Abbie Barrett & The Last Date - The Triples: Volume 1

Abbie Barrett & The Last Date -The Triples: Volume 1
2011, Beige Bomber Records

Abbie Barrett grew up in New YorkCity attending private schools. A professional career and upward mobility werethe clear goal. Even through college, Barrett was on target. But once free fromformal education, Barrett jumped around from town to town anything but.Eventually landing in Somerville, Massachusetts, she first picked up a guitarand began writing down the songs that kept running through her head. This was awatershed moment, both a continuation of her rebellion against the expectationsshe was raised with, and an embrace of the person she would become. Drawing oninfluences as disparate as Pink Floyd, Radiohead, Neil Young and Aimee Mann,Barrett continues to write songs about underdogs, unsung heroes and rebels.Along with her band, The Last Date, Barrett recently released the first in aseries of EPs called The Triples.

The Triples, Volume 1 opens with "Here To Stay", a low-key, but highenergy rock n roll fight song that's part Chrissie Hynde and part SaraBareilles. Featuring a memorable chorus, the song shows off Barrett's distinctvoice, which is distinctly beautiful but contains a formidable toughness that'snot to be ignored. "On The Range" is a drearily ethereal spaghettiwestern in song. Barrett's voice and the vocal harmonies of her band help tocreate a distinctive sound that is both uplifting and haunting. The EP closeswith "Draw Me In", an elongated and smooth ballad that sounds likeHope Sandoval singing along to Pink Floyd. The ultimately sad feel of the songholds its own unique beauty, and avoids the neuroses that pervade "sadpop" music.

Abbie Barrett is a distinctive voicein Indie Pop music. Together with The Last Date, Barrett has created threememorable and likeable songs that run the gamut stylistically. The Triples:Volume 1 is a wonderful introduction to an artist who shows a lot ofpromise. This EP will ensure that careful listeners are likely to be waitingfor the release of the other two volumes in the series.

Rating: 4 Stars (Out of 5)

Learn more about Abbie Barrett & The Last Date at www.abbiebarrett.comor www.myspace.com/abbiebarrett.  The Triples, Volume 1 was scheduled for a November 8, 2011, but as of this review does not appear to have made it to market yet.  Keep checking Barrett's website for release details.

Carley Tanchon - Leave The Light On

Carley Tanchon - Leave The Light On
2011, Carley Tanchon

New York-basedsinger/songwriter Carley Tanchon has made her success the old fashionedway.  She’s earned it with relentlesstouring and hard work.  The Cleveland,Ohio native has lived in Boston and Nashville, with a side-trip to Australia,but settled in NYC in 2010.  For herlatest album, Leave The Light On,Tanchon enlisted the production and songwriting assistance of Felix McTeigue(Lucy Wainwright-Roche, Katharine McPhee, Madi Diaz, Anais Mitchell).  The result is a mixed blessing, with Tanchonfinding a solid sound but getting too caught up in her own musical safety zone.

Leave The Light On opens with "Missing You", a regretful, down-tempopop ballad that finds Tanchon yearning for someone from the past. Tanchon has apleasant voice, although she sounds a bit breathy on the higher notes here."The Great Unknown" is an apologist, multi-level love song, writtenin a classic singer/songwriter style. Tanchon gives an intriguing vocalperformance here, and the emotional Diaspora that characterizes the song isamazingly clear. "I Guess I Know" is a soulful pop number, strippeddown and wide open in arrangement. Tanchon's voice inhabits the middle as if itwas born there, and the funky rhythm that underlies it all will get your toestapping.

After a strong start, Tanchonsettles into a comfortable zone that's aurally appealing but doesn't really standout, and stays there for much of the rest of the album. "Blues In C(Fearlessly)", is a minor exception, and the almost country strains of"Walk Away" are appealing. Tanchon is almost at albums end with"On The Road" before she breaks out of her rut with the almost peppy,yet absolutely catchy tune. Tanchon takes her leave with "Love Will",an optimistic love song that's solid enough, although once again Tanchonstruggles a bit with her tone when she ascends the scale.

Carley Tanchon gives fair effort on LeaveThe Light On, but gets too bogged down in a sense of musical complacencythat is likely to wear on the listener. Tanchon starts strong, but just cannotmaintain the momentum across the full album. Even in the lull the album suffersin the middle, Tanchon's voice is enjoyable as long as she doesn't try to gotoo far up the scale. This is a solid effort that is pleasing to the ear butnever really distinguishes itself from the pack of indie singer/songwriters.

