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The bar has been raised for the local music scene. Truly, it has been one of the best years ever, at least of the 16 or so that I have been covering music in Greater Cincinnati. I´m looking forward to 2008. But for now, let´s get nostalgic for 2007, shall we?
Below are CityBeat´s picks for the best locally crafted CDs that came out this year, with some excerpts from what we wrote back when the discs were released. Search citybeat.com for the full-length reviews, interviews and news on all of the artists mentioned.
· The Sheds - You´ve Got A Light
The Sheds are singer/songwriters Paul Bunyan and Chris Haubner and their close camaraderie is apparent in their musical output. Speaking of friends, the twosome invited many of theirs to lend a hand on this disc, adding to the communal spirit. The Sheds are multidimensional, meaning you get a little acoustic modern Folk, a little quirky ElectroPop, some driving Indie Rock and often a mix of all three. While there are a lot of varying additives, The Sheds don´t pile on, instead using the different elements sparingly. And, despite the electro adornments, there is a naturalness and modesty evident on every track. (Mike Breen)
· Ill Poetic - The World Is Ours
As heard on ¨Ride Thru It¨ from his new, self-produced CD, The World is Ours, (Ill Poetic) makes distinction as an MC wanting to be relevant: ¨I ain´t worried ´bout the ´Snowman´/I´m worried ´bout this young kid whose thinkin´ he´s a grown man.¨ Maybe you´ve seen him, slack-faced, boarding the No. 33 to his gig as a telemarketing manager and wondered, ¨God, when´s this kid gonna get signed?¨ Judging from his seamless production on The World Is Ours and beat contributions to other spit-kickers, not long. (Mildred Fallen)
· Wussy -
While Funeral Dress had an endearing ¨ragged glory¨ element to it, this follow-up is much more focused and better produced. Chuck Cleaver and Lisa Walker´s voices couldn´t be more different, but because they´re both singular instruments in their own right, together they create an engrossing duality. That holds true for Wussy as a whole - it seems to be a collection of misfit players and sounds that, when brought together, create something grittily gorgeous and magnetic. Sophomore slump? Not by any standards. (MB)
· 500 Miles to Memphis - Sunshine in a Shot Glass
The depth and maturity that Ryan Mallott shows on Sunshine in a Shot Glass suggest a long career ahead of him. 500 Miles to Memphis´ debut for Deep Elm Records is as good of a ¨Roots Rock¨ album you´ll hear today, as the band mixes feisty Punk spiritedness with a raw twang (courtesy, in part, of the prominent lap-steel and fiddle). But taking the album to another level is Mallott´s innate songwriting ability, which carries a staggeringly impressive melodic sensibility. (MB)
· The Seedy Seeds -
The Seedy Seeds seethe joy and exuberance, like a happy, yappy puppy dog. No one hates puppy dogs and I doubt anyone who hears them would dislike the Seedy Seeds. They´re Death Cab For Cutie with banjo, accordion, thumping Electro backing and acoustic guitar. Only better. The dance-floor-ready rhythmic pulsations, creative harmonies, inescapable melodies and wide-eyed, uplifting enthusiasm and optimism on Change States will not only make you dance, it´ll make you dance with a huge grin on your face. (MB)
· Over the Rhine - Trumpet Child
Over the Rhine´s latest album, The Trumpet Child, might well stand as the masterwork that Linford Detweiler and Karin Bergquist have danced around since their debut. OTR has always had a deep affinity for all American musical styles and with The Trumpet Child´s expansive, simple and exquisite arrangements and top-of-their-game songwriting, the duo proves that they´re not merely interpreters of the great American songbook but a fascinating chapter unto themselves. (Brian Baker)
· A Decade to Die For - The Process
A Decade to Die For´s bio says the band formed with the goal of ¨writing catchy songs we love to play.¨ I´m assuming they love to play the songs on The Process, and they definitely succeeded in making songs as catchy as Monkey Pox. The quartet also brings the Rock with power and grace. For such an early-in-its-career release, The Process sounds as cohesive and accomplished as bands that have been together for (ahem) a decade. (MB)
· The Chocolate Horse - Patience Works!
