Hit List

Claire Holley, Dandelion.

Mississippi's Claire Holley has a novelist's eye for detail, from the smell of "chicken under heating lamps" on a gas station counter to the small talk coming from the far end of the bar at "Henry's," while a steady rain falls outside. As their melodies meander through minor keys, her songs tell darkly complex stories that echo William Faulkner's in their balance of anger and wistfulness, melancholy and mischief. Smart, literate, and deeply rooted in southern culture, they dwell halfway between the Bible and the blues. Some, like "6 Miles to McKenny," rock hard with driving electric guitars, and others, like "The Singer," whisper softly against acoustic picking and strumming, while Holley imbues them all with rich emotional ambivalence. (Yep Roc, www.yeproc.com)

—Kenny Berkowitz

 

Debashish Bhattacharya and Bob Brozman, Mahima.

When California slide guitarist Bob Brozman first connected with Debashish Bhattacharya, inventor of modern Hindustani slide guitar, it was a musical "separated at birth" moment. Sharing incredible chops, an unquenchable thirst for new sounds, and an unparalleled sense of fun, these two innovators were fated to collaborate. On Mahima, thanks to the addition of vocalist Sutapa Bhattacharya and the return of tabla master Subhashis Bhattacharya, the musical territory is more solidly Indian than the gleeful obliteration of melodic and harmonic boundaries on 1999's Sunrise. While Brozman suppresses his goofiest impulses, each guitarist gets to show how wildly he can play when the mood approaches Bollywood-meets—Warner Bros. cartoon zaniness. Elsewhere, their thoughtful Western explorations of classical Indian raga forms reveal how quiet and atmospheric these acoustic instruments can be. (Riverboat/World Music Network, www.worldmusic.net)

—Danny Carnahan

Nicolai Dunger, Tranquil Isolation.

It's rare that a pro athlete-turned-musician makes a wise choice with his second career, but former Swedish soccer player Nicolai Dunger is a nice exception to the rule. Recorded in a Kentucky cabin with Palace's Will Oldham, Tranquil Isolation shows an outsider's affection for American roots music with echoes of early blues and jazz. Together, Dunger and Oldham fill the album with the warm, rich grooves of late-night front-porch jams, as in the meandering opening track, "Last Night I Dreamt of Mississippi," and the jazzy "Hundred Songs." Dunger's poetic lyrics cover a broad range of subjects—love, songwriter Tim Hardin, Dunger's grandmother—and find their perfect medium in his soulful voice, a satisfying cross between Van Morrison and Kurt Cobain. (Overcoat, www.overcoatrecordings.com)

—Nicole Solis

 

Todd Snider, Near Truths and Hotel Rooms.

On this enormously entertaining live set of story-songs, troubadour Todd Snider gets a lot of mileage from his life on the road, weaving tales around characters with names like Large Marge, Bonehead, and Trog. Not every track is a talkin' blues, but something about the drawl in Snider's delivery makes even his twangy folk tunes flow like stream-of-consciousness recollections. Snider's strummed cowboy chords may not be flashy, but they serve the lyrics well and effectively punctuate a funny story about an encounter with a fan of "Eddie Van Halen of the Eddie Van Halen band." The way Snider spins wry humor and homespun wit into sing-along melodies might justify comparisons to labelmate John Prine, but his quick-witted delivery makes him come off more like a cussin' cousin of Loudon Wainwright III, providing much-needed belly laughs for these grim times. (Oh Boy, www.ohboy.com)

—Drew Pearce

 

James Reams and Walter Hensley, James Reams and Walter Hensley and the Barons of Bluegrass.

