CD and DVD reviews
“Hey Siri!” I must say that statement more than a couple of times a day, yet never when singing along to a tune that turns that phrase into a hypnotic hook. That was until Chris St. John released his latest in a string of singles, ‘Hey Siri’. Chris St John has been going from strength to…
Blind Uncle Harry’s unique brand of ‘hillbilly hippie shreddin’ folk rock’ just keeps getting better and better of late. His latest single ‘American Way’ is an effortless evolution of his folk-infused sound. This single comes off the back of his previous release ‘Song For Kori’ — a delicate depiction of an unjust and broken system…
For more cynical audiences, it would be easy to write off a talented, yet recycled singer, Kiara Chettri, as just another Pop creation. However, with her new single, “Falling,” she isn’t taking an entirely conventional approach. Kiara Chettri recently appeared on the cover of Rolling Stone India, which of course is her native country. At…
There must be a connection between the rapper, Catfish Walkin’, and The Walking Dead (TV show). This Cleveland rapper titles his album, “Back From The Dead.” He’s Walkin’, and back — or so he says – from the dead. His minimalist single is titled “16 Bit,” and it’s an explosive blast of hip-hop. This track’s…
Cory M Coons sings of faith with a touch of Americana on the soulful steady rhythms of “Freedom Road”. The exploration of patriotism through a religious lens helps to truly capture the spirit of the vast land. Geography is implied here, from the gentle gait of the drums to his voice’s reassuring croon. Layers are…
One of Cecy Santana’s many five-star qualities I love is her understanding of her place in a musical lineage. She views herself as the next logical step for a genre producing such era-defining talents as Gloria Estefan, Lady Gaga, and Sade, among others. Her musical output definitely bears this out. URL: https://cecysantana.com/ Santana is building…
Certain kinds of charisma just can’t be taught, no matter how willing the pupil or even how capable the teacher happens to be, and if there’s one rapper rocking a charm that is all his own this season, it’s ALYST. ALYST’s new single “Gleeming” with Affluent Oscar Sanchez has been scoring a lot of attention…
A passionate, playful piece Ed Roman brings bursts of color into the neon-hued gorgeousness of “Happiness”. The careful mixture of pop, electro, and country into a satisfying whole feels magnificent. Everything here pops from the drums to the joyous melody. By far though the greatest amount of unbridled joy emerges with his distinct, compassionate lyrics.…
I’m a sucker for good singer/songwriters who play a mean acoustic guitar and Bruce T. Carroll fits that bill to a T! This new album by Bruce T. Carroll is called ‘First Bird To Sing’ and features eight amazing songs. With elements of Folk and Americana, Bruce puts together an original blend of music that…
Love stands the test of time in the new contemporary pop track, “Olivia”. From singer/songwriter (and medical doctor), Rob Alexander, the smoldering guitar and erupting beat runs alongside an intoxicating vocal. Where many indie artists aim, few hit the mark from which Alexander has claimed stake. And if you think he sounds a bit like…
Tanner Gordon – ‘Empty Promises’ A soulful slice of Americana, Tanner Gordon pours his heart out with “Empty Promises”. The western twang seems to nod towards the endless expanse of America, the way it goes on for miles upon miles. With this his lyrics touch upon the dissolution of so many families, the mixture of…
Applying images of ghosts and dreams, Damon Mitchell fills his Like You’re In a Dream album with plenty of pleasing folk-rock vibes. Songs like “Dance With Me” are colored by winningly jangly electric guitar, which recalls some of the lighter moments from the Eagles. The results are both nostalgic and relevant. Mitchell’s music is described…
After recently revisiting Arcade Fire’s highly personal 2010 effort, The Suburbs, it was intriguing to learn one of the aspects, fans found so appealing about it. The album celebrates the idea of long-term, committed relationships, and many lauded it for doing so. The new single from musical journeymen, King Cole, “Your Story Is Mine” is…
