Lisa Ridgely and the Fainting Room: Wine in Bed EP

Milwaukee’s Lisa Ridgely and the Fainting Room have released their new Wine in Bed EP. Lovely harmonies, cool guitars and effective choruses were consistent though out the EP. My first impression with Ridgely’s vocal was its similarity to Neko Case, Chrissie Hynde or in some instances Alan Morrisette. Presented as essentially a batch of “break up” songs, I was impressed by the moody feel of EP opener “Wine in bed”. This track had an end of winter feel and you can sense the writer wanted to move onto spring and away from her relationship tangles. The tremolo guitar added a cool effect to the soft/loud/soft dynamics of this track. “Maverick”, with its slow tempo and alt-country  feel , featured excellent vocals which perfectly fit the instrumentation. The harmonies were tight but I did feel that the track was lacking a concise chorus. “Santa Fe” with its solid piano intro and Chrissie Hynde like vocals presented a fine ballad defining the end of a relationship and seemingly the start of another in wonderful New Mexico, where as the writer describes the scent of burning pinion wood permeating the air. “Two-timed” had a mid-tempo, full band feel with strong guitar and percussion building to an effective chorus. The tale of a jilted lover trying to get revenge for wrong doing proves to be effective and the bonus is some great harmonies.  Closing the Ep was “Karma caught up” , the most rocking track on the EP. Featuring dual lead vocals and scorching guitar work, the writer really got her point across concerning the anger and resentment she was feeling as well as the ultimate justice for her ex-lover in the end. Overall, I felt this EP featured some strong vocals and guitar work. The subject matter has been covered many times over the years, but it was refreshing to hear Lisa Ridgely’s interpretation and I look forward to a full length LP in the future.

http://lisaridgely.bandcamp.com/album/wine-in-bed-ep