CD and DVD reviews
The Queen of magnetic EDM continues to satisfy the musical palette with her latest video release titled “Take Me Higher (Craig London/Boughton Remix)”. I’ve had the pleasure to work with eM numerous times and her natural talent & strong perseverance never ceases to amaze me! I’ve always adored the three words eM stands by: “Inspiration.…
I can’t believe it’s been nearly 10 years since I first came across this guitar virtuoso! Back in 2010, I reviewed Brennan’s album, ‘Bullet Ride’ (https://skopemag.com/2010/11/25/brennan-dylan-bullet-ride) and it was at that moment I knew my ears were witnessing guitar greatness. Jumping ahead to the present, I’m thrilled to see Brennan Dylan continuing to shred away…
New Zealand singer songwriter Sam Bartells’ captures the heartfelt spirit of determination and searching for clarity and forgives in the gripping single “Blessed & Broken”. Stirring vocals like Chris Cornell, with the sincerity of Bob Seger, Bartells’ voice pierces the listener’s hearts. The strength to carry on, Bartell’s journey takes hold of the listener and…
Lola Rising opens its Moving Forward album with “More Music,” which includes the lines, “We need to write more music/We need to plant more seeds in the ground.” This is a definitively forward motion couplet, which supports the project’s simple two-word title. These words are also put to a pop-reggae beat and accented by a…
Capturing the restlessness that comes with that quarantine lifestyle, Brendan Deiz sculpts a satisfying ska sound with “Shelter in Place”. Lyrics opt for a specific playfulness. The stylistic choices, from folk punk to reggae, lend the song an additional spirit of play. Deep inside the homes of the world people are simply trying to figure…
Inches From Sin embraces a hybrid style on the playful “Enoch”. Full of a tremendous passion, the fire they sing with feels outright potent. Stylistically Inches From Sin draws from elements of country rock, the blues, gospel, folk, and a southern fried rock. By merging all of these into a singular, coherent whole Inches From…
What happens when two vastly different musical backgrounds collide? In Grifters & Shills’ case, the aftermath of such a unique collision is a masterpiece album titled Pretty Little Secrets. From the haunting harmonies to the despondent lyrics, John and Rebecca Stoll capture a folk songwriting style amidst music that is heavily grounded in rock and…
I jumped into Hillbilly Hippie Haiku Heaven completely unaware of what to expect. I’m glad I was not taking a drink because I surely would have spit it out. I don’t know if all of Blind Uncle Harry’s songs are this hilarious or blunt, but I really enjoy this one. With a title like Hillbilly…
The one place where you feel free. That line – that repeated line in the new song “Halfway House (The One Place Remix)” felt like a bulls eye after a few listens. I pondered if the artist/singer Hourstone meant it metaphorically or literally. What matters most while listening to Hourstone’s latest track is what you…
Philadelphia band, by way of South Africa, opens its Pipe Dreams EP with a bit of a Southwestern vibe on a track titled “Cartel Sage.” It features ringing electric guitars that conjure images of Spaghetti Western movies. This is one of many colors The Missing Frets reveals through this five-track project. As you can imagine…
Right off the bat, this track grabs your attention. Head in the Clouds has a catchy bass groove and it really gets under your skin, in a good way. It’s pretty mellow instrumentally but it picks up a bit when the vocalist jumps in. He has so much emotion and energy and injects it directly…
I do not have a lot of experience with reggae music. The little bit that I know comes solely from the iconic Bob Marley, which is to say I only recognize about three of his most famous songs. However, I do have a little knowledge of ska-punk and while I know they are not the…
The piano purrs with melancholic retrospection. A strum of acoustic guitar strings reaches out to comfort the keys, but it’s just not enough. For this somber energy to be satisfied, it’s going to take a voice from someone who can relate to these unspoken emotions through gorgeous, linguistic poeticisms. Dan Ashley’s “Lucky Stars” begins in…
Whether straddling an acoustic melody coupled with electropop grooves in “Aright,” working a fuzzy beat with a controlled sense of rhythm in “Wouldn’t Be Love,” striking a balance between the tender melodies of a moderate rock riff and a formidable lead vocal all his own in the title cut of the all-new LP Out Loud, or…
Second Hand Mojo’s EP, After Midnight, is a welcome blast of Midwestern rock. Yes, the act’s style can also be described as Southern rock, but the act also has Michigan roots. Thus, the sound of these six tunes, such as the soulful organ that fills and solos on the project’s title track, gives the music…
Benjamin Thomas sings with fire and passion on the lovely “You’re With Me”. Effortlessly combining balladry alongside sophisticated jazz licks, the whole of the piece radiates. By far the heart and soul of the track comes from the steady, crystal clarity of the lyrics. Vocals opt for a celebratory response one that explores togetherness with…
Dave Sandersfeld describes his album, Somewhere in the Dark, as one that “explores moving towards the darkness and finding love within oneself and allowing one to come out the other side with a greater perspective,” and one can easily see where his single, “World On Fire,” fits into that project’s primary aims. It’s a folkish…
When you think of the phenomenal story-tellers of yesteryear like Bob Dylan, Paul Simon or James Taylor, Gordon Thomas Ward would be in that same vein for Today. This multi-dimensional artist takes listeners on a lyrical journey on his new 2 Volume set called ‘Eiderdown’. Gordon Thomas Ward is setting the gold standard for singer/songwriters…
The phrase, ‘Let your hair down,’ usually refers to an admonition to loosen-up and not be quite so uptight. For some reason, it also sounds like one of those atypical 60s phrases. Maybe this is because hair was oftentimes so much longer back then, which allowed for more of it to be let down. Such…
I’ve had the pleasure of working with the multi-talented artist, Daniel Park in the past and I feel like this particular record is perfect timing. Yes, this is a Christmas-themed album and we are in Spring, BUT with all of the confusion and worry out there today I say why not! I’ve always thought Daniel…
