Chad Hollister “s/t”
Fans of John Mayer, Jack Jonson and Dave Matthews will find Chad Hollister’s casual acoustic style just perfect. Chad has opened or performed for Bob Dylan, Tom Petty, Blues Traveler, among others. Chad is a Burlington, Vermont native with an infectious rhythmic sound that’s easy to enjoy on a hot summer day. “Grow” is a perfect example of catchy beat and strong roots riffs that recall both Jason Mraz and The Black Crowes. The light coffee house beat of “Change” is another winner here. “The Answer” is another gem that sounds effortless, and there is a killer acoustic version of The Cars “My Best Friend’s Girlfriend.” Every song has a positive message and an energetic groove with bits of rock, funk and reggae thrown in the mix. Not much else to say but… check it out and you won’t be sorry.
Nadia Kazmi “Arrival”
Once in a while I am sent something that catches my ear on a good day. Nadia Kazmi is a Canadian singer with a good voice and a love of the poetic singer songwriters John Lennon, Bob Dylan and Leonard Cohen. The lovely piano ballad “Julian” is a nice mix of Beatlesque soul and sweetness. Unfortunately I found the remaining tracks missing that high mark. The vocal approach is similar to Joss Stone with blues influenced ballads taking up most of the album. This works with her best written material on “Volcanos,” “The Blues Always Bleed Red” and “Mother,” but the songwriting on the remaining tracks fail to generate much excitement. Some tracks are just overwrought and cliched (“Arrival,” “Martians”). Nadia is definitely a talented singer, but she should work more on her songwriting before she takes the next step in her career.
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