Quick Spins

Poor Boy’s Soul

Burn Down

Poor Soul Records

3.5 out of 5 stars

I originally called “bullshit” when I heard that the release of this album was delayed when Trevor Jones, who is Poor Boy’s Soul, was locked up in North Dakota after being busted hopping freight trains. But 10 seconds into the first track “Burn Down That House,” it becomes apparent that Jones is the real deal, with a sound that falls somewhere between Robert Johnson and The Black Keys. It’s as raw as you’d expect from a train hopper, and more genuine than I could have imagined. Jones, who plays as a one-man band drumming with his feet while singing and playing guitar, sounds just like an old rail yard, and somehow, he manages to do it while remaining fresh and relevant for today.

 

 

Joshua Trinidad

weighing in for pole vaulting (ep)

Independent

4 out of 5 stars

Modern jazz has limitless possibilities, and with his new EP Boulder trumpeter Joshua Trinidad is beginning to explore them. With a surgeon-like delicate approach, Trinidad is as careful about the notes that he doesn’t play, as he is about the ones he hits. With melancholy and poignant trumpeting over a background of ambient moods, Trinidad shows great depth in his phrasing. On “Static Moons,” however, the album takes a monstrous turn incorporating electronica as the background, which almost sounds like Boulder’s Big Gigantic with a trumpet instead of a sax. Trinidad is part of the movement that is re-inventing the boundaries of what even the most modern jazz is and can be, and the prospects don’t sound shabby.

Beats Noir

13 Tracks From The Dark Side Of The Beat

Independent

3 out of 5 stars

When a classical musician and a gritty guitarist team up for a project, the last thing you’d expect is a hip-hop album, but that’s what happened for this Colorado group.

I could go on and on about their sound, but I’d only be reiterating the lyrics of the song “Not For You,” which says it more eloquently than I could: “This is not for fans of pop or dance. This is not another fusion of hip-hop or jazz. This is not a blast from the past, it’s not vintage. Not Avant garde or futuristic. This is now!”

The album continues to be smart throughout, revealing the musicianship of the writers with subtleties that could only come from artists with such diverse backgrounds and a similar desire to throw those backgrounds away to start fresh.

:: Beats Noir ::

:: Dazzle :: October 7 ::