Blanche: What This Town Needs - EP Review

Husband and wife team Dan and Tracee Miller head up Blanche, a Detroit alternative country rock band. The band have various other activities and interests such as Jack Lawrence's bass playing with the Raconteurs, Dan and Tracee's roles in the movie Walk The Line as Luther Perkins and wife, and Tracee's artwork which sells very well on her website.

Blanche's stated mission is: "To create, maintain and extend throughout the community high standards of musical standards."

From the name, the album cover and the bells outside at the start of the title track, I felt like I was in a cowboy movie. Dan and Tracee Miller then trade intense vocals over pedal steel guitar, banjo, raw guitar sounds, and sparse, driving drumming.

Child Of The Moon is much slower, less in your face track with the eerie pedal steel and banjo strumming making this a walk-home-after-a-long-day type of song.

Someday...


What impresses me most, surely purposely, is their ability to take you back in time. To when things were simpler, and clearer. Everything from their music's artwork, their website, to their sound and lyrics creates this.

The third track is the very harmonious and beautifully versed Scar Beneath The Skin. The most poetic and perfect example of this I feel is this verse:
"Floor board creaking once again
Each morning when your day begins
Brittle branches sprouted leaves
Wind chimes swaying in the breeze."

In order to get the beauty of it, you have to listen to the song. Sorry folks.

The EP finishes with more upbeat and energetic Never Again about love lost and taken for granted and a live version of Someday... which makes we want to see them live.

A good alternative country album which, with more listening, really grows on you.

They have an album due for release soon, which I look forward to.


Blanche website: www.blanchemusic.com/
Myspace Page: www.myspace.com/blanchedetroit

The Besnard Lakes: The Besnard Lakes Are The Dark Horse - Album Review

The Besnard Lakes are Montrealers by way of Western Canada. Original members Jace Lasek and Olga Goreas are joined by some new faces for their second album. It's a deep, reverberating, emotional ride.

On hearing the beginning of the first song, Disaster, I was incredibly worried about what was to come. It starts with slow, plucked strings and Jace Lasek with his falsetto voice singing melodically over it. At first it grated and I felt it was limp. This was all to change.

Slow horns, violins, brass and woodwind instruments add to the slow, but powerful sound and finally (2 minutes into the song) the drums and guitars kick in. This builds up further and further and you feel like you are listening to a whole orchestra echoing perfectly in a cathedral with the ongoing chorus "You've got disaster on your mind"

This video is for the song called "For Spy Turned Musician" (not on this album - but nice).
"For Spy Turned Musician" Video


In Agent 13 the piano, organ and the synthesizer get a good work out. As with the opening track, it starts slowly and builds up and up and the wait is worth it. Again there is very little percussion until the final third of the song.

There are 3 bass players, 3 guitarists, 3 drummers and The Firth String Liberation Singers Choir in Devestation so you can imagine the powerful noise throughout.

On the album cover (below), there is A Dark Horse emerging on a dark night from a fire. This is now embedded in my mind as it's simply the perfect image for their music. Bizarrely, I just can't imagine seeing them in daylight.

Because Tonight is a Jekyll and Hyde song for me. The first half is slow and lacking bite. Fortunately my patience is rewarded when it unfolds and changes into something with some verve, kick and energy.

The final three songs are more upbeat and instantly likable tunes with more easily recognisable beats and the "usual" instruments.

The Album ends with Cedric's War which has a great marching beat to it and a nice end to a very well-crafted, emotional, creative and different album.

Track Listing:
1. Disaster
2. For Agent 13
3. And You Lied To Me
4. Devastation
5. Because Tonight
6. Rides The Rain
7. On Beford And Grant
8. Cedric's War


The Besnard Lakes website: www.thebesnardlakes.com

Myspace Page: myspace.com/thebesnardlakes

The Little Ones: Sing Song - Album Review

This mini-album is released in February in the UK to coincide with their tour starting on 15 January where they are supporting The Boy Least Likely To, Tilly & the Wall and Magic Numbers.

I instantly enjoyed their uplifting and upbeat music. My first impression of this mini-album is a Clap Your Hands Say Yeah with a different singer, however that's not fair on them at all. Their use of simple chords, crescendos and a drummer who sometimes unconventionally, but very effectively adds to the excitement, blends well to create a sunshine filled indie pop album.

The first 2 tracks, Let Them Ring The Bells and Lover Who Uncover are both upbeat, catchy songs with the 'yeah's, 'la's, 'hey's and 'no's all conveniently placed for a good singalong.

The rising chords of Cha Cha Cha along with the brilliant line of "and the abacus says, 'keep on counting…'" makes this my favourite track - also it's great to dance to with my 2 year old daughter.



The song lengths are longer than the norm for this type of music, but they are of good enough quality not to be annoying.

The last 2 tracks are not quite as catchy, particularly in the final song, Heavy Hearts Brigade. There is a break from the higher pitched singing with a more "down to earth" track as the title suggests. This is the least pop-like tune and I get the feeling they didn't want to be pigeon-holed..

In the opening verse of Oh, MJ! is:
Fire your attention away from jaws to your feet where
We'll make 'em, make 'em move forward.

Ironically, this song is the least likely of the 6 to make your feet move forward, but it shows that it's not all simplistic, indie pop, sunshine stuff.

This mini-album clocks in at just under 25 minutes, which I think is a good length for this type of music. Not too long to get under your skin, and not too short to be forgettable. Definitely worth getting and giving a go.


The Little Ones website: www.wearethelittleones.com/
Free Downloads : Lovers Who Uncover, Cha Cha Cha, High On A Hill
Interesting remix of Lovers Who Uncover
Myspace Page: www.myspace.com/wearethelittleones

Clap Your Hands Say Yeah

The first thing that struck me was this bands name. I conjured up images of a holy and religious black minister rallying the congregation. The second thing was the singers very nasal whiney voice. At first it was strange and ever so slightly annoying, with me thinking "it has got to grow on me at SOME point - Surely!"

Having endured the first track which is like a "roll up, roll up" circus music, I was scared. Having forced myself to sit through it I found myself slowly being captured by this very imaginitive and creative debut album.

With the exception of a couple of songs, the lyrics are very random and I'd be surprised if someone knew what it was about. For example, Alec sings:

I heard it from a friend
The Revolution never happened
Sigh
A little die
No more a child
Goodbye

It sometimes seems that certain lines rhymes were only made that way so he could use his voice to drag out the whines. This is not a criticism as what makes this album for me is not the lyrics, or the wailing voice, but the rhythm, riffs and melodic, quirkily catchy tunes that this group has created.

Is This Love? is an upbeat track, great backing vocals, and simply brilliant riffs. Heavy Metal starts with a riff and is joined by a harmonica with a bass-line taking over shortly after. There are no weak songs (apart from the horrible intro, if you could call it a song) and shows that the band has more than just one trick.



If you can bear putting up with the wailing, then give this album a go. I imagine you could split the nation on his voice, I just hope you can have some faith long enough for it to make an impression.


Clap Your Hands Say Yeah website: www.clapyourhandssayyeah.com
Myspace Page: www.myspace.com/clapyourhandssayyeah