{"id":15858,"date":"2019-01-09T05:30:24","date_gmt":"2019-01-09T10:30:24","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/?p=15858"},"modified":"2022-04-01T09:52:39","modified_gmt":"2022-04-01T13:52:39","slug":"hundred-word-reviews-for-january-2019","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/2019\/01\/09\/hundred-word-reviews-for-january-2019\/","title":{"rendered":"Hundred-word Reviews for January 2019"},"content":{"rendered":"

The backlog is threatening to get unmanageable once again. As a kind of editorial pressure release valve, here\u2019s a quick look at ten worthy albums that have recently crossed my desk. All new music.<\/p>\n

\"\"Paul Kelly \u2013 <\/b>Nature<\/b><\/i>
\nSome artists accumulate a body of work that all ties together in a neat fashion. Paul Kelly is such an artist. In recent years he\u2019s made records based on Shakespeare\u2019s sonnets, collaborated with other artists, and written many original songs that showcase his warm, folk-rocking yet highly literate sound. Nature<\/i> draws from all of those approaches. With lyrics based on both his own poetry and that of Sylvia Plath, Dylan Thomas, Walt Whitman and others, Kelly has once again struck gold. Don\u2019t be scared off by the poetry angle, though; with these songs, Paul Kelly revels in the pop tradition.<\/p>\n

\"\"Extra Arms \u2013 <\/b>Headacher<\/b><\/i>
\nMy CD shelves are near capacity. But there\u2019s always room for driving, highly melodic rock. So much so that if a good one comes along, I\u2019ll retire a dusty CD that hasn\u2019t got listened to in year, just to make room. Headacher<\/i> is a disc that deserves space. This Midwest outfit makes music in that region\u2019s power pop\/rock tradition; they sound a bit like Fountains of Wayne without the winking cleverness, or Cheap Trick with the arena rock tendencies dialed back. Best of all \u2013 and this is key \u2013 they really sound like they\u2019re having fun. So will you.<\/p>\n

\"\"Hot Nun \u2013 <\/b>Born to Blaze<\/b><\/i>
\nI\u2019ve said it before, and more than a few times at that: Jeff Shelton is a busy guy. His main gig is The Well Wishers, but he still finds time for a pleasing side project. Hot Nun is a solo project (with a couple of guitar solo guest spots). And though I don\u2019t like to quote one-sheets, the touchstones mentioned therein (Cheap Trick, Redd Kross) provide reliably accurate hints as to the sound and style of the six tracks on this set. Shelton brings the tunes, and he plays like there\u2019s a stadium full of fist-pumping fans; it truly blazes.<\/p>\n

\"\"Various Artists \u2013 <\/b>3×4<\/b><\/i>
\nSome artists squirm when they\u2019re lumped into a particular scene. The Bangles, the Three O\u2019Clock, Rain Parade and the Dream Syndicate \u2013 some of my favorite bands from my college days \u2013 wear the \u201cPaisley Underground\u201d title proudly. This disc\u2019s clever concept finds those acts covering each others\u2019 songs. Hardcore fans might take issue with the specific song selection \u2013 can\u2019t please everybody \u2013 but in the liner notes the band members make the personal case for their choices. Think of it as a belated sequel to the eponymous 1984 album from Rainy Day, with nearly the same personnel involved.<\/p>\n

\"\"Dennis Quaid & the Sharks \u2013 <\/b>Out of the Box<\/b><\/i>
\nWith due respect, whenever I see an actor-making-an-album project, my initial instinct responds, \u201cthis\u2019ll probably suck.\u201d But of course Quaid has some rock \u2018n\u2019 roll cred, having starred (and performed) in the Jerry Lee Lewis biopic Great Balls of Fire<\/i>, among other gigs. That his longtime band \u2013 together for more than a decade \u2013 is led by Kingbees guitarist Jamie James gives it extra heft. Out of the Box<\/i> is fun, unpretentious and unassuming meat-n-potatoes rock. The covers (two Doors songs, \u201cSlow Down\u201d and \u2013 wait for it \u2013 \u201cGloria\u201d) are a bit bar-bandy, but the originals are solid.<\/p>\n

