Northeasterner Erik Balkey has been making waves across the country with his articulate songs. His latest release Sanctuary Road should only serve to raise him higher up the ladder of independent musicians.
Highlights include “Always One More Round.” Searing lines are delicately delivered in Balkey’s whispering voice while a mandolin softens lyrics about the difficulty of loving an alcoholic. “Someone To Call” starts off a capella before acoustic guitar joins angelic background vocals as Balkey sings the praises of a new-found love.
“Leaves Are Gone” is another gem. “Roots run deep beneath the broken branch / Words unsaid while we had the chance / Leaves are gone but the tree still stands,” sings Balkey, expressing regrets from opportunities left untaken. Dave Carter and Bob Dylan covers are expertly rendered, but it’s Balkey’s own compositions that will add fuel to his already burning fire.

www.erikbalkey.com

Seattle resident Paul Benoit is no stranger to the road. Throughout the ’90s he toured rigorously with bands, including Crosseyed and the instrumental combo Hanuman. Benoit released his first solo record in 2002 and now follows with Combustible, an album of glorious pop rock, complete with a wash of electric guitars and his husky, perfect-for-new-rock vocals singing about existential quandaries and getting through the tough times.
“Think I’ll buy a bird today, kiss it as it flies away … we’re here so short and gone so long,” Benoit sings in “Elevator Ring” as electric guitars wail like a freight train. The title track proffers a South African guitar riff and a descending piano line as Benoit asks “Did it make you sad to find out you were burnable?” Lyrics are rich with imagery. Rhymes are fresh, lead lines are mellow and the whole package is solidly grooving and easy on the ears.

www.paulbenoitmusic.com

Australian female trio the Bluehouse paints with pastel colors, soft strokes and beautifully blurry harmonies. Acoustic guitars recall early Mazzy Star, as electric guitar and dobro add well-placed accents.
In opener “I’ll Find You,” lyrics promise an eventual meeting with a soulmate. “I’ll find you, it’s just taking me a little longer.” Instruments all but drop out on the song’s third verse, drawing attention to the words and interwoven voices. “What’s Been Going On” is another standout track; lyrics lament a lost relationship while still keeping a peppy beat and sense of humor. The epic “Fishy” delivers over two minutes of instrumental acoustic guitar work before the vocals kick in—a delightful mix of acoustic and psychedelic, like a happier Pink Floyd.
With a little help from producer Ben Wisch, the Bluehouse has created a delightful album. Extra percussion and instrumentation is kept light throughout the album, letting the lyrics occupy the spotlight.

www.bluehouse.net

Tennessee resident Kate Campbell has spent time on a few indie labels, including Compass and Compadre. But for her latest offering she chose to go back out on her own.
Blues and Lamentations is on Campbell’s Large River label, and the record carries the same home-grown spirit that she has become known for. Hard-working farmers, hopeless sinners, Biblical characters, and Sears and Roebuck Silvertone guitars all make appearances in Campbell’s rootsy, Appalachian-flavored songs. Acoustic and electric guitars combine with piano, banjo, mandolin and dobro to complete the sound.
Highlights off the record include “Genesis Blues” and the comforting “Lay Back the Darkness.” Fans of Campbell’s honest, country “Jesus and Tomatoes” sound won’t be disappointed, but Blues and Lamentations is a richer, more mature production, and sure to win Campbell even more devoted followers.

www.largerivermusic.com

Those who have never experienced Chris Chandler may not know what to make of the spoken-word artist. Live, Chandler bobs back and forth on stage, stepping in and out of the backdrop of cover songs to deliver lines like “I keep my Viagra right next to my Prozac, but if either one of them worked, I wouldn’t need the other one.” New audience members typically react with confusion, then curiosity, amazement and, finally, revelation.
American Storyteller is no different. Chandler’s epic poems are layered on top of songs stitched together like sonic quilts. Poems—averaging eight minutes long—start innocently about freeway drives or remembered dreams, eventually whipping into the frenzied delivery of punchlines like “Hollywood took the blood of Vietnam and turned it into rose-colored glasses.”
David Roe and his Orchestra provide the backing music while Chandler utters his sage observations with wry humor and mind-bending practicality, like a road-wizened guru guiding us all toward enlightenment.

www.chrischandler.org
www.chrisvids.org

The sound on Elixir for the Human Heart is sophisticated; alto sax joins sparse acoustic guitar and gentle percussion. Anna Christie’s vocals float over it all, as delicate and ethereal as the wind she sings about in “Come In.” Her melodies are jazzy and feel almost improvisational. Lyrics are introspective and cerebral, while maintaining a sense of lightness.
Stellar tracks include “Half Hidden,” in which Christie sings about overcoming fear. “Whiskey grows stronger with every sip, I get smaller by the taste of it / dreamer get up, you keep walking.” A frolicking violin plays a loose game of call-and-response with the lyrics. The sassy “Damsels” is another highlight. A high-energy Cajun drumbeat lays the foundation for lyrics condemning the typical portrayal of women in fairy tales as “damsels in distress.” Christie is fresh and different, and Elixir may just be the cure for what ails you.

