CD and DVD reviews
I’m thrilled to get a chance to listen to and review this recent album titled ‘The Bending of Light’ by Belle of the Fall. I have had the opportunity to interview Belle of the Fall, (https://skopemag.com/2019/01/03/jimmy-rae-ringing-in-2019-with-belle-of-the-fall), and review a classic cover by the Connecticut-based duo, (https://skopemag.com/2018/11/21/belle-of-the-fall-release-scarborough-fair). If brilliant harmonies and acoustic folk are your thing,…
The Pink Dust’s new EP “Fathom”, with a release date of January 10th, 2020, is a four-song effort that showcases the versatility of the band. Alongside the title track, it contains the songs “I’m Gone”, “Things That Matter Most”, and “Lonely Still”. Fans of alternative rock should be pleased. The EP is best listened to…
Self taught Kenyan born musician, songwriter and performer Vonj relocated to the United Kingdom long ago and has made a mark with previous independent releases but his latest release, an EP entitled Unity is Power, illustrates the success Vonj has experienced developing his performing and songwriting talents in recent years. He works with a first class…
I had the pleasure to review Sophie Dorsten’s single, “Roses”, last year and knew that I had come across a one-of-a-kind artist, (http://mi2n.com/press.php3?press_nb=207319). This Phoenix-based singer/songwriter may be a teenager still in high school, but Sophie sings and performs like a seasoned pro. Sophie Dorsten is a true talent with star potential and you will…
Charles Daza and The Revenants virtually blow out their amps on the insane guitar athletics of “Old Camaro”. Done with a classic cool, the gnarled guitar riffs work wonders. Vocals have an unhinged quality as the rhythm rushes through. A swinging sound ties together the Jersey Swamp Cats’ playful “Dance All Night”. Instrumentally vibrant the…
In their new single “#2020,” family band Avni Vir Vineet blend surreal pop with sleek R&B grooves to conceive a bittersweet slow jam as indebted to Caribbean swing as it is a traditional Indian melodicism becoming increasingly popular among western listeners. “#2020,” as its name implies, is an anthem of peace and togetherness created in…
To say that it isn’t easy to capture the energy of a vintage bluegrass song would be too huge an understatement for any journalist to make, and yet for Irene Kelley, the challenge isn’t too big to undertake (as we learn in her new studio album Benny’s TV Repair). The imagistic and highly textured tracks, which…
The Hardest Part, the new extended play from Oliver James, opens with its title-bearing composition, and through a mist of strings that create our foray into the track, we get a taste of the magic in store for us in the next 20 minutes of play. James’ lyric finds its way to the forefront of…
What comes to your mind when you see a perfectly built home? Have you ever stopped to wonder what it took the owner to make that house to what it is? Building a house from scratch is not an easy thing to do. It takes a lot of planning, time and patience to successfully build…
Scottish-born singer/songwriter, Hugh Morrison, indugles fans from all over the world with Scottish music unlike any other with his latest album release, The Other Side. The 12-track album features rock solid Scottish ballad anthems that follows the release of Prison Ballads in 2016. The Other Side offers a unique collection of songs fit for listeners…
The Irrational Library has released the album “EVERYTHING AT ALL TIMES AND ALL THINGS AT ONCE”. The album consists of 13 songs, split between the six-song “Side A” and seven-song “Side B”. The album takes rock and alternative sounds and combines them with politically-charged lyrics. When it comes to the instrumentation, the album largely consists…
This was the second time seeing this wonderful production, but this marks the first time reviewing Moscow Ballet’s Great Russian Nutcracker. I am honored to get a chance to witness this amazing spectacle and to provide a thoughtful & precise critique of this one-of-a-kind event. Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus was dubbed as…
Griffin Holtby’s voyage from birth in Ukraine, adoption into a loving American family, personal turmoil as he reached adulthood, culminate in this single “Overgrown”. His journey is, of course, far from complete, but I think this single represents the end of one chapter in the young performer’s life and the beginning of a whole phase…
