Irma Thomas - River is Waiting

This song impressed when John Fogerty included it on Revival, and it double impresses here with an arrangement that matches the intensity of Irma’s blessed voice. "The river is waiting, come rise up. A new day is coming, come rise up. We'll be sailing at first light, come gather, set our course for the crossing together." We remember stories of Irma’s home being destroyed in the floods of Katrina, so it is very eerie to be enjoying this joyous recording as Gustav threatens the city and people are being evacuated. I’m praying the joy in this song will not be diminished by the events of the next few days. "Gonna leave all my sorrows behind me, lift my face to a new day, I'm rising." Shoutouts for Too Much Thinking (“too much thinking on my mind to worry about the little things”), and the intriguing piano arrangement of the currently foreboding I Think It’s Gonna Rain Today. Irma Thomas

Seth,com - Cool layout

Singer/songwriter Seth Swirsky has created a very cool way of understanding his history as a writer. An excellent model of what can be done with the internet (I'm listening to Al Green sing one of his songs as I type this). http://www.seth.com/discography_landing.html

Jonathan Richman - No One Was Like Vermeer

“Some paintings are sad and passionate, but for me it sends a chill up your spine.” Jonathan moves me, he always has. The percussionist with him on this album is tight &, well simply put, perfect for Jonathan’s music. This song has some fun guitar work, alsong with some as usual tongue-in-cheek humor. “Vermeer was eerie, Vermeer was strange.” LOL! The uninitiated always say something similar about Jonathan when I put one of his records on. There really is no one quite like Jonathan, nor do I think anyone would want to be like him. He’s his own man, and continues to be. “What’s this? A ghost in the gallery? Great scott, the martians are here! These strange little paintings next to the others, no one was like Vermeer. Vermeer was eerie. Vermeer was weird. He had his own way of doing things.” Self-analysis in the third person? Great record. The shoutout tune on the record is the tender and beautiful As My Mother Lay Lying. And I can’t quit this review till I say Here come the martian martians! Jonathan Richman

Another try at eartaste multimedia

Muxtape was a great idea, but was too far ahead of the curve, so I've searched out another player that will work. This one stays 100% on eartaste, and will be changing fairly often. The latest songs that artsists have agreed to let us play will appear on the left under the title: Recently Eartasted =:-)

Please listen in, leave a comment when you have time, and enjoy the Eartaste experience. I'm sure once you hear the songs I write glowingly about that you will be prompted to purchase a copy of your own. Support the musicians!

Just for fun I'm leaving my test version below for your pleasure.

Alice Cooper - I Know Where You Live

Guitar rock party returns! “I know the hours you sleep, don't approve of the company that you keep. While you're in work I'm alone in your room, on your bed and you'll never know. I like to go through your things, the touch, the smell, the joy it brings.” Creepy lyrics, but I decided this was about a spider so it started to make sense, and I accepted the fantasy of a spider writing a song. Anything else I say will give this album away, but let me say up front this is a rock opera, so you kinda need to listen to the entire album to appreciate its full value. Which is okay, because it’s all party music with a Friday night TV mystery storyline. Dance your legs off! Shoutouts for In Touch With Your Feminine Side ("it's your world, but it's my street"), Wrapped In Silk ("did you see the holy light?"), I’m Hungry ("I've got a night full of promise, a city full of prey"), The One That Got Away ("all the voices in my head always seem insane"), and an intensely interesting Salvation ("I did what voices told me to"). There are questions raised in that song that are seldom raised, but should be part of our daily discussions. Alice Cooper

Brazilian Girls - St. Petersburg

“Do you like my accent when I call you?” Funny line because as I listen to the album I hear some French (maybe Portugese?) some Spanish, some English, some German oom-pahs. Love it. Last night we danced to Brazilian Girls, but tonight we are working on building our creativity. Brazilian Girls have tons of it, and the plan is for the ingenuity to rub off and inspire. I’ve met the students I’ll be working with, and tomorrow we wrap up our first week together. The process of making the wrap-up exciting and building an energy for the rest of the year together is not as easy as it might sound. That’s where music comes in to stir up every bit of powerful insight I need to bring this all together in a positive manner. St Petersburg starts off this thought-dream-party with a bit of a beat, a visionary type of beat. A dancible single, but more of a cerebral dance for me tonight. It’s fascinating that some things that drive me crazy by less accomplished artists (whistling, moaning instead of lyrics) manage to capture my imagination when done with solid taste. These folks have that recipe down, good, solid eartastible joy. “Do you like my acting?” Yep. Shoutouts for L'Interprete & Berlin. Brazilian Girls

