Rusty Belle
Rusty Belle
(independent)
The uglystick is a traditional mop-handled instrument of Newfoundland, made of a hodgepodge of noise-making devices, which creates a compelling cacophony. On Rusty Belle's self-titled album, they achieve a similar cacophonous harmony using a dizzying array of instruments—including the uglystick, accordion and something they call the fixedbrokenhammerdulcimer—and the vocals of brother/sister duo Matt and Kate Lorenz. Kate's voice is a sultry patina that finishes the band's timbre beautifully—and it stands nicely in contrast with Matt's falsetto, which imparts an edgy hysteria. From fevered compulsion to sweet sorrow, Rusty Belle offers much at which to shake an uglystick.
— Chase Scheinbaum
Chris Stills
Chris Stills
(V2 Music)
Chris Stills is the scion of Stephen Stills, but don't expect mellow folk rock. His second album is dance groove-oriented, full of synth, funky beats, chunky bass and out-of-the-box surprises. Check out "Kitty Kathy," an African-influenced song with frenzied cross-rhythms; and "Demon," a perverse love song co-written with Jean-Louis Murat. Both songs are in French. (This album was originally released in France.) "Fool for Love" uses reggae tempo to frame smooth-as-silk vocals; "When the Pain Dies Down" is lushly orchestrated with piano and strings; "Sweet California" is sunny and folky; and "Story of a Dying Man" could be a lost McCartney-Lennon composition. Stills is as intriguing as he is talented. He plays the Iron Horse March 22.
—Rob Weir
The Mountain Goats
Heretic Pride
(4AD)
The latest, lushest from The Mountain Goats offers exuberantly dark and addictively detailed portraits of reckless, cornered people, unrepentant, resplendent monsters and lost souls calling down a personal Armageddon. Heretic Pride plays like a sampler of songwriter John Darnielle's strengths, veering between the frantically strummed paranoia workout "Sax Rohmer #1," shimmering and aching ballad "San Bernardino," and propulsively catchy "Autoclave." There are a handful of lackluster tunes, mostly a quibble, since the keepers are so emotionally charged and unsentimentally empathic. One narrator promises "I am coming home to you with my own blood in my mouth." Like the rest of this fearsome album, it comes off as an endearment and a threat, both.
—Jeff Jackson
Erica Wheeler
Good Summer Rain
(Blue Pie Music)
Good Summer Rain is a pleasant thought for New Englanders fed up with winter, and Erica Wheeler's inventive songwriting and intimate vocals will warm our souls until the June skies open. Wheeler spends a lot of time on the road these days, hence her new songs wend us through Canada's "endless pines," through the Blue Ridge and its hills "flush with green," past the old "Apache Hotel" framed by Western mountains, down by a Montana river, and away from the "new boomtown" to where caribou cavort. Wheeler paints pictures of unspoiled places for us with her full vocal palette. This mature and provocative release is a paean to loving life, loving another and loving the American landscape. She plays the Iron Horse March 20.
—Rob Weir
