NYS Music 20​18

Category: Reviews

  • Michal Menert and Breaking Biscuits Blow The Roof Off The Fillmore

    Michal Menert wanted to have a party in Denver, Colorado, so he invited a few of his friends to come rock out  at the Fillmore. His “Big Band,” The Pretty Fantastics, is a compilation of incredible musicians that accompanied him the night of January 26. And when he says big band, he means it. With horns sections, a cellist, violinist, drummer, DJ, and a backup singer/ keys player, the possibilities were endless.

    The lineup for the night was packed. With openers Elliot Lipp, Dynohunter, and Late Night Radio, they got the night started off right. The energy was high right out of the gate, and you could feel the crowd surging. The bill included another heavy hitter, Breaking Biscuits, a mashup of jam-legends, The Disco Biscuits, and electro-funk greats, Break Science. The super group made their debut at Brooklyn Comes Alive back in 2016, and fans have eagerly awaited their return.

    Breaking Biscuits began their set on a mile-high note, not letting the crowd forget who was on stage. With covers of RJD2’s “The Horror” and Daft Punk’s “Robot Rock,” the quartet blew the roof off the Fillmore. They were on fire and you could see it in their eyes. After Breaking Biscuits was done throttling the Denver crowd, Dynohunter rocked out a quick intermission set from the soundboard while the plethora of gear and instruments were brought out for The Pretty Fantastics, and the ceiling was reattached.

    Michal Menert is not only a very talented producer, but also an incredible guitarist and singer, and his big, massive, gigantically talented band touched all genres. Menert even gave Break Science a nod as he played a couple songs they co-produced together on their EP, Twilight Frequency. Between the horns, strings, and the heavy, heavy bass, you could say they were more than “pretty fantastic.”

    Check out photos below, courtesy of Zatchmo Lives Media.

  • All-Star lineup featured on Wynton Marsalis ‘United We Swing: Best of the Jazz at Lincoln Center Galas’

    United We Swing: Best of the Jazz at Lincoln Center Galas, is soon to be released compilation of selections from shows that Wynton Marsalis and his Septet performed from 2003–2007. An all-star cast of musicians joins the compilation, set for release on March 23.

    marsalis united we swing

    Joining Marsalis on the compilation are Eric Clapton, Bob Dylan, Lenny Kravitz, Willie Nelson, John Mayer, John Legend, Blind Boys of Alabama, Derek Trucks, Susan Tedeschi, James Taylor, Ray Charles, Natalie Merchant, Jimmy Buffett, Carrie Smith, Audra McDonald and Lyle Lovett. Marsalis says of the the release, “On this recording and in these concerts, we came together to affirm common roots, to celebrate the diversity of our creativity, and to pass the reality of our best achievements on to our kids. We were, and are, United in Swing.”

    Pre-order United We Swing here, with all album proceeds supporting children’s music education around the world.

    United We Swing Tracklist

    1. “The Last Time” feat. Blind Boys of Alabama
    2. “It Takes a Lot to Laugh, It Takes a Train to Cry” feat. Bob Dylan
    3. “I’m Gonna Move to the Outskirts of Town” feat. Ray Charles
    4. “I’m Not Rough” feat. Eric Clapton
    5. “Creole Love Call” feat. Audra McDonald
    6. “Milk Cow Blues” feat. Willie Nelson
    7. “I’m Gonna Find Another You” feat. John Mayer
    8. “My Baby Don’t Tolerate” feat. Lyle Lovett
    9. “The Worst Thing” feat. Natalie Merchant
    10. “Please Baby Don’t” feat. John Legend
    11. “Mean Old Man” feat. James Taylor
    12. “Are You Gonna Go My Way” feat. Lenny Kravitz
    13. “Fool’s Paradise” feat. Jimmy Buffett
    14. “Empty Bed Blues” feat. Carrie Smith
    15. “I Wish I Knew How It Would Feel To Be Free” feat. Susan Tedeschi and Derek Trucks
    16. “What Have You Done?”

