DIY / Homemade Band formed on a rooftop from New York Skyfactor just released their latest effort entitled “Signal Strength” in 2013. Band members are: Bob Ziegler (vocals), Jon Rubin (Guitars), Cliff Rubin (Bass) and Jason Taylor (Drums). Musical comparables for me include: Ben Harper, Amos Lee, Xavier Rudd and Fistful of Mercy. Track 1 “Carry the Load” sets the stage well for a consistent and uplifting musical journey. With this album, expect soul-stirring harmonies and at times a jagged Alternative Rock style. Straight away it’s clear to me these 11 tracks are an imaginative return to humour-laced song writing fused with the better musical touches of today Alternative Rock all with the power and emotional intrigue of vintage Singer/Songwriter. Today’s music has many people feeling of bit of soullessness — how appropriate I get a CD by an artist like Skyfactor which is in itself a real jolt to the senses. The album begins in hooky fashion with the magnificent ‘Carry the Load”, Here’ We Go” and “Wake Up” 3 brilliant exercises in self reflection laden with hooky vibe and impressive vocal delivery from Ziegler. All songs transfers well into your own world. The only surprise is that one of these 3 opening tracks wasn’t a single, as they are radio friendly songs of the highest order. ‘Come Away” follows and is a pleasant emotional journey through a College Indie Rock passion play. This track is sure to touch some. Rocked out ‘Not Alone” explodes in ones face showcasing this band as a moving and grooving unit with a hot to the touch guitar driven song with a rocked out chorus. In the end a band like Skyfactor is a real breath of fresh air compared to what’s out there right now. Like I had mentioned earlier “Signal Strength” is a real shock to everyday musical system presently in place. Out of the whole album, 4 songs are in the category of brilliant, 6 of them are good, and there are only 1 I’d find myself wanting to skip in rotation. I wouldn’t be surprised to see Skyfactor’s popularity continue to grow as it did in my own household during the years to come.
Release Date (2013)
Locale: New York
URL: http://www.skyfactor.com/
Rating 4/5 Stars
Top Tracks: Carry the Load, Here We go, Wake Up, Not Alone
Rating 8.5/10 Stars
Purchase Link: http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/skyfactor1
Clay Burton edited by Heather Savage
Review comments — heathresavage5@gmail.com
