Dave Plaehn Radio Sister Review: Anything But Vanilla

Featuring Blues, Reggae, Funk, Pop and even Hambone, Dave Plaehn’s “Radio Sister,” is an eclectic assortment of tracks that real music fans, who spread their genre loves as widely as can be, can and will enjoy. While more casual fans will find the range almost too bewildering, that won’t stop them finding a track or two they’ll dig.

It all starts with Plaehn’s voice. A song like “Stranger Blues” has the 30-year musical veteran sounding like someone more contemporary to a modern day listener, Hozier, with plenty of stellar harmonica work. It’s a track you could see in a Quentin Tarantino Western, thanks to awesome lyrics. Although simple and stripped down, it’s proof that all you need is solid lyrics and skill to make something work. To say Plaehn is a pro on the harmonica is an understatement as well and it certainly helps not only this song, but every track it’s featured on. Endorsed by industry giant Hohner, Inc, the guy’s got some serious chops.

He even finds some interesting songs to use the harmonica on. A perfect example is “Soda Fountain,” where Plaehn takes more of a ‘80s rock approach, with tints of reggae. It’s almost like Pete Townshend’s “Let My Love Open the Door,” meets a fun Bob Marley track. Towards the end, there’s a nifty harmonica solo that doesn’t feel out of place.

After you listen to a few songs on the album, like a musical “Where’s Waldo,” you’ll find yourself waiting for it.

But he’s got a few more tricks up his sleeves. On “Is Anyone’s Listening,” Plaehn adopts a more Hall & Oates tone, as the softer, but iffy guitar allows him to sing more and tell a story. While it’s not one of the standout songs on the album, the background vocals and solid musicianship show yet another side of him, one that is the most radio-friendly and one that deserves more consideration.

The same thing goes for a track the likes of “I Want Love,” which will draw in fans of Huey Lewis and The News like a mouse to cheese. Although it has elements of reggae thanks to a nifty bass line, making it almost more UB40 than anything else, the sexy saxophone in the beginning and super cool lyrics will take you back to an easier time in music.

Plaehn’s appeal is in his versatility and “Radio Sister” has a ton of it. Able to stretch his style and still enthrall and entertain throughout it is no easy task- and this album is able to give anyone listening something to take away from the experience.

mm
About Patrick Hickey Jr. 13819 Articles
Patrick Hickey Jr. is a full-time Assistant Professor of Communication & Performing Arts and Director of the Journalism program at Kingsborough Community College and is the chairman of the City University of New York Journalism Council. He is the Founder and Editor-In-Chief of ReviewFix.com. He's also a former News Editor at NBC Local Integrated Media and National Video Games Writer at Examiner.com where his work was mentioned in National Ad campaigns by Disney, Nintendo and EA Sports. Hickey was also the Editor-In-Chief of two College Newspapers before he received his BA in Journalism from Brooklyn College. Hickey's work has been published in The New York Daily News, The New York Times, Complex, The Hockey Writers, Yahoo!, Broadway World, Examiner, NYSportScene Magazine, ProHockeyNews.com, GothamBaseball.com, The Syracuse Post-Standard, Scout.com and the official sites of the Brooklyn Aces and New York Islanders. His first book, The Minds Behind the Games: Interviews With Cult And Classic Video Game Developers was released in April 2018 and is chock full of interviews with legendary developers. His second book in the series, The Minds Behind Adventures Games, was released in December 2019. His third book, The Minds Behind Sports Games, was released in September 2020. His fourth book, The Minds Behind Shooter Games, was released in March 2021. The Minds Behind Sega Genesis Games and The Minds Behind PlayStation Games were released in 2022 and The Minds Behind PlayStation 2 was published in January 2023. Hickey is also a contracted comic book writer, currently penning his original series, "Condrey," as well as "The Job," "Brooklyn Bleeds" "Dem Gulls" and "KROOM" for Legacy Comix, where he serves as founder, owner and Editor-in-Chief. Hickey Jr. is also a voice actor, having starred in the 2018 indie hit and 2019 Switch, PS4 and Xbox One release, The Padre (also serving as English language Story Editor), from Shotgun With Glitters. The sequel, The Padre: One Shell Straight to Hell was released in February 2021- Hickey also served as a Story Editor and Lead Voiceover performer. He has also done narration and trailers for several other titles including The Kaiju Offensive, Relentless Rex and Roniu’s Tale. Hickey is also the lead voiceover performer on Mega Cat Studios’ upcoming title WrestleQuest, responsible for nearly 90 characters in the game, as well as Skybound's Renfield: Bring Your Own Blood, where he voices both Dracula and Renfield, as well as several other characters. He also stars in Ziggurat Interactive’s World Championship Boxing Manager 2, where he performs the VO of nearly every male character in the game. He also worked on the Atari VCS’s BPM Boy.

Be the first to comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.


*