  • An Acoustic Evening With Trey Anastasio at the Mayo Performing Arts Center

    Trey Anastasio kicked off a nine-night solo acoustic tour at the Mayo Performing Arts Center in Morristown New Jersey on February 8. He performed to a capacity crowd of 1,302 people. Just for perspective, MSG holds 20,789 people. That’s right around 16 times smaller than the room we all just saw him play in 17 times last year. 2018 is starting off a bit more intimate. The audience shared in a bit of back and forth with Anastasio, “If you sing it I’ll Play It,” Trey told fans as they were coaxing out a “Sleeping Monkey”. That then inspired Trey to challenge the crowd to a  “Limb By Limb”. “… But can you do this one?”, he laughed. They could, as both songs feature the audience singing the vocal parts normally done by Page.

    Trey Anastasio Acoustic

    As he has been known to do, Anastasio also took time between songs to share stories and engage the audience. Storytime with Trey. He covered topics ranging from pregnant cow’s milk to the tongue-eating louse, killer of fish. We also heard the tale of poor young Payton Hooten getting lost at his first concert. Don’t worry Trey talked to his mom on the phone, and reunited him with his friends. Trey also took the opportunity to share about the loss of his lifelong friend to cancer, and debut a song he wrote during the experience. He went on to describe the Portuguese emotion of “Saudade” just before he began playing, although the song was not officially named at the time.

    Trey Anastasio continues his acoustic tour tonight in Ithaca at the State Theatre.

    Setlist: Blaze On, Backwards Down The Number Line, Miss You, Strange Design, 20 Years Later, Wolfman’s Brother, Everything’s Right, The Inlaw Josie Wales, Sleeping Monkey, Limb By Limb, Waste, “Saudade”^, Bathtub Gin> Chalkdust Torture> Back On The Train

    Encore: Bouncing Around The Room, Push On Til The Day*, More

    ^ First Time Played, Original- In honor of CCott

    *Unfinished- Played up to “…Pete threw a bomb and rang the pole…” then stopped to tell the story of that lyric

  • Dream Theater Marks 25th Anniversary of ‘Images and Words’ at Homecoming Beacon Theatre Show

    Dream Theater returned to their hometown for a packed house at The Beacon Theatre on Manhattan’s Upper West Side on November 16. The evening with Dream Theater was a full show put on by themselves; no opening act was needed.

    Dream Theater’s last NYC show was at Radio City Music Hall in Spring 2016 where they told the story behind concept album The Astonishing from start to finish (and purely material from that album). This time around they once again presented an album in its entirety padded by some other compositions from their 30+ year career.

    The first set took the Beacon through Dream Theater’s catalog starting on a hard note with “The Dark Eternal Night” before wandering through more progressive melodies and riffs from Jordan Rudess and John Petrucci. Mid-way through the first set, bassist John Myung paid tribute to one of his biggest influences, the late Jaco Pastorius, with a solo bass cover of “Portrait of Tracy.” Aside from this tribute, the band didn’t fail to tip their hat to one of their major influences and inspirations, Geddy Lee and Rush, sneaking in a tease of Rush’s “Cygnus X-1” at the tail end of the second set.

    Dream Theater

    Images and Words took the limelight for the second set as Dream Theater’s tour marked the 25th anniversary of that album. Firing through the album on stage with the anticipated skill and precision of a Dream Theater performance was far from any sort of let-down. While singer James LaBrie stepped aside a few times, each of the members had more chances to show their solo chops and expand a bit upon the original studio recordings. The presentation of Images and Words in its entirety had a true classic Dream Theater appeal and was enthusiastically enjoyed by the crowd.

    With just a short break before the encore, Dream Theater came back to play the entire seven-part “A Change of Seasons” off of the EP of the same name serving as a treat to the band’s fans similar to Rush playing “2112” as an encore. It was well-suited for the theme of the night given that “A Change of Seasons” was originally slated to appear on Images and Words before getting bumped to its own EP.

