CD and DVD reviews
There’s an old Jethro Tull song, which includes the refrain, “Skating away, in the thin ice of a new day.” There’s something foreboding about discussing thin ice. It’s the realization that something bad can and (likely) will happen. With “Thin Ice,” unstable frozenness “is what we’re walking on.” Bad things just might happen. The track…
If you love good music, you would have heard about Bill Abernathy. If you haven’t, you’re in luck. Bill Abernathy is a traditional folk singer who has been receiving critical acclaim for several of his songs that are currently enjoying generous airplay. Despite being a returnee to the music scene after a long hiatus, Bill…
SOUNDCLOUD: https://soundcloud.com/davidgelmanmusic A wandering soul searches a desolate urban environment, haggard and homeless, adrift in an American landscape that has become all too difficult for the masses to survive in. In the background, David Gelman belts out a homespun harmony alongside some striking acoustic guitar play and a fleeting fiddle melody, and we’re instantly enveloped…
A lone drumbeat awakens a sleepy acoustic guitar with a soft rhythm that will slowly but surely evolve into an intoxicating groove in “So Far Away,” the new single from Croatia’s Jas Frank & the Intoits. Amid the fragile beats, Frank starts to sing with a restrained passion that begs for us to listen closely…
TWITTER: https://twitter.com/mati_lyons If you’ve been following the underground beat lately, you’ve possibly heard a little about Mati Lyons, the up and coming pop singer whose new single “Practice 4 Me” has got critics around the country abuzz at the moment. “Practice 4 Me” is a multilayered R&B song that possesses the heart of a jazz…
URL: https://francinehoney.com/ There’s nothing like a blues-clad slice of Americana to put a little zest in a spring playlist, and in Francine Honey’s “Stay,” listeners find a quaint singer/songwriter tune that is brimming with warm harmonies that are as sprawling in style as they are simple in design. Here, kaleidoscopic piano keys draw us ever…
The need to ask, ‘Are we good?,’ is not a place anybody wants to get to in a relationship. If a relationship is in fact good, there’s no need to ask that question, right? And yet, that’s exactly what’s on Mr MooQ’s mind here. The track begins with acoustic piano, before going into an electronic…
The Two’s, a duo comprised of Ruby Rendrag and Suki Kuehn, create unusual, but unusually beautiful, pop music. Rendrag sings and plays guitar, while Kuehn contributes cello. “Lullaby” is a single that deftly combines these unusual elements into a memorable tune. Kuehn’s cello provides this tracks rhythm. No, there’s no thumping bass, nor shuffling drum…
URL: https://www.alexiskeegan.com/instagram The pianist runs his hands across a keyboard with an unwavering confidence as his fellow players take their places. The spotlight turns to Alexis Keegan, who stands before the microphone with a look of cool confidence as she starts to sing the first couple of lines in her new song “What Am I…
A pulsating synth’s percussive wallop slowly comes churning into focus as we take in the first few seconds of “Tailwhip,” the second track in the 11-song opus that is Woongi’s all-new album Rip’s Cuts, currently out everywhere that independent music is sold and streamed. Bearing a relentless, electropop rhythm and flanking its signature synthesizer with…
A Picture Made’s Heal Soothes Aches of Age and Satisfies Hunger for 80’s and 90’s Era Americana. The mid 2000’s to the present day have been a virtual drought, for a generation who grooved to the zenith of the then modern Americana/Jam Band era Wilco, The Wallflowers, Lenny Kravitz, and Phish in the 90’s; the…
Be courageous. Be Honest. Be Compassionate. Most importantly be yourself. This has to be Love Stallion’s mantra; their unique passion and drive exudes vividly in the band’s latest single, “Valentine.” A guitar driven feel good track, drenched in classic rock tones; from the beautifully melodic vocal presence to the energetic drum cadence which is only…
There’s a subtle but beautiful elegance in the music of Fitzsimon and Brogan (FAB), which sometimes takes their authentic tunes to unexpected places while remaining firmly in the wheelhouse of their chosen genre. Their track, “This Is Love,” is a poignant song in which the duo guides the listener through an enjoyable journey of love.…
