“A Place I Call Home”
Creating a Newsense
Style: rootsy jam rock
If you like…Grateful Dead, Allman Brothers Band, Leftover Salmon, Little Feat…then you might like Creating a Newsense
The players: Joe Johnson (vocals, acoustic guitar), Jason Gilmore (mandolin, electric guitar, vocals), Matt Hollensbe (bass guitar, vocals), Brian Galloway (electric guitar, vocals), Eric Earley (drums, vocals), with Brett McClintock (keys), Kelly Jeppeson (strings)
Album vitals: 10 songs, 45 minutes
Bottom line: “If you ain’t drinking boy, you best say goodnight” is a line from the “Black Bear Blues,” and it defines Creating a Newsense. These Manitou scene stalwarts know how to have a good time, and you can join in or go home. From the moment the ramshackle rhythm of the first track (”County Line”) kicks in, you know it’s time to get loose.

What’s to like: Plenty. The band is showing off its rootsier side on this album, and influences from jam bands, southern rock, bluegrass and country flow through Creating a Newsense, and mingle to create their own sound. Lead singer Joe Johnson has a rich baritone voice that feels like an old friend, the musicianship is consistently good, and there are some tasty mandolin runs, as they shift easily from the country stomp of “County Line,” to the gospel grace of “Waltzing in the Moonlight,” to the twangy growl of “Train Ride Away.”
What’s not to like: If you long for pop hooks and a clean sound, keep moving. Creating a Newsense’s sound is not fastidious or at all poppy; like most jam bands, they’d rather keep things greasy. Also, “Independence Day” and “Portrait of Syrie” feature other band members on lead vocals who are noticeably weaker.
Top tracks: “County Line,” “Ila Magdelene,” “Waltzing in the Moonlight,” “Train Ride Away”

Recorded by: Bill Douglass of Royal Recording, Colorado Springs,
Catch ‘em live: 9 p.m.-1 a.m. Saturday at Meadow Muffins, 2432 W. Colorado Ave., no cover
Get the album: Available at live shows, Independent Records, or CDBaby.com for $12.97 or $9.99 for digital download.
Hear Creating a Newsense: www.myspace.com/creatinganewsense, and nationwide on AMI Entertainment digital jukeboxes
Would you like to have a CD reviewed? Contact Bill Reed at bill.reed@gazette.com or call 636-0226.

National releases this week…

Some old, familiar names like Yoko One, Stephen Stills, Harry Connick and Pearl Jam. Some newbies. They Might Be Giants puts out another album for the kids.

Five Finger Death Punch will be in town this week, on the heels of the release of their new one. They’ll be at the Black Sheep on Monday but it is already sold out.

The Pearl Jam album is getting good buzz, but the one I’m most curious about is the Monsters of Folk, an indie-folk supergroup with M. Ward, Conor Oberst, Mike Mogis and Jim James.  

 
Basement Jaxx, “Scars”
Banco de Gaia, “Memories Dreams Reflections”
Billy Talent, “Billy Talent III”
Brand New, “Daisy”
Castanets, ”Texas Rose, The Thaw, And The Beasts”
Vic Chesnutt, “At the Cut”
Guy Clark, “Somedays The Song Writes You”
Harry Connick, Jr. “Your Songs”
Alan Cumming, “I Bought A Blue Car Today”
Five Finger Death Punch, “War Is The Answer”
Girls, “Album”
David Gray, “Draw The Line”
Richard Hawle, “Truelove’s Gutter”
Andrew Hoover, “Chances, Stances & Romances”
Islands, “Vapours”
Janus, “Red Light Return”
Danko Jones, “Never Too Loud”
Sean Kingston, “Tomorrow”
Mika, “The Boy Who Knew Too Much”
Monsters of Folk (Jim James, Conor Oberst, Mike Mogis & M. Ward), “Monsters Of Folk”
M�m, “Sing Along To Songs You Don’t Know”
Noisettes, “Wild Young Hearts”
Or, The Whale, “Or, The Whale”
Owen, “New Leaves”
The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart, “Higher Than The Stars” [EP]
The Pastels and Tenniscoats, “Two Sunsets”
Pearl Jam, “Backspacer”
Porcupine Tree, “The Incident”
Rescue Signals, “Indecisions”
Sea Wolf, “White Water, White Bloom”
Stephen Stills, “Manassas–Pieces”
They Might Be Giants, “Here Comes Science” (kid’s album)
Three Days Grace, “Life Starts Now”
Various Artists, “Crayon Angel: A Tribute to the Music of Judee Sill”
Vertical Horizon, “Burning The Days”
Volcano Choir, “Unmap”
Wale, “Attention: Deficit”
Why? “Eskimo Snow”
Wrinkle Neck Mules, “Let The Lead Fly”
Yoko Ono, Plastic Ono Band, “Between My Head And The Sky”

You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.