BINGO
Cicada and Other Stories (Cravedog)
Reviewed by DJ Johnson

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Moody, quiet blues with a back-country feel. Done poorly, it becomes one of a thousand just like it in any given release year. Done correctly, it's rare and special. I think we have a Bingo here. At times, Kevin Richey seems to be plugged into the southern side of the border, and you can almost taste Mexican beer listening to the sultry "Luciagua." Richey's acoustic guitar soloing on this song, and throughout the album, is understated and beautiful, nearly always just what the track needs.

Most of the music here is down tempo, a brew of blues and folk with a splash of swamp music thrown in, just enough to suggest Richey may have picked up a little of his sense of groove from Tony Joe White. Not a bad influence to have. It shows up just a bit on "Proud Eagle" without being obvious; the signature is Richey's. If all this sounds good so far, this CD is for you because it's a pretty consistent listen, save for the final two tracks, which are different but interesting in their own right.

Things space out for about seven and a half minutes on "Twinkle Twinkle," but with appropriately bluesy slide work and down tempo atmosphere. The album closes with one more long track, the eleven minute "Candlelight," a mesmerizing concoction of droning guitar and sitar strings under a haunting melody at dirge-like tempo. It belongs on a mix-tape with The Stones' "Moonlight Mile" and The Doors' "The End." Kevin Richey's looks to be an artist to watch, both as a writer and a tasteful and quite interesting guitarist.

© 2004 - DJ Johnson