Let’s be honest for just a second shall we. I get a lot of albums sent my way for review and I mean a lot. Most of them don’t do anything for me. They don’t always get happily placed in the CD player, but the ones that do usually get a three song stay of…
Category: REVIEWS
CD and DVD reviews
Mailman’s Children, Supply and Demand (EP)
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This 4 piece Alternative Rock band from Winnipeg, Manitoba call themselves Mailman’s Children. Their latest release: Supply and Demand is sure to be remembered as one of the more remembered modern Alternative Rock-Pop releases of our time from Canada. Its pure College Rock the way it used to be via full-tilt of playing, hooky grooves…
John Flynn, Heading For The Sun
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Jersey native John Flynn stopped performing just long enough to lay down his debut solo effort Heading For The Sun, a nine-track album encompassing rock, funk & blues. Themes range from Woodstock nostalgia, to avoiding a night in the slammer, to the concept of home and how it transcends material acquisition. Regarding this last theme,…
Zappien, Zappien
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Every once in a while I’ll hear a band that truly defies convention in favor of something which I’ll call ‘art’. Zappien is one of those rare artists that have chosen art over commerce, and with unique results. Zappien’s trappings might be in a misguided critic lumping them into the ‘indie’ label, a term that…
Zookeepers Palace Releases ‘Red Sky Ruminations’
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This 6 piece funk band from the LA area calls themselves Zookeepers Palace. Their latest release: Red Sky Ruminations is sure to be remembered as one of the classic modern funk-Jazz-Pop releases of our time. Its pure funk the way it used to be via full-tilt of playing, hooky grooves and a top tiered sound.…
Mike Colin, Crystal Cage
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A longtime fixture in his hometown’s music scene, Denver native Mike Colin is now releasing Crystal Cage: a ten-track album of alt rock with experimental tendencies. The track “Stepping Stones” is largely founded on an engaging guitar riff with high-distortion. “Let the Good Get Even” is a fine title for a song dealing with people…
LUTHER’S BLUES, WALTER TROUT & HIS BAND
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Journeyman blues guitarist Walter Trout has put together a tribute to blues legend Luther Allison for his 23rd solo release. Walter had been a fan and even got to play with him once before Luther’s untimely death from cancer at age 57. Walter has always been a master at taking his influences and…
Charley and Jesi, Circus
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BIO: Indie pop-rock duo that fuses folk and contemporary songwriting with soulful harmonies. They touch on all styles, fusing genres with each song. Their third studio album, ‘Circus’ was also recorded at the Village Recorder, with the exception of Voodoo Woman, which was tracked at Little Dog Records with Pete Anderson. A number of mentionable…
Class Reunion, Life Goes
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JAD aka Jonathan A. Demas and Shaggy Docious aka Mark L. Sanchez are back for another Class Reunion visit with their latest installment ‘Life Goes’. This time around the duo is hoping for an even bigger turnout with their new release. ‘Life Goes’…on for both JAD & Shaggy D as they hope that…
Cheech and Chong, Animated Soundtrack
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Cheech and Chong were, and probably still are, the kings of humor that’s often drug based and seems quite stupid, while having a definite intelligence to it. They poke fun at society and at themselves — or at least charactures of themselves. Well, really, they are characters who happen to share names with the…
Troy Lindsey, Live At Devil’s Gulch Drinkery
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Live At Devil’s Gulch Drinkery is the fourth album from Troy Lindsey, the world-traveling sky crane worker who was long ago taught guitar by a Wyoming preacher and now records music at the drop of a crane in such venues as Moscow’s Red Square. Yeah, I think it’s a pretty colorful background, too. Anyway, Lindsey’s…
Maxim Senin, The Taming Of The Wolf EP
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Having relocated from Latvia to Long Beach CA, Maxim Senin is a software engineer who took a break from all his coding to put forth his debut EP The Taming Of The Wolf. Every perceivable sound here is made by Senin, who plays the acoustic guitar, piano, ukulele, harmonica, keyboard, and all percussions. Though he…
SOL, Senses
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One might expect 6 piece Funk-Rock band from Maryland SOL to deliver music that could be categorized as somewhat dated. I mean this is 2013 and before I even listened to a single note of music from SOL that’s honestly the impression I got. I expected them to be a kind of 70’s Rare Earth,…
Ajay Mathur, Come See Conquer
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Switzerland might be a strange place to birth an “Americana” artist, but Ajay Mathur’s “Come See Conquer” will undoubtedly have a few heads spinning in confusion… at first glance anyway. The good news is that Ajay’s e.p. is addictive and might make us all believers afterall. The songs are raw, combining world music, 50’s and…
