CD Reviews: Jenny Lewis, Mark Erelli, the Sacred Shakers, Catie Curtis

JENNY LEWIS – “Acid Tongue’’
For those eagerly awaiting the sequel to “Rabbit Fur Coat,’’ Jenny Lewis’ critically acclaimed 2006 twangy solo album with the Watson Twins, “Acid Tongue’’ might not completely do it for you. Her new release, while having tinges of her country side, is just as much related to her rocking Rilo Kiley side.
No matter what you think of the new album, you have to admit two things: 1) She’s got one of the sweetest voices, country or rock; and 2) She’s not resting on any laurels from her past.
Lewis takes this album many directions: opener “Black Sand” harkens back to the acoustic “Rabbit Fur Coat.’’ But soon she’s blowing you way with the almost 9-minute, multi-part “The Next Messiah,’’ which hits you with electric guitar (even a little Beatles-esque “For You Blue’’ riff) to a country stomp then back again. “Bad Man’s World” is a tasty, slinky ride augmented with cello and violin.
Guests on the album are many: Chris Robinson of the Black Crowes joins Lewis for some sweet harmony on the title cut. Others who appear are longtime friend M. Ward (on “Pretty Bird”) and Zooey Deschanel (on “Trying My Best to Love You” and “Jack Killed Mom”), and the ever-present Elvis Costello, adding some toughness to the sturdy, country rocker “Carpetbaggers.”
Mood swings are frequent on “Acid Tongue,” but the constant is Lewis’ voice, which is equally triumphant cooing in “Godspeed’’ and rocking it hard on “See Fernando.’’
“Jack Killed Mom,’’ about a typical Jenny sinner/outcast, is one of the most fun songs on the album, with a big sing-along chorus that eerily plays against the songs lyrics.

MARK ERELLI – “Delivered”
Mark Erelli has built a steady and sturdy reputation as both a songwriter and guitarist (he backed Lori McKenna on her recent major-label tour). On “Delivered,’’ he continues to grow his own sound. His songs continue to be passionate looks at the world around him. Album opener “Hope Dies Last” sound dire in its lyrics: “Another suicide bomb at a market in the Middle East/the authorities estimate 28 dead at least.’’ But he ends each chorus, “But all that comes to pass/
hope dies last.’’ On “Volunteers,’’ Mark tells the story of a National Guardsman who sees his life and his job change after 9/11, and how he reconciles it. It’s an antiwar song, but not from the typical angle.
Mark has also added more diversity to the sound of his folk songs. “Shadowland” is a flat-out rocker, with heavy electric guitar lines. “Unraveled” brings harmonica and a Dylan-esque vocal. “Abraham’’ has a Josh Ritter-ish sound, with its organ intro and its introspective lyrics. If you hear it as well, it may be because Zack Hickman, bassist for Josh, produced the album and many of the musicians, including drummer Liam Hurley, pianist Sam Kassirer and guitarist Austin Nevins, provide the solid backing to Mark’s tunes.

THE SACRED SHAKERS – “The Sacred Shakers”
For those familiar with Eilen Jewell and her band (and if you’re not, you should be), you will recognize most of this band if not the sound. That’s because Jewell and band plus a few more of Boston’s best ramblers strip down and dress up traditional gospel tunes in the fun and funky country twang of banjo, fiddle, and upright bass. Each song has its own unique sound as lead vocals gets passed around like a good jug of moonshine. Songs such as “Jordan Is a Hard Road to Travel’’ and “Straighten ’Em” make you want to cry out “Halleluyah!”

CATIE CURTIS – “Sweet Life”
Catie Curtis must be in a pretty good place right now. We know Curtis best for her song “Do Unto Others,’’ about a mentally abusive relationship. So this album is quite an uplifting turn. Listening to “Sweet Life,” with such songs titles as “Happy,” “Everything Wanting to Grow,’’ “Lovely” and “Sing,” well, you just somehow get the feeling life is on the upswing for her. The tunes, too, are upbeat – acoustic guitars and soaring organ – even when the lyrics might delve into tougher themes. In a time when many folk singers are mining darker corners of their mind, Catie’s album is a breath of fresh air.

