Chloe Charles - Little Green Bud

Chloe Charles - Little Green Bud
2010, Chloe Charles

Put all of your preconceptions on hold. Chloe Charles bends them and breaks them. Her blend of folk, soul and classical music isn’t quite like anyone else you’ve heard. You’ll hear elements of Cat Power, Esthero and Portishead, but listen for the roots of Joan Armatrading, Janis Ian, Tracy Chapman and even Nick Drake deep beneath the surface. Charles’ next release, Little Green Bud is due out on September 21, 2010, and is a real charmer.

Little Green Bud opens with "The Heavens", a haunting baroque-pop tune marked by dark strings and atypical rhythms. Charles creates atmosphere with the noble beauty of her voice and vocal effects that add more depth to the sound. It's Charles' voice that stands out the most here, sounding like a wayward cross between Sade and Kate Bush. "Soon On A Snowflake" is a beautiful song of devotion, where Charles' poetry is nearly as striking as her voice. "Progression" is dark and full of angst and anger, calling out another who has caused her harm in mysterious language. "Water" is a lush musical experience that finds Chloe Charles layering vocals in counterpoint to a subversive string and electro arrangement that's a thing of beauty. Little Green Bud closes with "Salamander Red", a highly textured piece of baroque pop and recollection of love that gets lost in a lack of diction. Charles plays fast and loose with hard consonants throughout the EP, but here is very difficult to understand at times.

Little Green Bud shows a lot of promise from Chloe Charles. Her voice is striking; beautiful and atypical, rich and lush while possessive of the sort of vocal anomalies that create interest rather than discord. The compositions on Little Green Bud are highly original, blending pop sensibility with strings and an almost antique musical setting. Chloe Charles has the pipes to go far, and the performances on Little Green Bud indicate an artist who is very comfortable in her own shoes. Be certain that we'll be hearing more from Chloe Charles.

Rating: 3.5 Stars (Out of 5)

Learn more about Chloe Charles at http://www.chloecharles.com/ or www.myspace.com/chloecharles. You can order copies of Little Green Bud directly from Charles on her website.

Review: Steve McCormick - Lowlights And Footnotes

Steve McCormick - Lowlights And Footnotes

2008, Steve McCormick

I have to admit that the United Kingdom isn't exactly the first locale to pop into my head as a place to find great Country or Americana music. Steve McCormick doesn't claim to be either of those things, although Waylon, Hank and Merle have had a fair amount of influence on his songwriting (as have Randy Newman, Leonard Cohen, Tim Buckley, The Squeeze and even AC/DC). The Carlisle, Cumbria native released his debut album in late 2008 entitled Lowlights And Footnotes to critical accolades and a slow-growing but significant amount of worldwide airplay. Lowlights And Footnotes was mastered by Simon Heyworth (Tubular Bells, George Harrison, Nick Drake) and is played entirely by McCormick with the exception of Pedal Steel Guitar, provided courtesy of Dave Midgely.

Lowlights And Footnotes opens with Another English Cowboy, rocking right down to the roots of Country in a diatribe about not fitting the country mold. You'll be driven to dance and sing along to a song that could chart on American Country Radio if given the chance. McCormick gets a bit of Southern Rock flavor on the mid-tempo If Only She Were Lying. McCormick gets a bit trite in the chorus here, but the arrangement is a great listen. Making Light (Of Being Kept In The Dark) brings a touch of British humor to the honky-tonk on a mid-tempo number that walks the line between classic Country and the Eagles brand of California Country. On I'm Alright, Jack, McCormick celebrates his state of being at the expense of a friend who's down in the dumps, all set against a vibrant classic Rhythm & Blues fueled Honky Tonk sound. Back To The Booze hits the R&B fueled Country sound another try with a kicking guitar solo in the middle to really spice things up. McCormick lights the lamp with a song that might just be a party anthem in the States.

