{"id":11108,"date":"2016-07-07T05:30:44","date_gmt":"2016-07-07T09:30:44","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/?p=11108"},"modified":"2016-07-07T08:06:32","modified_gmt":"2016-07-07T12:06:32","slug":"hundred-word-reviews-for-july-16-part-4","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/2016\/07\/07\/hundred-word-reviews-for-july-16-part-4\/","title":{"rendered":"Hundred-word Reviews for July 2016, Part 4"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Genre-wise, I&#8217;m all over the map today with the next five of my quick reviews.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-11113\" src=\"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/07\/shannon_labrie.jpg\" alt=\"shannon_labrie\" width=\"300\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/07\/shannon_labrie.jpg 300w, http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/07\/shannon_labrie-150x150.jpg 150w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><br \/>\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" style=\"float: right; padding: 10px; width: 120px; height: 240px;\" src=\"\/\/ws-na.amazon-adsystem.com\/widgets\/q?ServiceVersion=20070822&amp;OneJS=1&amp;Operation=GetAdHtml&amp;MarketPlace=US&amp;source=ss&amp;ref=as_ss_li_til&amp;ad_type=product_link&amp;tracking_id=musoscribe-20&amp;marketplace=amazon&amp;region=US&amp;placement=B01BEEN9KS&amp;asins=B01BEEN9KS&amp;linkId=35f3e016e9f955c9b06c0f70738fdcbb&amp;show_border=true&amp;link_opens_in_new_window=true\" width=\"300\" height=\"150\" frameborder=\"0\" marginwidth=\"0\" marginheight=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\"><\/iframe><br \/>\n<strong>Shannon Labrie \u2013 <em>War &amp; Peace<\/em><\/strong><br \/>\nOn her second album, Labrie applies her strong and expressive vocals to quality material. The album title suggests something weighty and expansive, but unlike <strong>Leo Tolstoy<\/strong>&#8216;s 1869 novel, it&#8217;s a warm and inviting collection of heartfelt story-songs. Apparently there&#8217;s a back story of \u201cunexplainable loss,\u201d but it&#8217;s left unexplained. The record was cut in Nashville, but it&#8217;s not as slick as what one might expect from a Music City album that&#8217;s nominally in the rock genre. <strong>Justin Ostrander<\/strong>&#8216;s strong but not flashy lead guitar is a key part of the album&#8217;s success, but Labrie&#8217;s multi-instrumental skills should not be overlooked.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-11112\" src=\"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/07\/jeremy_nail.jpg\" alt=\"jeremy_nail\" width=\"300\" height=\"306\" srcset=\"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/07\/jeremy_nail.jpg 300w, http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/07\/jeremy_nail-294x300.jpg 294w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><br \/>\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" style=\"float: right; padding: 10px; width: 120px; height: 240px;\" src=\"\/\/ws-na.amazon-adsystem.com\/widgets\/q?ServiceVersion=20070822&amp;OneJS=1&amp;Operation=GetAdHtml&amp;MarketPlace=US&amp;source=ss&amp;ref=as_ss_li_til&amp;ad_type=product_link&amp;tracking_id=musoscribe-20&amp;marketplace=amazon&amp;region=US&amp;placement=B01F4F16JE&amp;asins=B01F4F16JE&amp;linkId=fca1b9cc2e0ca42858903d3216ee3748&amp;show_border=true&amp;link_opens_in_new_window=true\" width=\"300\" height=\"150\" frameborder=\"0\" marginwidth=\"0\" marginheight=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\"><\/iframe><br \/>\n<strong>Jeremy Nail \u2013 <em>My Mountain<\/em><\/strong><br \/>\nOne musical approach that seems to work extremely well \u2013 at least in the hands of capable singers and songwriters \u2013 is the application of the rock aesthetic to otherwise primarily acoustic-based material. To a large extent, that&#8217;s the approach used here by Jeremy Nail. Though there are occasional flourishes of odd instrumentation that suggest <strong>Radiohead<\/strong> or <strong>Beck<\/strong> more than <strong>Ryan Adams<\/strong>, <em>My Mountain<\/em> is primarily a singer\/songwriter&#8217;s album. <strong>Alejandro Escovedo<\/strong>&#8216;s no-frills production style \u2013 Nail&#8217;s voice is way out front \u2013 suits the material perfectly, and makes it sound like Nail is singing right there in your living room.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-11111\" src=\"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/07\/willie_nile_www.jpg\" alt=\"willie_nile_www\" width=\"300\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/07\/willie_nile_www.jpg 300w, http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/07\/willie_nile_www-150x150.jpg 150w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><br \/>\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" style=\"float: right; padding: 10px; width: 120px; height: 240px;\" src=\"\/\/ws-na.amazon-adsystem.com\/widgets\/q?ServiceVersion=20070822&amp;OneJS=1&amp;Operation=GetAdHtml&amp;MarketPlace=US&amp;source=ss&amp;ref=as_ss_li_til&amp;ad_type=product_link&amp;tracking_id=musoscribe-20&amp;marketplace=amazon&amp;region=US&amp;placement=B01BI05M1M&amp;asins=B01BI05M1M&amp;linkId=4794acd49f560186427026c985b9382a&amp;show_border=true&amp;link_opens_in_new_window=true\" width=\"300\" height=\"150\" frameborder=\"0\" marginwidth=\"0\" marginheight=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\"><\/iframe><br \/>\n<strong>Willie Nile \u2013 <em>World War Willie<\/em><\/strong><br \/>\nThere&#8217;s an old joke about <strong>Bob Seger<\/strong> taking twenty years to become an overnight success. Nearly as deserving is journeyman rocker <a href=\"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/2015\/05\/14\/hundred-word-reviews-for-may-2015-part-9\/\">Willie Nile<\/a>. I first saw him live as the opening act for <a href=\"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/2012\/11\/08\/concert-preview-the-who\/\"><strong>The Who<\/strong><\/a> in 1980. That&#8217;s no typo: 36 years ago Nile earned the right to share the stage with <a href=\"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/2013\/11\/26\/album-review-various-pete-townshends-jukebox\/\"><strong>Pete Townshend<\/strong><\/a> and still you haven&#8217;t heard of him. With a musical approach that will feel familiar to Bruce Springsteen fans, he paints vivid musical word-pictures; \u201cSixteen and Crazy\u201d has the energy and melodrama that <strong>Jim Steinman<\/strong> and <strong><a href=\"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/2016\/03\/03\/todd-rundgren-looks-over-his-shoulder-part-one\/\">Todd Rundgre<\/a>n<\/strong> brought to <strong>Meat Loaf<\/strong>&#8216;s <em>Bat Out of Hell<\/em>.