A sweet little record from Mayer Hawthorne – put together with the kind of care and straightforward sound that so few folks have been using in recent years! Back at his start, you might have been tempted to think of Hawthorne as slightly ironic – an underground talent who could work at a level that rivaled some of the best blue-eyed soul singers of decades past, but who might have been doing the whole thing with a nod and a wink. Yet with a record like this, Mayer really comes across as a top-shelf talent – an artist with strength and confidence that really come through in his performance and overall presentation – less care for any posturing or the ways in which anyone might perceive him – and instead just a great dedication to reviving the kinds of sounds that used to make the west coast scene sparkle so much in the 70s! Production is wonderful – crisp enough to be contemporary, but full of plenty of old school touches on the instrumentation too – which really helps the lyrics resonate in a space between the fresh and the classic. Loads of hook-heavy numbers, and even if our kid cousins are downloading this one in years to come, we'll still be proud we were with Mayer from the start. Titles include "Back Seat Lover", "Allie Jones", "Wine Glass Woman", "Reach Out Richard", "Crime", "Corsican Rose", "Robot Love", "The Stars Are Ours", and "All Better". ~ Dusty Groove, Inc.
GUITARS UNLIMITED - QUIET NIGHTS & BRAZILIAN GUITARSAn excellent concept for a bossa album from the 60s – a set that mixes together a bunch of different great guitarists – all with some light and lovely rhythm backings that really hit a groove! Jack Marshall put the set together – and in addition to his own guitar, the record features work from Howard Roberts, Bob Bain, Tommy Tedesco, Laurindo Almeida, and Rosinha De Valenca – all of whom would be plenty great on their own, but who really sound special here together on the set! Backings have a bit of that bounce you'd hear on some of Howard Roberts' albums for Capitol at the same time – and no surprise, Roberts is really the main soloist on the date. Titles include "Girl From Ipanema", "Manha De Carnival", "Meditacao", "Here Lies Love", "Ho-Ba-La-La", "Bim-Bom", "Desafinado", "Corcovado", "One Note Samba", "These Are The Ways Of Love", and "O Barquinho". ~ Dusty Groove
Some of the most enigmatic work we've ever heard from Karl Hector & The Malcouns – still every bit as funky as before, but with a deeper, more organic approach overall – one that includes loads of sweet acoustic instrumentation and mighty nice percussion! There's a very vintage feel to the record – a vibe that almost makes us feel like we've dug up tracks from the back of some studio in Lagos, just waiting to find the light of day – done in a style that's got plenty of East African styles in the mix, yet a core funk-based approach that still shows the group's Whitefield Brothers heritage. Titles include "Can't Stand The Pressure", "Ngunga Yeti Fofa", "Circles", "Transition", and "Semai Thaqil". (Vinyl only release with hand silk screened cover by Anti Designs – limited to 1000 copies and Now Again promises it will not be repressed!!) ~ Dusty Groove
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