The first batch of mid-July Local Spins CD reviews covers a dizzying range of Michigan artists and musical styles, from pop to funk to folk. And there’s plenty more to come.
Untethering “Stray Animals”: Brent Shirey of Valentiger at the band’s recent CD-release show. (Photo/Tori Thomas)
Welcome to Part One of the mid-summer edition of Local Spins album reviews, spotlighting Michigan artists with 2014 releases. The reviews are by John Sinkevics and David Specht of Local Spins; check out Part Two later this month.
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Valentiger
Stray Animals
If the second track on Valentiger’s new album, the peppy “Connection,” probably SOUNDS the most like the Grand Rapids rock/pop band that’s quickly grown in stature while cultivating a diehard fan base, then the lonely sounding, spare opening track, “The Dawn Just Ain’t Enough Anymore,” might actually say a lot more about what guitarist Brent Shirey, drummer Scott Rider and bassist Bill Kahler are really about: letting the songs dictate the direction of their music. Shirey’s tunes resonate with a Wilco-like vibe and muscle, allowing this versatile trio to power up a brilliant, uptempo ditty like “Jim or Jason” or add the perfect nuances to an understated track such as “Monday Night.” And like Wilco, pretty much everything here sounds better on repeated listening. It all makes “Stray Animals” the kind of critter you want to take home, feed from the table and let take over your favorite lounge chair. – J.S.
Website: http://valentigermusic.com/
Upcoming shows: Currently on tour, returning to Michigan for shows Aug. 8 at New Dodge Lounge in Hamtramck, Aug. 9 at Brewtopia Basement in Bay City.
Andy Frisinger
Not Quite Alone
If Andy Frisinger’s “Not Quite Alone” isn’t quite a full-fledged ride back a few decades in the R&B/funk time machine, it’s certainly a luscious, dance-infused showcase of prodigious West Michigan talent. Recorded at Grand Haven’s Redwall North Studios and Studio 428, produced by Frisinger and Joe Sturgill, co-engineered by Frisinger and Bill Chrysler and mastered by Grand Rapids’ Al McAvoy, this uber-smooth, pop- and groove-filled affair spotlights the likes of drummers Scott Pellegrom and Kevin Depree, keyboard player Paul Lesinski, guitarist Michael Drost and plenty more, not to mention Frisinger’s own vocals, saxophone work and synthesizer parts. Any number of tunes, from “Love Vertigo” to “Trippin’ ” to “Let’s Fall,” evoke images of summer nights listening to the likes of Lionel Richie, Hall & Oates or James Ingram. With honey-soulful vocals, Frisinger’s retro-fired music not only resonates with an authentic flair, but will surely entice new audiences with its instrumentally adroit approach and crisp production. – J.S.
Website: http://www.reverbnation.com/andyfrisinger
Upcoming shows: Thursday (Julyl 17) at Joe’s Wooden Nickel in Grand Haven.
American Wi-Fi
Hotspot
Every once in awhile, a young bunch of rockers generates the sort of buzz that spans generations – drawing ultra-enthused teen fans as well as classic rock-bred baby boomers who appreciate the pop hooks and fist-pumping rock ’n’ roll under-current. American Wi-Fi is just such a Grand Rapids band, featuring three members who attended Forest Hills Central High School. Singer Greyson Bos, bassist Cohen Parker, lead guitarist Sam Starkie and drummer Levi Lilly have stirred up an impressive five-song debut that’s chock full of memorable melodies and sweet vocal highlights in a project they recorded themselves, with mixing by Alex Hamel and mastering by Richard Dodd. As these guys hone their chops and lyrics, there’s little doubt they’ll be a force to reckon with on West Michigan’s pop-rock music scene … if they’re not already. – J.S.
Websites: https://www.facebook.com/AmericanWiFi, http://www.reverbnation.com/americanwifi
Upcoming shows: The band will be touring outside the state starting next week; check its Facebook page for updates about local performances.
The Bermudas
Visit
Charity Lytle, Dennielle Russ and DezaRae’ Russ spit out an absolutely infectious concoction of garage rock that’s spiced with just enough pop, punk, surfy twang and a murky, New Wave charm to melt the hearts of fans of any genre, frankly. Oh, and then there are those haunting harmonies, clever bass lines and a bold attitude that permeate every track of this five-song EP recorded with Short House Productions. “I’m hoping I pull through because gravity is pulling on me,” Dennielle sings at one point on “Chance of Flourish.” “Why should I be afraid of failing? Problems always work for me. Why should I care what you’re thinking? You’re not the one living for me.” Well said, well played. – J.S.
