahead tributes to the longstanding traditions of R&B, blues, and soul music while still aiming to upend those traditions with a risky approach to time signatures, tempo changes, and dynamics. The ultimate result is that Black has managed the impressive task of recording a much more substantive work in multiple genres without ever finding himself beholden to following one or two particular sounds each time out. While “Falling in Life” might be a funk soul potpourri of tempo shifts and deep grooves, “D.I.Y.” has less physical intentions and instead looks to invoke mood and introspection throwing slowing things down, stripping things back. There are only a handful of moments on Deep Blue that you might deem outright blues and this song is one of them. “Only One Man” is much closer to mainstream AOR rock in the sense that it makes much more pronounced use of dynamics and constructions the song from the ground up with different, interlocking sections tied together by often dramatic transitions.  

“The Worst You Can Do” is cut from similar cloth and arguably enjoys much more success. The choice of opening with Black and acoustic guitar makes quite a difference in setting mood compared to earlier and later tracks on Deep Blue and the theme continues throughout the enter song. “Reason to Stay”, instead, represents the second of Deep Blue’s all out bluesy tracks. This isn’t far removed from the classic four piece format popularized by people like Howlin’ Wolf’s band or later blues rock bands, but Black’s touch never gets that heavy musically and instead merely echoes it. “Don’t Leave Louise” is the second and, arguably again, most commercial of the album’s two ballads. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing. This is certainly the most imaginative and engaging of the two songs and, ironically, less studied. The naturalness that comes across will draw a lot of attention. It’s attention well deserved for a performer and album that’s sure to reassure and surprise many. To risk cliché, Nick Black is the real deal.

9 out of 10 stars  

YOU TUBE: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1ZJqtnziwk8

Dale Butcher

Dave Vargo - Burning Through

Dave Vargo - Burning Through 

URL: http://davevargomusic.com/ 

Dave Vargo has stepped out of the studio and sideman shadows to compile his first album of all original songwriting named Burning Through. This collection has some rock fire, but it’s largely a singer/songwriter’s work with a lot of seemingly personal material and some of Vargo’s storytelling talents on display. Rather than following an expected A-B-C level of directness, Vargo often spins some of the songs in unpredictable directions with imaginative arrangements and tempos that are enough outside the box to strike an individual note. He works with the same small group of musicians on each of the songs and this decision gives the tracks a coherency of sound and approach that brings the album together in an equally unique way. More often than not, collections of this ilk are laden with a variety of guest stars, but Vargo is clearly aiming for a band experience and achieves it in a memorable way. 

“Come Take Me Home” introduces us to his memorably personal style as a lyricist. The songs on Burning Through sound like they are taken from his everyday life, but the real art in Vargo’s writing comes from his ability to take those personal details and recast them in an universal light. There isn’t a single song on Burning Through that isn’t completely relatable. “Good Enough” is equally personal, albeit with a slightly different tone, and the musical arrangement foregoes the rock theatrics of the opener in favor of a much more balanced approach. “Choose” continues the serious themes of the first two songs with a track about someone reaching a turning point in their lives, but he doesn’t pose this scenario with an overly melodramatic musical arrangement. Instead, everything is handled subtly, tastefully, and it’s apparent the notes that Vargo and his cohorts don’t play are just as important as what they do play. It hits on a strong Midwestern rock vibe without ever sounding hokey. 

“Wishing on a Star” could be said to be one of Burning Through’s most personal songs. It’s hard to distinguish, with the best writers, the difference between a purely imaginative act and something that has a flesh and blood connection, but this song is certainly suggestive of the young Vargo and his dreams of future music stardom. “Finding My Way to You” has Vargo joined by backing singer Kim Boyko and their voices blend satisfyingly on one of the album’s most emotive tracks. “Waiting” has a largely acoustic slant but the vehemence of Vargo’s vocal and the hints of chaotic electric guitar buried in the mix give this a little bit of a darker hue than many of the album’s lo-fi efforts. “Don’t Think Twice” has a melody and tempo that’s hard to forget and ranks among the album’s best moments. Vargo and the band alike shine here thanks to the effortless way they make this work. “Pieces of my Heart” is a little bit more in line with the earlier tracks in terms of style, but it has some interesting percussion and finishes the album on an appropriately thematic note. Burning Through is an impressive and indelible release that should establish Dave Vargo as a formidable songwriting talent.  

