KBEM (Minneapolis, MN)
- Ponta de Areia-Esperanza Spalding (Engaging vocals and bass, both of which are customary for Spalding. This is an excellent cover of a Milton Nascimento song in which the piano also shines.)
- Steppin' Out-Memphis Slim (A two-minute blues instrumental that swings; in a relatively short time, the piano, saxophone, and guitar all have their moments in the sun.)
- I Am Waiting-Ollabelle (Well-matched female/male vocal harmonies on this cover of a Rolling Stones tune that doesn't get a lot of airplay today. Lyrically, it seems that the protagonist--or antagonist, depending on your point of view--really wants to win this game of hide-and-seek. If I thought it looked proper on the page, I'd insert a smiley emoticon at this point.)
- Mine-Everything But The Girl (Tracey Thorn presents this tale of a woman relying on someone who is unreliable matter-of-factly and rather breezily. Everything But The Girl excels at this type of presentation.)
- Short Skirt/Long Jacket-Cake (The guy in this song has an extremely specific vision of the woman he seeks. It's not as realistic, perhaps, as the vision Marshall Crenshaw describes in "Cynical Girl." With a riff this catchy, though, I'd like to believe his quest will be successful--and mutually fulfilling for both people.)