First the Winter has released a remastered version of “Same Old Story.” The song appears on their album “Experimental Mice”, and is a mix of soft rock and mid-tempo rock. The song starts off with promising lyrics, such as “When I met you/I was sure/That my pathway/Ahead was clear”. Despite this, the acoustic guitar was…
Ariella embodies an intimacy with her stripped-down bluesy style. Done with the utmost of affection and care, these pieces radiate a sense of tremendous lushness. Lyrics have their own poetry to them while she reflects upon all the ups and down relationships bring. Making sure to keep things to the absolute essentials Ariella’s accompaniment comes…
Corzine has released the single “Panic”. The song is featured on Corzine’s EP, “And There It Is”. It is a mid-tempo pop song that is suitable for anyone who enjoys that type of music and enjoys deep lyrics to go along with it. The song begins with the lyrics “I hear your voice in every…
C-Rod speaks truth to power on the fiery “Make Hip Hop Great Again!”. A critique of culture and politics emerges through the pointed lyricism. Mastery of his flow means that he goes for a highly intricate series of vignettes, ones that focus upon the toxicity of the world alongside personal moments. By building the two…
A jazzy beat comes into focus and is quickly adorned with kaleidoscopic melodies, the best of which originate from a staggered piano’s gentle rhythm. There are no glittery synths, no bloated basslines. Rob Alexander hasn’t even started singing, but the mood is difficult for anyone within earshot to ignore. This is “Life As We Know…
Earl Donald is bringing House-inspired, Indie dance to the forefront with this brand new song titled “Birds of Paradise”. This is the featured single off of Earl Donald’s new EP called ‘A Lighter World’ and is simply soaring. This Toronto-based artist is responsible for all of the music and lyrics while the mixing and mastering…
Loco in Spanish means crazy but there is absolutely nothing unsound about this new release from Latin recording artist PJ Sin Suela. Actually, it is insane that “Loco Loquito” is PJ’s first official release from his upcoming debut album. The sound quality and production put forth toward the making of this single is top-notch and…
Hip-hop has never been the happiest of musical genres. More often than not, it’s expressed the sound of anger. Or it’s been a good forum for rap artists to brag about such things as sexual prowess. Yet a sense of happiness is one of the factors that separates Emotionz from many other artists in his…
Latin pop is getting a second life right now, and in my opinion, indie artists like Destiny Malibu are the biggest reason why. Though not a straight-up Latin pop singer by conventional standards, Malibu delivers one of the genre’s most interesting new hits in her latest single “Lo Siento” that has been raising quite a…
Whoever said rock and roll is dead hasn’t met the preacher’s daughter with sass & brass, Danielle Bloom. Growing up, Danielle started singing in church but was craving more of that rock-sided nature. Music has been in her blood for years and now she is about to grace us with her powerful, edgy presence, so…
Thirsty Curses is a rock and roll band based out of Raleigh, North Carolina. Their latest album titled after their own band name serves as another successful entry into the Thirsty Curses catalogue. After listening to the album you can definitely tell that the band had a lot of diverse inspiration. To me their style…
El Paso based power trio Little King is more than vocalist/songwriter and guitarist Ryan Rosoff’s glorified solo vehicle. Each of the five cuts he includes on the band’s EP release Occam’s Foil testifies to this thanks to the kinetic chemistry Rosoff shares with musical partners drummer Eddy Garcia and bassist Manny Tejeda. The rhythm section provides a…
Eugene Cole has released a new song dedicated to Kobe Bryant, titled “Gone Too Soon — A Tribute to Kobe”. The song is one that is relatable through its sense of grief, and those currently grieving will likely find the song to be helpful. While the song is written as a tribute to Kobe Bryant,…
The notes accompanying “FIRE, Persian Dance EDM ft. Shajarian And Lotfi,” speak about “delivering the truth to where it’s needed.” It also advises listeners to “cling to the power of higher truth.” These words are as much spiritual, as they are political. This explanation continues by reminding us that, just as we need the material…
A bouncy beat is waiting to greet us as the dam separating the heavenly harmonies of “Sunday Driver” from us, the lucky audience soaking up this latest release from singer/songwriter Casey Ahern, suddenly breaks apart at the start of the single, its presence immediately introducing a relaxing energy into the room around us. This instrumental…
When you call yourself Socrates, you set the expectations bar extremely high. Socrates was one of the greatest philosophical minds of all time, so why would a singer/songwriter want to be compared to him? Well, “Lost in a Moment” is not Plato’s Dialogue, but a straightforward pop song, instead. And it’s a good one. The…
If you need something life-affirming, and when have we ever not needed that, then Savannah is exactly what you have been looking for. We Are Us reminds us that although we are never going to see eye to eye all of the time, we always have more in common with those around us that the…
Julia King is a musical trendsetter of sorts as she gives the big middle finger to categorized genres. This label-free singer/songwriter from New York has just released her debut album titled ‘Radio Therapy’. I am actually shocked to discover that this is the first recorded album for Julia King because she comes across as a…
Get ready to grab a full glass of SixFoxWhiskey that is aged just right with their latest release titled ‘Naughty Air’. Nothing Naughty about what I’m hearing on this new album but rather a professionally clean record with plenty of fresh Air to go around. SixFoxWhiskey brings an exciting dose of vibrant music on ‘Naughty…
If you’re sick of the same old music on mainstream channels, then brace yourself and your ears for something that is off the beaten path. The name of the group is Tyrants in Therapy and the new release is ‘Spoken Weird’ that is sure to change your whole perspective on the art of music. If…
