New Local Releases
• Local Blues/Rock king Sonny Moorman, winner of last year’s Cincinnati Entertainment Award in the Blues category, is celebrating the birth of his new CD, Live As Hell, this Friday at Cardi’s Bar and Grill in Fairfield. The $10 cover charge gets you into the show and a copy of the CD. As the name suggests, the disc — released once again by Macon, Ga.-based Blues/Rock label Atlas Records — was recorded live and features Blues and Rock classics like “Highway 61 Revisited,” “Rattlesnake Shake,” “Key to the Highway” and Bobby Bare’s “Cincinnati Jail.” The album was co-produced by Sonny and Erwin Musper, the Northern Kentucky transplant who has worked with legends like Jeff Beck, Elton John and Mick Jagger. (sonnymoorman.com)
• Awesome Bluegrass/Newgrass faves Rumpke Mountain Boys release their new CD, Family Perspective, with a show this Saturday at The Redmoor (formerly Jaspers) in Mt. Lookout. Rubber Knife Gang and Farm Hand open the 8 p.m. show. The five-time Cincinnati Entertainment Award winners’ new album (their first since 2006) is their first all-original studio effort, featuring songs about the experiences of the band members’ family and friends, with a healthy dose of humor thrown in. The band will be doing a mini CD release tour following Saturday’s show, hitting up Athens, Yellow Springs, Lexington and Louisville over the next few weeks. (rumpkemountainboys.org)
Local iTunes Exclusives
• Superb Indie Pop foursome Pomegranates has released a new single, available exclusively on iTunes. The songs from the single — “Corriander” and “Sleepover” — are to appear on the Poms’ next album for Lujo Records, which is tentatively due in stores this spring. Both tracks are as strong (if not stronger) than anything from the band’s debut full-length, last year’s Everything is Alive, gorgeously showcasing the band’s cascading guitars, dynamic song structures and addictive melodies. The next three months find the band on the road a lot, including jaunts to the east coast and throughout the Midwest, as well as some shows at March’s South By Southwest festival in Austin, Tex. To get a free listen to “Corriander,” head to their MySpace page at myspace.com/pomegranatesart.
• Also just released on iTunes is Never In A Million Years, the debut album by new, moody Cincy-based Electronica trio The Sleep. The band consists of singer Laura Smith, Neil Smith on keys, synths and electronics and guitarist Dave Eberhardt, who has performed with the late Katie Reider and singer/songwriter Holly Spears. The sound of the album is very 4AD, with ambient, airy soundscapes, a dash of psychedelica, excellent, diverse guitar work and Laura’s breathy, ethereal vocals. If you dug the recent M83 album Saturdays = Youth or were a fan of Dead Can Dance and Cocteau Twins, you’ll find The Sleep’s dreamy sound incredibly mesmerizing. You can find a preview of the album on The Sleep’s MySpace page: myspace.com/thesleepmusic. A free album booklet — with liner notes and lyrics — can be downloaded at the band’s official site. The album will be available soon at other online music-buying outlets. (thesleep.net)
CONTACT MIKE BREEN: [email protected]