9 out of 10 stars

ALLMUSIC: http://www.allmusic.com/album/burning-through-mw0003006643 

Bradley Johnson

Brent Daniels - Every Road Has a Turn

Brent Daniels - Every Road Has a Turn 

URL: http://www.brentdanielsofficial.net/ 

The first album from Brent Daniels, Every Road Has a Turn, has a title reflective of his personal journey to this point. His early passion for music short-circuited for a few years while he pursued an alternative career as an electrician, but the desire to sing and perform couldn’t be repressed forever. Daniels sounds like a man finally released to chase down his dreams on a lot of these songs. He sings with such unrestrained enthusiasm, always managing to temper it with a generous dose of technique, that it isn’t difficult to imagine this is the experience of a lifetime so far for the talented young performer. His voice is the stuff careers are built from. It isn’t enough to just be able to hit the notes, you have to own the material and put something of yourself into it that no one else could and make the audience feel that experience. Brent Daniels does that on this album. 

“My First Friday Night” seems full of possibility based on title alone and the song’s lyric keeps listeners in a semi-state of suspense until it reveals its true subject early on. It’s musically stylish and hints of a classic country sound keep coming through via the structure and the song takes a number of very nice turns as it progresses. There’s no inklings of classic country peeking through the song “My Truck’s Bigger than Your Truck” and the shift in sound and approach is so massive that some of Daniels’ audience might feel the sting of whiplash. It isn’t a song that pretends to be high art – instead, it’s pure youthful exuberance and quintessentially American. There’s some humor tossed in for good measure reminding us to never take this tune very seriously. “Party at the End of the Road” shares a similar spirit, obviously, but it doesn’t lay on the rock elements quite as heavily as what we heard on the last song. Despite the typical first class musical accompaniment, this plays up the same carefree attitude heard in “My Truck’s Bigger than Your Truck” with an even stronger chorus. “Love You Down” has some low-key rock energy that Daniels and his band mates cut loose with at crucial points during the recording.  

“Everything About You” is one of the album’s finest musical moments thanks to the great playing during the chorus and how they escalate it perfectly into another memorable refrain. The pop sensibility on this album never compromises its country spirit however; Daniels has some less than obvious influences and they certainly aren’t exclusive pulled from the rock and pop world. The delicate acoustic structure of “Hold On” doesn’t mean that Daniels and his fellow musicians aren’t allowed to marshal the same energies, they just get turned to a much different effect here. His singing really goes deeply into the track and it’s easy to hear his engagement with every word. Brent Daniels wraps up Every Road Has a Turn with another riff on classic country songwriting with the song “I’ve Been Gone” and it reaffirms his best points as a performing artist. He shows the same consistent talent for getting inside a song and filling it with his own personality and slight smirks snaking through on certain lines attests to his emotive skills for a final time. Anyone who hears this album and starts following Brent Daniels is smart and lucky. You’re coming in on the ground floor of something special.  

9 out of 10 stars

SPOTIFY: https://play.spotify.com/album/2kMyQ46Gp7Xg7k1PDldWrz?play=true&utm_source=open.spotify.com&utm_medium=open

 

William Elgin

Nick Dakota – Vision

Nick Dakota – Vision 

URL: https://www.nickdakotamusic.com/ 

This is the perfect album to make when you’re thirty years old. Nick Dakota’s first album Vision is going to appeal to people who’ve seen some life’s hard knocks, but still retain their youthful zest for every day and haven’t lost their sense of adventure. There’s some settled sounds on this album, some things still in flux. Love is still in the cards and Nick Dakota, like much of his target audience, is still interested in having a good time. Those listeners will find it on this Robyn Robins produced collection. The sleek, detailed presentation of these uncluttered tunes relies on the eternal verities to get over with its audience – direct lyrics, heartfelt vocals, straight-forward instrumentation, and a sharply honed sense of what country music fans want and don’t want. There is a commercial side to this album, but it never works to cheap effect. The dozen songs on Vision own their keep and deserve your undivided attention. 

