A roundup of local releases

‘Walk’
by Kristen Miller
The deep, leering resonance of Kristen Miller’s cello gives each song on her new CD a distinctive mood, audibly illustrating her incisive poems. “Walk” represents a stirring merging of spoken word and music. 

Based in Newburyport, Mass., Miller’s playing is sometimes dark and eerie, sometimes strangely beautiful. On her third CD, she overlaps cellos, sometimes tapping them for percussion, while reading lines of love and longing with soft, breathy vocals.

“Well it’s you and me / standing on the corner / of walk and don’t walk / on that painted yellow line / between talk and don’t talk,” she says in the opening track, “Walk/Don’t Walk.”

Miller wrote the music and lyrics for all but two of the album’s 10 tracks. She also performs two uniquely arranged covers, including the 1983 hit “Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)” by Annie Lennox and The Eurythmics. Miller’s cello seems like a natural fit for the song, sharpening the sinister lyrics to more cerebral ends than Marilyn Manson’s raucous 1995 version.

Miller sings on a couple of tracks, while Steve Bankuti and Tom Eaton add drums and percussion.

The songs have a folk quality, often made more interesting with strains of African or Middle Eastern sounds.

Miller will play a CD release show at the Firehouse Center for the Arts in Newburyport, Mass., on Saturday, June 12 at 8 p.m. She’ll also perform on WSCA 106.1 FM, Portsmouth Community Radio, on Friday, June 18 at 4 p.m.

Visit www.kristinmillermusic.com or www.myspace.com/kristenmillercello.

‘Welcome to the Breakdown’
by Tim McCoy and the Papercuts
They’ve gone through numerous lineup changes over the years, but Tim McCoy and the Papercuts have maintained a fervent power-pop sound that pays homage to the punks and classic rockers of yore.

The Dover-based group’s core now consists of McCoy on bass and vocals, Jason Boyce on guitar and Dan McGary on drums, along with newcomer Jamie Biscomb on vocals and percussion. Former full-time member Billy Butler adds piano, while co-producer Jon Nolan, who engineered the disc at his Milltown Recording in Rollinsford, pitches in guitar and backup vocals.

The CD sleeve shows a black-and-white picture of the band, with only Biscomb’s red dress in color.

And maybe that’s why Biscomb is here—to add an extra dimension of color to the Papercuts’ tried and true sound. She succeeds, showing off her vocal prowess with backup harmonizing and lead singing.

Fast-paced pop-punk numbers are balanced by a few slower ballads on the disc. The menacing bass, driving drums and ripping guitar work in songs like “Lottery,” “Around Again” and “Flaunt It” are raw, vintage rock, with McCoy often growling the lyrics. But “So Damaged You” features an Americana sound, and other tracks have a Broadway quality, like punk-rock show tunes.

McCoy’s lyrics harbor some lovesick angst, particularly in the closing track, “A Little Understanding (Goes a Long Way).” “It’s driving me crazy / I never knew how bad it could be / never knew how good it could be,” he sings.

Visit www.myspace.com/timmccoyandthepapercuts.

‘Meen Either’
by Comma
We became aware of Exeter-based power trio Comma during a multi-act show at Buoy in February. We were immediately smitten with the newcomers’ awesome brand of progressive metal and eagerly anticipated a first recording. Their debut EP, “Meen Either,” delivers.

The group includes Greg Baldi on guitar, Andrew Paolini on drums and Brent Glidden on bass, with guest organist Tom Potter playing on one song. They’re all ambitious musical architects who build towering, crystalline sounds. Consisting of four wordless compositions, the disc offers 38 minutes of sonic hysteria, filled with unpredictable time changes and complex instrumental maneuvers.

The opening track, “Karate Chop-a-thon,” introduces listeners to the band’s aggressive style, powered by Baldi’s loud, antsy guitar work, which constantly shifts and prods like Buckethead in a vintage Praxis show. Paolini and Glidden ably keep pace with pounding skins and darting bass strings.

Next comes “Belief Is an Easy Thing to Come By,” an epic 20-minute track that crashes through each wall of sound it creates to explore new sonic territory. With occasional flurries of downright archaic metal, it’s a draining but thrilling listen.

At less than two minutes in length, the solitary guitar work of “Man Drake Man… Drake” offers a pleasant respite. But the final track, the laboriously titled “Jiu-jitsu Tripianship vs. Karate Chop-a-theen” (spellings vary), mostly maintains a blistering pace for nearly 10 minutes. Comma is in the process of making a new record and booking more shows. We look forward to both. Visit www.myspace.com/commaammoc.

‘A Live Story’
by Zumbatres
Zumbatres drummer and bandleader Jose Duque has always maintained that the group’s Latin jazz formula works better in live settings than in the studio. That’s why a compilation of live recordings comprises the band’s final album.

That’s right, “A Live Story” marks the last CD that will ever come from the Zumbatres moniker. But the album is not a swan song for the Portsmouth-based band, which will continue to play live shows in the area. And the CD provides compelling motivation to go check out some of those gigs.

Four of the seven tracks on “A Live Story” were recorded live at the West End Studio Theatre in Portsmouth in July 2004, while the remaining three were recorded at The Press Room in Portsmouth in February 2006. The disc serves as a wistful retrospective, with excellent improvisational work on each instrumental composition. All but one of the tunes were written by Duque, a highly inventive, Venezuelan-born percussionist with a flair for jazz experimentation.

A number of local instrumentalists garnish the tunes—some upbeat and spicy, others slow and sultry—with imaginative solos and rhythmic accompaniment. Featured on the album are pianists Jeff Auger and Dan Shure, bassists Jesse Stern and Nate Therrien, guitarist Phil Sargent and saxophonist Chel Illingworth.

The music on this live CD immediately captivates, evoking vivid colors in the mind with its stew of Latin jazz, featuring unconventional meters and meandering sonic explorations. A fitting denouement.

Visit www.zumbatres.com or www.myspace.com/joseduqueszumbatres.

‘Shake the Dawn’
by Pete Miller
A native of Eliot, Maine, singer and guitarist Pete Miller is quickly embedding himself in the Portland-area music scene. His debut EP, “Shake the Dawn,” should help cement his up-and-coming status.

The EP is jammed with poppy folk-rock songs, some with splashes of blues and jazz. It begins wistfully with “All that’s Real” before moving into the impassioned “Daydreamer,” from with the disc takes its title.

“Take the morning, we can / shake the dawn until the / sun rises and we / daydream for a while,” Miller sings.

For a relative newcomer, Miller already has connections with many of Portland’s musical staples. The seven-song disc includes guest appearances by members of Rustic Overtones, Gypsy Tailwind, the Pete Kilpatrick Band and others. A steady flow of friends pitches in a rich assortment of instruments, including cello, upright bass, mandolin, banjo, slide guitar and saxophone.

Miller co-produced the CD with Portland-based musician Eric Bettencourt, who plays bass, percussion and guitar on certain tracks and co-wrote the closing song, “Regards.” All the other songs are soulful original compositions by Miller.

“Shoes” is exceptionally bluesy, bolstered by acoustic guitar and harmonica, while “To See Your Eyes” benefits from plaintive sax work by Ryan Zoidis, a veteran of such bands as Rustic Overtones, Soulive and Lettuce. 

Miller’s sold-out CD release show at Portland’s One Longfellow Square in late May was a rousing success, and we’re likely to see his name around with growing frequency.

Visit www.thepetemiller.com or www.myspace.com/petemillermusic.