Brazilian Girls - Ricardo

I’m celebrating this first hump day of the new school year with a fun dance number that changes rhythms mid-stream to keep the movement exciting, with words that may or may not be real. I’m not sure f these folks are from Brazil, and I’m reasonably sure not all the vocalists are girls, but none of that matters. The music is exciting, and helps the margaritas taste better than they should. A new school year has started successfully & another group of children will be faced with their music-loving teachers smiling at a bright shiny future with a quest for peace and finding a manageable method of bringing health management to the entire world, along with food and energy or every citizen. A worthy challenge, and Lord knows the adults are not about to take on the challenge. We leave the legacy to our children. The shoutout is the equally brilliant Good Time – a dance with lyrics I can understand: “We just want to have a good time” & “Some people have nothing and just want nothing and are free.” Brazilian Girls

Audio Sunshine - Sell Your Heart For Love

“The dark can drown my light.” I’ll start by saying the term Audio Sunshine truly fits this record. The same way I think of music as food for my soul, these folks have added a healthy batch of solar incense into my aural cavities. This is not music to get high by, by to get high from. There’s space left above the noise to enjoy a peaceful state while listening. The unusual thing for me is that the words are not capturing me, and I normally need the grounding of the words to be convinced of the value of a song. In this case, I’m not too sure what the narrator means by the catch phrase, “sell your heart for love”. The title sounds kinda deep, but if I try to gain control of a meaning I feel helpless. I can live with all the goodness though, because the music captures me. It’s not often two singers and a guitar will arrest my attention, especially if I am unable to fathom a concrete meaning, but it works here. Some words that spring to mind are innocent, fresh, sparse, captivating, and totally fulfilling. Even though I'm not convinced to sell my heart for anything, I am completely sold on the act that Audio Sunshine has moved my soul to a higher place. Thanks! Audio Sunshine

Alkaline Trio - Do You Wanna Know?

I really wanted a good song about learning something new to start off this new school year. Too bad, so sad, I got stuck on this album all day. The title to this song is kinda like education a little bit, but the song itself is pure high-energy humor sung with a straight face. The action is around these two folks deep in a bad time in their relationship. The narrator is confessing, “Honestly, I've never lied more to myself”. The confession obviously doesn’t work for the other party because very soon we are exposed to this hilarious scene – “Don't close my door! Don't leave me out with these mosquitoes trying to drink up all my wine.” Perhaps the reason I’m laughing so hard is we are knee-deep in mosquitoes this week – the rains have somehow or another watered the mosquito seeds and we’re making up for having a bite-free summer. These suckers are deet-proof. Anyway, I’ve been forced out on the porch enough in my life to know exactly what this narrator is going through in this little mini-movie. “I cross my heart and hope to live, with you my darling.” Very well played – low key humor. Love it. Alkaline Trio

Alkaline Trio on Eartaste

Above The Golden State - Loud And Clear

When I first started listening I enjoyed the song, but thought “this narrator is in for a real shock when he finds the one he’s singing to is as human as he is.” As it started off I thought it was another brilliant sounding love song to a cutey from his high school. The instrumentation is shny pop, cleanly played and radio-ready. As I listened again and again I realized the narrator is reaching higher, and singing praise to his creator. Very cool.


I’m not afraid to hear the silence
I’m not afraid when I’m alone
I’ve seen a symphony of sunsets
I wanna know You as I’m known
I can hear You loud and clear

You’re the song inside my head
The melody I can’t forget
Louder than the world I’m in
You’re the song I’ve always heard
The instrument of grace throughout the universe
Louder than the world I’m in

I’m not afraid to look in darkness
I’m not afraid to lose control
I love how You orchestrate the sunrise from the starlight
Give me a song to call my own
I can hear You

Shoutouts for Scared (“here I come to where You are”), and One Thirty Nine (“I’m gonna sing it out from my soul - only You understand me”). A special note for the organ-backed choral recital of Chapter 13, from 1st Corinthians. Above The Golden State

