AltWeeklies Wire
The Pine Leaf Boys: Home Sweet 'Homage'new
In the past, the Pine Leaf Boys tempered Cajun tradition with touches of roots-rock, swamp pop and neo-Americana, but Homage au Passe is thoroughly and delightfully old-school, with smoking fiddle and reeling accordion sounding like a sweaty, stomping good time at a Eunice dance hall on a Saturday night.
C-Murder Creates Gangsta Nostalgia on 'Screamin' 4 Vengeance'new
Corey Miller, aka C-Murder, releases a new project while awaiting a retrial on murder charges. The record is filled with stomping, lead-heavy beats and menacing gangsta growl and features a guest spot from No Limit star Mia X. It's not a thriller, but does strike chords of nostalgia.
Tags: C-Murder, Screamin' 4 Vengeance
Meaty Rock and Funk Coming Your Waynew
Is there such a thing as cerebral rock that doesn't suck? Johnny Sketch and Co. may be proving so with its immodestly titled fourth album The Big Awesome, which flexes the band's conservatory chops on meaty rock and funk in a way that's smart but not snobby.
Asymmetrical Tapestry of Soundnew
As science-y sounding as the title, the album is sonically understated, yet complex. It plays like a collection of lost sounds naturally magnetizing to one another and then spinning off into the atmosphere.
Hot Gypsy Jazznew
The sextet definitely rocks the tunes with aplomb, particularly Pierre Pichon's sizzling acoustic guitar, which isn't as front-and-center as one might assume from the material. The full band is constantly in play, getting the most out of the earthy sophistication of the familiar style and arranging the tunes in a perfect balance to assert its own stamp on the material while paying homage to the near perfection of the original compositions.
Tags: Swingphonicity, VaVaVoom
James Blood Ulmer: Blood and Pietynew
With six covers on Bad Blood in the City culled from the rich, muddy history of rural Southern blues, Ulmer's pedigree as a down-home swamp dog could easily pass examination.
