Album Reviews

ARENA
Pepper's Ghost
(InsideOut)
With a name like Arena, you know you're not gonna get bedsit indie rock. Made up of British prog veterans, the quintet has plied its trade for a decade, satisfying the neo-prog jones in anyone who thinks Marillion has sucked since Fish left. Pepper's Ghost is a solid piece of work, melodic, dynamic and ambitious, with a somewhat heavier guitar edge than is usual for this stuff. A concept album with an accompanying comic book, Pepper's Ghost likely won't attain classic status, but fans of the genre will be pleased. Michael Toland [buy it]

THE BELLA FAYES
Far From the Discos
(Sissy Conspiracy)
On Far From the Discos, Portland's Bella Fayes smack 10 pop songs around, using the basic rock & roll tools of guitars, bass and drums as if the last decade's army of samplers and sequencers had never been invented. It's a tribute to the band's toucMarch 13, 2005 its way through "Sad Susie" or the title cut without burying the hooks under a layer of snotty noise. Besides, not everything is piss and vinegar—"Keep It With Mine" and the appropriately sincere "Love" show a well-developed tender side and "If I Know You" doubles its singalong-friendly chorus with a glockenspiel. Good stuff. Michael Toland [buy it]

THE BLACKFIRE REVELATION
Gold and Guns on 51
(South 51/Southern Reconstruction)
New Orleans duo the Blackfire Revelation worships at the altar of Blue Cheer, letting its vaguely bluesy riffs, desperately shouted vocals and brontosaurus rhythms soak in cranked-past-11 distortion. "Preach to the Choir" and "Act Like a Believer" simply pound like Thor's hammer in the hands of the Hulk, while covers of the Troggs' "I Want You Right Now" and the Cheer's "Second Time Around" push every knob labeled "volume" into the red. I can only imagine how overwhelming these guys are live…mmm, overwhelming… Michael Toland [buy it]

BUCKSWORTH
The Cajon Passages
(Silent John)
The Cajon Passages was inspired by Mark Nemetz' childhood trips with his family retracing the rout the Joad family trudged in their sorrowful journey in The Grapes of Wrath. Nemetz' rangy vocals paint vivid pictures of rambling, especially on the first track, "Kick the Rails." The album continues down that path, buoyed by Nemetz' superbly descriptive lyrics and steadied pace. The Cajon Passages is short and sweet, coming in at just around a half hour. However, within just a few minutes you will be completely wrapped up in the journey and these are likely to be the most valuable thirty minutes you spend all day. Lance Looper [buy it]

BILLY DON BURNS
Heroes, Friends & Other Troubled Souls
(IndieMafia)
Nashville outsider Billy Don Burns pulls no punches on his first record for IndieMafia Records. Burns' lyrics come across with credibility as he sings about love, loss, addiction and his heroes. The first track "Mississippi" features guest vocalist Tanya Tucker, and other guests include Willie Nelson and Hank Cochran. Sounding like Guy Clark after a night of Mad Dog margaritas, Burns motors through song after song in a deep, authoritative voice. Most of these cuts are originals, but Burns includes a sweet cover of Johnny Cash's "Give my Love to Rose." Though dark, the record sounds like a celebration of the singer's long and challenging career as much as anything. Lance Looper [buy it]

CHATHAM COUNTY LINE
Route 23
(Yep Roc)
Route 23 is mountain music broken down into its most basic elements: rich vocals and expert playing. The North Carolina band's second release masters the traditional old-time sound and is a class apart from other new traditionalists. The quartet breaks out of their comfort zone slightly near the end of the disc, with the spookily mournful "Sarah Jane." Save that one detour, Route 23 is a bluegrass fan's dream. The songs are touching and honest and the playing is out of this world. Lance Looper [buy it]

THE COMPULSIONS
Laughter From Below
(The Compulsions)
As New York's' Compulsions make their slow, inevitable crawl toward a full-length album, they've released another teaser EP to increase our Pavlovian response to their gritty rock & roll. Leader Rob Carlyle offers up "Down On the Tracks" and "Dance Around the Fire," two tough, no-nonsense rockers guest-starring ex-Guns 'N Roses guitarist Richard Fortus, and a reprise of the prior EP's "Shake Hands With the Devil." While the band has once again shortchanged its barroom ballad side, that's a minor quibble that will no doubt be rectified by the upcoming album. Laughter From Below reiterates the reasons why the Compulsions are one of the best criminally unknown acts in the country. Michael Toland [buy it]

BART DAVENPORT
Maroon Cocoon
(Antenna Farm)
Bart Davenport used to front the Loved Ones, a frenetic Bay Area group that preceded today's R&B-flavored garage rock revivalists by a decade. Maroon Cocoon, however, has little to do with dirty blues. Instead, Davenport and his sidekick Sam Flax Keener take an acoustic folk base and add beguiling pop melodies borrowed from bossa nova as often as 60s icons. Lighter-than-air confections like "LA Girls," "Clara" and the downright lovely "Glendale" are substantial enough to leave more than just a sweet taste in your mouth. Davenport even gets funky on "One More Reason," putting a little grease in his gumdrops. Ear candy doesn't get much tastier than this. Michael Toland [buy it]

