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NORTHERN SKIES
95 NORTH
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This Boston-based singer-songwriter continues to offer his own take on Americana and folk rock with his debut album for the New Hampshire–based roots label 95 North. Thibaud’s at his best when he puts his smooth, sweet voice to stories plucked from the heart — just after it’s been broken or elevated by life’s pains and joys. Mostly he sticks to his usual formula of tight melodies sung over guitars-drums-bass arrangements augmented by flourishes of mandolin and dobro that are low on atmospherics and high on energy and flow. But there are a few surprises, like the melancholy piano ballad "Where You Can’t Be Found," which expresses a kind of downbeat optimism about life and love. There’s also "Louisiana," which uses singing steel-guitar strings to flag itself as a country number, with Thibaud lamenting that he’s "a slave to the chains of love." That cliché aside, his literate tunes go down easy and press the right emotional buttons. Todd Thibaud + Amelia White + Molly Thomas | Lizard Lounge, 1667 Mass Ave, Cambridge | 617.547.0759
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