The 23 String Band - Catch 23

The 23 String Band - Catch 23
2011, The 23 String Band

Eastern Kentucky is the home base of The 23 String Band, an acoustic quintet consisting of Chris Shouse (guitar, lead vocals); Curtis Wilson (banjo, vocals); David Howard (mandolin, vocals); Scott Moore (fiddle, vocals) and T. Martin Stam (bass, vocals). In spite of their acoustic approach, the band brings electric energy to modern songs with traditional bluegrass stylings. A live set from The 23 String Band could easily follow a traditional bluegrass tune with a Beastie Boys cover; the unpredictable nature of the band has earned them a significant following in a short time. And their "original hillbilly music" has earned them the respect of bluegrass fans both modern and traditional. The band released Catch 23 earlier this year. The only surprise here is that they haven't received wider acclaim.

Catch 23 opens with "Fat Frankie", the frenetic tale of a small time drug dealer. The dark and urgent modern bluegrass arrangement is compelling, and The 23 String Band has created a classic story song. The violin work of Scott Moore is particularly amazing. "Long Hot Summer Days" features solid, deliberate pick work. Shouse gets soulful on the lead vocal, and there's a distinct blues feel blended into the bluegrass arrangement. "Catch 23" is a dynamic instrumental that breaks out into a jazzified breakdown. Once again, fiddler Scott Moore is a standout. The band is forward and fun on "Leave Everything To Me", an amusing little love song with a memorable melody.

"Listen To Her Heart" is a soliloquy sung to a romantic interloper; an attempt to hold on to the one he loves. The arrangement here is pure gold, with tremendous instrumental interplay and absolutely gorgeous vocal harmonies intertwining throughout. The 23 String Band goes old school on "Bees Knees", getting back to deep bluegrass roots so completely you'll think you're in a time warp. "Hey Pretty Mama" is a tongue-in-cheek come-on song that's fun and entertaining. It's followed by the vibrant instrumental clinic of "Deer Tick". It's the barrelhouse for "Raleigh & Spencer", a prohibition era fiddle tune that's relentlessly entertaining. The band gets real props for their original read on "Cripple Creek", in a rendition that's vaguely reminiscent of the Grateful Dead's version, but has a more lyric feel.

The 23 String Band are a marketer's dream. Riding the high energy of youth, this finely tuned musical machine approaches traditional bluegrass with great reverence, but can also kick out the jams and update their sound to the minute. With the rise of Americana music as an over-arching pop form, it's a matter of time before a band from its ranks breaks out into pop-culture stardom. That band could easily be The 23 String Band, and Catch 23 could be just the vehicle to take them there.

Rating: 4.5 Stars (Out of 5)

Learn more about The 23 String Band at www.the23stringband.com or www.facebook.com/the23stringband.

Human Switchboard - Who's Landing In My Hangar? Anthology 1977-1984
2011, Bar/None Records

No one will hold it against you if Human Switchboard has escaped your attention before now. Their debut album, Who's Landing In My Hangar? was released three decades ago, and the darlings of the early 1980's New York City punk scene never really created a national footprint, but their influence is still felt today. The Beastie Boys, Mark Lanegan (The Screaming Trees), Chris Cornell (Soundgarden) and Kurt Cobain have all paid homage to Human Switchboard in the past, with Cobain referring to the band's "Refrigerator Door" as the "Stairway To Heaven" of punk rock. On October 24, 2011, Human Switchboard makes the jump to CD for the first time, with the release of Who's Landing In My Hangar? Anthology 1977 - 1984. The collection includes the complete original album plus various live and demo tracks. The 21-song CD also includes a download card that will allow listeners to download an additional 19 tracks on-line.

The disc itself shows a young band at the intersection of 1980's pop and punk, but affected by sounds of 1960's and 1970's rock and roll. The vocals are often pitchy, wavering from key to key oft times in the same vocal phrase, but the energy is great. There is a primitive feel to the album that is appealing; sounding more like a basement tape made by good friends than a professional produced album. Human Switchboard even work in the occasional Richie Cannata-style sax solo to complete the musical menagerie. Listeners will groove to the geek/pop/punk sound of "Who's Landing In My Hanger?); the bouncy energy of "I Can Walk Alone", and the Ramones-meets-The Knickerbockers sound of "(I Used To) Believe In You". Other highlights include "In My Room", "Shake It Boys" and "Fly-In".

