Ever the Silver Cord Be Loosed ~ by: Weird Owl
We start this new year with a plateful so fresh that it hasn't even been released yet! Scheduled for public consumption on February 17th from Tee Pee Records, Weird Owl's wonderful disk is a delightful dose of new-age psychedelia, designed to make you put on your thinking cap over your headphones. One hears musical echoes of the Summer of Love in songs such as “Skeletelepathic,” — but ironically, instead of eulogizing some fondly-remembered Flower-Power, the singer sadly notes that “I ain't got no more flowers... so bury me under the ground.” Yeah, the Sixties are gone but not forgotten, when Weird Owl still slips in an Aquarian accent such as the idea of being “sky-clad... through the pine trees” in “Tobin's Spirit Guide,” which also features an avant-garde guitar solo like something from a CSNY outtake. And as for being a thinking band, well, beyond the Bible-inspired name of the album (Ecclesiastes 12:6), how about a song-title such as “Do What Th’Owl Wilt” (ow, look at that weirdly-humorous pun on Aleister Crowley's famous exhortation to “do what thou wilt”), and as if that's not enough, the last line warns that “Craleister Owley... even knows your name”! In the current version of this Brooklyn-based band, John Cassidy and 
Kenneth Cook both play bass and keyboards, and Cook shares vocals with guitarist Trevor Tyrrell. Guitars are also supplied by Jon Rudd, while Sean Reynolds does duty on the drums. Sean’s bass drum provides a pow-wow vibe in "13 Arrows, 13 Scars" and again in “Phases of the Moon” — and several songs, including the CD’s opener, “Mind Mountain,” have the feeling of a slo-mo tribal rumpus, getting wild while getting weird. But the owlish weirdness is warm and welcoming, in a whirly, swirly kind of way, combining the trippy meandering of the Grateful Dead with the vigorous chordage of the Jefferson Airplane. Yet overall, Weird Owl isn't nostalgically stuck in the past, as seen in the final track on Ever the Silver Cord Be Loosed, “Flying Low Through the Air After Thunder,” wherein up-to-date technique and attitude are mated to a timeless message that urges the listener to: "See us — we're flying high in the ether." Fly on over and absorb more of Weird Owl's feather-ruffling "Grok & Roll" at: www.myspace.com/weirdowl or www.teepeerecords.com.
Summerland ~ by: Roger Hinz
Roger Hinz is a singer-songwriter originally from Minneapolis, and he’s also an accomplished actor and aspiring screenwriter. Roger crafts sincere, acoustic-guitar-based expressions of awareness, growth, and acceptance, nine of which are found on his 2008 release, Summerland. The disk was constructed in collaboration with multi-instrumentalist Kevin Crider, a phenomenal talent who’s known not only as bass player for Los Angeles band The Cauze, but also as an arranger and producer in his own right. The resulting album is sweet and endearing, resounding with melodious positivity. Summerland’s title track starts out with a soft acoustic progression, light drums, keyboard strings and some saxophone notes that are emotive and engaging, courtesy of a player named Travio Tuttle, in his only appearance on this disk. The next cut, “Time for the Children,” is based on banjitar-backed chordage that’s reminiscent of an optimistic Tom Petty. (For the uninitiated, a “Banjitar” is pretty much what it sounds like it should be: a guitar-like variation on the twangy five-string instrument we all know as the banjo.) Crider comes alive in "Champions," with some growling slide-guitar pulls, to accompany his flat-out tasty pickin’ and jammin’. “I 
Believe” hits the inspirational trail, which is to be expected from a guy who's friends with The Cauze, and Kevin cooks tastily with his flying fingers. “Rock Star” seems to invoke the starry-eyed spirit of old Mott the Hoople, with its reflections on the possibilities and pitfalls of the Hollywood dream. The last song, "Olé," features some sparkly flamenco fretwork from a fellow named Alberto Dealmar, but other than that and T.Tuttle's sax bits, the whole album is mainly the fruit of the labor of just two men’s efforts: Roger the Writer and Kevin the Capable. Among the pleasant surprises found on Summerland is Kevin’s fine fiddle-work on “Concrete Cowboy,” the percussion-free lament of a low-hearted loner looking for love. And in keeping with Roger’s fundamentally fair outlook, that track is followed by “Surrounded,” a song that insists that we’re all surrounded by love. As a musical labor of love itself, Roger Hinz’s Summerland is a good tonic for ears and spirits that might be in want of perking up, and it can be picked up at CD Baby.
Burned in Effigy ~ self-titled CD
This outstanding CD by a band from New London, Connecticut, spurred a lot of thought regarding the appropriate category into which it should be placed. Yep, the songs are both thrashily and progressively metallic, and some of their lyrics are deathly grim, so there go a few pigeonholes right there, but what works best? Well, Burned In Effigy's music is marked overall by a combination of melodic harmony and yelled vocals, so – are you ready for mello-yello?!? Sure hope so, because this reviewer is gonna stick by that slot for these guys and anyone else that comes along who seems to fit into a similar leather jacket. The band consists of guitarist brothers Jared and Alex Meekhoff, plus drummer Zak Begin and bassist Luke Mason. Jared and Zak are both listed on vocals, and in several songs, you’ll get a “good cop/bad cop” contrast between “mellow” and “yell-o,” which works surprisingly well, kind of like in Linkin Park, for instance. The hefty 16-track disk is “bracketed” by a piece called “Juggernaut,” a driving instrumental which was split in two and pasted on as the opening and closing cuts for the compilation. In between, metal fans are treated to a frenzied feast of roaring rock. After a few hard and heavy workouts, the sixth track, “War 
Inside,” begins with some guitar licks that taste like both ZZ Top and Lynyrd Skynyrd, but then the Southern-fried intro cuts to a marching, choppy chunk of modern metal. “Violent Season” has a riff and a sound that’s part Danzig and part Alice In Chains, with a taste of Tony Iommi-style lead-work as garnish. Many listeners should agree: there shouldn’t be shame about borrowing from the best, when it comes to cooking up one’s own personal approach to hard rock. If a hint of Metallica crops up in a cut like “Dirty,” that’s cool, too. Further on, "Running Over Nails" is a real kick in the fanny, a straight-forward, fast-paced groove-burner, designed to get both hearts and fists pumping. Actually, this entire self-titled effort from Burned In Effigy sounds sure to get the listener’s whole system moving, from bobbing head to tapping toes, and it’s hoped that these boys head west soon on tour, to bring their hard rock gems alive in person. In the meantime, interested rockers can learn more about the band at: www.myspace.com/burnedineffigy.
