75orLess Records enjoyed another strong showing in our 2012 Best Music Poll. The Warren-based label is a go-to provider of stellar local music, thanks in large part to the quarterly, king-sized promo packs sent our way courtesy of label founder Mark MacDougall. I'm guilty as charged for overlooking the eponymous debut disc from Soma Nova awhile back, which has steadily grown on me since I excavated it from the rack a few months ago. Psych-pop and folk-rock mingle around Paul Petit's earnest, reflective vocals on the album's first cut "All This Time," a slow-burning keeper. Lap steel and Meghan O'Connor's violin add depth to standout tracks "Close to the Closer" and "72 Stones." Give it a spin at somanova.com or iTunes.75orLess also is home to veteran musician Bob Kendall's new album Midnight Flower; the label cites Jeff Tweedy, Tom Petty, Teenage Fanclub, and the Velvet Underground as kindred sounds, and I'd add Buffalo Tom to the list. Bob and special guest Tanya Donelly cozy up to the mic on the title track ballad, and fellow Throwing Muses alum Dave Narcizo plays drums on the album (check out rocking barroom track "Swell"). The album has plenty of highlights, right up to the closing Ultravox cover of "My Sex."
BOB KENDALL + HONEYBUNCH | Friday, August 24th @ 8 pm | Narrows Center for the Arts, 16 Anawan Street, Fall River | 508.324.1926 | narrowscenter.org
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