Rating: 2.5 Stars (Out of 5)

Learn more at www.carleytanchon.com orwww.myspace.com/carleytanchon.  Leave The Light On is available digitally via iTunes, or on hard copy directly from Carley Tanchon.

Cowboy Junkies - Sing In My Meadows: The Nomad Series, Volume 3

Cowboy Junkies - Sing In My Meadows: The Nomad Series, Volume 3

2011, Razor & Tie/Latent Recordings

Canadian mellow-rock mavens the Cowboy Junkies offer up a different sound beginning on October 25, 2011, with the release of Sing In My Meadows, the third release in The Nomad Series. Going well off the beaten path of their past works, Cowboy Junkies venture into a world of low-fi, fuzzy electric blues and folk. The result is their most compelling album since The Trinity Sessions, full of the bluesy, breathy alto of Margo Timmins, minimalist arrangements and a lot of distortion. The bare bones approach to song construction allows for stark contrasts between Michael Timmins' fuzzy guitar work and sister Margo's unforgettable voice.

Breaking out with "Continental Drift", the band spends the first two minutes exploring the open spaces in the arrangement sans vocals before Margo Timmins slips in the back door with an icy, metallic vocal line that's both warm and cold at the same time. The blues influences come fully to the fore on "Sing In My Meadows", a dark and conflicted invitation that's both beautiful and disturbing at once. "Hunted" is perhaps the most wide-open song on the album, allow room for Margo Timmins to rant and wail and show a much more carnal vocal character than fans might be used to. The closer, "I Move On", sounds more like Chrissie Hynde jamming with Junkhouse than anything you might expect from Cowboy Junkies.

Sing In My Meadows has its ups and downs, but is a thoroughly compelling left turn for a band that honed its reputation on a smooth, mellow brand of anti-folk. Sing In My Meadows plays like the band's dark secret, hidden in a closet for all these years and finally let into the light. It's compelling; aboriginal and full of a dark energy that draws you in.

Rating: 3.5 Stars (Out of 5)

Learn more about Cowboy Junkies at www.cowboyjunkies.com or www.myspace.com/cowboykjunkies.  Sing In My Meadows drops on October 25th, 2011 on CD.  The Vinyl edition will follow on November 15, 2011.  Digital versions will be forthcoming through Amazon.com and iTunes, but are not yet available for pre-order.

            CD                     Vinyl

Please note that the Amazon.com prices listed above are as of the posting date, and may have changed. Wildy's World is not responsible for price changes instituted by Amazon.com.

Imelda May - Mayhem

 

Imelda May - Mayhem
2011, Decca Records

Dublin native Imelda may is just too good to not be noticed.  Her self-released debut album, Love Tattoo, went triple platinum in Ireland, and she has already shared the stage with the likes of Eric Clapton, Chuck Berry, Meatloaf, Van Morrison and David Gilmour.  Imelda May’s blend of surf, indie, rockabilly and pop is distinctive, and dare it be said, original.  Imelda May’s voice makes you want to drop all that you’re doing and simply listen.  Perhaps most important in a performer, however, is personality.  Imelda May is a whirlwind, sweeping listeners along on her journeys with a blend of intrigue, sex appeal and pure, unadulterated chutzpah.  May’s U.S. debut album, Mayhem, is the sort of album you simply cannot put down.

Mayhem opens with the infectiously danceable rock n roll of "Pulling The Plug".  The simple arrangement offered here works perfectly, allowing Imelda May's gritty/sultry voice a proper introduction that will captivate listeners.  May sounds like a zesty blend of Chrissie Hynde, Tina Turner and Nellie McKay.  "Psycho" is driven by biting surf guitar, exploring a relationship with one scary dude.  May's enigmatic vocal lights up the irrepressible quirk pop number that builds into its own sort of madness in the end.  "Mayhem" is the sort of song that simply won't leave you alone.  Don't expect to sit still, and you'll be drawn to hit replay over and over again.  There's some excellent guitar work here, and an urgent energy that's impossible to ignore.

Imelda May changes pace with "Kentish Town Waltz", a song of true love and perseverance.  If you haven't realized it before now, the song drives home the fact that Imelda May is not just another pop wannabe.  Her take on the perfect state of imperfection that is love is insightful and authentic.  It's an amazing piece of songwriting and performed with a touch of class.  May revs things up again with the sexy come-on of "All For You".  Steeped in a blend of jazz and 1950's rock sounds, the song is a star vehicle that allows Imelda May's personality and charisma to blow up bigger than life. 

