‘MOST EXCELLENT’ ME DAZA BRINGS MORE SWEET SOUNDS
Sweet-voiced singer Reid Jamieson has explored everything from the music of Leonard Cohen to vintage rock ‘n’ roll over the course of his recording career.
With dedicated drive, he and musical soulmate Carolyn Victoria Mill have built a solid following on the DIY circuit, and have awards such as the John Lennon Songwriting Contest to their credit. This latest album might be Jamieson’s finest moment.
Recorded during an extended stay in County Cork, Ireland, the nine songs cover a range of mature topics including coping with mental illness, loving a woman during and after “the change,” and more.
With production from Kieran Kennedy, the album is a group effort from the get-go.
Here are five things to know about the album:
1. The title Me Daza is both Cork slang for most excellent and also directly translates as “I’m dying.” Come to think of it, many of us have used the phrase when we just can’t believe how good something is, and the effect it has upon us emotionally. That’s what the record is aiming for.
2. Heavenly harmonies Jamieson’s voice is a crystal clear instrument that can cover an immense range with superb phrasing. One of the best examples of this is on Perfect Storm, where the harmony vocals playfully jump around his and Mill’s lines, at times blurring who is who. They even get into a supermodern electronic chorus on the groovy Dominoes.
3. Don’t Go Down
The only song not penned by the couple is this one by Glen Hansard (Swell Season, The Frames) and Fegus O’Farrell (Interference). O’Farrell died from complications of MS before he could record the song himself, but his vocals appear on the tune, which has all the makings of an Irish folk-pop classic.
4. She #repealthe8th
This song is about the historic landslide referendum vote to repeal the 8th amendment to the Irish constitution, paving the way for women to have a right to choose in matters of their own bodies. It’s a quiet, introspective piece appropriate to the subject matter, the latest massive leap of change to occur by referendum in the traditionally hyper-conservative Catholic nation.
5. Record release concert
Rest assured that in concert, (Sunday, 2 p.m., Wise Hall, tickets from $10 at brownpapertickets.com) musicians will pull out everything from new material to doo-wop era classics by the Platters, and who knows what else.
ALSO SPINNING THIS WEEK:
Aaron Goodvin: V (Warner Music Group): It’s a very good time for Canadian country music right now and one of the reasons has to be Nashville-based 2018 CCMA Songwriter of the Year winner Aaron Goodvin. From the anthemic opening rocker Good Ole Bad Days (Me and the Devil were tight/He brought out my wilder ways), to the mid-tempo love declaration in You Are, he’s hitting all the right notes on this album. Not only is the record loaded with singles — more than a few of which it’s easy to see big names wanting to cover — this is crossover heavy material, too. What’s not to love about a song titled Free Beer and Free Bird?
Digawolf: Yellowstone (Big Machine): Attention all garage rock fans! The latest from this alternative rocker from Yellowknife, N.W.T., is loaded with a most delicious fuzztone boogie, and much more. Singing in both English and Tlicho, the band moves from searing (By the Water, Broken Bone) to sensitive, mixing in overdriven noise and atmospheric acoustic sounds on songs such as Written in Stone or Elexe (Together, dedicated to the artist’s children). A previous Male Artist of the Year at the Canadian Aboriginal Music Awards and a blazing performer, here’s hoping this album gets ample exposure. This is a great roots rock/other roots record. Gary Clark Jr.: This Land (Warner Music Group): If you haven’t heard the title track to Texas blues rocker Clark Jr.’s latest, then you’ve missed out on one of the better Trump-era kiss-offs to be recorded so far. As he spits out lyrics like: Paranoid and pissed off/Now that I got the money/Fifty acres and a model A/Right in the middle of Trump country, the song builds in angry intensity before the chorus declares “This land is mine.” This righteous indignation pervades the entire album, with songs such as the reggae-tinged Feeling Like a Million, horn-loaded Got to Get Up, and delta twanging The Governor all outlining contemporary America from a perspective that doesn’t get much media attention. This would have sounded right on at the heights of the civil rights movement, too. Nakhane: You Will Not Die ■
(BMG): An openly gay black man, Nakhane Mahlakahlaka has become a trailblazer for the LGBTQ movement in his South African homeland. His honest and empowering soul pop has made him a household name there, and his role in the film Inxeba (the Wound) saw film fans take note at festivals the world over. With the global launch of his hit debut, songs such as glam slamming Interloper or uplifting dance bump New Brighton (featuring Anohni) are sure to catch on. His voice soars, growls and delivers in a way few do. Not surprisingly, he covers another late artist who had similar vocal qualities, David Bowie’s Sweet Thing. Oddly, I’m reminded both of early Seal and Tears for Fears on a number of these tunes.