Old Town School of Folk Music Songbook, Vol. 1

As a native Chicagoan, I was delighted when the Old Town School of Folk Music Songbook, Vol. 1 arrived. The work of nearly 50 years of lessons and learning felt warm and familiar in my hand. The songbook contains 23 classic songs performed by a variety of artistic talents, some nationally known; others are instructors at the school – with decades of performing experience.

Bedtime Prayers

I am not a heavy metal aficionado, although I did enjoy the more pop-oriented groups like Guns N’ Roses, Def Leppard and Metallica in my high school and college years. A friend in a black metal band informs me that the vocal style that so turned me off this disc is typical of death metal, but that doesn’t make it any more palatable to the masses. Just because your sound is heavy doesn’t mean the vocalist shouldn’t sing and, hopefully, sing well.

Out of the Ashes

Shelley Morningsong is a singer, songwriter, guitarist and flutist. On [Out of the Ashes](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000HT3KZG?ie=UTF8&tag=feminrevie-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B000HT3KZG) she proclaims her Northern Cheyenne heritage as a source of pride and strength. There are thirteen tracks. The first song, "Sweet Protector," is an upbeat pop/rock number. "Sing for Them" honors Morningsong's ancestors and utilizes tribal drums, as do some of the other songs. The merging of traditional styling with modern pop convention makes for a unique sound.

New Arrivals: Volume One

Upbeat and flowing, this album has a lot of very powerful music and lyrics on it. From Noe Venable's "Juniper," to Paul Brill's "New Pagan Love Song," the music in this selection is a definite must-have. Whoever edited this work paid a lot of attention to detail and continuity between selections and it really, really shows. All of this music I found very upbeat and easy to listen to, but without being maudalin and boring. Well worth your listening time.

Cinescope

Thunderball is an arty, urban collaboration of DJs that is comparable to a modern version of Dee-Lite. Cinescope is their latest offering to the tripped out gods of the discothèque. You could liken this 46-minute disc to Ali Baba and his forty thieves getting down with Shaft in Africa. Melding elements of Latin jazz, funk, reggae, disco, break beat and Indian strings, Cinescope takes listeners on a twelve-song magic carpet ride that is vibrant and worldly.

Raising Your Voice… Trying to Stop an Echo

The latest album by Hammock, Raising a Voice…Trying to Stop an Echo, is a beautiful compilation of piano and electric guitar that stretches across genres showing mass appeal to many different audiences. All eighteen tracks on this album enrich you with a cascade of sound that is perfectly harmonious. The songs flow seamlessly from track to track making it seem more like an orchestrated concert just for you as opposed to just another album.

Paper Television

You might hear the term “pop” thrown around in reference to The Blow’s latest album Paper Television, but don’t be fooled into thinking this is anything like conventional mainstream pop music. Think about it, when’s the last time you heard Lionel Richie’s “Dancing On The Ceiling” compared to post-punk, or Wang Chung’s “Everybody Have Fun Tonight” deemed anything like electro-clash? Somewhere along the line indie kids got the idea that it was cool to call their music “pop” simply because the lyrics were cheesy.

Shades of a Vast Moment

The album is a melodic tale of sorrow, a search for meaning within the circle of life. It is mixture of ambient, lounge-y, jazzy tunes, which flow like a stream of water from beginning to end. The first song, “Inner Out,” could be the music score for an off-Broadway play. It lends itself to abstract visual interpretations, casting shadows moving through sound. The dark and eerie voices are akin to Sinead O’Connor’s lamenting voice. With lines such as “life sleeps with agony, and ashes came right through the dead part of you” the songs are solemn contemplations.

Cannery Hours

It’s shocking to realize that The Occasion hails from New York. Who knew that the city could actually produce a band that isn’t busy mining an ‘80s new wave sound? Rather, this quintet is busy turning back the clock even further as its members explore the textures and space of ‘60s psychedelic rock mixed with a softer, acoustic, folk sound. Cannery Hours is a mess of guitars, tape loops, organs and other electronics.

Vit.Ri.Fied

Drink in hand, volume raised high, and sad-attempts to sing along with Aluminum Babe - I quickly found myself rocking out on my table top to Vit.Ri.Fied. If I could mix all my favorite sounds from my most-adored female bands, this would have to be it! Not too hard and not too soft, Aluminum Babe knows how to strum that guitar and beat that drum. Anna’s soft but distinctive voice makes Vit.Ri.Fied an easy-to-listen-to album and a quick favorite. This three-person group had my feet tapping, my arms swinging and my head bobbing.

Layourbattleaxedown

The Concretes are Swedish and adorable. They also have a band name that is part cool ("the" is so money) and part tough cookie (you get it...). Which has nothing to do with the music, really, but come on; you and I have both picked up CDs because of a cutesy band name or cool cover art. Most of the time our whirlwind expenditures result in creepy death metal rock operas or grandma music, which then result in another set of beer coasters. The Concretes, though, deliver every time, even when they're releasing a b-side album to get some stateside love.

Standing in the Way of Control

The Gossip’s new album, Standing in the Way of Control, is more than interesting and different in itself. Partly, it doesn’t even sound like the Gossip. Bluesy punk of previous albums has been replaced with a garage, New York punk sound. However, this is actually done very nicely, and the audience is not lost during the change.