\"\"The Hunt Sales Memorial \u2013 <\/b>Get Your Shit Together<\/b><\/i>
\nThere\u2019s no denying Hunt Sales\u2019 rock pedigree. Tin Machine with David Bowie, Todd Rundgren\u2019s Runt and the very earliest (unrecorded) Utopia, Iggy Pop, and Bob Welch\u2019s Paris: he was an important part in projects from those artists. But he\u2019s never put together a solo album until now. If you\u2019re guessing it\u2019s barbed-wire raw, with a sound not miles away from Johnny Thunders\u2019 Heartbreakers filtered through a kind of scuzzy Aerosmith sensibility \u2013 then you\u2019re about right. Hunt ain\u2019t much in the vocals department but he makes up for it in sincerity. \u201cAngel of Darkness\u201d crosses reggae and country. No, really.<\/p>\n

\"\"Fernando Perdomo \u2013 <\/b>Zebra Crossing<\/b><\/i>
\nOne of the busiest musicians in L.A. and beyond \u2013 and deservedly so \u2013 Perdomo recently traveled to London\u2019s famed Abbey Road Studio to cut his 90th<\/sup> solo album (okay, not really; more like his tenth long-player in as many years). Perdomo strikes a nice balance between the do-it-all approach and bringing in friends. The album folds in crunchy rock and baroque pop; Perdomo\u2019s prog tendencies are dialed back just a bit. And Zebra Crossing<\/i> may end up being his most full realized and balanced album. Special mention goes to the evocative, breathtaking string arrangements on some of the cuts.<\/p>\n

\"\"Nezrok \u2013 <\/b>Nezrok<\/b><\/i>
\nWhether you\u2019re a major-label act or an indie artist, you can\u2019t do much better than enlist the talents of Smithereens drummer Dennis Diken and (here\u2019s his name again) Fernando Perdomo to make your album. Chris Korzen has done just that, also getting help from Van Duren, Vicki Loveland, Chris Bolger and Dave Amels. None of that would matter if he couldn\u2019t write and sing winning, highly catchy tunes. Happily for all involved \u2013 and you as well \u2013 he does just that. The (attributed) lift from the Police\u2019s \u201cWalking on the Moon\u201d on \u201cICU\u201d is a bit weird, but works.<\/p>\n

\"\"Various Artists \u2013 <\/b>A Life in Yes: The Chris Squire Tribute<\/b><\/i>
\nFor awhile there, Billy Sherwood was cranking out these tribute projects at an astounding rate. But with the sad passing of his friend, mentor and sometime-bandmate Chris Squire, Sherwood had his hands full as Yes\u2019 bassist. But now he\u2019s gotten around to paying tribute to Squire, and \u2013 per his standard method \u2013 A Life in Yes<\/i> is him on nearly everything, with star guest spots filling in around the edges. Guests include Jon Davison, Patrick Moraz, Steve Hogarth, Larry Fast, Annie Haslam, David Sancious, Steve Stevens, Sonja Kristina, Steve Hackett, Todd Rundgren, John Wesley, Brian Auger, Tony Kaye and more.<\/p>\n

\"\"Charlie Faye & the Fayettes \u2013 <\/b>The Whole Shebang<\/b><\/i>
\nIt\u2019s taken longer than I might have hoped for this Austin-based girl-group (I use that term advisedly) to follow up its winning self-titled 2016 debut. But it\u2019s been worth the wait. Using many of the same musicians as last time, Faye and her cohorts (Betty Soo and Akina Adderley (yes, of that<\/i> Adderley family) deliver another set of winning, delightfully retro tunes. If That Thing You Do!<\/i> ever gets a distaff reboot, Faye and her group should handle the music. And that\u2019s some of the highest praise I can think of. Highlight: the moody \u201cThe Cream Rises to the Top.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The backlog is threatening to get unmanageable once again. As a kind of editorial pressure release valve, here\u2019s a quick look at ten worthy albums that have recently crossed my […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":15865,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[49,51,55,56,57,59,62,65],"tags":[323,2756,528,3697,718,3700,3239,1012,3696,3695,1622,1662,2548,3698,3699,2413],"class_list":["post-15858","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-new-release","category-pop","category-powerpop","category-prog","category-psych","category-punk","category-rawk","category-review","tag-billy-sherwood","tag-charlie-faye","tag-chris-squire","tag-dennis-quaid","tag-dream-syndicate","tag-extra-arms","tag-fernando-perdomo","tag-hot-nun","tag-hunt-sales","tag-nezrok","tag-omnivore-recordings","tag-paul-kelly","tag-rain-parade","tag-the-bangles","tag-the-three-oclock","tag-yes","cat-49-id","cat-51-id","cat-55-id","cat-56-id","cat-57-id","cat-59-id","cat-62-id","cat-65-id","has_thumb"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15858","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=15858"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15858\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":22700,"href":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15858\/revisions\/22700"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/15865"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=15858"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=15858"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=15858"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}