LIVE! Joe Dairy

Artist: Joe Dairy

Link: https://www.facebook.com/joedairymusic

Joe Dairy comes complete with acoustic guitar and backing tracks, and a ski mask. Sounds unorthodox to be sure. But he excels at many of the things you'd expect from a songman dwelling comfortably at the edge of Americana. When his upper-register vocals go hoarse, he channels Soul Asylum and Unplugged-era Nirvana. More than that, over effects-laden backing, his reverb-dipped vocals can summon foreboding and even menace -- not altogether inconsistent with the ski mask. But it's also not far removed from the lonesome trainyard sound of distant cousins Uncle Tupelo and Son Volt. Regardless of reference point, Dairy's voice is strong and full of character, just like his music.

*** The author of this review, Wayne Barnes, plays the ilimba drum for the following band: http://youtu.be/tMS73-1kCr8