The Ravines - Everything’s Fine

2015 –The Ravines

By Phillip Smith; Sep 12, 2015

Everything’s Fine, the second album from UK Power pop band The Ravines, is a cool refreshing musical treat.  Lead vocalist/guitarist Chris Corney and drummer James Crossley are the brains behind the band, which also features bassist Andy Hawkins, and backing vocalist Susanna Benn.  

The first of the ten songs to greet the listener is title track “Everything’s Fine”, and what a great way to be greeted.   Corney dishes out no-nonsense rock with a catchy melody in this love song for slackers in a fashion reminiscent of Nick Lowe or The Bodeans.  “Daydream” rolls out like a new-wave pop song from the Eighties. Complete with the obligatory hand claps that made its way onto many a record of the day; this would have been a perfect addition to the soundtrack for John Hughes’ The Breakfast Club.   

“Indigo” takes a direction of its own, to a slightly darker place. So very much reminiscent of the music of REM before they broke, this song is so rich and full of texture.  It’s certainly a favorite.  The Ravines save the lovely “Queen Bee” to bid farewell to the listener. This one is beautifully written and celestially performed.

Everything’s Fine has unique sense of unexpected familiarity that presents itself upon the first listen. Although the music is fresh and new, when I hear this album, I feel like I am listening to an old favorite.       

for more info on the Ravines, visit their website : http://www.theravines.co.uk/

Luke Tuchscherer - You Get So Alone at Times That it Just Makes Sense

2014 - Luke Tuchscherer & The Little Red Recording Company

By Phillip Smith; June 7, 2014

Alt-rock drummer Luke Tuchscherer of the Whybirds, has ventured out with a little help from his friends, to record a dozen wonderfully written and beautifully performed treasures on his debut album, You Get So Alone at Times That it Just Makes Sense.  Its title so aptly named after a book of poetry by Charles Bukowski, the album consists of extraordinary songs about ordinary people with ordinary thoughts and problems, performed in an alt-country, rootsy story-teller fashion. 

Tom Peters keeps a steady bass drum beat running in the background, while Chris Corney tackles dobro and banjo, accompanying Tuchscherer who plays acoustic guitar on opening track “(Lord Knows) I’m a Bad Man” about infidelity and maneuvering around the guilt-filled baggage tagging along. I love the thick swampy sound the dobro and banjo bring to the song.  This one is definitely one of my favorites. 

Tuchscherer shows off his song-writing chops on “One of Us” as fellow Whybird, Dave Banks joins in with both mandolin and banjo.  Tom Petty’s “Mary Jane’s Last Dance”, comes to mind when I hear this poppy bluegrass tune that tells the despairing tale of an innocent youth from a broken home and the twists and turns which will lead him to a gangster’s life of crime. 

I love the ironic way Tuchscherer can set lyrics seemingly delivered by a henpecked, sad sack drunk directed at his nagging fishwife, to such a pretty melody.  This song of self-awareness, pent up feelings and unconditional love, “I Don’t Need You to Tell Me” features Edwin Ireland on cello and Zoë Robertson on both violin and viola.  

Tuchscherer walks a fine line between alt country and coffee-house rock.  I hear a lot of influence from The Traveling Wilburys, as Tuchscherer sports the songwriting skills of Bob Dylan and Tom Petty, and possesses a voice that is somewhat of a cross between Roy Orbinson and Jeff Lynne. With credentials like that, you can’t go wrong.           

https://soundcloud.com/luketuchscherer