Pearlene
For Western Violence And Brief Sensuality

By Sean Palmerston

Remember the last time a record really took you by surprise? When an album came out of nowhere and bit you on the ass with its awesomeness? I must admit it’s been a while for me but maybe that’s because I had no idea who Pearlene were before throwing this on. Hailing from Cincinnati, OH, Pearlene is a psychedelic soul and boogie quartet that obviously knows their early ’70s Stones, Neil Young and Crazy Horse, and the Beatles’ White Album inside out. For Western Violence appears to be their third album overall but first with a solid line-up. The core of the band have always been guitarist Ruben Glaser and bassist Jesse Ebaugh but now with piano/organist Andrew Higley and drummer Andrew Jody as fulltime members, Glaser’s songs rip out of the speakers in a manner that screams to be heard. The barroom piano that ushers in album opener “Hosannah” lets you know that something special is about to happen and happen it does. This is about the most exciting record to come out of the Cincinnati rock scene since the Afghan Whigs in their heyday — it’s that good — and not surprisingly, the album was captured to tape by a former Whig, John Curley. Highly addictive, if you’re looking for something new that sounds like it could have been recorded in 1972 but was mysteriously stashed away only to be rediscovered and championed decades later, hunt this one down and support Pearlene in the here and now. (High And Dangerous)

Paul MacLeod - Bright Eyes Fade
It’s been six years since MacLeod’s Hawksley Workman-produced previous album Close And Play, so it’s not surprising that the Kitchener, ON native’s return to the solo spotlight is a well-crafted sample of the best material MacLeod accumulated during that time, which included stints with the S ...Read More
Bowerbirds - Hymns for a Dark Horse
Bruce Springsteen with the Sessions Band - Live in Dublin
Candye Kane - Guitar’d and Feathered
Carolyn Mark - Nothing Is Free
Colin Hay - Are You Looking At Me?
Dave Shultz and The Skyline - Sinner’s Gold
Fairport Convention - Sense of Occasion
Guy Clark - Best Of The Sugar Hill Years
The Irish Descendants - Southern Shore
James McMurtry - Best of the Sugar Hill Years
Jason Isbell - Siren Of The Ditch
Jerry Lee Lewis - Last Man Standing Live
Jimmy Lafave - Cimarron Manifesto
Johnny Max Band - A Lesson I’ve Learned
Mannish Boys - Big Plans
Mark Olson - The Salvation Blues
Megan Hamilton - How We Think About Light
Mendoza Line - 30 Year Low
Minnie Driver - Seastories
Nathan - Key Principles
Nick Drake - Family Tree
Olav Larsen & The Alabama Rodeo Stars - Love’s Come To Town
The Pines - Sparrows In The Bell
Richard Thompson - Sweet Warrior
The Roches - Moonswept
Sinead O’Connor - Theology
The Traveling Wilburys - Collection
The United Steel Workers Of Montreal - Kerosene & Coal
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