Review: The Coal Porters - Durango

The Coal Porters - Durango (April 17 - April 30)
2010, Prima Records

London's The Coal Porters have an ace up their sleeve in Kentuckian (and former Long Ryder) Sid Griffin, but their brand of alt-Bluegrass and Folk has made them fan favorites both east and West of the Atlantic Ocean. With the release of their fourth album, Durango (April 17 - April 30), The Coal Porters look to build on the critical and commercial success of 2007's Turn The Water On, Boy! The Coal Porters are coming up on their 20th anniversary as a band, and just seem to be getting better with time. Durango was born of pure inspiration following two killer shows near Durango, Colorado. The album was produced by Ed Strasium (Mick Jagger, Phil Spector, Belinda Carlisle, Jeff Healey).

Durango opens with Let's Say Goodbye (Like We Said Hello); a delicious bit of bluegrass picking around a sadly humorous tune about ending a relationship with the same smiles it started with. The lyrics here are particularly sharp: "I feel like a beer and she's craving vermouth" isn't about drink preference. Moonlight Midnight featuring Peter Rowan on guitar, and Carly Frye’s sultry alto on lead vocal. I'm Not Going Away is reminiscent of Blue Rodeo, with Sid Griffin sounding a bit like Jim Cuddy. The banjo work here is dizzying and the vocal harmonies top notch. The Squeaky Wheel Gets The Oil is a funny and funny tune that will make you want to dance.

Like A Hurricane is structured in gorgeous melancholy; a song about not being able to stand your ground in a relationship because the other won't stand still. Permanent Twilight may be the best writing on the song; the valedictory from a veteran who's paid the cost of war and would do so again if he were able. The song serves as a reminder that regardless of politics or belief, there are people in the world who sacrifice themselves every day for our ability to think and speak freely. The Coal Porters show off their immense instrumental skills on Roadkill Breakdown with Tim O'Brien sitting in on guitar. Two violins play off of the banjo here, delivering some killer riffs and delightful interplay. Carly Frye returns for the closing track, Sail Away, Ladies! It's a strong, entertaining tune and the instrumental work is simply over the top.

The Coal Porters offer up a solid brand of Newgrass Americana on Durango. Instrumentally the band has few peers, and both Griffin and Frey have their upside as vocalists. The songwriting on Durango is solid but generally not exciting. Humor and intelligence are woven through the songs on Durango, but the special spark that turns solid material into great material either isn't here or isn't utilized. Almost as if in the process of writing The Coal Porters make a lot of safe choices. It's a solid, enjoyable listen, but you can't but wonder if it couldn't be more.

Rating: 3 Stars (Out of 5)

You can learn more about The Coal Porters at www.myspace.com/thecoalporters. You can purchase Durango (April 17 - April 30) as either a CD or Download from Amazon.com.

Review: A Louder Disaster - The Sweet Sound Of Revenge Songs [EP]

A Louder Disaster - The Sweet Sound Of Revenge Songs EP
2009, A Louder Disaster

Marie Catastrophe grew up in a Texas town that didn't offer many opportunities for the singer/guitar player. Moving to Los Angeles, Catastophe made the ultimate leap of faith, selling her computer to buy an electric guitar and went to work busking. Before long she was doing open mic nights with material she developed on the streets of L.A. This led to meeting bass player Todd Bishop, recording and playing gigs in hotspots such as The Whiskey, The Troubadour and Spaceland. After a few life lessons about band life, Catastophe took control of the band. With the addition of drummer Trey D., A Louder Disaster found focus and a firm grounding in their own sound. The results can be heard on their debut EP, The Sweet Sound Of Revenge Songs.

