CD and DVD reviews
Raw real riffs rush through Kidd Comet’s colossal “(She’s My) Serpentine”. The careening quality of the piece works wonders as does the defiant attitude. Deep in the center of it all are those commanding vocals that rise above the din. A feral spirit defines Howzat’s “Tell Me”. Swinging chaotically, Howzat messes with listener expectations featuring…
“Suspicious Packages 2” is an EP that contains a lot of artists that came together to give one a nice blend of urban music, passionate beats and a West Coast flow that is representative of everything that is good about that side of the US. In fact, Dwayne “Muffla” Simon was one of the forerunners…
All This Huxley offers a series of blissful, intimate indie rock portraits with the soothing “Home Stockholm”. Things are kept to the essentials with a crisp, fresh-sounding percussion. Lyrics have a poetic, meditative quality to them. By letting their lyrics focus on small narrative, the little vignettes that make up a life, they offer warm…
When “All Dawgs Go To Heaven” begins, with its chugging electric guitar part, the band that comes immediately to mind is Green Day. Taken from the Tennessee band’s If Requiems Were Record Deals, the track alternates between loud and quiet sections, much like memorable Green Day tracks. This group is led by Chris Pietrangelo, who…
Christa Deánā’s self-titled album is honest, sometimes to the point of uncomfortableness. With the theatrical – and much of this album’s content is quite theatrical – “The Breakdown (Interlude),” Deánā sounds like she’s having a recorded mental breakdown. Yes, we need more honesty in religious music, but Deánā sometimes takes her forthrightness to an extreme.…
With a bristling groove to lead the way, “That Old Wheel” greets us at the onset of Joe Mullins & The Radio Ramblers’ new album For the Record, and if its opulent melody doesn’t put a spring in your step instantly, its daring lyrical wit most likely will. It’s a fun, easygoing way to start off…
John DellRoy Band’s “Burning Desire” is an unusual recording. The two intersecting influences that come immediately to mind are Chris De Burgh (remember “Don’t Pay the Ferryman?”), at least vocally, and vintage Kansas musically, due to its driving string instrumentation. Vocalist Dellroy likes to say the band rocks, but with folk and electronic influences. And…
Earl Donald sounds like a guy’s name and could, in reality, be some man’s actual name. However, ‘he’ is actually the name for multi-instrumentalist/producer James Cuvilier’s project. His bio claims Cuvilier is from the “streets of Toronto,” but anybody who’s ever visited Toronto and contrasted it with real “streets,” knows well there are no bad…
Rev Peter Unger offers crystal clarity on the optimism of “There’s a Spirit”. Full of life his vocals recall the loving compassion of early Magnetic Fields, radiating such tenderness. By singing with such passion the piece sparkles and shines. The arrangement becomes attuned to his soothing vocal delivery always ensuring his lyrics take front and…
URL: http://carlosmorganmusic.com/ Carlos Morgan is an artist that will move your soul on his new single “Have A Little faith,” while it turns you onto someone you won’t find anywhere but Toronto, CA. But that is ultimately bound to change once this single gets airplay, and it will get airplay as a one hundred percent…
Beats bolstered by a sumptuously raucous master mix come galloping out of the ethers as we find ourselves in the clutches of Rhett May in his new single “Cocktails and Cannabis.” They’re quickly met with a muscle-flexing guitar part that will vault over the rocky rhythm of the drums and hit us with every bit…
The Toronto, Canada based sextet Young Doctors in Love are set to elevate their profile considerably with the release of their sophomore full length …in Love, a twelve song follow-up to their 2014 debut World’s Greatest Rock and Roll Band. Loosely inspired by Thomas Pynchon’s novel V, Clay Puddester’s songwriting radiates intelligence and intense musicality at every turn without…
White Owl Red mixes a rustic form of Americana with the shaggy dog style of Modest Mouse’s early honest output on “Existential Frontiers”. Thoughtful lyricism goes for self-reflection while White Owl Red takes their take. Instrumentally rich the entirety of the album has a lived-in, loved quality to it. From banjo to guitar with a…
Includes Music Video published reviews, promotions and distribution on National Television via our Network of Broadcast on 72+ Terrestrial TV channels. RewOut soars up into the sky on the colossal riffing of “Circus”. A fully chaotic and carefree experience, the song feels absolutely massive. The whole of the track goes for a slight 80s throwback,…
Rising from the silence like the first rays of a morning sunlight creeping over the horizon, a dangerously mischievous bass comes storming into the fold in the first few moments of Neko X James’ “Automatic,” which is available everywhere that independent music is sold and streamed this March 29th. In the distance, snapping fingers start…
Acoustic guitar strings gallop out of our speakers in the wicked slow motion opening salvo that serves as our gateway into the magical sonic windstorm that is “Fire in the Sky,” the all-new single from the incomparable Ashley Delima. Their echo drifts into the ethers and seems to linger in the atmosphere long after Delima…
When somebody says, ‘It’s cut and dried,” there’s a finality to such a statement. It’s not open for debate, and there’s no alternative solutions. The hand of cards has been played decisively and the game’s all over. There’s similar feeling of finality to folksinger Ren Daversa’s “Cut and Dried” single from her Saltwater album. Daversa…
For those artists whose music takes a hefty page from the book of legends that paved the way for their craft, toeing the fine line between imitation and homage can be as difficult as walking a tightrope wire high above city streets, but that just can’t be said of The Voice’s DR King. King’s new…