DEVOTCHKA
How It Ends
(Cicero)
Give thanks to a deity, rabbit's foot, or mysterious force like the one that brought the Red Sox a championship for a band as creative as Devotchka. And good luck trying to classify them, in fact, with their European folk, mariachi, bolero and Spaghetti Western influences. Nick Urata beckons, the male siren on a sea of violin, bouzouki, tuba, trumpet, glockenspiel, and accordion. "Dearly Departed" is perhaps the centerpiece of the CD, gut-wrenching the way Marty Robbins' "El Paso" is every time you hear it, even though you know How It Ends. Brian Briscoe [buy it]

DIRTY AMERICANS
Strange Generation
(Liquor and Poker)
With all the attention focused on Detroit due to the White Stripes, Eminem and the garage pop scene, it was inevitable that a band representing the staple of Detroit's musical menu—bullshit-free hard rock—would finally get highlighted. Dirty Americans ignore trends and gimmicks in favor of solid songwriting, enthusiastically loud performances and guitar hooks for miles. "Car Crash," the Blue Oyster Cultish "Burn You Down" and the slightly self-conscious anthem "Strange Generation" cut the crap and simply rock like the MC5 never broke up. "Dead Man" nods to more modern influences and "We Were Young" adds a bit of delicacy to the otherwise bruising menu. Rawk! Michael Toland [buy it]

THE DIRTY PICTURES
Shuttin' Out the World
(The Dirty Pictures)
Despite the name, there's nothing particularly sleazy about the Dublin-to-San Francisco transplants at the heart of the Dirty Pictures. Guitarist/singer Pierce Healy and bassist/keyboardist Ciaran McFeeney work in a low-key, soulful pop vein, where tightly-controlled craft is the epitome of self-expression. That's not to say the Pictures are cold fish; quite the contrary. But the pair keeps things at a simmer rather than a boil on songs like "Paper Boat" and "Human," letting you discover the melodic pleasures on your own. (Though the groove-driven "Don't Give Up" threatens to fog your glasses.) Fans of folks like the Devlins, the Blue Nile and the poppier side of David Sylvian will find much to adore on Shuttin' Out the World. Michael Toland [buy it]

TOMMY EMMANUEL
Endless Road
(Favored Nations Acoustic)
Tommy Emmanuel is one of those guitar virtuosos greatly respected by his fellow pickers (including Chet Atkins, who bestowed upon him his own ceremonial title "Certified Guitar Player") but barely known outside his profession, despite a half-dozen albums. Endless Road is a collection of solo acoustic instrumentals (plus two overly sentimental vocal tunes) in the vein of Atkins, Adrian Legg, et al. The Australian native is indeed a stunning technician, and he pays closer attention to the melody than a lot of guitarists of his stripe. Personally, I find a little of this stuff goes a long way, but if you're a fan of solo guitar brilliance, Tommy Emmanuel's your man. Michael Toland [buy it]

TAYLOR HOLLINGSWORTH
Shoot Me, Shoot Me, Heaven
(Brash)
This young Alabama lad (whose record label name is perfectly appropriate) has the sneering bravado and riff-happy outlook of the New York Dolls and the MC5, as "You Just Wanna" and "When I Get Around" prove. But he's got his quiet side as well, with "Come Along" calling up the spirit of the late Johnny Thunders in battered acoustic mode. Touches of glam, psychedelia and good old-fashioned skronk point to a wide musical net, while all six tunes here display a confident grasp on what makes a strong song. A buttload of talent and good taste make Taylor Hollingsworth one to watch. Michael Toland

KAURA
Kaura
(Kaura)
Kaura's shtick is that the duo uses various instruments from around the world to augment its volume-heavy alternative rock. Having Chinese dulcimers or African percussion add extra textures to the tracks is a neat idea, but no matter what your gimmick, you still have to have the songs to back it up. Nothing on this five-song EP would sound out of place on your local alt.rock radio station, but nothing stands out as exceptional either, ethnic instruments or no. Kaura is hardly horrible, but it's not something I'm gonna listen to more than once. Michael Toland

SONNY LANDRETH
Grant Street
(Sugar Hill)
Some live albums are a career summary; others are more of a state-of-the-union address. Grant Street is a bit of both, as it covers material from slide guitarist Sonny Landreth's 1981 debut album up through his last one, 2003's The Road We're On. But it's also a continuation of the latter, which flaunted a blues-based, guitar-heavy power trio sound. That's always been a major part of Landreth's music, of course, but a second album in this vein serves notice that the atmospheric, song-based approach of much of his catalog has gone the way of the dodo. So guitar freaks will groove on this in a big way, as Landreth really puts his Strat 'n' bottleneck through their paces here. I'm disappointed than none of the tunes from Outward Bound made the setlist, but the guy is an amazing musician and it's fun to hear him show off once in a while. Michael Toland [buy it]

MILTON & THE DEVILS PARTY
What is All This Sweet Work Worth?
(Milton & the Devils Party)
What is All This Sweet Work Worth? is the debut record from Philly-based Milton and the Devil's Party. The record is a collection of edgy power pop songs with an intentional literary sensibility. I guess that's no surprise considering the band's founding members are a couple of former English professors. Front man Daniel Robinson's voice is a ringer for Elvis Costello's, but with a sharper rock edge. Songs like "Theodicy Club" and "To Jane" are the hallmarks of the record, middling between rock and pop, helped along by the edgy guitar playing of Mark Graybill. What is All This Sweet Work Worth? is an impressive debut and would fit right at a frat party or the Literature Society Bimonthly Story Circle. Lance Looper [buy it]