New England Music Reviews from YankeeMagazine.com

Eilen Jewell: Sea of Tears

rss@ypi.com (Justin Shatwell) — Thu, 07 May 2009 04:00:00 +0100

Eilen Jewell is finally back with her much anticipated third album, Sea of Tears. This Boise-born singer has made a big splash over the last few years bringing her western affinity for open roads and lonely drifters to the Boston folk and country scene. This new record marks a slight departure and a big risk for Eilen as she reins in some of her country flare and takes some tentative steps into the realm of classic rock.

Musically, the album credits Elvis, Buddy Holly, and the Animals as inspiration, mining that rich period in the '50s and early '60s when rock, R&B, and country were conjoined triplets. The album's opening lick is vintage British invasion and the intro to her version of "I'm Gonna Dress in Black" gives a nod to "House of the Rising Sun." In order to build this sound, Eilen and her band made some decisions that might ruffle the feathers of some of her country fans. Most notably, they dropped the fiddle entirely and replaced it (brilliantly in my opinion) with a Hammond B3 organ. (Full Disclosure: Any time I praise the Hammond B3, it should be taken with a grain of salt. I have an unabashed love affair with the B3 and I rejoice at even the slightest mitigation of the instrument's sad, slow decline from its zenith in 1976).

But for all the change, the most important aspect of Eilen's music remains: her ghostly delivery of blunt, hardscrabble lyrics. In the age of American Idol, Eilen's no-nonsense approach to vocals has been referred to as "lazy," but a better term is understated. She comes at you straight, because her lyrics are straight. In all the time I've spent listening to Eilen, I don't think I've ever heard her use a metaphor. The stories she tells are blunt and universal. You broke my heart and left me in this little nothing of a town so now I'm sitting on your back porch with a very old, very loaded gun. Her voice is perfect for this kind of music. She sounds legitimately heartbroken 80 percent of the time and the other 20 percent she's quietly smoldering with rage.

All around, Sea of Tears is an incredibly strong album of music that no one else is making these days. It's possibly the best thing to come out of the Signature Sounds label this year and should have a strong showing at the Boston Music Awards. Check out the samples below. The title track is a great example of the band's new direction while "Codeine Arms" is a heartbreaking ballad that makes the most of Eilen's detached moodiness.

Albums available at Signature Sounds.

Emilia Dahlin: Rattle Them Bones

rss@ypi.com (Justin Shatwell) — Thu, 16 Apr 2009 04:00:00 +0100

Quirky Portland siren Emilia Dahlin is back this month with Rattle Them Bones, a brand new album that has her up to her old tricks. Emilia takes to music the way trendy shoppers take to flea markets, picking through the discarded past and assembling a genre-bending ensemble that is both vintage and entirely new. What is most endearing about this approach is she shows no particular loyalty to any musical form. She tries them on because they call to her, sees where they can take her, then moves on to something new. With this album, she is showing an increasing willingness to take risks. Whereas in the past her guitar and accordion have plied the relatively calm waters of samba, jazz, and folk, on this album she drops a bona fide sea shanty and, surprisingly, it's good. I've had it stuck in my head for three days now and I'm actually okay with that. I can't say when the last time that happened was.

Unfortunately this is the last we'll see of Emilia for some time. She's about to embark on a year-long trip around the world doing service projects and writing songs along the way. She has two shows scheduled before then, however, so catch her while you can. The first might be her biggest ever. On Saturday April 18, she is opening for folk-icon Ani DiFranco at the Skowhegan Opera House. With her own label, Righteous Babe Records, Ani has served as fairy godmother for many off-the-beaten-path musicians, so this is a huge break. While no one is talking record deal, it's good to see the right people know her name.

Her second show is at SPACE in Portland on Friday, April 24. It's the Rattle Them Bones official release party and your first opportunity to get your hands on the album. Until then, partake of the tracks below. If you enjoy these, make sure to check out her last album God Machine which pays homage to my favorite oddity in New England history, 19th century spiritualist John Murray Spear's robot messiah. If that's not eclectic, I don't know what is.