Upon first listen, “Memory’s A Ghost” by Phantom Phunk sounds like a rapper hanging out with a jam band. However, in publicity photos, Phantom Phunk looks like a group of white hipsters. The lead vocal on the song is very black sounding. Nevertheless, Phantom Phunk is what it is, a Florida trio. The track begins…
“In Your Shoes (For Daisy)” begins with just piano and Katy Vernon’s vulnerable vocal. This is followed by a guitar backing, underneath Vernon’s singing. Next, the pace is picked up, and Vernon sings it happily. Vernon sings with joy, but the song has a deeper purpose than merely expressing happiness. The lyric is also about…
There’s music and then there’s music; sounds that make your day better, soundtracks that turn to life changing records and the artists that make those soundtracks, are the epitome of vulnerable beauty. “Wild Ones,” by Across the Board is the definitive of greatness. The soundscape is not only a fresh and superbly performed track, it’s…
Jose Calarco goes for a blissful ambient ballad with “Love”. Simple and understated the song radiates warmth. By far the heart and soul comes from the reassuring vocals that rest in the very center of it all. “If You Were With Me” goes for a sweeping symphonic quality as Ann M. Wolf opts for a…
Angus Crowne and the Family Jewels utilizes a wry observational humor with “Unobservant Idiot”. With a dreamy woozy disposition, the whole of the album has a surreal blurred beauty to it reminiscent of Lambchop’s tender output. Warm and inviting while maintaining a clear punk attitude, the album could be best described as a twee polite…
Lyrics can be one of the most powerful art forms on the planet when they come directly from the heart and are free of any external corruption or influence, but to say that their ability to rouse our emotional senses is restricted to the strength of their rhyme alone is simply ludicrous. Lyrics are complicated,…
FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/Jon-Dowling-123571992875/ Jon Dowling is no stranger to success as an independent artist, but he’s raising the bar for himself and his scene with the debut of his latest single, “Don’t Wanna Own the World,” which is out now everywhere that adult contemporary is sold and streamed. One of the cornerstone tracks of his new…
Doug Collins’ reception range goes all the way back to the pioneering birth of rock & roll because his Good Sad News album is a complete throwback to a much more innocent time in pop music. When, for example, was the last time you heard an artist sing about having a crush on a girl?…
As soon as I hit Play on this track, I was immediately overtaken with infectious audio penetrating my eardrums. Hailing from Sin City, Rockie Brown was named as “one of the city’s most promising artists” by Las Vegas Sun. I can understand why because this artist is a real firecracker lighting up The Las Vegas…
Many different descriptors have been applied to Shadowfields’ music. These have included Americana, neo-gypsy and swamp-grass. However, the pairing of multi-instrumentalist Tom McKeown and singer Heather Humphrey’s “Never Again” is nothing quite so exotic. It is, instead, a fairly straight forward ballad. The song is also a sad, post-relationship song. The only elements that point…
Woven Green’s “Lift It Up” is an anthemic call to action. It’s no individualistic prompt, however. Rather, this is a song imagining every heart beating as one. It’s expressly universalist in nature. This plan is “the only way we’re going to save this ship from sinking,” the male/female dup sing. It’s a hopeful song, not…
Percussive palm-muted strums start a blaze that’s tough to put out in the opening bars of So Much Beyond Us’ title track, which boasts a bucolic string harmony from Brooks Forsyth that will become par for the course as we advance our way through the tracklist of this latest album from the rising indie icon.…
A pure sense of joy runs through the whole of Macaco’s “Bailo La Pena”. Full of a sunny optimism, the whole of the track stuns with its positive energy. Lyrics focus upon overcoming sadness to embrace the grand celebration that is life. Rooted within a deep tradition of pop, the song has a nimbleness to…
Listen and enjoy new single from Pioneer’s Dirty South Hip Hop ‘Hamma No Jamma’ produced by Randem Word. Once again Pioneer is back with his Southern rap sonic flair. People who fall their head over the heels on the Dirty South music genre, can get their ears excited with listening Pioneer’s recently launched soundtrack ‘…
