Boston- based Sado Domestics have a new CD called Hey, Oaxaca, and it thrives and flourishes on the strength of a number nice touches, interesting contrasts, and some fine harmony.
Opening track “Across” delivers an old-fashioned, jaunty folk feel in its brisk chord progression and in its lilting groove. Chris Gleason and Lucy Martinez follow that lilting groove with their upbeat duet. Their voices charm with warmth as Jimmy Ryan’s snappy mandolin, and Bruce Bartone’s organ line give lovely bits of sweet ear candy. This is a tune that just has to be liked for its tight gathering of tasty bits.
“Chemical” finds Martinez applying her sweet vocal in small waves of loveliness. Beneath her voice Gleason offers a likable banjo line. It skips along to the merriment in Martinez shiny voice. The contrast between the song’s traveling groove and the bits of sweet acoustic notes make this a tune of substance as well as it keeps it entertaining in its gleeful movements.
More rocking, the mid-tempo “Best Thing And The Worst” glides by on the strength of Gleason’s lead guitar and his duet with Martinez. Not only does this song have its cool lead guitar line, it also features a Jimmy Ryan mandolin line that can’t be beat. This tune just eases on its way with a confection of sweet acoustic notes dotting the gentle movements in each measure.
A somewhat darker tune, the haunting “Morpho” lets Martinez suggest its forlorn emotion with a touch of mystery in her timbre. Singing over Jeff Alison’s percussive groove, she makes the most of a tribal vibe popping just below her vocal.
“Can’t Unring That Bell” feels like this album’s hit single for local radio stations. It’s loaded with emotive suggestion and its duet style feels epic. The lead guitar’s rangy ride as well as the rhythm section’s muscular, motion filled groove remind of late 1970s Fleetwood Mac. Catchy, engaging, and inviting, it also has a mandolin line that beautifully expands what this song is all about.
“Stardust” combines a swaggering rock and roll groove with some moody organ and guitar. Martinez uses this platform well, letting her perfectly down tempo vocal sway around the swagger with a much softer hit. The instruments and vocal in this one keep hitting everything just right, leaving the listener with a pleasant confection.
“Civil War In Your Mind” delves further into pop-rock. A weepy, lilting lead guitar line wafts along to two raspy lead vocals. The song also makes a perfect climb into more emotive territory. It tells a story through the emotions involved and the delivery of voice and instrumentation are perfectly matched to the song’s thematic dilemma.
“Helicopter” has a bursting electric guitar chord progression that reminds Of R.E.M.’s “Bang And Blame.” Martinez sings this one with a sweet indictment of a partner that seeks too much control. She keeps the delivery light while singing about serious matters. The contrast makes the song palatable and accessible. Her voice slides like a silk glove over the engaging guitar riff and smooth boas. It’s a song that makes you feel it taking you to a place of salvation.
A 1960s vibe lives inside the sweeping organ work from Bruce Bartone on “Noise Floor Delirium.” This duet feels like it takes place in its own time and space. Martinez and Gleason have a fine harmony yet also manage to sound forlorn, haunting, a duet that hovers above its early music period trappings. The rush of organ and the hovering vocals create a perfect balance that keeps this tune anchored in that slight otherworld existence.
“Tunnels” gets an edge from a ringing lead guitar line and brisk rhythm guitar. The rhythm section gives it a slow, pushy ride forward as Martinez sings mellow, sounding content. There is a contrast between the urgent tones in the electric guitars and the smooth, considerate pace of her lead vocal. It works to make us better feel the importance of her lyrics as the song moves toward its final destination.
Wound up in tight rocker trappings, “Instant Lo-Fi Junky” races forward on a galloping beat. Bits of electric guitar, flinty mandolin, and acoustic six string spread out, making a wide platform for Gleason’s plaintive vocal and a chorus duet. There are so many fine touches racing over that speedy beat that this song becomes a whirling dervish of driven fun.
Down tempo march “Downtown Underground” closes out this disc with a quiet drone. That drone finds Martinez singing out heartily, lofty vocal highs, filling in the sparse song with anthem like assertions. It leaves the listener on a high note, a good feeling that says farewell for now.
Sado Domestics have outdone themselves on this sophomore album Hey, Oaxaca. The talents of the two singer-songwriters, Gleason and Martinez, combine with mando man Jimmy Ryan, keyboardist Bruce Bartone, drummer Jeff Alison, and bass player Jeff St. Pierre to create a gem of originality. Recorded mostly at Noise Floor Delirium in Roslindale, Massachusetts with some additional work at 37 Foot Productions in Rockland, Massachusetts, this Sado Domestics disc rocks out with all sorts of special touches.
