CD and DVD reviews
Exotic by design but ultimately born of countrified pride more than it is a sense of adventurousness, “Like It or Not I Love You” is a song that forces listeners to read between the lines. It might not have the poppy swing of the title cut in Hopeless Romantic, or the delicate string tones of “Haunted…
Brian Cooney’s Nothing Greater album is a lengthy one, clocking in at over an hour and including 15 tracks. Stylistically, Cooney comes off a little like a spiritual Billy “Piano Man” Joel. He sings these songs with a sincere vocal tone, all of which feature overtly Christian lyrics. One of the album’s more notable tracks…
“Fearless” will not be to everyone’s taste. Few modern music listeners are likely to give a monologue coupled with an accompanying music track any kind of chance. They would be wrong to do so. The monologue and lyric video for Centineo’s new single is the kind of artistic presentation you scarcely encounter today. He’s clearly…
The Phil Mitchell Band opens its album, A Better World, with the optimistic “Brand New Day.” What follows, is a collection of overwhelmingly positive songs. Some of these feature vocalists outside the band, presumably to give the singing more color and variety. It all adds up to a much-needed emotional shot in the arm. The…
With an album title drawn from the studio where Jude Gwynaire records, his album ‘Music From Slate Bird’ is an extensive collection of music. Twenty-five songs total, in fact. Gwynaire is proud that his long album nevertheless contains a strong organic feel throughout. This is because it includes plenty of ‘real’ instruments, and not just…
We’re only three months into 2021, but it’s already starting to feel like a good year for bluegrass. With scores of new and veteran artists emerging from the shadows of a wretched year lost to pandemic, many fans have been overwhelmed by which records to start with first – however, I can assure you that…
Bongo Boy TV Season 10 Episode 3 featuring music videos from around the world by these featured artists. This TV episode premiers on Tuesday March 2, 2021 in Portland, Oregon on Channel 29 at 10:30pst and is followed by a total of 72+ Terrestrial TV channels rotation in the USA. Besides this heavy TV rotation…
The first thing that comes to mind when considering “Dopesmokers of the World Unite and Take Over,” is its title’s similarity to The Smiths’ song, “Shoplifters of the World Unite.” However, these two songs couldn’t be any more different. While The Smiths’ song is all about finding community among petty criminals. Blind Uncle Harry, in…
Bluegrass is a style that depends on the prowess of its string players more than anything else when it comes to inducing chills in the audience. Delicate and forceful, texturally expressive and tonally present; the mandolin, the banjo, the guitar, the fiddle all contribute a verse of poetry to any given bluegrass performance, but in…
Inspired by a famous Scottish sea cave, Jude Gwynaire’s new instrumental single is comprised of two instrumental parts – both guitars. Gwynaire has said the track is intended to evoke sadness and dreaminess, among other emotions. It is pretty music and, yes, it’s quite dreamy. Many of Gwynaire’s compositions are inspired by nature and nature’s…
Bludgers’ press material got it right when it described this act’s music as “the big, sweet spot between power-pop and country.” Indeed, that’s precisely what this EP is. One titled “Frozen Ground” sounds like one of those memorable Son Volt songs, built upon a driving rock groove that features smartly self-doubting lyrics. The song also…
Campfire Bob goes for a soulful togetherness on the beautiful, rustic folk of “Walk The Land”. The way the song embraces a communal sensibility feels remarkable. From the ramshackle rambling rhythms to the joyous sound that resonates from the guitars, there is a tenderness to it. Everything about it features a tremendous spirit of togetherness.…
Jude Gwynaire’s “The Swordfish” begins with a cool little electric guitar intro. Its style incorporates a lot of different genres. It has folk and country in it, but because it also features electric guitar, one can also hear rock & roll running through it. If you’re a Velvet Underground fan, you may (like me) hear…