Human Switchboard brings an American Primitive spirit to Basement Punk (the 2nd cousin to Garage Rock) on Who's Landing In My Hangar? Anthology 1977 - 1984. The additional tracks illuminate the best intentions of a band that might have done some great things over time, but the reality is that sometimes on solid album is the best hope of a band. It's hard to say Human Switchboard went out on top, but in an increasingly Indie music world, Human Switchboard gets many nods for being years ahead of their time in approach and style. The music of Human Switchboard is probably an acquired taste beyond its novelty and arguable historical value, but is worthy of some time and effort on the part of the listener.

Rating: 3 Stars (Out of 5)

Who's Landing In My Hangar? drops on October 24, 2011.

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Review: Prize Country - With Love

Prize Country - With Love
2009, Hex Records

Portland, Oregon post-punk rockers Prize Country deliver rough cut Rock N Roll with no pithy nuances on With Love; opening with From The Gutter, a brief, guitar-driven instrumental that sounds like the bridge of a song still in development. This deceptively comfortable opening leads into the aggressive talk/sing rock of Regular Nights. Prize Country sounds like a cross between Red Hot Chili Peppers and Staind here; throwing up a taught arrangement beneath a loose and roaming vocal line. It Was Just A Night Like Tonight features some of the strongest guitar work on the album, and the vocals are more of a cadence than a melody. The song itself is fairly bland given the genre, opting for safe rather than challenging.

Prize Country spends a few songs ambling about the bland waters they've fallen into before slamming into Bigger Picture with challenging guitar work worth sticking around for. It's an intriguing tune; very listenable although there liabilities in the vocal here. Cement is driven with solid guitar work. The song is a bit repetitive and could use a little more power (which it will probably get live), but is decent enough as is. With Love is something of a come down as a closing track, by far the weakest on the disc.

Prize Country presents as a rough and tumble Rock N Roll band, singing/talking somewhere between RHCP and The Beastie Boys, but the energy, while high, is too static along the way. At the end of the day I'd conclude that Prize Country is solid but quite limited in both their stylistic and vocal range. As long as you're fine with that as a fine it's a solid piece of work.

Rating: 3 Stars (Out of 5)

You can learn more about Prize Country at http://www.prizecountry.net/ or www.myspace.com/prizecountry. You can order With Love as either a CD or Download from Amazon.com.

Review: Herm - Monsters

Herm – Monsters
2009, Catchy Go Go Records

Irish singer/songwriter Herm (aka Kevin Connolly) is as enigmatic as they come. Busting genres as easily as Frankenstein breaking through walls, Herm defies categorization with wonderfully melodic and unusual songwriting. Because of his originality and talent, Herm also tends to attract high quality musicians who thrive on and contribute to the creative milieu, creating an artistic snowball effect that is only to the listeners benefit. The net effect is immediately apparent on Herm’s full length debut CD, Monsters, release in 2009 on Catchy Go Go Records. Herm began writing songs at the age of eight (a tune about alcohol addiction) and has never looked back.

Monsters opens with the dark, Americana of The Way, sounding like the Skydiggers/Cash Brothers in minor keys. Kevin Connolly has one of those voices that isn't pretty, per se, but is very enjoyable to listen to due to all of the character and nuance it expresses. The rhythmic, urgent and slightly creepy nature of the opening track is a great start, putting the listener on notice that the expected can't be found here. Year Of The Horse finds Herm in an exquisite duet with Nina Haynes. There's almost a baroque feel to the sound as violin and cello accent acoustic guitar, piano and percussion. Monsters is an amusing, well-crafted song about prejudice and fear. The song title was adopted for the album title because the songs presented here all took on a life of their own and became at times unrecognizable from their original forms.

Rosemary is something of an alternative love song focusing on obsession and unhealthy relationships. The song has a swaying, good time quality that belies the uncomfortable subject matter. The Long Way Down has a demented, slightly creepy sound to it and is one of the more compelling listens on Monsters. Be sure to check out Cellar Door, which continues the creep factor in Hitchcockian fashion. My favorite song on the disc is The Best Bit, a wonderful diatribe on relationships built on a lyrically dense and urgent vocal line that sounds like a cross between The Beastie Boys and Beck. The guitar and bass here are full of funk, making for a highly danceable, highly entertaining track.

Herm is an artist who is hard to pigeonhole. There is no specific marketing niche that he fits into, yet I suspect that with the right exposure he'll develop broad appeal. The music is sufficiently dark to appeal to fans of Goth styles, with enough wit to draw a lighter crowd, and just off the wall enough to shock listeners out of their pre-conceived notions about what rock music should be. Monsters is an outstanding debut.

Rating: 4 Stars (Out of 5)

You can learn more about Herm at http://www.herm.tv/ or www.myspace.com/hermwork. You can purchase a copy of Monsters at www.cdbaby.com/cd/herm.