THE SADIES: Internal Sounds (Outside)
The consolidation continues. Anybody who has witnessed The Sadies in concert has been subjected to a mind-warping diversity ranging from bluegrass to surf-rock to psychedelia, all done with understanding. Since 2010, the quartet has been responsible for two more albums of such versatility, but as guest or backing band. On its own, beginning with 2010′s Darker Circles, a more uniform sound that merged all these influences. had developed. Internal Sounds is evidence of a quartet building on that foundation. Opening track, aptly titled The First 5 Minutes, begins with a garage-rock clang and spirals off to something psychedelic. The next track, So Much Blood, is country-rock. Internal Sounds is a little heavier than its predecessor, which had a more 60s Byrds vibe, but is as confidently fearless as anything The Sadies have done. A Tom Harrison
TEDESCHI TRUCKS BAND: Made Up Mind (Sony)
As Susan Tedeschi and Derek Trucks have continued to work together, a division of labour has developed. She sings a sophisticated blues, he leads a big band that generously incorporates horn arrangements into the blues, as opposed to just tacking on a brass section as if it were an afterthought. Trucks is a proven blues-rock guitarist and, knowing it, evidently doesn’t need to hog the limelight. It’s all very tasteful and satisfying on that level but you’ll find that you’d wish they’d go crazy once in a while. There are enough hints that the band could. B TH
CALE SAMPSON: The Big Picture (Independent)
You get the feeling that Sampson carries the newspapers with him wherever he goes. Most of the 10 raps here are editorials verging on rants or conspiracy theories. Interesting and informative but, oddly, like comedy routines. Once you’ve heard the punchline, you’ve no need to hear it a second time. However, if you do, you get angry all over again. The Big Picture exists to provoke thought, stir up debate, divide opinion. Which, I think, was an initial purpose of rap, since abused. B TH
LITTLE MISS HIGGINS AND THE WINNIPEG FIVE: Bison Ranch Recording Sessions (Independent)
Jolene Higgins sounds like she wishes she was born in a different time. Her new album has an old time/ragtime feel, with blues and country overtones. She swings and her band swings behind her, perhaps reaching the peak of what they’re all about in I Was At An Auction, in which pedal steel and trumpet add to the song its different colours. It could descend into camp but she/they don’t sound for a second like dilettantes. Nice ensemble work, too. B TH
MANDOLIN ORANGE: This Side Of Jordan (YepROC)
No getting around it; the duo of Andrew Marlin and Emily Frantz invites comparisons to other couples that harmonize in the country-folk vein such as Gillian Welch and David Rawlings or a more melodrama free Civil Wars. As a mandolin strums – or picks out notes in a friendly fashion – and violin adds a dimension of melancholy, Mandolin Orange opts for understatement, which adds to the feeling that you’re in the presence of folk wisdom. B TH
TYPHOON: White Lighter (MapleMusic)
The frustrating thing about Typhoon is that it likely can do so much more. Typhoon is about a dozen musicians plus additional players, making it a small orchestra. That implies a flexibility and a diversity the big band seldom explores. Or maybe the teasing of Prelude and Artificial Light create high expectations. These tracks lead off the album with arrangements in a progressive vein that unfold in a dramatic , dynamic fashion. By comparison, the rest seems conventional, which in turn seems wrong. Maybe Typhoon is just getting started. C plus TH
