Kitty Daisy & Lewis – Smoking in Heaven
Reviewed by Sadie O., 12/15/11
Roots music of many varieties (rockabilly, ska, boogie, country swing, etc.) by a trio of Kentish siblings (and some dandy friends), recorded at home by their dad. Their first album was all about a bunch of musically precocious kids having a ball playing their granddad’s music, pretty nicely. This album is just as home-made, but they’ve just gotten broader in their efforts, while still keeping that rocking-chair-on-the-front-porch jam feel. Nice!
1. 4:22 ****drum roll and guitar – then soaring horn and SKA. And not the wanky kinda ska – real, old school swinging ska.
2. 3:06 ***dandy, swinging rockabilly/country swing with sweet vocals and vibes. Delightfully home-grown guitar solo.
3. 5:32 ***acoustic folk shuffle with a really awesome bass sound, low-key and low-register. Definitely grows on one. Switches into high gear halfway through, with dueling Hammond and guitar solos.
4. 3:53 **bopping drum groove, old style R&B, male vocals.
5. 3:33 ****rockabilly rave-up, boppin’ on the dance floor, vocals worthy of Wanda Jackson.
6. 4:10 ***barrel-roll boogie piano instrumental, upbeat and fun, with lots of solos.
7. 4:45 **syncopated strut – almost indie-rock but with rootsy instrumentation.
8. 7:31 ***simple instrumental bopper with wah wah and fuzz for days. Quite a long jam…
9. 2:27 ***country swing Texas two-step, sweet vocals.
10. 4:23 ****uptempo ska with (stoned) horn section.
11. 3:33 ***another upbeat rockabilly bopper with lots of growl from the guitar.
12. 4:24 ***pretty and sweet acoustic with an old Hawaiian lilt, male vocals.
13. 8:47 ****dark (yet upbeat) rockabilly bopper with killer harmonica. Long jam.