Rhode Island’s Tequila Jim is a different kind of local artist. His folk-rock often mirrors the open spaces and distant tones found on early Pink Floyd albums. Tequila Jim’s latest CD New World offers a lot of variety within its folksy vibe, letting his verve for the usual pave his way toward aural success.
Opening with “Pretend You know Me” Tequila Jim swings into immediate rock and roll action with a crunchy electric guitar stomp. Harmony vocals around the lead vocals layers this with substance and gives it a whole fresh feel.
Switching gears, flowing acoustic guitar notes pull us right into “Be There.” Tequila Jim sings in a forlorn vocal tone, like something calling out to you from an old photograph of an earlier time. The dreamy quality of this song leaves space for Tequila Jim’s vocal melody to breathe as the lyrical content unfurls its philosophical grist.
“Come A Day” finds a comfortable niche in its mid tempo splash of acoustic and electric guitar notes. Tequila Jim sings with a lofty air, putting wind under his sails, making his voice rise with an upwards swoop. A moody cello played by Daniel Rowe completes the moody texture of this piece, reminding the listener that there is something haunting and forlorn blowing in the background breeze.
“Hungry Town” weaves beautifully mournful acoustic instruments into something special. Tequila Jim’s mellow croon above, buttressed by Super Cindy‘s vocal, carries on its peaceful but direct mission to soothe the listener’s need for completion. “For Sure” opens like a Syd Barrett era Pink Floyd tune, something as direct as a personal conversation suddenly erupting out of nowhere. A sweeter vocal tone is merrily utilized to convey personal warmth,. Other beautiful artistic flourishes here include a plucky percussion twist and Tequila Jim’s rippling notes played on his Seagull Merlin Dulcimer Guitar
A special mesh of cello and piano carry the emotive “Martha Goes To The Sea.” A misty ballad that involves the listener in its sadly tinkling piano notes, moody cello, and quiet lead vocal, one can feel Martha’s plight as this genre bending piece seems to hum itself into existence with a plum of feeling.
“July 24” makes its case with a peppy acoustic guitar chord progression; its pop sensibilities wholly intact, A bit of roughness in his vocal timbre, finds a perfect home among the flintiness in his acoustic guitar pace. Punctuating his words of wisdom with sudden burst of acoustic guitar chords keeps things catchy and interesting. Segue into “Julie” with harmonized coos, Tequila Jim offers a love song that builds strongly along a basic rhyme scheme. A bouncy acoustic guitar line making on feel the wealth of emotion.
“Hello Ladies” features a live audience cheering section as Tequila Jim mirrors an old time vanity case. It intros “Rock Your Love,” a guitar driven number with solid rhythmic underpinnings. Tequila Jim’s vocal swaggers in smooth bits of bravado. His lead guitar phrase apes the fire of the classic rock bands of days gone by. One can sense the fun he had singing, playing on this song and that make it fun for the listener too.
Tequila Jim returns to his chill vibe with “Young Lovers.” His sweet, light, and vulnerable lead vocal pulls one into the tenderness of his reflections. Moving into the low end guitar melancholy of “I’m Sorry Children,” this edgy singer-songwriter reveals more of his sensitivity. The harrowing encounter with sorrow hits one like a brick due to the Tequila Jim method of injecting low end instruments to make something sad go through the spine of his tune.
“Crazy Milk” makes for one adventurous instrumental joy ride. Thick, plucky acoustic guitar work keeps things bouncing along. “Forever & A Day” allows Tequila Jim to return to his dream like atmospherics. He croons softly over a flinty yet simply acoustic guitar line. The listener gets his sense of longing, especially as backing vocalist Super Cindy chimes in on the lead vocal line.
Tequila Jim is never short of quirky song themes or inventive approaches. “Leave Us Alone” makes its grouchy statement to an eruptive lead guitar line that smolders as much as the stark lyrical content here. A harmony line consisting of la-la’s wraps this all in something that’s probably never hardly been done before.
Tequila Jim closes out his madcap masterpiece with “Mountaintop.” Reminiscent of The King’s Muswell Hillbilly’s album with its thicket of harmonica, banjo, and trotting vocals, it closes out the CD with clever mischief.
Tequila Jim has accomplished much on his latest CD New World. He offers a variety of approaches that are all quirky, fresh, and innovative. This Rhode Island-based artist blends a 1960s sensibility with a variety of rock, folk-rock, and psychedelic leanings to come up with the perfect vehicle of expression. Recorded at True Music Studios in Smithfield, Rhode Island, it reveals every emotive nuance Tequila Jim aims for.