Emiliana Torrini - Ha Ha

“Did you hear me laughing in your head when I saw you stuck in a rut, again?” The delivery of this line has me smiling all over. Emiliana doesn’t run it out with the speed it takes me to type it, she stretches the line with a mystery the allows my brain to flip over when I hear the tag line – “again.” The knowledge that we will always fail at our tasks, as hard as we try. The narrator of this poem has a wonderful mean streak in her. It’s exciting, and enhanced by the musicians she has gathered around her. “It’s not over till you start again.” Shoutouts include Hold Heart (“No tears, don’t you come out.”), Beggar’s Prayer “When I was lost you thought me a beautiful find. Sometimes I think of you sleeping, so sleep for awhile”), Me And Armini (“you’re my clothes that I burn up in smoke”), and Heard It All Before (“the darkness hits the railway on that bridge”). A full, deeply satisfying meal with many enjoyable flavors. Emiliana Torrini

Randy Newman – A Few Words in Defense Of Our Country

“Just a few words in defense of our country
Whose time at the top
Could be coming to an end
Now we don’t want their love
And respect at this point is pretty much out of the question
But in times like these
We sure could use a friend”

I’ve had an interesting week facing the legal system that has become representative of what our nation has turned into. When I was a much younger man our principles included the basic understanding that in a land of freedom we are innocent until proven guilty. This is no longer the truth, as I found out personally this week. Our profession had to be fingerprinted – all of us, this year. I was for it – weed out any potential bad people. Until it turned out a crime I was falsely accused of many years ago popped up on my fingerprint chart. Even though the entire case was thrown out of court because they had the wrong guy - the fact that I was arrested showed up on my record. Wow!!! We finally worked it out, but I had to pay a lawyer to find the paperwork that proved I was found innocent. In other words, even if you are innocent in the eyes of the court, just because you are charged with a crime, you will pay for that charge over and over for the rest of your life. Did you know that? I certainly didn’t. This is not the country I grew up believing in.

So, what better way to release the stress but to visit with Randy Newman? His intense tongue-in-cheek truth telling comes off as humor, and I needed this to laugh at what we have become.

“The end of an empire is messy at best
And this empire is ending
Like all the rest
Like the Spanish Armada adrift on the sea
We’re adrift in the land of the brave
And the home of the free”

Randy Newman does not reserve all his humor for politics. He also doesn’t mind picking on girls. Only A Girl brings us lots of fun. “She's a hundred and ten, maybe five foot five. She won't eat meat, but she'll eat you alive.” And in Pothole we meet religion – “God bless the potholes on memory lane.” His memories are about this here life we all have to live. Love it! “I love my wife - God bless her. I even love my teenage daughter. There's no accounting for it. Apparently I don't care how I'm treated. My love is unconditional or something. I've been hurt a time or two, I ain't gonna lie. I have my doubts sometimes about the ethics of the so-called fairer sex. Fair about what?” A relaxed, laughter-filled party tonight. Thanks! Randy Newman

Frank Bango - International Sign For Sorry

“There’s a stray dog in Manhattan and another in Iraq. If we only knew the language we could take the whole thing back.” There’s a lot tied up in this wonderful lyric, and I love that Mr. Bango is willing to share his intelligent look at the world with such up-beat, pleasant music. There’s no way you can listen without tapping your foot while listening intently to where he’ll take us next both lyrically and musically. He starts off with a guitar and a drummer leading us down the railroad tracks of Europe, but we quickly transverse the world and special portions of our solar system (Venus and Mars). “There’s a monkey on the table, there’s a tiger in the zoo. There’s a poem only children know about the evil that men do.” In the end we realize this is truly simply a love song, “And I’ll wake you up with a kiss. I bet nobody ever loved you like this.” Love for the world, for peace, for intelligence. Whatever you choose to love, Frank Bango has you covered. Nice work. Frank Bango

Electric Touch - Who Put the Fire Out?

You all know I love a song that I can dance to on hump day that also makes me think. These guys succeed admirably. “Who put the fear into this land?” Question asked, no answer given. Can take you back to whatever point you want to go. There’s many answers and one answer. But the narrator is not going to give it to you. I like to anger people I talk to. I hate our what our country has turned into as much as anyone else; but as easy as it is to blame the politicians I make people angry by reminding them WE VOTED FOR THEM. That’s our power, our mistake. Anyway, Electric Touch may or may not be reaching quite that deep.That's just where they take me. The strength in the way the approached the song is they may take you in a completely different direction. “Who took the boys from every downtown?” Again, many answers and one answer. Some of the thought provokers aren’t questions, but complete statements. “Daddy don’t lie, he just doesn’t tell the truth.” Before you egg on about the grammar, I hear adults talking to children like that all the time. “Who took the cradle and made it into a grave?” Fully blessed images, and again, no easy answers. And, if that’s not enough, the song is a pleasure to listen to and dance to. The instrumentation is rock-based and excellent, with some fine lead guitar. Shoutouts for Breakdown ("the sun is in my pocket where I hide the light") and Give Me A Sign ("a girl walks by with a red paleta and I think I'll lose my mind"). Electric Touch

