The Spotlight Column
Mini Music Reviews from Lee Zimmerman
The Northern Belle (from the album Bats in the Attic available on Die With Your Boots On Records)
Hailing from Norway, The Northern Belle began their musical journey nearly ten years ago and have since gone on to win tremendous acclaim both at home and abroad. The band’s new album, released under the unlikely title Bats in the Attic, sums up the appeal they offer courtesy of eleven lushly appointed songs graced with the sheen and shimmer of acoustic guitars, fiddles, pedal steel, sumptuous harmonies, and rich, resilient arrangements. While opening track “Astral Plane” suggests a series of meditative melodies, the track that follows, “Treat Yourself Better” finds them in a decidedly merry mood. They’re a stirring sextet, fully capable of veering from Folk-like finesse to an up-tempo Pop pastiche. The titles tell all — “Higher Power” finds them sharing a giddy perspective while “Stargazer” captures an ethereal essence. Yet regardless of the tact they take, the melodies shine through courtesy of a luminescent glow and their irresistible appeal. The shifting sounds add a charm and enticement that ensures those enduring designs remain radiant throughout.
The Northern Belle on Spotify The Northern Belle website
The Pleasures (from the album The Beginning of the End available from Catherine Britt and Lachlan Bryan)
The male-female dynamic has always served the cause of Rock and Roll well, from Sonny and Cher, to the Jefferson Airplane, and well beyond, as evidenced by newer outfits like Roanoke and The HawtThorns. So too, it does well by The Pleasures, a band from the Land Down Under fronted by Catherine Britt and Lachlan Bryan, with Damian Caferella and Brad Bergen providing able support. The tension between the two singers is palpable, but instead of facing off against one another, the voices form a united front courtesy of an effusive sound that rings to the rafters. While most boy-girl duos in Country music realms can be compared to George and Tammy or Gram and Emmylou, there’s little trace of that here, given the more insurgent sounds that the they take such .. uhm… pleasure in providing. Covers of Willie Dixon’s “Howlin’ for My Darlin’” and Troy Seals and Eddie Setser’s standard “Seven Spanish Angels” fit just fine while finding a synergy in style and sound to The Pleasures originals such as “Homewreckers”, “Sad Song”, and “You Made Another Woman (Out Of Me)”. The Pleasure’s all theirs, and, in turn, the listener’s as well.
The Pleasures on Spotify The Pleasures website
The Wandering Hearts (from the album Mother available on Chrysalis Records)
With their softly-stirred harmonies and idyllic intents, The Wandering Hearts come across like a precious Folk trio once found in coffee houses and on college campuses while pouring out songs about love and longing to rapt audiences, wearing Birkenstocks and clutching books of Zen philosophy. These misty tales reside in the ether of a twilight tapestry, all part of a mellow mindset flush with supple sound and suggestion. With the exception of “Hold Your Tongue”, few of these musings rise above a whisper, but the calm and caress offer enough incentive to lean in and listen. “About America”, “Tired”, and “Still Waters” are soothing and succinct and underscore the overall appeal each pleasant pastiche has to offer. “Waiting” and “Dance Again” find the trio in a state of repose, and given the gentle vocals and seductive strains of acoustic guitar, they recall the sounds of Simon and Garfunkel, Joni Mitchell, and Melanie as far as their sublime sentiments. A truly tasteful trio, The Wandering Hearts allow their emotions to run free.
The Wandering Hearts on Spotify The Wandering Hearts website
Marques Morel (from the album Wind & Rain available as a self-release)
Marques Morel is a Midwestern Rocker with a non-nonsense approach and perspective. Taking his cue from the likes of Townes Van Zandt, Woody Guthrie, Hank Williams, and any number of other tattered troubadours, he sounds like a cross between Johnny Cash, Bob Seger, and the late John Stewart (solo, The Kingston Trio) reciting ragged tales of the American West and its once-former glories. The ominous tones ingrained in such songs as “Wind and Rain” and “Meditation Madness (Lost Cowboy)” play off a certain familiarity factor (check out the recurring riff of “Ride” which bears no small resemblance to BTO’s “Let It Ride” in its captivating chorus.) Morel’s gritty vocals add to the rustic effect, with “Undercover Angels” and “Standing in the Saddle” conjuring up the imagery of final frontiersmen clinging to their timeless traditions. “The Candle” and “Come Down Off the Mountain” add to that sense of nostalgia, evidencing the fact that Morel is fully committed to the cause of cowboys and all those others who still ride the range. The imagery and arrangements work well in sync, ensuring that Wind & Rain is as emotive as it is expressive.
Marques Morel on Spotify Marques Morel website
Christian Parker (from the album Change Is Now: A Tribute to the Byrds available on Subcat Records)
Christian Parker’s appreciation and admiration for the legacy of The Byrds is evidenced by the fact that he’s released not one, but two albums wholly devoted to classic songs by that band. His last effort, Sweetheart of the Rodeo, reproduced the music that made The Byrds album of the same name, a major forebear of what would eventually be known as Americana. That’s not to say there’s ever been any shortage of artists paying tribute to that groundbreaking band. To his credit, however, Parker has opted to cover a generous number of deeper tracks through a series of selections that extend from the seminal stages of The Byrds career through to their one-off eponymous reunion. In so doing, Christian Parker faithfully replicates the lush harmonies and 12-string jangle that characterized the original incarnations. The inclusion of “Chimes of Freedom”, “Farther Along”, “Ballad of Easy Rider”, “I’ll Feel a Whole Lot Better”, and “Wild Mountain Thyme” ring and resonate much as they did the first thyme around. With The Byrds’ tunes as templates, Parker aims to soar to those highest of heights.