    Dream Theater

    Dream Theater’s performances over the past few years, even through the change of drummers from Mike Portnoy to Mike Mangini, have continued to impress, if not gotten better. For this progressive metal band, the best of times may still be yet to come.

    Setlist

    Set 1: The Dark Eternal Night, The Bigger Picture, Hell’s Kitchen, To Live Forever, Portrait of Tracy (Jaco Pastorius cover), As I Am, Breaking All Illusions

    Set 2 (Images & Words): Pull Me Under, Another Day, Take the Time, Surrounded. Metropolis Pt. 1: The Miracle and the Sleeper, Under a Glass Moon, Wait for Sleep, Learning to Live

    Encore: A Change of Seasons (Parts I – VII)

  • Hearing Aide: Ampevene’s ‘Ephemagoria’

    Complex isn’t always good, but in Ampevene’s case, it’s raw, emotive and highly expressive. The Albany-based quartet will unveil their latest live album, Ephemagoria at The Hollow Bar + Kitchen on Feb. 9 with the helping hands of their friends in Cousin Earth. Having teased fans along the way with the releases of “Valencia” and “Rometheu,”  the complete live effort commands attention from its earliest, distorted notes. Over a 10-track sonic highway, the prog rockers take listeners for a noisy ride as they blend blatant psychedelic rock influences with their own gritty flair and unique cocktail of spellbinding genres. 

    Branching off of Gabe Stallman’s solo project as a guitarist, Ampevene is completed by Stallman on guitar and vocals, Mack Hogan on bass, Brian Fahey on drums and Ava Smith on keys. Seeing a minor lineup change, Fahey is the current drummer who took over for Darryl Kniffen, the recorded drummer on the album. The first few tracks come as an attack on your senses, kicking off with a myriad of sound and distortion as an 8-minute journey unfolds within “Florida.” While the group is undoubtedly influenced by psychedelic rock before its time, (think Pink Floyd’s Syd Barrett era) Ampevene channels those visceral tendencies and matches them with the gripping mood and scaling of metal progressions and often hard to compute math-rock.

    Just when you get settled into a groove, it doesn’t last for long before you’re tossed into new kaleidoscopic arrangements and time signatures. The first half of the album relies solely on storytelling through music before a 12-minute “Rometheu” introduces the first glimpse of vocals on the album, although that’s not the pinnacle of the track. While fleeting, Stallman’s vocals are comparable to the tone and echoing of groups like Circa Survive and the Mars Volta, with the latter covered later on the album. With the first and fourth beats emphasized in each measure, the song picks up speed with compositional mastery as the foursome jerk the steering wheel into fresh segments, a common thread throughout Ephemagoria.

    “Hill” comes as a hard-hitter with all the focus placed on tight drumming at the album’s peak with an explosion of sound before introducing the first cover in a somber, slowed down version of Nirvana’s “Smells Like Teen Spirit.” With a new age take on a beloved classic, the warped arrangement and unique style almost makes the song unrecognizable at times, if not for the lyrics. A second cover comes as a crisp version of the Mars Volta’s “Goliath,” mimicking the song’s natural sound and Omar Rodriguez-Lopez’ distinct vocal inflections.

    The live album as a whole features classic and never before recorded Ampevene songs as well as covers, capturing the feel of a live performance at The Recording Company in Esperance, NY, and mixed by Tim Lynch with mastering by Alan Douches of West West Side Music. Ampevene has the raw talent of making their multi-segmented tracks seem like effortless jams spliced together at all the right, unexpected times. With the ability to entice fans to try to follow along and eventually surrender to the flow, the quartet seems to have mastered their live presence and execution while diving deep into guitar solos, exploratory jazz segments and thrash metal elements.

    Catch the high-energy release Friday night when Ampevene takes The Hollow stage at 9:30 PM!