2021 has been an amazing year for singer/songwriters in the pop/rock genre, and if you ask most critics – myself included – they’ll tell you that indie players like Stuart Todd Whitworth are the biggest reason why. After years of slaving away at the recording process, Whitworth delivers a watershed release in his new album…
Solomon King, leader of The Chosen, is a bit of a complicated musician. The No. 5 album includes a wide variety of styles, and King just will not be pinned down to just any one. The nine-song album concludes with “Xena’s Blues,” a blues work, but there is so much more than just the blues…
This new release, “You’re Not There”, offers professional music at its finest. Lorenzo Gabanizza and Jeff Christie really put their stamp on this new song with one phenomenal performance overall. “You’re Not There” is music done right and listeners everywhere will be pleased to hear this terrific single. Lorenzo Gabanizaa handles lead & backing vocals…
Major Spark is the perfect name for this band because right out of the gates, the energy is electric! This band is fronted by Mark Goodman, leader of ‘90s indie/alt rock band MAGNET and also includes Velvet Underground drummer Moe Tucker along with many other talented musicians contributing to ‘Beautiful Noise’. This new release from…
It’s always music to my ears when I get a chance to take in an original composition that is like nothing else I’ve ever heard. And ‘Soul Pilgrimage’ by Tim Reynolds & Michael Sokolowski is just that with an overall sound you won’t hear anywhere else. Refreshing to say the least, ‘Soul Pilgrimage’, will invigorate…
Right away as soon as I hit play on this new release by The Greg Sherrod Music Company I am receiving an overload of energy coming from Greg Sherrod. Greg’s enthusiasm on this record is enjoyable to hear and so the answer to the question ‘Do You Feel It’ is a resounding YES! The Greg…
The somewhat aleatory, “Why” is the newest single by the defiant Rapper, known as Ronnue. You wouldn’t expect an artist like Ronnue to be one for mystique, but that is precisely the case to some degree. “Why” features Figuz, and a host of other elements, once you begin doing a deeper dive. As simple and…
With her voice as the guiding light in the melodic darkness that surrounds her, Meghan Krauss launches into her single “This is Gonna Hurt” sounding like she’s got nothing to lose. There’s a fearlessness to her voice that’s present even when she’s lamenting the past in the opening verses, and as we get deeper in…
Shaun Johnson + the Big Band Experience tells you everything that I could summarise about this class act in the name itself. You’ve got Shaun Johnson, the Emmy award winning vocalist who shot to fame with the vocal group Tonic Sol-fa. Then you’ve got a Big Band boasting musicians who have toured with the likes…
There’s something refreshingly nostalgic about listening to Damon Mitchell. Whether it’s the hint at his Beatles influence or the Death Cab for Cutie suggestions that are sprinkled throughout his sound, Damon Mitchell discography is swimming in an unforgettable flair. His 2009 debut EP ‘Elise’ is a prime example of this, yet Damon has been refreshing…
Barrett Martin imbues his jazz with a post-rock flavor on the tasteful “Stillpoint”. Playing here has a nice spirited presence to it featuring exquisite horns. Without needing to say a word a whole narrative comes into view one with such staying power. By deftly sidestepping trends, Barrett embraces a sound that has a timelessness to…
Right away the first thing that hits me is Anne D’s wonderful singing voice to go along with an excellent melody on “Wouldn’t Last”. This is Anne’s latest single from her album titled ‘Two Words’ and to me it’s a BIG hit! I am hearing great-sounding guitar and vocals that shine like bright stars on…
Mixing the kerosine fueled riffs of a punk guitar and the power pop vocals of a sun kissed rock band, Chris Wilis quenches those last weeks of summer craves for hot hooks and anthemic rises in the new hit “All American”. Feverishly fun and a quick rapport, “All-American” enthusiastically tells the tale of a ‘what…
I am ecstatic to get the chance to review this new release by Tracy Walton because I remember him from the duo Belle of the Fall and have been a fan ever since! Tracy Walton is riding solo on this project and giving us a musical glimpse into the world of “Small Town America”. This…
