Eilen Jewell
Butcher Holler: A Tribute to Loretta Lynn
(Signature Sounds)
Loretta Lynn was the biggest star in country in the ’60s. Her glow faded by the time the 1980 biopic Coal Miner’s Daughter came out, but Jewell’s stunning tribute is sure to spark new interest. Jewell covers classics including “You’re Looking at Country” and “Whispering Sea,” but it’s the racier material that stands the test of time. Jewell’s insouciant “You Ain’t Woman Enough (To Take My Man),” her naughtiness on “Deep as Your Pocket,” and the threats in “Fist City” and “Don’t Come Home a-Drinkin'” remind us how gutsy Lynn’s repertoire was. Jewell is smooth and swingy where Lynn was twangy and honky-tonk but, if anything, Jewell—assisted by Johnny Sciascia’s walking bass, Jason Beck’s slap percussion, and Jerry Miller’s robust guitar—enhances Lynn’s do-me-wrong-and-I’ll-do-you-worse defiance. You’ll smile as you throw a right hook! —Rob Weir
Black Helicopter
Don’t Fuck With the Apocalypse
(Ecstatic Peace)
Hailing from Boston, the musicians making up Black Helicopter seem to revel in their workingman’s approach to rock. On their third release, the core aim continues to be bludgeoning listeners into submission. Heavy, distorted bass and down-tuned guitars leave many tracks feeling like the audio equivalent of wading through quicksand. Still, the riffs chug along smartly and propel songs forward with bulldozing momentum. Vocalist Tim Shea’s lyrics combine historical references (“Invasion of Prussia”) with wry nostalgia (“Record Player”) and slacker angst. While many might rush to label such work as metal posturing or mere grunge imitation, the roots of the music can be found in the rhythms of classic rock, with melodies often resembling pop nuggets swathed in layers of sound. To paraphrase Thurston Moore, the group is defiantly “their own thing, deep and distinctive.” —Michael Cimaomo
Rusty Belle
On A Full Moon Weekend: Saturday
(independent)
Though Rusty Belle sometimes indulges a penchant for clanking rhythms and quirky textures, the band’s new eight-song effort starts quietly with “Rearview Mirror Sunrise,” a slowly unspooling, folky tune driven by two-part harmony and big accordion (or maybe it’s melodica) chords. Track two starts with a rollicking clatter of percussion and a pleasant tangle of guitar and accordion. Rusty Belle has a curious, compelling habit of coaxing very different, even huge sounds out of a relatively small stable of acoustic instruments. Some tunes offer harmonies reminiscent of ’60s folk, others country blues, and still others a plaintive, swinging melancholy. The common thread is the brother/sister vocalizing of Matt and Kate Lorenz, a unified presence even when things get cacophonous. Influences abound, but there’s not really anything else exactly like Rusty Belle. —James Heflin
