James Hurley - Tempest In A Teacup

James Hurley - Tempest In A Teacup
2008, T. James Hurley

Listening to James Hurley's Tempest In A Teacup, you'd think you were hearing the greatest hits album of an established, major-label singer/songwriter. Instead, Hurley is something of a journeyman guitar player, playing much of the year in small venues in the western US and the UK. Hurley recorded Tempest In A Teacup while on tour, lighting here and there for a day and getting in studio time between Arizona and Washington while on tour. Vacillating between wicked humor and stark poignancy, Hurley spins a master class in the art of story-telling in song that the best-fed minstrel would envy.

Tempest In A Teacup opens with "Mountain", with Hurley sounding like the musical spawn of Mark Knopfler and Colin Hay. Hurley mixes wit and intelligence in a laser-sharp treatise on what we give up to move forward. "What Might've Been" is about forks in the road and the choice between finding out what's ahead or spending your life wondering. Hurley manages to tackle a subject that's been done so many times that the mere thought of it is cliché, yet manages to turn it into a brilliant parable without breaking a sweat. On "Tempest In A Teacup" Hurley laments the human tendency to impress our ideas on others even if it means going to war. The arrangement here is a perfect fit to a brilliant and incisive bit of social commentary that makes both "good guys" and "bad guys" look small.

Hurley shows finesse on "She's The One", a song about the potential of love, and that delicious mix of emotions that comes from infatuation and not knowing where imagination and reality mix to suit both interest and ego. Brilliant is one word you could use, but Hurley manages to capture an essential point of the human condition in song in such an utterly casual manner it's mystifying. Just to mix things up, Hurley throws in "Mushroom" to keep you guessing. It's an entertaining diversion about the insecurities that keep us from moving beyond our own limited world views, and the characterizations will seem fantastic until you realize that he's using allegory to paint characteristics we all share. It's a brilliant, funny and illuminating tune.

For all that can be said about the songs that come before it, "Jealous Of The Moon" may be one of the finest bits of songwriting to cross this desk. Hurley explores the effects that love and insecurity can have on the psyche in a tune that is both serious and ironic at the same time. It's a gorgeous arrangement and an absolutely amazing bit of song craft. Hurley perhaps pays tribute to Paul McCartney on "Long Way Down", with a riff that opens and closes the song that sounds like it might have come from Sir Paul himself. It's an allegorical reflection on loss that will hit home for any who have been there. Ever the entertainer, Hurley changes pace deftly with "The Vampire Song", a whimsical and entertaining song that will make a lot of sense to anyone who doesn't live on the West Coast.

"She Won't Be Down" is a story song about someone who has cocooned themselves away from the world for fear of being hurt. It's a brilliant musical portrait; much to rich to be called a caricature. Hurley turns philosophical on the closing track, "Going Home", telling the story of a prodigal son from his own perspective. Many run away from home and into adulthood to seek their place in the world only to return home years later to finally found what they were searching for. This story, too, has been told many times in song, but Hurley has a gift for taking the mundane and finding the spark within that makes it special.

James Hurley writes songs with the flair of a magician, painting pictures in song so real and vibrant you can nearly touch them. Tempest In A Teacup is quite literally brilliant, shining over and above the pop/rock throng with tuneful, literate songwriting and generous doses of wit. Hurley's voice is eminently listenable and his arrangements are flawless. You'll be listening to this album long after your current flavor of the month has been relegated to your backup hard drive (or traded in for credit). Tempest In A Teacup can only be a Wildy's World Certified Desert Island Disc. Don't miss it.

Rating: 5 Stars (Out of 5)

Learn more about James Hurley at http://www.jameshurleymusic.com/ or www.myspace.com/jameshurley. Tempest In A Teacup is availble on CD or as a Download from CDBaby. The album is also available in various formats from Amazon and iTunes.

