Just in the St. Nick of time for 11th-hour Christmas shopping, check out this batch of Local Spins reviews of albums by Michigan artists.
Mustard Plug: A new album on a new record label and a holiday show this weekend. (Photo/Anthony Norkus)
Attention, procrastinators. It’s Christmas Eve and you’re still scratching your head trying to find that last gift for those tough-to-buy-for relatives and pals. Search no further: Local music is always a smart choice and will make you a hero on Christmas Day.
To help point you in the right direction, here’s another batch of Local Spins album reviews. For more, just click the “Album Reviews” tab at the top of this page. And Merry Christmas to all and to all a goodnight.
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Root Doctor, “New Attitude”
Root Doctor
New Attitude
As a veteran, award-winning Michigan blues outfit, singer Freddie Cunningham and Lansing’s Root Doctor have established a solid reputation for their engaging live shows. But with “New Attitude,” recorded and mastered by respected producer Glenn Brown at East Lansing’s GBP Studios, the band also sets a new high watermark for its studio work, generating blues sparks on originals – many of them written by Lisa Bonotto and keyboard player Mike Skory – that ooze buckets of soul. From the classic blues vibe of “Pay the Rent” to the horn- and guitar-saturated “The Other Way” to the Cajun flavors of “Louisiana Bound,” Skory, guitarist Bill Malone, bassist James Williams, drummer Bob Gardner and a host of special guests add just the right touches to Cunningham’s vintage vocals.
Website: rootdoctorband.com
Upcoming show: 9 p.m. New Year’s Eve at The Avenue Café, 2012 E. Michigan Ave. Lansing, $15 ($55 dinner package)
Mustard Plug, “Can’t Contain It”
Mustard Plug
Can’t Contain It
Ska at its best. That’s been the mantra of Mustard Plug for 20-plus years and it’s obviously served the Grand Rapids band well because it draws exuberant fans like magnets all across the country for its party-styled ska. But it’s also been more than a handful of years since David Kirchgessner and crew have detonated some new material in the studio. Clichés aside, it really was worth the wait: These zesty, horn-infused tunes helped the West Michigan band snag an impressive record deal with highly regarded Florida punk label, No Idea Records, and it’s easy to see why with tracks such as “Shakin’ It Up,” “Twist the Knife,” “Burn It Down” and the song destined to be the bar anthem of 2014, “We Came to Party.” There’s plenty of satisfying guitar-fired punk muscle on display, too, evidenced by the songs “Gone and Faded” and “Running Out of Time.”
Website: mustardplug.com
Upcoming show: 6 p.m. Sunday (album-release and annual holiday show) at The Intersection in Grand Rapids, with The Mixtapes, The Pinstripes, Three Cents Short and Dagger down, $10 advance, $12 day of show (save $2 on day-of-show tickets with donation of canned goods)
The Howlers, “Very Much Alive”
Matt Ten Clay & The Howlers
Very Much Alive
Lush. Retro. Sinewy. And the very definition of psychedelic. Grand Rapids’ Matt Ten Clay & The Howlers have concocted the sort of psych-rock EP that induces a hazy reverie that sticks with you long after you listen to it, so much so that you feel rushing back to listen to it again. And again. Ten Clay, who also recorded the fine new Lazy Genius CD at his Amber Lit Audio studios, taps that band’s talent with Patrick Wieland on drums and Jonny Bruha on synthesizers, plus Haunted Leather’s Dustin Mensinger on lead guitar. It adds up to a collaboration that’s howlin’ good.
Website: facebook.com/matt10clay
Upcoming show: 9:30 p.m. Saturday, Founders Brewing Co. (with Lazy Genius and The Extra Texture), $5
The Star Darts, “Shooting Star Darts”
The Star Darts
Shooting Star Darts
Maybe you’ve heard of The Star Darts – a lot of people across the country already have thanks to the radio airplay the Grand Rapids punk band has enjoyed over the past couple months. Of course, these fellows have yet to play a single note on stage, which makes this story even more compelling. Singer-guitarist Todd Long (Molly, Dutch Henry) has paired up with buddies Ryan Goldner on bass (Dutch Henry, The Storied Life) and Brent Nowak on lead guitar (Jim Jones & the Kool-Aid Kids) for a seven-track, old-school pop-punk affair churned out at Grand Rapids’ Studio 84. Heck, the album officially doesn’t get released internationally till January but keep your ears open because when they finally do uncork these rollicking ditties live it promises to be a blast to experience.
Website: stardarts.com
Upcoming shows: April 11, 2014, Mulligan’s Pub in Grand Rapids (check other dates on the website)
An Dro, “Live 2013”
An Dro
Live 2013
Any performing musician knows how tough it can be to produce a great live album. Stage energy and crowd adoration often trump musicianship in the heat of the moment. The harsh proof comes later when the recording is played back and band members can hear every misstep, however minor. And when one is tackling the sort of complex instrumental world music and Celtic reels that An Dro often embraces live, it can be even more daunting. But the 13 tracks selected for this CD by one of West Michigan’s most impressive Celtic outfits and mixing/mastering engineer Peter Fox simmer with proficiency and live charm, recorded in four locations: Stone House Recording and River City Studios in Grand Rapids, Fiddler’s Hearth in South Bend, and The MomBa Room on Beaver Island.
Website: andromusic.com
Upcoming shows: 8:30 p.m. Jan. 11 at The Intersection (part of the day-long Winter Wheat benefit for the Wheatland Music Organization with a host of bands), $15 advance ($10 students), $20 day of show
“the glendanles brand”
Glen Danles
the glendanles brand
The time was finally right. Grand Rapids singer-songwriter Glen Danles took about three decades to release his first album, absorbing all the travels, experiences, ups and downs, and life-changing trials that color some of America’s best music and most heralded writers. He dubs his roots rock songs as “folk ’n’ roll,” a genre-bending collection that soaks up influences ranging from Bruce Springsteen to Gordon Lightfoot to Chris Isaak to Kenny Wayne Shepherd on a CD recorded and produced by Michael Crittenden at Grand Rapids’ Mackinaw Harvest Music studios. In the end, the record that took 25 months to make unfolds as an uplifting journey highlighted in particular on “Expect Magic”: “We all need a little magic, we all need a little soulshine.” And Danles’ soul shines plenty.
Website: facebook.com/glendanles
Upcoming shows: 7:30 and 9 p.m. Jan. 30, Louie’s Bar & Rocket Lounge in Grand Rapids, free
“Afro Zuma”
Afro Zuma
Afro Zuma
From the opening, percussion- and horn-driven, dance-inducing wallop of “Kindaniku,” it’s clear that Grand Rapids’ Afro-beat ensemble Afro Zuma is up to something special on its five-track self-titled EP recorded by Peter Fox at Stone House Recording. The baker’s dozen of musicians – Tim Bober, Kevin Clancy, Tim DeYoung, Josh Dunigan, Forrest Evans, Paul Geoghan, Brian Haik, Matthew Kwiek, Troy Macqueen, Tim Maletic, Kurt Schmiege, Rolly Smith and Jen Wilson – whips up a delectably funky casserole that envelops listeners from start to finish.
Website: facebook.com/afrozuma
Email John Sinkevics at jsinkevics@gmail.com.
Copyright 2013, Spins on Music
