Xenia Dunford. Remember that name when you get to iTunes or wherever you acquire your music of choice. You’ll be looking for the EP Lonely Streets by Xenia Dunford and The Eastern Exile, it won’t be hard to find. It will be hard to put down once you pick it up.
Jazzy, soulful, pop-infused, indie tinted, meticulously performed and masterfully engineered, Lonely Streets is a five song showcase of Dunford’s vocal intensity enveloped by a band that has chops to burn. There are obvious comparisons to Norah Jones and Amy Winehouse that will rise from a blogosphere with limited historical reference points and they will be accurate. However, if you remember basking in the cool waters of Basia and Everything But the Girl the first time you heard them, than Xenia Dunford is awaiting your call.
Groomed in the clubs of Boston and Cambridge, Dunford headed west to Los Angeles with band mates Scotty Mlodzewski and Forrest Pettingill to seek different cultural wells from which 
to draw inspiration. Lonely Streets combines the eclectic mix of east coast pedigree with west coast cool into a cocktail sophisticated enough to tempt the most discriminating palate yet as smooth and relaxing as a Pacific sunset. Pay attention folks, this is how it’s done.
The opener, “The Only One,” is pure symmetry between Dunford’s exotic vocals and The Eastern Exile’s ability to deliver musically while creating an atmosphere that allows the song to live just below the lyrics. Dunford supplies a smoky organ bed for Mlodzewski’s pinpoint guitar tones to rest on while the rhythm section of Pettingill on bass and Adam Farley on drums provide the cool breeze that the song floats on; kicking up and softly blowing in harmony with Dunford’s story of a world that’s maybe forgetting how to love...or be loved.
“Every Now & Again” is a classic portrayal of where you’re from and where you’re headed and the revelations that expose themselves in between. Artistically, emotionally, physically or as a band, it doesn’t really matter. When you begin to put the pieces together a clear picture begins to form in your mind or in the case of The Eastern Exile, the collective minds of four incredibly talented musicians. The best case scenario for a band is when the end result becomes something that sounds like “Every Now & Again.”
Just when you’ve been lulled into a sense that you get where this band is coming from Lonely Streets buckles your knees with a curve ball on track four of the five song set. “Best I’ve Ever Had” is also the highlight of the listen. A jangly, upbeat, rootsy rocker with sweet slide guitar, “Best I’ve Ever Had” is Xenia Dunford and The Eastern Exile at their most playful moment both musically and lyrically.
As debut EP’s go this one will be hard to top. It’s tight, melodic, lyrically sound and well-crafted music by four musicians discovering that the joy of syncopation begins at home and whether it’s in Boston or Los Angeles Xenia Dunford and The Eastern Exile are at home with each other. Overall this is an excellent effort.
{auto displayheight="275" height="350" width="400" plthumbs="true" shuffle="false" repeat="list" pbgcolor="#000000" pfgcolor="#cccccc", phicolor="#0099ff" showstop="true" showeq="false"}XeniaDunford.xml{/auto}
.jpg)