With an old drum machine and minimal acoustic and unaffected guitars on most tracks, this record would come off like a demo in many others´ hands. But the trio turns these short, compact songs into something transcendent. Each note is audible and crisp and the band fills the space around Snell´s bruised, moving melodies with odd but tasteful sound effects - the saw and bow create a particularly intriguing, Theramin-like sound that adds an eerie element, while egg-shaped French horn riffs add a melancholy elegance to the album´s warm, inviting feel. (MB)
· Wake the Bear - If We Survive This Rapture
Scott Cunningham put out his gorgeous second album of self-recorded, one-man-band recordings in 2007. The new album contains songs about aliens, a chicken-boy, religion and love, all back-dropped by Cunningham´s velvet sonic curtain, which uses ´80s synth sounds, full orchestral backing and simple drum machine beats. Rapture features his most soulful songs yet, as his elastic voice and luxurious melodies give each track its heartbeat. (MB)
· Flux Capacitors - John Q. Brains-For-Arms
The Capacitors perhaps don´t reinvent the Surf music wheel, but they certainly have deflated all of the air, painted some avant ornamentation on it and refilled it with laughing gas. If Sonic Youth would have been inspired by Dick Dale instead of, say, Glen Branca, this is what it would have sounded like. (MB)
· The Turkeys - Every Night´s the Same
Anyone who has seen The Turkeys play acoustically around town knows of their strong vocal precision and songwriting, which combines a variety of Americana influences but doesn´t fall into any ¨Roots¨ music stereotypes. Every Night´s the Same brings those elements to the fore, and the solid, crisp production of the CD makes them even more astounding. The full-band arrangements help make the album a revelation - The Turkeys are one of the best Roots music outfits to call Greater Cincinnati home. (MB)
· Eat Sugar - Eat Sugar
While LCD Soundsystem mashes varying modern and retro Indie/Electro styles into its presentation, and The Knife has re-created a sort of Dark-wave cabaret from the early 1980s, Eat Sugar has more in common with bands like The Faint, who use the old tools of the New Wave trade but rewire the circuit board with Punk and Pop chips. The end results of this ideal collaboration stand up to the best Electro Post Punk made today (in fact, they´re often as good as anything created in New Wave´s heyday). (MB)
· The Dan Karlsberg Group - The Adventures of the Dan Karlsberg Group
Young Jazz pianist Dan Karlsberg and Co.´s ¨adventures¨ allude to the CD´s musical restlessness, as Karlsberg leads his group through a diverse array of global musical styles, touching on traditional yet open-ended Jazz (of course), Asian music, American Folk and innovative French Classical music. (MB)
· Nathan Holscher - Even the Hills
Working in the medium of acoustic Folk yet transcending it with his smoky songwriting, Nathan Holscher paints vivid pictures within his songs, which are emotionally direct in their storytelling but spectral and airy in their sonic construction. Holscher has created an album of dark Americana, falling somewhere between the spaciousness of Joe Henry and the lithe Pop of Damien Rice. (MB)
· Ric Hickey - Bittersweetheart
Singer/songwriter/guitarist Ric Hickey´s first release in five years focuses his talents in an acoustic showcase of stirring songcraft and instrumental prowess that transcends the typical singer/songwriter fare. With its minimal production, spare but lyrical guitar hooks and emotional depth, Bittersweetheart at times recalls Willie Nelson in his prime Red-Headed Stranger years. (Gregory Gaston)
· Rumble Club - In Case of Rumble ...
Rockabilly music seems to have more spin-offs than All In the Family. The sound of Northern Kentucky´s Rumble Club has some elements of many of the various subgenres, but none are quite appropriate to describe the band. The foursome rides Pscychobilly´s rocket-fuel energy but retains strong ties to classic Rockabilly, Rock & Roll and Country. For a genre so locked into to tradition, it´s refreshing to hear artists like Rumble Club find there own distinct voice. (MB)
´ 46 Long - Time´s Right
There´s a subtle diversity between the tracks of this acoustic Blues duo´s latest, but not in the ¨This is Delta Blues; This is Chicago Blues; etc.¨ whiplash manner their peers prefer. 46 Long aren´t Blues tourists, more commentators writing about different ¨bluesy¨ situations that are universal. The writing works so well with the minimalist motif, it doesn´t seem that minimal at all. The playing is immaculate and soulful and the songwriting is almost as impressive. (MB)
Lovely Crash - Buddha Car
Lovely Crash´s debut has the rag-tag energy of Garage Rock, the spike-and-sass kick of old-school Punk/New Wave and more than a little taste of pure Pop sophistication. The music isn´t sloppy but endearingly trashy, mostly relying on classic guitar/bass/drums arrangements. But it´s the band´s Technicolor melodies that give Buddha Car gas. (MB)
· Azygous - Whiskey Driven Hate Machine
The heavy, fast and furious band - which plays what they self-describe as ¨Whiskey Core Metal¨ - has put out various releases since forming in 2002, but Whiskey Driven was presented as the band´s first ¨official¨ long-player. Brutal and relentless, the CD helped prove this Metal powerhouse is one of the best of its genre.
