“Swerve!” by Joyce Andersen: When explaining her new sound, Joyce Andersen notes that before amplification, singing fiddlers were at the top of the grassroots music world. With the release of her latest CD, “Swerve!,” she seeks to restore the instrument to prominence by honoring traditions while adding new electronic enhancements.
Over the course of her 20-year career, Andersen has released four previous solo albums and four others with her husband, folk musician Harvey Reid. She’s a one-woman band, singing and playing fiddle, violin, viola and foot percussion. All the tracks on “Swerve!” were performed live, in the studio or in concert, with some live loops interweaving the recordings.
Andersen’s diverse skills are on full display in the hypnotic opening track, “Yearning.” She achieves resonant percussive sounds and soaring melodic flights on her strings while bolstering the beat on tambourine. And she takes advantage of her lush, forceful voice to sing with genuine passion.
The next track, “Little Birdie,” is rife with folk and bluegrass elements and features some mesmerizing solos. Andersen has a way of incorporating her own personalized sonic touches into an ancient, time-honored sound.
At first blush, the third track, “Heartbreak,” sounds remarkably similar to the opener, but the vocals bring a different temperament to the tune, especially when Andersen belts out the chorus, showing off the full vigor of her voice.
“My broken heart is open wide / I don’t want to run, I don’t want to hide / The setting sun, the hopeful dawn / Life is a love song,” she sings.
“Heartbreak” is one of three tracks that exceed eight minutes in length. Another is the seductive and sinister “Get Your Swerve On,” from which the CD takes its title. It’s got a vaguely Middle Eastern flavor spiced with echo effects and exhilarating, psychedelic instrumental forays.
Andersen also offers up imaginative adaptations of Steve Winwood’s “Higher Love,” the oft-covered classic “Dream a Little Dream of Me,” and Billy Roberts’ “Hey Joe” (made famous by Jimi Hendrix). The fuzzy distortion and winding electric solos on this nine-minute rendition will forever alter your perception of the violin.
The disc ends with the stirring Gospel-informed closer “We Will Shine.” Taken as a whole, the album is an ambitious and breathtaking artistic effort, giving credence to Andersen’s title of “electro-acoustic fiddle troubadour.”
Andersen will play a CD release show at South Church in Portsmouth on Saturday, March 3, with Harvey Reid opening. Her website is www.joyscream.com.
“Letter Box” by Eric Ott: Eric Ott wears many hats in the Seacoast music scene—as long-time front man of local band Mercuryhat, cofounder of Lost Sailor Records, and as an active solo performer. His new album, “Letter Box,” puts the spotlight on his honest and melodic yet dark and mysterious songwriting.
The record begins with a slightly eerie instrumental intro and ends with a similarly ethereal outro. In between are seven original songs that delve into the brightest peaks and darkest recesses of love and loss.
The overall mood of the album, like so many products of the local singer-songwriter community, is pretty gloomy. But it features flashes of instrumental intensity and potent storytelling in which not one word is wasted. Ott explores lyrical extremes, with songs about drugs, death and hardship balanced by songs of lasting love.
Ott backs his own earthy vocals with his self-described “cowboy chords” on acoustic guitar, providing a rhythmic anchor that’s ably embellished by a trio of well-known local instrumentalists. Kristen Miller plays cello, bringing a haunting, melancholic aura to several tracks, while Mike Effenberger subtly sprinkles the songs with notes from a Rhodes piano and Jim Rudolf varies the pace on drums.
Miller also offers harmonic backing vocals, including in “Bird at my Door,” a sweetly sulking tune about dimming ambitions. It’s followed by the title track, perhaps the album’s strongest, with cello that sways like a cradle and a memorable vocal melody with an aching call to “rise above.”
“Young Skinny Girls from California” is a bit more playful, with humorous lyrics about the irresistibly pouty women of the west. And “Hawkings Revenge” builds to a positive message about having faith in love.
“I don’t believe in God / But I believe in you,” Ott concludes.
Both of those songs feature soothing accordion work by Effenberger, as does the next track, “Coattails.” It’s like a Shakespearean tragedy packaged in a soft folk song, with mounting aural drama from the cello and drums.
The album ends on a touching note with “Simple Words,” punctuating the powerful emotions Ott is capable of evoking. It’s not an ideal disc for a dance party, but it’s perfect for a solitary listen at home.
Recorded and mixed by Chris Chase at 1130ft in Rollinsford, “Letter Box” came out this month with a show at Buoy in Kittery. Ott will play again at The Red Door in Portsmouth on Monday, March 12. His website is www.ericottmusic.com.
Article source: http://www.wirenh.com/music-mainmenu-5/15-music-general/5544-new-releases-eric-ott-and-joyce-andersen.html
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