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REVIEW this Chicky Stoltz, Camp Recording #2 the Roebuck (SELF-RELEASED, DIGITAL DOWNLOAD)
Chicky Stoltz is a transplant from Portland, Maine, who landed in Vermont a few years back armed with a kick drum, a hi-hat and a guitar. Stoltz recently released his second record, Camp Recording #2 the Roebuck, which he produced by himself in his “ski chalet home” in Warren. But unlike some other, more famous works recorded in recent years by solo artists holed up in woodsy camps — For Emma, Forever Ago by Bon Iver, for example — Stoltz’s latest is not a work that finds beauty or clarity in stark isolation. Rather, it suggests a sort of growing cabin fever. Fortunately, Stoltz’s brand of stir-craziness is far more benign, and more fun, than that of, say, Jack Torrance, the haunted hotel caretaker from Stephen King’s The Shining. While
at times dark and playfully sinister, Camp Recording #2 is a queerly charming work from a disquieted mind. The album opens on “Girl Trouble.” The seedy romp evokes boozy lechery in dimly lit, jerkwater dive bars — likely somewhere in the South, judging from the swampy slide-guitar riffs and hypnotic, psychedelic blues-rock progression. Stoltz refers to his music as “barbluesy and Americanny,” descriptors that prove accurate here and throughout the record. Try to imagine Camper Van Beethoven collaborating with the Black Keys after listening to some Willie Dixon records, and you might get the idea. “Baldur’s Gate” is a departure from devilish blues into breezy Tejano. Despite the stylistic shuffle, Stoltz’s warped lyrical sense remains intact as he sings of, ahem, wooing a dead woman. “Ballroom dancing is the way that you got me here,” he sings over a swaying guitar and plinking keys. “And necromancing is the only way to
keep me here.” (Didn’t Torrance dance with a dead chick in The Shining? Never February Special mind…) 1 large, 1-topping pizza, 12 boneless wings “Isn’t It Romantic?” borrows a laidand a 2 liter Coke product back boogie-woogie groove from Dr. John. The next cut, “Sweatshirt,” opens up the throttle, harking back to early rock and Plus tax. Pick-up or delivery only. Expires 2/28/14. limit: 1 offer per customer per day. roll with ripping guitar riffs and hand claps. Disjointed, yet oddly sweet, “King book your catering event today! Kong” is the closest thing to a ballad on From family feasts to corporate parties. the record, and is followed by the album’s grab any slice & a rookies root beer loudest and most vicious cut, the punky for $5.99 + tax “Divinity Skool.” 973 Roosevelt Highway Camp Recording #2 closes with Colchester • 655-5550 “Better Dead Than Red,” which centers www.threebrotherspizzavt.com on Stoltz purchasing the wardrobe of a dead man from a church thrift store. The 1/23/14 2:39 PM haul includes suits of every imaginable 12v-ThreeBros012914.indd 1 color except red. Why? Because, as with so much of this curious and compelling record, why not? Camp Recording #2 the Roebuck by Chicky Stoltz is available at cdbaby.com. AFTER DARK DAN BOLLES MUSIC SERIES
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After some minor lineup shuffling, that group now includes ace local players Will Patton, Gary “Spud” Spaulding, Thom Middlebury’s Town Hall Theater Carvey and Andre Maquera, the last of whom also engineered and produced the album. Collectively, they provide a 7 days 12v-afterdark021914.indd Casey ad 1.14.indd 1/16/14 10:11 7:42 PM AM YOUR2/14/14 SCAN THIS PAGE 11 sturdy chassis on which Jones can fire TEXT WITH LAYAR up her hot-rod pipes. Likely due to her HERE SEE PROGRAM COVER straightforward songwriting style, the band never really redlines or pushes the creative envelope. But they consistently settle into a comfortable cruising speed that suits the material and Jones’ rootsy rock-and-roll bent. Supercharged! by Carol Ann Jones is available at carolannjonesmusic.com. Carol Ann Jones plays a release party at Twigg’s Gastropub in St. Albans this Friday, February 21. 02.19.14-02.26.14
Carol Ann Jones came to songwriting later in life than most. In fact, she didn’t even own a guitar until 2006, when she purchased one at her husband’s urging. Then there was the pesky matter of actually learning to play it. Jones has been a singer her entire life. But songwriting and gigging with a band are relatively new things for this Georgia-based dairy farmer, accountant and mother. That makes the professionalism and polish found on her latest CD, Supercharged!, all the more impressive. The album, a follow-up to her 2011 record Hope and her 2008 debut Out of the Blue, crackles with muscled-up, country-rock spirit and heartland vitality. The songs found on Supercharged! comprise material spanning the length of Jones’ songwriting career. And from her earliest attempts, such as “Bayside Dance,” penned in 2006, to more recent
fare such as “Melancholy Love,” written in 2012, Jones seems to adhere to that timehonored adage, “Write what you know.” In certain cases, such as “Red Pajamas,” a feel-good number about a pajama-clad mom acting out rock-star dreams in her bedroom, Jones’ tack is a touch earnest. But more often, she filters her life experiences to great effect. Tunes such as “Melancholy Love,” “Without a Warning” and “Bayside Dance” smartly capture the ups and downs of love. “She’s So Seventeen” is a surprisingly vivid coming-of-age tale. And album opener “Buckle Down Baby” is a pointed rebuke of a certain cheatin’ heart. On each, Jones sings with effective reserve. The only complaint here would be that she sometimes sounds a bit too measured and buttoned down, vocally. It would be nice to hear her roll up her sleeves and get a little dirtier from time to time, because she clearly has the chops to pull it off. Credit for the album’s polishedchrome gleam goes in large part to Jones’ longtime backing band, the Superchargers.
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Carol Ann Jones, Supercharged!
P.O. Box 684, Middlebury, VT 05753 (802) 388-0216 e-mail: aftdark@sover.net www.afterdarkmusicseries.com
2/18/14 10:40 AM