McCormick sounds a bit like Lyle Lovett on The Other Man, pointing out that no matter which point you are in a triangle, the other guy is always The Other Man. The song is well written, with a plaintive, Tex-Mex country ballad feel. My Woman Doesn't Give A Damn deals with stereotypical country heartbreak with uncharacteristic wit and panache. Like much of the rest of the album, McCormick is a classic story-teller. When he's funny it's not because he's trying to be funny, but because real life is sometimes dotted with humor and wit. Black And White Photographs is about family, memories and how gateways to the past often pave the way to understand who we are. It's moving and heartfelt without sounding sappy and may just be the best songwriting on the disc. McCormick closes out with Living In Loserville is a tongue-in-cheek song about being happy with yourself. It's a great closer for an album that plays the country game without giving over it's essential character to Nashvillian Zombification.

Steve McCormick is a story teller in the vein of Randy Newman (although perhaps no one has the chutzpah that Newman manages). McCormick's songs work because the characters and events he portrays are honest and real; even the fictional ones are written like a good character, and the choices they make are convicted ones. McCormick's stories come to life in songs based in Country Music but ranging from Rock to Tex-Mex and every possible blending of those styles. Lowlights And Footnotes should be the darling of Country Radio. Let's hope McCormick gets the right breaks.

Rating: 4 Stars (Out of 5)

You can learn more about Steve McCormick at www.myspace.com/stevemccormickuk or http://www.stevemccormick.co.uk/, where you can purchase a copy of Lowlights And Footnotes using PayPal. You can download the full album from iTunes, or a free four song sampler from McCormick’s website.

Review: Brydan Smith - Blue Skies EP

Brydan Smith - Blue Skies EP
2009, Brydan Smith

Brydan Smith is a Burlington, Ontario, Canada-based singer-songwriter with a penchant for serious, reserved songwriting and a pleasant voice. His debut CD, Blue Skies EP, will spark comparison to Ray LaMontagne, Jack Johnson, Dave Matthews, John Mayer, The Decemberists and perhaps even Nick Drake. Brydan Smith was inspired to pursue a career in music after seeing LaMontagne live a few years back, hoping someday to touch listeners the way LaMontagne’s music touched him.

Blue Skies opens with the title track, a pleasant listen that just didn't leave much of an impression other than the fact that Smith sounds a lot like Jack Johnson. Whiskey Dreams is a low-key folk tune about the urge to drown worries while working to climb out of the bottle and trying to live again. The song is very real to life and doesn't really convey a lot of hope that things will work out. Come Down features a soulful but repressed vocal from Smith. It's a great listen, although I'd like to hear Smith come out of his shell a bit more on the vocal line. Marianne is very similar in presentation; it's almost as if Smith the singer is holding back. The song itself is a beautiful tune, but the presentation here just doesn't quite do it justice; almost like a spoken word tune with accidental fluctuations in pitch. Bring Us Down doesn't change the direction of the album at all as the closer, sticking with a similarly monochromatic scheme.

Brydan Smith has a decent voice and a lot to say, but song construction and melody lines are too similar from song to song, and too compressed in range and dynamics to be very listenable over the course of an album or even an EP. There's almost a sense of monotone (ala Steven Wright) that pervades Blue Skies, a title that one might suggest is meant to portray hope for the future or better days ahead. Smith is a talented lyricist, but the presentation of the songs can be tough to tackle.

Rating: 2.5 Stars (Out of 5)

You can learn more about Brydan Smith at www.myspace.com/brydansmith, where you can purchase tracks from the Blue Skies EP. No word yet on CD distribution.

Review: Sean McArdle - Northern Charms

Sean McArdle - Northern Charms
2009, Sean McArdle

Sean McArdle has come a long way, both physically and musically, to release his latest effort, the self-released Northern Charms. The former front man of Driving By Braille and Lookout! Records recording artists The Cost, McArdle left his home base in San Francisco to resettle in Washington, D.C. Embracing the universal themes of love and loss, McArdle has crafted a nuanced and elegant collection of songs that walk the ever receding line between Rock and Americana.

