Somobe - The Great Communication

Ever wonder what happened to hard hitting intelligent hip-hop, without the excessive use of the “n-word”? Back in the day that trail was blazed by hip-hop legends like KRS-1, De La Soul, and a hand full of others. Today’s hip-hop generation of misogyny, cribs, and 24” rims is about to wake up to the debut release from Las Vegas natives Somobe [So-Moby], called The Great Communication.

From the opening track, “Building”, to “Something’s Gonna Happen”, “We Need a Love Song”, and “If I Can’t”, The Great Communication shatters the mold of today’s prepackaged hip-hop. Bangin’ beats, an edgy and highly intelligent lyrical style, a positive message, and sprinkles of other genres on top make The Great Communication a delicious hip-hop delicacy anyone can sink their teeth into.

With lyrics like “Something’s gonna happen I’m not just rappin”, and “cause and effect”, Somobe gets into the face of today’s MCs to challenge the hip-hop nation into taking responsibility for their words and actions. Words can be very powerful, especially to a generation raised by single moms, and few father figure role models to regulate on ridiculous behavior. Somobe smacks some lyrical sense into a generation that seems lost in a sea of stupidity, but knows they deserve better.

For those of you out there looking to live the ‘thug life’, Somobe asks you to, “At least take a moment to learn from the deceased”.

By Gary Jacobs

Earlimart - Mentor Tormentor

Less than a year after work began on Earlimart’s latest album the Los Angeles-based band released Mentor Tormentor, a 15 track album about relationships and self-discovery. The record kicks off with “Fakey Fake” a nice blend of guitar, percussion and breathy vocals, courtesy of Aaron Espinoza, which all develop into an almost anthem-like melody.

Equally noteworthy is “Happy Alone” with lead vocals picked up by Ariana Murray. The piano driven track slowly builds in intensity but doesn’t over power Murray’s beautifully allaying performance. Yet another stand out track is “Don’t Think About Me.” With achy vocals the haunting track gets to the earnest root of love loss.

When artists release an album there are generally two directions they can go in. At times each track may sound completely different with one song being totally detached from the next. This isn’t a bad thing, but there’s something great to be said when an artist can create an album with a sense of cohesion by each track complimenting the next and where a theme for the project exists.

With Mentor Tormentor’s beautiful vocals and intriguing lyrics Earlimart pulls off the latter resulting in a truly masterful piece of work. Earlimart definitely has a signature sound and it can be summed up in one word. Amazing.

By Esperanza Juarez

She Wants Revenge - This Is Forever

Wanna party like its 1985? In the best traditions of industrial/electronic Brit-Pop, California’s own She Wants Revenge carries on the legacy of Depeche Mode to the darkness and debauchery of dance floors across world.

Their sophomore release, This Is Forever, from She Wants Revenge [SWR] gets your juices flowing with a mood molding intro that leads into tales of lovers scorned, beats that will have your hips shaking all night, and an energy that fits the scene perfectly.

Searching for love in today’s complicated world, This is Forever is a lyrical ride reminding us of many different trials in life as we each try to find that perfect someone. From True Romance to She Will Always be a Broken Girl and This is The End, SWR takes you through different relationship experiences that seem to happen to everyone. Whether it’s the one that got away, the one that just pretends, or the one you just couldn’t fix – This Is Forever has a song for all those lost relationships you still think about, and may even “keep you up at night”.

In the end, She Wants Revenge has a message for the ladies out there, on behalf of guys everywhere, “Learn how to be a woman, cuz in the end that’s all I want.”

Review By: Gary Jacobs

Various Artists - Now That’s What I Call Music 26

So how does an artist know when they have crossed the line from mainstream to pop music? That would be when their song appears on this CD. Now That’s What I Call Music has been an awesome outlet for the labels to put 12 – 20 of the hottest and most commercial music all on one CD. If you love MTV or any KISS radio station across the US, you must get this CD. You no longer have to go buy all 20 CD’s or download all 20 tracks you just need 1 CD.

This CD for which I am privileged to now have in my car for my girl is actually pretty good. It’s got a very nice variety of music from various genres. It’s got Kanye West, Fergie, Lifehouse, Soulja Boy, Timbaland, and much more.

Whether or not someone at Skope wants to admit it, pop music is the music of the masses. I am all about the long tail and niche genres but pop music has a place as well. When I listen to pop music I do not want to embellish or look too deep into it. I just want to sing along and dance. That is exactly why I can enjoy this CD. That is also why I have this CD in the car. No matter who is riding with me, I know that there are at least 2 songs on here that they will like. For my girl, those songs are, “Big Girls Don’t Cry” and “The Way You Are.” My favorite cut off the album is Nickelback’s “Rock Star”, great song!

By Stoli Razz

Gallucio - All For You

All For You Gallucio’s debut album on the Cornerless Records label features solid lead vocals and fine guitar work from Anthony Gallucio, strongly backed by a talented band and guests.