Lynne Taylor is showing off her ‘Shades of Blue’ in all its glory on the brand new release. This Massachusetts-based artist has come out with an album that is like a musical buffet of enticing melodies, notes, lyrics & vocals. Lynne Taylor is an accomplished vocalist & pianist who writes & sings straight from the…
The Pink Dust’s single, “Fathom,” begins with a sound that feels like the combination of a sitar and a digeridoo. It’s long, eerie and slightly industrial. It is also truly an odd intro to a song. Eventually, though, percussion enters the mix and gives it a more familiar musical tone. The Pink Dust is an…
Maybe that TV gameshow Who Wants to Be a Millionaire comes to mind when you think of a lifeline. You remember, of course, how whenever a contestant needed help or confirmation for a money-winning question, he/she could ask the audience, or use the 50:50 game computer to eliminate two wrong answers, or phone a friend.…
You can really hear the Bruce Springsteen influence on Brian Charles Tischleder’s “Momma Told Me So.” The track a little bit like the lovechild of the Boss songs, “Fire” and “Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out.” Its melody sounds to have been slightly borrowed from “Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out,” but it’s pacing somewhat follows the rhythm of “Fire.” Its…
Mark Ambuter has released his song “Let’s Go Home”. It is best described as an acoustic, yet upbeat, song that mixes the alternative music with pop rock. The song starts with drums and quickly adds in guitars. The lyrics begin with the chorus, which is a smart move given how catchy it is. While the…
Bobbo Byrnes’ opens his single “Angelia” by announcing, “It’s snowing tonight downtown/But it’s warm in this bar.” This simple couplet highlights the refuge nature of drinking establishments. It’s a physical shelter from the storm, but drink can also be a used as an escape from more emotional types of storms. Byrnes sings the song urgently…
Brian Charles Tischleder has released the album “Momma Told Me So”. It is best suited for fans of acoustic rock, as well as those who enjoy hearing the saxophone incorporated into acoustic rock songs. The album consists of ten songs: “Momma Told Me So”, “Cold Night Air”, “Memphis”, “I Found You”, “Dog On A Chain”,…
Whether he’s slashing through the iconic verses of “Ask the Lonely” or marrying heavenly harmonies together in a heart-warming rendition of “I’ll Be Home for Christmas” alongside the legendary Michael Omartian, Jeff Coffey proves that he has the vocal chops to sing just about anything he wants to in his new record Origins, Singers and…
Why do people go through sufferings, is it the will of God, or is it that one has to go through that face. Those are some of the questions Don one of the character in the book “The Prisoners Cross” tries to answer. In fact those are some of the questions that go through the…
Kerry Pastine and the Crime Scene’s new single “City of Love”, the title track from her latest release, is sharp and focused. It clocks in at a little less than four minutes long and doesn’t hesitate bringing listeners straight into its burning bluesy heart. The drums and guitar alike are laden with tasteful echo and…
In 2014, Lynn Taylor Donovan recorded the song “Dear Santa”, written by Tony Koenen. As the title implies, the song is timely right now as much as it was when it was first released, given the Christmas season. The song sets to remind us of the true meaning of Christmas, which is not the giving…
“Your Skin On My Skin” has a new video by White Owl Red, and it is worth a listen. The song takes elements of rock ballads and combines them with a country/folk vibe, leading to a unique sound that will have listeners longing for more. If you like what you hear, new album, Afterglow, the…
Dubbed as Neo Classical Afro Jazz, Mustafa Khaliq Ahmed and his latest album titled ‘Son Of The Drum Song’ give the listener a refreshing mix of styles. Mustafa is the master of percussion handling: bongos, chimes, claves, congas, cowbells, cymbals, djembe, drums, flexitone, gongs, granite blocks, jingle bells, rain stick, shakers, tambourines, triangles, vibraslap, vibratone…