Last Words opens on a gritty, subdued note. McArdle's voice plays perfectly here in an unaffected performance that is plainspoken and earthy. Two Brothers comes out in a finger-pick style that bespeaks of a classic 1960's folk/rock style. McArdle invokes sonic images of Nick Drake here, and this may be the best composition on the album. It's a song you could hear other artists picking up and running with. 56th Street reminded me strongly of the songwriting style of Dave Matheson (formerly of Moxy Fruvous). This is classic 1970's AM Radio folk/rock, as if Dan Fogelberg wrote music for Drake or Tom Waits. Other tracks worth noting include The Long Walk, Still Working, the Hank Williams-esque Don't Believe Me and Follow In Kind.

McArdle appears to have undergone a transformation since his Lookout! Records days. Whether the time with Driving By Braille saw many changes or whether it was the cross country move and starting over in a new place, McArdle has found the clarity of introspection on Northern Charms. The lyrical work here is intelligent and coherent. No one is going to mistake McArdle for a poet laureate, but the material is broken down into honest and forthright passages full of truth, observation and emotion. The musical arrangements in general are Americana gothic representations of mood or place full of subtlety and grace. They neither stand out nor fall behind, but act as the perfect counterparts to his lyrical forays. The result is a solid record from start to finish. Northern Charms is not generally the kind of record that will live in your CD/MP3 player constantly for the first few weeks you own it, but it's the sort of album that will become a regular listen for a long time to come.

Rating: 4 Stars (Out of 5)

You can learn more about Sean McArdles at http://www.seanmcardle.com/ or www.myspace.com/seanmcardle. Sean McArdle's music can be heard in rotation in Starbucks stores on PlayNetwork. Northern Charms will be released in the coming weeks. Keep checking McArdle’s web page for availability!

Review: Tom Bolton - When I Cross The River

Tom Bolton - When I Cross The River
2007, Tom Bolton

Melbourne, Australia’s Tom Bolton is something of a throwback in folk music. Bolton recalls to mind a time when folk music was about the song and the story within the song, rather than adapting a purely pop songwriting style to acoustic instruments. Bolton grew up in a family where music was always around, exposed to everything from Cat Stevens and Jefferson Airplane to R.E.M., David Sylvian and Nick Drake. Bolton’s third release, When I Cross The River is a celebration of original folk music in its purest sense. Together with double-bass master Richard Grace, Bolton weaves 12 witty and intelligent musical monologues for your listening delight.

When I Cross The River opens with the title track, a hauntingly beautiful bit of musical prose that seems evoke love, thankfulness and regret all at once. Three Hearts has a musical melancholy that stands in contrast to the happily regretful lyrics. Whose Army has a blues vibe to it that is both energizing and fun. The highlight of the album is the folk/country All I Can Do. It's a pure ballad with a simple, memorable melody, gorgeous harmonies and lyrics that touch the listener. Bolton seems to have a talent for wrapping mixed emotions into his songs. The sense of melancholy juxtaposed with a thankful spirit is a common theme on When I Cross The River. This could become trying, but for the most part Bolton avoids getting bogged down in the sediment of sentiment. Other highlights include the Celtic flavored Where You Wanna Go, the Americana themed Hold The Sun, or Sweet Days, a gorgeous acoustic guitar instrumental.

Tom Bolton has a talent for beautiful and interesting music with a melancholic flair wrapped around lyrics and ideas that often run counter to the music in their emotional weight. Bolton's lyrics are intelligent, his melodies instantly memorable, and his performances are spot on. When I Cross The River is a strong entry in the Folk Music market and should do very well for him. It's definitely worth checking out.

Rating: 4 Stars (Out of 5)

You can learn more about Tom Bolton at http://www.sensibletom.com/. You can purchase a copy of When I Cross The River at www.cdbaby.com/cd/tombolton.