Here\u2019s ten more quick reviews of new music worth your time.<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/beth_mckee.jpg\")
Beth McKee \u2014 <\/b>Dreamwood Acres<\/b><\/i>
\nThis lovely clutch of original songs features the sultry, soulful vocals of McKee, and the rich instrumentation is built around McKee\u2019s classic electric piano (Wurlitzer, Rhodes), which she plays in a straightforward, non-fussy manner. Imagine Bonnie Raitt playing keys and writing with Paul Simon. The album has a live-in-the-studio vibe.<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/lucky_losers.jpg\")
The Lucky Losers \u2014 <\/b>Blind Spot<\/b><\/i>
\nNominally, the Lucky Losers is\/are vocalists Phil Berkowitz and Cathy Lemons. This duo\u2019s interplay on this good-timing blues album reminds me of Louis Prima with Keely Smith. Guitarist Kid Andersen provides instrumental support. The eleven songs here\u2014all original compositions\u2014are nicely varied, a quality often in short supply on blues records.<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/saft_blue_dream.jpg\")
The Jamie Saft Quartet \u2014 <\/b>Blue Dream<\/b><\/i>
\nThe \u201cdream\u201d in the title is an apt descriptor: meditative instrumental jazz that alternately soothes and challenges, this set of twelve tunes features pianist Saft backed by sax, upright bass and drums. There\u2019s a delightfully timeless feel here, neither modern nor retro. Only occasionally do things get a bit avant-garde.<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/donovans_brain3cd.jpg\")
Donovan\u2019s Brain \u2014 <\/b>Convolutions of the Brain<\/b><\/i>
\nThree discs is a lot of Donovan\u2019s Brain, but these guys know how to write catchy, rocking tunes. This is a odds-and-sods collection of tunes recorded all over and across a quarter century, so the audio quality varies. But if you dig \u2018em like I do, you\u2019ll appreciate this set.<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/belle_sebastian_problems.jpg\")
Belle and Sebastian \u2014 <\/b>How to Solve Our Human Problems<\/b><\/i>
\nBetween 2017 and this year, Glaswegian popsters Belle and Sebastian released a trio of EPs. This CD brings them all together. The EPs seemed to serve as an opportunity to explore different styles, but all of those excursions have the group\u2019s patented personality as their central character. A true delight.<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/gin_blossoms_mixed.jpg\")
Gin Blossoms \u2014<\/b> Mixed Reality<\/b><\/i>
\nSeeing the Gins live, I was reminded of the sheer consistent quality of their music. But I wondered if that standard would be upheld with new music, whenever it arrived. I needn\u2019t have worried: Mixed Reality<\/i> is as memorable and melodic as anything on New Miserable Experience.<\/i> Buy this album.<\/p>\n
Here\u2019s ten more quick reviews of new music worth your time. Beth McKee \u2014 Dreamwood Acres This lovely clutch of original songs features the sultry, soulful vocals of McKee, and […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":14819,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[9,42,49,51,55,56,62,65],"tags":[282,3484,673,704,3314,3481,1361,3482,3483,3386],"class_list":["post-14815","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-blues","category-jazz","category-new-release","category-pop","category-powerpop","category-prog","category-rawk","category-review","tag-belle-and-sebastian","tag-beth-mckee","tag-dialeto","tag-donovans-brain","tag-gin-blossoms","tag-jamie-saft","tag-lucky-losers","tag-sugar-brown","tag-sunshine-boys","tag-super-8","cat-9-id","cat-42-id","cat-49-id","cat-51-id","cat-55-id","cat-56-id","cat-62-id","cat-65-id","has_thumb"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14815","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=14815"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14815\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":14828,"href":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14815\/revisions\/14828"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/14819"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=14815"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=14815"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=14815"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"\"](\"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/sugar_brown.jpg\")
Sugar Brown \u2014 <\/b>It\u2019s a Blues World…Calling All Blues!<\/b><\/i>
\nBrown was a finalist in the 2017 International Blues Challenge in Memphis; this new collection has the slightly overdriven sonic feel of great jump blues recordings of old. In fact there\u2019s nothing abut it that suggests the 21st<\/sup> century. And that\u2019s exactly how it should be. High energy fun abounds.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/super8_turn.jpg\")
Super 8 \u2014 <\/b>Turn Around Or…<\/b><\/i>
\nWait: didn\u2019t I just review something by this artist the other day? Yes indeed, I did. But let\u2019s not hold his prolific nature against songwriter Paul Ryan. There\u2019s a loose-limed jug band feel to these friendly rock-pop tunes. It sounds like demo recordings, but the song quality still shines through.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/dialeto_live.jpg\")
Dialeto \u2014 <\/b>Live with David Cross<\/b><\/i>
\nDialeto\u2019s most recent album found them interpreting Bela Bart\u00f3<\/strong>k\u2019s work through a prog mindset, and it worked. This live set captures the band on tour in support of that project, joined by former King Crimson violinist David Cross. As such, Crim tunes abound. And they\u2019re all quite amazing. Highly recommended.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/sunshine_boys.jpg\")
Sunshine Boys \u2014 <\/b>Blue Music<\/b><\/i>
\nThree veterans of Chicago power pop and\/or indie bands come together for this project. It very much feels like the American Midwest, with hints of Urge Overkill, Trip Shakespeare and Cheap Trick. The catchy tunes stick in the listener\u2019s head, with just the right amount of rocking vibe. A must-hear.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"