Mayhem takes a breather with the light rockabilly of "Eternity", a quiet celebration of love that follows the long wait for the right one to come along.  It's a nice, upbeat love song that avoids schmaltz while digging into a quietly effervescent joy.  "Inside Out" is a catchy, nightclub style love song.  Full of gentle humor and a positive vibe, this is an intimate musical moment that shows depth as a performer and interpreter of songs.  "Proud And Humble" is an urgent bit of urban folk and blues with a memorable chorus; one side of a conversation with God trying to reconcile pride in making good choices with the humility required to make them.  The theme here is a classic contradiction of the human condition; one that has been pulled apart and reconstructed by philosophers, poets and songwriters since humans first put paint to rock.  Imelda May comes along and imparts a brief musical soliloquy in everyday terms that makes it all seem like child's play.

Things get wild and crazy on "Sneaky Freak", the ultimate stalker anthem for the digital age.  With the tongue-in-cheek humor of a Nellie McKay, May lampoons both the obsessives in the crowd, and those who make themselves so available to be stalked.  "Bury My Troubles" is a pleasant little surprise hidden in the back half of the album, an intriguing blend of jazz, pop and swing that's quirky, sexy and fun without being over-the-top.  "Too Sad To Cry" is a blue dirge in a stylistic arrangement that includes the martial rhythms of a funeral march.  Imelda May tops it all off with a great, pure vocal effort that will raise your respect for her and cement your intent to run right out and buy anything she releases. 

May turns for home with the country-tinged pop of "I'm Alive", even enticing a vague Caribbean flavor out of the mix.  "Let Me Out" is a catchy, urgent and upbeat bit of fluff that's worth the aural effort, and leads into a brilliant cover of Soft Cell's "Tainted Love".  May's version is a bit grittier than the original, but work so well you'd swear she wrote it herself.  Mayhem closes with "Johnny Got A Boom Boom", an incredibly catchy bit of rockabilly that you won't be able to get out of your head.  Lyrically the song is pure fluff, but it's the sort of fluff that gets trapped in your head and rattles around for weeks.  May wrote this number early in her career, and first released it in Ireland and the UK back in 2009.  It's become a fan favorite, but never managed to make much of a stir on the charts.  The song is included here as an introduction to US audiences.

Imelda May has got it all.  Tremendous pop hooks, a stunning voice, a quirky, bigger-than-life persona and the ability to write songs that stick with you.  Mayhem is aptly named, running the gamut from sweet and sentimental ballads to pop insanity, all steeped in rockabilly, surf and classic singer/songwriter motifs.  Along the way, Imelda May shows the poise and humor of Nellie McKay, the ability to surprise you musically of Kate Miller-Heidke, and the pure star power of Madonna.  Get used to hearing the name Imelda May.

Rating: 4.5 Stars (Out of 5)

Learn more about Imelda May at www.imeldamay.co.uk or www.myspace.com/imeldamay1.  Mayhem is available from Amazon.com as a CD or Download.  The album is also available via iTunes.

Emily Zuzik Band - The Wild Joys Of Living

Emily Zuzik Band - The Wild Joys Of Living
2011, Emily Zuzik Band/Maenades Music

Emily Zuzik has been known in the Indie world for over ten years, first for her work with Sexfresh and then as a solo artist.  Having toured throughout the US and UK, Zuzik has seen her stock rise at a slow and steady pace over the years.  Over the past couple of years, however, Zuzik's in-demand status has hit critical mass.  First there was the collaboration with Moby, and then Zuzik was chosen to sing the theme song to NBC's Love Bites.  Zuzik gets back to work with the release of her seventh album, The Wild Joys Of Living.  Produced by Chris Cubeta, The Wild Joys Of Living blends Americana and pop in a sound reminiscent of Sheryl Crow.

 Emily Zuzik has a voice you simply want to listen to, but she seems to get overly comfortable at times on The Wild Joys Of Living.  “You Want To Go Out Tonight” is a buoyant, 1980’s style pop/rock number; catchy yet reserved.  The chorus here is a real winner, based on a hook so pervasive you can’t avoid it.  “Feels Like Rain” is similar in design, with a chorus you won’t be able to get out of your head.  The dark feel of “Motels” is intriguing, but Zuzik slows down and gets stuck in a bit of a rut over the next couple of songs.  “How Did You Get So Good” is a return to form, however; a fun and provocative number where Zuzik’s voice shows the gritty sexiness of Chrissie Hynde.  The last two tracks, “Step back” and “You Know When You Know” are low key and light on energy.

