Download the title track for free, for a limited time......
click the pic to go to my website and listen and/or download the whole thing!

Here's the latest round of reviews for the Giraffe Attack Collection and the Two Wine Glasses (5 song) single I recently put out.

http://pressherald.mainetoday.com/story.php?id=279208&ac=Go
http://thephoenix.com/Portland/Music/89837-Falling-fast/?page=1#TOPCONTENT
http://thephoenix.com/Portland/Music/89837-Falling-fast/?page=1#TOPCONTENT

Here's some pics by Cara Slifka posted to Maine Today.
http://www.mainetoday.com/photoalbum.html?id=9179


See you soon!!

It's a Fine Old World

Downeast Magazine  May 2009 -  Kathleen Fleury

Ray LaMontagne might be Maine’s most famous singer/songwriter right
now, but the state has a slew of young artists poised for future fame.
One of the most promising is Portland resident Eric Bettencourt, a member of the popular local trio Giraffe Attack. Fine Old World (Shadow Shine Records, www.eric-bettencourt.com,
$9.99) is Bettencourt’s widely praised debut album. Featuring mostly
original tracks and one rare LaMontagne cover, Fine Old World meanders
through a range of styles and sounds, a journey punctuated by the title
track performed in three parts. Bettencourt’s raspy voice enchants
listeners on softer songs such as “Sweet Elise” and exudes personality
on the more forceful ones like “Uniform.” From bluesy rock to folksy
funk, the styles on this debut album demonstrate Bettencourt’s varied
influences — and his deserved place as a rising star in Maine’s music
scene.

http://www.downeast.com/node/9851

Portland Press Herald CD Review
AIMSEL L. PONTI

Wow. Eric Bettencourt's got quite a voice on him. It's potent pleasure. With a sweet rasp and distinctive timbre, Bettencourt's solo debut "Fine Old World" (Shadow Shine Records) has sparked an interest the likes of which I haven't heard since, I don't know, Ray LaMontagne or Jason Spooner.

"Sweet Elise" is a dreamy '60s-folk-sounding tune that makes me think happy Simon and Garfunkel thoughts.

"The Plan" is a bitter but empowering account of a dude whose heart's been thrown out with the bath water: "Need no one to criticize and weigh me down with heavy eyes/ Wave a wand and put me in my place/ What you see is what you get, there ain't no point in changing it/ Perfection, she's a busted fairytale," sings Bettencourt.

Speaking of LaMontagne, another groovy track on "Fine Old World" is Bettencourt's take on LaMontagne's little known song, "I Wish I Could Change Your Mind."

So now that we're clear on the fact that EB's CD-release show is gold-star-worthy, let me tell you that many of the players on the album will be on stage with him. This includes Chuck Gagne and Nate Cyr from Dominic and the Lucid. Also on the docket is Bettencourt's band Giraffe Attack. Ease on down the road to www.eric-bettencourt.com, click the tunes tab and go for it.

Eric Bettencourt CD-release show with Strange Pleasure, Giraffe Attack and Pete Miller. Doors 9 p.m. Saturday. The Big Easy, 55 Market St., Portland. 21 and older. Tickets at Bull Moose Music stores or www.brownpapertickets.com.
  online link


Wenatcheeworld
Abby Holmes

One of the most thrilling things for music lovers like me is to discover a great artist or band that nobody else knows about. Well, not exactly “nobody,” but certainly not the world over, either. Well, the new year’s barely begun, and I’ve already discovered one of those artists.

Maine indie-folkster Eric Bettencourt put out his debut LP, “Fine Old World,” this week. With a catchy blend of road music and beach blues, the 13-track record is like sunshine for the ears. Besides providing an original and refreshing set of tunes, Bettencourt also has a way with words; his lyrics are a bit superior to what a person would expect from someone with such little recognition. But everyone has to start somewhere, and I’m here to give him a little boost.

