Doug Taylor

The Holmes BrothersState of Grace(Alligator)Aging gracefully proves a clever path for these soulful veterans, who haven’t always been well served by the sound of their records. On State of Grace, organ replaces sax and blues shout gives way to scraggly warmth. Many a pop song has gospel in it, given the right tempo and feel. […]

Jessica Holmes25 Laughs to the Gallon(Independent)Holmes could yet be known as the woman who saved Air Farce (or at least made it watchable again). To make comedy, you have to break a few legs. Holmes lays into hillbillies, humanists and, mercilessly, celebrities who do a good job of being ridiculous already. Liza Minnelli is rendered […]

The ContrastFade Back In(Rainbow Quartz)The Rainbow Quartz label is becoming reliable as a refuge for no-nonsense guitar pop that could be of another era. The UK’s Contrast lace each sardonic observation with a Squeeze-y, Byrds-y chime and the singer sounds like Bob Geldof. Most songs are written in the second person, so whoever “you” is, […]

The Derek Trucks BandSonglines(Columbia)Trucks continues to grow as a guitarist and bandleader, and so do the contributions of his bandmates. As the son of Allman Brothers drummer Butch Trucks, Derek has dutifully shown his blues pedigree. On Songlines, it’s the local fare on an exotic menu. A 10-minute treatment of Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan melodies […]

K-OSAtlantis: Hymns to Disco(Virgin)Few hip-hop artists display less anger and more curiosity than K-OS, aka Kevin Brereton. This bird is turning over rocks on much of Atlantis and finding a meal every time. More than a pastiche, “The Rain” zings with real strings like it’s 1966. The song and performance bring to mind Jerry Butler […]

VariousStax 50th Anniversary Celebration(Concord)Any soul fan worth his grits will have a dozen of these 50 tracks from the heyday of Memphis’ Stax label. That still leaves room for some thrilling discoveries and happy memory-stoking. The span of 1961 to 1974 closely parallels the rise of Motown, but Stax is just a bit more Southern. […]

The Free DesignThe Now Sound RevisitedLight in the atticFalling somewhere between tribute and blender, this album features an astounding array of artists exulting in the legacy of a band you likely never heard of. The Free Design (basically the Dedrick family band) played sophisticated breezy pop 35 years ago a la Beach Boys or Spanky […]

ShivareeWho’s Got Trouble? (Zoë/Rounder)Ambrosia Parsley’s seductive coo moves blood briskly from men’s knees to their, um, ears, but Shivaree has seen more success in Europe than at home in the States. The band’s cabaret cool makes no play for mass appeal. “Little Black Mess,” with a scent of Weill, could be an anthem for thoughtful […]

The Windom Earle All-StarsA Series of Minor Personal Tragedies (Independent)What is arguably the most exciting live act to surface recently in Halifax backs it up on record. Windom Earle, the Jeff Coll Five and Operation Impact arrived from PEI a few years ago and are featured interchangeably here. Stephan MacLeod is a creative force in […]

Erin CosteloThe Trouble and the TruthIndependentThere is a maturity in Costelo’s voice and approach that is disarming in a debut. When she extends the “I” in “Pale Moon” into three and four notes, it has the heartiness of someone delighting in finally getting her song out there. Costelo is an alto who can reach higher […]