Review: Maidens IV - Celtic Fire

Maidens IV - Celtic Fire
2010, Maidens IV

Sisters Havilah, Heather, Abigail and Tabitha Justice have been bringing their brand of musical mirth to audiences since 2006, when Maidens IV was born. The idea actually started in2 003, when Havilah and Heather formed Maidens II and began performing at Renaissance Festivals, Celtic Fairs and the like. As each successive sister has joined the band so has grown the numeric, the sound and the legend of this young quartet. Hailing from Loudonville, Ohio, The Justice girls grew up in a family of nine home-schooled children where music was considered to be a normal part of a well-rounded education. Lessons inspired passion, and today Maidens IV is perhaps one of the fieriest Celtic bands on the go. Their latest album, Celtic Fire, displays the pure joy, aggressive melodicism and complex interplay that set Maidens IV apart from the pack.

Celtic Fire opens with Waves of The Wind, a lively, rhythmic instrumental. Maidens IV show an aggressive playing style that bears out over the rest of album, going for the throat of the song early and wringing every bit of life out of it they can. The arrangement is highly intricate and interwoven in a fashion that perhaps only sisters could achieve. Heart Of The Brave adds the Justice sisters angelic vocals to their aggressive style of play and wraps it in deep Celtic influences. Lead vocalist Heather Justice is absolutely amazing here. Dark Dancing Waves Medley is a vicious/delicious mix that bowls the listener over and dances away before you even know what hit you. You'll be hitting repeat just to make sure the musical train was for real and not imagined.

Hallelujah underlines Maidens IV's deep musical roots in faith, although the spelling out of the title is quaint to the point of cliché. The melody here is gorgeous, and the swarming, darting voices of Maidens IV are like a balm for the soul (or at the very least, the ears). Gypsy Firelight Tune features the Maidens' aggressive and powerful Celtic instrumental work. I suggest you simply hang on and enjoy the ride. Rocky Top is next; a song first recorded by The Osborne Brothers and popularized by Lynn Anderson. Rocky Top has become a Country classic. The Maidens lend their voices to the song's history with an almost Baroque Country arrangement. The harmonies are exquisite; the arrangement is enough like the original to feel comfortable and different enough to shed a shaft of new light on an old favorite.

Friesen Winds shows a softer side to the Maidens. The instrumental piece is more legato than their usual cutthroat instrumental style. The instrumentation is still heavily layered and enmeshed, but speaks of a gentler musical feel that is a nice change of pace. Hymn Medley is a musical Wow moment. It doesn't matter whether the subject matter of the songs is your cup of tea or not. You will be absolutely in awe of the Maidens' voices here. Maidens Medley is another feisty instrumental that leads into an a Cappella version of Irish Blessing that sounds like an old English Madrigal. The arrangement here is gorgeous. Fiddlers Drums takes us on another instrumental jaunt, staying with the gentler feel of the second half of the album and leads into The Prayer, an ethereal and pretty experience. Maidens IV close out with a Cappella version of the Star Spangled Banner that sounds better than 99% of the performances you'll hear at major sporting events.

Maidens IV have established themselves as a solid regional act in their home state of Ohio, playing churches, Celtic fairs and other period events. Their costumes on stage speak of another era, and their music will transport you to a time and place that's outside of your day-to-day experiences. Celtic Fire is brilliant in its audacity, songwriting, musicianship, as well as in the connections shared and forged by Maidens IV therein. A generation or so ago Maidens IV would be featured on national television through outlets such as Ed Sullivan and Lawrence Walk. They have that sort of broad appeal, but a modern sense of fire that helps them transcend the "easy listening" veil and be relevant for today. Celtic Fire is a Wildy's World Certified Desert Island Disc, and Maidens IV are the sort of band you resolve to see live at least once in your life if you get the opportunity. Just do it.

Rating: 5 Stars (Out of 5)

You can learn more about Maidens IV at http://www.maidensmusic.com/. You can purchase Celtic Fire as either a CD or Download from CDBaby.com.

Review: Schleusolz - Running Out Of Time

Schleusolz - Running Out Of Time
2009, Schokokontrol

Some might call it a vanity project. Others might label it a workshop piece. Some will call it genius. No matter how you term it, Frankfurt, Germany's Schleusolz is an intriguing venture. Studio magicians Worsel Strauss, Schani Wolf and Zodi Paulinen go for a space-age electronic retro vibe, described elsewhere as "Henry Mancini on acid", that is a serious attempt at fun. Wolf and Strauss openly allow that many of the songs on Running Out Of Time, Schleusolz' debut album, were experimental in nature. The end result is a collection seventeen tracks that are just familiar enough to grab your attention and unique and different enough to hold it.

