Parlour Steps front-man Caleb Stull has this breathy quality to his vocals on opening track “As The World Turned Out” that, when backed by his female vocal counterpart, catches the attention immediately. The Hidden Names opens on an irrefutable high point whose edgy pop/rock clash has an upbeat quality that pushes it even further. It makes for a difficult follow-up for the rest of the album. The good news: Parlour Steps delivers.

“Little Pieces”, with its intricate guitar melody and calming piano, further demonstrates Stull’s songwriting ability and Parlour Steps skill at crafting an optimum accompaniment. In “Soft Lies” horns add a theatric element, while the soft harmony male/female vocals on “Sleeping City” make the song stand out pleasantly amidst the more edgy, bouncy tracks on the album. Following suit is “Bad Math” with a ballad-worthy melody partnered with an intermittent double-time guitar riff.

These are songs easy to enjoy, ones occasionally reminiscent of early The New Pornographers but obviously not overly similar. Parlour Steps have the ability to pump out agile, cohesive songs that are each unique in their own right but contain similarities in the pressing rush of percussion and honest, clever lyrics. And in The Hidden Names they do just that.

Parlour Steps: Little Pieces

Parlour Steps: Bleeding Hearts [mp3]

Nine Mile Records [CD, 2009]

1. As The World Turned Out
2. Little Pieces
3. Miraculous
4. Soft Lies
5. Sleeping City
6. Ring That Bell
7. Bad Math
8. Yesterday’s Tomorrow
9. Blindness
10. The Catastrophists
11. Bleeding Hearts
12. Cluttered
13. Mad Mad Day

Written by bob_vinyl

There is an interesting revival of old-time music afoot. Tapping into vaudeville, string bands and vocal groups of the 30s and 40s, these bands’ strengths can also be their limitations, making many strictly revivalists rather a modern look at the past. A few, however, manage to break the bounds of revivalism to make music that is as thoroughly modern as it is old-time.

Mad Tea Party (MySpace) is just one of those bands. Like their peers, both vaudeville and string band music runs throughout, but they aren’t satisfied to have Found a Reason limited to just that. Like few of their peers, Mad Tea Party is part of the uke-billy scene, a small but perhaps growing subgenre where the ukulele rocks like never before. Ami Worthen’s voice brings the charming, quirky beauty of the days before dull, cookie-cutter perfection to an album that has roots in the past but also stands firmly in more modern times with both social commentary and pop culture (was that a Pac Man reference?). They can follow-up a fun look at adolescent awkwardness in “I Never Was a Cool One” with the quiet sadness of “Waltz of Despair” and no one will blink. They just have that unique ability to move around like that and yet retain their purity in a way that only bands like the Dead and the Violent Femmes can.

Jason Krekel’s licks are at times worthy of Chuck Berry as Mad Tea Party rips through some great rock n roll. Yet, they don’t even stop there, moving into early 60s AM pop and surf at times as well. Mad Tea Party still manages to package this up into a distinctive homogeneous sound, taking detours that enhance the trip but don’t change the destination. Their multi-faceted soul moves in ways that are both serious and fun, sometimes at the same time.

Mad Tea Party: Found A Reason [mp3]

Nine Mile Records [CD, 2008]

1. Blues Slip In
2. Every Way
3. Bunny Moves On
4. Bombs
5. I Went Out
6. Polly Put the Kettle On
7. Yellow Trees
8. Whaddaya Want
9. I Never Was a Cool One
10. Waltz of Despair
11. Big Noise From Krekel
12. Found a Reason
13. Move You