Mercuryhat: Blinding Blues, Stinging Bees

rss@ypi.com (Justin Shatwell) — Tue, 27 Jan 2009 05:00:00 +0100

While not actually a blues album, Mercuryhat's Blinding Blues, Stinging Bees serves the same purpose. Composed by lead singer Eric Ott during a death-and-divorce-plagued period, the record treads into some pretty dark areas. Lonely nights, second thoughts, and sleeping pills are the common images that tie these songs together.

But Mercuryhat's sound isn't indulgent or self-pitying at all--in fact it's pretty upbeat at times--and this is what makes it comforting. The Blues, after all, are not about whining. They're about acknowledging matter-of-factly that the world is an unfair place and all you can do is move on.

Based out of Portsmouth, NH, Mercuryhat is an alt. country band that's been heavily influenced by REM. The cowboy chords and honky-tonk rhythms that dominate these tracks are fairly subdued, echoing the subject matter. Likewise, Ott's vocals rarely reach for the rafters or drag you through the mud.

The band hums along at a steady clip and they really sell their message. They have the somber sound of a group of guys who've been there and lived to talk about it. This is one of those albums you put on when you need to be reminded that other people have gotten through whatever it is that's weighing you down--ideal companionship for when you don't particularly want any company.

CD's available at CD Baby.

Richard Stoltzman: Phoenix in Flight

rss@ypi.com (Justin Shatwell) — Wed, 07 Jan 2009 05:00:00 +0100

Richard Stoltzman's Phoenix in Flight is pretty much what you'd expect from the world's foremost clarinet soloist: a solid hour of classical repertoire that reminds us why he won the two Grammys and we didn't. A world away from the squawks and squeaks of our high school band memories, Stoltzman manages his instrument with the kind of breadth and ease that makes composers write music specifically with him in mind. While this isn't one of those CD's, it's still a great disc. With a solid assist from the Slovak Symphony Radio Orchestra, Stoltzman breaths new life into pieces by Weber, Bottesini, Debussy, and Tchaikovsky.

Clarinet virtuoso aside, the most intriguing thing about this album for classical music lovers is where it comes from. Phoenix in Flight is one of the debut releases from Navona records, the label imprint of the brand spanking new PARMA Recordings in Hampton, NH. It's not every day that someone puts up venture capital to jump into the lukewarm classical music business -- especially in the shadow of established heavy weight MMC -- but never say never on the ever creative New Hampshire seacoast. Founded by Bob Lord, the more-eclectic-than-thou bassist and composer for prog-rock trio Dreadnaught, Navona is trying to apply the grassroots philosophies of the indie music scene to classical recording. It's far too soon to tell how that will turn out or what it will mean for classical music lovers, but the fact that they were able to come out swinging with a heavyweight like Stoltzman makes me hopeful for more great recordings in the future. As far as coups go in the classical recording industry, this is a fairly big one.

Albums available at Amazon.com. Check out what's next for Navona at PARMA Recordings.

Bird Mancini: Funny Day

rss@ypi.com (Justin Shatwell) — Wed, 10 Sep 2008 04:00:00 +0100

I really didn't know what to make of Boston-based Bird Mancini when they slid their last album across my desk a few weeks back. They're introduction letter described themselves as kind of a quirky accordion classic-rock band. After about 50 minutes of listening to their music, I was still pretty confused, but relieved that the accordion wasn't the main attraction.

The band's core is made up of Ruby Bird and Billy Carl Mancini, two veteran musicians who've been playing music one way or another for the past quarter-century. During that time they picked up a lot of influences and talent, though apparently few clever ideas for band names.

Acoustically, they remind me of the kind of band your best friend's dad in high school would be a member of. The kind that played rock/blues jam sessions at the local family bar and grill. Now if you take that band and imagine them really, really good and producing original content, you'll be in the ballpark of Bird Mancini.

Their last album Funny Day sounds like a modern day fusion of blue-collar music from the early 60s to the mid 80s. In one song they'll lay down some country-rock in the style of the Brothers Allman or Doobie and in the next they'll tap into the psychedelic sound and draw up memories of Strawberry Alarm Clock.

While I enjoyed the songs individually, the thing that really made me appreciate the album was that it really was an album. Bird and Mancini have been around long enough to remember when a record was supposed to be a cohesive whole, not just a sampler of radio singles. While you hear a lot of indie bands pay lip service to this idea, it's rare to see one pursue it as far as Bird Mancini does. In one instance, they break up the flow with a minute of choral harmonies that sounds way more gospel than classic rock. Or if that doesn't do it for you, how about a two minute guitar intro? When was the last time you heard one of those?

