Audrey Ryan
‘Dishes & Pills’

Originally from Bar Harbor, Maine, indie singer/songwriter Audrey Ryan has toured the nation 15 times since 2004. Now living in the Boston area, she has also toured in Europe and is signed to UK label Folkwit Records. With her second full-length album, “Dishes & Pills,” she brings energy, creativity and enhanced life experience to the table.

Ryan’s inventive songwriting, which adds surreal sounds and multifarious instrumentation to a solid folk-rock core, keeps all 14 tracks sounding mostly fresh and original. In addition to singing, Ryan plays guitar, keyboard, accordion, bass, lap steel, piano, violin, ukulele, glockenspiel and a number of other unusual instruments (she lists “kid megaphone” and “weird harp thing” among her musical tools). The disc also features James Borchers on drums and percussion, Stephen Brodsky on drums and bass, Alec Spiegelman on clarinet and John Moriconi on trumpet.

While Ryan’s voice is not awe-inspiring, the wildly diverse instrumentation peppers each song with new trinkets of spacey and intriguing sound that dangles like fish bait around the listener’s ear. Her highly personal lyrics are also absorbing. Although most of the songs have a lighthearted feel, the words are often cynical and self-deprecating, addressing topics that range from cancer to dead-end relationships to pills, marijuana and booze. Some of the songs are heavier than others, both lyrically and musically, but the imaginative spirit never wanes.

Ryan is performing across New England throughout the month, including a CD release show at The Red Door in Portsmouth on Monday, Sept. 17 at 8 p.m. For more information about the CD and tour, visit www.audreyryan.org or www.myspace.com/audreyryan.

Dan Blakeslee:
‘Lincoln Street Roughs’

If you live on the Seacoast and have not heard of Dan Blakeslee by now, you probably don’t get out much. He has been playing shows throughout the region for well over a decade, and his distinctive artwork can be seen all over Portsmouth. Blakeslee’s latest release, “Lincoln Street Roughs,” continues his local legacy of heartfelt and folksy ballads that epitomize the Port City music scene.

With strong instrumental support from Ron Harrity on guitar and tom drum, Juliet Nelson on cello and backing vocals, Kris Day on upright bass, Dave Talmage on fiddle and Chris Elliott on flugelhorn, the new CD features a rich stew of local talent. Blakeslee contributes guitar and vocals, and he wrote all of the disc’s eight compositions. The songs do not demonstrate an extraordinarily high level of variation, with fairly basic guitar riffs and chord progressions. But fans will recognize the type of sincerity within the earnest lyrics and slow, soothing melodies that they have come to expect from one of the Seacoast’s most prized songsters. 

Blakeslee recorded “Lincoln Street Roughs” in Portland, Maine, on the label Peapod Recordings. He is playing a CD release show with Tan Vampires at The Stone Church in Newmarket on Wednesday, Sept. 19 at 8 p.m. He is also opening for Turtlebone at the Ioka Theatre in Exeter on Saturday, Sept. 15 at 8:30 p.m. Find out more about Blakeslee and the new CD at www.danblakeslee.com or www.peapodrecordings.com.

Hotrod Fury and East Coast Tremors
‘East Coast Fury’

If you could surf along the river Styx on your way to Hades, “East Coast Fury” would make a good soundtrack for the journey. The loud, fast, guitar-heavy disc presents a rare two-headed beast, with Hot Rod Fury on one half and East Coast Tremors on the other. The two bands joined forces to release a single, full-length album, each contributing six furious tracks.

Based in Portsmouth, Hot Rod Fury consists of Jimmy Knuckles on guitar, Nikki Prozac on bass, Trish Muchemore on drums and Jack Younger on tambourine. In a set of thrasher surf music that sounds largely like an extended cut of the theme from “Pulp Fiction,” the band tears through four original tunes, one Dick Dale cover and one cover of local legend The Queers. (The inside CD sleeve includes a write-up by Joe Queer, who claims that Hot Rod Fury will “beat you black and blue with their music and laugh in your face. They play like they’ll die if they stop and die if they keep going.”)

The latter half of the album belongs to East Coast Tremors, a Cape Cod-based band consisting of Jared Souther and Dave Richards on guitar, Jeff Sullivan on bass, Lee Boardman on drums and Chris Harvey on organ. Souther wrote or co-wrote five of the band’s six tracks, while the other was borrowed from Judas Priest. Starting with the first song, “The Devil’s Hotrod,” the music evokes visions of a demonic pack of wave riders popping amphetamines to accelerate their guitar playing.

There’s nothing terribly original here—just pure surf adrenaline. For more information on Hotrod Fury, visit www.myspace.com/hotrodfury. For more on East Coast Tremors, visit www.eastcoasttremors.com or www.myspace.com/ectremors.

Jason Spooner
‘The Flame You Follow’

Guitarist and singer-songwriter Jason Spooner’s second album comes five years after his debut release, “Lost Houses.” Now managed by Falcon Ridge Productions, Spooner self-produced the latest release, which came out in June. He wrote all but one of the disc’s 11 tracks, summoning a range of influences that includes Neil Young, Leonard Cohen and Paul Simon.

Based in Portland, Maine, Spooner’s trio consists of himself on guitar, vocals and harmonica, Andy Rice on bass and backing vocals and Reed Chambers on drums and percussion. Other guest musicians pitch in accordion, Wurlitzer, piano, saxophone, organ, keyboards, dobro and additional strings on certain tracks.

The resulting music is solidly performed instrumentally and well executed in the studio, but not especially thrilling. The songs are essentially poppy nuggets of music, heavy on acoustic guitar, upright bass and light percussion. Slower songs are balanced by some peppier tunes, with snazzy, Jack Johnson-ish guitar licks. Although the lyrics have some bite in places (“Surrender to the bartender like the little tramp you are,” Spooner croons in the first track, “Black and Blue), the songs are mostly soft and tame.

Still, fans who prefer a casual, lazy-afternoon sort of listen will find soothing music on “The Flame You Follow,” with a lighthearted tone and dreamy lyrics prevailing throughout much of the disc. Slightly watered-down folk and blues music has a healthy following these days, and “The Flame” features more professional engineering than most local recordings. For more information, visit www.jasonspooner.com or www.falconridgeproductions.com.