CD Reviews: Eilen Jewell, Sarah Borges, Sometymes Why, Kasey Chambers and Shane Nicholson, Ali Marcus, the Bittersweets, Marybeth D'Amico, Red Sammy

EILEN JEWELL - Sea of Tears
Due out April 21
Eilen broke on the scene with her critically acclaimed debut, “Boundary County,” back in 2006. Her low-key, ageless Americana sound was often compared to Gillian Welch. Her second album, “Letters From Sinners & Strangers,” added uptempo grooves to her story songs.
Now, with “Sea of Tears,’’ Eilen and her merry band of men – Jason Beek on drums, Johnny Sciascia on upright bass and Jerry Miller on guitar – pay homage to ’60s and early ’70s rock with a fabulous mix of 12 original and cover tunes.
Miller, an under-celebrated guitarist, may be the true star of this album. His guitar is brought to the forefront of the band’s sound but doesn’t overpower Eilen’s voice or the rest of the band.
On the opener, “Rain Roll In,” he cooks up an old Byrds sound on his electric and on the rocker “Sea of Tears” he offers a blast of ’70s riffs that will make you feel nostalgic. The band’s take on Van Morrison’s “I’m Gonna Dress in Black” feels like the sister track to the Animals’ “House of the Rising Sun” thanks to Miller’s ominous riffs. These songs are a treat.
But don’t for a minute think Eilen takes a back seat to any of this fun. Her voice may not have incredible range, but she makes up for that in feel, delivering the lyrics like she’s lived them. “Shakin’ All Over,” a cover of the Johnny Kidd & the Pirates number, will send “quivers down the backbone,” as the song says, and have you moving to the groove.
Other songs of note are “Fading Memory,” which would have fit nicely on “Boundary County,” a slinky, haunting “Sweet Rose,” Loretta Lynn’s country lament “The Darkest Day,” and “Final Hour,” a song that chugs along on a guitar riffs reminiscent of Stevie Ray Vaughan’s “Cold Shot.”
Eilen and the band -– who also are at the heart of the Sacred Shakers, a larger group of top New England gospel and bluegrass players – has brought old-timey folk music out of the past and into the present. This little sidetrip back 40 years is well-recommended.

SARAH BORGES AND THE BROKEN SINGLES – The Stars Are Out Due out March 24
There’s a time in every young band’s life where a decision must be made: Are you going to forever be a bar band or are you going to reach for something more? The decision could involve a change of musical direction or an altering of the band’s sound toward more general appeal. With “Reach for the Stars,” Sarah Borges’ new album, the name alone may offer a hint to where she and the Broken Singles – bassist Binky, drummer Rob Dulaney and new guitarist Lyle Brewer – are headed.
Yes, Sarah’s charming wit and Boston attitude still shine bright on “Reach for the Stars,’’ but the country twang, including the pedal steel accents, has been replaced by a more rocking pop-punk sound on a number of the tunes.
This is true for the opener and album single “Do It for Free,” which sounds like a rocked-up version of Faith Hill’s Sunday Night Football theme song, including heavy drum beat and driving guitars. A little bland compared to her best work. It is followed by “Yesterday’s Love,” which similarly doesn’t stand out, but could very well draw some radio play.
The third song, “Me and Your Ghost,” finally gets back to the Sarah we love, the ’60s girl group sound she explored on her last CD “Diamonds in the Dust.”
Two covers, the Magnetic Fields’ “No One Will Ever Love You” and the Lemonhead’s “Ride With Me,” fit nicely into her past country-rock style.
I’m a huge fan of Sarah’s and will continue to be. But too many songs like the generic rocker “I’ll Show You How” will make it hard for me to reach for the “Stars” very often.

