Treasa Levasseur - Low Fidelity

Treasa Levasseur - Low Fidelity
2010, Slim Chicken Enterprises

Treasa LeVasseur’s mouth has been a blessing and a curse. It’s gotten the Toronto resident into trouble over the years and it’s taken her some wonderful places. The woman with a voice that recalls some of the great female vocalists in blues and R&B was recently honored with a Juno Award nomination for her newest album, Low Fidelity. LeVasseur’s sophomore album finds her digging more deeply into Mississippi blues and the sounds of the Stax label, with the same stunning voice that turned heads on her debut, Not A Straight Line.

Low Fidelity opens with a healthy dose of classic R&B and soul in "Help Me Over", a danceable opener with a serious melody and a meaty vocal line that Levasseur wrings every bit of emotion out of. Levasseur has a voice you could melt butter on, a sexy alto with both power and polish. "Good Ones Never Share" laments the trade-off between the good life and the easy life in terms of human relations and sexuality. It's a great blend of blues, rock and soul and Levasseur isn't afraid to get down and dirty with her amazing pipes. "Talk To Me Babe" is a classic soul ballad about working things out in a relationship. Levasseur turns a corner with "Low Fidelity", a kiss-off song to a player with a melody line you won't be able to get out of your head.

On "Big Fat Mouth" Levasseur bemoans all she might have missed because of an inability to filter her thoughts from the spoken word. On an album where highlights are difficult to single out, "Big Fat Mouth" is a standout track. "Give Me Just One" heads for classic rhythm and blues in a song about taking what you can get, romantically. Levasseur is vocally stunning, but her backing band steals the show with a technically flawless and inspired musical performance. Technically flawless can be achieved through re-recording and post-production, but the performance on the album achieves magic. "Rest Of The Ride" is the sort of love song that might have spent weeks at the top of the charts at one time. As it is it might be the perfect wedding song, and seems destined to for mix tapes everywhere. Levasseur's performance is heartfelt and warm. Loosening up a bit, "Stuck In Soulsville" is a funky and gritty bit of musical fun that leads into the closing track, "Amen". "Amen" is a blend of gospel, R&B and soul that celebrates spirituality in all of its many forms; Sort of a classic sounding closing track with a twist.

Treasa Levasseur may have been born in the wrong era. Release Low Fidelity circa 1968 and you might have a multi-platinum juggernaut on your hands. Levasseur's sound is more vital than many of the legacy acts still trying to recreate their 1960's and 1970's glory days, and her voice is a dream. The voice, tremendous songwriting, and a crack band are all part of the recipe for success, but the chemistry LeVasseur has with her band and the obvious joy they took in creating Low Fidelity inject the album with the sort of magic you can't fake. Low Fidelity is an amazing effort, a Wildy's World Certified Desert Island Disc. Don't miss it.

Rating: 5 Stars (Out of 5)

Learn more about Treasa LeVasseur at http://www.treasalevasseur.com/ or www.myspace.com/treasalevasseur.  Low Fidelity is available from Amazon.com as a CD or Download.  You can also find the album on iTunes.

Inner Frequency - Surge
2008, Inner Frequency

Dallas, Texas quarter Inner Frequency come barreling out of Texas with their latest EP, Surge. If you haven't heard of Inner Frequency before then you're in for a pleasant surprise. Vocalist Cara Young has a smooth a smoky alto voice that is part Annie Lennox and part Johnette Napolitano, and the band has crafted a tight, melodic sound around her voice that is radio ready.

Imagine Maroon 5 with just a touch of angry chick chic of Ani DiFranco and you have the sound of the opening track, Big Talker. Written by Cara Young, who worked for a label in Nashville in the 1990's, Big Talker focuses on the glory hounds who work in the industry. Young acknowledges that there are a lot of good, hard working people in the industry, but the folks who make big promises to gain access to an artist and then never follow through are still out there. Sometimes, written by guitarist Luke Carnevale, is the song that got things started for Inner Frequency in 2005. The song starts out in happy times but sinks into a confused sort of depression. The EP closes out with Satellite, a solid song but perhaps not as dynamic or interesting as the first two.

Inner Frequency has a distinctive sound that will garner attention. Cara Young has a voice you'll find instantly recognizable once you've heard it. The songwriting team of Young and Carnevale shows real promise, and we at Wildy's World hope to hear more from them in the future.

