CD Review: Frank Herzberg Trio's 'Handmade'

Frank Herzberg Trio
Handmade
FH Studio

The Brazilian trio is composed of Frank Herzberg, Alexandre Zamith, and Ze Eduardo Nazario. The trio performs jazzy compositions with lush percussion, sweeping piano melodies, and classical bass. "Don't Talk Crazy," "A Xepa," and "The Trio" are the most musical compositions with all of the instrumentation working together to create a jazz ensemble sound indicative of a North American-based lounge club. Though, traditional Brazilian sounds are kept to a minimum. The wholly instrumental effort contains three separate tracks devoted exclusively to each instrument, which are aptly-titled: "The Drums," "The Bass," and "The Piano." The lack of vocals make the songs brighten with excellent displays of musicianship. The punchy rhythms and melodies eloquently coalesce between the laid-back atmosphere of the percussion on some tracks with the rousing structures of others. Anyone with an interest in jazz, instrumental music, and neo-classical will love the natural feel of Handmade. ~ Matthew Forss 

CD Review: Lauren Edman's 'It's Always The Quiet One'

Lauren Edman
It's Always The Quiet One
Self-Release

The alternative pop and trip-hop ramblings of an innovative performer, Lauren Edman, bring us an excellent mix of quirky, electronic-driven songs that resemble some of the music in the trip-hop or alternative genres--with the likes of Tori Amos, The Cardigans, and Imogen Heap. However, Lauren makes the music her own by throwing in a mix of other instruments, including flutes, banjo, piano, percussion, and keyboard accompaniment for a more diverse sound. Lauren sings more than most alt-trip-hop musicians, which is not a negative. In fact, Lauren's vocals are pretty good throughout. The poetic, but upbeat "Sweet Girl" is a perfect caricature of a Cardigans repertoire. "Charge" is a more spacious trip-hop song with lush vocals and an electronic ambiance. "This Is It" is more alt-folk than trip-hop. "Wasting" contains a trip-hop beat that shimmers with electronic sounds from a range of sources. Lauren's style is reminiscent of Lolo, Endless Blue, and Portishead. As a former quiet one myself, I have no problem applauding this new release and sharing it with everyone I do and don't know. ~ Matthew Forss

CD Review: White Canvas' 'Hundreds Of Ways'

White Canvas
Hundreds Of Ways
Ozella Music

White Canvas is vocalist Rena Meyer Wiel and guitarist Rolf Beydemueller. Together, the German duo create natural soundscapes of aural color with new age nuances and improvisational, experimental, and divine melodies. Rena's diverse, but poetic, vocal style is at times very spiritual and pleasant. The vocals are artfully constructed with a Sufi spirit, which is where the album title originates. In fact, a line from the Sufi poet Rumi describes the nature of the music. Hundreds Of Ways connotes a world of improvisation and spirituality with fine guitar strumming and soundscape embellishments. The avant-garde elements are inventive, ear-friendly, and solemn. The mournful and wistful vocals are a thing of beauty. Coincidentally, there are also a hundred ways to love this album! ~ Matthew Forss

CD Review: Le Vent Du Nord's 'Tromper le temps'

Le Vent Du Nord
Tromper le temps
Borealis Records

Canada's folk group, Le Vent Du Nord, is a classy, folk-fiddling, and foot-stomping group with an uncanny ability to create memorable tracks and timeless memories. Le Vent Du Nord is Simon Beaudry, Nicolas Boulerice, Rejean Brunet, and Olivier Demers. The French-Canadian songsters incorporate a range of instruments, which provide a full, folk feel. The bouzouki, guitar, hurdy gurdy, piano, piano-accordion, bass, diabetic accordion, jaw harp, fiddle, electric guitar, and mandolin round out the instrumental repertoire. The vocals are somewhat aligned with European folk, Celtic, and Scottish melodies and rhythms, which are still uniquely Canadian. Thirteen wonderful tracks highlight the group's charm and energetic, instrumental displays. This is great for clogging, dancing, and relaxing. ~ Matthew Forss

CD Review: Various Artists' - 'Folk Album'

Various Artists
Folk Album
Sketis Music

Folk Album contains a dozen and-a-half tracks from several musicians across Russia, Yakutia, and even Japan that participated in the European Broadcasting Union folk festivals, EBU Christmas and Easter Projects, and other Radio Russia events. This recording features folk music, throat-singing, guttural vocals, classical elements, and some pop forms. The Moscow Balalaika Quartet, Sergey Starostin, Stepanida Borisova, The Trigon Group, The Hide-Hide Group, The Yat-Kha Group, Pavel Ukhanov, Zhili-Byli Group, and many others lend their musical talents to this great project. There are nearly fifty-five minutes of music to keep one occupied. Fans of Russian folk music and ethnic music will find joy in this exciting recording. Buy a piece of musical history today. Folk is where it's at! ~ Matthew Forss

CD Review: Bubamara Brass Band's 'Zemlja Bubarumija'

Bubamara Brass Band
Zemlja Bubarumija
Sketis Music

The Bubamara Brass Band hails from Russia, which is a far-cry from Balkan music land. However, the band presents a mix of Balkan-styled tunes from Yugoslavia, Bosnia, and other areas for our listening pleasure. Some of the tracks are vocal; while others are not. At only forty-minutes in length, Zemlja Bubarumija is not the longest album, but it makes up for it with complex tracks and energetic instrumentation from a youthful, playful, and urban style. The upbeat tracks are similar in style and tone to Klezmer music. Anyone with an interest in brass band, gypsy, Klezmer, Balkan, and instrumental tunes will love the Bubamara Brass Band. ~ Matthew Forss

CD Review: Potir's 'Gothic City' Recreates The Music of The Middle Ages

Potir
Gothic City
Sketis Music

Potir is a Russian group composed of Andrey Nazarov, Razana Rustom, Ivan Chernov, and Svetlana Petrova that brings back the music from Europe's Middle Ages with festive dirges, street music, and historic compositions. The music is performed with bassoon, viola, psalter, Bran's citra, dutar, peasant lute, citar, province drum, darbuka, aura, percussion, vocals, flutes, and bagpipes. Some of the instruments are up to three-hundred years old. The one-hour album contains sixteen tracks with instrumental, vocal music, and street music with all the commotion and noise of urban environments--minus the cars and trucks, of course. This is excellent music for anyone interested in the music of the Middle Ages, Renaissance fairs, and European folk music. Go back in time to the dark ages of civilization with the lighthearted music of Potir. ~ Matthew Forss