Nine of Eleven on the Rockometer

It's never an easy task to take a good thing and make it even better. With their new release, "Vinyl," the Mudhens have done just that.

On their first CD following the departure of vocalist Carla Ryder, the Mudhens have rebounded with a rich, new, more powerful sound on this five-song (really six, but there are two versions of one song). The old Mudhens, especially on their last release "Crickets," had a mellower, 10,000 Maniacs kind of sound. New vocalist Emily Fontano emerges from Ryder's shadow to make the 'hens her own.

Fontano, a bouncing dynamo on stage, transfers that big ball of caffeinated energy to the studio on "Vinyl." She rips through "Must Be America," and then rips your heart on "Four-Leaf Clover."

Musically, the tune "A Whole Lot Better" sounds like a love song, but lyrically it's really sort of an anti-love song with lyrics like "He said the only thing I hate is the time that I lost, from between the time we met and when I left." Ouch.

Recorded at Bopnique Musique Studio in Chelmsford, MA., "Vinyl" is chock-full of musical and studio magic. Guitarist Michael Gauvin Smith spices the album with subtle flashes, careful not to overplay and overshadow the songs, which are brilliantly crafted little pop gems.

Keyboardist Steve Trenouth and the rhythm section of bassist Pete Chandler and drummer Tom Groleau are rock solid and, like Smith support the songs instead of squash them with overplaying. Trenouth's playing on "Real" add a nifty 80's pop feel, especially on the intro and breaks between lyrics. Chandler's upright bass work particularly drives the bopping "Better."

Producer Anthony J. Resta, who has worked with Elton John, Duran Duran and Collective Soul, utilizes the studio as another instrument, adding lush textures to the Mudhens' well-crafted pop songs. Some of the niftier touches include adding scratches and pops from a real vinyl record behind the music in the first version of "A Whole Lot Better," and a guitar solo played through an old Moog synthesizer which ends up sounding almost underwater on the same song, which is repeated on the last track as a more understated, acoustic version.

If there's a major beef with "Vinyl," it's that it's just too damned short. At five songs (again, six, if you count the two versions of "A Whole Lot Better") the disc runs just shy of 25 minutes. It leaves you wanting more and looking forward to a full-length effort soon. With playing like this though, the next disc might just be on a major label.

For more information, check out www.themudhens.com.