Overall, the album is a lot of fun. The band has a great throw-back sound and the talent to make it work in the modern world. While some younger listeners may feel like they've been left out of an inside joke with this one, anyone who was raised on classic rock will be glad they picked this album up.

Albums available at CD Baby.

Jennifer Hruska: The Underground Forest

rss@ypi.com (Justin Shatwell) — Fri, 25 Jul 2008 04:00:00 +0100

Boston-based musician Jennifer Hruska has made her career on the less glamorous side of the record industry. She's been a sound designer, audio engineer, composer, electronic instrument designer, and president of a small recording studio. With apparently no other jobs for her to explore in the music business, Hruska has decided to take the plunge and step in front of the mic.

Her debut album The Underground Forest is a heavily produced electronic-acoustic hybrid that would play well in the chill room at a rave. The record is inspired by Dr. Clarissa Pinkola Estes book Women Who Run with the Wolves which is a Jungian analysis of the Wild Woman archetype.

If that sounds like some heavy source material to base an album on, you're right, but Hruska does a good job keeping it simple. The songs are earthy and feminist, but not in a way that will turn people off. This is more a celebration of natural liberation than a lecture on the decline of human nature.

The juxtaposition of acoustic tribal elements with heavy beats and synth effects underscores the overarching theme of finding the natural in the ultra-modern world. Spiritual but not dogmatic, it is definitely an album of its times. There is plenty of material here that will resonate with anyone living the organic, back-to-nature lifestyle.

As a whole, the album does have some faults. There are times when the synth effects are a little overbearing and a few of the songs fail to find a good hook. But as far as debut albums go I would definitely consider this one a success. With a handful of stand-out gems, the record is worth exploring. Here are my two favorite tracks. If you like these, make sure to check out her website for more.

Albums available at CD baby.

Kris Delmhorst: Shotgun Singer

rss@ypi.com (Justin Shatwell) — Thu, 19 Jun 2008 04:00:00 +0100

New England is awash in young musicians challenging the traditional concept of folk music. The genre has become so experimental that it is difficult to come up with anything truly shocking anymore. Kris Delmhorst is pretty far out on the folk spectrum utilizing all of the most modern techniques: unconventional instrumentation, distortion, even some minor sampling. Though her latest full length album Shotgun Singer doesn't really take the genre anywhere it hasn't already been (see Patty Larkin's Watch the Sky), it does something far more notable--it refines it.

Shotgun Singer is, if nothing else, a mature album with a level of craftsmanship not always seen in the indie-folk world. Lyrically, the album offers up some very beautiful verses, though the real joy of this record comes from listening to the sound of the songs and not so much to what they have to say. Delmhorst is skilled at weaving her voice into gorgeous layered harmonies with her piano and backing strings, but her true skill as a songwriter shines through when she suddenly wipes away these pretty elements, leaving her voice stretched out over an ominous percussive beat.

There are a handful of radio-friendly, pop-laden songs on the album, but these are more the aberration than the rule. The defining tone of Shotgun Singer is moody and introspective. Delmhorst peppers the edges of her songs with flashes of dissonance and disturbing, half-heard voice samples that put the listener off their ease. The effect makes her stories of love and loss all the more lifelike--there is always something else there, lurking below the surface.

The album is an absolute triumph for fans of genre-bending folk--as much a child of Beth Gibbons as Joan Baez. It's a great example of the direction the genre is headed and definitely worth a listen.

Albums available at Signature Sounds.

Rani Arbo and Daisy Mayhem: Big Old Life

rss@ypi.com (Justin Shatwell) — Thu, 13 Dec 2007 05:00:00 +0100

As you may have guessed from the title and the whimsical, bare-footed cover photo, this is an album about life. Or more precisely, it is a celebration of life. Rani Arbo and Daisy Mayhem have been playing together now for seven years. In that time they have shared the ups and downs of being modern musicians in an all-too-real world. The resulting perspective and companionship has culminated in an album that drips of maturity. Their latest tragedy-turned-triumph, Arbo's successful battle against breast cancer, makes its presence felt in the album's sound. The songs are joyful, but practically so. They are performed with the knowledge that life is dirty and comes to an end, but is something worth singing about anyway.