SOMETYMES WHY – Your Heart Is a Glorious Machine Due out March 10
Sometymes Why’s “Your Heart Is a Glorious Machine” is like listening to a dream.
If you haven’t heard of the group, you know the female singing trio’s separate folk-bluegrass bands : Sometymes Why is the side project of Aoife O’Donovan of Crooked Still, Kristin Andreassen of Uncle Earl, and Ruth Unger Merenda of the Mammals.
This is not a newgrass supergroup album trying to take you by banjo-fiddle storm; instead it the melding of three gorgeous voices in beautiful harmonies in all their stripped-down dreamy glory.
Voice crush? Try voice crushes, because all three of these women can can sing. From the opening notes of “Aphrodisiaholic” to the closing of “The Sound Asleep” nine songs later, these sirens take turns on lead vocals and back-up harmonies. Each song sounds as if they were singing only to you.
Instrumentation takes a backseat, but fits the mood as necessary, a harmonica intro on “Shine It,” some gently picked mandolin on “Diamond,” some nice fiddle on “The Stupid Kiss.”
The standout tracks include a cover of the Concrete Blonde hit “Joey,” where urgency is replaced with an aching awareness, and title track “Glorious Machine,” a lush Aoife-sung tune.

KASEY CHAMBERS & SHANE NICHOLSON – Rattlin' Bones Out now
Husband and wife pairings are generally not held in high regard (think Sonny and Cher, Captain & Tenille), but maybe that image will change with the terrific Kasey Chamber-Shane Nicholson album “Rattlin’ Bones.”
Chambers is an Australian who is well known for her alt-country/folk songs and her critically acclaimed 2002 album “Brickwalls & Barricades.” Nicholson is more of an unknown in these parts, though he has had some success Down Under. The two, have been married for four years and had never written together until this album. I’m guessing we’ll hear more from them because their voices are a great match. In fact, to these ears the two sound better singing together than separately.
Their songs are a mix of country, bluegrass and the blues; the lyrics are filled with sin and salvation; and the tunes are backed by guitar, fiddle and banjo.
From the opening and title track, “Rattlin’ Bones,’’ it is clear these two were made to sing together as they trade leads over a nicely picked guitar.
Chambers unleashes a big country voice on “Sweetest Waste of Time,” and “Once in a While,” a little sticky sweet with its chorus “Only hope that I make you smile maybe more than once in a while,” is saved by some nice banjo/guitar picking.
Highlights include “Monkey on a Wire,” a sinister tune that sounds like it would be right at home on a Gillian Welch album; “The Devil’s Inside My Head,” a romping number with some furious banjo with Chambers and Nicholson trading verses and harmonizing the nightmare chorus; and the electric “Jackson Hole,” which has Nicholson singing through a voice-altering device.

ALI MARCUS – The Great Migration
Out in April
Seattle singer-songwriter Ali Marcus has come a long way, if not literally then figuratively. Her new album, “The Great Migration,’’ is filled with tunes of good and bad relationships, revelations from her cross-country travels, and some fitting songs about tough economic times.
This album stands out as a great step forward – a great migration, if you will – for Ali not only as a songwriter but as an album maker.
Her past works have been filled with similar songs backed only with guitar and harmonica, but here her sweet soprano is complemented on many songs by a full band of Northwest musicians on guitar, drums, bass, and, yes, banjo, which gives them added confidence and vibrancy.
“Virginia Road” jumps right out at you, banjo is replaced by guitar then augmented by Ali’s harmonica. “Wapato,” a foot-stomping , hand-clapping rollick, sounds like it was recorded live at a hoedown in a country dance hall.
Each song has its own unique feel: “Hey John,” about an encounter with a musician and shared bad experiences in Nashville, is played solo, one of the few numbers without any backing; “Recession Blues” is an upbeat number about down times and hitting the road for escape. Other songs like “Poseidon” and “Catastrophe” provide the darker edges of life for those willing to go there.
Finally, “Minnesota.” takes its chorus from a 2008 Barack Obama speech he made in the state: “Read a book to your baby tonight/ Bless her with patience and speed/ Teach her the difference between wrong and right/ Between justice, faith and greed/That's the change we need/Minnesota.” The song movingly captures the hope the now-president has for the country and its people.


