May 2012

PS I Love You: Death Dreams

Submitted by cashbox on Fri, 05/18/2012 - 12:14

Paper Bag

The heavy heavies are alive and well in Canada and about to bomb the rest of the continent. Leading the charge straight outa Kingston is PS I Love You, a duo with a sound big as Mastodon and in love with the madness of guitar rock. When axeman Paul Saulnier gets to wailing, he steps way outside the canon of heavy metal to references diverse as J.Mascis and Tom Verlaine. Living up to its title, Death Dreams showcases the duo’s dark sides, in many ways the flip to 2010’s debut Meet Me at the Muster Station. That stomping, beer foaming wreck room party of an album put them on the radar courtesy of a shortlisting for the Polaris Prize and cemented by glowing reviews all up and down the Webscape.

So they could have easily dropped Meet Me… 2.0 and it likely would have been well received. Nuff respect for not doing the obvious and instead, digging down deeper and darker. The lyrics drag ennui down to the level of despair, even as the guitars alternately grind and soar, fuzzed-out and wash wah-ed as that massive drum sound does things to your sternum.

Pear:Sweet N’ Gritty

Submitted by cashbox on Fri, 05/18/2012 - 12:11

(Chronograph Records)

They’re a little bit country, a little bit city, a little bit sweet and a little bit gritty, so ‘Sweet N’ Gritty’ is a perfect title for this new CD by PEAR, a 13 song collection produced by Denis and Lynae Dufresne and Nashville veteran, Noah Gordon.

The husband and wife duo of Denis and Lynae Dufresne have put together such a fine CD from song selection to production, to performance it’s hard to believe this is their debut effort into the full length album arena.

Donald “Duck “ Dunn 1941- 2012

Submitted by cashbox on Fri, 05/18/2012 - 12:08

Stax recording artist and member of Hall of Fame group, Booker T. and the M.G.’s ,died while tour in Tokyo, Japan. The Memphis born was 70 years old.

Apart from being a member of Booker T and The M. G.’s and the original bass player for The Blues Brothers, some of the hits he was responsible for the bottom end are: Dock of The Bay, Respect, I’ve Been loving You Too Long by Otis Redding, Wilson Pickett’s In The Midnight Hour and Sam and Dave’s Hold On, I’m Coming.

He formed his first band with guitar great Steve Cropper who was on tour in Japan with Duck when he passed. The band was called the Royal Spades which became The Mar-Keys. When Cropper left the band to become a session musician, Dunn followed and they became the house band at Stax.

He was a bass player's bass player and influenced many with his style and steadiness. Bass player George Gardos, co-writer on Mountain’s For Yasgurs Farm was saddened and said “He was my lifetime best bass player influence, Simple, Solid, Soulful, the 3 essences of great bass playing. Hard to believe... RIP.

RIP Duck Dunn, heaven‘s band just got a little funkier!

Cashbox Canada Celebrates Summer and Canadian Indies!

Submitted by cashbox on Fri, 05/18/2012 - 09:41

Submitted by Cashbox Canada

The Abrams Brothers - Northern Redemption - A busy summer is about to kick off for The Abrams Brothers. The very talented trio will be once again hitting the road, travelling throughout North America to showcase their amazing talent! With the release of their latest album, 'Northern Redemption', The Abrams Brothers make a transition from the music of their roots to their own distinct sound. It's a combination of bluegrass, country, folk-rock that has had the Canadian festival circuit up in arms over their potential Their new single of the title track on the CD 'Northern Redemption' has been remixed for radio by the very talented Jason Barry and will be hitting the airwaves shortly.
www.theabramsbrothers.com

The Last Dance for Donna Summers

Submitted by cashbox on Thu, 05/17/2012 - 15:01