“We’ll Always Have Paris” is perfectly orchestrated pop country with a light lyrical twist that’s classic within the genre. The emotion expressed within the song finds a perfect interpreter in Nick Dakota. He captures all of the affection and regret necessary for bringing this song off and never lets the song lapse into melodramatic sentimentality. The restraint and stylishness shown on this album is often quite admirable. In the hands of a different performer and producer, “How Much I Love You” would have come off as a much more clichéd affair, but Dakota redeems it with his earnest vocal and there are a number of turns built into the arrangement emphasizing the song’s dramatic qualities. The highlight for many listeners, however, will likely “How Cool Is That?”, a tender litany of the virtues of an unpretentious woman. We don’t often hear songs like this from modern country music performers and Dakota pulls it off with an added bit of panache that makes it a definite high point on Vision. “One Last Request” is much more in a traditional classic country vein than the preceding songs, primarily thanks to the lonesome whine of steel guitar underscoring some of the vocals. It’s an elegantly wrought ballad that Dakota invests with thoughtful singing.  

The big slide guitar snaking its way through “The Deep End” gives it some mud-soaked grittiness it might otherwise lack and helps bolster an already memorable chorus. This is another of the more finely crafted tracks on Vision. “Past You and Me” gives the pedal steel another chance to weave its melancholy magic in a classic country way and it matches up good with the tone and feel Dakota takes on here. “Heart On Fire” has a slowly ascending chorus that peaks in a memorable way, but Dakota never pushes too hard on the song and his stylish approach complements it. He finishes Vision off with “Sledge Hammer”; don’t mistake this for a countrified cover of the Peter Gabriel eighties classic. Instead, it’s one of the most idiosyncratic tracks on the album and shows Nick Dakota is comfortable with occasionally surprising his audience. It’s an unique hybrid of a modern pop sound with traditional instruments. This sort of ending shows another side of his talents and also hints at the future – this is a performer who wants to succeed, but he’s never constrained by expectations.  

9 out of 10 stars 

YOU TUBE: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCCqKkVr-Apn1Oh3uUirnueQ 

Shannon Cowden 

Andriana Lehr – Artifacts

 

Andriana Lehr – Artifacts 

URL: http://andrianalehr.com/ 

The sophomore full length album from Andriana Lehr, Artifacts, is the successor to her well-received 2013 debut Try to Be True. In the intervening three years since the release of her first album, Lehr has established herself as one of the most promising musical talents in the Minneapolis/Saint Paul music scene and her countless hours spent gigging and surrounded by other top flight musicians has exerted a noticeable effect over her performances and songwriting alike. The debut proved that this was a prodigious talent in the making; Artifacts, however, takes that a step further by hinting at the possibility that Lehr might be one of the brightest musical lights of her generation and capable of picking up the torch from her influences like Joni Mitchell and Brandi Carlisle. The ten song collection was recorded and produced in the Minneapolis area, but there isn’t a single particle of regionalism on this album. Instead, this is a top flight professional product on every level and, as a result, a living breathing work of art. 

It solidifies such claims with the first song. “Outrun the Change” has one of the album’s best vocal melodies, lively and buoyant, and the moody backing provides a compelling counterpoint to her singing. Steve Goold and David Goodstein distinguish themselves throughout this release thanks to their intensely sympathetic drumming, but it’s Goold’s jazzy touches that stand out most here and give the song a percolating feel. Goodstein’s playing takes a much more straight ahead approach on tracks like “Ashes in the Fog”, a track that nominally recalls the opener in certain respects, but has a much more elegiac, restrained melody in comparison. The pairing of Ken Wilson’s dobro and Cory Grossman’s cello on the song sets it apart just a little more and works marvelously. Goold’s jazzy percussion returns on the song “Catch 22”, but that little extra step he gives to the rhythm isn’t enough to entirely divorce the song from its roots in country music. The brisk pace doesn’t curtail Lehr’s ability to deliver the lyrics in any way.  