THE BITTERSWEETS – Goodnight,
San Francisco Out now
Chris Meyers and Hannah Prater are a good match. He's the primary songwriter, who also plays the guitars and keyboards; she's the lead singer, who makes his lyrics heartfelt and believable. When she sings on the opener, “Wreck,” “Why'd you go and wreck this all?,” you feel her pain and her anger equally. The album's band is rounded out by drummer Steve Bowman of Counting Crows fame. The group got its start in San Francisco, but moved to Nashville to put out this record – hence the title.
Backed by top-notch sidemen, including Patty Griffin guitarist Doug Lancio, Meyers and Prater produce gentle, country-rocking songs that are at once effervescent and, of course, bittersweet. “Is Anyone Safe Inside?’’ delves deeply into questions of relationships both personal and worldly. “When Is the War Over?” asks how we know when we've won or lost. The title track begins with a simple piano and Hannah singing “Goodnight, San Francisco/Goodnight all you lovers, dives, and rags/Get on home, it's getting late.” Goodnight, San Francisco, hello Nashville. Its a nice fit for the Bittersweets.

MARYBETH D'AMICO – Heaven, Hell,
Sin & Redemption Out now
We met Marybeth online when we discovered that we had a mutual admiration for certain female singer-songwriters: Patty Griffin, Lori McKenna, and Kathleen Edwards, and more. As we found out later Marybeth, an American living in Germany, is a singer-songwriter herself and has taken her love for the music and lyrical styles of her musical idols and charged headfirst into writing her own songs.
Her debut album, “Heaven, Hell, Sin & Redemption,” is a wonderful collection of character-driven songs – a restless single mother, a minister involved in a sex scandal, and a true story of a Death Row prisoner in Ohio.
Despite some of the tough subjects explored, this is no downer of an album. The music – mostly guitar, bass, keyboards backed with pedal steel and fiddle flourishes – is catchy and emotion-filled. Like Griffin and Edwards, Marybeth fleshes out her characters, allowing the listener to sympathize, if not empathize, with their fate.
“Every Week,” about a guy who visits a prostitute, is honest and nonjudgmental; the dire song “Ohio,” about a Death Row inmate, is based on a letter an Englishman imprisoned for arson and murder in America sent to the BBC: “There was a fire and a young girl died in Ohio/ I said I wasn’t there, but they don’t care in Ohio/ I’ve been sitting here for 20 years in Ohio.”
Marybeth didn’t start writing and performing her own songs until 2002, after losing her full-time job as a journalist. In fact, maybe it’s the journalist’s eye that catches the essence of her subjects’ struggles so clearly.
Marybeth has proven that her stories deserve to be heard.

RED SAMMY – Dog Hang Low Out now
Adam Trice, leader for Red Sammy, calls his band’s music “graveyard country rock” for its gritty and stark storytelling. And from the first cut, “(Shine) Like an Empty Prison,” well, you get the idea from the song title alone.
Hailing from Baltimore, home of Edward Allan Poe they remind proudly, Red Sammy is Trice on guitars and vocals, Josh Weiss on guitars, Theron Melchior on bass, and Tony Calato on drums.
Trice’s vocals come through in a growly hush, like Tom Waits or Leonard Cohen, in front of a layer of chiming guitars and steady drum beats. A banjo on “Empy Prison” and pedal steel and musical saw on “Cathedral” add texture. The moods are mostly dark and intimate, as the lyrics consistently mine “the daily struggles – work, love and loss – all of us face,” says Trice.
In the end, individually the songs on “Dog Hang Low” are compelling; but as an album, with literally no glimmers of hope or upbeat messages, it’s hard – even for someone who appreciates downbeat tunes – to get too excited about.

