Adam Trice has been chronicling the unsung side of Baltimore for almost two decades as Red Sammy. Almost every album represents a shift in sound--sometimes subtle and sometimes not. Trice has always stuck to the roots side of things, but he can be folky, bluesy or even flirting with straightforward rock. This set finds him camped somewhere between the latter, ripping off meaty chunks of bluesy rock and roll.

Red Sammy Holy Fluorescent Light (self-released)

He leaves lots of space between the instruments on the mix, which can make these songs sound more folky than they really are. Even so, this is one of the more "produced" albums I've heard from Red Sammy. The songs on this set have a ringing glow to them. Some of that is the reflective, almost elegiac nature of the songs, but a lot of it comes from a talented and restrained hand with the mix.

Trice has always been fixated on writers (the 2013 Red Sammy album was a collaboration with Steve Mantele, a University of Baltimore professor and poet), and he's pretty explicit about that connection here with the song "Ernest and Bukowski". There's also the clear Velvet Underground influence, particularly in the rhythm section. That quietly insistent percussion just screams Moe Tucker.

And Trice does seem to be channeling a young Lou Reed as well. All this is of a piece, as the VU fits right in with many of Trice's literary heroes. This is just one more turn on the wheel that is Red Sammy. At this point, Trice has earned the right to head in whatever direction he chooses. Somehow, he always seems to venture into fertile territory. Striking and stirring.

Jon Worley