Strong vocals make the CD

Black Cherry Band
"All We Are"
Songwind Multimedia Inc
7-out-of-10

I am starting to realize that Canada churns out a lot of blues bands. This week I got to listen to Black Cherry Bands fifth album "All We Are." Black Cherry Band come out of the Ottawa Valley area and has been around since 2004. When listening to "All We Are" you can tell the band has been together a long time because what you get is a very polished sound.

The album opens with what is probably my favourite song on the album 'Our Whole World'. I dig the vocals and the lyrics are pretty good too. Another song that I enjoyed was the title track of the album 'All We Are' it is well done, and I really enjoyed the instrumentals on the song. Perhaps what I liked most about the album is unlike a majority of other albums, you get more than a half hour of music. You get 48 minutes to be exact which is rare these days and "All We Are" gives you an enjoyable 48 minutes to boot.

Overall this is a very solid album, and it further enhances my appreciation for blues music. Slowly but surely I am growing to enjoy blues music. More often than not I found foot tapping along with the songs on the album. This is a testament to how well the instrumentals are performed on the album. Although blues music wouldn't crack my go to genres of what I like to listen to, it is slowly crawling up the list. "All We Are" has only improved my perception of blues music.

-ADAM DANIELS

Steven Taetz
Steven Taetz
7.5-out-of-10

It is always fun to listen to a debut album from a Canadian artist. This week I got to listen to the self-titled album from Steven Taetz. Having been raised in Alberta, Steven now is based out of Toronto. Steven's debut album is a solid offering that doesn't disappoint. The album itself comes across as pop music, but it infuses folk music throughout the album. Steven makes this work better than one might suspect. The album is only eight songs but there is not a weak one in the bunch. The song writing is what really makes this album work along with the great delivery of the lyrics. Taetz has a smooth voice that really comes off strong in the album.

On 'Midnight Sun' the lyrics are somewhat sad, and Taetz's smooth voice delivers them perfectly and the piano in the song keeps the mood well. 'The Miner's Hym' is a beautifully written song and performed quite well by Taetz.

Taetz collaborated on writing all eight songs on the album. The overall feel of the album is of somewhat sadness. Listening to the album I got the feeling that I would better appreciate more if it was raining outside and something had not gone according to plan in my life. The lyrics aren't depressing but they won't be exactly cheering you up anytime soon. That being said I really enjoyed this album, the song writing was well done, the instrumentals worked well with what Steven was trying to do. The album is worth a listen, I hope to hear more from Steven Taetz in the future.

-ADAM DANIELS