Metro Pulse/Music/Eye on the Scene

Local CD Review I

The Westside Daredevils
all things small produce a spark (Lynn Point Records)

The Westside Daredevils know that the secret to successful power pop is to offset big, bright, shimmering melodies with an undertone of melancholy. Their debut record, all things small produce a spark, is full of punchy guitar pop, but they have the good sense—and taste—to center the whole thing around the muted ballad "Miner's Shortwave," a brief set-piece of acoustic guitar, keyboards, and theremin that establishes an introspective mood against the sugar-coated harmonies of the disc's first half.

That's not to say, of course, that all things small produce a spark is a quiet and reflective record. It's exactly the opposite, actually. Plaintive piano chords open the disc, followed by snarling guitars and layered vocals and stories about boys and girls that hardly let up for 40 minutes. About a third of the 11 songs—the ones written and sung by guitarist/vocalist Brett Cassidy—bear some resemblance to late-'70s Elvis Costello, minus the Angry Young Man sneer. (One of Cassidy's songs is titled "London Forces," which could be a reference to Costello's Armed Forces record.) A few more, written mostly by singer/guitarist Jeff Caudill, are jangly Big Star-like numbers, with lush production and arrangements that include keyboards and towering harmonies. Most of the record, written and arranged by the whole band, meets somewhere between the two, with arpeggiated guitars set atop insistent power-pop rhythms from bassist Brandon Smith and drummer Morrie Rothstein. The three guitars—Cassidy, Caudill, and Gray Comer on lead—don't hurt, either, giving all things small a dense and full sound highlighted by Comer's stinging lines.

Most of all, though, all things small is marked by an exuberance and good-natured sensibility, free of hipster cool or bad-boy attitude, that makes a good batch of songs even better.

The Daredevils will play a CD release party on Saturday, April 27, at the Pilot Light. Former V-roy Mic Harrison will open the show.

Local CD Review II

Donald Brown and the Bush Messengers
At This Point in My Life (Space Time)

If this recording is representative, at this point in his life pianist Donald Brown is feeling downright funky. From the first cut to the last, with bare respite, the emphasis is on the groove, over which improvisations are free to float.

Exhibit A in this liberated approach is the first tune, "Reruns from the Seventies," 10 minutes of slapped bass and drum-riff bottom, above which the horns and piano solo, sans any melodic theme other than an occasionally recurring descending figure.

A similar approach manifests in "Suite: In Search of the Bush Man Essiet," a collection of seeming unconnected guitar, bass, and piano solos circumscribed by a tune entitled "Procession." Herein guitarist Barde delivers particularly delicious Spanish-inflected lines, Essiet further funkifies on bass, and Brown solos in an uncharacteristically impressionistic and Jarrett-influenced fashion.

But the real stunner is "Dorothy's Love Letter," one of the few conventional head and changes tunes included. While drummer Kilson and percussionist Diaz as elsewhere establish an infectious pulse, it is the lilting and lyrical head, one of Brown's best, which absolutely captivates. Mobley doesn't pass up a wonderful fluegelhorn turn and Toussaint delivers some meditative lines on tenor; only Brown's furious solo is left unresolved, unfortunately lost in the fade.

In fact there are some wonderful ballads also included on this recording. And they too are not to be missed, further adding to this thoroughly uplifting and enjoyable disc.

Brown will be taking the Sundown in the City stage on Thursday, May 2, with special guests The Bogarts. Admission is free.

Go.

Thursday: First, Knoxville Jazz Orchestra's tribute to Duke Ellington. Embrace the legend. Then, continuing the theme, John Scofield at Blue Cats, jazz force who wowed us last time he blew through town, or Sidespin at The Platinum, funk-groove with Joel Fairstein and Bob Knapp.

Friday: Shiny and New by the City Ballet. Two new ballets make their Knoxville debut.

Saturday: Brooklyn Cowboys at Patrick Sullivan's. Some old faces, some new, with the same old good rock.

Sunday: Living History Weekend at Bleak House. Tours, battle reenactments and a lecture on black confederate soldiers sponsored by the United Daughters of the Confederacy.

Monday: Desire on a Long Tether, photos by Mike Dotson at Tomato Head. Exotic locales. Accessible images and ideas.

Tuesday: Mow.

Wednesday: Rocket #9 at Pilot Light. Art-school-indie style over substance? You be the judge.

—Emma "Sleeveless for Summer" Poptart with Matthew T. Everett and Jonathan B. Frey