Sheetcake - Sheetcake EP

The four-piece Sheetcake got their start after meeting at an open mic night at Dickinson College in Carlisle, PA, and have now released their the eponymous six-cut EP.  This debut is an outstanding collection of indie pop and rock twith lush, textured instrumentation and catchy melodies.  “Butterflies” kicks the EP off and after a summery sounding intro with acoustic guitar and the sounds of birds, it shifts into a breezy indie pop gem with slight jazzy flourishes.  More of an indie pop tune, but with an underlying sense of tension, “Hands Tied” has a strong vocal performance from Kate Villiger and some great harmonies from her and Ryan Crothers.  With a swaying groove and some nice back and forth vocals, “I Don’t Mind” is a catchy, more laid-back track followed by the upbeat indie rock of “Before It’s Better,” which has some really nice textures in the guitar work and reflective lyrics.  “Mean It” is somewhat of a midtempo song but has more intensity and a guitar heavy rock edge.  Closing the EP is “Thinking Twice,” a beautiful, stripped down and introspective cut that also makes nice use of strings.  A very promising start from a band I hope to hear a lot more from.  

(Sheetcake - Instagram)

Jah Wobble & Tian Qiyi - Mystic Liverpool - The Beatles' Psychedelic Psongbook

Since making his recording debut as bassist for Public Image in 1978, Jah Wobble has dabbled in a multitude of different genres through both his solo work and collaborations.  Now with Mystic Liverpool - The Beatles' Psychedelic Psongbook he has collaborated with his two sons John T and Charlie Wardle, who perform at Tian Qiyi, on a release containing their own unique renditions of ten songs from The Beatles.  Along with Wobble’s notable bass-work the use of Chinese instruments like yangqin, erhu, morin khuur and guzheng, the last of which is courtesy his wife and their mother Zi Lan Liao, give the album and fun and unique twist on the songs.  Opener "Tomorrow Never Knows" is arguably The Beatles’ most psychedelic song, and their take  maintains the core of the song but gives it their own spin with Wobble's thick droning bass and the use of the Chinese instruments erhu and yangqin among the highlights.  With Zi Lan Liao’s previously mentioned contribution on guzheng, “Strawberry Fields Forever” has an interesting start with the use of yangqin and then shifts into a beautiful, extremely psychedelic, version with the Chinese instrumentation giving it a fresh sound.  Although it sticks pretty close to the original, “Within You Without You” has more of an Indian feel, while “I Am The Walrus” is slowed down giving it a haunting, somewhat disorienting feel along with a low, pulsing bass.   Also slightly slower and somewhat stripped down with a bass that is more in the dub direction, “Norwegian Wood” replaces the sitar with erhu giving it a distinctive sound.  One of the albums weaker tracks is “Blue Jay Way,” which has more of a modern-day feel and a bit of a droning sound that seems to go on too long causing it to lose the quirky charm of the original.  Originally released as the non-album B-side to “Lady Madonna,” "The Inner Light,” was a very Indian influenced track with minimal instrumentation and is most likely the least know track here.  Their version uses Chinese instrumentation to make it their own and with hypnotic instrumental sections they take the two minute and thirty-six second track and stretch it to six minutes and forty-two seconds.  While “Love You To” was the first Beatles song to completely embrace Indian music, their version is more percussive, which really gives it a new direction.  The short instrumental “Flying” was originally on Magical Mystery Tour and here is turned into a slow, swirling track with a heavy dub reggae beat giving it almost no resemblance to the original.  The album closes with a cover of “Rain,” which, although well-known, was actually the b-side to “Paperback Writer."  Theirs is a fairly faithful version, but with a slightly offbeat, disorienting sound similar to “I Am The Walrus” a few tracks earlier.  Even though they are quite likely the most covered band out there, Jah Wobble and his sons still manage to take these song and give us something new and fun to listen to.  

