Listen Up: Black Joe Lewis, Yasmin Levy, Anna Calvi
Members of the band Black Joe Louis: Joseph Woullard, left, Bill Stevenson, Matthew Strmiska, Joe Lewis, Zach Ernst, Derek Phelps and Jason Frey.
Black Joe Lewis & the Honeybears,Scandalous
* * * RETRO R&B
The seven-member Austin-based band made music fans take notice with their smoking garage soul 2009 debut, Tell ‘Em What Your Name Is, and they don’t slack for a minute on this fiery follow-up. Lewis sings with the fervor of old-school R&B belters, weaving tales of wild nights and shady ladies over sinewy funk and rock grooves. Spoon drummer Jim Eno returns as the album’s producer, and the band turns up the funk with stabbing horns, screaming guitars and a rumbling bass. Whether they are taking you to Booty City or the Mustang Ranch, good times are waiting to be had. Steve Jones
Download: tracks mentioned above; Livin’ in the Jungle, Black Snake, You Been Lyin’, Jesus Took My Hand
Yasmin Levy,Sentir
* * * WORLD
The title of Levy’s new album means “to feel” in Spanish, and that is something this Israeli singer/songwriter does in many forms, and always persuasively, throughout her latest album. Levy is an unabashedly dramatic stylist, with a fluid, plangent voice prone to cries that can suggest sobbing or ecstasy; but her flair for the theatrical never conveys false sentiment. The songs, which include traditional Ladino (Judeo-Spanish) ballads, blend folk, jazz, flamenco and other world-music textures with an elegant urgency that translates whether you understand the lyrics (in Ladino, Spanish and Hebrew) or not. Elysa Gardner
Download:Mi Korason, La Hija De Juan Simon, Porque (featuring Eleni Vitaly), Hallelujah
Anna Calvi,Anna Calvi
* * * ALT-POP
Anna Calvi isn’t another Adele or Duffy. This British import has too much id and primal energy to fit into that soulful songbird category. Brimming with raw talent and brazen originality, the singer, songwriter and guitarist shares a sonic sensibility (and producer Rob Ellis) with PJ Harvey and an emotional intensity with Patti Smith. Gracefully spooky and gothic, her flamenco-spiked, blues-shaded rock isn’t likely to find its way into the repertoire of Glee or American Idol. Her haywire compositions and unconventional structures may prove challenging to fans of tidy pop hits, but Calvi’s confidence, passion and guitar skills make her self-titled debut a captivating journey and the impressive launch of a promising career. Edna Gundersen
Download:The Devil, Blackout, I’ll Be Your Man, Desire
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