Casual Listening
a review of cool new music
by Jeff Pinzino
Thanks to Yesh Pavlik for last week’s reviews while Jeff was in
* Austin Lucas – Putting the Hammer Down (folk)
Since Dylan went electric and Joni went jazz, it’s been harder to find good songwriters playing traditional folk styles. Austin Lucas’ painfully confessional songs are inside-out Childe ballads, dragged into the 21st century. Fiddle and banjo echo an older sound, recast for a new generation’s ears.
* Bernard Allison – Chills & Thrills (blues)
Hot guitar blues, funk, and roadhouse rock. Allison delivers driving grooves on an unconventional but compelling collection of contemporary blues.
Sheryl Crow – Detours (rock)
Strike one against my indie critic street cred, but I really like this album. There’s a creative tension in Crow’s music between personal pain and a wide-open embrace of the world. Plenty of big melodic hooks to keep you coming back.
Lenny Kravitz – Break Your Arm for Evolution (rock)
Unapologetic high octane rock & roll. Strike two. I’m too busy rocking out to care.
In the blog this week: Papa Grows Funk, Blind Boys of Alabama
* highly recommended
! highest recommendation
Check out the blog at http://casuallistening.blogspot.com . To subscribe or unsubscribe, or just to say hi, send an e-mail to jeffpinzino@gmail.com.
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment