Cat Blog Reviews - John B. Moore

Music Review - "Late Bloomer" by Kelly's Lot (jm)

2025-08-11T01:44:00+00:00

August 12 2025

Three decades into their career, California-based Kelly’s Lot is still evolving their sound. Comprised of singer Kelly Zirbes and guitarist Perry Robertson, on their latest, Late Bloomer, the duo mixes in everything from Blues and Folk to snatches of Southern Rock into their Americana sound. The result is an endearing musical vibe that manages to come off as both satisfyingly nostalgic and refreshingly original.
The band’s 18 th album, starts off with “Pied Piper” an upbeat, early stand out track, actuated by slide guitar and clarinet. The infectious “Savior” is another solid moment on the record.

Part of the band’s charm is the eclectic influences that shape their sound, The groove heavy title track has a strong early ‘90s jam band vibe, reminiscent of Poi Dog Pondering and Rusted Root, while a song like “Let Live” sounds like something from a Rosanne Cash record. You can also hear echoes of everyone from The BoDeans and Neko Case to Bonnie Raitt through the near dozen tracks that make up Late Bloomer.

While the band’s last album took a sharp turn into Blues, this record gets back to their more Roots-based sound. Late Bloomer closes on an optimistic note with “Where There Is Hope,” a song that – while not explicitly political - seems tailor made for current times, focusing on the good where and when you find it and the promise of living in peace at
some point.

John B. Moore has been covering the seemingly disparate, but surprisingly complimentary genres of Americana and punk rock for the past 20 years.

Blurt/New Noise Magazine/InSite Atlanta/NeuFutur Magazine

twitter @jbmoore00

To Read All of John's Reviews, Click Here

Music Review - "Marfa Lights" by Marfa Lights (jm)

2024-09-09T01:44:00+00:00

September 09 2024

The latest from Marfa Lights, a self-titled concept album crammed with more than a dozen tracks, is
classic Americana at its core but deftly blends in Latin horns, folk and a little bit of spacey guitar and
synth for a brilliantly bizarre, but equally fun effort.

The concept, as the band tells it, is a Gen X’er driving his father’s old Ford Ranchero, from
Colorado to Texas to Mexico City. His only entertainment is a case of 8 track tapes and a copy
of Jack Kerouac’s Mexico City Blues. With this set up, the band is able to cover off on a span of
themes about the future and what lies ahead, how technology has screwed the world up, while
still giving nods to nostalgia and how much things have changed – good and bad.

The album opens on “Ranchero Squire”; at just over 30 seconds, it’s a spoken word description
of the protagonist’s new/old car, over guitars, horns and a triangle, the first hint that this is far
from just another modern Americana band. “Heart Like a Bruise,” finds him on the road, his
hand out the window, setting off on the adventure, soundtracked by an addictive mix of Lone
Star Americana – sounding like Joe Ely mixed with Doug Sahm, and plenty of Latin horns.

From there the album expands into songs about struggles and regret backed by a nice Bossa
Nova beat (“The Wolf”), nostalgia (“Nobody Reads The Paper” – a deceptively uncomplicated
song, but one of the record’s strongest moments) and disappearing for a while (“Mexico City”).
Other highlights include “Dreams Are Dreams,” a bittersweet ballad that’s surprisingly tender
and “8 Track Cadillac,” a trippy, mellow number that sounds unlike most of the other songs on
the record.

Marfa Lights is a peculiar record that charms thanks to the perfect mix of different musical styles
and themes, though oddly specific to this narrative, that still manage to be relatable to just about
anyone listening.

John B. Moore has been covering the seemingly disparate, but surprisingly complimentary genres of Americana and punk rock for the past 20 years.

Blurt/New Noise Magazine/InSite Atlanta/NeuFutur Magazine

twitter @jbmoore00

To Read All of John's Reviews, Click Here

Music Review - "Sparrow" by Jeff Talmadge (jm)

2024-02-06T01:44:00+00:00

February 06 2024

It’s been a decade since native Texan Jeff Talmadge last put out a proper album but clearly he didn’t let the rust settle in. Sparrow, his eighth and latest, is just as strong as anything in his catalogue. In the past 10 years he did manage to keep making music; writing songs for others, recording a track for a Townes Van Zandt tribute record and some bootlegs have surfaced during that time, but Sparrow is his first full album since Kind of Everything. There is a relaxed beauty to the songs here that pull in the
listener from the opening track, the optimistic “Hurricane” that perfectly lays out what follows for the next 30 minutes.

The songs here switch in and out of first person to third, occasionally leaning into compelling characters usually destined for failure, like the protagonist in “Devil’s Highway” who leaves his family and friends to get caught up in a life of booze, cocaine, and bad choices. Elsewhere, he sings about lost love and nostalgia on “Katie’s Got a Locket,” about a woman who still carries the picture of an early love in the locket around her neck. That theme of reminiscence pops up again and again across the album, like on
the sweetly wistful “Forgiveness.” The record closes on “Top of the Hour,” a striking mid-tempo instrumental highlighting his musical prowess. Talmadge’s unrushed deliver comes across like John Prine on his more contemplative songs, and his guitar finger picking style is reminiscent of Guy Clark.

Ten years is a long time to wait for new music, but Sparrow definitely makes the wait easier.

John B. Moore has been covering the seemingly disparate, but surprisingly complimentary genres of Americana and punk rock for the past 20 years.