“Halfway Home” takes the surprising classical overtones heard on earlier songs and expands on them without ever getting too far away from the singer/songwriter beating throughout the track list. Lehr’s aching vocals are never rushed and the great care she takes with her phrasing makes this song all the more memorable. “Putting Up A Fight” is the album’s only outright recognizable ballad, but it isn’t a time for Lehr to lay on the schmaltz and make some ill-advised attempt for commercial attention. Instead, this is a beautifully ornate piece that still has a lot of color and never feels overly plotted out. “Streets of Saint Paul” has a folk singer’s heart, but there’s some of those aforementioned country and classical music influenced sounds seeping through a deceptively simple musical attack. The album’s final, “The Expansion of Everything”, continues along those lines with a patient and well-rounded closer that makes some attempt at examining what’s come before while still saying something new. Much of Artifacts is engrossed in looking at the transitions we all experience in life with a generosity of spirit and, certainly, a fair amount of regret. It is notable, however, that she concludes her collection with a song that uses the word expansion in its title – Lehr’s creative vision has certainly expanded and few singer/songwriters have such a bright future in front of them.

9 out of 10 stars 

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

David Shouse

Chris Murphy - The Tinker’s Dream

Chris Murphy - The Tinker’s Dream 

URL: http://chrismurphymusic.com/music/ 

Chris Murphy has guested on albums from artists as diverse as The Dandy Warhols and Mike Watt of fIREHOSE fame, but his true self emerges on the plethora of solo recordings he’s offered the years. His instrument of choice, the violin, stems from a lot of influences, but Jackson Browne’s legendary fiddle player David Lindley cast the longest shadow over Murphy’s own development and his work can be heard in the way Murphy approaches playing over the top of his arrangements. His songwriting skills cannot be measured solely by lyrics alone. He is supremely skilled writer of instrumentals and even those devoted to songs with singers and words will be completely taken in by the intensely vocal quality of his playing. His latest album The Tinker’s Dream seems devoted to exploring the European influences in traditional music, but there’s plenty here that fans of Americana will readily recognize.

You can’t date this music despite the age of its influences. Songs like “Connemara Ponies”, the first track on The Tinker’s Dream, reach inside our imaginations and transport us to distant lands because Murphy is a musician who, first and foremost beyond any skill set, responds to the inspiration of the moment. That same spirit pervades the track “Union of the Seven Brothers”, but the energies are directed in a much different way. The tempo is a little slower and the added patience shown by the arrangement pays off by provoking deeper emotional responses from the listener. The title song revisits much of the energy the audience encountered in the first cut, but it’s slightly more tempered and playful at the same time. The vocal quality in his instrumentals mentioned in the introduction remains the defining quality of those songs as the album progresses and “The Tinker’s Dream” is one of the most successful recordings on this album.

Two other instrumental performances stand out from the pack. The first, “Gibraltar 1988”, moves in the same emotional universe as the earlier “Union of the Seven Brothers”, but there’s an even greater focus on lyricism here than the former song. The other instrumental highlight comes with album’s penultimate song, “The Thistlewood Bridge”, with how it brings modern approaches to melody together with Murphy’s skilled and often spontaneous sounding riffing on classic traditional themes. 

The three songs on the album with vocals and words are “Wicklow”, “Cape Horn”, and “Small Wonder”. The second of this trio is the fullest musical performance – there’s a greater assortment of instruments used in that performance and each take short turns soloing without ever risking self-indulgence. Each of the three are written from a first person point of view and Murphy’s lyrics do an excellent job of capturing a convincing voice without ever leaning too heavily on genre clichés. The last of the three songs, “Small Wonder”, bears some similarities to the instrumental “The Thistlewood Bridge” in the way that it seemingly incorporates more modern approaches into a traditional context.  

Chris Murphy is one of those writers and performers who can afford to be prolific. Many are creatively limited in comparison and need time for the well to fill again before they are ready to write a new collection and enter the studio. Not Murphy. This powerhouse musician and songwriter never fail to hit home runs with his recent releases and it is thrilling to hear such an artist at the peak of his powers.  

9 out of 10 stars. 

TWITTER: https://twitter.com/chrismurphmusic 

William Elgin