The Literary Greats - Ocean, Meet the Valley

Ocean, Meet the Valley

The Literary Greats
Label: (self-released)
Released: October, 2009
Duration 10 tracks, 34:10

With a name like ‘The Literary Greats’ you might be expecting fresh Brooklyn / Greenwich Village indie. Not so. The sophomore release of this Houston based band is a bit of post-modern country rock, a bit of loud lead guitar, and a touch of Americana / pop. In some ways I am reminded of ‘Satellite Soul’ when listening to Ocean, Meet the Valley, but without the Christian framing.

The band’s foundation is what holds the complete work together in Darin Lee’s bass and Chris Ginsbach’s percussion. Harmonies by Taylor Lee and Brandon Elam provide another highlight. The addition of Kris Becker on keyboards adds volumes to the package. But something is missing in the ebb and flow of the album. The lead guitar has a hard, protruding edge in nearly every song taking away from the overall message and emotion. At times, somber lyrics do not match up with a whaling lead guitar losing the pace of the song. Overall, the lead guitar and drums could be toned down a notch to allow the lyrics and rhythm to provide direction.

The album opens hard and fast with ‘That Mountain Yonder’ storying life’s materialistic woes. “All that I have is what I believe, you’ve got to believe, I fill my heart with things that break, I’m not OK”. The opener has good build up, breaks, and is a good rocker. The spacey country-acoustic based ‘Dreadnought’ shows some life but the remainder of the album slowly drifts in obscurity with a mix of country rock and a forgettable pop rock attempt in ‘Ocean Side’.

In The Literary Greats there lies a talented band with a fresh sound badly in need of good production. The collection of songs that is Ocean, Meet the Valley lacks collective cohesiveness with a mix of hard breaks, heavy leads, and lost lyrics.


http://theliterarygreats.com/

http://www.myspace.com/theliterarygreats

http://www.tollbooth.org/2010/reviews/lgreats.html
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Sixteen Cities - s/t

Sixteen Cities
Centricity Records
11 Songs, 39 minutes and 17 seconds
Release Date: April 20, 2010


Sixteen Cities is the freshman release of a band sharing the same name. Hailing from Portland, Oregon, the four man group began Christian ministry to fellow public high school students, soon after finding themselves forming a band and performing in the local indie music scene. Word-of-mouth and a demo circulated, and “Sixteen Cities” was soon touring as an opening act for some of CCM’s biggest acts.

Among this collection of Christian praise / pop rock there are gems. “Innocent” is a piano led ballad with a youthful sound underscored by well timed string accompaniment. Synth and vocal echo used in the calmer moments of the mild rocker “Someone’s Work of Art” provide the foundation for the song’s message of each person’s worth. “Winter” concludes the album with a piano led testimony of straying from our faith with the well written refrain:

‘Cause I’ve been searchin’ for the sun but I don’t know if anyone could tell me how to find my way home.
All the things that I’ve become are all the things I’m runnin’ from.
I don’t want my heart to turn to stone.
This cold has been so bitter, can you save me from this winter?’

Listening to Sixteen Cities, it is easy to hear there love for worship. With a Christian pop-rock sound much like Reliant K, “Sixteen Cities” is sure to be charting on Christian AM radio in the very near future. Among these gems there lies a wonderful message.


http://sixteencities.com/

http://www.tollbooth.org/2010/reviews/16cities.html

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Amber Rubarth - Good Mystery

Amber Rubarth
(Independent release)
12 Songs, 40 minutes and 43 seconds
Release Date: January 19, 2010


In Amber Rubarth there is an artist performing simplistically beautiful song writing, with accomplished acoustic guitar and piano, capped with a wonderfully innocent voice. In Good Mystery Rubarth combines these attributes to produce an alchemy which resembles the love and innocence of Joy Williams, but with an edge.

