{"id":22037,"date":"2021-11-30T05:30:06","date_gmt":"2021-11-30T10:30:06","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/?p=22037"},"modified":"2021-11-29T12:06:23","modified_gmt":"2021-11-29T17:06:23","slug":"hundred-word-reviews-november-2021","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/2021\/11\/30\/hundred-word-reviews-november-2021\/","title":{"rendered":"Hundred-word Reviews, November 2021"},"content":{"rendered":"

This has been an unusual year, and that\u2019s putting it mildly. With life slowly and tentatively inching in the direction of new-normal, it\u2019s time to bring back my Hundred-word Reviews. These capsule commentaries cover music I think you should know about. Here are five new releases.<\/p>\n

\"\"Carolyn Wonderland \u2013 Tempting Fate<\/i><\/b>
\nElectric country blues with stinging guitar work is on the menu for Carolyn Wonderland’s 11th<\/sup> album. The Texas roots-blues musician\/singer built her career through live performance, a setting that gets listeners up close and personal with her fiery fretwork. Wonderland\u2019s steel playing is thrilling without being showy; her guitar playing serves the songs. And her vocal roar is employed at key moments \u2013 as opposed to a full-on-all-the-time-overkill \u2013 maximizing its effectiveness. Top-notch production work by Dave Alvin makes the songs shine. After decades bubbling under on small labels, Wonderland’s Alligator debut might catapult her to the big time. And deservedly so.<\/p>\n

\"\"The Lunar Laugh \u2013 Nighthawks!<\/i><\/b>
\nThis set is billed as a career-spanning collection of (mostly) live cuts, though the oldest track was recorded less than five years ago. The opener \u201cI Wanna Know\u201d is a strong melodic track that sets the tone. The live material is well-recorded and highlights the band\u2019s virtues. I hear hints of Gin Blossoms in The Lunar Laugh\u2019s pop sensibility. The crowd applause and between-song banter suggests that the band has a strong following in its native Oklahoma. Tight arrangements, appealing melodies and a winning balance of exuberance, muscle and cheery outlook make this an enjoyable way to spend an hour-plus.<\/p>\n

\"\"Andrew Leahy & the Homestead \u2013 American Static Vol. 1<\/i><\/b>
\nAt its best \u2013 at least from my perspective \u2013 so-called roots rock should have more in common with rock than roots. In other words, it should demonstrate the best characteristics of rock, and it should go light on twang and any retro vibe. Andrew Leahy and his band meet those (admittedly subjective) criteria with this album. There\u2019s some nice jangle in these tunes, and a production\/arrangement aesthetic that suggests the wide opens spaces of the Midwest. A timeless vibe means that these nine songs should age well, too. The record\u2019s quality whets appetites for the followup implied by the album title.<\/p>\n

\"\"Ward White \u2013 The Tender Age<\/i><\/b>
\nBilling oneself as an art rocker invites critics to hold the music to a high standard. \u201cArt rock\u201d brings to mind artists like David Bowie and Bryan Ferry. And as it happens, both of those names are useful touchstones for approaching the music of Ward White. The vivid imagery of his songwriting introduces interesting, comeplling characters and mental landscapes. And while the music is spare enough to make sure that White\u2019s vocals are front and center, the instrumentation and arrangement is textured enough to hold interest even on its own. Hints of \u201880s and \u201890s alternarock characterize the eleven tunes.<\/p>\n

\"\"Scott Gagner \u2013 BloodMoon<\/i><\/b>
\nGagner\u2019s 2019 release reminded me of Trip Shakespeare. But his latest makes me think more of Harry Nilsson. This collection \u2013 mostly played and sung by Gagner himself (with a bit of help from an artist who has since achieved persona non grata<\/i> status) \u2013 is filled with passion and other genuine and visceral emotions. His arrangements underscore those qualities. The style of any given song provides little in the way of clues as to where the other tunes will go, and that eclectic variety is one of BloodMoon<\/i>\u2019s virtues. It\u2019s a wonderfully immersive experience. A melancholy vibe subtly informs the songs.<\/p>\n

More to come!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This has been an unusual year, and that\u2019s putting it mildly. With life slowly and tentatively inching in the direction of new-normal, it\u2019s time to bring back my Hundred-word Reviews. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":22040,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[9,49,55,62,65],"tags":[4704,4703,3979,3969,4705],"class_list":["post-22037","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-blues","category-new-release","category-powerpop","category-rawk","category-review","tag-andrew-leahy","tag-carolyn-wonderland","tag-scott-gagner","tag-the-lunar-laugh","tag-ward-white","cat-9-id","cat-49-id","cat-55-id","cat-62-id","cat-65-id","has_thumb"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22037","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=22037"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22037\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":22043,"href":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22037\/revisions\/22043"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/22040"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=22037"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=22037"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=22037"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}