CD Reviews: Sarah Borges, Josh Ritter, Lori McKenna, Eilen Jewell

MAKING HER MOVE - Sarah Borges, "Diamonds in the Dark"
When Sarah Borges signed with Sugar Hill Records, she joined Americana stalwarts James McMurtry and Robert Earl Keen, bluegrass legends Jerry Douglas and Peter Rowen, and young acts Nickel Creek and the Duhks on a label that’s not flashy, but is incredibly productive and has great taste in music. It is a perfect spot for the Boston 20-something and her bar-band mates, who dabble fit in nicely within the label’s genres.
There’s nothing fancy about Sarah’s style. She takes honky-tonk and rockabilly and infuses it with a blast of Boston-rock energy. As the leader, she is sassy and full of fun. Her debut album, “Silver City,’’ which came out on the small Texas label Blue Corn Music and garnered attention for its rollicking songs like “Daniel Lee” and “Same Old 45.”
On “Diamonds in the Dark,” Sarah continues her rise from unknown to powerhouse performer. Her singing can be both tough (“Open Up Your Back Door”) and tender (“Belle of the Ball’’) and her band, the Broken Singles, provide steady and stellar backup, especially Mike Castellana’s electric and pedal steel guitar work. Bassist Binky and drummer Robert Larry Dulaney lay down a solid, raucous beat, right from the first song and album single “The Day We Met.’’ Tunes like “Stop and Think It Over’’ and “Diabolito’’ bristle with whiskey-soaked rockin’ energy. “False Eyelashes” shows off her honky-tonk side, and she even throws in, among her covers, “Come Back to Me,’’ from the punk band X.
With “Diamonds,’’ Sarah proves she’s got the chops, but even more impressive is that she sounds true whether rocking out or finessing the more country numbers.


GOING UPCOUNTRY - Lori McKenna, "Unglamorous"
When it was first announced that Lori had been lured away from little Signature Sounds to join conglomerate Warner Bros./Nashville to join the likes of the First Couple of Country Faith Hill and Tim McGraw, the Boston folk community was more than a little concerned that they would be treated like a spurned lover straight out of a country song. Would her wonderful quirky voice get lost amid the twang? Would the stories she weaves of small-town life take a detour into bland terrain? Would she exchange her modern mother image for something slicker?
We waited nervously for her first album on the new label.
Well, we can all breathe a sigh of relief because “Unglamorous,” which came out in August, is still pure Lori. Yes, there are some changes, but the core of her songs is intact. The storytelling about family and blue-collar life are still here, and that voice… well, it is front and center, and surprisingly fits in well with her new “country” persona without losing its folk roots.
So what’s different? The songs are backed by a slick band of musicians making the songs sound more glossy than on past albums. Strings are even detected on a song or two, which adds to the new feel.
But for the most part, Lori remains Lori. The single and title song “Unglamorous” feeds the image of her as a real-life hectic mother of five telling of her life of “peanut butter on everything” and “one TV set, no cable.” And her new side is also well represented with songs like “Drinking Problem,” which sounds straight out of the “How to Write a Country Song Handbook” without straying too far from her own personal style. “I’m Not Crazy” perfectly straddles both worlds.
So we can rest easy and throw away our empty whiskey bottles, Lori hasn’t left us for another audience.


FINDING AN UPBEAT GROOVE - Eilen Jewell, "Letters From Sinners and Strangers"
We’ve learned to listen very closely when others offer opinions. And especially when it is the opinion of Jim Olsen, owner of the small Western Mass. label Signature Sounds. In May 2006, he told us about an obscure, young singer named Eilen Jewell (see Issue 10); he was impressed with her old-timey and ageless sound. Within months – no big surprise – she had joined his label.
As much as that was a great move for him, it was an even better move for Eilen. While we don’t spend a bunch of time praising record labels, Signature Sounds deserves every accolade. It supports singer-songwriters from Kris Delmhorst and Peter Mulvey, neo-bluegrass dynamos Crooked Still, and helped launch the ever-successful careers of Josh Ritter, Erin McKeown, and Lori McKenna.
As for Eilen, her first album, the self-produced “Boundary County,” was a nice album of low-key, Americana guitar and fiddle tunes. Her new album, “Letters From Sinners & Strangers,” has the one thing her last was missing – upbeat tunes. From the opener “Rich Man’s World,” and through the ’40s sounding “High Shelf Booze,” the jaunty “Heartache Boulevard,’’ and a cover of Dylan’s “Walking Down the Line,’’ the songs are filled out with the kick of fiddle and harmonica. “How Long” puts a Martin Luther King speech to a wonderfully slinky beat.
Eilen’s band – Jason Beek on drums, Jerry Miller on electric and steel guitar, and Johnny Sciascia on acoustic bass – make the songs snap and sparkle.
That whole uptempo spirit is celebrated on the final track “Blue Highway,” a fun-loving rockabilly-like romp.