Websites: http://www.reverbnation.com/bermudas, https://www.facebook.com/Bermudasband
Upcoming show: 10 p.m. Aug. 15, Midtown Beer Co., Lansing
The Sleeping Gypsies
The Sleeping Gypsies
When an ensemble is built from the remnants of both a metal band and a hip-hop/R&B group, it’s bound to have a sound of its own. Formed in late 2009 by four Charlevoix High School graduates, The Sleeping Gypsies is heavily influenced by classic rock, yet dabbles in the sounds of jazz, blues, flamenco and more. On the opening track, “Trouble,” the crew brings a true, toe-tapping swing sound to the table, topped off with a fitting saxophone solo by Josh Raber. Nestled in the middle of this 11-track collection of original works are respectable renditions of Bruce Springsteen’s “Spirit in the Night” and Van Morrison’s “Wild Night,” further demonstrating the group’s versatility – a versatility that could render them comparable to the likes of contemporary alt-rock acts such as The Black Keys and classic rock staples such as The Rolling Stones, all on the same album. – D.S.
Websites: facebook.com/thesleepinggypsies, reverbnation.com/thesleepinggypsies
Upcoming shows: Noon Saturday (July 19), Aquapalooza Ferry Beach; 10 p.m. July 25 and July 26, The Villager Pub, 427 Bridge St., Charlevoix
Jonny Carroll
The Willow EP
As a singer-songwriter in his mid-20s trying to get on his feet, Jonny Carroll knows all too well the hard work and dedication that it takes to make it happen – from living in his 1986 Dodge Ram conversion van to spending countless hours performing on the streets of West Michigan. His six-track debut studio release, “The Willow EP,” set to drop Aug. 22, is in a lyrical sense just as honest as the path that he has taken to reach this point in his blossoming career. “The number one common denominator with my favorite music is honesty,” Carroll says. “It’s a thread looped through many a genre, and its presence or absence is, I believe, what ultimately makes a song good, or great.” From the acoustic guitar-driven, lyrically hopeful “This Winter” to the somber, introspectiveness of “Hurricane,” Carroll leads us through his tale of downfall, hope and redemption. Vocally, indie rock/emo singer Benjamin Gibbard comes to mind, though Carroll is significantly less whispery and much more open to exploring a full range of highs and lows. Driven by his warm, melancholy voice, the body of the album leaves the listener aching for resolution, which is granted in the EP’s final, appropriately titled track “The Phoenix.” – D.S.
Website: jonnycarrollmusic.com
Upcoming shows: Aug. 22 (EP-release show) at Lantern Coffee Bar & Lounge in Grand Rapids, free
Seth Bernard
Reconciliation & The Mystical Beyonda
“Reconciliation & The Mystical Beyonda” is an almost perfect representation of an old-school folk muse and born-of-the-land, protect-the-land hippie mixed with a push-the-boundaries-of-modern-technology rocker who’s eager to connect with other musicians, artists and audiences. This mammoth project which took 18 months to record and produce by Bernard and Ian Gorman unfolds like a classic double-album from the late 1960s or early 1970s – sort of like Michigan’s Americana/rock/folk version of “The White Album,” “Goodbye Yellow Brick Road” or “Exile on Main St,” brimming with eclectic charm. Divided into two parts, the album’s bounty of genre-embracing tracks ranges from the slow-building, harmony-infused beauty of “Reconciliation” to the fuzzy electric guitar-driven “Fire Pig” to the folk waltzing “Viva La Revolution” to the roots-rock jamming of “Love is Heavier” to the acoustic old-time folk of “Beyond the Beyonda” to the atmospheric, keyboard-driven airiness of “Bluetooth Pillow” and “Sore Glow,” to the laid-back acoustic beauty of “Rest Awhile,” almost all of it drenched in the planted-deep-in the-earth sincerity that’s become Bernard’s trademark. It’s a long and satisfying musical trek for the listener, probably in much the same way as it was for Bernard and his cast of studio cohorts in crafting this project. As such, it’s not an album that’s about the destination as much as it is about enjoying that journey. As Bernard himself notes in the liner notes: “What is the Beyonda? It’s a place. I don’t know where it is.” But as he proves on this recording, it’s worth looking for. – J.S.
