LOCALS COMPILATION
“Colorado Cuts”
Various Artists
CAM Records
If “Colorado Cuts” is any indication, the CU College of Arts & Media has a first-class program in CAM Records, the student-run independent label that acts as both a music-biz education for students and a clearinghouse for the quality sounds they’re producing. CAM’s latest compilation offers a broad sample of local bands representing nearly every corner of Denver’s music scene.
The array of genres doesn’t just extend to straight-up rock, despite the sprinkling of national touring vets (Yonder Mountain String Band) and major-label acts (The Fray). It’s nice too to hear diverse female artists garner as much running time as the boys, from the soft acoustic folk of Monica Conway to the scorching, 311-influenced metal of The Source. R&B songstress Nina Storey reinforces her smooth-jazz rep with “All the Little Things,” although Hazel Miller’s “Heart to Heart” stumbles a bit out of the gate, sounding like a treacly ’80s soap opera ballad.
Indie-punk favorites Born in the Flood and Love Me Destroyer don’t disappoint, but it’s good to hear lesser-known alt-country like Paniolo and Gann Matthews – or even the organic hip-hop of Five Style Fist – backing them up. When the music is this good, you don’t have to feel a sense of obligation supporting this homegrown, student-run effort. For information, visit camrecords.org.
– John Wenzel
COUNTRY
“Gathering Dust”
The Dust Devils
Heritage Records
This album marks this husband-and-wife act, Kevin Higgins and Barbara Malteze, as one to watch. Higgins is a gifted songwriter, whether he is turning out Robert Earl Keen-like story songs or a Merle Haggard crying-in-your-beer tune.
Higgins also has a fine voice he uses just right to give his words the most power possible. He handles vocals on nine of the 12 tracks. Malteze’s vocals tend toward country blues, but vocally she more than holds her own.
There is a lot of excellent music on this CD. Some of it has a distinct rock tinge, but that should not scare off country fans. This is fine country music, just not Nashville country.
– Ed Will
HIP-HOP
“The People Vs.”
Trick Trick
Motown
It’s surprising that Christian Mathis isn’t yet a household name. Most people won’t even recognize his rap alias, Trick Trick. But as the Detroit MC proves with this debut, he and his music are worth knowing.
Sure, he rides the Eminem train on “Welcome 2 Detroit,” a track that features his longtime Motor City compatriot. But as the MC shows in “My Name Is Trick Trick,” he also has his own voice – playful à la Em but distinctive and rhythmically unique.
“My name is Trick Trick/I’m from the ghetto/I (mess) with hip-hop, R&B – not heavy metal,” he rhymes in the classical music-inspired, sing-songy single. And his powerful, listenable voice is carried throughout the record, from Jazze Pha’s OutKast-esque centerpiece “Attitude Adjustment” to “War,” which features a fierce Obie Trice.
– Ricardo Baca
