Added on Tuesday 27 Apr 2010

West End Volume 34

Right, time for a little roundup of music that has managed to make it to long term rotation on the Bluesbunny CD player (or even the mighty Bluesbunny turntable).

New to me was Michele Ari. There was a sidebar on her in R2 magazine recently and, lo and behold, shortly thereafter she got in contact. Even though she lives in Nashville, she sounds more like west coast new wave and with a voice somewhere between Jennifer Miro and Jackie de Shannon, it didn't take long for her to music to become a favourite. Her EP "Mal A Propos" contains an affecting set of confessional songs that even work for guys. That's got to be an American thing.

Talking of the west coast, Matt Kollar and the Angry Mob hail from California. Maybe it is the sunshine over there but the bouncy set of smart pop songs on their "She Changes Face" EP continues to bring a smile to my face. Roll on summer, that's what I say.

Staying closer to home brings us to the quirky Super Adventure Club and their album "Avoid Zombies". This barking mad band trip themselves up more than once but when you hear the sheer lunacy of songs like "My Other Brain", you just have to love them.

Saving the classy stuff for the turntable, Louise McVey - a local lass no less - and Cracks in the Concrete have a four track EP out on white vinyl. Try playing "Maud" or "Night" when the rain is battering off your window and you'll see the beauty there is in shadows and the sound of sadness that can only come from a stylus clicking its way around the runout groove.

You can never have too much music. Or chicken pakora, for that matter.

Michele Ari - www.micheleari.com
Matt Kollar and the Angry Mob - www.mattkollarandtheangrymob.com
Super Adventure Club - www.myspace.com/superadventureclub
Louise McVey and Cracks in the Concrete - www.myspace.com/louiseandcracks