Kentucky-bred Jayce Turley is just 19-years-old, but he and his band Cardinal Point impressed me greatly. The LP Broke Down is Americana in a broad sense: a bit of folk, a bit of country, some blues, some rock…. Turley’s high tenor is a pleasant and comforting contrast to the sizzle he and the band work themselves into. “Rust” is about being who you are, not a label slapped on you. You should note the ease with which Turley and the band play off each other and the maturity of Turley’s vocals. The video of “Misery” is solo acoustic, but you can detect some blues-rock styling. It’s a true-to-life murder ballad that happened in his hometown. “Broke Down” is about those moments in life when things are going well and then they don’t. In this case it’s a recounting of his van breaking down in Ohio that features some bluegrass(ish) fiddle. “Liquor Store” is country mixed with rockabilly. Turley has another song (not on the record) called “Getting Out of Kentucky.” I have a feeling this young man will soon be able to go wherever he wishes.
To my chagrin, I’m terrible at languages. I wish I could tell you exactly what Olcay Bayir is singing on her glorious album Tu Gulî. It’s not French, rather an Anatolian dialect and she is a Kurd who lives in London. The album title means “You Are a Rose,” but I would call the album a jewel. In addition to Setero Kurdish, Bayir sings in Turkish and other unfamiliar (to me) tongues. The best way to appreciate her is to listen. Try “Edle,” which opens with primal ululation. Its joyousness and steady hand percussion bespeak the fact that it’s a wedding dance. (It sure beats “Here Comes the Bride!”) Both “Tal Tala” and “Nare Nare” are traditional songs, the first upbeat, the second emotive and slow. “Adana” is mournful, but for a reason. Bayir takes us to Armenia to sing about the medez yeghern, the “great crime” of the 1915 genocide of Armenians by Ottoman Turks. Call it the album’s sad song. It’s simply uplifting to listen to the gifted Bayir.
I’ve always maintained that genres are necessary for consumers but tricky in application. Both “folk” and “rock” are out of fashion these days (they appear as either country or Americana), but Little Falls Trophy is decidedly a rock band, albeit one that gravitates toward the softer end of the spectrum on Dutch Motel. Little Falls Trophy is the namesake for singer/guitarist Doug Albregts, and his songs are inspired more by The Beatles than the Rolling Stones or metal music. He's a Wisconsin native who moved to New Jersey and named his act and the studio musicians he assembled for an actual trophy shop in Jersey. Albregts retains a lot of rock n’ roll attitude. “Thursday is Friday” is a drinking song that advocates getting a liquid head start to the weekend. The guitar-forward “Irreverent” also packs ironic insouciance. “Universal” is more jangly and has smooth vocals but mixes noise with quiet interludes. “Jamie and Jimmy” is solid storytelling and “My LittleSunshine” has surf guitar riffs. In all, a very good record.
Short Cuts
In 1968, a group of Bolivians, especially Aymara Quechua Indians, formed Los Ruphay. “Ruphay” means ray of light in Quechua, and the group’s repertoire spotlights Andean music heavy on panpipes and charangos (a plucked guitar-like instrument). The Three Seasons of the Andes is a posthumous collection of music from former leader Mario Gutiérrez. Sample the haunting “Lupi pacha” and the more pastoral “Thaya pacha.” Among other things pacha means land, soil, and place.
On her new album The Evening News, KJ Denhert offers jazz standards such as “Surrey with the Fringe on Top” and “The Street on WhichYou Live” with re-imagined pop songs the likes of “Postcard from Paris” and “Eleanor Rigby.” I must admit that soft jazz has always been background mood music for me, but Denhert, who is often categorized as an “urban jazz” singer,” is clearly talented performer and lives up to the hype. Now if I can only figure out how “rural jazz” differs from what city slickers sing….
Biel Marti is a Catalan folk artist based in Barcelona. His newest record Somnis per a tu i per a mi is a pleasing singer/songwriter album in any language. The title song has a sweet melody that contrasts a slight vocal rasp, and “Primavera” (“Spring”) has a catchy chorus that invites you to learn enough Catalan to sing along. The album title translates “dreams for you and me,” and isn’t that one of the things folk music does best?
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