CD and DVD reviews
A tried-and-true Americana defines Richard Lynch’s elegant “Christmas Time”. Sung with such a deep resonate voice, the piece touches the very soul. Beyond the clear anchor in Americana, he brings pieces of country, rock, pop, and soul into the mix. The melodic richness completely consumes the listener for there is a delicate balance in the…
Kristi Flagg has a rich, musical history that included major touring and opening up for the likes of: Odetta, John Gorka, and the Indigo Girls. Kristi took a long, 25 year break from her busy schedule to focus on other things in her life. Then, in 2018 as if by fate, the microphone found Kristi…
Eugene Cole goes for an easy-going disposition on the soothing soul of “Together Forever In Love”. Vocals take front and center stage for there is a decadence to be felt within the entirety of the work. Done with such glee the track unfurls at its own leisurely pace. R&B, soul, and pop mix into a…
Tearing us asunder with every lumbering strike of the piano keys, we’re drawn closer to a world of melancholic melodicism in the painfully surreal “Coming Home” that is both ominous and strangely fascinating, especially if you’re as appreciative of dark harmonies as I am. The drums kick into place and the bassline starts to rumble…
Uncle Tadashi & Da Boyz feature a beautiful, communal spirit on the optimism of “Distant Dream”. Done with the utmost of dignity there is a lightness to be found within, one that touches the very soul. Instrumentally kept light on its feet, the song has a fragile, delicate balance about it. The amount of sunshine…
Daxton sings with heart and soul on the powerful “Otherside”. A strong bluesy quality dominates much of the work. Sung with tremendous fire to it, the rest of the band works wonders in accentuating the power of his words. The way it all comes together lends it a certain pathos for the word choice helps…
A minimal yet affectionate take on futuristic R&B, Leol provides a real passion on the intense “Savages”. The sound has a crystal clarity about it. Production has a great glimmering sheen about it making sure that every single detail matters. His voice is mixed front and center with a degree of pure love for the…
Scott Waters opens his album, Vibes For Miles, with “Love Is Gonna Find You,” and the optimism suggested by that title doesn’t lag much for the eleven songs on this consistently positive album. The lyrics to this album-opener, borrow from The Bible (“love is patient and kind”), as well as pantheism, in that God is…
Tar and Flowers blooms with a majestic, classic sound on the expansive “Western Symphony”. Sounds soar up into the heavens. A clear love for the psychedelic informs the entirety of the experience. Elements of spaghetti westerns, world music, indie rock, and ragas emerge throughout. By far the highlight comes from the soothing, smooth lived-in vocals…
Bob Dylan famously sang “the times they are-a-changin’” in 1964, giving way to a new style of American folk and poetry. Laura Sumner takes a cue from the famed songwriter and molds together the worlds of pop music and Americana in her new hit “American Man”. WEBSITE: https://www.laurasumner.com/ A masterful storyteller and magnetic singer, Sumner…
Elsewhere are, in some ways, a band from an earlier time. Their sound is thoroughly modern, they aren’t moored to the past in any way, but the artistic spirit behind this band adheres to a much different aesthetic. Elsewhere comes across as everyday people gifted with the ability to convey their thoughts and feelings through…
Aggression is where rock n’ roll began. Before there were music videos or even watching players on television, a desire to release was driving the gods of rock n’ roll into the theatre of creation like no one had ever known before, and it’s in this spirit that we find the new single “Am I…
Hello London sings straight from the heart on the shaggy dog style of “Stay That Way”. There is a clever mixture of lo-fi, folk, and indie rock that gets filtered into their unique vision. So much soul resides within this four-tracker. Done with such care and dignity there is a loveliness to be found in…
Frank Viele is a talented singer-songwriter, guitarist & performer and he has outdone himself with his latest EP titled ‘Time Is A Thief’. This project was spawned during the pandemic where Frank Viele realized time is much too valuable to waste. So, Frank put his pen to the test and started writing songs about the…
The title to Russell James album, Feel Your Pain, is a heck of a proposition. How many times have you heard someone say, ‘You could never feel my pain.’? One person can never fully feel another’s pain. Yes, we may offer to walk in another’s shoes, as a sort of social courtesy, but we never…
You can tell right away that Mark Joseph isn’t living the high life during the title track to his “Vegas Motel” release. Las Vegas is famous for its lavish hotel resorts. Many of these maximum occupancies are like small cities. They intentionally make it so guests don’t really need to leave their premises to get…
Longtime music listeners will relish the outright ambition on display here. BD Gottfried has a plethora of melodic skills at his disposal, sings like someone who knows well how to entertain large audiences, but he has something meaningful to say as well. Many of Onion Doves’ thirteen songs have a pronounced social consciousness though Gottfried is far…
The Insufferable Paul Scott? Hardly. Insufferable Nickelback, for sure, as well as – of course – severely insufferable Milli Vanilli. Paul Scott, however, knows how to create catchy, enjoyable pop-rock. He doesn’t bludgeon us, the way Nickelback does, nor try and fake it, as we all know Milli Vanilli got caught doing. Tea and Medals…
Austin’s Undermine is labeled cow punk on the group’s website. The term “cow punk” brings to mind old SoCal acts like Blood on the Saddle or Nashville’s Jason & the Scorchers. However, the act’s single, “Frost,” sounds like cow punk without the cow part. This track jumps right off with charging guitar chords and equally…
“What’s It Gonna Be” is a long song by singles standards, at 4:44. It’s a sultry R&B tune, featuring Rebecca Jade and some backing vocalists. With its horn-like backing instrumentation, “What’s It Gonna Be” sounds a little like an Earth, Wind & Fire song. It’s upbeat, but more thought provoking than dance inducing. Lyrically, this…
