PENNY BLACK REMEDY -
MAINTAINING DIGNITY IN AWKWARD SITUATIONS
2017 - Mono Del Mundo
At the core of the multi cultural Penny Black Remedy are the duo of Scottish born singer, songwriter and guitarist Keith M Thomson and singer/percussionist, Marijana Hajdarhodzic who hails from Croatia. They often tour as an incredibly dynamic and popular duo although the full band lineup includes Jeremy Mendonca from California on bass guitar, acoustic guitar and vocals, on violin is Basia Bartz from Poland and London's own Jamie Shaw on drums.
The vocals of both Keith Thomson and Marijana Hajdarhodzic are flexible and work incredibly well together or solo, with an ability to create a variety of emotions that range from humour to deep dark drama. There is a quality, warmth and depth of expression in the vocals that must be the envy of many bands, whilst the musicianship from all concerned is excellent on these thematically, tempo and emotionally varied songs.
The album title alone, 'Maintaining dignity in awkward situations' lets potential listeners know that there is a certain amount of 'tongue in cheek,' although it is certainly not a 'comedy album' but the nine songs on this recording, all written by Keith Thomson, at least show that whilst taking their music seriously the same can't be applied to themselves, with an appealing underlying note of humour on many of the songs, even those that are thematically quite dark.
Whilst it is a difficult recording to affix a particular generic label to, the instrumentation and overall feel of the album is one that has strong country music elements although with few adornments other than the absolutely essential instrumentation. Someone I played the album to felt that stylistically it harks back to Gram and Emmylou in terms of the duets but perhaps more expansive and certainly with a lighter, less serious touch, whilst I was often reminded of British combo 'My Darling Clementine.'
Proceedings get underway with I'd murder to have you back, a song that has a lovely steel guitar and fiddle intro on a composition that has the feel of a classic country duet, one that is vaguely reminiscent of, 'My Darling Clementine,' with both vocalists having a relaxed quality to this anything but loving duet. The humour works beautifully and yet there is quite a serious side to a song that would have perhaps been appropriate for some of the great country duettists of the past! Trying to be a slightly better person is a song that has a reggae or ska feel, with excellent male lead and female harmony vocals supported by thudding percussion and a melodic guitar sound on a catchy song about self improvement! This car is gonna crash is driven by speedy, twangy guitars on another excellent song that whilst the male vocal is just about dominant the female is very close, making this excellent up tempo song a virtual duet with excellent propulsive bass and percussion further lifted by a tremendous guitar solo midway giving the song a terrific amount of power. It's a mid tempo song and yet still manages to have a haunting edge, similar in some ways to the Everly Brothers in 1950s rock 'n' roll mode! There is a nice gentle guitar intro on It's dark outside before Keith Thomson comes in with his warm deep vocal, soon offset by Marijana's feminine counter on an excellent song that is a near perfect, beautifully arranged and performed duet. There is a lovely mellow, twangy guitar sound with an equally restrained fiddle as the song builds to its conclusion.
There are very few bands that have the ability to create an album of nine songs that are incredibly diverse whilst the recording retains a beautiful flow that ties everything together. The Penny Black Remedy is a band that has an abundance of that ability as well as huge musical talent!
http://thepennyblackremedy.com/
At the core of the multi cultural Penny Black Remedy are the duo of Scottish born singer, songwriter and guitarist Keith M Thomson and singer/percussionist, Marijana Hajdarhodzic who hails from Croatia. They often tour as an incredibly dynamic and popular duo although the full band lineup includes Jeremy Mendonca from California on bass guitar, acoustic guitar and vocals, on violin is Basia Bartz from Poland and London's own Jamie Shaw on drums.
The vocals of both Keith Thomson and Marijana Hajdarhodzic are flexible and work incredibly well together or solo, with an ability to create a variety of emotions that range from humour to deep dark drama. There is a quality, warmth and depth of expression in the vocals that must be the envy of many bands, whilst the musicianship from all concerned is excellent on these thematically, tempo and emotionally varied songs.
The album title alone, 'Maintaining dignity in awkward situations' lets potential listeners know that there is a certain amount of 'tongue in cheek,' although it is certainly not a 'comedy album' but the nine songs on this recording, all written by Keith Thomson, at least show that whilst taking their music seriously the same can't be applied to themselves, with an appealing underlying note of humour on many of the songs, even those that are thematically quite dark.
Whilst it is a difficult recording to affix a particular generic label to, the instrumentation and overall feel of the album is one that has strong country music elements although with few adornments other than the absolutely essential instrumentation. Someone I played the album to felt that stylistically it harks back to Gram and Emmylou in terms of the duets but perhaps more expansive and certainly with a lighter, less serious touch, whilst I was often reminded of British combo 'My Darling Clementine.'
Proceedings get underway with I'd murder to have you back, a song that has a lovely steel guitar and fiddle intro on a composition that has the feel of a classic country duet, one that is vaguely reminiscent of, 'My Darling Clementine,' with both vocalists having a relaxed quality to this anything but loving duet. The humour works beautifully and yet there is quite a serious side to a song that would have perhaps been appropriate for some of the great country duettists of the past! Trying to be a slightly better person is a song that has a reggae or ska feel, with excellent male lead and female harmony vocals supported by thudding percussion and a melodic guitar sound on a catchy song about self improvement! This car is gonna crash is driven by speedy, twangy guitars on another excellent song that whilst the male vocal is just about dominant the female is very close, making this excellent up tempo song a virtual duet with excellent propulsive bass and percussion further lifted by a tremendous guitar solo midway giving the song a terrific amount of power. It's a mid tempo song and yet still manages to have a haunting edge, similar in some ways to the Everly Brothers in 1950s rock 'n' roll mode! There is a nice gentle guitar intro on It's dark outside before Keith Thomson comes in with his warm deep vocal, soon offset by Marijana's feminine counter on an excellent song that is a near perfect, beautifully arranged and performed duet. There is a lovely mellow, twangy guitar sound with an equally restrained fiddle as the song builds to its conclusion.
There are very few bands that have the ability to create an album of nine songs that are incredibly diverse whilst the recording retains a beautiful flow that ties everything together. The Penny Black Remedy is a band that has an abundance of that ability as well as huge musical talent!
http://thepennyblackremedy.com/