Levee Town – Pages of Paperwork 1.27.12

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Levee Town

Pages of Paperwork

Self-Released

BluesWax Rating: 7

Two Records in One

Since their inception in 2002, Pages of Paperwork is the fifth album from Levee Town. It was released last spring by the Kansas City band, who recorded it at Chapman Recording in Lenexa, Kansas, and was produced jointly by band members Brandon Hudspeth and Jacque Garoutte (who also are the two primary writers), along with Jimmie Meade and Jan Faircloth. Levee Town incorporates a mixture of genres into their songs, including rock. Americana, blues, country, and jazz.

The first half of the album is tightly played and dryly recorded, with exception to the vocals. Most of the melodies are familiar Midwestern blues tunes with various shuffles and swings with their seams held together by sustained harmonica and steady, distorted guitar chops and generally good playing throughout. In the second half of the 14-song album, the band shows their more signature sound which is a gravitation towards the ever-popular American roots genre led today by such paladins as Robert Plant, Jack White, Ryan Adams, and Lucinda Williams. This is Levee Town’s strong point: getting in touch with their inner singer-songwriters. Most of the songs on the second half of Pages of Paperwork have radio-friendly hooks, grooves, and average under four-minute play lengths.

This is a seasoned and fun band to see live and I encourage all to catch a performance by Levee Town whenever you can. You will not be disappointed. If you are headed to the International Blues Challenge in Memphis, Tennessee, this year, Levee Town will be performing at The Blind Raccoon Showcase on February 2. Levee Town secured spots in the 2007 IBC’s finals and 2010 semi-finals.

Charley Burch is a Memphis-based writer and producer. He is also a contributing writer at BluesWax.