Frank Carillo and the Bandoleros: “Someday”
CD: “Someday” (Jezebel)
ARTIST: Frank Carillo and the Bandoleros
ON THE WEB: www.frankcarillo.com
Following up 2005’s “Bad Out There,” guitarist Frank Carillo’s “Someday” is about as good as Americana gets. And if there’s such a thing as a classic American voice, Carillo’s got it. With just enough Springsteen (or maybe Don Dixon) grit, he reels off everyman stories (“Lucky if You Can Breathe,” “The Blue Room”) and plaintive boogie ballads (“Someday”) with ease and élan.
His songs are mature and tuneful, and he easily spins tales that conjure up vivid images. The opening “Roll the Bones” is a old-fashioned, minor-keyed tale of love and money while “The Way Out” offers timeless thoughts on life — and a fine guitar solo. On the punchy “Somebody Poisoned the Well,” Carillo’s voice brings to mind UK pub rocker Graham Parker while he adds an edge to the song with spot-on slide guitar. If the sound of ’70s rock permeates the tracks (the twin leads on “Don’t Get Sammy Started”), it has more to do with Carillo’s old-school honesty than any kind of contrived retro feel.
— By Michael Lipton
