Reviews February 2008 Page 2 Will Tang - Everything Changes (Zen Music) Think of Rochdale and music, and the first name that springs to mind is Gracie Fields - if you’re a tone deaf octogenarian. For the rest of us there’s Will Tang, a blues harmonica player (from Rochdale), who’s made a musical name for himself in Hong Kong (he has a Anglo-Chinese heritage) and is now back in the UK pretending he’s from Manchester. The first thing you notice about Everything Changes is it’s not exactly a typical British blues album. Thank goodness for that. Rather it’s primarily a singer-songwriter record with some blues touches. Naturally, he’s not afraid to occasionally let rip - “The Other Side” is a crunchy blues rocker which should only be played at maximum volume, but mostly it’s melodic acoustic rock, well written and sung with plenty of soul. Well done. www.willtang.co.uk Rob F. - Klipspringer - Everyone Kisses Differently (Sprockett) Bubblegum pop with punk power chords never fails to hit the spot. Lipspringer are a crisp delight with clear, present and dangerous vocals and jaunty Grange Hill keyboards. The album begins to kick in with the killer track “Barb Wire”, as tight as the skin on Pammie’s bazooms. “Phone World” is a wrong number and “Hate to Have to Kill Somebody” is just too silly, but Klipspringer get back into a groove just the right side of quirky and “Nasty Hook” is both self-explanatory and bloody fine. www.klipspringer.net Carl J. - Citizens Band Radio - CBR (Independent) From Woodglen, New Jersey, Citizens Band Radio are a proper country rock band, playing the sort of stuff that Gram Parsons invented with the International Submarine Band, and The Eagles made shit loads of wedge from. Obviously times have changed. Grunge morphed into alt. country, Townes is long gone, stringbands are on the rise again and Steve Earle’s off the gear. So what’s a poor boy to do? In this case it’s kick back and enjoy these guys. We need Citizens Band Radio, we need country rockers with long hair, classic finger pickin’, songs that inspire idiot grinnin’, beer drinking and tokin’. Check out their MySpace page for a taster, then head over to CD Baby to purchase. If they’d just lose the truck driving imagery, hole up in Woodstock for a year or two and embrace the whole ‘back to nature’ thing, they’d probably be too perfect. www.thecbradios.com / www.myspace.com/citizensbandradio Rob F. - Joyce Woodson - If I Hadn’t Seen The West (Radish) This is Joyce’s third record following her previous “Landscapes” and “Capistrano Girl” but this has got to be her best yet. Her story telling on songs such as “I Heard About It In A Song”, “I Don’t Want To Be A Cowboy Anymore” and the title track “If I Hadn’t Seen The West” show her knowledge and love of western music. Her song “Zane Grey” is a wonderful tribute to probably the greatest writer of Western novels, and “Just A Mirage” is inspired by the author’s book “Desert Gold”. Joyce grew up on the family farm in California before spending 12 years in LA and New England, and then almost 10 years based in Nashville writing and performing her songs. If you are a fan of Western music Joyce epitomises everything that s good within this genre. Pete J. - Antibalos - Security (Anti-) Produced by John McEntire, who has previous with Stereolab and Tortoise, Security is an eclectic whirl of Afrobeat, jazz and funk, with rhythmic chops and stunning brass punctuating the most accessible track, “War Hero”. Elsewhere, fans of Weather Report and Battles can fight it out as to who influenced who. Thirteen minutes of “Sanctuary” may smack of overindulgence but it’s just as easy to lose yourself in this exciting and challenging workout. Antibalos have thrilled the Glastonbury crowds and promise to be a growing force in the avant-jazz world of 2008. Will F. - Kevin Bents - The Means (Bashville) New York singer-songwriter, Kevin Bents, has excellent pop instincts. Unfortunately he’s about 25 years out of step with what the majority believe to be pop music these days. Good news for the rest of us then as he skips through a set which’ll have older listeners nodding approvingly, and probably reaching for their Steely Dan and 10cc LPs just to make sure they’ve figured out exactly where Bents is coming from. Add to the mix a smidgen of early Marshall Crenshaw and production values which waver between the ‘70s and ‘80s and you’ll have some idea of what I’m talking about. Pretty cool if you ask me, but don’t expect to impress your kids with it. www.bashville.com Rob F. Next Page Past Reviews: March 07, April 07, May 07, June/July 07, Sept/Oct 07, Dec07, Jan08, Feb 08