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<\/p>\nHere’s another installment in my occasional series of capsule reviews. My self-imposed limit for this particular exercise is 100 words on each release.<\/p>\n
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The Valery Trails \u2013 <\/strong>Ghosts and Gravity<\/strong><\/em> <\/p>\n Robert Goodman Band \u2013 <\/strong>Everything is Beautiful <\/strong><\/em> <\/p>\n Grand & Noble \u2013 <\/strong>Grand & Noble <\/strong><\/em> <\/p>\n Black Box Revelation \u2013 <\/strong>Shiver of Joy<\/strong><\/em> EP <\/strong>
\nThis American\/Australian outfit manages to conjure a trance-y vibe with a minimum of keyboard textures. The hypnotic aura of numbers like \u201cOn the Perfume River\u201d establishes a sonic recipe that washes over the listener. Elsewhere they sound a bit like the better end of the 80s college rock\/new wave spectrum, with hints of Echo & the Bunnymen<\/strong><\/span> and Modern English<\/strong>. Imagine a more laid-back, less excitable Midnight Oil<\/strong>. Subtle hints of other disparate styles \u2013 Americana, shoegaze \u2013 add to the musical breath of this release. Chiming guitars and sturdy songwriting make Ghosts and Gravity<\/em> well worth checking out.<\/p>\n![](\"http:\/\/musoscribe.com\/images\/robert_goodman.jpg\")
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\nNo relation (thankfully!) to the Ray Stevens<\/strong> pop hit, Everything is Beautiful<\/em> nonetheless does project a sunny vibe. Shimmering, wide-screen, orchestrated pop with a bit of rock edge, this release builds its arrangements around keyboard; there’s lots of piano glissandi here. Vague hints of everything from Hootie & the Blowfish<\/strong> to Bruce Hornsby<\/strong> will remind listeners of a time when \u201cpop\u201d music meant stuff that had a broad appeal \u2013 none of this niche-market stuff. Everything is Beautiful<\/em> will appeal to (among others) those who used to rock out and now prefer something a bit calmer and more carefully-thought-out.<\/p>\n![](\"http:\/\/musoscribe.com\/images\/grand_noble.jpg\")
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\nHere listeners will find songwriting and playing that’s true to pop conventions, in the best sense of that phrase. The slow-burn approach is highly effective, pulling the listener in. Combining skronky guitar textures with sparkling keyboard lines and sweeping strings might sound like a recipe for muddled music, but on Grand & Noble<\/em>, the approach works. The disc’s ten songs are stylistically varied, from the contemplative, melancholy of \u201cThis Light\u201d to the Elton John<\/strong>-meets-Tom Waits<\/strong>-meets-Queen<\/strong> barroom blues of \u201cParis (and Danielle).\u201d On \u201cEpiscopal,\u201d Jon Elling<\/strong> (the pseudonymous Grand & Noble) channels After the Gold Rush<\/em>-era Neil Young<\/strong>.<\/p>\n![](\"http:\/\/musoscribe.com\/images\/black_box_revelation.jpg\")
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\nThis is a brief collection of dance-oriented rock that balances groove and beat with straightahead rock swagger. Decidedly modern, Black Box Revelation still manages to channel INXS<\/strong> and Aerosmith<\/strong> at once. The delightfully noisy guitar solos are mixed way-out-front on the title track (and elsewhere). With their twin emphasis on guitar and drums, one might expect Black Box Revelation<\/strong> to sound like The White Stripes<\/strong>, but they don’t: there’s more going on here, especially with the delightfully hyperactive drums. On \u201cYou Better Get in Touch With the Devil,\u201d they suggest a more commercially-minded Iggy Pop<\/strong>, crossed with <\/span>Smashing Pumpkins.<\/strong><\/p>\n
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