This local duo was a big hit at a recent Wilmington Unplugged. Hard to beat youthful enthusiasm, and they have plenty of that. A large sound for a duo, they take on all instruments on their disc. Greg Newman and Stephen Bennett sound like a cross between Crazy Horse (Neil Young’s backing band) and Elephant’s Memory (I’ll make you look that one up). Surprisingly catchy and more-than-clever lyrics wrapped around a loose alt-country sound, their songs make for much less than an ugly experience. This ain’t rocket science, just laid-back twang. From "County Line" to the literary "Chekov’s Gun," which has a They Might Be Giants feel, each song has something to latch onto. They all deliver at least one memorable lyric. Talking Ugly is like a young wine, you can drink it now but it gets better with age. Look forward to more. www.myspace.comtalkinugly

  Tommy Redd
   Rednneck Rhapsody

There was a man from Nantucket . . .

No, really, Tommy Redd was the guitarist and songwriter for Nantucket, one of North Carolina’s hottest rock bands, a group that found more than mild success in the mid to late ‘70s. They were signed to Sony’s Epic label and toured with top acts of the day, such as Kiss and the Doobie Brothers. They even headlined tours with opening acts, including The Cars and Cheap Trick. Tommy was always a wild child guitar player (I hate to admit I’m old enough to have seen them in the day), and they certainly put on a rocking show. He won a CMA award in 2009; Not THE Country Music Award but the Charlotte Music Award. Hey, take it where you can get it.

Now Mr. Redd has put out a compilation of sorts – 18 songs he laid down between 1990 and 2007, thusly titled Reddneck Rhapsody. He ostensibly seems to be pushing his good ole boy-ness, but he can’t seem to give up his rockin’ roots. From "Britney Spears (One More Beer)" to"Keep That Drunk Off The Jukebox" and "Quit Your Grinnin’ (And Drop Your Linen)" there’s enough reddneck (sic) rough housing to choke a farm horse. He plows more than the North 40 on this CD, though, jumping from country to rock to bluegrass to the downright funny. Don’t look for profoundness, unless you find it in rural true-isms, just a celebration of, well, Southern grit. I’d put a cooler in the bed of the pickup, slide the disc in the console player, lean back and get down. www.roccorecordings.com
 

Onward Soldiers
Ghosts In This Town

Onward Soldiers is the mantle worn by the singer/songwriter Sean Gerard, a Wilmington-based musician. Young, driven, searching, this collection of songs is earnest and ambitious. From the opening track "Stick To Your Guns" you don’t want to sit on the couch to listen; you’ll want to hit the open road with the stereo cranked to eleven. These are highway songs. For a youthful songman, Gerard seems sure footed, as he treads in the world of the deeply lyrical and sometimes dark soundscapes presented on Ghosts In This Town. Backed by a plethora of local heavy hitters such as Lincoln Morris, The Barnraisers, Justin Fox, Big Al Hall, and Kevin Rhodes, the "Soldiers" so to speak, Sean rides the backroads and thruways of Americana. He wisely treads in the tracks of the song heroes who blazed the trails – Dylan, Guthrie, Earle. But he’s no rehash. Gerard has a sound of his own and something to say that warrants repeating. He’ll shake your windows and rattle your walls. So, onward soldiers. www.myspace.com/onwardsoldiers
 

Post Script: Sadly, it becomes harder and harder to simply go out and buy local and regional music as we watch the demise of the local music stores. Please support the local ones still extant, or, if necessary, hit the internet, the devil of the detail, and search for these discs.