Paul Abro - Angels Collide

It’s great having a guy like Paul over for an after dinner concert. The CD starts with some strumming, and proceeds to start telling us about someone on his mind. “She got lips like strawberry wine, lucky me.” Not one of those complaining oh me oh my I’m sad guys. He’s man enough to admit he’s lucky to know someone who has shared some special moments with him. Gotta love it. “I wonder if she ever realized I found a tapestry behind her eyes? And she’s alright, I’m telling you.” Lovely tune, lovely thoughts, and lovely to have a friend like this singing in my living room. It doesn’t hurt that the tune is extra catchy, so everyone is singing along by the last verse. A song we’ll listen to over and over. As with the shoutouts, The Day Before I Met You (“I used to believe that my life was a chariot pulled by wild horses”), and Fireflies Lullabye (Reprieve) (“Cicadas tap their rhythms on their trunks, so close your eyes with a promise that the world will wait till morning”). Paul Abro

The Dirty Heads - Morning Light

“My eyes are open wide until the morning light. The sun is coming up and I don’t even care.” Finger snappin’ wake me up in the morning happy joy. “Mr hip-hop dude with a reggae style.” Fun 80’s dance rap rhythms. “I stand up on my feet and no one is listening to me. I can’t let myself go because everyone else is asleep.” Hey, they may be loud, but they’re considerate of the sleepers! Ha! Woke me up just fine, reminding me to take this entire week ecstatically with my “hands up in the air!” Shoutout for Can You Feel It? The Dirty Heads

Dirty Heads on Eartaste.com

Sad news . . .

Muxtape is having problems with RIAA. Old readers will remember that our original podcast was shut down for similar reasons. Muxtape was adamant about having permission from artists, etc. If you want to send a letter of support, send it to helpATmuxtape.com = be sure to change AT to @. -Rich

Patrick Charles - Cité Soleil

This album of jazz compositions is perfect for a relaxing Sunday afternoon. I chose Cité Soleil as the feature cut because the guitar playing excites the heart and pulls us up to dance in wild and unplanned manners. The ending is especially tasty. Shoutouts include Code Noir and Jean Michel – both featuring some especially fine horn arrangements. Code Noir includes some sweet interplay between the guitar and the horns; Jean Michel has some exciting horn duels. A special shoutout for the beautiful solo piano tune, Charlene. You may pick up this album for some good dinner background tones, but I guarantee your ear will be drifting away from the conversation and toward the players, so you might as well turn it up loud from the get-go. Patrick Charles
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Listening to eartaste again!

Many readers remember the podcast experiment. Went on for almost a year.

Today I was introduced to muxtape - very cool concept. You will want to start your own once you've played with a few. I contacted a few artists reviewed here recently & several have agreed to let us listen to their music for a few weeks. After 12 songs are posted, our muxtape will change every time an artist agrees to let you hear their music, not just read about it. Win-win for everyone. I'm sure once you hear these folks you'll want to hear more (ie buy the album), so listen in to muxtape often.

http://eartaste.muxtape.com/

So now you know what I do on vacation. Play around & find cool ways to improve the eartaster experience. Don't ever feel shy about telling me new things that will help make this site a place you want to visit to hear about new music.

If you create your own muxtape, let me know & I'll come by to listen.

Back to my vacation. LOL!!!

Vacation

See ya in a week.

The Acorn Project - Funny Pair Of Pants

I love an album that’s simply perfect for the times. It’s Friday night, and these Acorn Project folks know how to throw a party. The very first song with the crazy title, turns out to be a perfect poem. I get excited when someone can put together words that mean so much more in the spaces than in the shapes themselves. What is even more exciting is that these spaces are filled with these nebulous little creatures we call musical notes, tones, beats, rhythms. Tasty.

Using the playground slide
Or finding a good place to hide
Were my goals those days
Up in the big oak tree
Is where I wanted to be
And where I would stay
Day after day.

This first verse sets us up with the theme. Escape. Even as a child the narrator explains that the most important thing on his mind was escape. He wasn’t concerned with reading, math, keeping his room clean. But escaping through play and/or finding a good place to hide. As we read the rest of the words we’ll find the theme does not change. The second verse takes us to the place when the narrator is finally getting out of school and facing life on his own.