Gallucio definitely has its own sound and it works particularly well where the band shows a bit of edge and rocks out on stand-out numbers like “California Jesus,” “Breakin’” and “Crawlin’ Back to You.”

Sometimes, however, the band’s sound seems to get bogged down in some no-man’s land between rock and R&B/blue-eyed soul, often interlarded with too much organ, where the music becomes soggy and ordinary. But the rollicking fun of “The Choir” shows that Gallucio has the potential to put together a mix of rock and soul that can combust with a joyful noise. While the album has its flaws, All For You unveils a band with considerable promise.

By Trebor Lloyd

An Interview with Martin Sexton

Another Song, Another Mile
By Martin Halo

Touring in support of his seventh full-length LP, entitled Seeds, Martin Sexton is rounding out an American tour leg at New York’s Roseland Ballroom in early December.  Fusing acoustic shake with the richness of Americana, Sexton has delivered a pressing of uplifting compositions that cut to the core of an audience searching for a clean mix of musicianship and hook.

Seeds is the culmination of a career spent slugging it out on the road and in an early morning conversation, while in Boston, the day before Thanksgiving, Sexton shares it all. To fully understand how this album is a milestone for Sexton, he starts by rewinding the clock and examining the struggles attached to the journey. 

“I went to Boston to release the music inside of me,” says Sexton in a finely spoken soft tone.  “I had my Stratocaster and my suitcase and I got on an Amtrak train headed north for Boston.  Music was always something I loved.  Back in the 70s when I was a kid would steal records from my brothers and sisters.  Stevie Wonder’s Songs in the Key of Life really lit my fire.  I would put the needle down on Frampton Comes Alive and the sound of the crowd along with the guitar licks on the first couple tunes made me desire music.  I fell in love with the Beatles, ten years after they broke up, along with Led Zeppelin and all that classic rock fed my soul as a kid.”

“But you see,” as Sexton continues, “I grew up in Syracuse, New York and the music scene there was pretty unfruitful.  It was kind of stagnant.  You could play weddings if you wanted to, or lounges but no clubs.  Syracuse is great place to be from but it is just landlocked.  So I had to move to Boston.”

 ”After getting fired from a bunch of jobs I started singing in the streets and in the subways.  I made my living at it for a couple of years,” he offers.

“My intentions back then were simple,” he states, “to get a gig as a front man for a funk band!  Music is the early 90s was loosing the big hair and was becoming more reliant on the groove.  I wore the same pair of Doc Martin’s for eight years and had a pony tail of my own.  Since the funk band thing didn’t pan out I started doing things on my own.”

“Looking back on it, everything that happened in those early years was a blessing; at least I hope they were.  I don’t know where I would be now.  If you want to get down to the truth the real blessing came for me when I failed by real estate exam in Syracuse,” as laughter follows.  ” thought I should get a job, so what better than real estate right?  Well tens years down the road Syracuse is the most depressed real estate market in the nation.”

In the years that followed Sexton would tour the country, driving his own van accompanied by only a tour manager and the revolving sound technician. He released six full-length LPs to boot.  Not bad for a failed real estate broker, and funk band front man.  

“We have been everywhere now twice in North America and in UK touring in support of this record,” in reference to Seeds.  Now the goal is to go once more and hit all of the cities I didn’t get to hit through the legs and then we are going to start recording the next record.”

But with future plans on the horizon the conversation shifts to the conception of the Seeds recording.

“I was playing a lot of piano at the time,” he says.  “There wasn’t any big strife, pain, or loss in my life in the year leading up to writing the record.  This is most likely why the album is filled with light, happy themes to it.  I did basic tracking at a studio in Boston called Q-Division.  We recorded the piano live on the floor.”

“Because I didn’t have lyrics for the verses we scratch tracked the vocals.  I had all of the songs written musically with the choruses but I didn’t have any verses.  To me, that was the hardest part.  I would just improve melodies during takes.  When we did the over dubbing process that was when I wrote the lyrics in my cabin buried in the Adirondacks.   It was different from any recording process I did in the past because I have always written the song first, then practiced, and then recorded them live.  Seeds was the first record where the vocals were not live with the tracks.”

“The spontaneity helped the process a lot.  There are lyrics on the record that just came out which would have never probably been written if I was sitting down with a pen and paper.  There are lines the evoke imagery instead of dictating what you are supposed to see.  I call it the “John Lennon School of Writing,” meaning just make shit up that when heard going by evokes an image.”

The one song on Seeds that is on constant repeat while driving is a roots moan entitled “There Go I,” and Sexton was happy to tell the tale.

“The song ‘There Go I” was co-written by producer Curt Harmon at my house in Massachusetts.  He has worked on most of the records I have ever made and has helped in so many ways.  It was meant to be a list of things we were grateful for.  I wrote it in ten minutes.”

“The song came around because I ran to get some strings at the music store and the guy at the counter was kind of an asshole.  I couldn’t help but talk about it when I returned home and we decided that for the grace of God it could be you or I working behind that counter.  The guy was probably a frustrated musician.  We felt sympathy and I was sitting on amp playing an old Epiphone; it just came out,” Sexton says.