With a song collection which is light and fun, the listener is easily swept away to a listening station somewhere amid the high soft clouds of a sunny Sunday afternoon in summer. “Edge of My Seat” sets the stage with a light arrangement of acoustic guitar, strings, and Rubarth’s innocent voice followed by the album’s namesake with garage percussion, acoustic guitar, and low hanging strings laying the foundation for a fun lyrical ride. Amid a host of relationship songs shared with wonderfully light locals, acoustic guitar and strings are the bouncing “Wish We’d Gotten Drunk” just for fun and the poignant ballad to a daughter ‘Song to Thank the Stars’. Percussion meets piano in ‘Pilot’ with lyrics ‘I need a spark to ignite my pilot light’. To round out the smorgasbord, the special edition release includes “Golden Ratio of Silence’ which provides just that with reflective dead air as a prelude to the finale ‘The Stairwell’, a piano instrumental showcasing one of the many of Rubarth’s talents.

Playful and fun to serious and thoughtful Good Mystery is just that. A mystery which connects to its audience with lyrics meaningful, melodies simple, and innocence remembered.


http://www.amberrubarth.com/


http://www.tollbooth.org/2010/reviews/arub.html

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Anchors - Music from the Future

Anchors
Self-released
5 Songs, 18 minutes and 13 seconds
Release Date: February 16, 2010


Music from the Future by “Anchors” could be more aptly named ‘Music from the Past’ with a sound reminiscent of a mix of late ‘70s “Sparks” and early ‘80s “Spandau Ballet”. Where the electro-pop / emo offering excels is the song writing and the operatic-like tenor vocals of lead singer Seth Hecox. With a mix of acoustic and electric, the synth-heavy song collection is in the mold of early “Future of Forestry” offerings.

The five song EP is highlighted by the initial offering “Airplane”, a tale of love lost with the searching refrain ‘And now I’m just a subway underneath the busy city road. And baby, you’re an airplane 40 miles outside the east coast.” “Where the Houses Glow” is a piano driven rocker with a solid break to group harmony. The final “Virtue and Violence” provides interesting play between an echoed guitar, synth, and harmonies.

The EP leaves us wondering what a full offering by “Anchors” might bring, songs of the future or sounds from the past? In either case, we wait for more.

www.facebook.com/anchorsmusic


http://www.tollbooth.org/2010/reviews/anchors.html

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Dave Madden - Open-Eyed, Broken Wide

Dave Madden
(Independent release)
24 song double album
Release Date: March 9, 2010

Over years of experiencing many types of music I’ve found that those albums that I cannot put a finger on, that I cannot immediately judge as loved / liked / disliked / couldn’t stand, are those that slowly grow on me becoming cap stones in my ever growing music library. This is true of Dave Madden’s latest offering Open- Eyed, Broken Wide. This is witnessed by my having had to listen to the entire two album song collection over 30 times prior to being able to finish this review.

The independently released two album set is written and produced by Madden, who supplies lead vocals, guitars, and keyboards for his sophomore effort. All tracks are recorded in 96k HD audio digital studio quality format providing a very clear, crisp sound. Hastening back to the great old days of vinyl, the album’s purchase comes with a glossy 9x9 bi-fold print supplement taking us back to the great days of album artwork. The pamphlet includes song information, artist’s stories, additional information, and art providing a great gate fold album-like cover.

The two album set is divided into ‘Open-Eyed’ a fourteen song collection of rockers and polished offerings, and ‘Broken Wide’ a ten song collection with more of an acoustic, raw feel. Both share varying musical styles of which Madden moves effortlessly from one to another showcasing his talent and poetic lyrics. Most songs are masterfully written with many containing a delicate use of strings. Listen carefully for the well written lyrics, well placed breaks, and occasionally spoken stanzas of Alan Ginsberg’s ‘A Footnote to Howl’. Among the ballads and the rockers you will hear some jazz overtones and even a Broadway-like jingle. A number of the songs are presented on both the acoustic and rocker albums, always with one posturing better than the other, leading one to think one album of the best cuts might have been a better choice.

