This Is Me
Adult album rock with a capital AAA, this District of Columbia quartet sports eight previous albums, a swarm of "Edheads" and a name derived from a member of a nineties California punk band (Ed "eDfROMOHIO" Crawford of fIREHOSE). And after 13 years as a regional darling, it now it has a record for the masses thanks to producer Lloyd Maines (Dixie Chicks, Robert Earl Keen), who belies the band’s habitual preparedness for a spontaneous, electrified and nearly live cadence on this hour-long effort. Julie Murphy Wells may be the recognizable voice of Eddie’s merging of bluegrass, folk, and acoustic pop, but guitarist Michael Clem stars at the mic on "No Pain, No Gain," led by Maines’ mandolin and dobro precision, and as a cosmopolitan Leon Redbone on the bluesy "Fifty Pounds." With intellect, wit and an affinity for reflection on real life endeavors,This is Meserves as both another feather in the CD cap for long-time followers and as a debut record for those to come.--Scott Holter