Kerry Pastine and the Crime Scene - “City of Love” (Wipe It Off! KPCS-109)
I’d not previously come across this outfit out of Denver, Colorado, even though she has been recording since 2014 — but I’m glad I have now. Singer Kerry’s strong and expressive voice is backed by guitarist Paul Shellooe, keyboards player Mark Richardson, bassist Troy Robey and drummer Andrew “AJ” Knight. Together they make a cool sound, drawing strongly on the blues, rhythm and blues, rock and roll and early soul sounds of the late 50s and 60s, much of it with a mind on the days of seven inch singles.
Try the title track for a good example, with a dramatic arrangement that owes more than a little to early Motown and a little to the Phil Spector Sound. Kerry’s strong vocals are always right out-front, from the southern soul-flavoured ballad ‘Tears of Heartache,’ to the driving, slightly garage-y beat group sound of ‘Crawl,’ the droning slide guitar driven ‘Down Down,’ or the frantic rock ‘n soul of ‘All Night Long.’ The closing track ‘My Baby’s Comin’ Home’ is an excellent up-tempo BB King blues, with a lovely enthusiastic vocal.
There’s a rich variety of approaches on this album; it’s not quite retro but it is firmly rooted in the styles and energy of the past - and it is always entertaining.
Norman Darwen
