Left over from “Girlie Action”‘s 2005 shelf but not overlooked were notable releases from Cheryl Bliss and Wendy Colonna. Colonna’s Right Where I Belong was produced by local pop savant Stephen Doster and follows 2002’s Red with polished songwriting, as in “Coffee Today” and “Fe Fi Fo Fum.” The Louisiana native blends her roots rock with sage wisdom and equal parts sultry smoke and swamp-dipped soul in her voice, a potent spice for anyone’s gumbo. Cheryl Bliss’ The Sweet Soul Light (Grab a Mic) brightens the void for lush indie pop left by the departed Katy Belle of Matson Belle. The San Diego transplant sings with a waifish tone that suits her ethereal compositions (“Wild Wild World,” “All This Will Have to Keep”) as well as the disc’s velvet production. The first entries on the 2006 shelf include the eponymously titled Shelly Knight & the Livin’ Dead (Right On), which revisits Seventies-era rock with Heart-like edge. Knight is best known as a local radio deejay, but her tough vocals and unabashed love of classic rhythms make for air-punching sing-alongs that rawk. Singer-songwriter Hilary York‘s new The Moon (Miau) shines its bittersweet light without blinding. “Radio Love” beckons as cleverly as “Lucky Girl,” then “The Waltz” sneaks up with a most pleasant scare. An excellent album that makes you wish for another immediately. Annabella, the band behind Songs of Goodbye (Las Olas), is the husband-and-wife team of Terri and Tim Dittmar out of Georgetown. Songs gives their sweet, sometimes folkie, sometimes dreamy sound an unexpected thematic strength (“Underneath,” “Life Is Sitcom”) as engaging as it is listenable. Think Innocence Mission or Mazzy Star minus the gloom and with a spot of Texas sunshine.
This article appears in February 10 • 2006.