One of the things I love about music review blogs and music news sites is that they enable me to keep up with all the great music being recorded. I (like many people) stay fairly busy and by myself there is no way I could keep up with everything going on in music now.  While every reviewer has their own likes and dislikes for the most part the music reviewed and recommended is pretty good.  Sometimes, as with the debut album by Jo Wymer, Living With Scars, the music is exceptional.

I saw Jo Wymer on John Allmans Top 10 of 2011 and intended to pick her album up months ago but got busy and distracted and never followed through. Luckily I got a reminder in my email and was able to listen to it.

My favorites are Dirty Secrets, which really showcases her voice, That Kiss which I tagged as an awesome vid of the day and This Ain’t Love for the opening, the drums, the guitar and the awesome scream Jo lets loose in the song. When I first heard This Ain’t Love I immediately wanted to title my review “cause sometimes you just wanna rock” but settled for the easier to find album title. I also like I Can Tell, because it is a great rock song and because iTunes thinks it is going to corrupt me.

Living With Scars is true to its name. Whether Jo picks up a microphone or a guitar what results is music influenced by her life and experience. When she sings,

I know what you want

you wanna take away my past

but that’s what made me who I am

that’s what keeps you coming back”

the words apply not only to the song but to the entire album. It isn’t just her powerhouse voice and cool blues-rock sound but also how she interprets her life experiences into music that keeps us coming back, song after song.

Look, I am all “hey, go buy this, it is really good” but for the undecided, you can pop over to the Jo Wymer website and listen to the entire album. She also links to amazon, cd baby, itunes, etc where you all can purchase the album. You can also find Jo on Facebook.

- Kit