Open-Eyed is the more ‘polished’ sounding of the two albums with songs ranging from solid guitar driven rockers to beautiful piano lead ballads. The lead song “Open-Eyed” has solid orchestration underlying a story of the pain involved in personal change and growth. “Neon Signs”, tells the story of America’s culture of gluttony, and is a slowly building ‘80s rocker blending well into “Tomorrow Today”, another wild ride showcasing great lyrics telling of the fast pace of our culture - ‘it’s not new unless it comes from next year’. “Believe” shines with the story of the modern life of a Christian and “The new New Testament” is a testament to today’s Christians. “Dirty Feet” tells us it’s ok to live with the weight of life - you can be a little dirty while “This Is Love” shines as a new ‘John Lennon-ish’ anthem to peace, love, and hope.

Broken Wide, the second of the two album set is an acoustically based album with a textured feeling present in its simplified approach to many of its songs and their recording. Some of the voice tracks are quite rough. The opening track “Broken Wide” is the raw, pared down twin of “Open-Wide” having a string arrangement accompanying an acoustic guitar lead. “Aware”, is a hot jazz-based rocker with a great break to a fuzzy lead guitar. “A Beautiful Night” is a piano-lead ballad beautiful in its simplicity. My vote for best song of the set, “Rain”, is a great piece of modern surf music with California style reverb guitar and drums, vocals and backing vocals are well timed - ‘God made the world and saw that it was good. Not fair, not happy, not perfect, but good. And little understood, like rain.’ “Dirty Feet” combines strings and acoustic guitar providing a slow ballad reminding us to find the simplicity in life.

Open-Eyed, Broken Wide represents Madden’s growth as a song writer with his personalized spiritual faith embedded in his lyrics, call to social justice in his stories, and ability to move his audience with distinctive song styling. Most arrangements are simple, not complex, but the simplest things tend to be most beautiful and appreciated longest. If you relax in a quiet place and just let the music rush over you, then the words settle into a beautiful, meaningful moment. This is worth more than one listen.

www.davemaddenmusic.com

http://www.tollbooth.org/2010/reviews/madden.html

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Blake McKibben - Haze

Blake McKibben
Label: Independent
14 Songs, 41 minutes and 5 seconds
Release Date: February 2, 2010


Blake McKibben’s Haze is a very well crafted initial entry into the music scene. This collection of fourteen short songs includes everything from a soft ballad to heavy shoe gaze, folk to pop-rock and a little hip hop. All instruments and vocals are McKibben’s alone, as well as the writing, production, and recording. This solo project is reminiscent of Todd Rundgren’s famous ‘Something / Anything’ project while the theatrical story-structured content is similar to early Alan Parsons Project work. The song collection does not have a singular style, but a collection of styles. Individually, each song stands on its own while together they converge to support the album’s theme proving once again that the whole is greater than the sum of its parts.

The stage is set with “Intro”, a short, synth-heavy, shoreline-esque instrumental which breaks to the shoe gaze title track “Haze” telling of lost communication in a lightly echoed voice. “I See your Ghost”, showcases great lyrics, ‘…once in a while I see your ghost, once in a while I feel you close…’ “Floating” flashes back to a ‘80s ‘new wave’ rocker and gives way to the acoustic guitar based ballad ‘Nothing More Than Anything Is” with whispery vocals telling of relationship woes. The well written “We All Face The Fate” theatrically fades from sirens and voices to lyrically telling a story of loss, ‘…so go ahead and fall, and put away that gun, cause we all make mistakes, yeah we all face the fate…’ ‘I think we ought to run and kick it in the sun’ leads off the heavy percussion and synth foundation for “Two”. The bright and bouncy “You Lift Me Up” provides an uplifting moment while “Black Laughter” begins with a laugh track giving way to a solemn synth and piano lead instrumental. “Another Day Another Dollar” tells the story of the day-to-day drudgery of life sounding much like INXS of the ‘80s.

