If you can get past the cheesy cover and lead-off title track, you’ll discover that Life’s A Party—the new album from Milwaukee singer-songwriter/guitarist Jackie Brown and her band—is a smooth and sophisticated blend of catchy pop, rock and country that deserves a wider audience. Brown’s versatile voice sounds playful (“Gotta Love Me Right”), bluesy (“Time Wasted”) and heartbreaking (the poignant, ready-for-radio “Music Gets Me High”), and her affinity for hooks turns even a song with the Top 40-ish title “Crae Crae” into a clever earworm. Additionally, Brown’s band includes seasoned local musicians, who bring depth to more adventurous songs like the dark “Addicted” and the riff-rocker “Whispering Danger.”
The Jackie Brown Band will perform at 1-5 p.m. Saturday, May 20 at Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin Charity Game Feed at Kelly’s Bleachers Milwaukee, 5218 W. Bluemound Road; and at 9 p.m. at Potawatomi Hotel & Casino’s Bar 360, 1721 W. Canal St.