A PROGRESSION OF "HISTORICAL" PROPORTION - Josh Ritter, "The Historical Conquests of Josh Ritter"
Josh Ritter is a restless sort – restless in that he can’t let his musical vision stand still. On previous albums he’s written country songs of lost souls and hard lives; tapped into poetic verses about love and longing; and created darker, image-driven songs that ask political and philosophical questions. Now, with his latest release, “The Historical Conquests of Josh Ritter,” it’s the music, not the lyrics, that lead the way. As he sings in the rocking, beat-heavy “Rumors’’: “I lock myself in with the band but the music’s never loud enough.’’
When we reviewed Josh’s last album, “The Animal Years,” we implored V2 to release the album as quickly as possible. As it was, the label held it back for more than six months, waiting for the right time for them. We didn’t have to beg this time. Josh, who became a “free agent” when V2 went bankrupt, was allowed to shop his completed album to whichever label provided the best deal. The winner is Sony BMG – and Josh fans. The album was released in August and it is a blast to listen to.
“Conquests” is both daring and brilliant.
It’s daring in that it will shock even the most loyal Joshheads. Some will love it, some may not – because it strays even further from the young man who innocently tried to lure Kathleen into his car for a ride. But it also may attract new listeners and maybe even – gasp! – commercial radio.
It’s brilliant because, unlike “The Animal Years,” which mesmerized with its combination of imagery, cynicism, and anger, “Conquests” is much more upbeat, uptempo and fun. Josh’s lyrics, which are still as clever as ever, take a backseat to the beat. The album opens with “To the Dogs or Whoever” with Josh singing in a muted vocal backed by offbeat piano and strumming guitar. Then the song takes off in the chorus with heavy drumbeat, pounding piano and guitars. Trying to catch all the imagery in the lyrics is not easy. The album continues with cooking tunes “Mind’s Eye” and “Right Moves” before the first “singer-songwriter”-type song appears in “The Last Temptation of Adam.’’
“Conquests” continues the progression of a young songwriter and the melding singer and band into one. Gillian Welch always jokes that she and David Rawlings are members of a band called Gillian Welch. This may be true with Josh Ritter as well. His bandmates – bassist Zack Hickman, keyboard player Sam Kassirer, and new drummer Liam Hurley – provide the firepower. Sam also produced the album, adding inspired sonic touches throughout including violin, horns and backing vocals. Check out “Real Long Distance Love,’’ which ends in a blaze all of the above.
We’re not sure what the album’s title actually refers to (‘‘I just wanted something that felt big and cocky but funny,’’ says Josh in a recent interview), but it could be a shortened version of what was originally “The Historical Music Conquests of Josh Ritter” because to our ears we hear some amazing stylistic references to the past: Bob Dylan (we know, it’s there in every album); 1970s Paul Simon in “The Last Temptation of Adam”; John Lennon in “Rumors” (not to mention The Knack in the opening beat!); and the Beatles in the harmonies in “Wait for Love (You Know You Will).’’
There is something fun and new in every song here. It may take multiple listens to get the meaning of Josh’s lyrics but that’s only because it’s so hard to stop bobbing your head to the music.

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