TINA DICO FLIES SOLO AT HOUSE OF BLUES – THIS DANE CAN SING
Before she became the acclaimed young singer-songwriter Tina Dico, Denmark's Tina Dickow spiced up her third year of high school by co-starring in “Karrusel,” which she describes on her Web site as an “erotic TV series.”
Whether she received extra credit for this racy extracurricular project is unclear. But she wisely declined all subsequent TV and film offers so she could focus on her music. It was a wise choice for the former basketball star, who is a native of the Danish port city of Aarhus.
Dico started writing songs at 10, after hearing Tracy Chapman's debut album. She then sang in a cover band, Fester Kester, before forming her own group, Tina Dickow & Sheriff, in 1998. After studying religion, she enrolled in the Danish Royal College of Music, then launched her own record label.
In recent years, she has single-handedly kept U2 and Coldplay from claiming the No. 1 spot on the Danish album charts. She attracted attention abroad after singing and touring with English chill-out group Zero 7 in 2004.
Dico, now 30, has made four albums in Denmark, two of which have been released abroad. The latest, “Count to Ten,” is uneven, but shines brightly more often than not. She credits Chapman, Joni Mitchell, Bob Dylan and Nirvana as key influences, although she more often evokes such gifted peers as Sarah McLachlan and Beth Orton.
Equal parts folk, pop and Americana, with subtle electronic textures, her music is tastefully written and executed. It might help if she varied her delivery more, but her lovely voice is strong and sure, and her singing expertly conveys the melancholic tone of her emotionally wounded lyrics.
The real test may come when she does a solo set tomorrow in the intimate Delta Room at downtown's House of Blues. Armed with just her voice and acoustic guitar, she could sink, but (I hope) is more likely to soar.
THE 'INSIDE IN/INSIDE OUT' SCOOP ON SOME HIGH-FLYING RETRO ROCKERS
Expectations are high for The Kooks, the young English band that kicks off a North American concert trek Sunday at House of Blues.
Having sold two million copies of its lively 2006 debut album, “Inside In/Inside Out,” this Brighton quartet is now on tour in support of its second album, “Konk.” Its title mirrors the name of the vintage London recording studio where it was recorded, which is co-owned by The Kinks' Ray and Dave Davies (who also once had an indie record label called Konk).
The Kooks, whose band name was inspired by an early David Bowie song, are proudly retro-rocking Britpop champions. But rather than just recycle the early Kinks and Beatles, as they do on such songs as “Mr. Maker” (minus those legendary bands' harmonic sophistication and wise-beyond-their-years lyrical command), The Kooks add a welcome twist.
In some cases, the twist comes in the form of a nod to the jangly 1980s indie-pop of The Smiths. On the new song “Tick of Time,” it comes as an homage to both The Beatles and to The Police's spiky reggae-rock of the 1970s.
And on “Always Where I Need To Be,” a standout number from “Konk,” guitarist Hugh Harris uses a harmonic octave-generating device to give his solo a welcome modern edge. The result should make U2's The Edge smile with approval, especially since the video for the same song finds Harris sporting a dark, Edge-like hat and vest.
Luke Pritchard is an engaging lead singer, although his lyrics sometimes lapse into such trite rhymes as: I'm a man on the scene / I'm a man / And I can be so obscene and ABCDEF and G /That reminds me of when we were free.
But The Kooks' passion is unmistakable, even if the youthful ebullience of the band's 2006 debut album has been replaced by a sense of world-weary resignation that seems surprising for musicians whose ages range from 21 to 23.
“We're the sort of band who'd trash a hotel room – and then tidy it up afterward,” Pritchard said recently. With more reckless abandon, and time to develop a more distinctive sound, The Kooks could be a force to reckon with.