(30 Hertz Records)

Cumberland Honey - Sweet Talk 

Cumberland Honey was initially formed as a duo in 2017 by Steph Landis and Virginia Masland. Over the years the band has expanded their lineup and Masland left the band in 2024.  With the current lineup consisting of Landis, Grace Mahar, Gena Lanette and Llewyn Malick, they have recently released their full-length debut Sweet Talk.  Featuring seven songs written by Landis and two from Mahar, it is an outstanding collection drawing from Bluegrass, country and Appalachian folk.  Throughout the nine tracks their use of upright bass, resonator guitar, slide guitar, pedal steel, Irish bouzouki, mandolin, and harmonica, create a beautiful, atmospheric sound, that is then coupled with their outstanding vocal harmonies.  The classic, old school country of “Mornin’ Light” gets the album going with some great harmonica and pedal steel.  “No Good For Me” is one of the album’s standout tracks, and is a gorgeous folk tune with a delicate, atmospheric feel, while “Long Time Coming” is an easygoing bluegrass song driven by a loping beat.  “River” starts with incredible gospel-tinged vocal harmonies, followed by some great harmonica and acoustic guitar that reminds me of Springsteen’s Nebraska, then turns into a gospel flavored roots track.  Following the swaying country waltz of “Soul To Call Home” is the six minute “The Sea,” an epic, six-minute track with a hauntingly beautiful intro that starts with a resonator guitar solo followed by pedal steel and then harmonica leading to captivating vocals from Maher and siren-like harmonies.  ”Easy Love” and “Hurt This Much” are a couple of gentle, laid-back mountain songs, the latter of which has some great back and forth lead vocals and a really nice hook, and closing the album out is “Goodbye To You,” a lazy, bluesy country track that really showcases their musicianship.  Sweet Talk shows once again that the music scene in South Central PA is one to pay attention to.

(Guernsey Beat Records)

The Darling Buds - Same Sun / Same Sky

Following their inception in Wales in 1986, The Darling Buds released three albums and several singles that were quite successful in the indie rock scene before disbanding in 1993.  They got back together in 2010 for a reunion show and over the years made several more live appearances before releasing a new EP in 2017.  Since then, they have released a few other tracks along with the 2023 five CD box set Killing For Love : Albums, Singles, Rarities, Unreleased 1987-2017, and now they're back with Same Sun / Same Sky, their first full-length release in thirty-four years.  With vocalist Andrea Lewis Jarvis still in fine form, this twelve-song release picks up right where they left off.  The upbeat, hook heavy pop of “Hey Saint Jude” gets things started and it sounds like they’ve never missed a beat.  While still maintaining that pop punch, “Intruder” is an edgier, post punk track with angular guitars.  The jangly pop of “Oh No You Don’t” throws in some horns and sounds a bit like The Bangles’ “Walking Down Your Street.”  “Lost Time” is another upbeat, super melodic gem that they’ve been known for, and “Jump In” is a bouncy pop track with more horns.  Showing the quieter side of the band, “Giddy In A Good Way” is a gorgeous, laid-back song with beautiful guitar work, strings and an enchanting vocal performance from Jarvis.  The more straight-ahead “Cut Me Dead” still has plenty of melody, but with a punch, while “Cast A Stone” has a driving beat and more of that paisley pop jangle, and the infectious “Pretenders” has a fast-paced punk edge.  The classic sounding indie pop of “Paper Planes” is followed by the slower, dreamy “Leaving The Scene.”   The album closes perfectly with “Pollyanna Says,” a melancholy track with some nice swirling, shoegaze guitars.  Same Sun / Same Sky is a welcome return from The Darling Buds and hopefully the first of many.  

(Cherry Red Records)

 