Website: http://samuelsethbernard.com/
Upcoming shows: 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Short’s Brewing in Bellaire (with Joshua Davis); 7 p.m. Wednesday, Echo Through the Timbers Concert, Wenger Pavilion in Baldwin (with May Erlewine and Max Lockwood); 7 p.m. July 25, Summer Barn Bash in Williamsburg (with Erlewine); 7 p.m. Aug. 5, Tuesdays in the Park in Fennville (with Erlewine); 7:30 p.m. Aug. 26, Camp Blodgett in West Olive (with Erlewine).
May Erlewine
Where We Are
Soaking up a May Erlewine album often feels like a religious experience – her soaring voice and deeply touching words transcending music somehow, tugging at every fiber of your being with a spiritual sort of power. Her seventh album, “Where We Are,” is likely to have an even more potent effect on listeners as Erlewine tackles the loss of “so many dear friends in the past two years” as well as preparing to become a mother for the first time. Perhaps nowhere does she pull at the heartstrings more effectively than on the poignant “Lost and Found”: “Sometimes love is a dream we forgot, sometimes love is a battle we fought,” she sings in that distinctive voice that belongs only to Erlewine. “Sometimes love is lost and found.”Steeped in Americana and country textures, the gorgeously arranged project (engineered by Ian Gorman, recorded at Heart Center Studios in Big Rapids) gets a significant boost from the melancholy milieu of fiddle work supplied by Laurel Premo (Red Tail Ring) and sweet harmonies from Rachael Davis and Anna Erlewine. Erlewine insists that music “feels like it is a part of my body, and, like water, a necessity to being vital. It helps me navigate the joy and sorrow of this world and also takes me beyond what I know and into a spiritual place.” On “Where We Are,” Erlewine makes us all feel that same power, transporting us to that place right along with her. – J.S.
Website: http://mayerlewine.com/
Upcoming shows: 7 p.m. Wednesday, Echo Through the Timbers Concert, Wenger Pavilion in Baldwin (with Seth Bernard and Max Lockwood); 7 p.m. July 25, Summer Barn Bash in Williamsburg (with Bernard); 7 p.m. Aug. 5, Tuesdays in the Park in Fennville (with Bernard); 7:30 p.m. Aug. 26, Camp Blodgett in West Olive (with Bernard).
The Verve Pipe
Overboard
The familiar, sonically pleasing alt-rock sheen remains, but The Verve Pipe’s first rock album in 13 years tills deeper soil – plowing more dense and fertile musical territory than the Michigan band’s chart-climbing, major label projects of old. Driven by frontman Brian Vander Ark, the 10-track “Overboard” triumphs in many ways – the lush arrangements and Vander Ark’s stellar production, the band’s dark, incisive and poignant songwriting, the subtle pop hooks. There’s an almost Genesis-like prog-rock tack to parts of this project engineered by Al McAvoy and recorded at Grand Rapids’ Atomic Sound and Planet Sunday Studios – from “Hit and Run” to “Latchkey Kid” – which suits this now-veteran bunch to a tee. Vander Ark even calls on pal Jeff Daniels as a collaborator on the melancholy title track, which oozes Michigan references in an ode to loss. Of course, it would be tempting to say it’s a much more mature album than say, 1996’s “Villains,” and Vander Ark wouldn’t disagree. “We all have lives now, families,” he says. “A silly rock ’n’ roll lifestyle isn’t something I strive for.” Strangely, by eschewing that rock-star mission, The Verve Pipe – without a major label, without plans for a national tour – may have created its most appealing and important album yet, with tracks such as “Here in the Dark” and the first single, “Crash Landing,” deserving as much industry attention and radio airplay as anything from the group’s previous life. And that may make this as satisfying for a band as it gets. – J.S.
Website: http://thevervepipe.com/
Upcoming shows: July 23 at the Detroit Zoo in Royal Oak; Aug. 24 for Concerts in the Park in Kalamazoo.
Email John Sinkevics at john@localspins.com.
Copyright 2014, Spins on Music