Running Out Of Time opens with They Are Here!, which is titled like and sounds like the theme song to a 1950's or 1960's Sci-fi alien flick. On this and most of the tracks on Running Out Of Time you can almost sense Schleusolz laughing at themselves, poking fun at both themselves and the styles of music they traverse. Who Are You? feels like ballroom music from an old black and white movie, or perhaps something that might have played during the dance sequences on The Muppet Show if it were made today. Make My Heart Go Boom is a fusion you don't hear too often, electro-rock and tango. There's a surrealist, almost psychotic feel to this peace that will grab hold of you. Running Out Of Time is one of the most fun songs on the album, sounding a bit like a Weird Al Yankovic covering the theme song written for a hypothetical 1970's game show by Herbie Hancock.

As you can tell, if classification is your first priority you are woefully out of luck when it comes to Schluesolz. From the Middle-Eastern flavor of I Came To Marry A Blonde Girl, the space-cadet driven musings of Chivalry, the Peter Schilling-esque vibe on Neo-Liberal Coffee Bar or the Afro-Cuban Jazz vibe on Narcorhithmico, Schluesolz will spin you every which way but loose. Even the old-time variety show feel of The River Of Love is at home here; granted there's an undertone here that would be highly disturbing to Lawrence Welk or Roy Clarke and Buck Owens. Also be sure to check out Acid In The Sea, Two Canadians In Mockba and the mocking, untitled epilogue of a final track.

Running Out Of Time doesn't just break down barriers, it smashes them to pieces with a musical sledgehammer while Schluesolz giggles with glee. Schleusolz is one of those rare acts who are so original and unique that there really isn't a term to describe them. The thing they take most seriously on Running Out Of Time is having fun with the music. Join them in the fun; you won't be able to help yourself.

Rating: 4 Stars (Out of 5)

You can learn more about Schleusolz at www.myspace.com/schleusolz. You can purchase a copy of Running Out Of Time at www.cdbaby.com/cd/schleusolz.

Review: Paul Blissett - Fire And Soul

Paul Blissett – Fire And Soul
2007, Paul Blissett

Paul Blissett had a rich set of musical influences from a young age. The Ottawa, Ontario, Canada guitarist grew up on a steady mix of Rock, Country, Blues, Pop, Jazz and Brit Rock from the first British Invasion. Blissett began playing out in Quebec and Ontario bars by the age of fifteen and has never stopped making music although other career paths have intervened at times. Over time, Blissett developed an appreciation for instrumental music and the supple role guitar can play in that specialized genre. In 2007, Blissett released Fire And Soul, a fireside exploration of instrumental guitar music.

Blissett displays two distinct tendencies on Fire And Soul. The first is a distinct love of swing-based Rock N Roll; the sort that was prevalent in the 1950’s and pre-Beatles 1960’s. Blissett himself is more than competent, though he lacks the distinctive style or presence that would raise him to the level of a Chet Atkins or Mark Knopfler-type guitar player. This is a man that most any band would be happy to have sitting in on lead guitar. Nevertheless, many of the choices on Fire And Soul seem to fall flat.

Blissett and band are at their best on some of the more rock oriented tunes such as Forty Miles Of Bad Road, Ramrod, Hard Times and Blueberry Hill. Even the blues-oriented songs (3:30 Blues, Honky Tonk) pack some punch, but much of the material comes off as low-key dinner or elevator music. One exception is the last track on the album, Piano Concerto #1. Blissett has a spring in his step throughout this song that is often lacking on Fire And Soul. That’s not to say this is a bad recording; Blissett is more than competent as a guitar player, and he has assembled a cast of first class musicians for this recordings, but the sound and approach here is too straight forward to set itself apart.

Paul Blissett is a talented and dedicated guitarist with a passion for instrumental music that comes through on Fire And Soul. It’s music for another generation, like the artists my Nana used to love on The Lawrence Welk Show. It features great technical guitar playing but displays little originality or pizzazz. Fire And Soul is not a strong commercial release, but it will definitely appeal to a niche demographic of music fans.

Rating: 3 Stars (Out of 5)

You can learn more about Paul Blissett at http://www.paulblissett.com/. You can purchase a copy of Fire And Soul at www.cdbaby.com/cd/paulblissett.