In a deluge of chic tones defined by a well-sculpted EQ, “Found,” the new single from Melissa B., slinks into view with a heavy-handed groove that will only grow stronger in the next few minutes of play. The instrumental introduction to the verses only lasts for about twelve seconds, but the fire that it starts…
Get ready for singer/songwriter Ernie Hendrickson and his high-spirited album titled ‘Roll On’. Ernie mixes in some good ol’ fashion southern rock with Folk and Americana roots on the new release. Ernie covers the entire spectrum of human emotion on ‘Roll On’ tapping into the good times, bad times and everything else in between. This…
International Orange stands by the motto: “Guitar driven musical sunshine dancing to a global beat”. This band certainly has an international flavor due to the exotic rhythms that can be linked to countries such as: Brazil, Africa and India. With elements of jazz & funk heavily in place, I.O. is barking up the right tree…
Jupiter in Velvet, since first emerging in 2012, has never lain fallow for long. He has produced over a half-dozen releases in that period and the same kaleidoscopic passion distinguishing his prior collections spearheads his latest, an EP entitled Anthems 2 Love. Though briefer than his recent outings, Anthems 2 Love soars and sings with the…
When you think of Blues legends, names such as: B.B. King, Robert Johnson, Muddy Waters, John Lee Hooker, Lightnin’ Hopkins, Albert King, Buddy Guy and Elmore James come to mind. Dudley Harris is keeping this treasured music alive with his new release titled ‘All The Money’s Gone’. The much anticipated album is nothing but old-time…
In July 2019, the R&B singer July put out his song “Catalina”. It is a song that is sure to please the listening tastes of R&B fans, and generally anyone who enjoys songs about having a good time. What immediately sticks out is the beat, an electronic sequence that is showcased by itself at the…
Time for Love, the latest record from bluegrass singer Donna Ulisse, kicks off with an upbeat swing in the opening bars of “When I Go All Bluegrass on You,” and through the next few minutes of unquestionably contagious grooving, it’s hard to focus on anything other than the relationship between the verse and the adjacent…
The drums slowly click into place and usher in a harmonious piano part as “Never Gonna Let You Go” starts to play. One of the cornerstone compositions of the new album from Rob Alexander, Being Myself, “Never Gonna Let You Go” wastes no time in casting a spell as big as the instrumental melody it greets…
“Please don’t leave me,” croons a passionate Mattia Pironti, his heart on his sleeve and his vocal as virtuosic as it’s ever been in the new single “Don’t Stand a Chance,” and though his voice is but one element in this suave song, it’s undeniably the most fetching. In “Don’t Stand a Chance,” Pironti doesn’t…
BWH Music Group has gathered together a wide array of artists to create an album, titled “On Peace Street, Volume One”. The 19-song album brings together artists across many genres of music, each being showcased in a song. Here is the track listing: I Wish I Was Wrong by The Reverent Love Is Everywhere by…
I had the pleasure to work with the super-talented and highly optimistic Radio Drive once again and couldn’t be happier! Radio Drive’s music oozes with positive messages and pleasant melodies that will lift up your spirits for days to come. The new album, ‘In The Light’, is no exception to this rule as the record…
Mostly Tree’s self-titled album was recorded at Pachyderm Recording Studio in Cannon Falls, Minnesota, which is where Midwestern legends (Soul Asylum and The Jayhawks), as well as just plain legends (Nirvana tracked In Utero there) have also laid down tracks. It’s too soon to tell if Mostly Trees will be local or international legends, but…
Probably as many people don’t know about Luke’s accreditation outside of the band Toto as those who do, but there is a short list of musicians with his overall accomplishments. Many of the industry luminaries started out their careers as studio musicians/hired hands. Luke explains how he and the other California childhood friends that formed…
“I Love Christmas” is the title of Cassandra’s single for charity to Amnesty International, and it’s a vibrant, fabulous piece of work for which they and anyone helping-out the cause should be proud to participate in, hear and own it. That’s the consensus after hearing it on loop enough to give it the right amount…