Kate Magdalena embodies the beauty of bluesy 60s folk with the lovely “Canyonlands”. The instrumental creativity within it has a splendor, pastoral in nature. A sheer force of nature at times, her voice rises above the rest of the din. Sung with such determination there is a clear-eyed gaze to the piece. Rhythms have a…
One song in particular immediately stands out on Moors & McCumber’s Survival album. It asks a very spiritual question, “What Would Love Do Now.” When life gets tough, this is many times the last question on our lips. We’re more apt to ask what revenge would do, whenever we’re wronged. We might query, ‘What would…
The culture of rock and roll was born in American high schools. The earliest practitioners of rock were barely out of high school themselves, and they wrote songs that chronicled the experiences and channeled the great expectations of their audience. Rock fans were high schoolers, and their view of the world was the one you’d…
Isn’t funny how stealing is universally undesirable unless it involves the stealing of a heart? Brian Iannucci’s single, “You Stole My Heart Away” is all about such loving thievery. However, nobody tells their young children, ‘Thou shall not steal, unless it’s a lover’s heart.’ It’s strange how language works. Iannucci’s single, however has nothing to…
FrankySelector’s “Ice Breaker” hails from his latest studio release Never Better and represents a peak moment in Selector’s career trajectory. He’s a multi-instrumental who has played music since an early age and growing up in an intensely artistic household, its focus falling on music, naturally accelerated his development. His tenure as a founding member of Montreal’s Skyjuice…
Josh Christina’s “Weekend Night In America” features a sassy, acoustic piano backing that offers a wonderful throwback to a time when piano men regularly had piano-based singles on the pop charts. Two of the most famous ones were Billy Joel and Elton John. The piano playing on Christina’s new song sounds more like John’s early…
“There Are No Words” is the enchanting single from folk singer Kitty Donohoe. A stunning song that runs parallel to the 20th anniversary of the September 11 tragedies, “There Are No Words” dances along like an ethereal sonic journey. Donohoe’s magical vocal prowess, sewn together with the intricate Irish music bed, caresses the listener like a…
A nice blast of rustic Americana, MoeDeLL sings with soul on “Ain’t That Something”. These vignettes have a lived-in grace to them. By having the rest of the band perfectly punctuate the power of his words, he creates an entire universe that has a raw grit to it. Guitar work is expressive as the phrases…
Hollywood Undead’s one-time touring drummer Matt Oloffson has channeled his energies into a new creative project. He’s assumed the mantle of Billy Hermosa and the first single “Electric Glow” from his EP Wylde Card bodes well for the future of this unexpected project. It opens with bass and a steady pulse with just enough variation…
Instrumentally speaking, you could say that the new single from Robert Minott, “Feel Good,” has all the standard trappings one might expect out of a funkified reggae track. The beat is big, the vocals sweeping, and the rhythm connective in every department that matters, but I don’t know that the arrangement of instrumentation quite qualifies…
Drew Lines is a nationally-recording hip-hop artist who is dropping a hot, new single called “Rise”. “Rise” features Clio Cadence who brings a sort of Pop/Goth vocal twist to the track and adds an element of mystique to the whole set. Drew Lines is from Green Bay, Wisconsin and writing is in his blood! Drew…
The Jeffery Dallet Band, or sometimes referred to as The Dallet Band, returns in 2021 with a new release entitled Acid Tongue. It is the band’s longest studio release to date featuring nine tracks and the larger songwriting canvas never taxes the creativity of Dallet and his bandmates. Their music owes obvious debts, without question, but…
Digital Underground Next Generation — a.k.a. D.U.Nx.G — are bursting onto the scene right now with their synth-soaked single ‘Evolution’. Their sound is rich with slick samples, smooth flows and captivating cadences. Yet it’s not just the music that will have you intrigued, D.U.Nx.G also have a pretty rich history. This revolutionary group is co-headed…