Review: Friday Nights - Friday Nights

Friday Nights - Friday Nights
2009, Friday Nights

Los Angeles-based duo Friday Nights is comprised of singer/songwriter Mike Castillo and musician/songwriter/producer Shon Kornfield. Castillo previously led L.A. rockers If You See Kate, while Kornfeld’s credits include Helen 55, Fontaine, Stanford Prison Experiment and Bulletboys. Their debut album, Friday Nights, was produced by Ken Andrews (Nine Inch Nails, Beck, Jimmy Eat World, Blink 182), and features songwriting from both.

Friday Nights opens with the catchy and highly infectious anthem Self Inflicted. The rhythmic feel of the song combined with distinctive vocals and killer harmonies make Self Inflicted one of the more memorable pop/rock songs of the year, to date. Whose Side Are You On reminds me a bit of the writing style of Colin Hay and Men At Work in another very catchy offering. Hey Jeremy is a song about following your dreams and inviting folks you know along for the ride. Takeover begins with big driving rhythms and evolves into another highly catchy pop/rock gem. You'll also want to check out Personal Holiday, Grow For You and Anchors Away.

Friday Nights have a very catchy sound that holds a great deal of commercial potential. Some of the slower material here drags a bit, particularly because Friday Nights seems to vacillate between wanting to be an ethereal rock band or a Pop/Rock dynamo. The songs along the fault line of the two styles are well-written, but Self Inflicted is likely the class of the album. Be sure to check out Friday Nights!

Rating: 3.5 Stars (Out of 5)

You can learn more about Friday Nights at www.myspace.com/fridaynightsmusic.com. You can purchase a copy of Friday Nights on either CD or via download at http://www.fridaynightsmusic.com/.

Review: The Urgency - The Urgency

The Urgency – The Urgency
2009, Mercury Records

Coming out of South Burlington, Vermont, The Urgency isn’t exactly what you might expect. No Phish-style jams can be heard. There are no alternative jazz leanings in their sound. What you do get is a highly rhythmic, post-punk style with an energy level that matches their name. Add to that the musical theater influences vocals of Tyler Gurwicz and you have a sound that is wholly distinctive. Their debut album, The Urgency, will be released on April 21, 2009 on Mercury Records. The path from South Burlington to Brooklyn to the world stage seems an unlikely one, but in listening to The Urgency you get the feeling these guys were always headed for something big.

Subtlety is not a trap The Urgency falls into, as displayed on the opening trap, Fingertips, which sounds a bit like a meaty Police record. Lead vocalist Gurwicz sounds like a cross between a young Sting and a young Colin Hay, and the rest of The Urgency provides him with a wonderfully rhythmic and melodic backdrop against which to sing. Crimes is infectious and would like do quite well as a single. There's a theatrical element to this song that hearkens back to the arena rock days of concept albums and bands like Styx and Queen. Rooftops mixes a strong melodic mix with a great driving rhythm and Gurwicz’ soaring vocals. The Urgency just keeps getting better and better as you listen.

Hot Damn takes a half step back and then blows the roof off the whole thing with a bridge that explodes into a dark and rhythmic chorus. Slowing down a bit, The Urgency visits us with Memories, a classic-sounding heavy Rock ballad with a sing-song chorus that's worthy of a top-ten single. If you doubt the Police influence then listen to Stop, complete with the classic Reggae undertones from early Police records and a vocal line that Sting could sleep walk through. All We Are is The Urgency gone to The Edge, complete with screaming co-vocals. The song is well done but is very out character with the rest of the album, sounding a bit too formulaic. Move You is another step apart from the sound of the first seven songs, but at least keeps the atypical flavor of the rest of the album. Revolution lays it down in a full-bore modern rock instant classic, complete with ultra-dynamic vocal line and some incredible harmony work. Think Queensryche with Sting singing lead and you have the general idea. The Urgency closes out with the solemn and searching Lullaby, perhaps the best writing on the disc.

