It is not every day that a band out of New Hampshire is poised to move onto a higher level of recognition and larger audiences. Yet, Ron Noyes and his band have used this state on the wrong side of Boston to launch an exciting career. Ron Noyes Band opens their fourth CD Dust Bowl Diary with “Addeline,” a thumping country blues fast lane ride with aggressive electric and acoustic guitars. Its incisive lead guitar burns forward with never ending intensity while Noyes’s gritty, rugged vocal somehow manages to hit the emotional soft spot even though he sounds country boy tough. His chorus is catchy without being corny and that is the main strength throughout his CD. The musicality and the grit keep complimenting each other on Dust Bowl Diary.
“Mea Culpa” has a sandpapery, thick goulash of electric and acoustic guitars that rock, each playing off the other. A guest fiddler, Ellen Carlson, brings a nice arc to this tune, and she leaves enough space for the band to play under her earthy, Americana sound.
Noyes has an authentic voice that smacks of hard realities and unwavering assessments through all of his songs’ twist and turns. Clearly influenced by southern rock and country rock, traces of Greg Allan and Charlie Daniels can be heard deep inside the colors and tones. Yet, Noyes manages to have something new to offer a new generation of fans. He has a wistful feeling for his subject matters, a true singer-songwriter peering out from behind the Dixie rock and roll, and the country boys and the southern rockers were hardly ever this introspective.
“Anchors For Angels” makes the most of this blend of heart felt lyrics and the driving southern rock vibe. Lead guitarist Jarrod Taylor picks off these quick, simple but quite tasteful notes that create a huge impression in the sounds cape. Noyes‘ lyrics make for a poetic description “A kingdom for your kiss/And a castle for your frown/A thrown to lay at your feet/Lay my burdens down.” His tune “Voices” is a wicked blend of organ and acoustic guitar. It flows out of the speakers with a majestic sweep that gathers the listener up in a respectful offering of earthy, organic sound.
“Voices” offers up more of Noyes’ down home grit with more of Taylor’s subtle guitar leads. The handsome vocal of Noyes’ eventually takes on many layers of familiarity in the colors and tones. Sometimes he reminds of Rob Thomas. Other times he sounds something like Counting Crows singer Adam Druitt. At every turn, Noyes sounds completely real. There is no affect in his approach or timbre. What you hear is what you hear is who he is.
John Popper of Blue Traveler features on harmonica on the killer song “Last To know.” Popper blows a perfect storm of bluesy melody with his individually smooth way of making the notes travel around the scales. Throw in Taylor’s edgy precision on six-string and you have pure dynamite here. Wait! There’s more! Guest keyboardist Andy Young chimes in pleasantly with a Hammond B3 layer of chords and the song, again, rises to another level on a repeated listening.
“Sale On The Cheap” could have been just another acoustic guitar backed lonesome vocal. Yet, Noyes’ throaty low tenor brings so much oomph to this song you feel the same sonic impact as a full band. Acoustic guitars are gently coaxed to give up quiet magic in their subtle picking, which play out respectfully underneath Noyes‘s voice. “Waiting” churns out more smoky electric country blues flavored guitar and tootsie drenched, moody fiddle.
Drummer Tim Gray and bass player Chuck Tufankjian make it all possible for the tasteful melodies, gritty vocals, and hard scrabble lyrics to dance across the stage with self-assurance. This rhythm section plays with solid oak integrity and folksie colorings. “Waiting” features Gray keeping the beat with a snap that reminds of older records. Tufankjian is never too close or too far from the beat. Whether he thickens the sound by keeping the beat with the drums or spreading his knobby low end notes over the soundscape, this bassist has a true feeling and passion for this roots genre. You can picture him making sure, every night, that he isn’t overplaying the tune.
“Headstone” has a down and dirty country groove in its bass lines and Noyes has fun rocking around it. Gray gets a nice popping sound out of his drum smacks and the guitars and organ weave into a fine thickness. More of the incisive guitar, country and southern rock bops, and the organ, again, becomes the gravy over the meat and potatoes. If you haven’t enjoyed the smoky lead vocal by this song, “Headstone” will win you over. Noyes’s voice sounds particularly whiskey-soaked on this one, and he belts it out with power.
“Out Of Range,” “Same Day,” and “Asleep At The Wheel” round out the CD with equal aplomb. The Ron Noyes Band are certainly a band on the rise. They are destined to be bigger than a local bar band.
www.myspace.com/ronnoyesband