Geiger von Müller crafts a unique rustic universe on the delightfully playful “Teddy Zer & The Kwands”. Without needing to say a single word a narrative begins to take hold. Over the course of the album Geiger von Müller makes the guitar sing in unexpected lovely ways. At times the highly intricate gestures recall John…
Ivey’s “Through the Keyhole” single has a kind of Gin Blossoms-meets-Goo Goo Dolls-meets Replacements vibe running through it. In other words, it features a sort of emotional desperation associated with those three notable bands. With good reason, fans of one are oftentimes fans of the others because this is the sort of rock music that…
Publicity photos of Katy Vernon are a little deceptive. She’s a pretty woman, sitting with a ukulele in hand. Therefore, one might rightfully expect her music to be stripped-down, old-fashioned ukulele-centered music. However, Vernon’s album, Suit of Hearts, is quite a different thing, indeed. The album opens with its title track, which bursts out like…
If you follow the underground sound, then you already know his name. Trevor Drury has been cutting one smash after another lately, and if you thought that you had heard the very best of this soulful singer’s material, you’d better think again – for his new single “Head on the Tracks” is making a big splash this season,…
The smoky timber of the vocal track in Midnight Shine’s “Heart of Gold” slips through the rambling rhythm of the guitars and texturizes Neil Young’s legendary lyrics with an exotic glow that speaks to the shared Canadian roots of the band covering the song. This supple serenade is central to bringing the dirge of the…
FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/woongiband/ Piercing percussive textures are met with kaleidoscopic visuals of a psychedelic nature as we take in the first thirty seconds of the music video for Woongi’s new single “Not Sad Sequence.” Steeped in a surrealism of the most erudite quality, “Not Sad Sequence” is at times both visually demanding and audiologically overwhelming, whilst…
The Brothers Union go for a whispered loveliness on the intimate “Silhouettes”. Featuring fine portraits of loved ones, offering great reflection, the pieces have a soulfulness to them. Vocals go for a soothing reassuring quality. Guitar work feels particularly fine with a perfect blend of tenderness and passion. Arrangements are kept to the essentials as…
Zero Frequency embraces a feral lo-fi beast of a sound with “The Ocean’s End (Vol. 1)”. Everything has a raw grit and soul to it. Over the course of the album they eschew polish for a direct living breathing quality to it. Full of life, these pieces possess a poetry to them. Volume is a…
Daniel Coloprisco crafts a flawlessly smooth sound on “Winter’s Song”. With an urbane sensibility these two pieces shine with such polish. A highly expressive take on piano playing the pieces possess such grace. Never overdoing things Daniel Coloprisco keeps the sound to the absolute essentials. The ear for melody proves to lead the collection forward…
YOU TUBE: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HnAdpn24Z2E Summer is almost here, and Labán has got the perfect slow jam to kick it off in style. His latest single, “Para Ti” (from Todos Somos Dueños de Aquí), is a four-minute adventure through jazz history; in the first act of the song, he embraces the slow-churning grooves of the roaring 20’s;…
The old saying goes that you can lead a horse to water, but you can’t make him drink. That timeworn truism comes to mind while listening to Wood’s single “Shelter.” The chorus is actually a question: “Will you run to me?” There are few situations more difficult than being willing and able to help someone…
Meghan & Caitlin is a youthful duo that describes its music as acoustic indie pop. “Midnight” is a gentle love song of sorts, mainly built around a simple, repeated keyboard line. When percussion enters the mix, it sounds like a choir of handclaps. It’s a love song, only it’s also a little complicated. This girl…
FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/joeycurtinmusic/ Like a gentle breeze initiating the first chilly evidence of autumn, a piano accents a torturous silence with a warm tonality that will soon yield an immaculate melody in “Chrysalis,” the new single from Joey Curtin. Curtin’s conservative dispatch of magnetizing harmonic notes churns us in a vortex of colors and textures before…
