Music: CD Reviews

Greencards refine talent with 'Weather and Water'

The Greencards: "Weather and Water"
(Dualtone)

I've seen this Australian/British bluegrass trio at least half a dozen times and have found them to be fun, charming and quite skilled musicians. But I wasn't prepared for the exquisiteness displayed on this, their Nashville-produced second album. The key is the voice of bassist Carol Young, which approaches the vast ethereality of Patty Griffin on the breathtaking opener "The Ghost of Who We Were" and provides the perfect harmonic center to first single "Time." Considering the work he's done with Alison Krauss, Kelly Willis, the Dixie Chicks and now Young, producer Gary Paczoza is, if not an angelmaker, a female vocalist's best friend.

Solid debut LP "Movin' On" now sounds less a trumpeted arrival than a mere calling card; "Weather and Water" is superior in every way. The new material, which finds the principals sitting down with the likes of Rich Brotherton and Bill Whitbeck from Robert Earl Keen's band and Nashville picker Jedd Hughes, is broader, fleshier and resonates deeper. Even the lightning quick communications between mandolinist Kym Warner and fiddler Eamon McLoughlin, which established the Greencards as a band to watch a couple years ago, come in clearer on new instrumentals "Marty's Kitchen" and the stunning closer "The House On Vine Street."

This project, which sounds like everyone involved couldn't wait to get to the studio each day, is a huge step forward for the trio that formed in Austin, stole our hearts and moved to Nashville for professional reasons. We understood, waved and wished them the best. And "Weather and Water" is our reward.
— Michael Corcoran

Torch: "Before the Night Is Over"
(Self-released)

"Light/morning is good," Seela Misra sings on the mesmerizing "Silent Town," but her lush, well-worn voice, always tantalizingly on the cusp of cracking, is made more for the hours between midnight and dawn, even more so when teamed with the deft jazz strokes of guitarist Chris Vestre. Gutsy move, following songs by Cole Porter and the Gershwins with seven Misra/Vestre originals, but the new songs keep the mood alive, setting up the album's three-song highlight which starts when Misra wraps herself around the classic "I Fall In Love Too Easily" like a jilted lover around a bottle of wine, followed by "Springtime," a head-bobbing ditty from Seela that rides the bus to bossa nova and then into the drums-only accompaniment of "You Came a Long Way From St. Louis."

Seela and producer Brian Beattie have forged quite a musical partnership in recent years, as the singer flaunts her vulnerability and the producer works to keep in intact.
— Michael Corcoran

Fire Marshals of Bethlehem: "Songs For Housework"
(Buildout)

Consisting of former members of the Reivers, Wannabes and Javelin Boot, F-MoB sounds little like those power poppish bands, though there's no shortage of hummable melodies. Julie Lowery sings the songs of John Croslin and Kevin Carney with a shimmering detachment, brought in by harmony vocals like an interesting bottle washed ashore. Undercoating all the songcraft is the violin of Jenny Smith; an elegant touch to show this to be no hobby album.

The material in uniformly strong, but the standout is "Bed Bed," its lovely "surprise me/ nightly" chorus throwing lush covers over disturbing lyrics that seem to be about insomnia gone wild. I take it back — that could be a Reivers song.
— Michael Corcoran

Brian Keane: "I Ain't Even Lonely"
(Mix-O-Rama)

We got room for another singer-songwriter who wants to tell us what he's going through emotionally? We do if he's as pleasing to the ears as this South Carolina transplant, whose Wednesday night shows at Momo's have been attracting fellow songwriters, who often sit in, as Wendy Colonna, Carolyn Wonderland and Susan Gibson do here. Looking for an easy comparison? Lyle Lovett. Keane's voice is as smooth and elastic, his arrangements as gently flowing and blues-tinged, his lyrics almost as economically illuminating. Plus, he's from the home state of Lovett's mentor Walter Hyatt, so there are extra credit points to be had.

Produced with an affinity for the songs by drummer Eldridge Goins, "I Ain't Even Lonely" sounds as if Keane played it in his head for years before finally laying it down. There's just such an easy grace at work here. May Mr. Keane make many more (and leave his shirtless back off subsequent covers, please.)
— Michael Corcoran