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-11110\" src=\"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/07\/pale_blue_dot.jpg\" alt=\"pale_blue_dot\" width=\"300\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/07\/pale_blue_dot.jpg 300w, http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/07\/pale_blue_dot-150x150.jpg 150w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><br \/>\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" style=\"float: right; padding: 10px; width: 120px; height: 240px;\" src=\"\/\/ws-na.amazon-adsystem.com\/widgets\/q?ServiceVersion=20070822&amp;OneJS=1&amp;Operation=GetAdHtml&amp;MarketPlace=US&amp;source=ss&amp;ref=as_ss_li_til&amp;ad_type=product_link&amp;tracking_id=musoscribe-20&amp;marketplace=amazon&amp;region=US&amp;placement=B01DV5VMFW&amp;asins=B01DV5VMFW&amp;linkId=6e1417c228a9669ff096f6f220ab3148&amp;show_border=true&amp;link_opens_in_new_window=true\" width=\"300\" height=\"150\" frameborder=\"0\" marginwidth=\"0\" marginheight=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\"><\/iframe><br \/>\n<strong>Pale Blue Dot \u2013 <em>Telescopes<\/em><\/strong><br \/>\nThis modern rock group comes to us from Charlottesville, Virginia, but let us not hold that against them. This six-song EP has nothing in common with the jam-bandy tendencies of the <strong>Dave Matthews Band<\/strong>, and <strong>Tony LaRocco<\/strong>&#8216;s vocals don&#8217;t give me the shingles. The songs fall halfway between meat &#8216;n&#8217; potatoes rock and a kind of soaring, impassioned, uptempo rock. The songs are mostly built around LaRocco&#8217;s vocals and some tasty melodic lines, but every now and then, the band hits the metaphorical gas pedal and rocks out just a bit more. Let&#8217;s see what they do with a full-length.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-11109\" src=\"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/07\/relatives.jpg\" alt=\"relatives\" width=\"300\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/07\/relatives.jpg 300w, http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/07\/relatives-150x150.jpg 150w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><br \/>\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" style=\"float: right; padding: 10px; width: 120px; height: 240px;\" src=\"\/\/ws-na.amazon-adsystem.com\/widgets\/q?ServiceVersion=20070822&amp;OneJS=1&amp;Operation=GetAdHtml&amp;MarketPlace=US&amp;source=ss&amp;ref=as_ss_li_til&amp;ad_type=product_link&amp;tracking_id=musoscribe-20&amp;marketplace=amazon&amp;region=US&amp;placement=B01BW53QWK&amp;asins=B01BW53QWK&amp;linkId=b5f395d5adbd693efa2d3adb9d0cae4b&amp;show_border=true&amp;link_opens_in_new_window=true\" width=\"300\" height=\"150\" frameborder=\"0\" marginwidth=\"0\" marginheight=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\"><\/iframe><br \/>\n<strong>The Relatives \u2013 <em>Goodbye World<\/em><\/strong><br \/>\nWe live in an age in which musical artists have to be pigeonholed into a genre. And when they don&#8217;t fit nearly into one, writers break out the hyphens. As such, The Relatives are described as \u201cpsych-gospel-funk.\u201d But you know what? That actually applies. From the opening strains of \u201cRational Culture \/ Testimony,\u201d there&#8217;s a funk underpinning, a soulful gospel chorus vocal, and snaky guitar riffage that recalls <strong>Parliament-Funkadelic<\/strong>&#8216;s <a href=\"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/2012\/06\/12\/album-review-eddie-hazel-game-dames-and-guitar-thangs\/\"><strong>Eddie Hazel<\/strong><\/a>. And <strong>Rev. Gean West<\/strong>&#8216;s impassioned spoken words evoke memories of <strong>Gil Scott-Heron<\/strong>. If <a href=\"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/2011\/09\/01\/in-search-of-sly-stone-part-one\/\"><strong>Sly Stone<\/strong><\/a> were still in a position to make music, he might sound like The Relatives.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Genre-wise, I&#8217;m all over the map today with the next five of my quick reviews. Shannon Labrie \u2013 War &amp; Peace On her second album, Labrie applies her strong and [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":11111,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[31,49,62,65,69],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-11108","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-funk","category-new-release","category-rawk","category-review","category-soul","cat-31-id","cat-49-id","cat-62-id","cat-65-id","cat-69-id","has_thumb"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11108","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=11108"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11108\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":11128,"href":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11108\/revisions\/11128"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/11111"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11108"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=11108"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=11108"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}