Some albums take a little time to grow on you, whereas others attach themselves and cling to you like a small child does to his/her mother. When New York Is Drowning is just such parentally bonding work. This Brooklyn-based act has created one crack-like addictive sonic substance with this one. While the quartet’s influences are…
Conceptually speaking, there’s really nothing elaborate about what Chukwudi Victor Otubelu is producing in the new single “Run Up My Bands.” From top to bottom, this is the kind of trap song that speaks to formulaic standards in the genre today more than it does the rebelliousness of its critically acclaimed past, but within that…
The first song that really strikes you on Steve Williams’ Surrey Road is called “Colours.” It begins by asking why we can’t have simple conversations anymore. It’s sung honestly and stream of consciously, like a – well – simple conversation. Although this is not an all-political topic album, this one song, nevertheless, will grab your…
The Orange Goodness is hyperactive rock act, so Flying Under The Radar Of Chaos is an appropriate title for the act’s five-song EP. The listener gets the feeling this music might go off the rails at any minute. Listening to it is the equivalent to that first energy drink of the morning. The trio mostly…
An ambient-dance bliss to behold, Earth To Abigail’s heartfelt ambient hues of “The Forest” are stunningly beautiful. Radiant colors pop throughout. The usage of found sounds and field recordings help to establish a sense of place within the work. Delicate touches further add to the fragile sense of geography within the work. Every track plays…
Fires of Denmark music will likely appeal to fans of post-punk, as well as Kraftwerk’s synth-pop inventions. This music is synth based in many places. It’s also rather dark throughout. Best of all, Relativity is an adventurous eight selection release. The album was tracked over a week’s time at a Frank Lloyd Wright house, which…
There’s just enough of a pressurized swell from the piano in the new single “Sweetest of Melody” for me to call the song the easiest-going of anything I’ve been listening to in the last few months, but you’re crazy if you think the performance Rina Chanel is giving here is solely about turning in a…
Bo Baskoro’s latest EP release Wildfire accomplishes more in six tracks than many of his contemporaries and peers achieve in two albums. Portland, Orgeon’s Baskoro debuted in 2016 and has released several singles and EP’s since then with clear growth defining each new outing. Wildfire hews close to many of his long-established songwriting and performing strengths, namely his emotive…
Synth pop outfit Babe Club’s new single “That Feeling” revolves around the duo of Jenna Desmond and Corey Campbell but boast a full-band sound. Campbell and Desmond initially met during their college years and began collaborating then. The pair later joined Americana influenced act Susto and this experience exposed their skills to a larger audience…
A duality of sorts informs the plethora of ideas that flow from Jasper “The Jazzmaster” Myers’ totally immersive double album “Juggernaut/Colossus”. One of those rare feats that brings the past and present together while pushing things forward into the future, there is a density to the sound here. Layers are brought in with care, for…
Beechwood’s new album Sleep Without Dreaming is slated for a January 2022 release and its first single “Front Page News” offers fans of the NYC based four piece a glimpse of the band’s new material. It follows their 2018 release Inside the Flesh Motel with the recent addition of new bassist Jensen Gore but the band’s customary gritty rock…
If you miss 80s electro hip-hop Afroman & Blazar can hook you up with “Step It Up”. As someone who grew up and outright loved this sound, it is a joy to hear a duo pay their respect to that golden age. Volume is a must for theirs is the sort of club throbbing jam…
Andrew Moore features a playful, tropical sensibility with “Look At Me Now”. Everything within it has a grace to it. Stylistically he brings together pop, electro, EDM, and more into this coherent, concise whole. The leanness of the song proves to be a joy for the hooks race through. His delivery has a classic cadence…
The Dead Bolts’ single, “What Gives,” is built around a ringing electric guitar riff, which echoes throughout a 4:27 song. It’s a song where the lyric asks more questions than it answers, but all are important questions that will keep you glued to your speakers/earbuds. The track begins with aggressively strummed acoustic guitar. Electric guitar…
Perfect Mark goes for a highly original, polished piece of folk pop on the gentle “Better Days”. Lyrics here have a soulfulness to them for the verses flow out with such kindness. A reassuring sensibility rest deep within the very DNA of the work. Word choice proves to be impeccable with even a bit of…
Vicious Kitty isn’t slothful in their presentation of a sludgy riff at the start of their new single “Mr. Darkness,” but it can be said that they’re taking their time letting all of the distortion ooze out of the amplifiers in the most Seattle way possible. Back in the day, when the likes of Tad…
Rob Massard’s music has been described as progressive folk, which is a somewhat apt label. There are moments during album’s opener, “I Hang On Every Moment,” where the track’s instrumental part sounds like a Coldplay song – only a little gentler. Everything on this seven-song effort, however, is melodic and memorable. Massard sings with a…
Rev Peter Unger is backed up by a wonderful, tender big folk band style with “Small Gestures”. Lyrics have a lived-in presence to them, reflective of a life explored to the fullest. The focus on relationships, the way they slowly grow feels particularly deft. Nothing here is overlooked for the way that love works is…
The vocal duo Lavendine’s single “Here to You” is the latest in a string of singles that have made a name for Jana and Jacy Ayers. They are considered among the indie scene’s best singers, but such praise doesn’t go far enough. These twin sisters are among the best vocalists working in modern music today,…
I’m so happy to hear this multi-talented singer/songwriter from the Phoenix, AZ area continue to grow stronger each time I hear her sing. I am not kidding when I say that Sophie Dorsten gets better and better with each new release and her newest song, “Receipts” is proof of that. It just blows me away…