www.annachristiemusic.com

“Not so comfortable as a kid / frizzy-haired four-eyed C student,” Kelly Fitzgerald sings in “Enough” off her recent release, So Far. If the words are at all autobiographical, it’s obvious that she’s come a long way. The Los Angeles resident has opened for artists such as Shelby Lynne and Nanci Griffith and recently won the LA Music Awards Best Adult Contemporary Artist.
Her powerful voice is confident on the new record, and the frequently bluesy accompaniment gives it a gospel feel. “Make a Mark” is the crowned jewel of the album. Tremolo guitar and a soaring string arrangement set the scene as Fitzgerald sings about her timidity: “I’ve been a good book without a cover … too long in the dark / I need to make my mark.” Her voice is soft and warm as honey before sailing up to nail the high notes.

www.kellyfitzgerald.net

Minnesota resident Brent Floren creates a sound that could be described as one part Bruce Springsteen, one part Lyle Lovett and one part something that I can’t quite put my finger on, but I like it! Sparse arrangements utilize acoustic guitar, bass and percussion to accompany songs about adultery, violence and the radio.
Floren doesn’t shirk from the darker side of life, as evidenced in tunes like “Monique (Do It).” “Monique found out that her husband was stepping out at night with a woman from work / … she imagined her revenge, the barrel of his gun oughta wipe that arrogant smirk” sings Floren over blues-flavored guitar lines. The stellar title track uses a galloping drum beat to accent the rhythmic chorus: “Get down off that high horse, giddy-up, giddy-up, get down.” Black stallions, desert storms and Jesus drift in and out of this dream-like masterpiece.

www.brentfloren.com

Jimmy Ryan sings like he means it. “You burned every bridge from here to hell,” he intones with a raw energy that burns out of the speakers. Bluesy electric guitar lines scream over piano, bass and driving drums in “Breaks My Heart.” Other tracks are more laid-back but no less passionate. Intricate mandolin lines decorate “Turn Around” as Ryan invites listeners to “get lost before we’re found.” The title track combines bluegrass with Allman Brothers’ Southern rock as Ryan embodies a fire-and-brimstone preacher, warning us that “You never know when darkness is gonna strike, even the brightest summer day could suddenly turn night.”
A veteran performer, Ryan fronted alt-country band the Blood Oranges, Beacon Hill Billies and Wooden Leg before striking out on his own. Gospel Shirt is Ryan’s second solo release and proves that he is indeed a force to be reckoned with.

www.jimmyryan.net

Slip on your worn out cowboy boots and wife-beater T-shirt and pop in a copy of White Trash Jenny. The latest release from Brooklyn duo the Maybelles is chock-full of good old-fashioned fun—groping, incest and stints in jail.
“Snow Plow Johnny” kicks things off describing a driver with a lead foot. Lyrics implore him to slow down, literally and metaphorically: “You’re going too fast / Just cause you picked me up don’t mean you get a piece of ….”
“Aunt Molly Jackson” combines sweet harmonies and traditional bluegrass instruments with lyrics about dying mothers and coal-mining fathers, while the title track narrates the story of a free-spirited woman who chooses crime and jail time over life in a trailer park, “having kids and being someone’s wife.”
Maybe not for the faint of heart, but as long as you’re not easily offended, the mesmeric, melodic Maybelles will surely win you over.

www.littleredhenmusic.com

Diane Ponzio is one of those artists able to take a medley of different styles and make them work together on one album. From the soul of opening track “So Nice” to the jazz-flavored title track to the blues of “My Best Friend,” Ponzio somehow ties it all together.
Maybe it’s due to the fact that she can actually play all these styles so well on the guitar, deftly switching genres without missing a beat. Maybe it’s the ease of her vocal delivery, wrapping effortlessly around lines like “she’s got a smile you could read by … a laugh you could dance to.” Standout tracks include the samba-flavored “Without the Rain” and the poetic “Your Golden Years” (“unread novels sit by your bedside / sacrifices we make today”). She may be hard to categorize, but fans of soulful, eclectic music won’t be disappointed with Ponzio’s In the Middle.

www.dianeponzio.com

The unlikely combination of ukulele and xylophone kick things off on the latest release from Michigan native Hailey Wojcik. “Don’t tell me how much you admire the writing of / The Russian author Vladimir Nabokov” she sings in “Nabokov’s Butterfly,” highlighting the unlikely rhyme with a voice as relaxed as a summer day—somewhere between Liz Phair and Nick Drake.
The instrumentation remains refreshingly unique throughout the entire album. “Dinosaur Bone” utilizes only a sparse piano to back-layered vocals which promise that “someday you’ll really dig me.” The title track combines a chordless guitar line with percussion that sounds like bamboo poles on a marble floor. “Just because I’m prettier and better in the sack, just because you think you’re sure that you don’t want her back, doesn’t mean that I can’t be a jealous maniac.” Really great stuff; check it out for yourself.

www.haileywojcik.com