Musicians: Send your CDs to The Beachcomber, P.O. Box 5707, Destin, FL 32540-5707. Email MP3 files and streaming links to chris@beachcomberdestin.com.
Listen to some of our picks here.
Spearman
Brewers
One Drink Minimum
Piedmont-style blues with a
distinctive gravel-infused voice, this Pensacola talent will have you asking
for a second round. Six songs about drinking, women, and occasionally drinking
with women that will hit the spot for fans of traditional roots music.
- Nikki
Hedrick
Buzz
Cason
Record Machine
Plowboy Records
The prolific songwriter,
Americana performer and 30A Fest alum once again delivers an album of
impeccable stories told through memorable tunes. Comparisons to Dylan and Randy
Newman aside, Cason continuously hones his craft and doesn’t rest on his past
successes. Record Machine blends
tales of past and future, and makes us all hopeful that more music is around
the corner for us to Buzz about.
- Nikki
Hedrick
Ethan
Farmer
Farmer’s Vineyard
Ropeadope Records
Farmer’s
Vineyard is
Chicago-Los Angeles bass master Ethan “Ebassman” Farmer’s debut album for
Ropeadope. The project has him wearing a number of hats—he produces, composes,
leads and plays whatever you hear that isn’t being played by the rest of his
ensemble, which goes heavy on percussion-keyboard-sax, including Boney James on
one track. There’s plenty of background shimmer, lush electric atmosphere, even
some call-and-response doop doop girls,
but Farmer gives himself plenty of time front and center.
- Bruce
Collier
Jazz at
Lincoln Center Orchestra
Live in Cuba
Blue Engine Records
It took nothing less than America’s thawing
relationship with Cuba for trumpeter Wynton Marsalis to get back his joy. His
past few years saw a succession of duet albums that, while perfectly good,
seemed more labor than love. Live in Cuba
is a big, chewy extravaganza, with the JLCO at the top of its game and
Marsalis sounding more relaxed and inspired than he has in a long time. There’s
stuff by Monk, Ellington, Chico O’Farrill, and a big chunk of Wynton’s
compositions, including “Sanctified Blues,” a personal favorite. Oh, and it was
recorded in Havana.
- Bruce
Collier
Palafoxx
Time to Rise
Pensacola rock band leans
on ‘80s metal style with a dash of glam vocals and British harmonies. They
embrace their fun retro sound with gusto and, more importantly, technical
knowhow. Every note, tone and tempo is a great ode to the vintage genre, and
you can tell they’re doing it out of admiration for the musical heroes that
preceded them. They’re one of the newer bands on the scene, but Palafoxx are
already leaving quite an impression with both live audiences and online
listeners.
- Nikki
Hedrick
The
Popheads
Never Saw It Coming
Tallahassee band labels
themselves “psychedelic indie rock,” and that’s as accurate a description as
any. The album successfully takes chances—“We’re Gonna Die” is a gleeful,
uptempo tune, but the lyrics reveal a different reality. In a world that plays
it safe, this band takes admirable risks that pay off nicely. If you’re a fan
of alternative sounds—from Bowie to Portishead—give the Popheads a spin.
- Nikki
Hedrick