Catching up

Digging into the pile of new releases

by Bob Gulla

Humble apologies to all who have sent CDs over the last two months and haven't seen Word One in the way of reviews. It's been a million years since my last review section and, well, I've been to confession and that still doesn't disencumber me from the guilt brought on by this weighty oversight. However, over the next month or so, I'll try to get to as many submissions as I can. A quick scan over the mountain of discs looks a little foreboding. But you all worked hard on 'em, so I will too in reporting back.

Kristin Hersh: Sunny Border Blue (4AD)

Still our most formidable pop songwriter, Kristin Hersh is back with Sunny Border Blue, a quiet, rather unheralded release that is by no means unworthy of attention. Joined by, well, nobody, Hersh wrote all the songs (save a cover of Cat Stevens's "Trouble") and played all of the instruments herself. Typically abstract and introspective, she lays into songs like the rollicking "Spain" and the conversational "37 Hours," while strumming through pretty cuts like "Silica." Taken as a whole, Sunny Border Blue finds Hersh delving aggressively into acoustic arrangements, dotted with deep thoughts and blissful chord changes. When you get around to the excellent Steven's cover ("Trouble, oh trouble set me free/I've seen your face and it's too much for me") and the equally moving "Candyland" ("I was born with a sad song in my mouth"), you begin to understand that Hersh is making some of the most riveting music of her career. Fortunately, even after all this time, she still has some heavy demons to exorcise. Let's hope they don't leave any time soon. After all, what would she write about after they left?

The Eyesores: Bent At the Waist

On Bent At the Waist, Alec Redfearn is Providence's own War-Time accordionist, an absinthe-swilling, torch-song singing, doe-eyed artiste, dwelling in the underground café scene of gay Paree. He's infatuated with Edith Piaf and Erik Satie, drunk with melancholy, and dedicated to putting the so-sad strains of the violin and the accordion in the hearts and souls of his patrons.

Bent At the Waist is not the accordion-rock and noise hybrid of Eyesores past, nor does it present the eclectic idealism Redfearn and the collective reveled in formerly. In fact, it's much better than that, a cohesive, rather accessible disc of low rock, Franco-American style, littered with pretty performances, languid solos, and poignant musicality. There are hints of nearly Pogues-style pop on the opening title cut and the cheekily coined "Dashboard Lazarus." Elsewhere, the band seeks out the delicate grooves and microtones of the violin, guitar, banjo, and accordion, specifically on the striking "Shopping Cart" and the loping, Tom Waits-like "Thousand Yard Stare."

All tolled, this is leaps better than the Eyesores already pretty good but rather scattered past catalog. Does it mark a turning point in the band's ambitious eclecticism? We hope so.

The Eyesores, Immigrant Suns, and the Evan Harlan Quartet will converge on AS220 on Thursday, April 12 for an 8 p.m. show. Call 831-9327.

Planet Groove: Excessive Sonic Boom (Six-song semo)

Every time you think you've heard it all in Providence, something fresh comes along that whacks you good. Local Latin/jazz/jamming music hounds Planet Groove really have something special going on. If you've seen them live recently at their triumphant Jazzmasters gigs or have been lucky enough to secure this six-song demo, then you already know.

Planet Groove has the potential to turn casual toe-tapping fans into rabid music fans. Their bridge, which spans the gap between jam band whimsy and the sophisticated spheres of extrapolated fusion, is a wildly entertaining one to cross. Their arrangements never let up or let down, their instrumentation never lags. The six songs on Excessive Sonic Boom, beautifully recorded at Dream Edit in Newport back in November, is a better indication than their full-length debut of the band's power and glory. Highly recommended to fans of courageous funk and frenzied fusions of Latin jazz-pop.

Rory and the Blueshounds: Providence

And what would a local review section be without the blues? Rory and the Blueshounds have truly come into their own on their new Providence, a swingin', downhome, urban/rural array of blues and R&B that sounds as accomplished as it is well-recorded. Led by Rory Malloy's sharp blues guitar licks, the band careens through a colorful set, featuring great performances (by singers Jan Schmidt and Kevin Weyman and Malloy, in particular) and dexterous songwriting. They touch on country blues ("Back Porch"), pop ("Molly's Favorite"), and even dabble in percussive world music ("Aboriginal") along the way. In fact, the greatest thing about this thoroughly entertaining disc is that it's not afraid to take chances, and when it does it never hedges. Each and every detour is a full-on and fabulously executed exploration of their destination. Kudos to Malloy and the gang, and here's hoping we hear more from them soon.

WANDERING EYE. There's a most excellent bill going down on Friday night at the Century Lounge, featuring the gritty, greasy, hot-rod rockabilly of the Gammarays, local heroes Geri Verdi and the Villains, and Jason James and the Houserockers. Good sweaty fun.

Adventurous folkies can wend their way down to Foster for a blissful Friday night of acoustic music at the Peeptoad Coffeehouse (don't you love that?), housed at the North Foster Baptist Church on 81 East Killingly Road. The show starts at 8 p.m. and features Bernadette, a "dulcimer dynamo, a one-woman surround sound" (you can't make this stuff up), along with the Late Bloomers, an acoustic guitar duo featuring Randy Browning and Brett Kinney. Ten dollars gets you entry; call 392-1322, or go to the Foster Foundation Website: http://www.fosteringarts.org

Also slightly off the beaten path geographically as well as musically is the Blackstone River Theatre's Friday night show featuring Josée Vachon. In keeping with the Theatre's strong Celtic/French Canadian music, dance, and art roots, Vachon will share traditional folk songs and stories from Quebec and Acadie. In April, the BRT will present Celtic harpist Aine Minogue and legendary fingerstyle guitarist John Renbourn. So find your way to Cumberland, check out the org's beautiful new room, and be formidably entertained.

On Saturday night, you can get blasted by the Worried, who headline the Green Room, bolstered by Jimmy Jack Stark and a band to be named later. The Worried reports that they have some songs ready to foist on the grease-rock community. Word has it that they're "raw, real raw."

On Sunday at the Met Café, there's another strong slate with As the Sun Sets, Rocketown (continuing their quest for world domination), T-Squared, and Secret Handshake. Tix are $6.

Bob Gulla can be reached at b_gulla@yahoo.com.