Reviews roundup – Crystal Grenade vs. Bellowhead vs. Dewa Budjana vs. Glass House
CRYSTAL GRENADE
Lo! And Behold
Gonzo
Well you’ve got to admit that Crystal Grenade is certainly more memorable than her given name of Carol Hodge, which belongs firmly on the streets of Weatherfield, which is just round the corner from where she hails.
And what have we, but a bit of a cross between Tori Amos and Amanda Palmer, but thankfully leaning more towards the latter. I’m not sure I’d be playing up the seven fingered pianist angle, though. And I speak as someone with webbed feet, so mayhap we met up in a previous life, performing in a Victorian freak show. Which suits Ms Grenade down to the ground on this interesting quasi concept outing.
One for the emo slash goth in your life who yearns for a life of gas lamps and petticoat tales.
BELLOWHEAD
Christmas Bells / Jingle Bells
Navigator
It’s Chrrrrrrrrriiiiiisssttmas!!!!! And here come folkies Bellowhead with a seasonal offering ot twa weel kent tunes.
And it’s exactly what you want from a Christmas single. Traditional, yet with a silly hat on. The A-side is enjoyable, but it’s when you flip it over and get stuck into ‘Jingle Bells’ that the knees up really begins. If you’re sick to the back teeth of boring ballads clogging up the Christmas charts, then get your download digits working sharpish.
DEWA BUDJANA
Joged Kahyangan
Moonjune
The second Moonjune albun from Indonesian Dewa Budjana sees him slip inexorably into the world of contemprary jazz, with a nary a look over his shoulder at his earlier world influenced outings.
Not that this is a bad album, far from it. But now surrounded by some seasoned professionals in the shape of Bob Mintzer on saxes, clarinet, and bass clarinet, drummer Peter Erskine, bassist Jimmy Johnson, and keyboardist Larry Goldings, he’s now working in a similar idion to the likes of early Pat Metheny.
The music is uniformly excellent, and it’s only when you get to ‘Guru Mandala’ that you’re reminded of what made him stand out from the crowd in the first place. There is one unusual, yet stand out moment, which is when ‘As You Leave My Nest’ arrives, replete with a vocal from Janis Siegel. Maybe something he can think about for the next album.
GLASS HOUSE
Long Way Down
CD Baby
Alt-folk-pop-rock? Probably. At least that’s what Glass House are trying to bring to the table. Certainly they wear their Real World influences on their sleeves, no more so than on the cover of Robbie Robertson’s ‘Broken Arrow’.
It’s a CD that would get the likes of Uncut, Mojo and Jools Holland moist around the gizzard, were they to get their hands on it, as it ticks all the boxes that middle aged men in suits with no tie love so much. It’s a warm, laid back vibe, enhanced by some guest performers including the Turtle Island String Quartet, but it’s the songwriting of core members David Worm (vocals) and Mark Vickness (guitars) that would bring you back for a repeat listening.
I prefer it when they try to keep things simple as on ‘For Now, Thank You’, as opposed to the turn off that is social commentary, but if you like this sort of thing, then you’ll really like this sort of thing.
The Rocker - The Artist Formerly Known As Zeitgeist. TAFKAZ 
Leave a comment