· Chris Arduser - Hapless
The George Harrison of the psychodots/raisins/Bears musical legacy? It´s not a bad comparison, as the songwriter/multi-instrumentalist shows on his latest solo effort. As good a melodicist as there is in this town, Arduser´s dark insight and wit is impossibly engaging and equally thought-provoking. Just don´t get Jeff Lynne to produce the next one, Chris - he ruins everything! (MB)
· Lost in Holland - Hearts and Minds
While fighting in Iraq, Josh Hisle turned to his acoustic guitar as an outlet for his overwhelming frustration. Once he left the corps as a decorated veteran, he began to play the songs live and received a positive response right from the start. ¨Emo¨ is, of course, all about bare emotion. Given Hisle´s experiences, his brand makes other Emo practitioners look like pussies. (MB)
· Cari Clara - You Better Run
With huge beats and engulfing yet somehow subtle layers of guitars, synths and vocals, You Better Run retains the atmospheric quality that has made Eric Diedrichs´ home recordings hover in a dream-like state. The vocal layering is especially effective, as Diedrichs gives his hooky-to-the-core melodies even more attack. Instead of creeping into your mind like some of Diedrichs´ early recordings, these tracks elbow their way into the cerebellum with insistency. (MB)
· The Tempers - The Tempers Perform the Best of Maurice Mattei: Volume 3
Giving the solo-acoustic format a rest, singer/songwriter Maurice Mattei´s latest is a different beast, as he further explores the potential of putting his songs to the beat of a full Rock band. The Tempers were created for just this purpose. Mattei transitions from his solo comfort zone to a full band incredibly well - the songs become more animated and distinct. There´s a sort of Garage-meets-Roots vibe that is quite powerful. (MB)
· The Lions Rampant - Play Rock N Roll
Play Rock N Roll couldn´t be better titled. The Lions Rampant sound is R&R at its most raw and impulsive, but it´s by no means Slop Rock. If you need a genre, this one fits in the ¨Garage Rock¨ bin, but the songs are crisply melodic and wildly soulful. The players dig deep into the dirty, Blues-on-fire groove that inhabits each of the songs, which are tightly knitted, belying Garage Rock´s rep for being messy. The Lions write, essentially, Pop songs and drench them in their swampy, moldy aura. (MB)
· Shawna James - Honey
Think of the smooth, yellow ooze. Honey. Picture it dripping slowly from jars, spilling, sticking to fingertips, the sides of lips, the backs of throats. One slight drop is enough to wake a tongue. A little liquid sugar goes a long way. Singer/songwriter Shawna James speaks like a sure woman, and her singing voice inhales and exhales with a moving, vulnerable, longing presence. With a strong, soulful edge, her 2007 debut, Honey, packs a sweet punch. (C.A. MacConnell)
· Pain Link -
Following up their widely lauded 2005 full-length, The Burden of Sin, Pain Link - one of the finest Metal bands to come out Greater Cincinnati in the past decade - put out a strong four-song EP this year. (MB)
· The Pinstripes - The Decay
The Decay contains everything that made me fall in love with Ska 25 years ago: smooth, clean, soulful vocals; tight horn punctuation marks; classic organ; and a steady, air-tight beat that doesn´t ever step on its own feet from being too hurried. It´s apparent that these guys have listened to the originators and others who kept most true to the original concept of the genre. The Decay is likely the best Ska album to ever come out of Greater Cincinnati. (MB)
Tupelo Honey - Sweet
Capturing the barebones, lilting essence of Folk music couldn´t have been an easy task for two suburban-born, Pop Rock-bred college girls. But Katie Wefer and Heather Turner started with what they already had going for them - two equally impressive sets of pipes, twin only in their matching emotive power. Sweet is a set of sweepingly organic stingers that rake in the stripped-down seriousness of Indigo Girls, Gillian Welsh´s subtle masculinity and the sheer fun of Country darlings The Dixie Chicks. (Hannah Roberts)
Trifectafunk - Trifectafunk