CD Reviews: Crooked Still, Eef Barzelay, and Drew Emmitt

Crooked Still, "Still Crooked"
With their last album, “Shaken by a Low Sound,” Crooked Still put themselves on the map as one of the brightest lights in the newgrass movement – taking traditional bluegrass and melding it with contemporary sounds.
The quartet of singer Aiofe O’Donovan, banjo player extraoridinaire Greg Liszt, double bassist Corey DiMario, and eccentric cellist Rushad Eggleston mixed gorgeous vocals with wild and virtuosic playing to create a unique take on old folk and blues tunes.
But it seems clear that there just wasn’t enough room on the stages they performed for the egos and talent in the group. Eggleston departed and Crooked Still had a decision to make: disband or continue on.
They chose the latter, and we’re glad they did. The band is back with two new members, fiddler Brittany Haas and cellist Tristan Clarridge, and a new album.
On “Still Crooked,” the band continues its quest of taking traditional Celtic and blues songs and turning them on their heads. Songs like “Undone Sorrow,” “Florence” and the haunting “Pharoah” feature O’Donovan’s stunningly beautiful vocals folded gently around fiddle, banjo and cello. On “The Absentee,” the band shows they still can get a little wild.
Do they miss Eggleston’s wild-eyed craziness? Well, yes. The crazy-guy cellist added a sense of danger to the music. A song like the Mississippi John Hurt standard “Did You Sleep Well?” could use a little more of that danger.
But we’re pretty sure that with time this version of the band will find it’s own wild-and-crazy personality.


Eef Barzelay, "Lose Big"
More than once Eef Barzelay has disbanded his group Clem Snide and decided to make a go of it on his own. While his decision this time is shrouded in mystery, some of the song titles on his new solo album, “Lose Big” – “Could Be Worse” and “True Freedom,” to name a few – may give some notion of his liberation, from the band or otherwise.
No matter, the Nashville-by-way-of-Israel songwriter still has his patented dry humor in place. Clem Snide was an alt-country-leaning band that packed a bunch of “snide” commentary into the lyrics.
And on “Lose Big,” Barzelay has not wandered to far from that engaging formula. On “Could Be Worse,” he sings over a Neil Young-ish dirty guitar line “Show me the bright side and I’ll look till my eyes catch fire/Please forgive me if you leave me feeling uninspired/ My only pleasure is to make that bubble burst/I can find comfort in the fact that it could be worse.”


Drew Emmitt, "Long Road"
“Lord you know I’ve been so many places/At least I know I have a longer view,” sings Drew Emmitt on the title track to his new CD, “Long Road.
And that simply sums up where Emmit, the mandolin player extraordinaire from the jam band Leftover Salmon is coming from.
The songs on this, his third solo effort, are filled with rollicking bluegrass and steeped in “on the road” experience. Mingling alongside his orginals “Into the Distance” and “Cloud City” are covers of Supertramp’s “Take the Long Way Home,” Marshall Tucker’s “Take the Highway,” and Van Morrison’s “Gypsy in My Soul,” all given the high energy, finger-picking deliciousness of top bluegrass personnel, including members of the Infamous Stringdusters, String Cheese Incident and banjo wiz Alison Brown.
In all, “Long Road” is a fun ride, full of stories of where Emmitt has been and the friends he’s met along the way.

CD Reviews: Kris Delmhorst, Kathleen Edwards and the Waifs

Kris Delmhorst, "Shotgun Singer"
The soft beat of a drum machine begins followed by some delicate electric guitar lines and suddenly you’re hooked. “Blue Adeline,” the opener of Kris Delmhorst’s “Shotgun Singer,” is that entrancing. The beat, the guitar and some sparse piano mesmerizes as she sings “Blue Adeline, I can see you lying awake in wonder/I can see you running alive with hunger.” It’s an absolutely beautiful song, and a great start to a fine album.
Kris is playing with a lot of new sounds and with more ethereal lyrics on this effort. We hear some electronic sounds throughout “Heaven Holds the Sun,” a darkly sensual number with a great backing beat.
Listening to the album as a whole, the songs seem to blend together with little space in between, but individually each takes you to a new place, even if you don’t exactly know where that is.
Kris’s voice is so versatile that songs like “To the Wire,’’ an upbeat number, and “Midnight Ringer,’’ a beautiful, quiet tune sound equally intriguing.
Love is a constant theme throughout, which could be inspired by Kris’ “new life” as wife and soon-to-be mother. In “If Not for Love” she repeats the lyrics “If not for love, what are you for?” in a voice run through some kind of effect to give the song a slinky, swampy feel.
“1000 Reasons” is as close to a pop song as we get – with handclaps, some fun whistling and electric sounds and a poppy beat that really kicks into a full band sound and even a little calypso-like piano.
The mesmerizing “Freediver” ends the album, and when it’s over, you have to sit in quiet for a moment and reflect on where you’ve been.