    Key tracks- Rometheu, Hill, Tumultuous

  • Hearing Aide: Greg Jacquin, ‘Hudson River EP’

    In case the album title didn’t give it away, Greg Jacquin is a native of the Hudson Valley region, and his music and persona possess very apparent undertones of a small town songwriter. Jacquin will release his newest EP, Hudson River on February 9th, but we were able to get a sneak preview of the album first.

    Greg JacquinAlthough acoustic guitar certainly drives each song on the album, Jacquin dices in some interesting instrumentation, including a string and brass section woven in between songs. His album features six songs with two additional bonus song versions. His single for the album “The Station” is featured in two versions on this album, bringing two separate ideas to the table. He has simultaneously released a video for the single, which is slowly rising in views. The video paints his melancholy demeanor, and features shots the daily commuter would consider second nature. But this video is about Jacquin in his nature, with shots of nature in his surrounding area. His album has downs like these, with several ups as well, including the cheerful tune “On the Moorings.” Greg Jacquin is in good company on this album, and each recording is well balanced and intentioned.

    Jacquin will release his album on February 9th, but pre-orders are available now on his website.

    Key Tracks: The Station, On the Moorings

  • moe. Returns With a Vengeance for Sold Out Capitol Theatre Run

    After a 7-month break due to bass player Rob Derhak’s battle with cancer, Buffalo rockers moe returned to the Capitol Theatre in Port Chester, New York to deliver two sold out shows on February 2nd and 3rd. Their first shows with the full lineup since July featured a variety of fan favorites as well as four brand new songs from four of the five band members. The first night featured an opening act, with the high-energy funk outfit Kung Fu properly warming up the crowd for the main event.

    After a brief word of thanks from a very emotional Rob, the band wasted little time diving into the flagship “Rebubula,” Rob’s anthemic ode to his wife, Rebecca. They quickly transitioned into the funky “Akimbo” which featured a slap-happy bass interlude that made the hungry crowd explode. This was followed by the twangy, energetic “32 Things” and then a brand new song titled “What Can I Say,” written by guitarist Al Schnier. “What Can I Say” was originally debuted earlier in the week during the band’s pre-show webcast, though this was the first time the song had been played in a live setting. Fans then belted out the opening lines to the fan-favorite “Spine of a Dog” which was followed immediately by “Plane Crash,” which felt particularly deserved, with Rob screaming the words “I don’t wanna die” at the end of the final chorus at the top of his lungs.

    Set 2 started off with a bang with the Pink Floyd-inspired “Silver Sun” and then Rob was able to showcase his brand new tune, “LL3” which he wrote in transit to his chemotherapy treatments. “LL3” already shows great potential as a jam vehicle, and will probably appear on the new album that the band is cooking up. The rest of Set 2 was a continuous battery of rock and roll as they interweaved “Moth,” “Captain America,” the instrumental “Hector’s Pillow,” the legendary “meat.” and finally closed with the end of “Moth,” completing a sandwich that took up the majority of the second half of the show. Guitarist Chuck Garvey then led the band in an encore rendition of “Wind it Up,” that had the entire audience collectively singing the lines “Be on my side, I’ll be on your side” with the band.

    A veritable army of excitable moe.rons showed back up to the scenic Capitol Theatre for Round 2 on Saturday, for a performance that was somehow even better than the previous night, this time with no supporting act. It was a night of pure moe. and once again the crowd was deafening when a happy and healthy looking Rob Derhak took the stage.

    The band opened with the crowd-pleasing “Okayalright,” which segued smoothly into “Not Coming Down,” once again showcasing Rob’s bass skills. This was followed by the entrancing instrumental “Wormwood,” which then seemlessly transitioned into the slide guitar-heavy intro to “St. Augustine.” Next, percussionist and multi-instrumentalist debuted his new song, the dark and moody “I Can Never Remember,” which he sang with his signature rasp. This was followed by the short and pleasant Chuck Garvey tune “All Roads Lead to Home.” After “All Roads” came “Opium,” and Rob showed how well his voice has healed, demonstrating his impressive vocal range. The first set closed out with a monstrous version of the jam beast, “Recreational Chemistry” before they took a short set break.