Twenty-four might be the age
Of counting sheep, but staying awake
Because the constant cost
Of knowing what’s at stake
Means the more we give the more they take.

Ouch. Reality sets in, confusion abounds. Is this all there is? What is the answer to my purpose in life? I can hear the narrator behind the words digging deep into what sounds trivial written out, but causes pain in all humans nonetheless. The best thing is how these guys make it work. They use the music to express all types of emotions and hungers. The songwriter and narrator have enough confidence in themselves to let the whole band spread out and through their creation and thought processes. They know the band has just as much to offer the composition as the words do. That is rare, as I’m sure you all know. Usually the players on a recording are stifled. That’s why we go to see live music, to see the musicians stretch. This recording is exciting because the musicians are given that opportunity. And, of course the story continues. What happens when you ask for advice for all the pain rumbling through your veins? You get “advice” from well meaning friends and relatives.

You say that talk is cheap
It seems expensive to me
When it sounds that way
And now you’re feeling fine
After a big glass of wine
Helps you fly away

Lesson? Everyone is trying to escape. Look around, face it, admit it. We do not have a real tight grasp on exactly why we’re here or what the heck we’re supposed to be doing. You can take any field – religion – is there one that works for everyone? Politics – is there one that works for every one? And round and round we go. There is really no difference between the oak tree and the glass of wine. In fact, we can smile and consider that the poet is slyly making us think of a good, expensive oak-cured wine as we watch the story progress. Conscious or not, the writing is superb, and shows that humans are just one big compilation of emotional responses. However, one thing that can and does bind us together is good music. So, back to The Acorn Project.

This entire album is a shoutout. The players are all superb, the solos touch the heart. It’s also worth a visit their myspace page and listen to their live music – there are three live jams currently posted that are wonderful examples of the musicianship you’ll hear between the spaces on this album.

Funny Pair of Pants is a slow, soul-filled groove. Re-boot is a hard rocker with a jazzy interlude. Hello Neuman has a light touch with tons of humor in the playing. Gringo Starr shows off acoustic skills. Crystal Myth brings our earbuds into the 21st century. Wellness slows the party down, gives us a poetic glimpse at our mortality as we dance around and around with the musicians. Stomp, well it sounds just like it’s title – prog rock with a beat. Werner, Turner returns to a humorous, funky romp on the dance floor. McGuffin ends the set with the keyboard player setting the pace, the narrator moving a mile a minute through space, pulling all the instruments together like a master conductor. Fine job all around. While there’s no doubt these guys are rock and roll, there is plenty of jazz, reggae, soul, and pop influence to keep these guys constantly on the edge of creativity. I hold firm to all the singles I’ve talked about this year, but will said flat out that this is one of the five best all-round albums I’ve heard all year. The Acorn Project
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Oppenheimer - This Is Not A Test

The bass starts this story. “25 floors up, 25 floors down. Till we hit the ground.” The story is about “an adventurous boy” and “an adventurous girl.” They are on their own path, but the narrator notices that “some people like me might say that this isn’t enough.” Tell that to the characters. Humans just have to learn that other humans have their own way to be wired into God and this life is not ours to judge. So, if ear candy like little trinkling toy pianos give me joy, so be it. Fun song. I’m really glad that this is not a test, because I would probably fail. The dancing, however, was great fun. Thanks! Oppenheimer

The Dirty Heads - Driftin'

Feel like I’m a victim, I’m my own worst enemy.” Humpday is always made better with humor, and these guys are filled with youthful energy and amusement. They manage to capture an undisputed truth of a band who hang together making music, “they say it’s not a job but we practice like an athlete.” The flavors range all over the map, a fill of reggae, a side of soul, a dessert of pop, a sprinkling of oldskoolprincestyled80sraphiphop. Beats galore for dance galore. Shoutouts for Shine (“If you’ve come to be yourself – original – let it shine!”) & Knows That I (“love means pressure and pressure makes diamonds”). Excellent production – enjoyable as dance and as sheer listening pleasure. Dirty Heads

