Luke Brindley is a busy man. In addition to being a touring and recording artist with a new album release, Brindley owns Jammin’ Java, a 200-seat club with his brother Daniel, with whom he also performs as “Brindley Brothers”.
And the brothers just released an album last year.
Luke Brindley - Luke Brindley
This is an album for Bruce Cockburn fans that wish Bruce would occasionally step down off his soapbox. There are no bold political opinions here, but there are word pictures every bit as evocative. The musicianship is on par, the melodies as catchy, and the production just as crisp.
Brindley employs instrumentation as diverse as horns and pedal steel – sometimes in the same song (“Darkness Done”).
The cover of Dylan’s “Love Minus Zero/No Limit” is most beautiful for its simplicity. As much of a Dylan fan as I am, I sometimes appreciate covers of his songs more than Dylan’s own versions. And this is one case where I like the cover a whole lot better. Brindley’s deft finger picking contrasts with Dylan’s rough estimations; Brindley’s soothing voice delivers these “ode to love” lyrics with the warmth they deserve.
“Dervish” is an instrumental that easily competes with anything Cockburn or Steve Bell have written.
Brindley can be found online at
[url=http://www.lukebrindley.com]www.lukebrindley.com
Brindley Brothers – Filled With Fire
This is a different animal than Luke’s solo releases. Bristling with American rock energy, the opening track “Rise Above” surpasses anything the Wallflowers accomplished on their latest. And as Rolling Stone put it: “Fans of Wilco and Gin Blossoms will swoon.”
But the range of styles is not limited to Wallflowers-esque melodic roots-rock. “Rise Above” segues into the bouncing rhythm of “Man on Fire” which gives way to the subdued “Everybody Wants”.
These lighter songs are much like Luke’s solo work, so my favorites are the up-tempo numbers. I had the advantage of previewing this album a few months prior to release and a number of the songs have already become family favorites.
“Up All Night” is another rocker and my other favorite. These Brindley Brothers albums are a treat for me because I became a Luke Brindley fan through his earlier work which was far more acoustic and folky. On the Brothers albums he is remade as a frontman, no doubt due to the influence of younger brother Daniel. Or maybe the frontman has been hiding in the shadows all along.
Visit author's site to download samples of
Luke Brindley and The
Brindley Brothers' music. (authorized by artist)
Article author's Blog can be found at
[url=http://www.michaelkrahn.com/blog]www.michaelkrahn.com/blog
