Maine news, sports, weather from Portland Press Herald / Maine Sunday Telegram, Portland, Maine

September 27, 2012

CD Review: New band from Buxton something you don't hear every day

The Ghost of Paul Revere includes three members who are lifelong friends and who showcase their three-part harmonies artfully.

By KRISTIN DiCARA-McCLELLAN

Imagine a band with your standard folk and bluegrass roots, then sprinkle in some Americana, hurl in some "holler" and nip it up with nu-grass and stomp.

Do all that, and you've got the recipe for the sound of a new band on the scene: The Ghost of Paul Revere.

Formed just last year, the band seems to have a distinguished sound that only seasoned musicians can usually attain. This may be akin to the fact that three of the band members are lifelong friends, and their three-part harmonies show off their brethren spirit artfully.

"San Antone," the first track off the band's new EP, "North," is a perfect opener. It lulls in the listener with a sweet acoustic guitar melody reminiscent of reflective country blues, which always conjures up good imagery: Hot cactus- and tumbleweed-lined pin-straight highways leading to one's own grandiose oasis.

The three-part harmonies of Griffin Sherry, Max Davis and Sean McCarthy introduce themselves right away with a yearning:

"I lost my heart in the heat of San Antone/ I found my love in the cold of the Great White North/ I watched my lover roll me over like a river stone/ You've got pain in your bones and you're not alone."

The song picks up in tempo as it gallops on, yet stays true to its own individuality throughout.

"Grandpa's Chair" is also full of imagery. One may envision a scene out of "The Waltons" as the banjo and mandolin pluck and sway and a harmonica weeps throughout an old house in need of repair, with children running about, dirty little hands being beckoned to wash for supper and a subtle but stern ghost whisper singing (in three-part harmony): "Don't sit in grandpa's chair."

The last track, "Spirit," is more rhythmically charged, but I got a little lost when they broke into a cappella at the end of the song, as there was too much pause between the verses.

But they then showed off their sense of humor after the song officially ended, with a "hidden track" of them doing some a cappella, off-the-cuff, gospel soul riff of "Spirit."

"North" is definitely a very good start for these Buxton musicians. It is hoped, we will be hearing more from them in the near future as their musical identities mature and yearn for even more to ponder, stomp, holler and create.

 

Kristin DiCara-McClellan is a freelance writer.

 

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