Local
Americana/Country
Pretty Little Feet“The Mountain Runners”
www.prettylittlefeet.net

Allegra Ziffle and Matt Novak are Pretty Little Feet, a duo that hales from Bellingham, Washington.   To hear their music without that fact known one might think they were from the Ozarks or Appalachian hills.  There is a very old  thread weaving through this music, which is not only played & produced well, but is relaxing as well.

“The Mountain Runners” is music that was recorded for a film documentary about the Mount Baker Marathon of 1911-1913.  Having lived at the fork of the Nooksack  for a summer and fall, I feel for some reason I should have heard of this somewhere along almost a years worths of travels in that area.  But, alas not a morsel of memory is to be found in the memory banks.  One thing that is remembered well regarding that area of the state is that it could well be the Ozarks or Appalachian hills in it’s traditions.  This is a tight knit, ethnically diverse community up north on the border.  From it stems a long lineage of story tellers of their history, which is one of the aspects I loved while living there.  The weather, that’s another story for another review.

This project was engineered, mixed and mastered by Paul Turpin at Champion St. Sound in Bellingham.  Novak and Ziffle cover all the instruments recorded with Ziffle on Fiddle, banjo, accordion, vocals and clogging.  Novak covers guitar, mandolin, tenor banjo as well as vocals.

This reviewer would have appreciated the video component or partner with this work as it is apparent that these tunes are covering aspects of content, but alone there is a feeling that I am missing something.  That said, this is a well represented recording of music long forgotten and missing from today’s culture of instant messaging, this is story telling of a time long ago, but not forgotten.

If you like early music, before the folk, country, bluegrass, or any other label; this is the listen you’ve been waiting for.  Stories told, no frills, telling of tales with a simple yet compelling musical background.

[Christopher Brant Anderson]

Indie/Americana
Driftwood “A Rock & Roll Heart”
www.driftwoodtheband.com 

Released on May, 2012 this release is long overdue for a review, so let’s buckle up & get down to it.

Driftwood glides out with “I’ve Got a Secret”, with lone guitar patting out rhythm, then the band emerges from speakers giving way to stark vocal riffing out lyrical passages that are beautifully augmented by bass, violin and the banjo that are accompanied by harmonies and a well balanced mix of  instrumentation.  The first thought after the first listen twice to this first cut is; Who are these guys?

“A Rock & Roll Heart”, the second tune wonderfully unfolds with a nice loping intro that leads to a tender vocal embellished with sections of banjo, strings and backing vocals designed to draw the ear in and set the toe tapping & head thinking.  Due to the cover art it would be easy to contrast between this and the monster that is roaming the US and world, Mumford & Son’s, but Driftwood music is Americana, not a representative reproduction of the art form.  In short, Driftwood has its own identity and plays the game much better in this writer’s esteem.

Driftwood is out of New York and it’s influenced by a time in Americana music that saw The Band & Dylan take the helm and steer a course away from “country rock” to American music in a electric based sound, yet retaining the identity.  There are some great chops going on with this music also.

Driftwood is Claire Byrne on violin & vocals, Jon Doll on doghouse, or upright bass, with Dan Forsyth on guitar & vocals.  Joe Kollar took on a huge chunk of this project as he is featured on banjo, drums, organ, guitar & vocals.  The work was recorded at Three Egg Studios in Brooklyn, NY and produced by the artists and Bryan Kane.

Claire Byrne’s fills on the violin alone are worth a listen, she has it nailed.  The rest of the players never get in the way of the vocalist and add drama to the lyric, which is the gig in a well produced product.

“The Working Mom’s Anthem” is very original in lyrical form and the vocal is so raw in the mix that the lyric leaps out.  There’s a great edge to this tune that any mom would recognize and empathize with.       I’m an old dude so the tune sort of takes me back to a Stone’s tune, but the production is way beyond that trifle.  This is one of the best tunes for me on the recording.

“Love Is” & “Confidence Is” remain in the vein they have honed, but both weave great tales, which a good lyric should attempt to do.  There is a theatrical vibe in their production that probably serves this group well in live performance.  Dynamics abound and again are emphasized in the production.

“Have Van Will Travel” the tenth and final cut on the project is another gem.  What Driftwood does is play solidly with tight vocals and good to great story telling.

This is very good listening material, end of story.  A great listen from an American band.





[Christopher Brant Anderson]

SingerSongwriter/Americana/Country
Ralph Boyd Johnson“17239 Street SW”
www.ralphboydjohnson.com

Mr. Boyd hails from north of the border, Canada, but to listen to his work one would think he was born and bred out of one of the southern states that he emulates in his writing, certainly his vocal approaches and pedal to the metal enjoyment to the art form of country music.

The production was recorded at Airway Studios in Calgary, Alberta and was produced by the artist and Danny Patton.  The ten tunes all penned by Johnson are deep in the tradition of country with a bid of a nod to rockabilly and slightly leans towards the world of rock.  The production values Johnson and Patton have arrived at are another nod to the time and reverence they hold with this music.  I’ve said it before; there must be something in the water up yonder that gets DNA deep as this is another Canadian artist that has found his own footing in deep rooted soil.  

Lyrically Johnson is spot on in the country tradition and weaves great stories as did the early country artists well he dips his cup and drinks long from.  There is a sense that he found the spot where others were swilling a bit of beer for the poor old me side of his stories or historical side of life for the fun side of his tales.  He has a very earthy feel to his work, at times he out countries, country music.  Make no mistake, Johnson is a great mirror to the roots he is revealing to his audience and perhaps himself.  I like the theatrical side of his work; he takes risks more than most in the arena of what is labeled country these days.  In fact this might be the first country album I have heard in a long time.

There are some great players on this project as well as a great mix with mastering to be proud of.

Johnson’s rhythm section is comprised of Duris Maxwell on drums & Tim Williams and Glen Rowley on percussion, while John Hyde is behind them holding it down on bass.  His pieces are augmented by

Kathy Cook on mandolin , Bill Oryniak on banjo, Cedric Blary adds wonderful textures and solos on clarinet and Bruce Lienen fills on the fiddle give an authenticity to the work.

This is a fun romp that is never boring, and illuminates how the deep south and it’s country music has infected the world.  This is Johnson’s second release; it is filled with humor, reverence and glares in his appreciation of the art form he has mastered.  The toe never stops tapping and he can make a listener laugh, think and tear up all in the breath of one tune, and there’s ten to enjoy.





[Christopher Brant Anderson]