“I mean I am happy not to be laying carpet or anything.  I am grateful to get paid to do music.”

And playing music is just what Sexton does.  Embarking on a Bio-Diesel Bus Tour, the experience is far different than what the self made musician is used to.  “Well this past year of touring has been different because I have a crew and a bus now.  I kind of missed out on some of that road life that I am accustomed to, traveling in my own van and trailer.  I came home from hundreds of thousands of miles of touring and I didn’t even have any physical piece to show for it.  Usually I am picking stuff up, like antiques or at least something,” Sexton says.  “With a bus you are kind of in this little time pod.  You get in it and you wake up in another time zone.  I can’t complain though it was exciting stepping out of the bus right to the backstage door to the club.”

“I am so happy to be on the road because when I am onstage everything is alright.  It feels like I am doing what I am supposed to be doing.  I am content and I am passionate.”

“I have toured with nothing.  Just me in a van with a sound guy, it is not something that can break me.  The bus with the crew is nice but I still love driving around eating barbeque at every stop along the way,” as laughter follows.

To conclude the interview I ask how the artist sees the current state of music revolving around him and he responds, “It is hard for me to say anything without sounding judgmental.  My observation is that… rock n’ roll is a highway.  It is kind of like old route 66.  It started with this beautiful intention with a rebellious nature.  There used to be an exit every once in a while where you could stop and pick up commerce on the rock n’ roll highway.  You know what I am saying? Meaning you could stop every once in a while and buy something along the way.  Now, I wake up in the 2000s and as the sun comes up what I see is an old highway that is filled with commerce; it is the exits for rock n’ roll that are now few and far between.”

Sexton’s plans for the future include the recording of a new LP and an upcoming boat cruise booked alongside John Mayer in February of 2008. 

HIM - Venus Doom

Frontman Ville Valo and his four henchmen are in fine fettle on HIM’s new album from Sire Records. The title Venus Doom conveys the feel of the new album well—darkly voluptuous.

While Valo has commented that the new album is “heavier, doomier and gloomier” than its predecessor Dark Light, Venus Doom is considerably more sprightly than that description may suggest.

Indeed, a large part of the charm of album comes from its varied sonic soundscape including, for example, movements from dramatic grinding metal to more melodious interludes with keyboard and bell-like guitars. The stray thought crossed my mind that if Freddy Mercury has fronted Black Sabbath, the results might have been similar to Venus Doom.

While fans of HIM’s dark side might take this amiss, it’s definitely intended to be a compliment. The Finnish five have put out a real sonic treat here. My personal favorite among the nine tunes is the driving “Dead Lovers Lane” (gotta love that title!).

By Trebor Lloyd

Street Spirit - Take What You Want From It

What motivates an artist to write songs? Where do they get the inspiration to grab a pen and leave their heart and soul on a piece of paper? San Jose-based rap artist Street Spirit transforms his life experiences to create one of the best hip hop CDs to cross my desk in 2007. Smart and sassy lyrics that really tell a story – even the curse words are used selectively to really make an impact on each track. Sure, some of the song themes are common in the rap genre, but Street Spirit has found a way to put his spin on these subjects in a new and fresh way.

Listening to the lyrics transports me to watching a movie in my mind, watching this artist live the words he spits. My favorites include “Dope 101” and “The Testimony” on this stellar seven song collection. The words have not been sanitized, the beats will knock you back a few feet and Street Spirit won’t be apologizing when you begin neglecting the rest of your CD collection while only listening to his music. You’ve been warned. 

By Joseph A. Italiano

Lyken 21 - Mindstream

For fans of precision, technical hard rock and metal, I strongly encourage you to check out Lyken 21. This New Jersey-based quartet seems to draw from influences such as Megadeth and Dream Theater – but they do it in a modern way. Lyken 21 is surely not an 80’s metal tribute band of some sort.

Powerful lead vocals, intelligent lyrics, blistering lead guitar work and a super tight rhythm section are just some of the reasons why this group caught my ear. Highlights include “Colorblind” and “We The Puppets” on this extremely deep CD. If you want to hear the next generation of melodic metal, look no further than Lyken 21.

By Joseph A. Italiano

Random Touch - A True Conductor Wears a Man

Random Touch’s A True Conductor Wears a Man from Token Boy Records is a remarkable album—a brilliantly crafted collage of sounds with its own internal structure and beauty. Powered by conventional, electronic and exotic instrumentation and featuring distorted voices, True Conductor has an exquisite starkness to it, managing to seem both distant, as if piped in from some galaxy wheeling at the fringes of the universe, and yet intimately human as a heartbeat at the same time.

It’s a challenging album, but in the best sense. Give yourself over to it (and give yourself plenty of time) and you’ll find strange and unexpected delights. My personal favorites of the “songs” (I use the term loosely) are the subtly stirring “Getting Ready,” the solemn “Illumination of the Flesh” which begins with a shaman-like incantation, and the troubled and troubling “All the While”.

By Trebor Lloyd

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