Dirty Radio

I’ve been writing the praises of quite a few bands lately, but this four-piece hailing from Portland, OR, I mean, Holy Toledo! - they just plain Kick Ass!! The sound of Sallie Ford’s voice elicits some early jazz / blues vocalists, but then there’s also some Jolie Holland, and it sounds somewhat English. Hell, it sounds somewhat like everything - everything you want in front of an eclectic sounding band, which this is. Punky, rockabilly, country, jazzy, bluesy - Rockin’! Guitar, bass, drums, keys, violin drawing many different textures. Some poignant lyrics supporting the whole thing, much of it delivered with some angst. It’s their first full-length. Damn, this stuff is great...and I’ll be playing the hell out of it…FCC #1.

*My Favorites*: 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 9.

1. (3:05) Mid. FCC.
2. *(2:59) Mid. Upbeat, catchy pop. Tambourine, gutiar, bass, drums, organ.
3. *(2:37) Mid. Sparse call and response to start. Jazzy and rockabilly stylings with disturbing lyrics angstly delivered. Cool.
4. *(3:36) Slow / Mid. Guitar start, then lead and backing vocals. Tons of space with a drumbeat, guitar, vocal. Then band kicks it up with a full sound featuring guitar and organ, pretty bluesy. Killer killer stuff.
5. *(3:11) Slow / Mid. Eerie, echoey, sparse. Percussion, keys behind Ford’s big voice. Gets spacey, gritty and grimy. Great.
6. (3:31) Slow / Mid. Slow, plodding beat with drum and guitar and a lonely violin. Song about the speaker’s reaction to her father’s death. Heavy.
7. *(2:55) Mid / Fast. Upbeat as all get-out. Jazzy, country and so much more. Very cool guitar. Galloping jaunt the whole way through. Great staccato vocal phrasings.
8. *(3:30) Mid. Handclapping, guitar, with phrases of way-in-the-back, killer, killer echoey vocals. Gets fuller sounding as it goes on. A bit of White Stripes to boot. Killer.
9. *(3:02) Mid. Guitar strum start, then full band. Great catchy beat. Cool guitar, tambourine. Oh yeah.
10. (3:27) Slow / Mid. Reminiscent of a Jolie Holland vocal. Plodding beat. Cool violin.
11. (5:14) Slow / Mid. ’50’s retro sound? Plodding beat with very strong vocal. Nice.