Dwight & Nicole offer many golden nuggets with their Shine On album
The album that a lot of people in the New England blues scene have been awaiting is finally released. Dwight & Nicole have come to greater attention since vocalist and songwriter Nicole Nelson had done well on a national television reality show singing contest. The pair’s new Shine On CD does not disappoint. It’s loaded with golden nuggets of Dwight Ritcher and Nicole Nelson compositions that showcase the finer points of the pair’s application of their wide range of musical skills.
Jen Kearney & The Lost Onion take things to higher level with Age Of Blame CD
Jen Kearney & The Lost Onion’s Age Of Blame CD marks a turning point in their musical elevation. Kearney has become a more sophisticated vocalist and keyboardist since 2009’s The Year Of The Ox album. There is a more easeful flow coming from her instrumentation and she sings with greater eloquence. Kearney shows more tasteful self-restraint than ever, and she offers more fine touches throughout this album than her previous recordings. Drummer Peter MacLean is in fine form throughout the CD, and second keyboardist Amy Bellamy helps keep this whole recording fulsome and rich.
Bees Deluxe delight and impress again on Trouble In Paradise CD
The Bees Deluxe have released another funky, bluesy, jazzy CDs. Trouble In Paradise is another offering of fun stuff from this outfit. The Bees Deluxe’s usual band leader, guitarist Conrad Warre, provides plenty of funky licks and cool phrasing. Keyboardist Jon Gamble keeps the organ and piano percolating with swirling chords and tasteful touches. Bassist Joe McEachern plays a smooth, solid low end. Drummer Patrick Sanders lays down all sorts of clever beats and snappy smacks.
Hilton Park offer an unusually fresh album with Greener Grass
Hilton Park has made quite a name for itself in the circles of acoustic music. The trio of Bruce Hilton, Conor Hilton, and Gregg Pannier, based in Berwick, Maine, have a style as modern and fresh sounding as anybody in today’s New England music scene. This trio by no means limits itself to acoustic music […]
Tammy Lynn & Myles High offer winsome debut CD Turn My Music On
Tammy Lynn Myles and her husband-guitarist Mike Myles continue their interest in rockabilly with their debut album under their new band name Tammy Lynn & Myles High. Formerly known as Raising Scarlet, the husband wife team nail down nine zesty Americana flavored rockers that zing with their brisk instrumentation and authentic genre vocal approaches. Turn My Music On is a credible slice of oldies rock and roll, rockabilly, and country blues. It’s uncanny how at once tight and colorful they and their backing players sound.
Spank! live album is another fine offering from Boston blues keyboardist Ron Levy
Spank! is the name of a short lived trio formed by keyboardist Ron Levy, guitarist Fuzz, and drummer Eric Kalb just over ten years ago. Fuzz and Kalb were members of the rising funk band Deep Banana Blackout while Levy was fronting his Ron Levy’s Wild Kingdom. Introduced by jazz legend Melvin Sparks, the trio played some gigs around the North Shore area of Massachusetts and came up these tunes as well as the trio name Spank!.
Bim Skala Bim offer more of their ska influenced magic on Chet’s Last Call
Bim Skala Bim’s latest release Chet’s Last Call is another reminder why we all fell in love with this band to begin with. On the music scene since 1983, they formed in Boston as a third generation ska band. Though they’ve taken time off over the years from the studio and the road, they never really went away. They still have all of their creative skills firmly intact. Chet’s Last Call, recorded at Woolly Mammoth Sound in Waltham, Massachusetts, is loaded with choice ska influenced horn band numbers. Listeners will likely find themselves singing along to the hooky chorus in each song while moving their feet to each infectious groove.
Kari Tieger offer another album of sweet sounds with Illumination
Kari Tieger’s latest album Illumination is a delightful combination of bouncy, show tune inspired pop and singer-songwriter sensibility. Don’t let the jaunty lightness of the sprightly music fool you. Much seriousness abounds from the lyrics Tieger has written and from the covers she has selected. While her especially lovely voice and dainty piano lines feel […]
John Primer rules the Chicago blues sound on Call Me John Primer compilation album
Just a few year’s ago, John Primer’s released this compilation album, Call Me John Primer, to give fans a broader perspective on his lengthy career in blues. Since forming his first band in 1964, Primer has been a serious student of the blues. He made his way up through the ranks of Chicago bands at the windy city’s most prestigious blues venues. Primer played with the likes of Jimmy Johnson, Junior Wells, Smokey Smothers, and Lonnie Brooks before becoming a road musician for Willie Dixon, Muddy Waters, and Magic Slim. After leaving Slim’s Teardrops, Primer struck out on his own, releasing a series of impressive, well-received albums. He has also been one of the most visible performers at the world’s most renown blues festivals. It would be a gross understatement to say he carries the torch of the blues spirit from previous generations.
Propergander have much to offer on sweeping Wide Open album
Propergander’s new album Wide Open has enough classic rock influences to make the listener feel he is listening to something not only great but comfortably familiar. This Martha’s Vineyard band’s straight forward rock and roll is chockfull of good guitar lines, earthy vocals, and tasteful rhythm section touches. Lead vocalist Ernie Dewing has a plaintive quality in his timbre and projection that makes you feel what he is singing about. Guitarist Greg Holland presses out some sweet melodic phrases that sweep by like a magic carpet ride. Dewing and Holland are also keyboardists and that extra layer of organ and piano make their songs feel and sound extra soulful.
