Tag: Ward White

David Woodard and Ward White

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David Woodard

David Woodard “Get It Good”

David Woodard from Nashville, Tennessee, makes a great impact with Get It Good, which shows off all of his power pop influences. With his signature sweet melodies and harmonies, this eleven-song album features some of his catchiest songs yet.

David’s lyrics aren’t obtuse, he says what’s on his mind, and you get it immediately. He launches things with the biographical jangling gem “Last of the Full Grown Men,” about a midlife crisis and picking up that guitar to take a “break from the insanity.” The mid-tempo “Get it Good” boasts a great bridge full of harmonies, and “I Can’t Make the World a Better Place” gets across the frustrations of the world today and the limits of what a musician can do.

His glorious Beatlesque side comes through on “Flower Power in the 80s” and “I Used To Be Cool.” These great catchy songs contrast with the calm tone and adult-oriented anxiety of “Riptide.” The 80’s rock riffs appear on “Grace Under Pressure” and “Coming to Life.” It finishes with the delicate “Only What Love Requires,” including a subtle piano melody and strings. There are more than enough great songs here to make this one highly recommended.

KoolKat Musik | Amazon

Ward White

Ward White “Here Come The Dowsers”

Ward White weaves together character vignettes voiced by many personas in his new album Here Come the Dowsers, which explores the disillusionment they all feel for the movie business. The concept album is a good way to tell the story from different points of view, and it also gives White a chance to add an emotional twist to each tune. There are several notable tracks here. Starting with “Continuity,” it’s an effective narrative of the life of a stuntman that soars musically. The title track “Here Come The Dowsers” equates the birth of a studio movie product with water divination in the desert of early 20th-century Hollywood. The swaying arrangement has multiple melody lines and harmonies.

“Our Town” is another grand melody about the cutthroat competition, and “Johnny Fontane” is about a producer stubbornly casting for The Godfather. The musical tone recalls Ray Davies and The Kinks’ early 1970s era in spots. “Pick Up Your Face” is a commentary on a starlet’s fleeting beauty, with a catchy keyboard chorus. Although the personalities and lyrics presented can become overly obscure (i.e., Louella Parsons), it doesn’t diminish the musical pleasure. This is an album that requires multiple listens to appreciate. Highly Recommended.

Amazon

The Well Wishers and Ward White

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The Well Wishers

The Well Wishers “Blue Sky Sun”

There are few artists as consistently pleasing as Jeff Shelton (aka The Well Wishers). 12 albums in, Jeff took a break from power pop to work on his fuzzy shoegaze rock project Deadlights, but he has returned, like the prodigal son for his latest, Blue Sky Sun. The pandemic has given his life pause, and allowed him to return to the melodic hook-laden sounds he started his career with (The Spinning Jennies).

Jeff discovers his optimism with the opener “Figure it Out Myself,” and his crunchy guitars are similar to Matthew Sweet. The slow-building verses of “Any Way At All” and “Blue Sky Sun” are supported by layers of jangle and self-insight. But Jeff really lets his power pop flag fly with the irresistibly catchy gem “Idiot Smile.” Comparisons to Cheap Trick are apt for the anthemic political commentary “Radicalized” and “Just Enough” is another great tune with a great beat/riff combo. A cover of Guided by Voices’ “Game of Pricks” fits in fine here, and the ending piano ballad “Blue Water” is likely the best Well Wisher ballad ever. Not a note of filler here and it’s hard to argue that this doesn’t belong in my top ten list for 2022. Super highly recommended.

Kool Kat Musik | Amazon

Ward White

Ward White “Ice Cream Chords”

Los Angeles-based art-rock crooner Ward White returns with a deft blend of dry wit and guitar riffs. Starting with “Shorter,” he laments on aging as we are all “over and it’s overdue,” to a catchy rhythm. Next “Rumors” is full of overbearing anxiety set to a Cars-like synth refrain. Another standout is “Mezcal Moth,” a song about Juarez with a great chorus and ascending bassline. No matter White’s observations about a bad concert (“Ice Cream Chords”) or even musical metaphors (“Like A Bridge”) it’s always a distinctive tableau.

His fragile-sounding vocals and clever lyrics perfectly fit on some of the more despondent narratives, be it the corruption of “Born Again” or the brilliantly somber “Signore.” While there are fewer hooks in these songs, the compositions contain some interesting chord shifts. The quick guitar arpeggios in the verses and reverb-echoed guitar solo of “Slouch” are an example of artisan details that can be appreciated here. Overall, Highly Recommended.

Amazon

Ward White “Mezcal Moth” premiere and some pre-Thanksgiving freebies

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Ward White is a unique character who is a master of evoking dark moods and anxieties. This time the art-rock crooner turns the pop notch up a bit more on his new album Ice Cream Chords with his first single “Mezcal Moth.” The album is due after 12/2.

