Joni Mitchell, John Lennon, and Bob Dylan, Josie's distinctive singing style and stark emotional movements have made her and bandmate Tom Duksta a regular in the new england music scene. Currently, Josie and the band have released just one album ("Soundcheck", 2004), with one on the way ("Chasing Yellow", to be released this year). Both should be available from their website.
ABOUT THE SONG: "Peace Breathes Through You" starts out with just Josie on her twelve string, goes softly through a count (you can actually hear Josie 1-2-3-4-ing in the background here) and then slams into a dark waltz about uncommon wanting and untendered passion. Josie comes in like a storm, tapering off with clear highs and a capable delivery just aggressive enough to nail the song in place and drive it home. With great stops and starts and a wonderful mood change to the bridge, this relatively lengthy song (by today's standards) drives by without you even noticing you just spent the last four-and-a-half minutes listening to it. By the time everything winds down, you're ready for another play.
ON THE DOWNSIDE:
The recording quality -- especially in the beginning -- is a little rough. Almost a bit TOO lo-fi. While this levels out rather nicely as the song moves along, it kind of gives me the sense that the whole song was recorded with a four track in a living room somewhere. This definitely detracts from things earlier on; especially when the kick in the drums steps in. Taking this song to a real studio would make this an incredible track, without the recording distractions. At the same time, however, the rustic quality of the recording does have a nice, warm, familiar quality.
STRONG POINTS:
Strangely enough, while it's obvious this was recording using rather sparse equipment, it kind of works. Somehow the levels work out and the compression does its job. The "live feel" of this particular version is nice, however I'd still love to hear this song go through a professional studio. Considering all the things that could go wrong with this setup, it's amazing that it sounds as clean as it *does*. Also, a nice solo from Tom that somehow rises above the din of the rest of the band and carries us through and out of the bridge like a pro.
THE CONCLUSION?:
Josie Crosby's "Peace Breathes Through You" is a great demo version of this song for lovers of good folk music; and while it's powerful as it is, a better recording would do it some justice.
Like killer guitar riffs? How about flamenco? Surf? Mambo? Then aside from having really particular musical tastes, you're probably going to want to take a listen to this one. Chris Brian Gussa's "Full Moon in Cancun" is a skillful blend of several styles of latin music, held together with surf / flamenco guitar style riffs that'll make you think you just shot Jimmy in the face.
ABOUT THE ARTIST: San Diego, California native Chris Brian Gussa (also known as Uncle Gus) learned to play guitar in his sleep; absorbing the intricate guitar and song structures from a nearby radio station in Tijuana, Mexico at the tender age of six. By the presumably much less tender age of 16, Uncle Gus (I'm sure he was 'Lil Gus back in those days) was noted as "The Best Blues Guitarist in San Diego" by KGB radio. Spending years perfecting several styles of music, Uncle Gus has created "Surf Mambo" -- an interlocking fusion of several genres that, as he puts it, sounds like it should have been that way all along. Chris' previous release, Guitars of the Blue Cantina was recognized in 2004 by D.J. Rick Dees, who called Chris Brian Gussa the "King of Instrumental Background". His fourth and most recent release, Full Moon in Cancun (from which this single is, of course, the title track), is choc-full of several other instrumentals; all making you want to take a trip to Cancun yourself. But maybe I just get too involved with this stuff. Chris Brian Gussa now records out of Benson, Arizona, where he is apparently just close enough to the BandFreaks main crew in Tucson to scare them into cleaning up the place once in awhile.
ABOUT THE SONG: "Full Moon in Cancun" is a masterful mixture of several solid style influences, beginning with a percussion intro and a catchy island guitar riff that quickly expands to a full set of instrumentation that, from what I can tell, is all performed by Chris Brian Gussa himself. This includes all guitars (even the fast ones), bass, percussion, the cool electric solo, and the pickup piano parts. The entire song grooves us right onto the sunny surf of Cancun, far away from the squares of the city ... or perhaps the rectangles if you're Uma ... and doesn't drop you off until it puts you down. I even think this tune's got three or four solos, which get slightly more technically angled as the song progresses. "Technically angled"? I meant "rocking". Sorry.
