Clearing Out The Mailroom: Tuesday, August 10, 2010

By Pete Freedman Tue., Aug. 10 2010 at 1:20 PM

We've got quite a backlog of CDs we've never gotten around to, so we're going to try to chip away at the pile with this regular feature. The plan: to take a few at a time and play each CD for as long as I can stand it.

Dax Riggs (Austin, TX)
Dax Riggs (Fat Possum)
It seems as though BP has been handling the container that has been used to hold all the white boy, electro-blues acts in recent years. But the current spill of such performers has actually produced some solid results, both locally and nationally. The former leader of Deadboy & the Elephantmen, Dax Riggs, is making some kickass use of his time away from other projects. With a falsetto that flutters with acoustic strings as much as it haunts during the amped-up numbers, Riggs mixes things up more than the average band that's attempting to become the next Dead White Keys does.
I made it: all the way through Track 6, "No One Will Be a Stranger."

Definace, Ohio (Colombus, OH)
Midwestern Minutes (No Idea)
It seems as though BP has been handling the container that has been used to hold all the white boy, electro-blues acts in recent years. But the current spill of such performers has actually produced some solid results, both locally and nationally. The six-piece, Defiance, Ohio, busts out violin, cello and banjo in order to make kick-ass use of their play time here. The inventive array of instrumentation aids in the band's ability to both rock it out and folk it up. Defiance, Ohio mixes things up more than the average band that's attempting to become the next Broken Arcade Telegraph Fire does.
I made it to: 1:01 into Track 7, "The Reason."

George Ducas (Nashville, TN)
"Never Goes Away" (Propel)
It seems as though BP has been handling the container that has been used to hold all the white boy, electro-blues acts in recent years. But the current spill of such performers has... well, never mind. This one-song, radio promo single just ran it's course. Not bad, ultimately. Its slick sheen and memorable hook gives the single a shot at radio success, but it may be too late for this old-timer to play in the FM sandbox.
I made it to: all the way through the entire record of one song.