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Blessed Light: Love Lights the Way
This isn’t a Christian act, but more a hippy/folk band that has some spiritual
tendencies. At least that’s how I read it. Most of all, though, the follow-up to
2000’s Made in Mexico for this Seattle-based band is a throwback to the melodic
pop of the ‘60s and ‘70s, ala the Beatles, Moody Blues and Bob Dylan. Standout
tracks are the anthemic “My Beloved” and the soft but funky “Something More.”
JW-Jones Blues Band: My Kind of Evil
Young prodigies from Canada keep infiltrating our great nation, so what gives?
If you’re a fan of good music, you won’t care, and that’s the case with
23-year-old JW-Jones and his blues band. JW can sling it with the best guitar
players, as evidenced by his 1999 Riff-Off honors, and belongs on Beale Street
more so than north of the border.
It’s old school blues at its finest, and even features the vocals of Colin James
on two tracks.
Stereogram: Schmack
Imagine taking the Barenaked Ladies and the Beastie Boys and breeding them. Then
get past the visual, throw in some Weezer and you’ve got Steriogram, a
five-piece rock/hip-hop band from New Zealand. Their debut on Capitol, Schmack!,
is so full of energy you’ll be reaching for your favorite air guitar in no time.
The first single, “Walkie Talkie Man,” is highly addictive but melodic gems like
“Go” and “Was the Day” and rockers like “Fat and Proud” keep the fire blazing
through 12 tracks.
Tube & Berger: Straight Ahead
It’s morning, I’m in my Nashville office, and it’s raining outside. Listening to
Tube & Berger’s Straight Ahead remix album, featuring 12 mixes of the
same song, I have to wonder if I wouldn’t like it better if I was in a loud
dance club watching scantily clad women grinding around my alcohol-induced haze.
But this German DJ team engaged rock songstress Chrissie Hynde to sing the radio
edit, and that immediately gives them cool points in my book. Not to mention the
song itself is catchy and full of adrenaline.
Pleasurecraft: Lost Patterns
If you long for the early days of MTV and bands like Duran Duran and Depeche
Mode, you might find something you like on this full-length debut from
Seattle-based Pleasurecraft. Full of guitars, synthesizers and beats with
melodic pop vocals thrown on top, Lost Patterns is a collection of songs
that are arranged and played with precision, but tend to miss the songwriting
mark set out by those ‘80s bands that Pleasurecraft seems to be emulating.
Maria Muldaur: 30 Years of/I’m a Woman
It’s hard to fathom that Maria Muldaur’s career has spanned 30 years. But while
most of you know her by her hits “I’m a Woman” and “Midnight at the Oasis,”
Muldaur has a storied singing career that includes performances with the likes
of Jerry Garcia, Linda Rondstadt, Aaron Neville and Bonnie Raitt. There are
elements of folk, country, big band, jazz and pop standards on this collection,
but Muldaur is at her best on loungy tracks like “It Feels Like Rain” and the
bluesy “Well, Well, Well.”
~Mike Farley
mfarley@bullz-eye.com
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