On my way back up from visiting my family downstate this past weekend, I stopped in Champaign. While I was there, I visited the local Borders and scoured their “Local Music” section (in the dark for a while; the power was out when I got there.) I was looking for Funky Butt Drum Club or Temple of Low Men, but they didn’t have either, sadly. What they did have that piqued my intrest and opened my wallet was:
- Sarge—Charcoal
- Triple Whip—Snake Creeps Down
- Triple Whip—Slapshot
- Parasol Records—Parasol’s Sweet Sixteen, Volumes Seven and Eight
I hope that I’ll have time to give more detailed impressions later, but the first blush:
- Sarge
- As good as I remembered. I love Elizabeth Elmore’s voice, and the music is catchy and just varied enough to keep you listening.
- Triple
- Slapshot was undistinguished, but Snake Creeps Down had a good sound to it. It fits together well, which is neat; the songs flow into one another.
- Parasol Records samplers
- Hit and miss, as you might expect. I’ll have to give these a more careful listen. I know that at least one of them has Absinthe Blind‘s “The Break (It’s Been There All This Time)”, which I really dig.