Northwest Stomp & Southwest Tonk

Tony Peyser
Mirror contributing writer
  
   “There’s great music all over Portland. If you don’t see us, go see somebody!” This endearing benediction is on the CD for Hillstomp, a country punk blues duo straight outta Oregon. Their debut, One Word, is raw and rude. The FDA and your parents will not approve of this funky brew but don’t listen to them. If you like the down and dirty blues of The North Mississippi All-Stars, this is right up your loud, dimly lit alley.
   BR549 plays high-octane alt-country. Among the winners on Tangled In The Pines are “I’m All Right (For The Shape I’m In)” and “Way Too Late (To Go Home Early Now).” While channel-surfing recently, I caught a loosey-goosey 2001 video of some guys who sounded more like English pub rockers from the 1980s than American country rockers in the 2000s. In a case of synchronicity, it was those BR549 boys from Nashville.
   Roscoe’s Gang is another reissued album by producer, guitar ace and occasional solo artist Eric Ambel. This 1988 release is as welcome as a parking space with two hours left on the meter. His cover of Dylan’s “If You Gotta Go, Go Now” has a blazing charm and “Forever Came Today” is jangling roots rock at its best. New York-based Ambel sounds like the house band at a bar where you’d want to be a regular.
   In a similar mode to Ambel is The Obsoletes’ Is This Progress? On “Empty Sidewalk,” these Milwaukee boys capture a sense of romantic loss, which is only overshadowed by the exuberance of youth. There’s a melancholy “Mr. Tambourine Man” vibe on “The Other Side Of America.” It’s like a train passing through a small town at night with a pretty girl on board who’s looking right at you and smiling through her tears.
   A true genius on the ukulele, Bill Tapia’s debut solo album, Tropical Swing, is like a late afternoon tropical breeze. On standards such as “Mack The Knife” and “Stardust,” Tapia (who lives in Westminster) exudes virtuosity and grace. Whatever you’re drinking when you hear these songs, a tiny umbrella will magically appear in your glass. At 96, Tapia is a one-man Buena Vista Social Club. When it comes to the Honolulu sound, this album’s a lulu.
   You’re asleep at the wheel not to realize that The Cornell Hurd Band is reminiscent of Asleep At The Wheel. They hail from the middle of the Lone Star State, so their latest album is fittingly called Cen-Tex Serenade. (Cen-Tex sounds like a dummy company Enron created.) This is honky-tonk happily married to Western Swing. The ten-man band has sly songs like “I Play With Girls My Own Age” and the deliciously un-PC “Brother, It’s All Lunchmeat To Me.”
   * Miles Of Music has One Word for $12.99, Tangled In The Pines for $10.99, Roscoe’s Gang for $14.49 and Is This Progress? for $11.99. Amazon has Tropical Swing for $22.99 and Cen-Tex Serenade for $15.98.
   * The Goofy Band Name Of The Week is … Screaming Santas.