The Urgency officially hits shelves in a couple of weeks. It's unfortunate that they are probably 20 years too late to meet their maximum commercial potential. Nevertheless, great music will always find an outlet, regardless of the markets and mores of a given generation. Tyler Gurwicz may be the most dynamic new vocalist of the year (we'll see), but there's no doubt you'll be hearing a lot of The Urgency this year. The Urgency is an excellent debut album, worthy of high recommendation and praise.

Rating: 4.5 Stars (Out of 5)

You can learn more about The Urgency on their home page or on MySpace. The Urgency goes on sale April 21, 2009. You can pre-order The Urgency at Amazon.com.

Review: Jeff Neville - A Romantic War Novel

Jeff Neville - A Romantic War Novel
2008, Jeff Neville

Lisle, Illinois Jeff Neville knows two of the most vibrant and divergent music scenes in the United States. Growing up in the Chicago market, Neville headed to New York City for college, and ended up part of the vibrant East Village/Lower East Side music scene. Years after returning to Chicago, Neville has a regular gig as keyboardist for Soul/Rock favorites The Midnight Shows. At the age of thirty seven he finally got the bug to put out something of his own. A Romantic War Novel, Neville’s solo debut, mixes dark and light, shadow and bright in a collection of nine story songs that are just Neville, his piano, and a guest trumpet on two tracks.

A Romantic War Novel is a musical offering painted in dark overtones, mixing pop aesthetic with gothic intent; as if Robert Smith and Colin Hay decided to get together for a weekend and write some music. The result is sometimes tragic, sometimes enlightening and generally entertaining. Neville's delivery is more like the morose days of Smith than the maniacally energetic Hay, particularly on the opening track, Watch Her. Neville has something of a story-teller streak in his songwriting, but the story falters on watch her. Between the nearly atonal vocal line and the robotically charismatic delivery, he just doesn't get off to a great start. Luckily things improve significantly on What She Said To Me; a wonderfully tuneful arrangement that bespeaks of a melody line that Neville just isn't quite up to delivering. Neville compensates by donning a Lou Reed style spoken word style that's full of casual style and chutzpah. Likewise Yours Truly, a song that sounds like a Tori Amos piano composition. Lyrically awkward but theatrically intense, the song crashes about and makes quite an impression like a party guest two shots too deep into the house liqueur; two much for the atmosphere but too likeable to make leave.

Neville moves back into aesthetic territory with Your Stubborn Pride, a pretty piano prologue that builds into a vindictive diatribe. Its likely epilogue, It's Over, is a mellow center stage soliloquy built on a Ben Folds style composition. Lyrically sophomoric, this particular track would be much more enjoyable as an instrumental. It's all part of the see-saw nature of the album. Crests are followed by troughs, with the occasional moment of parity between strong songwriting and ill-defined lyrical craft. One of the most interesting compositions here is Tonight, which plays with multiple keys and/or strong dissonant composition at times. The musical phrases here are pleasant to listen to, and the lyrical content is at or near its best on Tonight. You'll also want to check out Let It Drop and Take Me Back.

Jeff Neville isn't a wunderkind singer, sticking more to a talk/sing style that works for him. His lyrics are hit or miss. At times he has a way with words and other times... well, you get the idea. What really works here are the musical compositions themselves. Neville is a talented composer on piano, showing a broad range of styles and musical influences. He also seems to understand his instrument's voice, when to use it, and when not to. It would be very interesting to hear Neville working in a band setting. One imagines that working with other talented musicians he could be part of something quite special. As it is, A Romantic War Novel is a work of interest. It's not pretty, it's got some rough edges, and not everyone will see it, but it just might be a diamond in the rough.

Rating: 3.5 Stars (Out of 5)

You can learn more about Jeff Neville at www.myspace.com/jeffneville. You can purchase a copy of A Romantic War Novel at www.cdbaby.com/cd/nevillejeff.