Dennis McCalmont: The Language of My Soul (Lake Records)
All around this fair isle there are musicians such as Dennis McCalmont seeking out their first break. There was a time when recording an album constituted that break, but with studios dotting the landscape like potholes, the real job is getting your voice heard above the crowd. McCalmont has succeeded in that, but the gulf between a high-quality professional recording and a reasonable demo can be embarrassingly wide. In the 12 tracks McCalmont offers a slew of Morrisonish influences and instrumental backdrops, but these songs need serious editing, while the best that can be said of Liam Cunningham's sloppy production is that it certainly does not lack enthusiasm. It may have sounded great on the night, but in the cold light of day that is another matter.
Peter Baxter: The Miracle Bell (RoundTower)
This record is almost a year old but it is young to my ears. Peter Baxter, a Dubliner transplanted to Sydney as a youngster, returned to Europe in his 20s guitar in hand. This is his second album. It was for the most part recorded in Australia, but there is a country, indie-ish feel to it which places it in the orbit of tuneful outsiders such as The Walkabouts. Certainly it is a grower. While Baxter's voice, like his photograph on the dismal cover, fades into the background, the melodies of songs such as the title track, A Thousand Dreams and These Are the Days (of Uncertainty) keep drawing the listener back. Though most of Baxter's songs are reflective, he chooses to end the set proper with Stuart Miller's spirited Pogue-like Punchdrunk and Dreaming. One to watch.
Marc Ribot y Los Cubanos Postizos: Muy Divertido (Very Entertaining) (Atlantic)
The attentive among you may remember Senor Ribot's tribute to the music of famed Cuban composer Arsenio Rodriguez which received what some would regard as a rave review in these columns last time out. This brilliantly inventive musician is at it again, skewing his guitar to catch the rhythmic angle of Rodriguez's music while his tight little band provide sympathetic or muscular support depending on what is required. The 10 tracks dance many different steps, from the affectionate small-town band of Obsession to the chunky rhythms of Se Formo El Bochhinche, complete with wonderfully wheezy organ or the atmospheric carnival of No Puedo Frenar with Ribot's guitar mapping out an elegant journey. Wonderful stuff.