The Jeff Michael Band - Empty Lives

"I have come to this angry town. My friends have gone, they've all left and gone to their jobs, to their rooms, to their empty, empty lives." The weather cooled down today, but only because of a tropical storm. Good for us because we get some rain, but how horrible for others who have to deal with the aftermath of a storm. We are thankful for the rain, but at whose expense? “We all dream of this happy place where we all live in harmony” sings the narrator. The song is sneaky – I turned it up to hear the intriguing sounds and wham! – got smacked in the old eartaster by a wall of sound. Sneaky punch. Sorta like a tropical storm in my head. Many enjoyable flavors in the track – some smart psychedelic keyboard work, fun rock guitar licks, lots of smashing drums. What will we do with our empty lives? “What does it matter?” Well, this eartaster will while his away listening to some great music. Thanks! The Jeff Michael Band
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Shane Wyatt - Whole Lotta Love

Gotta love a cowboy who gets te work week started by quoting Shakespeare! The energy is a jump-outta bed singing happy thoughts gusto spirit. “Hey, I love waking up with you each morning and I love thinking about you each day.” Guitars, fiddles and steel guitars galore! “Round the clock my love don’t stop.” Great radio-blasting car song, as well as a good-time skirt around the dance floor tune. “Every morning as I drive to work, I love you all the way.” The guy must be a newlywed (says the old cynic). The first shoutout, Happy Hour, is a more bluesy reality check with the narrator dropping tears in his beer. “My only vacation is Friday afternoon. It’s my happy hour, I won’t waste it on you.” The second shoutout, Big Bad Dog, is a true driving blast of fun. Having just driven highway 35 in Texas last month, the drive is still fresh – a new town every 20 miles. The driver in this song is being followed on a fog-filled night by a truck doing 90 mph with a huge “chrome grill” and a trailer on back, carrying “everything from steel to Kansas Wheat.” Hilarious, upbeat song about the highway that goes from Laredo all the way to Duluth cutting our great country almost in ½. The road is filled with beauty, and many many curves – so “get outta the way” of the trucks, and if you ever head down south through Uvalde, be sure to call the Eartaster – I’m just a bit east of 35. You might even see me in my little tiny geo from time to time. Shane - thanks for the lively start to my week! Shane Wyatt

Natalie Walker - Lost My Shadow

The music comes through the thick, humid atmosphere like a mist as the narrator tells of her search. “Wanted something better, no more monotony. I need to find my way. I lost my shadow somewhere, now I am incomplete.” The production makes me feel like I’m walking into someone else’s dream, a pleasant, welcoming sensation. “She’s got every single memory, my mind is empty.” I wake up from this movie to enjoy the shoutouts Over And Under and Ordinary. Perfect Sunday afternoon meanderings. Natalie Walker

Kelley McRae - Sparrow

“Sometimes I feel like a sparrow sold for a penny or two ‘cause the road I travel was cleared by a fool and a thief and a charmer – they wrote the rules.” Pretty heavy lyrics for a Saturday night. The poem is very well written, the melody wonderfully sung, and the accompaniment is subtle and enhancing. Great dinner. I know, you’re wondering about the Saturday night dance. Sometimes it’s just too hot. Went up to 104 today, and this evening has cooled down to 102. The fan blades are turning 30 mph, but aren’t helping so I’m focused on the words of this artist. The narrator here pulls no punches – her relationship failed and life isn’t looking real great right now. Anyone who hasn’t been here is a liar, and it’s wonderful to have a writer who can put pen to paper and write out the words we all want to say. Sometimes. “Where do I go when I’m homesick for the place that never felt like home? Tell me, tell me, where do I go when I’m lonesome for the arms that left me alone?” Emotional? Yes. Cleansing? Very. A good record to have on the shelf for those special sometimes when you need a little help to recall. “Sometimes I feel like a burden to everyone that I know. If I could float away, I’d come back like snow. Well, it ain’t all the time, but it’s more than you know.” Shoutouts for Long Walk Home and So Far. Exceptional flavors. Kelley McRae
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Brice Woodall & The Positrons – Winter/Break/Down/Away

It’s difficult to find ways to cool down on Friday evenings when it’s 102 degrees. Brice manages to help me at least dream of being cool with the percussion that begins this track. It feels like the North Pole is invading south Texas, in a good way, however short a time it lasts. It’s rock, but not the 4/4 dance beat – we’re off kilter here in a very interesting juxtaposition of rhythms. The voice comes from deep in a refrigerator, softly blowing from “sixty miles away.” It’s there, it’s obvious, emoting more than discussing. The bass playing really pulls the dance upward through the humidity and beyond. Seek out the track, it’s worth the search; but I bet the live show is probably a blast also. The shoutout is Pulses, which has a slower mixture of rhythms, and a totally different flavor. Tasty. Eartasty. Brice Woodall & The Positrons