Christian Parker on Spotify Christian Parker website
Mini Music Reviews from Lee Zimmerman
The Northern Belle (from the album Bats in the Attic available on Die With Your Boots On Records)
Hailing from Norway, The Northern Belle began their musical journey nearly ten years ago and have since gone on to win tremendous acclaim both at home and abroad. The band’s new album, released under the unlikely title Bats in the Attic, sums up the appeal they offer courtesy of eleven lushly appointed songs graced with the sheen and shimmer of acoustic guitars, fiddles, pedal steel, sumptuous harmonies, and rich, resilient arrangements. While opening track “Astral Plane” suggests a series of meditative melodies, the track that follows, “Treat Yourself Better” finds them in a decidedly merry mood. They’re a stirring sextet, fully capable of veering from Folk-like finesse to an up-tempo Pop pastiche. The titles tell all — “Higher Power” finds them sharing a giddy perspective while “Stargazer” captures an ethereal essence. Yet regardless of the tact they take, the melodies shine through courtesy of a luminescent glow and their irresistible appeal. The shifting sounds add a charm and enticement that ensures those enduring designs remain radiant throughout.
The Northern Belle on Spotify The Northern Belle website
The Pleasures (from the album The Beginning of the End available from Catherine Britt and Lachlan Bryan)
The male-female dynamic has always served the cause of Rock and Roll well, from Sonny and Cher, to the Jefferson Airplane, and well beyond, as evidenced by newer outfits like Roanoke and The HawtThorns. So too, it does well by The Pleasures, a band from the Land Down Under fronted by Catherine Britt and Lachlan Bryan, with Damian Caferella and Brad Bergen providing able support. The tension between the two singers is palpable, but instead of facing off against one another, the voices form a united front courtesy of an effusive sound that rings to the rafters. While most boy-girl duos in Country music realms can be compared to George and Tammy or Gram and Emmylou, there’s little trace of that here, given the more insurgent sounds that the they take such .. uhm… pleasure in providing. Covers of Willie Dixon’s “Howlin’ for My Darlin’” and Troy Seals and Eddie Setser’s standard “Seven Spanish Angels” fit just fine while finding a synergy in style and sound to The Pleasures originals such as “Homewreckers”, “Sad Song”, and “You Made Another Woman (Out Of Me)”. The Pleasure’s all theirs, and, in turn, the listener’s as well.
The Pleasures on Spotify The Pleasures website
The Wandering Hearts (from the album Mother available on Chrysalis Records)
With their softly-stirred harmonies and idyllic intents, The Wandering Hearts come across like a precious Folk trio once found in coffee houses and on college campuses while pouring out songs about love and longing to rapt audiences, wearing Birkenstocks and clutching books of Zen philosophy. These misty tales reside in the ether of a twilight tapestry, all part of a mellow mindset flush with supple sound and suggestion. With the exception of “Hold Your Tongue”, few of these musings rise above a whisper, but the calm and caress offer enough incentive to lean in and listen. “About America”, “Tired”, and “Still Waters” are soothing and succinct and underscore the overall appeal each pleasant pastiche has to offer. “Waiting” and “Dance Again” find the trio in a state of repose, and given the gentle vocals and seductive strains of acoustic guitar, they recall the sounds of Simon and Garfunkel, Joni Mitchell, and Melanie as far as their sublime sentiments. A truly tasteful trio, The Wandering Hearts allow their emotions to run free.
The Wandering Hearts on Spotify The Wandering Hearts website
Marques Morel (from the album Wind & Rain available as a self-release)
Marques Morel is a Midwestern Rocker with a non-nonsense approach and perspective. Taking his cue from the likes of Townes Van Zandt, Woody Guthrie, Hank Williams, and any number of other tattered troubadours, he sounds like a cross between Johnny Cash, Bob Seger, and the late John Stewart (solo, The Kingston Trio) reciting ragged tales of the American West and its once-former glories. The ominous tones ingrained in such songs as “Wind and Rain” and “Meditation Madness (Lost Cowboy)” play off a certain familiarity factor (check out the recurring riff of “Ride” which bears no small resemblance to BTO’s “Let It Ride” in its captivating chorus.) Morel’s gritty vocals add to the rustic effect, with “Undercover Angels” and “Standing in the Saddle” conjuring up the imagery of final frontiersmen clinging to their timeless traditions. “The Candle” and “Come Down Off the Mountain” add to that sense of nostalgia, evidencing the fact that Morel is fully committed to the cause of cowboys and all those others who still ride the range. The imagery and arrangements work well in sync, ensuring that Wind & Rain is as emotive as it is expressive.
Marques Morel on Spotify Marques Morel website
Christian Parker (from the album Change Is Now: A Tribute to the Byrds available on Subcat Records)
Christian Parker’s appreciation and admiration for the legacy of The Byrds is evidenced by the fact that he’s released not one, but two albums wholly devoted to classic songs by that band. His last effort, Sweetheart of the Rodeo, reproduced the music that made The Byrds album of the same name, a major forebear of what would eventually be known as Americana. That’s not to say there’s ever been any shortage of artists paying tribute to that groundbreaking band. To his credit, however, Parker has opted to cover a generous number of deeper tracks through a series of selections that extend from the seminal stages of The Byrds career through to their one-off eponymous reunion. In so doing, Christian Parker faithfully replicates the lush harmonies and 12-string jangle that characterized the original incarnations. The inclusion of “Chimes of Freedom”, “Farther Along”, “Ballad of Easy Rider”, “I’ll Feel a Whole Lot Better”, and “Wild Mountain Thyme” ring and resonate much as they did the first thyme around. With The Byrds’ tunes as templates, Parker aims to soar to those highest of heights.
Christian Parker on Spotify Christian Parker website