Covering every emotion, Haze is a great listen and easy to relate to with a string of songs ranging from the serious to the light hearted moments of life. McKibben’s offering succeeds in putting the listener in a place warm and far away, a very nice place to be. This haunting, easy to love, well crafted ‘story’ album also manages to be a great ‘headphone’ album. Without reserve, this is one of the best ‘whole albums’ I have heard in a long time - exciting to listen to, great fun and very replayable.

http://www.myspace.com/blakemckibben



http://www.tollbooth.org/2010/reviews/blakemck.html

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John Cox in Concert

John Cox Live
February 27, 2010
Cup ‘O Joy, Green Bay, Wisconsin


John Cox is a performer who, for many, has slipped under the radar. Gifted as a song writer, John has five albums to his credit and has written many Christian songs of praise and hope for other performers over more than a decade. While seldom performing live elsewhere in recent years, John performs annually at the Cup ‘O Joy in Green Bay, Wisconsin. This year’s concert was not only rare but one of the best the audience will witness in 2010.

Cox’s live performance pushes each song to new heights, making the song list always fresh from performance to performance. Bolstered by a band sharing fifteen year tenure, the set list includes jams with ‘unique changes’, all without missing a beat. Band members have varying backgrounds including many of the members making up Sonic Flood from 2000 through 2004 and now managing Zodlounge, a recording studio in Nashville, Tennessee. While Cox continues as a prolific Christian song writer, he also continues to hold a true connection to the audience while performing. Together, the band working as a single unit easily holds the ebb and flow of the concert through their shared experience.

Band members include John Cox on lead vocals and acoustic guitar, Todd Shay on lead guitar, Tom Michael on bass and backing vocals, and Brett Vargason on drums and percussion. From ballads to rock, lyrics show deep personal expression. The lead electric guitar is ethereal, floating and full of song-to-song expressionism. The bass is solid, seamlessly moving in and out of the background. Drums and percussion spark and fire, rocking solid with a living beat. Watching the combined effort of the band song-to-song shows each member so involved in the music as to give more of themselves to the moment than most bands.

The set list began with “Not as Brave”, an unrecorded gem, followed by “All You Need” (Sunny Day). New songs were introduced including “The Son You Always Wanted”, “You’re Gonna Make It” dedicated to his son, and “A Little Wild”, a new country rocker with a great acoustic / lead guitar intro feeding the song. John’s first radio hit “Sunny Day” (Sunny Day) continues to impress with consistency in performance time and again elongated in live performances to include a reggae break with guitar reverb underlying the lyric ‘pull me out of the wreckage’. The set included “With His Love” (Worth Dying For) and “You Are Loved” (All Is Forgiven), a ballad dedicated to his daughter. “Pull You Into My World” (80 Years) a song about a loved one suffering from substance abuse is highlighted by percussion and flowing guitar rising to soaring flight. “Beautiful Savior” (Sanctuary) is a pop rock song with great roving bass providing the foundation for floating guitar, acoustic rhythm and percussion elevating the song’s lyrics. “I Need You” (Sunny Day) and “Child Again” (80 years) capped the evening with Cox becoming so engrossed in the song that he held the guitar pick in his mouth while strumming his guitar, then continued singing without pause despite the pick remaining in his mouth! Band member’s solos end the song and the evening with Todd first on lead guitar giving great riffs, Tom with a jazzed bass solo, and Brett with a spirited drum / percussion mix.

The evening leaves the audience drained from the performance’s emotions yet wanting more. Cox’s lyrics are story driven from personal experiences and are extremely well written Christian praise-rock. Clearly he is one of few who can write solid praise to a great pop rock beat without losing the lyric’s meaning. Faith is ever present and very strong in John’s music. And a seed was planted in every one of the audience’s heart that night.

http://www.myspace.com/johnbcox


http://www.cupojoy.com/reviews/johncox2010.asp

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