Scott Loehrke & the Ticket (self-released)
Local singer-songwriter Scott Loehrke keeps it low key on this six-song EP that he recorded at Michael Seifert's Somewhere Recording. Opening tune "I Turned Around" has a bit of twang to it as Loehrke croons, "I can't help but feel the way that I do." It's a bit sentimental but then Loehrke recovers with "Dios Moi!," which has a jazzy backbeat to it and sounds a bit like Maroon 5. Not that there's anything wrong with that. The songs here are so good — Loehrke recruited a group of sharp local players to back him up — that Loehrke can get away with doing the mellow thing. On "Long Way (to California)," Loehrke shows off his soulful side and confidently breaks into a "do, do, do" at the song's conclusion. "Truce" is a little over-the-top with its "Freebird"-like crescendo but the album ends with a bang as the sneering vocals in "Can't Be Wrong" show some real swagger.