    Set 2 started with a powerful rendition of “Brent Black” which featured not one or two, but three bass solos from a smiling, enthusiastic Rob as well as a fearsome drum-off between Jim Loughlin and drummer Vinnie Amico. Afterwards, Al Schnier led the band in a spirited version of “Mexico,” telling the story of his tumultuous 21st birthday. This was followed by “Timmy Tucker,” once again proving that Rob still has his vocal chops. Chuck Garvey then debuted his newest song, “New Hope for the New Year,” which definitely shows great promise for future shows and the new album in the works. The rest of the set was vintage, heavy, dark, creepy, spacey moe. as they played “Yodelittle” into the high energy protest song “George,” back into “Yodelittle” and then into the sing-a-long “Buster,” every moe.ron’s favorite song about a flying pig. They encored with “Nebraska,” complete with a ripping talk-box solo from Garvey, and finally the hard-hitting “Annihilation Blues” to cap off the back-to-back performances. 

    moe. proved this past weekend that they are far from done, and after Rob’s recent cancer scare and recovery, he is clearly eager to please his fans and write new music. The historic Capitol Theatre projected a series of images of Rob from different stages of his career throughout the shows, and moe. brought an anxious crowd to their knees. Once again, it’s so good to have you back Rob. We hope for many, many more years of music and laughter from you.

    February 2 Setlist

    Set 1: Rebubula > Akimbo, 32 Things, What Can I Say (FTP), Spine of a Dog > Plane Crash.

    Set 2: Silver Sun, LL3 (FTP), Moth > Captain America > Hector’s Pillow > Moth > meat. > Moth

    Encore: Wind it Up

    February 3 Setlist

    Set 1: Okayalright > Not Coming Down > Wormwood > St. Augustine, I Can Never Remember (FTP), All Roads Lead To Home, Opium, Recreational Chemistry

    Set 2: Brent Black, Mexico, Timmy Tucker, New Hope for the New Year (FTP), Yodelittle > George > Yodelittle > Buster

    Encore: Nebraska, Annihilation Blues

  • Turkuaz Brings a High Energy Wednesday Show to Cohoes

    The nine-piece funk group Turkuaz played the Cohoes Music Hall in Cohoes, NY Wednesday January 31. This was the group’s first time playing in Cohoes and managed to leave a great impression. No matter if it was your first or tenth time seeing Turkuaz, there was a song for everyone. Just a couple songs into their set, the group played “Mountain,” one of their signatures songs with a long dramatic pause keeping the crowd on their toes.

    turkuaz cohoesThroughout the whole show the energy stayed consistantly high. Turkuaz ended the set with “Monkey Fingers.” Lead guitarist Craig Brodhead and Sax player Josh Schwartz traded off solos pushing the song to its limits.

    turkuaz cohoesSetlist: Typa-Lika, Mountain, M’Lady, Nightswimming, Snap, Crypto, Fall Asleep, Famous, Holy Ghost, On the Run, 20 Dollar, Slippery People, Habitat, noise, Percy, The Rules, Coast, Don’t Do It, Monkey Fingers

    Encore:  Back To Normal

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  • Rocking For Rosie’s Love: Local Bands Support Kids Suffering from Cancer

    It was a great night of local music on Saturday, January 27 as The Crimson Tips, The Hard Luck Souls, and Iüdica took over the Low Beat in Albany for a very special benefit to help kids diagnosed with cancer. Admission to the event was free and the participating bands only asked that attendees donate a small toy or provide a financial contribution to the not for profit Rosie’s Love Foundation. 

    Rosie’s Love Foundation was formed after the death of it’s namesake, two-year-old Rosemary Frances Johnson, who passed away after a valiant battle with neuroblastoma.  Her family wanted to give something back for all the love Rosie received while being treated for her illness at Albany Medical Center.  The foundation provides fun activities and toys for children receiving in-patient cancer treatment and offers various types of assistance to those children’s family members. 