A Kentucky native who lives in New York City, James Reams is one of the best bluegrass crooners going, with a mesquite-flavored voice that can convey both joy and sorrow in the same cadence. He's teamed here with Walter Hensley, an underappreciated banjo master who Alan Lomax once said delivered "folk magic in every note." The coupling of Hensley's sweet tone and inventive licks with Reams' aggressive rhythm guitar powers this set of hard-driving, traditional bluegrass. With help from members of Reams' New York band, the Barnstormers, the pair delivers a decidedly old-school version of the music made chic by the success of O Brother, Where Art Thou? One listen to their furious performance of Hensley's original instrumental "Lady Liberty" is all it takes to realize that this is how bluegrass was meant to be played. (Copper Creek, www.coppercreekrec.com)

—Ian Zack

 

Kerstin Blodig and Ian Melrose, Kelpie.

Hailing from Berlin, Kelpie is the acoustic duo of German vocalist/multi-instrumentalist Kerstin Blodig and Scottish guitarist Ian Melrose (who also contributes backup vocals and low whistle). Tapping both Celtic and Scandinavian roots, with several tunes sung in Norwegian, Kelpie offers a glimpse into the modern-day European musical melting pot. The opening cut "Kråka" offers the kind of foot-tapping groove that can't be taken for granted in the sparse duo format. In contrast, "Mine Visor," described in the liner notes as an "early Norwegian blues," moves at a slower pace, focusing instead on a hauntingly beautiful melody. "The Battle of Waterloo," featuring Melrose on lead vocals, finds Kelpie confidently interpreting this well-known standard of the Celtic repertoire. While the CD focuses mainly on great vocals and arrangements, it also displays Melrose as one of the finest Celtic-based fingerpickers on the scene. (Alula, www.alula.com)

—Teja Gerken

Terence Martin, Sleeper.

Terence Martin's credentials as a symphony bassist, touring rock musician, and poet converge persuasively in this collection of original folk-based material. Accompanied by acoustic fingerpicking, harmonica, mandolin, bass, and accordion, Martin's voice and delivery bear comparison to Greg Brown, Gordon Lightfoot, and Richie Havens. Martin's emotive lyrics stand out as studies in the use of telling detail, twists on familiar phrases, and crystalline imagery to evoke experiences along life's thorny path. "The Way It Didn't Go," recounting the moving particulars of a love affair that never happened ("I saw a child / Who might have had our name / He passed me in a crowd / Just the other day"), and "Sky the Wrong Color," simultaneously describing one morning and the entire life of a devoted couple, epitomize the way Martin effectively matches language with musical phrase on this thoughtfully crafted CD. (Good Dog, www.martinsongs.com)

—Gary Joyner

Corb Lund Band, Five Dollar Bill.

Descended from a long line of Alberta cowpunchers, Corb Lund is the real deal, singing stories of gamblers, cardsharps, and warm breezes blowing across the prairie. Produced in Nashville by Dead Reckoner Harry Stinson (Steve Earle and the Dukes, Lyle Lovett), Five Dollar Bill is perfectly out-of-step with contemporary country, coming closer to the storytelling spirit of early Johnny Cash and Marty Robbins and delivered with the spirited good humor of comrades sitting around a roaring campfire. The three-chord songs here feel timeless, celebrating oil riggers, bucking bronc riders, and women with the good sense not to marry guitar pickers. (Stony Plain, www.stonyplainrecords.com)

—Kenny Berkowitz

Flook, Rubai.

Half-English and half-Irish, Flook is an oddity in Celtic neotrad music, an acoustic quartet lead by two wind players—Sarah Allen (flute, alto flute, and accordion) and Brian Finnegan (flutes and whistles). Backed by the smart, driving rhythms of John Joe Kelly (bodhran and mandolin) and Ed Boyd (guitar and bouzouki), their playing is exuberant, with barely a moment to catch a breath. As they were with Allen's last band, the Barely Works, the performances here are smartly modern, and the tunes, penned primarily by Allen and Finnegan, are brilliantly effervescent, celebrating speed in a propulsive rush of notes. (World Village, worldvillagemusic.com)

—Kenny Berkowitz

Excerpted from Acoustic Guitar magazine, September 2003, No. 129.

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