These guys would be pretty good, if they could just shake off their tendency to wander back into Sandanista territory. They can steamroll along with the best alt bands out there, and then, for some perverse reason, they will jar the listener back to a Seventies Clash atmosphere, as in “Chosen One” or “How Fast the Time”. It's incongruous and disconcerting. Perhaps you can take the boys out of London, but taking London out the boys is a different matter. And yet, they can still come up with bona-fide country songs such as “Lincoln Town Car” and “On the Sly”? Come on guys, make up your minds; the uncertainty is killing us.

The Waif's official website. Buy from amazon. Released Jan. '05, reviewed by Bill Frater.

It seems like everywhere you turn there's another talented young folk-pop group from Canada featuring 2 or 3 ladies, and they're all quite good too: the Be Good Tanyas, the Duhks, and now the Wailin' Jenny's from Winnipeg. The Jennys are Annabelle Chvostek, Nicky Mehra and Ruth Moody. They all write their own songs; four by each member are included on this album (very democratic). Every song feature their rich harmonies, which are their strongest assets, and sure to give you goosebumps. Perhaps a few of the songs are not up to the level of the others but with time they'll get better; I'd even propose they collaborate on some songs on future albums. This is only their second release and if they stay together, (and they gotta with such a cool name), they'll only get better.

I assume that Geraint Watkins is English because I've noticed his name on Nick Lowe's CD's in the last 10 years or so, and also because Americans don't give kids names like “Geraint”. So, with that off my chest, I‘ve gotta tell ya, this is really cool stuff! It's not exactly roots music, although he seems to favor upbeat shuffle beats, it ain't very twangy either. I hear vague bits of Ray Charles, J.J. Cale, Howlin' Wolf, Donny Hathaway on this album. Confused? Good. While his music is hard to describe, it always ends up back in my CD player despite the dozens of other new releases that I should be listening to. His principle axe is the Hammond B-3, and there's plenty of that here, but he's one of those guys who plays everything and does multi-track vocal harmonies. He writes all his own songs, lots of simple little odes to being in love. Oh yeah, there is one cover tune, Brian Wilson's “Heroes and Villains”, only it's done as if Louis Prima wrote it! Trust me on this one… if it sounds like something you'd be willing to take a chance on, then do it. You won't be disappointed or bored.

Yep Roc's Geraint page. Buy from amazon. Released Aug. '04, reviewed by Bill Frater.

Dallas's web site. Buy from amazon. Released Feb. '05, reviewed by Kay Clements (KWMR).

JOE WEST
The Human Cannonball... (Frogville)

Well, here we go on another magical mystery tour, with the inscrutable Joe West as our conductor. Lordy, from whence does this man draw his inspiration? I've been to Santa Fe, and I swear that I've never seen the people there that he tends to encounter and write about; it must be that artistic vision thing that most people are not gifted with. This time around, West has pared his band down to bass, banjo, lead, drums, and some brass. A lot of the electricity of South Dakota Hairdo has been replaced with a more acoustic flavour, but that's not to say it's mellow, far from it. There's an undercurrent of desperation, and almost menace, that threads across the tracks. There's combines comin', the title track character who blows himself aloft, Trotsky cruisin' Bert's Burger Bowl in his new SUV with an axe in his head, doing a pretty fair impersonation of Chuck Berry on Johnny B. Goode, and, to make the incongruity complete, there's a straight guy in a gay world. West has always populated his songs with the misfits and oddballs of the world, but Cannonball is a definite hard-a-port, even for him, hence the magical mystery tour reference. You listen to this one several times, and it still has the capacity to surprise, and, it goes without saying, to entertain. It's almost as if the songs subtly evolve with each subsequent spin. Eerie? Yes, and that's not a bad adjective to apply in this instance.

Rocking with a country sensibility, West Coast Grand is a story of friends banding together in Los Angeles. Big chords, tasteful harmonies, sustained guitar waves, a pinch of desert dust in the singing – WCG's eponymously titled debut maintains a good pace and variety throughout its eleven band-penned tracks. Back To School is an energizing opener, and the majesty of Last Train Home is reminiscent of Alejandro Escovedo in its balladry. A warm California feel permeates the entire recording and production, and the electric guitar is at the heart of it.

THE WHIPSAWS
Ten Day Bender... (Shut Eye)

Seeming to come out of the Deep South by way of Anchorage, Ten Day Bender is a true alt.-country rocker in the vein of Lynard Skynard, certain phases of Neil Young's career, or today's Drive-by Truckers. The boys call this one a ten chapter novel, and it in that regard, with its themes of skag, codeine, bar flies, and premature marriage, it could be considered a country “Heart of Darkness”, with a huge latitudinal difference. With references to places such as Cache Creek and Dawson City, there's no mistaking the setting of this narrative; it's all about living at the northern end of the continent and dealing with the same issues that confront, perhaps beset is a better word, those of us in the lower half. As is becoming increasingly common these days, the Europeans have latched on to this one way before North America has, but it's wagered here that when these guys start touring down here, that's going to change. Apparently the live gigs are not to be missed.