    First up in the line up was Lake George based Iüdica. The roster of the band includes Brian Michael Rhythm on guitar/vocals, Chris Walker on bass/vocal, Nate Fidd on percussion, and Thom Grover on lead guitar. The group came out strong with a rendition of “Arty” a hard rock in your face number that set the tone of the show.  The highlight of the set was the band’s rendition of “Circuits,” which is featured on their 2017 EP Brain Carvings.  Iüdica went on to play their new release “Lipstick, Black Dress” which is slated to be released later this year.  Lead singer and guitarist Brian Michael lost his guitar strap during the song and while trying to keep the number rolling, wound up whipping off his glasses, which landed on the stage.  He was able to keep the pace and when asked about the incident after the show he stated “well that’s rock and roll.”

    The Hard Luck Souls were next up on the bill and they came out swinging with “I Never” the second track off of their 2017 release Closer To The Flame.  The Souls are a tight unit with front-man Chris Itani commanding the stage like a seasoned veteran.  The song’s lyrics describe the end to a messy relationship and paired with the excellent guitar work of Brian Gentile, perfectly represents the hard rock vibe of the four man group.  The highlight of the Soul’s set was “Get Back,” a fast paced number reminiscent of The Stone Temple Pilots.  The crunchy tune showcased the prowess of the band’s rhythm section which features Dave Smassanow on bass and Mark Schmidt on drums. Deep into their set the Souls treated the audience by performing the band’s newly minted single “Keep On Running.”  The number has only been played out live by the boys a few times and was received enthusiastically by the crowd.  The Hard Luck Souls finished their portion of the evening strong with high energy renditions of 90’s classics “Nice Shot” by Filter and Soundgarden’s “Outshined.”

    The Rock and Roll fund raiser was capped off when the event’s organizers, The Crimson Tips, took the stage.  The hard rock outfit is a family affair with Lance Valderrama on guitar/vocal, his son Kyle Valderrama on bass/vocal, and Lance’s cousin John Nicotina on drums/vocals.  Lance started the show by thanking everyone for coming out and supporting Rosie’s Love and dedicated the show to his good friend Walter, who is currently battling with fourth stage cancer.   He said that the band wanted to do more for shows for charities in the Capital Region in order to give back to their community.  The Tips then went into  their first number “Please Help Me” off of their 2016 LP Sludge Train.  The tune got off to a rocky start due to sound problems which cut off the vocals of drummer John Nicotina.  The problem was quickly resolved and the band kept playing through the difficulties.  The boys produce tremendous sound for a trio and with pieces like “Let Her Bark” and “Same Shit Different Day,” The Crimson Tips gritty sound hearkens back to the late 80’s NYC punk scene.  The Crimson Tips ended their performance with a blistering performance of  “I Just Caught You Looking,” a song that is about when someone can’t let go of a failed relationship and becomes a stalker.

    Overall the fundraiser at the Low Beat was a success.  It was a great lineup of local talent and the bands were able to collect a sizable amount of donations in toys and some much needed money for Rosie’s Love. These tokens of goodwill will hopefully bring a little joy into the lives of some kids who are going through a really tough time.

    Setlists:

    Iüdica:  Arty, Ghosts, Watching, Circuits, Brain Carvings, Lipstick Black Dress, B side Love, Chocolate And Parsley

    Hard Luck Souls: I Never, Hold On, Can’t Be True, Izzy’s Thunder, Feels Like Forever, Let My People Go, Way Down Low, In My Head, Fly Away, Get Back, Nice Shot, Better Keep Running, Outshined

    Crimson Tips: Please Help Me, Better For You, Let Her Bark, Liar, Sunday Morning, Bleed Me, She Moves, Just A Girl, Freedom, I Won’t Be There, Goodbye, So Low, Hold On, Same Shit Different Day, I  Just Caught You Looking

  • Hearing Aide: The Wood Brothers ‘One Drop of Truth’

    After nearly 13 years of touring the globe, writing their version of Americana music and picking up fans along the way, The Wood Brothers are set to release One Drop of Truth on Friday, February 2.  Their newest studio album purposefully took a full year of studio hoping and concept swapping to complete and the finished product is the most realest, authentic, and Woodsiest release to date.

