SPILL ALBUM REVIEW: NORA KELLY BAND – RODEO CLOWN

Nora Kelly Band
Rodeo Clown
Mint Records

Nora Kelly Band’s Rodeo Clown is band’s debut that is being released into the more and more congested field of Americana/Canadiana music. This means that Kelly and her Montreal-based band should have come up with something of really high quality to be noticed.

For those already aware of the group and their music, and more importantly for an audience that is yet to hear them, they actually did come up with some quite substantial country-inflected music that touches on some excellent artists in the genre that can serve as reference points, from Neko Case’s Horse Girl” and Cowboy Junkies’ “Heartbroken Over a Man”, to name just a few. It all just might stem from the fact that Kelly, who is 27, has played in bands since she was a teen in Vancouver. Her excellent songwriting and vocals, as well as the experience and quality of the band, makes Rodeo Clown one of the better debuts of the year in any genre. No clowning around here. Well, not in a bad sense anyway.

Artist Links