International Nova, Point of No Return
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“Point of No Return” will be released in August 2013. International Nova is signed to Monarchy Records: A division of the Spectra Music Group. I suppose the first thing to mention here is that, the lyrics on some of this might not be for everyone. However, that could be applied to just a lot of…
Steve Ryan, Boundless Moments
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Inverting a quote from a 19th -century poet, Georgia native Steve Ryan is a “dreamer of music, and maker of dreams.” Picking up the piano as a child, then guitar & singing as a teen, he now draws on inspiration that enters his brain while dreaming or in full consciousness. Boundless Moments is his second…
The Black Clouds, Better Days
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Formed in 2004, The Black Clouds of New Jersey have been pouring some Seattle-ish grunge on the Garden State. Their latest release, Better Days, is a rockin’ howl of discontent. The “Intro” offers a melancholy but melodic electric guitar riff with some distortion. “No Reason” starts out with this guttural bass line, then explodes…
Steve Ryan, Boundless Moments
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For fear of being too cliché, lets just agree to agree that fortuitousness often goes to those who see moments and seize them. Such was the case when songwriter Steve Ryan was stood up at a studio by an artist he was to be working with. Left with a block of studio time and an…
Glen Naylor, “A Five O Clock Shadow”
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Coming from the southern part of Australia, Glen Naylor has released “A Five O Clock Shadow,” a song about the universally tragic theme of war casualties. Naylor knows about this subject far better than most: her own husband is a disabled combat veteran. Additionally, her father and grandfather fought in World Wars I and II…
Barbara Kiss, From Me To You
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Barbara Kiss’ debut album on Roadhouse Records showcases a little something for everyone, especially in the pop and rock genres. Barbara is an upcoming artist from Hungary, which was surprising to me considering just how American the title track “Catch Me” sounds, like something Taylor Swift or Pink might record. “And You Are” jolted me…
Canary Burton, Piano Music from Cape Cod
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Drawing on her extensive background and jazz & classical influences, Cape Cod resident Canary Burton has released an album of piano music. Burton and her inspiration have traveled from Idaho to Wash. DC, before settling at the sandy tip of Cape Cod’s Wellfleet, where her melodies might summon the ghosts of shipwrecked whalers from centuries…
Flow Zen, Assorted singles
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California-based multi-musician Flow Zen is going it alone with five new solo tracks, spiking Dub Step with a range of elements from organic instrumentation to Hip-Hop facets, in what is an interesting experiment in electronic music. The drive behind the melding of genres is apparent on the bio page of his web site: “Genres are…
Gatsby’s Green Light, Annalee
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Social awareness and anecdotal storyline come together on Gatsby’s Green Light’s debut EP, Annalee. The six-track album is the forerunner to the larger forthcoming full-length, Forever Smile. The vein of the album follows title character, Annalee and a host of characters she meets that prep her for her dual role of “Mother Earth and the…
My Secret Island, Evil Fire
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I said I was going to get to the bottom of My Secret Island on the last review (http://www.skopemag.com/2012/09/16/my-secret-island-i-miss-the-day-maxi-single), but I have to say that I’m still working on that. Well, what I do have for you though is My Secret Island’s new single and video for “Evil Fire”. Made up of Mark…
AUTOMATIK EDEN, Self Titled
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This is Automatik Eden’s latest self titled debut EP release released in 2013. 2 core members include: Multi-talented Members, David Crocco and Cela Scott Developed the Band While Working behind the Scenes with Top Acts from Eminem and Beck to Incubus Meet the Band: https://www.facebook.com/automatikeden Label: Music Connection Automatik Eden is one release that certainly…
Jiggley Jones, No Spring Chicken
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Music doesn’t have to be loud and insane in order to be awesome. The concept of rock is slowly changing and that’s the case in the sound of acts such as Jiggley Jones, where dirty is changed into clean, and noise disappears for something quite beautiful and inspiring. This can be found in “Baby Blue,”…
The Como Brothers Band, Still Waters
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They have already been helping and producing other artists without yet getting into the real big leagues. When a group does that, you can only expect awesomeness, and in the case of these two brothers, they’re no exception. When you look at these two guys, surely you may expect some cute boy band, some Cody…
The Weekenders, Don’t Plan On
