Trax
By Bliss 05/07/2009
CARRIE RODRIGUEZ, Live in Louisville (Luz):
(3 stars out of 5)
Rodriguez has determinedly come into her own since breaking onto the national scene in 2002 as youthful duet partner to Chip Taylor (who wrote or co-wrote most of these 12 tracks). Not unlike Alison Krauss, Rodriguez has shifted focus from feisty fiddler to frontwoman. Despite her narrow range, her smoky-sweet vocal tone’s nicely complemented by Hans Holzen’s electric guitar atmospherics on this live folk-pop set, recorded in 2007 while touring with Lucinda Williams. “Got Your Name on It” and “Big Kiss” reflect Williams’ own dynamics. Concert recordings are often contractual obligations; this one chronicles an artist’s growth in progress. At McCabe’s in Santa Monica Sunday. carrierodriguez.com.
CHUCK MEAD, Journeyman’s Wager (Thirty Tigers):
(3.5 stars out of 5)
BR549 co-founder Mead’s solid solo outing swaps his former outfit’s hickbilly schtick for rollicking country propelled by hard-cracking drums, stinging Telecaster licks, strongly crafted story songs (the poignant “Up on Edge Hill”) and Mead’s resonant twang. Tart humor flashes through the barrelhouse piano-driven “After the Last Witness is Gone” and especially “She Got the Ring” (“I got the finger/ She didn’t want to waste her time on no worn-out singer”). At the Mint in LA Wednesday. myspace.com/chuckmeadmusic.
BLAME SALLY, Night of 1000 Stars (Opus):
(2.5 stars out of 5)
The Bay Area femme quartet’s fourth album surveys life through eyes of lovers, war veterans and cancer survivors with smooth four-part harmonies and mostly acoustic instrumentation. The midtempo pace picks up on the anti-PC “Pass the Buddha,” “Hurricane” and “Jump Start” (“I live inside a magazine/ I’m a juggler balancing routines/Smoke and mirrors, wood, steel, skin and rock ’n’ roll”). Comforting, not groundbreaking; should appeal to Indigo Girls fans. At Largo in LA Wednesday. blamesally.com.
MEAT PUPPETS, Sewn Together (Megaforce):
(4 stars out of 5)
Sibling rifts feel far removed from the shimmering harmonies and spiraling guitars lighting up this reverb-heavy return by troubled cult faves Curt and Cris Kirkwood and drummer Ted Marcus. The Pups’ boisterous punk roots periodically spike through, but overall this handsomely buffed-and-polished production is closer to later friends
(Nirvana) and influences (Neil Young), with mellowed reflection (title track, whistling “Monkey and the Snake”) balancing angst (“Blanket of Weeds,” “Rotten Shame”). At the Mint in LA Tuesday. meatpuppets.com.
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