The Still Point achieve a great deal on Full Circle album
The Still Point instrumental trio, augmented by a horn section, deliver plenty of exciting, involving numbers on their third album Full Circle. Hayes Cumming’s electric guitar phrasing finds him moving melodies around with rockin’ edge and jazzy freedom. While Cummings and the rhythm section of bass player Max Liebman and drummer Alexander Dillon play a […]
Kristian Montgomery And The Winterkill Band offer greater Americana vision with A Heaven For Heretics
Kristian Montgomery & The Winterkill Band are on a roll. Their third album in as many years, A Heaven For Heretics, tackles the daunting challenge of understanding people who have been banished to the outside of mainstream America by narrow social mores created by narrow minded people. As usual, Montgomery delivers his message like a […]
Ilana Katz Katz welds her influences, fiddle, and vocal into a thick, impressive sound on In My Mind
With a few strong albums already under her belt, Boston’s blues-roots fiddle player and vocalist Ilana Katz Katz has penned 10 strong originals and one strong interpretation of a traditional number for her most powerful work yet, In My Mind. Katz fuses all of her blues, roots, and Appalachian influences into a consistent sound that […]
The Lied To’s reach higher ground with subtle grace on The Worst Kind Of New
The Lied To’s latest album The Worst Kind Of New finds the partnership of Doug Kwartler and Susan Levine sharing the thoughts and feelings they’ve experienced since losing older family members to the passage of life. With a good amount of lyrical detail and graceful expression, The Lied To’s a painterly description of what they […]
Kid Gulliver deliver pop-rock their own glorious way on Kismet
Kid Gulliver’s latest album Kismet finds these feisty Boston pop-rockers offering up 11 tracks that scream out pop-rock from different decades of that music sub-genre. Singer Simone Berk reminds of those zany girl group singers in the early 1960s. While she and the band offer a punchier pop-rock sound, the listener can still hear influences […]
The Gravel Project kicks like a mule on Many Miles Ahead
The Gravel Project consists of guitarist-vocalist Andrew Gravel, his brother, keyboardist Jordan Gravel, drummer Dave Fox, and percussionist-vocalist Brandon Mayes. New album Many Miles Ahead blends classic rock, blues, and other old school influences into a chunky block of feisty nuggets, songs that introduce themselves by kicking down the door with exuberant musical muscle. Opening […]
Rediscover the magic of Robin Lane & The Chartbusters with Many Years Ago compilation
Back in 2019 Robin Lane & The Chartbusters released this incredible, comprehensive compilation of almost all of their material. The compilation’s title, Many Years Ago, taken from one of the band’s song titles, speaks volumes by only hinting at what was going on with this highly talented group. Just when this reviewer was about to […]
Tequila Jim rocks with conscience on American
Rhode Island rocker Tequila Jim just released his new album. Titled American, it’s as feisty, lean and mean as anything he’s ever released in the past. Tequila Jim beautifully marries his rock and roll instincts with his singer-songwriter sensibilities. Opening cut “Who You Are” pushes its way forward with a smoldering lead guitar phrase simmering […]
Terry Kitchen’s re-released First Album reflects the potential he’s displayed over the years
Terry Kitchen recently re-released his debut solo album from 1991.Simply titled First Album, it shows the then budding Boston-based singer-songwriter offering promise. Tender lyrical wisdom and a fine melodic flow from his six string acoustic would soon make Kitchen a favorite of Boston’ s folk and singer-songwriter scenes. Opening track “Turn Your Head Around” speaks […]
Linda Marks entertains beautifully, perfectly at Home
Linda Marks’ latest in a flurry of CD releases is titled Home, the album being a reflection on living through the pandemic. As she ruminates on her many associations of the concept of home, Marks carries us along with her lyrical insights, vivid descriptions, and a host of instrumentation that surround her lovely voice with […]