The EP opens with (Drag My Name) All Over Town, a post-punk rocker with pop sensibility. Vocalist Catastrophe’s voice is vaguely reminiscent of a cross between Nina Gordon and Belinda Carlisle. The song is good listen and a decent starting point for the EP. Escape gets a bit repetitive, but has a clear 1980’s lineage and is a catchy and compact rocker that will stick with you. Stop The Sound is almost pure Pop. Catastrophe isn’t at her best here but gets by. Somewhere along the way something really clicked for A Louder Disaster; the next two songs are the best on the EP. The Art Of Scapegoating is catchy, almost virulently so. Evil Ways is the best song on the disc, but isn’t as convincing coming from Catastrophe as it might be from another source. Her voice has this vaguely tinny quality to it that distracts from the message. Stupid Kid shows a lot of potential for the band as songwriters; adolescent/young adult angst, love and immature emotions are all wrapped up in song that truly conveys some of the confusion they engender while maintaining a distinct Pop sense. One gets the impression that the song isn’t quite complete, but then again it’s written probably from within the core of those emotions rather than from the detached view that time allows, hence some of its power.

A Louder Disaster is a band with distinct talent as songwriters and musicians. Vocalist Marie Catastrophe has a decent voice, but isn’t always up to the material she’s writing with the band. She falls into a style of vocalists from bands such as Veruca Salt, Belly and the Go-Go’s, but just doesn’t quite capture that same sound. The Sweet Sounds Of Revenge is a bit uneven but shows some promise.

Rating: 2.5 Stars (Out of 5)

You can learn more about A Louder Disaster at www.myspace.com/alouderdisaster, where you can purchase a copy of The Sweet Sound Of Revenge Songs EP.

Review: Telling On Trixie - Ugly, Broke & Sober

Telling On Trixie - Ugly, Broke & Sober
2009, Nicoletto Small Music

New York City rockers Telling On Trixie bring the anthemic power-pop on their sophomore album, Ugly, Broke & Sober. After being voted Logo's #1 band of 2007 for their self-tited debut album, it would be easy to understand a bit of a sophomore slump. Telling On Trixie never heard of such a thing. Rather than standing pat with the formula that worked the first time, the band stretches their boundaries on Ugly, Broke & Sober without abandoning the melodic spirit that got them where they are.

Ugly, Broke & Sober opens with Shooting in 60, an anthem for today's celebrity-obsessed culture. Crash Me Up is an interesting experiment. Telling On Trixie asked their fans to submit words or phrases to be turned into song lyrics. Crash Me Up is the resulting word jumble. The exercise, and song, works, sounding like a cryptic but mostly cogent lyrical construct. The strong pop/rock arrangement and harmonic dressing doesn't hurt either. The most pleasant surprise of the album is the very dark interpretation of Belinda Carlisle's Mad About You. The tenor and tone of this version implies perhaps a different aspect of madness than the original, but the song is none the worse for this treatment. Lead vocalist Derek Nicoletto sounds a bit like Adam Pascal, or a poor man's Steve Perry, with much of the same vocal quality but not quite the same range.

The Deepest Dive is a prolific song of love for and faith in another person. This is a potential hit, with Nicoletto going for a more pure vocal sound. Ugly, Broke & Sober sounds like it could have been alternate song from the show Rent, both in style and content. Telling On Trixie breaks out their heavy boots on Your Silence, the heaviest rocker on the album (but still quite pop in sensibility). The album closes out with the spooky Steps To The Throne, which almost works but has some rough edges to it yet.

Telling On Trixie continues to take chances on Ugly, Broke & Sober. Most of them work, and even the instances where they fell short are intriguing. I'd much rather see a band take chances and miss once in a while than stand pat and calcify stylistically. Ugly, Broke & Sober is a strong sophomore effort that exceeds their debut in some ways. You can hear the artistic development that has occurred from album to album, and it makes one wonder if they'll keep on this path. If so, the future promises big things from Telling On Trixie. For now, Ugly, Broke & Sober is more than enough.

Rating: 3.5 Stars (Out of 5)

You can learn more about Telling On Trixie at www.myspace.com/tellingontrixie or http://www.tellingontrixie.com/. You can purchase a copy of Ugly, Broke & Sober at www.cdbaby.com/cd/tellingontrixie3.