Houston Bernard Band come up with 10 track winner Knockin’ Boots
Houston Bernard Band’s new CD Knockin’ Boots have come up with a CD full of radio accessible country and country rock tunes. Every track could make the cut on local play lists and maybe even on the national level if the powers that be are listening. Do they even know there is country music in Boston?
Daphne Lee Martin continues to dazzle with Fall On Your Sword CD
Daphne Lee Martin dropped her fourth CD late last year, and, while this New London, Connecticut artist incorporates more modern sounds amidst her vintage music landscape, she still pleases with her sensuous vocals and old time sounds. She applies more of a dreamy ambiance to some songs and an easeful flow to others. Yet, her sophistication remains in tact. Each song features a myriad of instrumentation that join together to create interesting and engaging soundscapes. Each can transport the listener to other times and places with plenty of drama and intrigue.
Peter Lavender And The Limbo Souls score big with Sugar CD
Peter Lavender And The Limbo Souls have released this masterfully recorded soul CD, Sugar. Lavender and his Limbo Souls offer numerous takes on the soul genre, and their ability to expand on that genre, to weld it to pop and rock and roll, is the sugar that makes all of these song sound so sweet.
Matt York branches out on his with Boston, Texas CD; former Wide Iris front man has his own sound
Matt York’s new solo album Boston, Texas finds the former Wide Iris front man playing an eclectic mix of flinty roots-rock material. His vocal approach maintains a fine balance between warmth and seriousness. While the personality behind his songs is open and inviting, he also reflects a seriousness about his topics that give each number substance. Though York is playing in another musical territory than his old indie punk band, he’s still young at heart and still values the importance of a good song and a riff that pulls you into it.
The Greg Silva Trio release fine jazz document My Heart My Only
The Greg Silva Trio has released this long awaited CD My Heart My Only. Featuring 10 original compositions, Silva and his two players display a host of soundscapes with their rangy talents. With Silva on upright bass and vocals, supported by pianist Jim Shanahan and drummer Steve Langone, this trio works their way through a waltz, a ballad, and a few up tempo romps with the greatest of ease.
Marty Nestor And The BlackJacks bang out fine live CD; recorded at The Bull Run in Shirley
Marty Nestor And The BlackJacks have released this nifty live CD in time for the holidays. Anybody who has followed Nestor’s career for the last 30 years and anybody who loves great roots rock should buy a copy of Live At The Bull Run right away. Nestor’s raw, rocking vocal, rugged rhythm guitar work, and his band’s rippling instrumentation come across better than ever in a live setting. Nestor plays the kind of rock that’s meant to be played live.
Cold Engines take it to a higher level with Better Off Dead
Cold Engines’ third CD Better Off Dead is their best yet. Not only do they feature Sarah Blacker on backing vocals, Cold Engines have tuned up what was already a fine machine of rock and roll performance, songwriting, and recording. These 12 tracks will finally gain this band the widespread attention they’ve deserved. Cold Engines might also start showing up on the list of nominees at music award ceremonies. Portsmouth, New Hampshire-based guitarist-vocalist David Drouin and Boston-based bassist-vocalist Amelia Gormley have already played with award winning bands.
Suzanne McNeil takes it several notches higher with Shimmer
Suzanne McNeil’s third CD Shimmer finds her a bit feistier and funkier. She’s found her stride and she expresses it with a little edge this time around. Utilizing singer-songwriter sentiment, country, folk, and pop idioms, and her own astonishingly pure vocal, McNeil’s album tugs at the listener’s ear and heart in pleasingly equal amounts. It would be a crime if nobody important in the music industry notices this surefire work by this good girl from Boston.
Jay Psaros takes it to a higher level with self-titled CD
Jay Psaros’s latest, self-titled CD follows along similar roots as his previous works. This time around he brings a fresh, wide-ranging feeling to his singer-songwriter flare. With a voice that many singer-songwriters would kill or die for, Psaros never fails to deliver the emotive, musical goods with understated artfulness and vivid details.
Kelley Bolduc proves an exceptional artist with More Trumpet
Kelley Bolduc has made quite a name for herself in the last 20 years as the lead singer and trumpet player for her reggae band Hot Like Fire. On her new solo album, simply titled More Trumpet, Bolduc indulges her creativity and showcases a high skill level on her instrument, offering her listeners something that stands alone as a bold statement of her musical abilities. These 12 instrumental tracks speak volumes about what this young lady can do with her horn.
