If the walls didn’t collapse and the Walker cops didn’t get summoned, I’m guessing “Uncle Jack’s basement” never felt any groovier than it did when The Legal Immigrants recorded their debut album there in early 2012. Suffice to say, those turns are ever-inventive in a Euro-dance sort of way and, yes, beg to be played loud. As DePree describes it, SoundIsRed aims to create a “fictional universe” exploring the digital music world, with each track boasting its own characters, twists and turns in an album mixed at Matt Geroux’s Feverbell Recording and mastered by the renowned Glenn Brown.
With guest singer-violinist Karisa Wilson imploring listeners in that regard on this album’s second track,“TITQ,” SoundIsRed’s debut moves Grand Haven’s Kevin DePree smack dab into the spotlight as one of West Michigan’s most impressive electronic/dance artists. 17, playing the entire album and interviewing Ross. Websites:, /Willamenabandī hosts a virtual Willamena CD-release party at 7 p.m. And that means there are songs on this album you’ll likely be humming in your sleep. Delivering some “emotional weight,” as Hendrickson puts it, the standout tracks “She’d See Everything,” “Broken Heart,” “Falling Through the Sky,” “Oklahoma” and “A Heart Just Weighs You Down” could do some serious damage on U.S. Revolving around themes of loss and redemption, the album embraces the notion that “life goes on and you need to move along with it or find yourself lost in the shadows,” notes Newman, bassist for the band that’s still based in Kalamazoo but with members living as far away as Florida and North Carolina. Several years of recording later, they’re still in the game and maybe savvier for sticking with it: By cleverly meshing infectious pop hooks with rootsy-yet-anthemic music that beats with a Midwestern heart, the band – Lukas Ross, Chad Hendrickson, Chris Newman and Ted Mitchell – emerges with an ambitious 10-track affair that leans on renowned producers Kevin Beamish (Nashville, Tenn.) and John Seymour (Hoboken, N.J.) as well as their own well-honed studio skills. Shoot, I remember listening to the band’s fine 2004 release, “Far From the Current,” with some confidence that these guys, with their traces of Ryan Adams, Gin Blossoms and Tom Petty, were on the verge of a real breakout. The title of Willamena’s latest, much-anticipated studio album being released in mid-January could describe the plight of the Kalamazoo rock band as it navigated the winding, pothole-laden path toward elusive regional and national success. And check out my featured reviews in REVUE Magazine, including those in the new 25th anniversary January edition. Links to artists’ websites are included, with access to music samples and online CD purchases, a must to keep West Michigan musicians doing what they do so well. If you missed ’em, check out Part 1 of the Local Spins roundup here, with Simien the Whale, AG Silver, The Koh Kohs, and Part 2 here, with AOK, Tokyo Morose, The Real Lazy Genius and more. And in the spirit of looking back, make sure you return Friday to Spins on Music for the big announcement of The 2012 Local Spin of the Year, certainly better than a Leg Lamp. That’s because this batch of reviews not only features albums released in 2012, but previews a few brand new recordings set for release in early 2013 (aka, Willamena, Thirsty Perch Blues Band, Kris Hitchcock and Small Town Son). At Spins on Music, the arrival of the new year offers the perfect opportunity to look back AND forward with the third and final installment of my year-end Local Spins reviews of releases by Michigan bands and solo artists.
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