ON THE DOWNSIDE:
There is this ... part ... near the very beginning when the instruments come in ... that gets kind of muddy for me. It's just like all the instruments slop together for just a moment when everything first steps in. I was kind of worried it would stay that way for a moment, it panned out quickly as the song progressed, and was eventually outweighed by the rest of the performances.
STRONG POINTS: Aside from several strong performances from Gussa, "Full Moon" is generally a great sounding track. With so many instruments -- guitars, percussion, shakers, piano, other guitars, another guitar -- you would expect a lot of noise. However, Gussa's performances and recording shows not only skill behind the guitar, but behind the recording console, as well. Everything is nicely laid out and separated here, with no overlapping performances or "dueling solos". Also, the instruments are nice and crisp. Many musicians who record themselves often make the mistake of over-reverb-ing their final mix, making everything wet and overly spacey and warm. Not our Uncle Gus.
THE CONCLUSION?:
It's obvious this guy is no amateur -- solid performances all the way around ... all nineteen of them ... and a wonderfully laid out track in a very interesting fusion of musical genres.
You can hear samples of all the songs from Full Moon in Cancun by going to Chris Brian Gussa's CDBaby page at http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/unclegus4
Lis Faust's "Who Are You" is a little rough around the edges in many ways. While the melodies and the movements are strong, and the lyrics themselves in this song are honest and emotional, many aspects of this single reflect someone obviously still working on both their vocal and musical proficiency. In short, it sounds like Lis is s
till working out the rough parts.
ABOUT THE ARTIST:
26 year old Lis Faust, a singer/songwriter out of New Jersey, left college in 2001 to fully pursue her music career. Teaming up with local band Five Points, Lis toured the tri-state area (that is, New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania) for nearly three years before the band decidedly broke up in 2004. Recently beginning her career as a solo artist, Lis is currently recording her newest LP with bass player/guitarist/pianist/accordionist and ex-bandmate Adam Storm.
ABOUT THE SONG: "Who Are You" is a very simple song with very little instrumentation -- and that works for this piece. What we hear are Lis' distinctive vocals and finger picked guitar; telling the story of an old flame and ex love showing up years later and stirring up old emotions, causing doubts and confusion and throwing a wrench in the current relationship. In "Who Are You", Lis paints a story I think most of us can probably all relate to. Thick with a naked truth, the song slowly builds and is joined by a softly played accordion during the choruses. (A great production choice, by the way.) Aside from these movements and changes, the song's dynamic doesn't really pick up much ... at the same time, it really doesn't have to. The simplicity of this song, I feel, works -- especially for the length of the piece -- and the slowly reached crescendos with the accord ian are a wonderful touch. The lyrics are stirring and easy to follow; Lis' honesty in this song shine through with a touching story that's hard not to emotionally touch base with.
ON THE DOWNSIDE:
As I mentioned before, there are definitely parts of this performance that are a bit shaky; detracting from what would be an even harder-hitting piece of music. Lis' guitar work in this song isn't really up to par with the song -- or, rather, what the song could be. It didn't come off as stylistic to me (think Liz Phair before she used hair spray); just needing some work in some areas. As I mentioned before it doesn't sound like Lis has carried her songs on her own for too long, and it definitely reflects in the performance in my opinion. This is also true about the vocals at points; while Lis' voice is both soothing and sensitive, and does a great job of carrying the reflective nature of the lyrics -- instead of being edgy and moving, the fluctuations come off more as vocally unstable. Something often heard with relatively new musicians. The vocals carry an anxiety that plays a bit much in the music. Also, as much as I love good home or small studio recordings, I'd also personally like to hear this song played out in a larger studio.
STRONG POINTS:
Now, that aside, "Who Are You" has a great hook and a great build; one that doesn't smack of a new musician whatsoever. Performance aside, the raw emotion and lyrical story of this song shine through amazingly, making me think that -- with some more work crafting out the details -- Lis Faust's "Who Are You" is a silent masterpiece in many ways. Listening to several other of Lis' songs, this is obviously not something you only find with this song (both with the good and the bad points). Lis' ability to write a hook and create interesting musical movements and catchy vocal melodies resonate an expressive maturity mixed with a raw introversion rarely found in a lot of newer singer songwriters.
