Dark Moll – Animal Tracks 

Traditional Celtic group Dark Moll releases itsnew CD this Saturday with a show at the Molly Malone's in Pleasant Ridge (formerly the Dubliner). Music starts at 8:30 p.m. The crisp, organically produced Animal Tracks is loaded with 14 flawless tracks of jigs, reels and tunes, interpreted by the band with a natural soul and grace. Largely an instrumental effort, the album rolls like the Irish hills, as the accomplished band members perform on banjo, bouzouki, mandolin, bodhran and other instruments I couldn't spell if it weren't for Google. If you are a fan of the traditional sounds of Ireland and its Celtic cousins, you'll be hard pressed to find a better disc made by contemporary players. (www.darkmoll.com)

Mike Fair (Blue Raven's, Adventure Seekers, Wojo) – “I never got a guitar sound this good in a studio ever”.

CD of the Week: Tupelo Honey's "Sweet"

Local Folk/Pop band Tupelo Honey releases its new seven-song CD, Sweet, this Saturday at the Southgate House. The release part y also features support acts Kelly Thomas and the Fabulous Pickups, Wojo, Pete Dressman and the Soul Unified Nation and Lauren Houston.

Capturing the barebones, lilting essence of Folk music couldn't have been an easy task for two suburban-born, Pop Rock-bred college girls. But Katie Wefer and Heather Turner, whose natural musicality had no plans to sit idly by, started with what they already had going for them 212; two equally impressive sets of pipes, twin only in their matching emotive power. Then they went from there, adding violin, bongos and a rock-steady rhythm section. The product — as bold and braless as it is shy and simple — became a set of sweepingly organic stingers that rake in the stripped-down seriousness of Indigo Girls, Gillian Welsh’s subtle masculinity and the sheer fun of Country darlings, the Dixie Chicks.

“Ian’s Song” is the undeniable stand-out with loosely staggered, impeccably simple acoustic melodies and the kind of nuanced and empathetic vocal harmonies that, when emitted for the first time, cause two singers to stare in wide-eyed awe at one another, mildly unsettled at the prospect of such a dazzling and effective combined effort. Perfect synchronization doesn’t come without practice, though, as is clear in “Devuelve Mi Corazon,” sung in fluent though clearly secondary Spanish. The track is one of surprisingly few youthful hiccups on a masterfully produced first effort — and any concerns are immediately dispelled by the gorgeous “Believe Me Now,” a heady come-to-Jesus ode that shows much wiser tones with darkly prophetic, Fleetwood Mac-esque violin/vocal pairings.

Soul-soothing Girl-Folk sets common themes of heartache and yearning amidst a backdrop of plucky thumbs-in-her-belt-loops sanity, a formula that abounds in “Leave Me Tonight,” sweetly urging that universal and ubiquitous “him” to “Remember your woman will be just fine.” Indeed.  Hannah Roberts

 Kelly Thomas, Another Mile

Singer and local music booster Kelly Thomas readies new CD, Another Mile

BY Hannah Roberts | Posted 05/31/2006

Kelly Thomas would be pissed at me if I started rambling on about feminism and her victories over the stereotypical "woman's place" in music. Well, OK, not pissed exactly. She'd probably roll her eyes and shriek, Scarlet O'Hara-style, "Ohhhh, ah tayle yah, lahffis soooo hahrrrd on us laydeeees!"

And then she'd chuckle, slap the table and lean closer, finger-stabbing the air conspiratorially as if suddenly reminded of something -- "No, but I'll tell you what does get on my nerves ..."

Kelly's a sister-girl. Talk to her for five minutes and she'll have gleaned your deepest secrets, summed up your love life and put you to work at the door for one of her gigs. Her animated, thought-a-second style of interaction is evidence of an overflowing plate.

Working full time as a social worker, it might seem logical to call her music a side gig, but that's hardly an apt description. She organizes the Rivertown Music Club (which she began with her old band, Second Sister), a regular showcase at various local venues featuring a spectrum of artists, including her own act, Kelly Thomas & the Fabulous Pick-ups.

She also teams with other music enthusiasts to divvy up the Red MacCormack Memorial Recording Grants, a fund for local musical acts commemorating a musician whom, in life, Kelly both admired and admonished, and now misses dearly. 

The Flock -- That Last Blaze of Glory (Self-Released)

BY Steve Lansky | Posted 01/17/2007

Cincinnati group The Flock's new release that last blaze of glory debuts vocalist Jenny Lynn Shepherd in the role vacated by Ma Crow (who sings back up on two tracks). John Redell supplants Mike Fair as lead guitarist, while Jay Sofranec continues on bass. Mike Sontag (percussion) and Arie Vandenberg (drums) trade off to round out the rhythm section. Laura Haseckplays fiddle and sings. Dave Gilligan's signature harmonica is the unifying element. But this summary of major roles doesn't tell the whole story. Nearly everyone contributes vocals, with Redell leading on his own "Oasis of Love," a track that reminds me of Country Joe and The Fish circa 1969, a flowering tumult of psychedelia, blending harmonica, vocals (here Shepherd is the backing voice), flute (also Shepherd) and fiddle. The haunting Celtic traditional "Red is the Rose" displays Shepherd's pure finesse. Her original, "Happy Days," features Redell's laid-back Blues guitar, sensitive, clear and tightly woven with Gilligan's dynamically shifting, sweetly phrased harmonica solo. The syncopated beat complements the playful, ironic lyric, "Even the clear skies they feel so blue." Gilligan and Susan Cross have the writing credit on a piece of pure poetry, which grows on the listener. "Harrison Viaduct" describes a long walk to and from work watching traffic and meditating on the history of the Millcreek Valley. The insert photo reinforces this one. Gilligan recites/sings, "Suspended between earth and the sky," while the band supports the narrative, including Dave's harmonica, a bent tonal voice of its own. This is a strong effort and deserves support. The Flock hosts a CD release party for that last blaze of glory this Friday downtown at Arnold's Bar and Grill. (Steve Lansky) Grade: A

Lagniappe's "Irrational Exuberance"

(From *Mike Breen's Citybeat column, the original link http://tinyurl.com/yatkptg )

• Lagniappe has been the area’s finest Cajun music group for almost 20 years now, and the band’s new recording, Irrational Exuberance, shows exactly why they’ve remained so popular and employable. There’s nothing “novelty” about the band’s sound, an authentic but still crafty mix of Zydeco, Dixieland Jazz, R&B, Tex-Mex and many more styles. They are the aural essence of New Orleans in one ensemble and the clean, unfussy production ofIrrational Exuberance even keeps the warmth and grit in tact. The band’s CD release party is 9 p.m. Saturday at Arnold’s downtown. (myspace.com/lagniappe. Show details here.)

http://74.125.93.132/search?q=cache:JDm7_FxgGkcJ:lagniappecincy.blogspot.com/+breem+citybeat+lagniappe&cd=1&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us

(This link is fun)