Rating: 3.5 Stars (Out of 5)

You can learn more about Inner Frequency at www.myspace.com/innerfrequency or http://www.innerfrequency.com/, where you can purchase a copy of Surge.

The Wildy's World Top-40 of 2008: #6-12

We're working our way to #1, and today we get into rarefied territory - the Top 12. The competition at this point is pretty hot and heavy, and we've rearranged this list several times in the process of putting it together. Each of the top 3 could easily have been #1, and you can be confident that anyone who's made it this far down the list put out a top notch recording. Remember that there were 537 albums eligible for consideration for the Top-40, so we're in the top 2% of all submissions for the year here.

Each album gets a little more face time here, and as always, if you click on the Artist Name/Title you'll be taken to the original Wildy's World Review. The original reviews have a full synopsis of the album as well as links to artist web pages and outlets that sell the album. So what are we waiting for?!?!?!?

#12 Margot Blanche - Pages In My Diary

Pages In My Diary offers up a blending of Jazz with Hip-Hop the likes of which you've likely never heard. Part Madonna, part Billie Holliday and part Suicide Girl, Blanche grabs your attention with a striking voice and commanding presence. Her tendency toward a burlesque style stage show may be a mere distraction to music fans, but you'll forget all about it when she starts to sing. One of the most original attempts at musical fusion we've heard in some time.

#11 The Hollyfelds - Saratoga

Eryn Hoerig and Kate Grigsby could stand on a Denver street corner in a blizzard and sing the menu from a hot dog stand and people would line up to listen. Their intertwining voices create harmonies that are otherworldly. Add to this one of the tightest and most talented classic country/Appalachian Folk bands between two oceans and some amazing songwriting and you have one amazing album. The Hollyfelds toil in the very busy genre of traditional American music, but quickly rise to the upper echelon of that crowd with this gorgeous debut album.

#10 The Simple Things - The Simple Things

In putting together this list we considered a couple of different factors. First and foremost was (subjectively) how much we liked the CD, but we also considered to some degree issues such as commercial viability. The Simple Things makes this list on pure heart. This little artsy, minimalist jazz/pop other trio has made one of the most eclectic and starkly beautiful albums of 2008. Vocalist Kaitlin McGaw could sell CDs/downloads singing a Capella, and Raymond Ruiz and Michael Gallant are top-notch musicians in their own right. If you get out San Francisco this way put The Simple Things on your itinerary if you can find a show.

#9 Julie McKee - What A Woman Shouldn't Do

Julie McKee's debut album is one of the finest collections of Jazz-imbued pop music of the year. She's part Annie Lennon, part Fiona Apple and part Jane Siberry. 2008 saw McKee gain significant attention for What A Woman Shouldn't Do, and even broke down international barriers by performing her first shows in New York City and Chicago (both well reviewed, by the way). Intelligent and witty lyrics make this one of the smartest albums of the year. An absolute must have for music fans.

#8 Crooked Still - Still Crooked

Crooked Still is as about as old-school country as one can get. Still Crooked is steeped in the Celtic and Folk traditions from which country music originally grew. Aoife O'Donovan sings this music like its her life's blood, and the rest of Crooked Still don't so much back her up as organically weave themselves around her voice. Out and out the top Country/Americana album of the year.

#7 Mike Ford - Canada Needs You Volume Two

Some of you may remember Mike Ford as 1/4 of the Toronto quartet Moxy Fruvous. Rather than fading into obscurity, Ford has become of Canada's best songwriters, concentrating his efforts on songs with educational value. Canada Needs You Volume Two focuses on persons, places and events in 20th Century Canadian history. No subject or musical style is off-limits as Ford uses intelligent and nuanced story-telling, humor and divergent musical styles to paint a series of musical profiles. This disc isn't likely getting a lot of mention on end of year lists, in large part because Ford doesn't do the whole self-promotion thing on a level with many of the other artists here, but it should be. The CD is absolutely unforgettable. And hey, just for kicks, check out this interview we did with Ford. It's a worthwhile read.

#6 Woodward - ...But Your Kids Are Gonna Love It

Woodward's debut is the quintessential Rock N Roll album, mixing elements of modern rock and classic rock into a blend that is familiar yet new. As music fans, this was probably the most exciting Rock Album to cross our desk in 2008. Because of the mix of sounds the target audience for this CD is any rock fan from 10 to 60. Woodward may or may not make the long haul stardom, but don't be surprised if this album someday stands out as one of the finest and most enduring albums of the Indie Rock era.