February 2021 REVIEWS

by Mike Baron

MY LITTLE BROTHER: Howl  (Big Stir)

East Cumbria quartet incorporates every Laurel Canyon band that ever lived with a hint of acid, from Jefferson Airplane to Country Joe and the Fish, beginning with “Play Hard.” “Janey” uses the same harmonies favored by the Mamas and the Papas. It’s a time machine. The folk rock title track is a Wayback Machine, as is the hazy cover art showing a hippified motor home alone in the desert. “Chicago” is a mini-suite. I don’t think it’s intentional, but this song would fit perfectly into Chicago’s songbook. You can practically hear the horns, and the keyboards on the unlikely bridge are pure Robert Lamm. “Regional Saint” borrows from the British music hall tradition, while “Time Of Our Lives”is a piano driven elegy that touches the heart and soul.

ROGERS & BUTLER: Poets & Sinners (Zip)

Talk about the English music hall tradition, these guys nail it in “Noel Coward,” which sounds like something Lane Steinberg might have written. A little Crowded House smart ass permeates “Olde Store Fronts.” The lyrics are both clever and wise, and a lush sense of songcraft permeates the album.

HEATWAVES: Complete Recordings (Rum/Bar)

Led by Ana Beltran, this quartet encompasses the history of good girl pop with stops along the way for Motown, the Brill Building, and canyon rock. You can hear echoes of Linda Ronstadt in “Vampire,” but Beltran has her own chops and an uncanny ability to summon the ghosts of so many great singers, aided by spot on backing vocals. “Nothing Lasts Forever,” “In My Teens” and “My Baby Is True” recall the Shangri-Las, the Ronettes, and the Shirelles. “Don’t Talk About My Boyfriend” nods to Lesley Gore. “You’ll Be Crying” melds a Motown beat to a Carole King melody. Gut bucket sax propels “I Do, I Do” while “Tell Me What You See” is pure Brill Building.”Earworms galore! Earworms that you’ll welcome.

MARC PLATT: Colors of the Universe (Rum/Bar)

A more personal and far ranging record from Rum/Bar, which thus far has a hammerlock on garage rock, Marc wears all the hats, as so many musicians during the past year. Whining, psychedelic fuzz tones fill “The Devil’s Game,” while “Let’s Go” melds prog and roadhouse together. The brooding “Had To Be You” is a song about God, with the grit lacking from so much Christian rock. “Joe Strummer”is classic power pop, and with “As The City Sleeps” we’re back to brooding. But it’s good brooding. “Did You See Her Smile” sounds like something Leonard Cohen might have been written, filled with quasi-mystical longing. “The Beat” is an instant classic, Paul Collins approved.

THE SHANG HI LOS Kick: Kick It Like A Wicked Bad Habit (Rum/Bar)

Groovy quartet featuring Dan Kopko and Jen D’Angora on lead vocals wears its hear on its sleeve starting with the call and response of “Sway Little Player,” with a nod to Mickey and Sylvia. “Stay” has a nursery rhyme sing/song quality that parodoxically invests the song with urgency. This is just a five song EP, ending with “Saturday In The Park,” and it still packs a punch.