Burlap To Cashmere "Anybody Out There?"

Title: Anybody Out There
Category: Alternative
Artist/Group: Burlap to Cashmere
Rating: 4.5 / 5
There was this time around the summer of '98 where I was hanging out over at Dan Ra's place. Dan comes home with this excited look on his face. He looks at me for a second then motions me over and begins to tell me about this new CD he just got. Burlap to Cashmere (B2C) had just released their freshman project, "Anybody Out There?" and he was one of the first to get it.

I remember falling in love with the music almost immediately. The opening track with the funny name, "Digee Dime" has a distinct folk-pop flavor to it (ala Paul Simon) and yet still manages to remain driven. It's quite similar to Jars of Clay who also use acoustic guitar to drive their music. But unlike the Jars who heavily rely on hip-hop drum loops to drive and groove, B2C use Latin flavored pop hooks over Afro-Cuban rhythms. And I guess I'm not the only one who liked it. In 1999, these guys won the song of the year Dove award for "Basic Instructions".

Burlap to Cashmere began when manager Jamison Ernest found two cousins, John Philippidis and Steven DeLopoulos, playing in a New Jersey coffee house. Starting out of Brooklyn, NY in the summer of '95, they began to build the band. Percussionist Scott Barksdale answered an ad in the paper and lifelong friends Mike Ernest (guitar), Theodore Pagano (drums), Roby Guarnera (bass), and Josh Zandman (key boards) were called in to join. The band has deep roots in folk and world music. Combined with arrangements full of nylon and steel strings flamenco guitar. (Check out the guitar solo on "Eileen's Song".)

Over all, I would have to give this CD 4.5 points out of 5. Even though I think this album truly rocks, it did not drastically alter my perspective on music. Nonetheless, I high recommend it as a must have. There are not too many Christian albums like this around. Take care.

Review by Joe Kim

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