Blurt/New Noise Magazine/InSite Atlanta/NeuFutur Magazine

twitter @jbmoore00

To Read All of John's Reviews, Click Here

Music Review - "I Just Can't Call It Quits" by Patterson Barrett (jm)

2023-09-15T17:44:00+00:00

8 May 2023

Patterson Barrett got his start guesting on the late great Jerry Jeff Walker’s classic 1972 self-titled effort, playing guitar, dobro and pedal steel. Over the years he’s played with everyone from Al Kooper and Buddy Miller to Chuck Berry and Nancy Griffith, eventually launching his own solo career.

Nearly five decades later he’s still at it on the aptly titled I Just Can’t Call It Quits - 10 satisfyingly enjoyable Americana tracks that capture a legend with still a lot left to say. He played every instrument on the record. The opening title track is a solid prelude for what’s to come, unpretentious, back porch Americana with nods to folk and Country.

Coming five years after his last album, the general theme tying these tracks together is a sense of both positivity and thankfulness (especially on tracks like “Beautiful Day” and “Dream Geography”). Even tackling the Covid pandemic on “Who’s Left to Keep the World Turning,” there is still a sense of cautious optimism. There are also three great covers on the album. Buddy Miller sits in on the stellar “I’m Pretending” (a Miller original from the mid-1990s); while Juliann Bank sits in on Barrett’s take on her song “Somewhere in South Austin.” There’s also an inventive, slightly mellowed take on the Isaac Hayes/David Porter classic “Soul Man”.

Between losing Walker and Billy Joe Shaver just a few years ago, it’s heartening that someone like Barrett is not only still around, but still making great music.

John B. Moore has been covering the seemingly disparate, but surprisingly complimentary genres of Americana and punk rock for the past 20 years.

Blurt/New Noise Magazine/InSite Atlanta/NeuFutur Magazine

twitter @jbmoore00

To Read All of John's Reviews, Click Here

Music Review - "Murder of Songs" by Grant Peeples (jm)

2023-04-21T13:48:56+00:00

27 February 2023

Anyone who has even casually listened to Grant Peeples over the years should not be surprised that the Trump era and the xenophobia it brought with it would make an appearance on his latest record. From the overt racism and division that Trump trafficked in, to the insane January 6 insurrection by his acolytes, all serve as muse to Peeples’ latest, A Murder Of Songs.

From the opening Dire Straights song, a somber cover of “Brothers in Arms,” and the somber “This is the Good News,” Peeples packs a lot of disgust and suppressed anger in the first couple of tracks, but by the third song, “Revolutionary Steel,” he leans into a more relaxed bluegrass vibe, but still keeps current events top of mind with lyrics about the global pandemic and a shared frustration. It’s this knack for writing witty, and precise lyrics about society’s ills that have made Peeples relevant across a dozen albums. And there’s been a lot of societal ills to cover since his last record.

Whether singing to a relative about traitors in their bloodlines in the pensive “Dear Sadie,” or the brilliant Celtic tinged folk song “Insurrection Song (January 6),” Peeples is delivering his most inspired album in years. Still steeped in folk and Americana, there’s enough here to appeal to anyone (well maybe not “QAnon, Proud Boys and Bugaloos/fascists thugs and racists” to quote Peeples, but just about everyone else). On an album brimming with great songs, “Liberal with a Gun,” is the lyrical highlight here.

Like Hamell on Trial and Billy Bragg, Peeples is carrying the flag of pissed off liberals changing the world, one song at a time.

John B. Moore has been covering the seemingly disparate, but surprisingly complimentary genres of Americana and punk rock for the past 20 years.

Blurt/New Noise Magazine/InSite Atlanta/NeuFutur Magazine

twitter @jbmoore00

To Read All of John's Reviews, Click Here

Music Review - "Deluge of Hurt" by Tornado Sky (jm)

2023-04-21T13:39:49+00:00

27 October 2022

Husband and wife Jerry Careaga and Stephanie Gladhart have been writing songs together for two decades now, but Deluge of Hurt marks their debut as Tornado Sky, a project that came to be in part thanks to the Covid pandemic that shut down the world.

Careaga’s songwriting credits go back to the early 1980s having written for a slew of artists across different genres over time, while Gladhart focused more on longform writing, while still collaborating with her husband from time to time. But the global pandemic forced just about everyone into a two- year isolation that led to the duo combining efforts and finally collaborating on their own project, christened Tornado Sky. The result of their efforts is a deeply personal album that dips in and out of genres, like Americana, folk and snatches of light pop here and there. Aptly titled, there are some dark sentiments throughout, with “Walking Next to Me” being a prime example with Gladhart singing about losing her brother to cancer and her father dealing with dementia. But it’s not all loss and heartache. Careaga sings about that feeling of pure love for someone on “Damn You.” Regardless of the subject, deep, relatable emotions are at the core of every song the duo writes.

Their band is fleshed out by a collection of stellar musicians for hire including drummer Aaron Sterling (Taylor Swift, Keith Urban, Harry Styles), guitarist Dave Levita (Alanis Morissette, Katy Perry, Tim McGraw) Death cab For Cutie’s keyboardist Zac Rae, among others.

John B. Moore has been covering the seemingly disparate, but surprisingly complimentary genres of Americana and punk rock for the past 20 years.

Blurt/New Noise Magazine/InSite Atlanta/NeuFutur Magazine

twitter @jbmoore00