Though only three tracks long, this EP was a great sampler of Trifectafunk´s overall sound, which brings together some fantastic instrumental performances with light Blues, Funk and Jazz influences. But at its core, Trifectafunk is a progressive Pop band, as the group adds verve to the melodic, piano-based songs of singer/keysman Tristan Eckerson. (MB)
· Eclipse - Eclipse
The new Jam band Eclipse brews an interesting mix of styles and aesthetics, combining new school (everyone has at least a B.A. in music) with old school (the live horn section) and international influences with progressive Jazz harmonies and a Hip Hop core. Their original compositions are performed with the precision of a ballet dancer but the attitude of a street fighter. (Elizabeth Wu)
· Caterpillar Tracks - Scrape the Summer
Scrape the Summer is an evolutionary step for local Post Punk rockers Caterpillar Tracks. Their self-titled LP was an exercise in layering, and while the parts worked well together, they maintained distinct characteristics. On this EP, the songs´ maturity acts as a catalyst. Just like a pot of chili tastes better the day after it´s made, the musical ingredients have had time to meld, creating new flavors. (Ezra Waller)
Ramsey - Heaven´s Dark Corners
In 2006, Dark Pop singer/songwriter Ramsey and guitarist/producer Brian Lovely joined forces, recording Heaven´s Dark Corners, Ramsey´s debut solo CD (released this year). Studio musicians included Lovely, Chris Arduser, Teddy Wilburn and Ricky Nye. Ramsey mixes slow-rolling, bluesy and rootsy sounds with influence from bands like Muse, Radiohead and Spoon. (CM)
· Joe Hedges - Curvature
Joe Hedges´ solo debut (he formerly fronted July For Kings) is like a cross between Sting´s atmospheric Jazz/Rock, The Samples´ Folk/Jam/Pop vibe and Radiohead´s sonic texturalism. While the sound is a departure from JFK´s guitar-centered AltRock, the quality that remains is Hedges´ spiritual and introspective songwriting sensibilities. (BB)
· Tonefarmer - Meanwhile
Meanwhile - home-recorded and later mastered at Ultrasuede studio - has the bare empty street sound of Elbow, the instrumental nature of Radiohead and the feel of pain and progress, a mature, melodic drawl. All in all, it holds a cohesive feel. No sleeper here. (CM)
· Angels Of Meth - Kentucky Reign
Angels of Meth has been plotting a calculated takeover of the Northern Kentucky/Cincinnati region and with the release of Kentucky Reign in ´07, the group appears to have perfectly positioned itself for the invasion. The sway of the songs has an eclectic, arena-worthy quality to it and is catchy and accessible. (Kevin Warwick)
· The Host - Receive
The Host´s debut release, the five-song Receive, displays a far-reaching, imaginative take on Hard Rock. The band makes sweeping, majestic Rock music with hints of Metal and Prog, avoiding cliche verse/chorus/verse structuring for the most part to create something more engaging and stream-of-conscious. (MB)
· Faux Frenchmen - Faux Frenchmen
Listen to the Faux Frenchmen and you´ll become catapulted back in time. Envision film noir, lipstick, high heels, the permanent wave in a fine woman´s hair. See her skin-tight, sophisticated dress. Picture sharp-suited men tipping hats. Django Reinhardt-inspired but not strictly a Hot Club tribute band, Faux Frenchmen play complicated, romantic music, meshing European Pop with American greats like Leo Kotke and Louis Armstrong. (CM)
· The Swarthy Band - How They Look to the Skies
One of Cincinnati´s premier Indie Pop songwriters, Swarthy ratcheted up his Swarthy Band for this latest (and finest yet) release from the masterful crew. With Skies, The Swarthy Band sounds more like a ¨real band¨ than ever before, more collaborative and fully self-contained. And they still craft magnificent Pop melodies that stick after just one listen. (MB)
· Beneath the Sky - What Demons Do to Saints
Released by Victory Records, What Demons Do to Saints generated a lot of buzz in Death Metal circles. The band´s shredding guitar riffs, trip-hammer drumming and often doom-laden lyrics are above average for the genre. But it´s BTS´s subtle use of melody, occasional glimmers of lyrical hope and redemption and an almost Prog-like intricacy that has Death Metal tastemakers paying attention. (BB)
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