I-Town

Each New Day, the latest release from the Ithaca, NY based Sim Redmond Band is the type of album that should put anyone with an open musical mind in a
good mood. If you let them, the sounds of this band can wash over you and
make you feel something akin to that content half-awake bliss you feel after
spending a few hours basking in the summer sun: warm, relaxed, yet
undeniably energizing. Their infectious blend of
African-influenced reggae-tinged roots rock combined with beautifully sung
lyrics full of hope, love and lessons learned give the band a deeply honest,
positive sound. With three talented vocalists in the group, Jen Middaugh,
Sim Redmond and Nate Silas Richardson, you never quite know what kind of
vocals you're going to get from track to track, but one thing is certain,
they rarely disappoint.

From the horn-filled reggae funk groove of "Potholes" to the almost
orchestral beauty of "Lately," Each New Day is a portrait of a band who is
skillfully crafting their own unique sound and doing it on their own terms.
Not much for solos, this is a band where each member contributes greatly to
the overall sound, and the whole is most definitely much greater than the
sum of its parts.

Only one complaint. The closing track, "Hanshin Tigers," a
heartfelt-sounding ode to Japan's oldest baseball team who's only lyrics are
"Hanshin Tigers, ichiban, come on, you know they're ichiban." Translation:
"Hanshin Tigers, number one, come on, you know they're number one." I
understand the fact that the SRB has sold more records in Japan than the US
and they enjoy considerable success over there, so a shout out to the
Japanese makes perfect sense. Fine, I get that. I just question how people
would react if a band put out an emotional sounding song about "New York
Yankees, you know they're number one!" But don't let that scare you away
from an otherwise great album. Who knows, maybe these guys are the world's
biggest Hanshin Tigers fans, in which case, sing away my friends, and I'll
just shut my big mouth!