Tesla - Homage

Although they’ve released eight studio albums of largely original music over their forty plus year career, Tesla is no stranger to cover songs.  Not only did they get their start as a cover band, one of their first hits was a cover of Ph.D’s “Little Suzi,” their biggest hit was a cover of “Signs” from the Five Man Electrical Band and they also released two albums of covers in 2007 titled Real To Reel Vol 1 and Vol 2.  Now, with the release of Homage, they are back with another batch of covers.  Unlike those earlier covers albums, which focused more on classic and hard rock, Homage often looks further back to bands and artists from their earlier formative years, and there is also a lot of diversity in the songs they selected.  In addition to the covers, the album does include an original, “Never Alone,” a bluesy ballad in the same vein as their biggest hit “Love Song.”  Sam Cooke’s “Bring It On Home” kicks the covers off, and along with The Temptations’ Motown classic "I Wish It Would Rain" a little later, is a solid bluesy rendition with plenty of soul and an emotional vocal from Jeff Keith.  When it comes to Queen, “Spread Your Wings” was a Top 40 hit in the UK, but isn’t what would come to most people’s minds as a cover.  Having said that, their performance proves that they made the right choice.  Next up is Bob Seger’s “Night Moves,” and while not too far removed from the original, the song sounds like it was made for them and they still do enough with it to make this version their own.  Probably the most unlikely track on the whole album is Elvis’ “If I Can Dream,” a song that was inspired by the recent assassinations of Martin Luther King Jr and Robert F Kennedy and most notably known for his performance during the ‘68 Comeback Special.  Keith really showcases his vocals here, which are smoother, as he largely steps away from the raspiness he’s known for.  On Badfinger’s “Come And Get It” (written by Paul McCartney), they maintain the insanely infectious pop hooks of the original but give it a little bit more of a rock edge, while James Brown’s “I Got You” is just a plain old fun, upbeat cover.  The next two tracks are somewhat of a surprise and not really songs that would come to mind immediately when thinking of influences.  They give Supertramp’s “Give A Little Bit” a bit of a spin, with more of a rock element (and no horns), and on Climax Blues Band’s “I Love You” they do an excellent job of taking the essence of the song and giving it a little bit of a grittier blues groove (they actually released a different version on the 2011 album Twisted Wires).  They dip their toes in swampy / southern rock on CCR’s “Have You Ever Seen The Rain” and Lynyrd Skynyrd’s “The Ballad Of Curtis Loew,” both of which seem to fit the band perfectly and don’t stray too far from the originals.  Etta James’ “I’d Rather Go Blind” is an absolute classic, and they do her justice with a fantastic take on the soulful tune giving it a bit of a dirty blues, rock element.  Closing the disc out is Hank Williams Sr.’s “Mind Your Own Business,” another fun track that finds them taking his classic country tune and giving it some boogie woogie, honky tonk swagger.  

(Frontiers Music)

  

Morrison Graves - Under the Weight of Gravity

Following up their 2023 debut, Portland’s Morrison Graves is back with the impressive 5-cut Under the Weight of Gravity.  The EP opens with “Home,” which is initially heavy, distorted and full of fuzz but then shifts to powerful, yet beautiful, dark and often slower doom-tinged psychedelia.  Utilizing instruments that include sitar, farfisa organ, shruti box and bongos, “The Swarm” is a captivating track of Indian influenced psychedelia with a hint of The Doors (especially in the Morrison-like vocals).  “Alice” and “In The Mourning” are both a hypnotic swirl of driving goth and post-punk, the latter of which also has a more atmospheric, shoegaze-y element.  The EP wraps up perfectly with the minimalistic. dark and droning soundscape of “Recycled Fragments.”  A stellar release from start to finish.  

(Morrison Graves)

Jim Bob - The Panic Room EP

Following the release of two CD's in August of last year, Jim Bob (founder and lead singer of the late eighties / early nineties indie rock band Carter USM) is back with The Panic Room EP.  Initially released as a signed and numbered vinyl album (now sold out), the EP is now only available digitally.  Lyrically conveying his thoughts on the state of things in England today, “Where’s The Panic Room” gets things started with a blast of punk energy that’s a bit noisy and quirky at times and fittingly does a great job of creating tension and claustrophobia.  Detailing the trials and tribulations of being in a band and touring, “Grassroots” is a fun, singalong of sorts, that switches between a head-bobbing, midtempo rock beat and synth-drenched punk.  Arguably the high point of the EP, “Belinda’s Racist Hips,” is an extremely catchy, jangly pop tune with lyrics addressing the darker side of how acceptable racism has become for so many.  The ragged garage rock of “Hope For The Best” closes things out with a bang and a fittingly somewhat optimistic, yet cynical view for the future. 

(Cherry Red Records)