Hailing from the San Francisco Bay Area, Dan Ashley blends a hybrid of Americana, Country, and traditional Rock and Roll. His sound and style seem to be equal parts substance and character-driven. He has established a certain credibility, by opening for artists, such as the late Eddie Money, and becoming quite prolific in the process.…
By R.M. Engelman Toto’s main man and the official Guitar Commander of studio session work, Luke is releasing his eighth solo album with the help of some longtime cohorts. Toto bandmates David Paich, and Joseph Williams, keyboardist Jeff Babko, bassists Jorgen Carlsson and John Pierce, drummer Gregg Bissonette, and a drummer that you may recognize…
With a song title like “Blue-Eyed Girl from Kilkenny,” you might expect a full on Scottish or Irish jig or reel, complete with fiddles and bagpipes. Although Jude Gwynaire’s single does have a Celtic feel running through it, it is not strictly a traditional piece of Highland music. In fact, the track’s opening riff sounds…
André Pelletier sings Deep Rivers’ songs with a hushed seriousness. While Deep Rivers is categorized as a folk-inspired band, the music these musicians create is more along the lines of orchestral pop. The name that keeps coming to mind again and again is Sufjan Stevens. Both Pelletier and Stevens have similarly fragile singing voices. There’s…
Gary Pratt delivers a pitch-perfect piece full of honestly on the aptly named “A Song You Can Drink A Beer To”. The song has a playful disposition to it as it goes through all the many different life events that can be a cause for having a beer from the joyous to the sorrowful. With…
On their newest album, Eight Ball, Chicago based rockers, Go Time, have pushed themselves to new heights. With 20 tracks, in total, this record could have qualified as a double release. Not to repeat any historical mistakes, though, Go Time have opted instead for an epic opus of power pop and more. The band enlisted…
John McDonough keeps things to the essentials on the soulful ode of “The Place Where I Belong”. A mere voice and a guitar manage to conjure up such rich imagery, the sort of stuff that helps to give it a classic cadence to it, with an air of joy. Everything here comes together for the…
The longtime Toto frontman is releasing his eleventh solo CD in conjunction with bandmate Steve Lukather’s new solo release. Long involved with scoring movies and lending vocals to other artists, since the mid-80’s he has been Toto’s go to singer. Joining Joseph on this release are a cast of notables including Toto founders and bandmates…
A delightful mix of synth pop and funk, Jason Rylan captures the zeitgeist with “Powerless”. Lyrics lead the way for they speak to this very moment with a message of hope. The way Jason explores the hopelessness of the pandemic alongside the optimism for what life will be like after feels gorgeous. Production stuns for…
Four song EP release Dancing Trees is Federico Balducci’s latest collection in a short but impactful musical journey bursting with jazz inflections yet tethered to the composer’s Latin roots. You hear some of that in the opening track “Roots and Silence”, an appropriate title given the immediately apparent respect Balducci treats music with. There are…
The beat pounces on us like a wild animal in the middle of the jungle, but the assault it unleashes is surprisingly tame in comparison to the hazing harmony soon to adorn its percussive presence. The melodies are as strong as an overproof rum, and yet they’re constructed to draw us ever closer with every…
Music history is packed with songs featuring happy music put to otherwise sad lyrics. One good exemplar of this practice is The Cure. Robert Smith and his various rotating backing musicians have always created bouncy little tunes that many times also include morose lyrics. This is an unusual combination we’ve become quite accustomed to, and…
A soulful blend, Pascal Bokar delivers something that feels good for the heart on the joyous burst of “American Trails”. Described as Afro Bluegrass, the depiction feels accurate. There is a celebratory atmosphere that permeates the entirety of the collection one that draws the listener into something so vivid and outright beautiful. So many instruments…
If you like psychedelic-sounding guitar work, you’ll likely love Jude Gwynaire’s single “King Sol and the Merwoman.” It’s nearly nine minutes of swirling, mystical musical vibes. Gwynaire created this long instrumental with acoustic guitar, 12-string guitar, electric guitar, as well as percussion, virtual Irish pipes, and virtual trumpets. This track’s opening melody has a sound…