Daisy Mayhem's maturity shows in their performance as well. No one member or instrument dominates these subtly well-crafted tracks. The instrumentation is varied, but not overbearing. Harmonicas, lap steel, and banjos wander in and out of songs, not as gimmicks, but only as needed to make the album's musical statement. And what a varied statement that is. Big Old Life takes listeners on a tour of Americana musical styles. The obvious influences of folk, country, and gospel are complemented by tracks that are closer to bluegrass and gypsy jazz. The opening track, "Joy Comes Back," even pulls out the accordion for some straight-from-the-bayou zydeco.

I enjoyed this album. Younger listeners may find it lacking a little in excitement and bells and whistles. But like a happy marriage, it makes up for that with familiarity and laid-back comfort--simple, sonic contentedness.

Albums available at Signature Sounds and CD Baby.

Shepherdess: Self Titled

rss@ypi.com (Justin Shatwell) — Wed, 07 Nov 2007 05:00:00 +0100

Shepherdess is a group of Boston-based music workhorses, each with at least two other band credits to their name. The band's sound is straight out of 1995 and I love them for that. This album sounds a lot like what the music of this last decade could have been if Emo and boy bands hadn't happened. It is candy for twenty-somethings that remember the glory days when great music was born in garages and falling pathetically in love with attitude-laden she-rockers was a rite of passage. Almost a guilty pleasure, I find myself sneaking this album back into my stereo when I should be reviewing someone else.

The production value is endearingly lo-fi (though they probably should have turned their amps back down to 10 on "Aquaplanagerie"). Fans of heavily produced pop and electronica might find this a little too bare bones, but give a listen anyway. The band is clearly having a lot of fun on this album and regardless of genre that energy is infectious.

My only complaint is that the album ends too soon. With no songs hitting the four-minute mark, the disc comes in at just under a half hour. I appreciate the punk ethic of saying what you came to say and then moving on (no refrains repeated ad nauseam here), but I'd love to see some more content. But I suppose that's what second albums are for.

Buy it at CD Baby

Dylan in the Movies: Feel the Pull

rss@ypi.com (Justin Shatwell) — Wed, 28 May 2008 04:00:00 +0100

Dylan in the Movies is the type of band I can't help but root for. The band's founder and lead singer, Brian Sullivan, is the kind of tenacious underdog musician you want to see make it big. His story is classic -- practically archetypal.

A regular guy who grew up on the periphery of the Boston music scene discovers he has a lot to say musically but can't find a label to back him. He gets a day job, raises money, and tries to self-produce. He buys up studio time at odd hours and records snippets of music over the course of years. His project is constantly delayed, but at long last, finally, he is able to release a short six-song EP.

The story varies from the usual plot in that the end product, 2005's Feel the Pull, is an album you would actually want to listen to more than once. The long production time may have proven a hidden blessing. Sullivan lived with the music so long that he had plenty of time to polish and tweak. He admits (with a hint of exasperation) that the opening song, "August Moon," took a whole year to get right.

The music is pretty standard of the dreamy, introspective pop that has proliferated since the Nick Drake reawakening of 2000 ( remember that commercial?). On a pair of tracks Sullivan turns down the whimsy and turns up the amps, but to be honest these are the weakest songs on the album.

Dylan in the Movies is far better when they slow down the tempo and bleed out their heartache in thin, raspy whispers. Two or three songs on the album go past the point of mere enjoyment and find that indescribable quality that makes them "speak" to people, which probably explains the band's local success.

Though they only have seven songs released (one more on a vinyl single) the band has managed to build up a solid following and plays regularly in Boston. They have not, however, found a label to back them yet. So three years after their first release, the band is on a precipice. They are nearing completion on their first full length album (also self-funded) which will hopefully be out this September.

I haven't heard the new disc, but the strength of the EP makes me believe that it will at least be good and could possibly even be a breakout album for them. I sincerely hope that it is -- God knows they've paid their dues. Still, without a label backing them, the biggest hurdle they'll face is getting the music heard.

So in that spirit, I've dusted off my two favorite songs from Feel the Pull for your enjoyment. If you like them as much as I do, visit their website and keep your eyes open for their new release at the end of the summer.

Feel the Pull is available at Audio Lunchbox.