Emily Zuzik has the sort of voice that will keep listeners engaged even if she’s simply vocalizing.  The material of The Wild Joys Of Living is better than simple vocalizations, but is very up and down.  At her best, Zuzik sounds like a superstar with all the tools, but it seems like Zuzik may have gotten a little too comfortable at times on The Wild Joys Of Living.  This is a solid effort with some great moments.

Rating: 3.5 Stars (Out of 5)

Learn more about Emily Zuzik at www.emilyzuzik.com or www.myspace.com/emilyzuzik.  The Wild Joys Of Living is available from Amazon.com as a CD or Download.  The album is also available via iTunes.

Red Abbey - Bulldozer

Red Abbey - Bulldozer
2011, Red Abbey

Red Abbey started out as a New York City Duo, but has expanded their influence to Las Vegas in the last couple of years.  Thien-nga Palmer and Trey Ordaz have built a singular blues/rock sound from guitar and violin.  Red Abbey first came to our attention in March of 2010 with their debut EP, On My Way.  The duo returns this year with an updated sound in the form of Bulldozer.  Produced by Ken Hertz (Beyoncé, Michael Jackson, Missy Elliot), Bulldozer takes a band with a viable sound and tries to turn it into a commercial enterprise.

Bulldozer opens with the title track, a muscular alt-rock number that marks a new intensity of sound for Red Abbey.  Thien-nga Palmer flashes her unusual, sultry voice, which comes across as a mix of Joan Jett, Chrissie Hynde and Mick Jagger.  Palmer shines on the verses, but the chorus does her no favors.  Red Abbey gets points for attitude and flash in spite of the sonic uncertainties here.  "Life's Avenues" plays like a cynical attempt to craft airplay out of a mix of alternative rock and 1980's hair metal.  The arrangement is catchy, but Palmer's vocal here is more about effect and sound than melody.  "One Way Ticket" starts out with a time-worn rock riff, turning into a funky rocker with blues in its genes.  Unfortunately the transition to a breakneck chorus is jarring and gives up the ghost on any melodic sensibility.

"Broken Heart" shows distinct improvement.  The first of three holdovers from the band's On My Way EP has great pop sensibility and allows Palmer to use her voice for singing rather than trying to craft sounds. Red Abbey spruced up the arrangement a bit but left the song essentially unchanged.  "Me", also from On My Way, is an energetic rocker that will have you dance and jumping around.  This anthem for self-sufficiency is the catchiest song on the album, and the most likely on the album to challenge for airplay.  "Over And Done" is vibrant, guitar-oriented rock with a driving beat.  The chorus fails to keep up with the energy and sound of the verses, with Palmer slipping into a stylistic sound again that sells her voice short.

The other carry-over from On My Way, "What Can I Say", is funky rocker that doesn't live up to the original.  "Breakout" goes for more of a punk aesthetic.  Palmer handles the sound well enough but is capable of much more vocally.  It's a solid active rock number that's all about attitude and edge.  "Pleasure Pain" is the epitome of the stylistic choices that seem to form the backbone of Bulldozer, and it is the least listenable song on the disc.  Red Abbey closes with the bluesy "Beat", and Thien-nga Palmer brings the sultry back with her best performance on the album.  Unfortunately it took ten songs to get here.

Red Abbey's debut EP set the bar high for the band as a whole, and a vocalist, in Thien-nga Palmer, who can hold her own on most any stage, anywhere.  Bulldozer would be a solid effort for a whole host of Indie rock acts, but falls far short of Red Abbey's capabilities.  The search for a more muscular sound isn't necessarily a bad idea, but Palmer tries to accomplish with affectation that which she can flat out do with her voice.  The former restricts the latter and the end result is a performance that is simply less than.  There are definitely some things to like about Bulldozer underneath the shellac of radio-ready sound.  Hopefully Red Abbey will get back to their base sound and build it up naturally the next time around.

Rating: 2.5 Stars (Out of 5)

Learn more about Red Abbey at www.redabbeyband.com or www.myspace.com/redabbeyband.   Bulldozer is available digitally from Amazon.com and iTunes.  CDs are available through Red Abbey's webstore.