Matt Westin delivers a spellbinding piece that feels ever so timely with “Thin Blue Line”. Sung with such soul Matt proves to be a virtual force of nature, for his deep voice contains such passion behind it. Lyrically the song reflects upon the difficulties faced by so many, the danger they willing put themselves into,…
Amber Lee proves to be a potent force in the world of pop on the incredible intimacy and tenderness of “Tell Me What You Mean”. Stylistically rooted in pop, she effortlessly incorporates elements of electro, funk, synth pop, and even jazz into the mix giving the sound a lovely lilting cadence. The arrangement plays to…
Richard Lynch delivers a big-hearted mixture of country and honky-tonk on the powerful “Rodeo Town”. Volume deserves to be blasted for this is a sound that needs to be felt as well as heard. From the hit of the drums to the western twang of the guitar he brings it altogether in a way that…
Unless you’re a serious funk music aficionado, the name Felton Pilate may initially strike you as a relatively anonymous moniker. Dig deeper, however, and you’ll discover how Pilate was the lead singer of the popular band Con Funk Shun, which started way back in the mid-1970s, and recorded and performed throughout the 1980s. The group’s…
A sprawling, lush symphonic work Jude Gwynaire deftly weaves together a whole slew of influences on “King Sol and the Merwoman”. The whole of the piece has an extremely tactile quality to it for the percussion helps to give the grooves an elastic cadence, with the rhythms further emphasizing a spirit of togetherness. Melodies here…
There’s perhaps nothing worse in music than when snobbery infects the better part of an entire scene or genre, and as unfortunate as it is for me to admit personally, this is certainly true of the modern ambient style. Working against this narrative with a humble approach to hybridity that I wasn’t anticipating I’d find…
The J.O.B. adopt a hard-hitting, no-nonsense style on the emotionally wrought “Criminal”. Rhythm is everything and from the percussion all else flows flawless. With a deft attention to detail, they allow the whole of the collection to simply stun. Volume is a given for the way they make the listener experience the sound feels quite…
Heistheartist goes for a nimbleness on the aptly named “The Snake Charmer”. Mixing tradition and contemporary influences, he creates something that is distinctly his own sound. The bass hits hard going deep into the red in a way that is profoundly satisfying. Without needing to say a single word an entire narrative comes into the…
“What If” I told you that Tia McGraff is a singer-songwriter sensation that is beyond belief? I hope you would be intrigued and ask yourself “What If” he’s telling the truth and this Tia McGraff is the real deal. I can honestly and wholeheartedly confess to you that I tell no lies and that Tia…
A foot stomping piece of splendor, John Vento goes for a great, rich communal spirit on the powerful “Not Your Kinda Man”. Everything here has an immediacy to it one that feels rather righteous while the whole of the track unfurls in a splendor, full of vibrant color and texture. Melodies have their own timelessness…
Eddie Cohn embraces an urbane sense of pop on the playful percussion of “FREEDOM”. His lyricism possesses such poetry to it for each verse is balanced for maximum effect. Melodies waft on through with nimble crispness. A classic AM pop spirit rises up from the Peace Spirits Band’s “Oh God”. Bluesy to its very core…
Jeremy Parsons offers a heartfelt piece of country folk on the tender ode of “Something Other Than You Are”. Nothing here ever feels overwrought for he balances the whole of the work in a way that feels outright splendid. So many different layers intermingle resulting in something truly timeless, from the gentle hit of the…
Little Wretches offers a poignant piece of beautiful balladry on the bombastic “All My Friends”. Giddy with energy they race through the track length with gleeful abandon. Instrumentally dense they incorporate so much into the mix. Nods to groups like the Decemberists feels perhaps unavoidable for they possess that same level of skill with storytelling.…
