Just great!
                            Read more...
                        

                            
Rolla is the union of Deep Banana Blackout guitarist Fuzz and singer/songwriter Carrie Ernst. On their debut album La La Land, the accord created between the two leads can be exquisite, as Fuzz leaves the funk for a more straight-forward organic pop sound. Fuzz’s hypnotic guitar licks are airy and light as the duo floats above a jazzy rhythm section that provides a quiet swinging groove with sweeping harmonies. 
“Give Up The Ghost” sparkles with its dual harmonies, while dreamy melodies like those found on “You Were Mine” and “End of Time” float throughout the disk. Rolla chose Bob Marley’s “Waiting in Vain” for the one cover song on La La Land. That fine choice says something about Rolla as their delicate rendition is remarkably emotional, making this partnership quite the pick-me up.
                            Read more...
                        

                            
The effusive Fuzz is well-established through his work as an exceptional and psychedelic guitar player with funk pioneers Deep Banana Blackout and the exceptionally brilliant Tom Tom Club, as well as his recent Big Fuzz project. And he is known through those bands for his dazzling and kinetic playing (and fashion) style. So it was with somewhat of a shock that I learned about his acoustic rock project Rolla. How was he going to translate his energy into an acoustic setting? 

As the history books tell, Rolla began as a fluke performance with his wife Carrie Ernst opening for Dickey Betts and Great Southern. From there it turned into a national acoustic duo tour with acts like Blues Traveler and Indigenous and then the recruitment of upright bass player David Shuman and drummer Marc Balling to form a complete and functioning band. They then immediately sequestered themselves in the studio and just recently independently released their first album, La La Land.

And there are no worries. Fuzz’ effervescence is in full swing, it’s just channeled, blurred and whispered into accomplished and harmonious songs, anchored firmly by Dave and Marc’s effective rhythms and wonderfully complimented by Carrie’s organic and sincere vocal accompaniment.

And when all of the above is put together under the auspices of Fuzz and Carrie’s adroit and agile songwriting skills the result is inescapably infectious.

The effortless listen that this album is starts off with the frolicsome and spacious “Give Up The Ghost” with its abstract lyrics and amped up bridge. This leads into “Salvation,” a contagious love song which is followed up by another organic and image-laden love song; the harmonious “You Were Mine.” “Traffic In The Cosmos” continues the vain of pop-laden folk with a slightly anthemic and Beatles-esque melody.

The halfway point of the album departs slightly from the cheerful sound of the album with the heavier and more minimalist rhythm of “This Day,” though it is still a panegyric love song of sorts and it does build at points into an almost thundering acoustic strumming. They return to the upbeat swinging with “Too Late” before falling into a moody cover of Bob Marley’s “Waiting In Vain.”

The album wraps up with a perfectly ponderous “End Of Time” and the flourishing and lush ballad “Stuck In A Daydream.”

It becomes immediately obvious at first listen, an impression that never leaves, as to why audience response to their initial impromptu performance was so positive. The music created and performed by Fuzz and Carrie, with the able assistance of Dave and Marc, is of the highest caliber and represents yet another enjoyable aspect of the chameleon-like Fuzz
                            Read more...
                        

                            
Fuzz's latest project is Rolla, a collaboration with his wife, Carrie Ernst, and bassist David Shuman and drummer Marc Balling -- the rhythm section from On the Corner with Fuzz band. With Rolla, the emphasis is on mellow alterna-pop and the vocal harmonies between husband and wife. A few of the cuts (most notably "You Were Mine" and "Stuck In a Daydream") on the 32-minute disc seem to be aural love letters between Fuzz and Ernst. Other highlights are lush renditions of Bob Marley's "Waiting in Vain" and "Traffic in the Cosmos," which has an effortless melodic sensibility that recalls the Beatles' best skills as pop songwriters.
                            Read more...