What's New Pussycat?

Nothing new on the blog front for a while, simply because I'm not at home very much these days! This is an odd day off in the middle of a 6-week jaunt, so reviews aren't likely to resume till mid-November.

The title is a nod to the fact that I'm on tour with Cosmic Rough Riders, who are supporting Tom Jones around the UK!

Easterly - 'Easterly'

If I were to make one very small criticism of this album, it would be that it fades a little towards the end ... however it might just seem that way to me because there are two exceptionally strong songs near the beginning! The tracks in question, 'Blister' and 'Wicked Conversation', are alone worth the price of the album, and would be a pretty hard act for anyone to follow. 'Blister' is an upbeat number, a great melody rolling over a riff that makes me think of Fifties music. The other outstanding song, 'Wicked Conversation', is deceptively gentle and pretty - deceptive because you almost don't notice the bittersweet lyrics. In fact that seems to be an Easterly trademark - soft and sweet disguises unhappy introspection. Ironically, just after I typed the previous sentence, I looked at the band's Myspace profile - they describe their music as "Misery meets harmony -- I'm sure you've heard of it." Obviously I'm getting their message loud and clear!

You can buy the album, or the Japanese version with bonus tracks, from Not Lame; the regular version can be picked up used and new on eBay and Amazon. According to their Myspace, a follow-up to this 2004 debut is in the works; no doubt updates will appear there and/or on their official site.