People love Jesse and the Dandelions. Their second CD “Mutual Understanding” has been embraced by media across the country and is starting to make waves on the radio. People love the cheerful melodies and ambient guitars that a lot of Vancouver based bands like Said the Whale have made their own as of late.

 If you have seen Jesse Northey play, chances are you have heard these songs as many of them have made their way into Jesse and the Dandelions sets over the past year.

 The Cd starts with the cheery “Looking at the Sun.”
They continue on the upbeat note with “Only Just Be Friends.”
 Northey has an excellent, innocent, appealing tenor voice which has an ’80s pop Pet Shop Boys style feel.

Clean, catchy guitar hooks abound throughout this CD.
 There are touches of ’80s pop and elements of the Beatles.

All together it just makes you want to smile.
“Break Me” is an appealing, haunting song as is “Mistakes Often Haunted.”
 But even when Northey  is singing something sad and mournful, it still comes out sounding pretty happy.
 “ If you’ve got the Moves,” has a mellow psychedelic ’60s mood to it as s does ‘Sure Thing.”’
 They end the CD with the opposite of the opening track— “Looking at the Moon,” which is a slower, sadder number with a catchy, pop edged guitar riff and some harmonized vocal harmonies.

CD: A Mutual Understanding
Band: Jesse and the Dandelions
Genre: indie pop

Leeroy Stagger is back with his umpteenth CD of roots rock and country music “ The Truth Be Sold.”
 It is another solid effort beginning with the Neil Young and Crazy Horse tinged  opening track ‘Memo.”
He  has an equal balance of Cross Canadian Ragweed style country rockers like “Mister” and tender ballads plus more political rockers like ‘Cities on Fire’ thrown in for good measure.
“Goodnight Berlin,” is an upbeat rocker which is reminiscent of ‘Dirty Windshields,’ a highlight from Staggers’s last  CD “Little Victories material which examines the theme of travelling.
 He slows thing down with “Celebrity.”
 The quiet moment is short lived as  the next track ‘Cities On Fire,’ is pretty heavily influenced by grunge music and a lot more Crazy Horse.
 And for a complete contrast to that, it is followed by a straight ahead country song “Break My Heart,” which draws the listener in with some crying steel guitar.

“He picks thing up a little after that with the exceptional ESP which is the story of  one of his other musical projects Easton, Stagger and Phillips and the experiences touring with them.

After a couple more slower songs, Stagger picks up the tempo again with one of the CD’s standout tracks “Mister,” which is very much reminiscent of a Cross Canadian Ragweed song, about an underemployed hardware store employee and single dad.
 In a similar theme, “Have A Heart,” is another upbeat rocker.
 Stagger ends on another slower note with “Jackie,” a mournful ode of lost love.

CD: Truth is Sold
 Musician: Leeroy Stagger
 Genre: alt-country/ rock
 Record Label: Rebeltone Records

If you like gritty blues, check out Waterloo based blues/ rock quintet Daddy Longlegs’ new fifth CD “ The Devil’s In The Details.” They are not to be confused with the Brooklyn based blues rock trio of the same name, though both are powered by lots of harp.
The Canadian Daddy Longlegs kicks off their CD with the title track and some hot harp playing and a dirty  guitar riff, which comes right out of  a dirty old juke joint somewhere along the old Mississippi.
 Frontman Daddy Longlegs is the star of this show. His harp and huge voice are front and centre, and I can’t get enough of that rhythm.

 Frontman Chris “Junior” Malleck’s sound is reminiscent of  not only blues legends like Junior Wells, but contemporary icons like Paul Reddick.
 There are a lot of songs about the working poor and drinking and celebrating life.
“Borrowed Time” is a highlight about being poor.

““40 Hour Week” is one of several excellent,  George Thorogood tinged songs about drinking.
They slow things down a little bit on “Easy For Me.”
 Things get a little more rocking and alcohol soaked on “Get Drunk and Be Someone,” which has a classic rock and roll feel with an unstoppable rhythm.

Malleck plays a beautifully soulful   harp solo on the slower “ You Wonder.”
 Mike Elliott”s  guitar comes to the forefront on “The One,” with a big classic rock  riff which wouldn’t be out of place  being blasted at extreme volumes on some arena stage back in the ’70s.
 They get back to the basics on Colin James style blues rocker “Half Pint” on which the guitar, the harp  and the rhythm all come together beautifully.
 They end the CD by visiting  the Delta on the mournful acoustic blues number ‘Dug My Own Grave.’

CD: The Devil’s In The Details
Band: Daddy Longlegs
Genre: blues