I recently devoted a column to female musicians, so it's
only fair that to give equal time to the gentlemen and rogues of the road.
My favorite in this batch is Cold Answer, an EP from Matthew Perryman Jones. The
Pennsylvania-born, Georgia-raised, Nashville-based Perryman has been recording
since 2000, and this EP is a distillation of a 2015 full-length album. His best
tracks evoke the smart, pensive songs of Richard Shindell. When Jones sings of "Wrestling Tigers,"
it's self-analysis and the dangerous beast inner self-destructiveness. The
title track is melodic and lush, but its look at a dead relation cuts deeply: Remember saying all the places we'd go/Once
we've found the road to take us there/But we spend too much time waiting by the
window/And ended up not going anywhere. I don't know much about his personal
life, but songs like "Can't Get It Right, and "I'm Sorry"
certainly suggest he has hit a few potholes here and there. But don't expect
self-pity or apology. There is a repeating line from his you-can-do-better
leaving song "I Can't Go Back Now" that runs, This is not what I planned. Jones' combination of raw emotions,
lovely tunes, and sensitive voice linger and haunt long after you've taken out
your ear buds. ★★★★
The Adam Ezra Group
is a six-person lineup from Boston that has been recording since 2003. Hurricane
Wind, their 7th
album, airs out a repertoire that's on the rock end of the folk rock scale. Ezra
anchors the band with vocals that are simultaneously growly in tone but smooth
in transition. Sometimes, as in the song "The Toast" with its parting
song feel, the AEG sounds like an Irish folk rock band biding us
goodnight. By contrast, here's a
countrified boot rock kick to "Steal Your Daughter" and a pop/party shimmer
to "You Speak Girl." One of my favorite tracks is "Let Your HairDown," an affecting take on seizing the moment when boy-meets-girl and
sparks ignite a fire that might not last the night. The AEG is superb at doing
little things well—a splash of piano, rapid-fire couplets, or just a quirky
line that's just right: You're sweet like
a melon/sly like a felon/and I've been watchin' you dance all night. John
Oates guests on the last track—a good match of talents that are not quite pop, folk,
or rock but something of all three.★★★
½
adam_ezra @adamezra
Drew Holcomb has
just released a new CD titled Souvenir. To promote it he has
released a previous record, Medicine, on Noisetrade, for whom he is its first artist in residence. Souvenir continues the musical journey
of an artist who manages to remind us of old favorites without being derivative
of any of them. On the new record, "Fight For Love" has a post-1975
Bob Dylan feel, yet "Postcard Memories" and "Mama's Sunshine,
Daddy's Rain" evoke the wry commentary and stripped down instrumentation
of John Prine. Overall, Holcomb and his band often draw comparisons to The
Jayhawks. The pay-as-you-wish Noisetrade release of Medicine includes Holcomb standards such as the
country/folk/Appalachian blend "American Beauty," the funky, LA rock
with a secular gospel choir "Sisters and Brothers," and the instantly
relatable "Ain't Nobody Got it Easy." My favorite is "Shine LikeLightning," which is just great rock n' roll—the kind someone like
Springsteen might sweat his way through. ★★★★
Waldemar is the
professional persona of Wisconsin-based Gabe Larson. His EP Visions has been described as
"painting with sound." If it has a genre, it 's experimental rock,
but that's hardly adequate for Larson's pastiche of electronics, piano, ambient
vocals, trombone, guitar, and percussion. Visions
is challenging—perhaps more of an artistic statement than concert music.
Give a listen. You'll know pretty quickly whether you wish to imbibe further or
if it's simply not your cup of tea. ★★
½
There's a standing joke about the dearth of happy songs in
folk music. That helps explain why so many artists draw upon the pen of Jesse Terry and why they want to record
with him. Terry writes sunny, pop-infused folk that will remind graybeards of
the light-voiced, optimistic Emitt Rhodes. Terry has just released a new LP, Stargazer, and has followed Holcomb's lead in
bundling a few tracks with back catalogue material for those seeking to
discover his music. The title track of the new record was inspired by his
boyhood devotion to the Electric Light Orchestra. Dar Williams joins him on a
song with a drift-across-the-night-sky feel. He rocks out a bit more on
"Runaway Town," but the mood is like a more upbeat Roy Orbison.
Finally, there is "Kaleidoscope" (with Sarah Darling), which is
introspective and so atmospheric that it skirts lullaby terrain. These three
are bundled with five other songs on Natural. Each track features a guest
artist. I particularly enjoyed the Paul Simon-like "Mr. Blue Sky"
with Liz Longley, and "Carry" with Kim Richey. You might long for a
tad more diversity from Terry, but it's hard to quarrel with optimism. ★★★ ½ [Note: Williams and Richey are not on the YouTube clips]
#jesseterry
"Sunny" isn't an adjective routinely applied to Justin Townes Earle and Kids
in the Street won't alter that. That's not to say that it's a downer,
but it is shot through with C&W heartache. "There Go a Fool" is
the kind of tale Willie Nelson would tell—a guy who's been around the block
enough times to suspect that tonight's date won't end well. "Faded
Valentine" also lays on the pathos, though in the deliciously retro
fashion of an old country weepy. From the content of "Maybe a Moment"
it sounds as if Earle knows a few less savory Memphis streets. This one is
acoustic, but sung in a soulful syllable-packed manner reminiscent of Van
Morrison. For something more cheerful, try "Champagne Corolla," with
its big horns, rolling arrangement, and N'awlins flavoring. Who can resist a
pretty lady on the open road? ★★★
#justintownesearle
Are you a Greg Brown fan? Peter Mulvey is another artist in the same growly Midwestern
acoustic folk blues style. Eleven Ways of Looking at Peter Mulvey is
a good introduction to good introduction to his music. Fellow songwriters tend
to admire the emotive concision of Mulvey's songs. "Are You
Listening?" exemplifies this. It's a deliberately shaky-voiced song about
being dumped with repeated and simple lines—Are
you telling me you got a new life?—that capture that endless loop of
despair that comes from being dumped. On the other end of the spectrum is the
caffeinated splatter of words in "The Other Mornin Over Coffee."
Mulvey's "Song for Michael Brown" has gotten attention and (alas!)
its politics remain relevant. The fiddle texture of this one is evocative of
Civil War era music, frighteningly appropriate for what he has to say about
dangerous angry white men. Mulvey also dabbles in poetry and this collection
has two spoken word tracks. I confess that I prefer songs with stronger melody,
hence my favorites from Eleven Ways
are "Shirt" and "Kids in the Square." ★★★
#petermulvey
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