Category: CD QuickTakes (Page 148 of 149)

When an album starts off with a line like “J.K. Rowling’s been following me around,” a person might be tempted to expect the rest of it to be heavy with “Weird Al” Yankovic-style silliness – maybe even a parody song or two. But Freddie Stevenson isn’t your average literary kingpin-referencing troubadour; in fact, the artist described in his press kit as a “Scottish Afro’d punk poet” seems to be pretty far from your average anything. He is also, as he makes clear early on, not a novelty artist. For his second full-length release, Stevenson follows in the footsteps of U.K.-bred songwriters such as Paul Brady and Mark Knopfler, venturing to Nashville to bring his songs to life with the help of a band that includes Emmylou Harris sidemen Brady Blade, Chris Donohue, and Phil Madeira. The result is a wonderfully warm collection that swings between the rocking, Rowling-tweaking opener (“Easy Now”) to poignantly heartfelt ballads like “Alibi Song” and “If An Alien Astronomer Could See Us Now.” When Stevenson is on, as he is on those tracks, he’s mesmerizing. Not everything here reaches those heights – songs such as “Brand New Heart” and “Ordinary Girl” lack the wit and spark he shows elsewhere – but overall, Stevenson’s Companions are an addictively agreeable bunch. (LABEL: Juicy Musical Creations 2008)

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Falling somewhere between the ‘70s rockabilly of Dave Edmunds, the ‘80s Britpop of Billy Bragg, and the modern twang rock of Steve Earle, Portland, Oregon’s Scotland Barr & the Slow Drags deliver their sophomore release, All the Great Aviators Agree, in an altogether boring package. With mostly upbeat and half-spirited tales of drinking, drowning, loving and losing, Barr takes us from Duluth (“Fall Hard”) to Rome (“Heart of Rome”) and across his “Mexican Blanket,” where he offers, “What a man will kill for is not always subject to the depth of love he feels for the things that he protects.” Pretty deep, huh? Well, only until he “drank all the wine and killed all the roses” during a “Dirty Old Waltz.” Barr and his Drags have the gruff barroom bravado of Merle Haggard and the early Stones down pat, but as the album wears on, the songs fail to support their many classic influences. It’s not hard to understand why finding any background information on these guys was almost impossible. (LABEL: Monkey Barr Music 2008)

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To give U.S. fans a taste of blatantly British rock band the Wombats, their label is releasing this six-song EP as a prelude to a full-length later this summer. If you’re a fan of wiseass acts from the other side of the pond such as the Fratellis, Mando Diao or the Darkness, you may find the Wombats endearing. It’s mildly hooky, in-your-face pop, and singer Matthew Murphy has a British accent so thick it almost sounds fake — that, and if you’re from North America, you’ll probably have a hard time making out the lyrics. And while these six songs try to be fun and evoke playfulness, you can’t help but feel like there’s something missing. There are hooks, to be sure, but they sound as contrived as Murphy’s exaggerated accent. The one song that does stand out is “Moving to New York,” which, if you’re a fan of ‘80s music, might remind you of Brit-pop band A.P.B. Here’s hoping the full-length has a bit more variety – and that the Wombats are more of a hoot on stage than they are coming out of computer speakers. (LABEL: KIDS in America/Bright Antenna 2008

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NYC’s Worst Cast Ontario has a cool name, but plays rather nondescript indie rock that more or less renders the group a bit faceless in a sea of like-minded bands. Songs like “You’re Glib” sport an interesting melody to be sure, but in the end it’s hard to say if “interesting” here translates to “good” or just “annoying after a couple of minutes.” The vote is still out on that one. Other songs like “Purge” and “Go Deaf or Get Married” seem to be reaching for something distinct, but I can’t help that I heard all this nine years ago. Unfortunately, the band just sounds dated; while they’re quite capable and good at what they play, Worst Case Ontario just doesn’t seem to have the sort of overall sound that will make enough people stand up and take notice. (LABEL: Self-released 2007

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The cover art makes it look like a children’s book, but Hans York’s Young Amelia is actually a deftly assembled collection of beautifully unassuming folk songs. Fans of gentle vocals and open tunings, a la David Wilcox and Michael Franks, have a new friend in York – or maybe he isn’t “new” at all, having shared stages with everyone from Robert Palmer to Germany’s Ars Quittilinga Chamber Orchestra; either way, anyone with a weakness for songcraft would do well to acquaint themselves with the talented multi-instrumentalist. For Young Amelia, York and his crew flexed some old-school muscle, recording the album’s 12 tracks in a six-day stretch, often without the aid of overdubs – not that you could tell from listening to it. The songs are simple – there isn’t a single right angle or rough edge in here – but there’s comfort in their simplicity; listening to the album is like stretching out in front of a sunny window on a spring afternoon. The album probably isn’t sexy enough to grab most people’s attention, but those who find it will be very glad they did. (LABEL: Hazzazar 2008

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