Snowdroppers - Too Late To Pray

MINE

Sometimes I think my husband hides music from me on purpose (YourZ sez: yes, this is exactly what I do.  I hide it in the big unobtrusive set of drawers next to the television cabinet where you would never think to look).  Was I in a bad mood when he brought this CD home?  Perhaps I had PMT or was displaying the "horns-and-teeth" mode my digestive system brings out when I've had too little to eat (I have an overactive pancreas and chronic low blood sugar).

Whatever  - I was delighted to hear the Snowdroppers as a support act when we went to see Wagons last month and puzzled as to why I hadn't heard of them before, given this album is in our collection.  It's a great CD, particularly the opening number Do The Stomp.  But I will say I'm probably more inclined to like it because I've seen these guys play live.  The lead singer's very easy on the eyes... and leaps about on the stage like someone's rammed a power cord somewhere unmentionable.  And what would you call the music?  Punkabilly?  Hi-NRG blues?  Ech, we eschew labels in our house, anyway.

It just goes to show, this project is going to keep on opening my ears to some great tunes.  I guess I can't blame YourZ for holding out on me for all the gems I uncover as we go along... (YourZ sez: phew!)

VERDICT: TURN IT UP

YOURZ

Another great band from my hometown, The Snowdroppers are also very new.  Too Late To Pray is their debut and highlights exactly what this band is all about: raucous, rollicking good time rock and roll.  And they are even more so live.  In fact, I can hardly wait to see them again, such was the impression they made.

While they might draw both their musical and fashion influences from the past, even down to their nom de plumes (Johnny Wishbone, Pauly K, London and Cougar Jones), their authenticity lies very much in the here and now - this is a well-produced recording, with songs about all manner of modern matters from drugs (Good Drugs Bad Women, Fucked Up), girls (Rosemary, Roll In My Sweet Baby's Arms) and the nine to five dilemma (Do The Stomp), among other subjects. 

Musically, they strut the territory between punk and blues and pack a huge punch in doing so.  Often the instrumentation includes banjo and harmonica, but again, while this gives it a certain authenticity, it's not over-played or annoying as both these instruments potentially could be.  In fact, these only add to the whole flavour of the band.  So, if you're living in Australia and reading this, make sure you get out and see The Snowdroppers when they're in your town next.  You won't be disappointed.  For all you overseas readers, watch out because they could very well be coming your way in the future.

VERDICT: TURN IT UP

For more information: http://www.snowdroppers.com/news

The Mess Hall - Devils Elbow

YOURZ

I got Devils Elbow after reading about it in local music press.  Even though they are another in the seemingly unending run of two piece bands, I thought I'd give these Sydney boys a turn.  If anything, I was a little cynical, at first.  But then seeing it's produced by Gerling's Burke Reid piqued my interest and now, the more I listen to it, the more I like it.

This is a mix of both old swampy blues and more contemporary influences, both local and international.  I've not seen the band live so I don't know how stripped back their live sound is, but it has been well-captured in this set of raw, dirty tracks.  But there is not doubting these songs were bounced off a concrete wall in a dingy rehearsal space before they ever saw the light of day.  These were born of sweat, spit and the hard yards and are only the better for it.

VERDICT: TURN IT UP

MINE

Odd.  It seems well done, but the more I listened to Devils Elbow the more it annoyed me.  Yet another in the seemingly-endless round of blues-based rock that YourZ purchases, it's really not badly written, played or produced at all.  But that lead singer?  Can't.

VERDICT: THROW IT OUT

For further information go to: http://www.themesshall.com.au/

Ben Harper - The Will To Live

YOURZ

Years ago, in the deep, dim memories of my past, I remember someone describing Ben Harper as a 'blues Bob Marley'. I always thought it to be a huge statement, especially given the Marley legacy.

So really, is Ben Harper the blues Bob Marley?

He certainly is a bit of a stoner, at least, judging by the cover of The Will To Live. (If that man isn’t off his face, then I’ve never done drugs either).

But does this mean he's as good as Bob?

Then there are his obvious skills with the guitar. Of this there's no doubt. He plays a mean slide guitar and can sing a decent tune too. He also comes across as a real nice, down to earth bloke, in a chilled, ‘hey dude’ kind a way.

But does this mean he's as good as Bob?

He even has a reggae styled song, called Jah Work, although it's what I'd call reggae-lite. Not really reggae, not Marley reggae, but alright none the less.

It's nowhere near as good as anything Bob did.

I guess Ben’s claim to fame is he inadvertently started a bit of a trend, one of the troubadour guitarist, with a band of musical mates sitting around a camp fire on a beach, playing tunes to pretty girls after the sun goes down. People like Jack Johnson and Donovan Frankenreiter owe him a bit of a nod.

I really like the first track. In fact, I think I bought the album for the first track. I also really like his playing, although it's fairly predictable. The thing I don't like about this record is too many of the songs just kind of start, cruise through and finish. There's none of the dynamics I really love about contemporary music, the hushed verses shifting to uplifting choruses or spun-out middle eights. Nope, Ben just kind stays on the cruisy level, content to just lowride on by.

From all this, one thing is particularly clear: I can honestly say I haven't listened to The Will To Live once since Mine and Yours, truly, amalgamated our collection, which is something I absolutely cannot say about Marley.

VERDICT: THROW IT OUT (but be gentle, man) Peace


MINE

OK, confession time again. I'm not that fond of the blues. When I hear those guys (and it's mostly guys) I just want to tell them to cheer up, you know? However, it's not a genre I dismiss altogether, as there are some very fine bluesmen and some very fine blues albums.

But this is not one of them. It's an early album for Ben Harper and didn't get him much attention in his home country. I can't fault his musicianship, and he does know how to write a pretty melody. But as I've said before, I'm all about the lyrics, and he falls down on those. To start with, he mixes his voice right down so it's lost amongst the instruments, plus he's a slurrer of words. Even in the very last song, I Shall Not Walk Alone, where he's accompanied by just a quiet guitar/piano combo, I seriously had to Google the lyrics to discover what he was singing. I got the "Only tears/ Speak from my heart" but then "Break the chains/ That hold us down" sounded to me like "Beak na sheen/ That who us dah". So, unintelligible, with lyrics that are, frankly, uninspiring. Oh, apart from the title track which is quite nice. (Note the damning with faint praise there).

That said, the lovely guitar-playing and the pretty tunes make it good background music. So if you own a bookshop or a cafe, where you want the music to please and not alarm, I can highly recommend Ben Harper. What it's doing in our collection, I have no idea.

VERDICT: THROW IT OUT (after maybe iPodding for a dinner-party playlist)

For more information: http://www.benharper.com/

In our collection we also have Diamonds On The Inside, though I'm wondering why...