Americana Tourister
RADIO-FREE CARMELA & THE TRANSMITTERS
Sarasota's Carmela Pedicini and her merry musical gang have plied their rough Americana-tinged folk-rock around the area for years. With Americana Tourister, we finally have Carmela on wax, and the results are hella good. In particular, Pedicini and friends shine whenever they slow things down for aching, hard-edged story-songs such as "Last Fight" and "Black River." I might quibble over a couple of choices (the dancehall breakdown on "World Gone Mad," for example), but once drummer Dave Townsend punctuates Pedicini's ballads with more of his heartbreaking snare hits, criticism becomes moot. 3.5 stars
This article appears in Jan 2-8, 2008.