Backed by her four piece band, Ohio-based Perley has been building a solid reputation and following, BBC Radio 6’s Cerys Matthews included. Skewing to the rockier side of Americana roots, the album’s rife with reverb hung meaty guitar and rhythmic crunch, against which her voice sometimes evokes hints of Stevie Nicks and Susannah Hoffs.
The funky groove and bubbling pop undercurrent of White Doves gets the ball rolling, keeping the momentum going with the spacey swirl of Electric Flame (the video for which premiered on Folk Radio UK), a bluesy prowling Your Love and the riffing swagger of Green Eyes that comes with a big chorus rush that’s part 60s pop, part Zep rock.
Although the last two tracks, the jangling psychedelic pop Dandelion Kisses and the gentle Easy with its musical saw and chiming guitar (which in parts recalls a slower paced take on Billie Joe Royal’s 1965 hit Down In The Boondocks) take the tempo down, Perley prefers to flex the musical muscles, cranking it up on the reverb laden Southern rock punch of Leaving and the country-pop bar band friendly I Don’t Wanna Be Your Fool that surely owes a melodic debt to Tracey Ullman’s They Don’t Know.
Her homemade vision may include a few déjà vu sightings, but it’s still well worth keeping an eye on.
Review by: Mike Davies