Tess Arkels
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Tess Arkels

Band Pop Singer/Songwriter

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This band has not uploaded any videos

Music

The best kept secret in music

Press


"Indie-Music.com"

Tess Arkels has got a bluegrass sound married perfectly with an upbeat rock genre, making it a sort of country music for the big city. Urban dweller and country folk alike can enjoy the album’s easy-on-the-ears texture. Tess Arkels gives a lot of herself to the album, “Orphan of the Heart” through her clever songwriting. The album’s accompaniment is strong, and most of the instrumentation impressive. The lyrics are at times disappointing, but the messages in each tune are always appropriate.

Little bits and pieces throughout the CD really make it the success that it is. For example, in the second track, “Into the Light” a hypnotic-melodic bass immediately demands the attention of the listener. The band’s performance catches the listener’s attention in the fifth track, “Fine Grey Line” with the addition of a jazzy saxophone solo. Further, “Wasn’t it Me” has smooth harmonica additions, and is embellished with country-toned guitar part that makes the listener feel like they’re back in the old country. All-in-all, Tess Arkels has put together a very respectable disk.
- Alexandra Press


"Louisville Music News"

New Albany, Ind., resident Tess Arkels leans into this set gently but forcefully, combining a sultry voice with solid songwriting - and excellent musicianship -- for a better-than-average result.

What kind of music is this? Good question. It's part rock, part folk, part pop, part blues ... OK, well, it's guitar-based with occasional horns, fiddle and mandolin, plus a little pedal steel. (Darn!) OK, perhaps it's best to note that Arkels' supporting cast comes highly recommended: Tim Krekel, Steve Cooley, Scot Payne, Peter Rhee ... you get the picture.

I suppose what I'm saying is that this disc has a very Louisville/Americana rock feel. If you like Krekel's music, you'll like this.

Now down to the good stuff: Arkels blazes out of the gate with the title track. Krekel's lead guitar leads the way for Arkels' intense vocal (think Bonnie Raitt without the crackle) and she serves up her lyrical warning with heartfelt abandon: "You can talk to me and never know me too well/and you'll never know just exactly what it is I feel/You can look at me or what you think you see/But baby you'll never be able to see me through."

"Joe's Song" (another Arkels composition) works similarly, but delivers the sad story with a more lighthearted approach. Krekel again lays down a precise and perfectly tailored lead guitar to complete the package. (Really, you have to hear this to appreciate it.)

Now, admittedly, not all the tracks herein live up to the aforementioned two. "Relative," for instance, although not a bad song at all, just doesn't work as well as it might. This might be a simple case of a song that needed to cook just a little longer. Payne contributed two solid numbers to the album, while Scott Robinson and the late Bob Maples each contributed one. But overall Arkels sounds as if she prefers to sing her own music (see the melancholy "Conscience" for further evidence).

Perhaps, if "Orphan of the Heart" is truly autobiographical, her collaborators just don't know her as well as she knows herself. Whatever the case, Orphan is worth a listen.
- Kevin Gibson


Discography

Orphan of the Heart

Photos

Feeling a bit camera shy

Bio

Tess is a native of Louisville, Kentucky and currently performs in the Louisville and Southern Indiana area at singer/songwriter-focused events.