    The sobering and topical “River Takes the Town” opens The Wood Brothers’ sixth studio album as Chris Wood’s bass and Oliver Wood’s acoustic guitar naturally flow into the track.  Written prior to the devastation that swept the nation this past summer, the tune accurately describes the pain and terror that comes with overwhelming disasters whether widespread or personal. Artful lyrics with a smooth and crisp tone flood the song with emotion as Jano Rix adds the perfect amount of percussion and backup vocals.  I would argue the most powerful opening track on any Wood Brother’s album.

    The second piece in the collection introduces Americana funk as the exclusive genre in “Happiness Jones.”  Chris introduces a silky bass line that invites the listener to kick their shoes off and dance on the grass.  The muffled vocal effect along with the well-placed guitar solo is sure to start a sing-along during live performances.  Rix offers a swirling organ that adds that extra funkified soul fans have come to expect from the Wood Brothers and the turn of phrase lyrics recognize the cross-contamination of happiness and lesson-learning.  Similar to “Sing About It” on 2013’s The Muse, Oliver describes the power that singing can have on the mind and spirit during hard times.  A fresh tune rooted in Oliver’s talented and unique writing ability awards “Happiness Jones” a big smile and two thumbs way up.

    After the haunting and supernatural qualities of “Strange As It Seems,” the trio enters the realm of country twang with “Sky High.”  Not to be confused with the “sky high with chicken skin” lyrics from Smoke Ring Halo’s “Stumble In,” or the 2012 live release with the same name, this “Sky High” is a sexy and seductive ditty just begging for an AMC television drama series to use it as the credit track.  Oliver’s chilling slide guitar sings along with the band and would echo nicely off the walls of any Nashville dive-bar where the track was appropriately written.  More than halfway through the album, Oliver hands over lead vocal duties to his little brother Chris for “Seasick Emotion.”  Soaked in the sentiment of 2016’s election, Chris uses the giant body of water to describe his inner fears and confusions while Oliver and Jano blow a slow wind into the sonic sails.  Oliver’s one and only voice has defined The Wood Brothers’ sound for so long that hearing Chris sing displays a band freer and more supportive of each other than ever.

    What is a Wood Brothers album without alcohol slipping its way into the lyrics? “Sparkling Wine” serves as the playful and boozy party track in One Drop of Truth before the ultra-bluesy title song hints at a dissatisfaction with the lies and deceptions of our current political climate.  In a world of “fake news” and leaders that have billions and billions of the “best words,” Chris sings, “Give me one drop of truth I cannot deny.”  A strong and forceful message is only outshined by Oliver’s powerful and sophisticated chops. “Can’t Look Away” is perfectly segued out of “One Drop of Truth” and the listener can once again image the title being somehow politically fueled.  Oliver returns to lead and hovers on the spoken word side of the fence as he is narrating different scenes that appear to be acted out on a stage.  A rich and powerful backing bass by Chris gives this inventive new track legs to shift gears throughout.  They pour the final drops of creativity into the closing number before the 42-minute eclectic collection of originals comes to an end.

    With half a dozen studio albums under their belt, The Wood Brothers have once again proved themselves as outlaws of the mainstream corporate music industry while being fully capable of its praise.  The trio’s first five albums seem to tell a story based around the album title, while One Drop of Truth feels more like a portfolio of themes, sounds and spaces.  The eagerness to grow, the commitment to change and confidence to experiment with truth in this album is exactly what this country needs.  God Bless America and God bless the Wood Brothers!

    The Wood Brothers are currently on tour in support of One Drop of Truth, catch them at a theater near you!

    Key Tracks: River Takes the Town, Happiness Jones, Can’t Look Away

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