Bettencourt is also the lead singer and guitarist for the Portland, Maine, trio Giraffe Attack, which plans to release its debut album later this year. One way or another, Bettencourt will make a name for himself, and it’s probably not far off.
Online Link:  online link

'Fine' delivery

January 7, 2009
Eric Bettencourt
Fine Old World
self-released 

Click to hear: "Sweet Elise"

Playing across many a sunny New England town green this coming June: Fine Old World, the sticky sweet debut solo album by Giraffe Attack singer/guitarist Eric Bettencourt. Though the record is being released this month, this is summer music, an unapologetically sunny collection of 13 bluesy rock songs.

Bettencourt has a tire-spinning-in-gravel vocal delivery, an audacious choice of timbre with which he can howl in homage to the smokier-voiced Ray LaMontagne and conjure "Me and Bobby McGee"–era Janis — sometimes, as on "The Plan," during the same righteous romp. Shannon Hoon used a similar rasp to great effect with Blind Melon, but Bettencourt is painting a new kind of pop context for the familiar growl.

When writing about love, Bettencourt's approach is more bonfire than bedroom. He tends to use the collective "we," and sounds most comfortable in front of vast and beautiful chorales of backing vocals, as on the album highlight "Sweet Elise." In "Delaney," he urges his companion to "spread all of your light on everyone." These songs are all-inclusive invitations to simply groove along.

Bettencourt draws from a seemingly bottomless well of middle-wiggling licks. His feel for the guitar neck brings to mind masters like Duane Allman and Mark Knopfler. From the subtle slide meanderings in "It's Over" to the circus-Goth of "Uniform," his playing doesn't feel retro so much as a revitalization of what's worked before.

The one gripe I have with this brisk and confident album is Bettencourt's penchant to get lazy with the lyrics, as he does on the title track, oddly presented here in three separate parts. After casting the world as "funny", "ugly" and other such meaningless generalities, he uses four very's to describe just how "fine" this old world is. The clichés don't help his cause, but it's easy to be won over by this very fine debut.

— Mike Olcott

Eric Bettencourt plays a CD release party on Sat., Jan. 10, at The Big Easy, 55 Market St., Portland, at 9 p.m., with Strange Pleasure, Giraffe Attack, and Pete Miller. Tix: $5-$7 (21+). 775-2266. For more on Bettencourt, visit eric-bettencourt.com. 

"Fine Old World" by Eric Bettencourt (Shadow Shine Records)

CD Review by Bob McKillop

When you listen to this CD, you will mostly remember Eric Bettencourt 's vocals.  There is something unique and delightful about the slightly hoarse timbre, the creative dynamics, the subtle, but distinctive, smart-ass smirk in his delivery.

No, on second thought, you will probably be struck by Eric's guitar work.  Buttery acoustic tone, fine finger style work, clear, clean electric riffs behind the scenes, and inspired electric and acoustic lead work in the breaks.

Or will it be the songwriting?  Or maybe the production and arrangement?

OK, I give up.  I can't decide what's best about this record.  It's all good; you'll just have to decide for yourself.

The title track is an enigmatic trilogy, with a section at the beginning, one in the middle, and one at end of the album.  The production gets increasingly full from one movement of this song to the next.  This tune is a collection of vignettes from many people's lives.  We witness times of decision and change and counter-point, a sampling of the good, the bad, and the ugly in our existence.  It is ultimately a song of acceptance of the world for what it is, and a celebration of our existence, for it's own sake.

"Delaney" sounds like Bare Naked Ladies on vacation in the Caribbean.  It opens in a breezy Latin beat, with acoustic strumming and electric riffs in the background.  There is an interesting backbeat on the lyrical meter.  The chorus runs into a different rock/folk rhythm, then a silky lead break on slightly distorted electric guitar melts back into the Latin beat of the third verse.  The lyrics are a celebration of a lovely woman with a lovely spirit. She doesn't understand how the world loves her.  The theme is not deep, but this is a fun and breezy track.

A low, harmonic pedal tone draws us into "Burning up", and yields to a great strummed riff that defines a catchy melody.  As in many of Eric's songs, the rhythm and beat of the track is constantly changing, evoking a variety of moods and themes.  There is a hymnal, choral quality in the bridge, which then swings into another of Eric's great little lead breaks.  The lyrics conjure up a story of a crash, a burn, and a rising from the ashes, a second chance, and a passionate offer of help.

