Louise Aubrie
Antonio
(Carrot Bone Records)

A slicing electric guitar begins the jumpy desperate love/lust opener “Ours” of Louise Aubrie’s 5th studio album Antonio.

Aubrie slows things down with a delicate piano opening and some well-placed flicking guitar noodling on the truly commercial (in a good way) desperate love song “Told.” “Take” is another over-the-top single (again, this is a good thing as Andy Woodard, playing drums and bass here, finds and mines the production perfectly, as he does throughout Antonio) about the narrator dealing with a pairing she’s not all that thrilled over. Aubrie’s vocal sounds are especially strong here as she makes her points during the chorus.

“Dark” is a nice mix of a hint of country-pop, synth blips, and dance. Yet another perfectly constructed little ditty from this lady.

The album ends with a nasty little tune about the equally nasty “Lies” we find in love and life. This is another of the better tunes here, the mix of sing-a-long heavy chorus and poppy-punk verse showcases Aubrie’s attitude and vocal, and the “hey, hey, hey’s” and “oh, oh, oh’s” lend tasteful fun touches.

Staying diligent as I always try to over who lends their talents to a release, in addition to Louise Aubrie here and her producer, bass, and drummer Andy Woodard, the lady employes guitarists Frank Horovitch and Boz Boorer (along with Aubrie, Boorer plays keys as well), with Rob Ritchie making a guest guitar appearance, and Edu Bisogno and Roger Jospeh Manning Jr. lending their piano key’s elsewhere.