![\"\"](\"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/ward_white_dowsers.jpg\")
Ward White \u2013 Here Come the Dowsers!<\/i><\/b>\nWhile I liked Ward White\u2019s previous releases<\/a> just fine, there was an arty undercurrent that \u2013 to my thinking \u2013 detracted (just a tiny, tiny<\/i> bit, mind you) from the accessibility of the material. On Here Come the Dowsers!<\/i> White has struck the perfect balance; the ambitious and finely-tuned elements of his music coexist with earworm melodies, superb arrangement and first-rate vocals. Those qualities have always been a part of White\u2019s music, but here the blend is perfect. The music isn\u2019t as retro or mannered as the (excellent) artwork might imply. Think of him as a Bryan Ferry for the 21st<\/sup> century.<\/p>\n
Here\u2019s another tidy (metaphorical) stack of hundred-word reviews. Awhile the coverage is brief, all five albums come with my recommendation. The unifying theme is rock, albeit of various substyles. And […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":27958,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[49,55,56,62,65],"tags":[3239,1308,3918,4705,2356],"class_list":["post-27955","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-new-release","category-powerpop","category-prog","category-rawk","category-review","tag-fernando-perdomo","tag-leon-alvarado","tag-sour-ops","tag-ward-white","tag-well-wishers","cat-49-id","cat-55-id","cat-56-id","cat-62-id","cat-65-id","has_thumb"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27955","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=27955"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27955\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":27962,"href":"https:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27955\/revisions\/27962"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/27958"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=27955"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=27955"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=27955"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"\"](\"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/fernando_perdomo_self.jpg\")
Fernando Perdomo \u2013 Self<\/i><\/b>
\nL.A.-based, Miami-born Perdomo<\/a> is a producer, multi-instrumentalist and general top-notch musical utility man who\u2019s always busy assisting and\/or collaborating on myriad projects by other artists. So it\u2019s a refreshing change to encounter his solo releases, where he can shine brightest. As its title telegraphs, on Self<\/i>, Fernando does it all: producing, playing, singing, writing etc. His twin proclivities \u2013 a strong pop sensibility and an ambitious prog perspective \u2013 both get showcased. The first six tunes are a nicely varied lot, with a breezy character dominating. But it\u2019s the sprawling, 20-minute, Todd\u2019s-Utopia-meets SMiLE<\/i> title track that swings for the fences, succeeding brilliantly.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/leon_alvarado_changing_tide.jpg\")
Leon Alvarado \u2013 The Changing Tide<\/i><\/b>
\nAlvarado<\/a>\u2019s latest will strike some as very, very, very<\/i> familiar. Lengthy opener \u201cThe Equilibrium\u201d has a feel reminiscent of Wish You Were Here<\/i>-era Pink Floyd. Moody and cinematic, his music is engaging and intriguing. \u201cA Day of a Different Sort\u201d is essentially a \u201cShine On You Crazy Diamond\u201d pastiche with hints of \u201cOne of These Days\u201d and fills straight outta \u201cHave a Cigar.\u201d Gilmourian guitar leads and Parry-esque sax fills (courtesy Supertramp\u2019s John Helliwell) abound. As its title hints, this mostly instrumental album is quite like The Endless River<\/i>. Very good overall, but the \u201cBrain Damage\u201d cover is too on-the-nose.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/sour_ops_evangeline.jpg\")
Sour Ops \u2013 Evangeline<\/i><\/b>
\nI keep lookin\u2019 at that cover art, but I don\u2019t know what the hell it is, or is supposed to be. A bit disturbing for sure. But what matters in the music. Supremely tuneful, rocking tunes have an early \u201870s, Stonesy feel about them: grit to make \u2018em real, polish to make \u2018em catchy. Price Harrison know his way around a melody; his work feels classic without being derivative. One listen to \u201cStanding in the Shadows\u201d and the tune will be stuck in your mind. And that\u2019s a very good thing. Evangeline<\/i> is even better than Sour Ops\u2019 previous releases<\/a>.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/well_wishers_know.jpg\")
Well Wishers \u2013 Just So You Know<\/i><\/b>
\nA look through my archives suggests that I\u2019ve reviewed music from The Well Wishers on at least ten previous occasions, dating back 12 \u00bd years. And for good reason: Jeff Shelton\u2019s roaring power pop is the equivalent of a sleek, shiny muscle car with a convertible top. The songs are fun, catchy and muscular. Shelton has a seemingly inexhaustible well of hooky melodies, and he always wraps them in rocking arrangements. Fans of Cheap Trick, Fountains of Wayne, Sloan and the like will definitely want to hear Just So You Know<\/i>. And like they say, hey kids: collect \u2018em all!<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"