Pamela Means offers a whole lot of Pamela Means on Plainfield album, and that’s a whole lotta good
Pamela Means’s eighth CD Plainfield is a solo acoustic delight. Snappy acoustic guitar playing, raw, emotive vocals, and lyrics focused on personal and social justice make for one fine organic work. Titled after the western Massachusetts town of Plainfield that inspired Means creativity during a dark period in her life, the album speaks volumes of what’s going on in the human heart during this time in American history.
Cold Engines continue their steady march forward with Physical Education album
Cold Engines just keep on getting better and better. This prolific band, based in southern New Hampshire, has just released its fourth album in three years. Their new Physical Education album is their best yet. The band has harnessed its tight, rocking sound into something even tighter while adding a much funkier feel to their songs. The title track as well as songs titled “Bring Out Your Body,” “Pretend We’re In Love,” “All Night,” and “Sexual Feelings” show the band getting into much more suggestive material, whether for commercial appeal or simply because it matches their funky sound, one can only guess.
Katrina Marie turns up the heat with When There Is No Color album
Katrina Marie has just released a gem of a CD titled When There Is No Color. It should be in the player at any house party or at any happening event where fun music is played. Katrina Marie rocks, rolls, and offers up all kinds of soulful expressions. There is no challenge her vocal prowess cannot meet and there is no style she cannot finesse.
Amy Fairchild makes huge personal, artistic statement with Nobody’s Satellite album
Amy Fairchild’s new CD Nobody’s Satellite is a quiet reflection on the hopes and challenges of being single. Utilizing her especially fine timbre for each song’s expression, Fairchild makes powerful emotional and music statements in each track. She meets emotional truths head on while carrying her message with subtle, sophisticated touches, vocal techniques that tweaks each of her songs to perfection. Her assembly of acoustic and electric musical accompaniment allow her to paint an even larger picture while keeping things tender, beautiful, and colorful. She uses more co-writers this time around, and that has lead to some wise creative choices, taking her music in some newer directions.
Laura Cortese proves an artist on the rise with All In Always album
Laura Cortese has released this eighth album All In Always to showcase more of her highly skilled, multi-texture fiddle playing and composition finesse. Through it all, Cortese makes full use of color and tone, lightness and darkness, and many other nuances aside from her thrilling techniques. Billing herself as Laura Cortese & Friends was a wise choice for this recording, as her friends, coming from different nations, all lend a hand in keeping things interesting. Instruments and guest musicians on this recording include Bouzouki e flute – Xose Liz; Zanfona – Anxo Pintos; Voice e Pandeira – Chisco Feijoo; Cello – Jonas Bleckman; Guitar – Adam Johansson; Tambourine – Jens Linell; Guitar, Melodeon et Jaw Harp – Yann Falquet; Melodeon, Chromatic Harp, Podorythmie – Pierre-Luc Dupuis; and Gigue – Dominic Desrochers
Jennifer Tefft Band takes it to a higher level with Cutting For Stone album
The Jennifer Tefft Band’s latest album Cutting For Stone makes the most of the band’s usual trademark qualities. Tefft’s plaintive, high strung, rangy voice, fierce, lean guitar lines, and a very tight, propulsive rhythm section are all here. This time, the Tefft and company take things to a higher level. There is a grandness of purpose going on in this album that makes one feel something special is going to happen with this band in 2017.
The Oracle impress with #SUF album
The Oracle is a four piece progressive funk-rock instrumental band in which three out of four members are gear heads with endorsements from manufacturers of fine musical instruments. So, we know before we listen to their #SUF album that they will be playing some cool, intricate music with an emphasis on quality sound. This nine […]
Frank Viele rocks with force and grace on Fall Your Way album
Frank Viele’s latest CD Fall Your Way is loaded with hard charging, rootsie rock and roll. Few can belt a rocker like Viele can and few can match his pure emotional honesty heard in his mellower tunes. This Connecticut icon will surely go far with this Vic Steffens produced album. Opening track “Broken Love Song” […]
Anna Madsen makes artistic shout with Whisper album
Have you ever gotten the feeling that something big was about to happen in the music scene? Well, you should get that feeling now. Anna Madsen is about to drop a full length CD, and it’s certain to make splash throughout New England. Her Whisper album is loaded with many fine touches in each savory rock-electronica match […]
Chris Fitz demonstrates fine musical instincts on Basement Musings disc
Chris Fitz recently released his Basement Musings CD to pay homage to all of the personal home recordings made by many of the great recording artists. Like the great men who have gone before him, Fitz has come up with a collection of some of his best reworked songs that many of us were not already familiar with. There’s a cool, breezy atmosphere to some of these tunes while others have a bucking blues driven beat with plenty of flare. Regardless of whether these tracks are culled from previous studio outtakes or that Fitz plays all of the instruments himself, his Basement Musings is one fine bundle of good songs.
