“Information is not knowledge. Knowledge is not wisdom. Wisdom is not truth. Truth is not beauty. Beauty is not love. Love is not music. Music is THE BEST….”
Frank Zappa

Recently, my son showed me a fun website (Cool Music Website of the Day ~ TheSixtyOne dot com) that introduces independent musical artists to the world. I almost always have it running in the background now because I have found so many great tunes! One of my favorite new obsessions is a group I found on TheSixtyOne.com called Kennebec and their album by the same name available at iTunes, buy.com, payplay.com, ruckus.com, and cdbaby.com. Much like allconsuming, TheSixtyOne.com is driven by user comments and recommendations. Not that it matters, but I think I found Kennebec through my son’s friend James and I’m glad I did. They are a talented, seasoned folk/pop/rock group from the Raleigh area. You can read more about the group at their websites: http://www.myspace.com/kennebecmusic and http://www.kennebeclive.com.

When I get a new album, the first thing I do is listen to it several times both awake and asleep to see what tunes stick in my brain first. I’d have to say the winner of that honor is rosie beige, but ask me again tomorrow because sanctuary and going back are hot on its tail.

Track Listing:

1 can’t Figure Why 4:12
2 rosie beige 2:44
3 sanctuary 3:32
4 black friday 4:13
5 when the Morning Comes 3:15
6 26th interstate 3:33
7 orion asylum 5:50
8 going back 3:08
9 shade tree 5:12
10 the day 3:27
11 white crosses 4:21

WHAT I LIKE

When I first heard this album, I just sighed because I felt like I’d found a comfortable pair of Levi 501’s. This is rock, big and bold like The Who. It’s rock with some twang like The Eagles. It’s rock with lyrics that are thoughtful, understandable, edgy, and not drowned out by the music. It isn’t rock from the 60’s and 70’s, but it is clearly cut from that same bolt of cloth.

WHAT I DON’T LIKE

This will sound greedy, but…11 tracks? How can I survive on 11 tracks? It’s actually the only downside to the whole album.

FINAL RECOMMENDATION

Kennebec is an album that I like to listen to one track at a time or the whole album played over and over because none of the tracks sound the same or repetitive, but are a nice complement to each other. If you are looking for a strong band that is comfortable in rock, pop, folk and country, take a listen. Check them out on thesixtyone.com and then go buy the album.