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This might offend somebody, but sometimes the truth can hurt some people’s feelings; but here’s a group that could easily become the next big rock’n’roll band. “Yankee Easy Sugar” from The Weekender’s new album Don’t Plan On kicks off the record in a pretty interesting, powerful way. Their sound is almost like a combination of…
Rick Devin, Old School 2: Rock Hits of the 60s & 70s
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Throwback, Tribute, Compilation, Cover album… whatever you may call it; the premise of contemporary artists doing songs from ago will always be met with mixed reviews. Some revel in a modern-day, revamp version of a classic; purists feel some things need not be tampered with. I approach each (and all covers) from the standpoint of…
Matthias Sturm, Luna Park
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“Progressive Electro-eclectic” may be the most apt descriptor for Paris-based artist, Matthias Sturm’s latest outing. Laced with spots of modern day electronic psychedelica, Luna Park will indeed take listeners to the moon. Diverse instrumentation (live and generated), narrative style lyrical delivery and an eerie ethos to the tracks, makes this one far out and approachable;…
Artist: Chance Hayden – Album: Family Tree
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Most would agree most popular artists out there have something truly special to give to their fans. This goes above the typical attributes like raw talent, amazing songs, nice voice, or even a very marketable look, sound & image. There’s something truly infectious at the core of these artists that simply makes us feel good…
Tryezz – Atmospheres (Art of the Scenic Groove)
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Finding expression through both sonic and visual mediums, the artist known as Tryezz operates with the motto “always a student.” This is a good motto to live by, as people can always stand to attain further mastery in the art or craft they practice. Tryezz believes that “there’s always something to learn…always something new to…
Bulletproof Snow, Punished for my Innocence (EP)
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Bulletproof Snow is a 4 piece Rock band from of all places Detroit, Michigan. This might just be the perfect locale to explore the sad but true, reckless realm of musical expression. Their latest EP release “Punished for my Innocence” is an action packed collection of melodic rock that reveals all the a-typical conventions of…
Riff Action Family – “Doorsâ€
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From the longstanding cultural bastion of Russia’s Saint Petersburg comes Riff Action Family, a band formed in 2009 when, like nihilist radicals of a bygone era, they met in a coffee shop. Instead of political subversion, however, they plotted to perpetrate a brooding alternative rock. Legend has it that the band’s first rehearsal was also…
Armored Theory, Armored Theory (EP)
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Review: In this overly saturated genera/market with a plethora of artists coming out of the woodwork, armed with nothing more than a PC, Microphone, a loud guitar and a crappy sounding CD — it’s nice to know there are a few bands that can still rock out These so-called artists I speak of manage push…
Amie Penwell, Under City Lights
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The first time I heard Amie Penwell was four years ago when I had the opportunity to review her record ‘King in a Temple’ for Skope Entertainment (http://www.skopemag.com/2009/02/20/amie-penwell-king-in-a-temple). I knew then that this talented artist had major potential and that she had a promising future ahead of her. Five years have passed since…
The Diemakers, Detroit Recordings
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Rife with Punk and Rock leanings, The Diemakers have released their new EP, Detroit Recordings with acclaimed engineer, Jim Diamond (White Stripes, The Sights). As of late the band has been in a state of flux with the addition of Sharon Harris, wife of founding member, Dominic Harris. Her presence brings a Punk vibe to…
Richard Tyler Epperson, Falling Between The Stars
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The multi-faceted approach is the best way to describe the new LP from Utah Indie Richard Tyler Epperson. Veins of radio-friendly Pop are there. Strange Electronica a la Radiohead is there. Melodic leanings are there. Five different record stores would all have this in different genres; and they’d all be right. It’s just that diverse.…
David J Caron, Thru Ever Ending Black
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Ireland’s David J Caron, who has already garnered half-a-million combined YouTube views, has released a double-album consisting of 28 tracks. One minute into the track, “It Gathers,” the pace changes greatly, as this ass-whoopin’ guitar riff takes the forefront. The speaker is striving to divine some meaning in the skies: “Look up thru the night…
David G. Cortes, Time Away EP
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Mexican native and Houston resident David G. Cortes went from drums to guitar, to piano, and finally to bass. Having gained proficiency in these four instruments, he also acquired the tech savvy to record each, and then blend them into a vibrant medley for his EP Time Away. “And Then I Met You” has an…
