New Music

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This article was published 03/12/2015 (3604 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

ROCK

Dirty Streets

White Horse (Alive Naturalsound)

FOR their third full-length album, Memphis-based trio Dirty Streets have created a rock ‘n’ roll gem that could be easily labelled retro in some circles, yet they’ve managed to twist the genre to their own designs quite delightfully.

From the moment the needle drops in the opening groove of the driving first track, Save Me, you know you are into something special. Singer/guitarist Justin Toland’s voice is a cracking and rough-edged thing with a kind of Paul Rodgers-esque vibe. He isn’t faking it, and as the monkey beat and splashy cymbals propel the song forward, unformed and murky visions of long-lost ’70s-era power trios with attitude and large amplifiers become newly clear.

There are ample riffs here as well, and it is those precise, few-note runs that hook into your ear and keep you coming back for more. Wah-wah pedal is employed in dollops and even Toland’s piano detours work into the mix seamlessly.

Maybe being from the musical centre of Memphis gives these guys a few frets up on the competition — or maybe this gem is just so right-on it can’t miss. ***

DOWNLOAD: Good Pills, Accents

— Jeff Monk

 

POP & ROCK

The Chills

Silver Bullets (Fire)

DUNEDIN, New Zealand, produced an inordinate number of bands that made an impact on ’80s indie rock. Even amid this sea of innovators — Clean, Bats, Dead C, Tall Dwarfs and Verlaines — the Chills stood out, in large measure because of the bittersweet, jangly pop songs of singer-guitarist Martin Phillipps.

But after a handful of brilliant albums with a rotating cast of musicians, Phillipps slowed the pace while battling drug addiction and hepatitis C. Remarkably, he doesn’t sound as though he’s lost a step on Silver Bullets. The gleaming mix puts his reverbed, single-note guitar lines out front in an album that takes a wide-screen view of the world and of sound. With a snippet of choir music, Phillipps starts off with what is ostensibly a love song, Warm Waveform. But is it addressed to a lover or the ocean?

There are no throwaways on this album. Even the interlude Liquid Situation hits hard: “Intolerance precipitates our imminent demise.” It leads into the ambitious, eight-minute suite Pyramid/When the Poor Can Reach the Moon, which veers between singalong counterpoint harmonies and scraping, dissonant guitar swirl. Hope pierces Aurora Corona. In his understated way, Phillipps vows, “We can do better, beginning today.”

For the singer, who has lived and nearly died next to the ocean on a beautiful island teeming with wonders for more than 50 years, it’s a rededication of sorts. The Chills are back, and they’ve got work to do. ****

DOWNLOAD: Warm Waveform

— Greg Kot, Chicago Tribune

 

ROOTS

Scott Nolan

Silverhill (Transistor 66)

FOR the past dozen years, Scott Nolan has followed his singin’-and-songwritin’ muse all over the world, winning fans, making friends and soaking up experiences and knowledge that always seem to show up in his songs.

His latest album feels like the culmination of all that hard work. Named for the small Alabama town in which it was recorded, Silverhill pairs Nolan and his tunes with Willie Sugarcapps, a roots ‘n’ roll supergroup of well-seasoned musos. Recorded and produced in just two days by the Sugarcapps’ Anthony Crawford (Google him, it’s impressive), the 13 cuts here are the epitome of what can happen when heartfelt, hardscrabble songwriting meets exquisite musical feel.

Nolan has always penned beautiful shorthand sketches, but he reaches new heights here, creating fully realized paintings, both on his own and with writing partners such as Hayes Carll, Mary Gauthier and Jaida Dreyer. On The Last One, Nolan sums up his hometown in a tune that starts with the line “Jets jersey and a Trans Am,” and tells of how his “radio plays the same song… where every other day is like the last one.” One Little Spark, his collaboration with Dreyer, turns her humorous tale of smoking a joint with Guy Clark into a song in which she thinks she may have killed him. There’s far, far more here but too little space to describe it all… just do yourselves a favour, buy this album and play it loud.

Nolan will celebrate the release of Silverhill with a Dec. 12 show at the Park Theatre. ****1/2

Download: The Last One; One Little Spark

— John Kendle

 

CLASSICAL

St. Paul’s Cathedral Choir

Carols with St. Paul’s Cathedral Choir (Decca/Classic FM)

JUST in time for the festive season comes this new release of Christmas carols performed by London’s celebrated St. Paul’s Cathedral Choir.

Founded in 1127, London’s oldest cathedral choir — composed of 28 boy choristers and 18 men led by Andrew Carwood — is world renowned for its pristine artistry. Its latest offering in a growing discography of six albums features 19 traditional carols, as well as several surprises that will keep both musical purists and more adventuresome carol connoisseurs happy.

Some of the latter include English composers Philip Stopford’s poignant setting of 16th-century Lully Lulla Lullay, as well as Graham Jordan Ellis’s There Is No Rose. For John Rutter devotees, there’s also his soaring arrangement of All Bells in Paradise, inspired by 15th-century carol Corpus Christi Carol.

However, the seasonal disc also features such evergreen classics as Hark! The Herald Angels Sing, Silent Night and O Little Town of Bethlehem, with the angelic boys’ pure treble voices sweeter than a kiss under a sprig of mistletoe. ****

— Holly Harris