I think "The Plan" is a great song.  It's groove is sort of a cross between the 1950's era hit, "Young Love" and "The Lion Sleeps Tonight" – sounds a little scary, but it works.  The main components are a beefy acoustic guitar strum, a subtle base line, and a nicely reverberated snare drum.  The lifting register in the chorus is a nice contrast to the flat melody in the verses.  Eric's distinctive vocals bleat out a lament about being used and abused in a relationship. 

 

 

"If I learned it once I learned it twice

You can't stare down a block of ice

In the puddle floats a painful memory;

I'm holding on and counting sheep

Forgetting how it feels to sleep

Only to face another dreary day"

Eric's songwriting and production lift a lot of stuff out of the 1970's songbooks of The Beatles, The Kinks, Paul Simon, Van Morrison, and The Rolling Stones.  These tunes are fun to listen to; there are lots of lyrical and melodic hooks, a lot of change-ups in the instrumental textures and beats.  Eric is very creative in his arrangements and his production work, and the variety in these tracks prevents boredom from creeping in as you listen to the entire album.  He has definitely designed it as an odyssey to be enjoyed from beginning to end.

Eric includes a nice cover of an obscure Ray Lamontagne tune, but otherwise, he wrote all of these songs.  He spread the engineering around between four local Maine studios, but takes production credit for himself.  Eric has been working on this album for three years, so you know it's all his.  He got some great help, though, from the likes of Ryan Cyr (drums), and also from Chuck Gagne (drums) and Nate Cyr (bass) of Dominic and the Lucid (Dominic contributes backing vocals in "The Plan" and appears in "The Toys of War" as part of a soldier chorus.)  Kyla Morse and Alison Violette provide backing vocals on several tracks, and Leah Finkelstein plays piano on "Uniform".

The CD release party for this album is on January 10, 2009, at The Big Easy, and most of the contributors will be there.  Opening is Pete Miller, a singer/songwriter who many of you have enjoyed around town lately, followed by Strange Pleasure .  After Eric's set, an appearance by Eric's band Giraffe Attack is not out of the question.

Details on ordering the album are forthcoming (it will certainly be available at the launch party).   Individual MP3 tracks are currently available on Eric's webpage.  You can stay up to date by visiting the website of Shadow Shine Records, a record label launched by Eric in the past few months.  "Fine Old World" is the label's first release.

This album has been a long time in the making, and in my opinion, it has been worth the wait.  Chase it down!

online article: http://mainefolkmusic.com/member/reviews/2008/20081216_review_bettencourt.php

Saturday, January 10th 2009 at the Big Easy, I will be celebrating the release of my long overdue album Fine Old World.  Opening the show will be up and coming performer Pete Miller and my all time favorite group of dysfunctional rockers, Strange Pleasure. There may even be a bit of a set from my main band Giraffe Attack at the end.

The cover will be $5 ahead of time, you can buy tickets directly from me or at Bullmoose Music in Portland.   At the door, the night of the show, the cover will be $7.  This is a 21+ show.

Helping me to recreate Fine Old World in its entirety that night will be:
Dan Capauldi (The Cambiata)
Chris "The Cheese" Chasse (Giraffe Attack)
Jamie Colpoys (Dominic and the Lucid)
Richard Corson (Strange Pleasure)
Nate Cyr (Dominic and the Lucid)
Ryan Cyr (Giraffe Attack, Strange Pleasure)
Chuck Gagne (Dominic and the Lucid)
Kyla Morse
Sara Hallie Richardson

The entire night is going to be professionally recorded by Jack Murray of Odds Are Productions and filmed by Flat Foot Film so if your feeling it we'd love to have you wear your favorite semi formal garb.  

This night also commemorates the launch of Shadow Shine Records, a record label I have recently started to help not only my own music get gain an audience but also to help the many artists I have been recording and producing albums with.   Expect much more from Shadow Shine in the future but for now check out the web page for what is going on now at www.shadowshine.com.  

Dylan Verner will be selling prints of "Nibiru Rising Over Tin Mountain" the art used on the Cd cover.  

Also songs are now for sale and listening on my website www.eric-bettencourt.com.   At least have a listen and let me know what you think.