Linda Marks rises to higher level with album In Grace
Linda Marks must be taking a lot of vitamins or drinking a lot of coffee. She seems to have new CD release every year, each released like clockwork. Her latest, In Grace, is aptly titled, as she’s emboldened by her previous successes and this recording shows it. Every song feels like it’s approaching something epic. […]
Steve Rodgers keeps things deep, personal, reflective on strong release Count It All Joy
Steve Rogers is a Connecticut singer-songwriter who aims for the listener’s soft spot and always hits it. Focusing on tales of loss, hope, human connection, and triumph on his Count It All Joy album, this singer-songwriter mines the depths of his experience as well as the human heart to come up with realistic song scenarios […]
Amanda McCarthy starts out strong with debut disc Road Trip
Amanda McCarthy’s debut full length CD Road Trip is loaded with folksy, pop-rock tunes that grab the ear and never let go. McCarthy’s earnest, sincere vocal delivery reaches the listener’s soft spot as much as her plaintive lyrics about her life in our modern times. Opening track “Idaho” focuses on her life in a small […]
Crowes Pasture accomplish much when they Slow It Down
Crowes Pasture’s latest CD Slow It Down find the pair in chill mode. The husband and wife team of acoustic guitarist Andy Rogovin and banjo player Monique Byrne offer nine tracks loaded with gritty, roosie acoustic notes and tender vocal harmonies. The duo construct their songs around their tender vocals and their alluring choruses and […]
Matt York takes it even higher with Bruisable Heart
Matt York’s latest roots album Bruisable Heart conveys many emotional states with his plaintive lyrics and sandpapery vocal. Playing most of the instruments on this disc, York keeps his tight arrangements full of nuanced touches, spiking electric guitar here, slappy acoustic chords there, and just enough of other instruments when needed. The rangy Americana vibe […]
Yoko Miwa Trio get even better with Keep Talkin’
Yoko Miwa Trio’s sixth CD release Keep Talkin’ shows how she has developed her cool sense of delivery. There is more ingenuity in her arranging, playing, and interaction with her trio than on anything she’s released up to this point. Aside from her own adeptly played composition, Miwa arranges Thelonious Monk, Charles Mingus, The Beatles, […]
Grace Morrison gets even better with Reasons
Grace Morrison’s new CD Reasons is made up of the country roots material she is so well known for and which she is so good at delivering. Her natural timbre reminds of girlish chirps, a young voice that sings with an older person’s wisdom and experience. “Come On Rae” combines Morrison’s girlish timbre with a […]
Black Cat Road offer fine document of their sound
Black Cat Road have been bringing their punchy, earthy brand of blues music to Maine venues for nine years. The band’s self-titled debut CD crackles with brisk instrumentation, soulful, raspy vocals, and true down beat grooves drenched in this traditional music. A lead guitar grinds its way into the listener’s attention on opening cut “Crow […]
New Haven prog rock band The Breakfast return to epic heights with Phantasmagoria
Connecticut prog rock band The Breakfast have released their third CD titled Phantasmagoria after a 20 year recording break since their second album, back when they called themselves Psychedelic Breakfast. This new masterwork reveals a band still capable of composing and recording gloriously epic songs that are packed with artistic flourishes of guitar, keyboards, drums, […]
Bayou Boy Orchestra provide plenty of tasty country, Louisiana, blues flavor on Son Of Swamp Thing
The second time around can prove a challenge for any group of musicians. Yet, The Bayou Boy Orchestra has come up with a terrifically fun sophomore album. Titled Son Of Swamp Thing: The Legend Of A Bayou Boy Vol. 2, it finds the merry band of roots, Americana players formed by the infamous Greedy Geezer […]