Ward White

 

Pre-Thanksgiving Freebies

With the Thanksgiving holiday coming up, I wanted to share some recommended freebies. These collections are all name-your-price, so you have no excuses. The first collection Grandma Got Run Over By A Tour Van, is a collection of goodies from punk, pop, and rock artists doing Christmas music. I like the newer original songs as opposed to the re-warmed-over covers of traditional holiday tunes, like The Sewing Club’s “Hard Candy Christmas” and Obey The Trooper’s “Tennessee Christmas.”


Too early to hear Christmas music? Some odds and ends of summer music covers, but what got me was the emo-punk version of The Beach Boys “Kokomo” by Ghost Town Remedy.

Shame on me, I never really reviewed Nat Freeberg. He’s an amazing guitarist and has a kick-ass rock and roll sound. This compilation is a perfect sampling of his work. Highlights here include “Call Me If You Want Me” and “Back of The Line.” A product of RumBar Records, and definitely an artist that deserves to be heard. The definition of a “why-have-I-never-heard-him-before-?” artist.

Nelson Bragg and Ward White

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Nelson Bragg

Nelson Bragg “Gratitude Blues”

Nelson Bragg conceived his final solo LP during COVID quarantine in Burbank, CA. Being Brian Wilson‘s percussionist/vocalist for 14 years, Bragg is a perfectionist when it comes to introspective melodic pop. Starting with “Lose Yourself” it’s a terrific song that describes the need to look inward, “and play my Beach Boys songs” sounding brooding, but upbeat, and vaguely like Lindsey Buckingham. The jangling “Glorious Days” is like a sunny warm memory fleshed out, and the Beatlesque “Whitechapel Girl” is a bouncy gem with a sugary sweet chorus.

The epic Elton John/Bernie Taupin ballad “I Want Love” is richly surrounded by harmonies, and Peter Holsapple helps define “The Cool Kids,” a lovely folk song that’s dressed up in lots of thick orchestration. It’s a hallmark of Bragg that all those Brian Wilson sonic touches leak through in his own work. “Seriously Girl” opens with a Chicago-styled intro with blaring horns and then builds into a much mellower psych-pop gem. The wordless hymn of “The Dover Twins” is a pastiche of styles and the California pop of “Dreams Made Us Free” sounds like an interview of Bragg about his tenure with the band set to music. Many of the songs here are a winsome look back on his career, and nothing is held back. Not a single dud in the bunch. This kind of craftsmanship and quality of music is a rarity, we can only hope that Bragg doesn’t really stop making these types of retro-love songs. Highly recommended and added to my list of top ten albums for 2021.

Steel Derrick Music

Ward White

Ward White “The Tender Age”

Ward White is back with a new set of songs that reward the attentive listener. His gentle Bowie-like croon is perfectly suited for a song like “Dirty Clouds” which adds elements of jazz and rock together. The next song is more atmospheric than melodic, “Easy Meat” about dark impulses, and then the solid “Let’s Don’t Die At The Spotlight” is an amusing scenario of LA traffic with some soaring vocal lines. White to me often is the musical equivalent to filmmaker David Lynch, where the sweet, sleek surfaces often reveal darkness underneath, and the title track “The Tender Age” is an excellent example.

Other tracks aren’t as compelling, with some exceptions. “Gail, Where’s Your Shoes” is a standout with its warbling guitar break, and “Wasn’t It Here” shows some much-needed guitar energy. Overall a solid effort that takes a few repeats to find a space in your brain. Check it out.

Amazon

September Singles: Ward White, Kurt Baker, It’s Karma It’s Cool, Death Party Playground, Bryan Estepa, Mom, The Well Wishers

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With the fall comes a brand-new premiere single “Dirty Clouds” from LA crooner Ward White, from his upcoming album The Tender Age. The gentle chords give way to space-themed resignation assisted by a terrific guitar break. Kurt Baker is also back with a tight pop track that reminds me a bit of Rick Springfield, meanwhile, It’s Karma It’s Cool gives us a frantic vocal and crunchy punk guitar on “Coffee Cup Circles.” If you love that old-school ’70s rock then check out Death Party Playground, but if you crave a more singer-songwriter vibe, you can’t get much better than Bryan Estepa. Swedish band Mom gives us a nice freebie; a collection of covers and a highlight is Marshall Crenshaw’s “There She Goes Again.” Finally, Jeff Shelton (The Well Wishers) donates his guitar crunchiness to California Community Foundation’s Wildfire Relief Fund for this sweet track, a worthy song for a worthy cause.