“Parlor Walls” – Kara Suzanne and The GojoHearts – A Review
The sophomore album of Kara Suzanne & the Gojohearts is a very creative, relaxed, sometimes upbeat, taste of country, selection which really caught my attention. Her first CD was received with much critical acclaim. Reviews from most Indie, singer songwriter mags and websites. All Positive. I discovered some songs on No Depression’s interactive website, that is a great place to discover new music. The mp3s on the web really sounded good, so I sent her an e-mail and she got back to me, originally , she was not going to release any CDS, just mp3s and Vinyl. She decided to do a run of CDs , and I’m glad, cause I could really give it a good listen for a review.
I like to hear something that has an original touch to it, it is full of quality and that’s what you get with “Parlor Walls”. Sometimes, it is like you are entering into another era. The GOjoHearts are Jordan Scannella on bass, David Cien on keyboards, Steve Lewis on guitar, Bill Mead on drums. Then, the leader, Kara Suzanne sings vocals, plays acoustic guitar and it is very well produced and recorded by Bryan Pugh in an old church , turned studio by a lake in NY state.
Suzanne is an excellent song writer. Her band is very serious about making the disc work. There are some nice youtubes about the making of the album. They really look like they are having fun in the studio.
My favorites are her upbeat country rockers and Steve Lewis is an excellent guitarist, really plays some nice country flavored licks. On “Doses” , Lewis’s guitar really takes off and the piano is awesome on this track.
“General Henry” is more of an alt/rocker with some rockin guitar. On “A Little Spin” you get some retro sounding country with excellent slide guitar by Lewis, some excellent piano also. “Not Doin” is a real fast paced rockabilly type number, Suzanne’s vocals are excellent here. Lewis takes off on some great lead guitar here. By the way, this whole recording has a live feeling to it, very few overdubs.
Another song I really like is “Eyes Wide Open”, an upbeat country rocker that is upbeat and real tight, this group plays as one. The CD ends with “Wake Up With Me” , a great country/rocker that has a really nice texture to it. Some real nice backup vocals on this song, Some horns on this track that add a real retro feel to the song. Also on some other places scattered out the album are some horns.
This record will be out on mp3, vinyl and some CDs. Well, my suggestion for you, if you are likin’ what I am talkin’ about, go check out her website below and see if you like any of her mp3 samples. Personally, I think you will !!