Kathleen Edwards, "Asking for Flowers"
You know you’re listening to a Canadian singer when she namechecks former hockey player Marty McSorley in the chorus of one of her songs. Not that there’s anything wrong with that. In fact, Canada has produced a host of fine young singer-songwriting women, including Sarah Harmer, the Wailin’ Jennys, and Dala, among other. And of course Edwards, whose latest release, “Asking for Flowers,” picks up right where her last, the critically acclaimed “Back to Me,” left off. This time, she’s written all the songs herself and it shows in the more personal lyrics. Edwards has made a name writing country-rocking tunes about down-and-outers, and on “Asking for Flowers” you get more of those and more.
The upbeat numbers are the best, including “The Cheapest Key,” which is a sneeringly fun lover’s putdown done. And “I make the Dough, You Get the Glory” the aforementioned song featuring the hockey enforcer, is a great sounding country tune with a chorus that strings together some great lines, including : “You're cool and cred like Fogerty, I'm Elvis Presley in the ’70’s,” and “You’re The Great One, I'm Marty McSorley/ You're the Concord, I'm economy/I make the dough, but you get the glory.”
“Oil Man’s War” tackles her anti-war sentiments; “Oh Canada” offers some not-so-proud feelings about goings-on in her home country; and the title track digs into the emotional disillusionment of a relationship, with the line “Asking for flowers is like asking you to be nice.”
What drives all of Edwards’ tunes is her honest, clear voice and the care she has for her song’s subjects. Her backing band – which includes her husband-guitar player Colin Crips, Tom Petty keyboard extraordinaire Benmont Tench and pedal steel ace Greg Leisz, among others – is stellar too, providing solid and rocking accompaniment.
For more on her recent Boston show: Click here for my review; click here for photos; click here for video clips.

The Waifs, "Sundirtwater"
Australian trio the Waifs – who’s last album, the stellar “Up All Night,” was released in 2003 – have been on hiatus while the sisters Donna Simpson and Vikki Thorn both had babies. They have returned with the 13-song set “Sundirtwater,” which continues their quest to try out varied musical styles while keeping their rootsy base intact.
The album opens with “Pony,” which immediately shows off an electric guitar-and-harmonica blues. It is followed by Vikki’s slinky title track, which has the sound and feel of Peggy Lee’s “Fever.”
Josh’s electric guitar seems to be more prevalent on this album than in the past, but its more tasty than overpowering, which is nice. On Donna’s “Vermillion” he lays down some beautiful licks that nicely punctuate the tune. The album comes alive with the alt-country-sounding rocker “How Many Miles.”
Stylistically, the album is all over the place. An electric organ heats up “Sad Sailor Song,” while “Get Me Some” is a quiet ballad, and “Eternity” sounds like a jumpy James Taylor tune; “Goodbye” has a more commercial pop sound, and on it goes with each song. “Stay” rocks, “Love Let Me Down” slinks.
In all, “Sundirtwater” is a fun listen but isn’t the cohesive, memorable experience that “Up All Night” was.

CD Reviews: Thao Nguyen and Cinnamon Girl: A Neil Young tribute album

Thao Nguyen, "We Brave Bee Stings and All"
From the opening moments of the first song on the album “We Brave Bee Stings and All,” you will be wondering is this something new from Regina Spektor or Cat Power? Has Erin McKeown or Feist gone off-kilter? And the answer will be no.
You are listening to Thao Nguyen.
That first song is called “Beat (Health, Life and Fire)” and begins with an exuberant drumbeat, acoustic guitar, banjo, and more as she sings “Beat my brow/Beat my chest/Beat the one who loved me the best.” OK, the melody sounds happy enough, but those aren’t exactly love-sweet lyrics. And that’s fine with us.
Thao’s take on relationships are not all warm and fuzzy, but her tunes will keep you moving to the beat. “Bag of Hammers” offers a perky guitar strum before it explodes into a full-on danceable tune.
Each song has its own personality and sound. “Swimming Pools” again features the banjo as a driving force, something we find incredibly fresh and appealing. In fact, the banjo seems to be showing up in many in pop songs (see sidebar). “Geography,” about a long distance relationship, offers a slinky, bluesy electric piano lead over her lyrics: “Oh, geography is going to make a mess of me.” And “Violet” is mostly just Thao and her creative guitar playing.
What’s nice is her songs never fall into predictability and surprising intricacies pop up with additional listening.

"Cinnamon Girl: Women Artists Cover Neil Young for Charity"
We’ve talked in the past about our reluctance to tribute albums. But it was hard to ignore a 2-CD set of Neil Young songs sung by women. The set also benefits a good cause – Casting for Recovery, a breast cancer organization.
What’s neat about this project is that, while there are a few recognizable names – Tanya Donnelly, Jill Sobule, Kristin Hersh, Lori McKenna – many of the singers were new names to us – Dala, Josie Cotton, Julie Peel to name a few – which gave us the opportunity to explore new artists.
For the most part, the women, though not breaking any new ground with the songs, provide strong, rocking versions of Neil’s classic stuff.
Among the highlights are the Canadian duo Dala’s harmonizing on “A Man Needs a Maid,’’ the Watson Twins’ slowed-down version of “Powderfinger,” Brooklyn band Luff’s wonderfully ragged “Tell Me Why,” and Sobule’s down-and-out version of the already down-and-out “Down by the River,’’ which is aided by the fabulous guitar work of X’s John Doe.