Felsen “Blood Orange Moon”
Felsen’s fifth LP was written while frontman, (and cancer survivor) Andrew Griffin hit a rough patch due to ongoing health issues. “I needed more surgery and kinda dropped off the face of the earth for a few months.” he mentioned, “after I was out of the hospital I started to amass new little song embryos on my computer. Play guitar, stare at screen. Eventually, the words and the music meet.”
The opener “Vultures On Your Bones” is a haunting tune that recalls Big Star’s Third mixed with a David Gilmour styled guitar wail. Most of the album contains thought-provoking songs with slower tempos and quieter low vocals. A little like Leonard Cohen with more guitars, the themes are of profound loss and intimacy. The fuzz crunch of instrumentals “Kung Fu Medallion” and “Spanish Jam Sandwich” inject some needed life into the album, and standouts emerge like the ultra-cool textured chorus of “White Denim Jeans” and stealthy “Unemployed In Chicago.” Overall, this is a grower, with songs that will stick and resonate on repeat plays.
Howie Payne “Mountain”
Liverpool based Howie Payne (the Stands) is a singer-songwriter that has a delivery that can be called both soulful melancholy and immediately catchy. It opens with the somber “Quick As The Moon,” a slow-building ballad and Howie’s clear and high timbre vocal is similar to Roger Hodgson (Supertramp) here. The music is very introspective, although it breaks into the shuffling “Some Believer, Sweet Dreamer,” which recalls mid-1970’s melodic pop.
“The Brightest Star” increases the tempo and adds layered harmonies of “Yeah, yeah, yeah” make it one of the most accessible tunes here. Another gem is the mellow “Thoughts On Thoughts” with its call and response chorus, subtle bass and acoustic guitar. There is a West Coast feel to most of the music, but it really stands out most on the last two tracks “High Times” and “Evangeline (Los Angeles)” with its Crosby Stills Nash atmosphere. Overall a satisfying little album that seems made for a rainy day. It’s music that deserves to be heard.
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Pat DiNizio, the lead singer and songwriter of The Smithereens, died on Tuesday December 12, 2017. He was 62. On The Smithereen’s website, his bandmates wrote, “Today we mourn the loss of our friend, brother and bandmate Pat DiNizio. Pat had the magic touch. He channeled the essence of joy and heartbreak into hook-laden three minute pop songs infused with a lifelong passion for rock & roll. Our journey with Pat was long, storied and a hell of a lot of fun. We grew up together.”
I was lucky enough to meet Pat in 2015 at a small show in Glen Cove where he told his life story and sprinkled in some Smithereens songs with an acoustic guitar. He held the audience spellbound for the entire show. We talked before the show a little, and he was very friendly and approachable. He was suffering from health issues and was very self-conscious about his weight, to the point where he did not want photos taken except in “close up.” Here I am doing a selfie at a terrible angle, but Pat took it in stride. He seemed to be active in many outside projects, politics, and still played solo and with The Smithereens regularly. It’s like he didn’t want to slow down, but go out swinging. God bless, Pat — you lived the dream.
