CD REVIEWS: 10.28.09

Wednesday, October 28, 2009

By PJH Staff

Spilt Milk
KATRINA TRAIN
I stumbled across Dusty Springfield a decade ago or so and have not been able to get enough of her. But the proto-soul songbird died in 1999 in her native England, leaving me out of luck. Until recently.

The closest thing to Dusty’s sad and vivid exhalations of love and longing I’ve ever heard come from newcomer Katrina Train on her debut CD, Spilt Milk, released this month on Blue Note Records. Springfield immediately sprang to my mind on the very first and all subsequent listenings. That might have been the arrangements. The title track in particular features the tremulous strings and swelling horns of Springfield’s golden age.

And of course there are many other voices and sounds to be heard here, including some surprises: quiet tales of restlessness a la Joni Mitchell, languorous songs of summer love and simmering ennui in a k.d. lang vein, even raspy cries of pain and passion that could only have been influenced by Janis Joplin. A promising early effort.
– Rich Anderson

Heave yer Skeleton
Mr. Gnome
Almost in time for All Hallows’ Eve (the album’s release is slated for November), Mr. Gnome’s sophomore record Heave yer Skeleton is a hodgepodge of often eerie and always eclectic rock ‘n’ roll delights.

Feathery female vocals thread tapestries of good and evil: our inner selves, dreams, the devil, Armageddon and creatures of the night.

Indie-rock duo Nicole Barille (vocals, guitar) and Sam Meister (drums) have garnered countless comparisons – all complimentary - for their interesting mélange of soundscapes.

Splices of 1970s nostalgia have them sounding a bit like Death From Above 1979 while Barille’s hypnotic, sensual vocals conjures Portishead.
Mr. Gnome will remind you just a tad of Massive Attack for their trip-hop, psychedelic influences.

But the most suitable comparison is their resemblance to Sonic Youth. Plenty of vocal effects and unstructured guitar chords land Mr. Gnome in the same unorthodox, identity-entangled past as the New York band thought to hold deep significance in the progression of alternative rock.
– Robyn Vincent

Or, the Whale
OR THE WHALE
“Voices everywhere” is a great way to intro San Francisco’s seven-piece Or the Whale. The band’s 2007 self-released Light Poles and Pines was one of my favorites of the year, and it earned the 2008 Hollywood Music Award for Best Americana/Roots Artist. 

On their sophomore self-titled release (Seany Records/2009), there’s more space between lyrics, a bigger female presence, and after seeing them live in Winson-Salem, North Carolina last week, their country rock balance has taken a plunge into the latter.

Four different lead singers and strong harmony keep your senses brimming over mostly downbeat tempos, deeply grooved by former Jackson bassist Justin Fantl (Global Review, Flipper) and strung along by a distant pedal steel. The production and performance is obviously more meticulous than their freshman release, which works well, and arrangements aren’t overdone. Bigger stages await this young, energized ensemble, and their genuine songwriting will take them there.
– Aaron Davis

KATRINA TRAIN cover art

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CD REVIEWS: 10.28.09 | Planet JH News Article: General Music Arts and Culture

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