After '97's popular The Lucky Few Joy Lynn White took some “personal time” to collect herself and this welcome return has writing most of the songs herself. She's lived in Nashville long enough to have seen ‘em come and go and her “Girls With Apartments In Nashville” is a dead-on observation about coming to town with dreams of stardom. In fact many of the songs deal with being a “girl” including gender-switching the Allan Toussaint classic to “A Certain Boy” and Phil Lee's delightful “Just Some Girl”. She's been singing backup on albums by people like Lucinda Williams, Buddy Miller and Iris DeMent for many years but her own over-dubbed harmonies to her lead vocals are truly a thing of beauty. Produced by Kyle Lehning (Randy Travis, Waylon Jennings) and featuring the under-appreciated Duane Jarvis on guitar, One More Time isn't all country, but the twang songs seem to stand out above the rest and make One More Time worth the wait.

TONY JOE WHITE
Uncovered... (Swamp)

A long time ago in a society far away Tony Joe White had somewhat of a hit on AM radio titled “Polk Salad Annie”. Thankfully those days are where they belong, in the dustbin of musical history. It really wasn't all that bad, considering the era, but one would sure never guess that the same guy now gives us Uncovered. Steeped in the swamps and bayous, this CD reeks of their darkness and latent potential menace. It's not a screamer, rather, it's almost disconcertingly quiet, thanks to White's voice, an instrument with which he wrings out more emotion per decibel than would seem possible. This is one quiet, low-key guy, but so is a shotgun quiet until somebody pops a cap, proof positive that it's smarter to ignore the barking dog, and concentrate upon the unruffled one. That's the direction that the bite will come from. Guest appearances by Mark Knopfler, J.J. Cale, Eric Clapton, and the late Waylon contribute to a pretty impressive release, around number 24, if memory serves me well. There's even Michael McDonald here, but fear not, there's no trace of the schmaltz that led to the Doobies' demise. Tony Joe White is improving with age, just like a good wine or an old Chevrolet.

The Wilders are a lively old-timey band from Kansas who sound like no other band I know of. For an acoustic quartet they play with a reckless urgency and abandon that rivals the Ramones. Really. Led by the remarkably fiery fiddle work of Betse Ellis, she tears into a tune so fast that you can hear the horsehair comin' off her bow. But these guys really shine when they lean heavy on an urgent honky tonk song. They cover, no transform “Drivin' Nails In My Coffin” into a lesson in extreme tempo shifts, and it kills! A few lesser-known Hank Sr. numbers sung get honored. One Ike Sheldon handles the lead vocals smartly and the “tonk” sound is anchored by the dobro playing of Phil Wade, he solos like a 50's-era steel guitar player. Bassist Nate Gawron gets a nod for his solid bottom and for having written one of the best originals on the CD, “Honky Tonk Habit”. My only real complaint is that five fiddle tunes is one too many for my ears. Otherwise, magnificent and wild indeed!

Was it Shakespeare who said “Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned”? No matter, but I personally wouldn't want to scorn Ms. Lucinda, at least for fear of having her write a song about it; referring to his member with “out pops your little party favor” cannot be a good thing. Yes, she writes with strikingly brutal honesty and open sexuality, but Lu still loves her slow, melancholy ballads with repeating lines over and over. Bringing in producer Hal Wilner was a wise choice; on slower songs like “Rescue” and “Unsuffer Me,” Wilner brings in some grinding guitars or inspired string arrangements to liven the songs up. I get the sense that she's more relaxed, not trying so hard to surpass her watermark Car Wheels On A Gravel Road. The CD concludes with “West,” a song of promised love and redemption. Her writing inspiration may suffer, but I hope she finds a lover who treats her right.

ALEX WOODARD
Up With The Sun... (Woodshack Music)

This, Woodard's fourth full-length release, is one nice piece of work. Don't be put of by misinformed opinions that describe his music as “power pop”; that's a load of crap. He does write some damn catchy tunes and couples them with intelligent and insightful lyrics, which sure as hell doesn't qualify for the inane label of “power pop”. Produced in association with John Would, who plays anything with strings, and some things without, i.e. accordion, and recorded mainly in and around his Southern California haunts, up with the sun is an evenly paced offering that strikes a beautiful balance between his slower writings, such as “Lift”, “ I Thought I'd Be There By Now”, and his rockier work, “I Saw You Here” and “Way Down There”. Listening to a good CD can be akin to paddling an interesting stream: there's some peaceful and quiet back eddys interspersed with some stronger currents to keep one alert. Although he lives on the ocean north of San Diego, Alex Woodard understands the importance of that flow.