Spindly string grooves slip into focus as “You’re the Reason I Drink” ushers us into Steel Blossoms’ all-new, self-titled album. The poppy swing that drives the rhythm is soon merged with a country-colored melody from the backing band sitting behind Sara Zebley and Hayley Prosser, and we quickly find that trying to resist the urge…
RL: https://theintoits.com/ Classical guitar strings pepper an airy rhythm as we descend upon “High in Space,” the first track in Jas Frank & the Intoits’ new album, The Girl from Cherry Valley, and they offer us a glimpse into the beautiful chaos that the record will treat us to in the nine songs that follow.…
Right from the get-go in the new single “Emoji,” Alex Dutty is spinning us in a hundred different directions with a swirling bassline skewed with acrylic textures emanating from his vicious vocal. The lyric video for the song plays out like a fireworks display littered with the verses slipping from Dutty’s lips in real-time, and…
Addisyn Chafé’s “When We Fall In Love” is a quietly, thoughtful and moody song. Chafé sings this lyric over a finger-picked guitar part. She vocalizes with a sweet singing voice. Taken from her forthcoming EP Lost, “When We Fall In Love” is yet another spiritual song that may not be obvious as such upon first…
This is the 3rd release in the album series started by Bongo Boy Records to feature Americana talents. The Darryl Morris Band explores a sense of tenderness on the gorgeous “My Name”. Full of passion the song is sung straight from the heart. Instrumentally rich they employ a country twang to great effect. Giddy energy…
Soap Bubble Dreams is a new release by Germany’s Para Lia, which is an Alternative Rock band led by René Methner, and he plays all instruments and is supported by Cindy Methner who sings duets perfectly around the massively layered guitars and synths, which is all done with colossal results between the two which serve…
Belting out a sensational vocal harmony studded with acrylic guitar textures, “The Devil Lives in the South” opens the floodgates on the shimmering tonality that The American Revival are discharging in their all-new album The Saint and The Sinner, which is out everywhere that independent country music is sold and streamed this March 22nd. The sixty…
Saltwater is not just the name of Ren Daversa’s new album, but also a big part of her life. Although raised on a small island off the coast of Rhode Island, Daversa went on to front the San Diego band The Good China, which took her way over to the opposite coast. The album opens…
BANDCAMP: https://melissaruthmusic.bandcamp.com/ With a skipping beat to lead the way, Melissa Ruth’s Meteor comes to life in its first track, “West,” and the chugging drum and bass swagger is quickly met with a sultry vocal from Ruth that is as textured as any of the vivid string play transpiring beside her is. The mischievous grooves wander into…
RELATED URL: https://www.supersystemic.ly/dear-machine Complicated futures deserve complicated analysis. The combination of rigorous logic, imagination, measured judgment and clarity of expression are rare. Those qualities, however, are the bedrock of Greg Kieser’s study on how humanity might potentially interact, prosper, and suffer with the dawn of intelligent, even “conscious”, technology and adept with its assimilation into…
It’s been 10 years since I last heard from Straw Dogs and their infectious sound as I reviewed their last album titled ‘Love And Then Hope’: https://skopemag.com/2009/05/04/straw-dogs-love-and-then-hope. I can tell you firsthand that it was well worth the wait because ‘Your Immaculate Machine’ is the band’s sixth record and one prized possession that will raise…
Meghan Timony sings straight from the heart on the intimate folk musings of “Up & Down”. Aptly named the song ebbs and flows in a cyclical fashion. Lyrics focus on the poetic musings on relationships. The track lets the relationship and all its complexities fuel the overall narrative. Instrumentation has a rich, surreal quality to…
Out of a dead silence, Poorxcuse comes alive with an imposing wallop of bass and drum destruction in the opening bars of “Miss You Babe,” the new single from their latest album, Cut Fingers Blues. Guttural guitar riffs crash into each other and attempt to smother us with their blustery grooves, but the bassline isn’t…
With the release of his new single “Vibrations,” rapper NoTrace seeks to reshape the identity of modern hip-hop through textured musicality, socially conscious lyrics and, perhaps most importantly, smart producing that balances out slick vocal striking with defined instrumentation. “Vibrations” sees NoTrace teaming with melodic crooner Glenn Travis, and though the two have a phenomenal…
On the whim of a galloping percussive groove, “Where I Stand,” Amanda Barrett’s first official single, comes to life in an explosion of distorted riffs and homespun harmonies. The drums take a second to warm to the rhythm of the strings, but it isn’t long before they’re clicking into place with the sterling fretwork from…
The sensuous sounds of a fleeting eastern wind come cascading from our stereo speakers in the first few bars of Aliché’s new single “Cleopatra,” and though unassuming and simplistic at the onset of the song, it doesn’t take very long for the melody that they’re producing to evolve into an all-out carnival of gripping grooves…
Fabp is grinding out hot, new tracks with his recent album titled ‘For Tha Crown’. Fabpz the Freelancer doesn’t know the word quit as this NYC artist/producer consistently churns out Fresh To Def recordings. This latest project by FabP is no exception as the relentless rapper looks to achieve hip-hop royalty with ‘For Tha Crown’.…
A celebration of true togetherness, Sarantos offers up a sage message on the joyous spirit of “Every Handshake Is Important”. For this particular piece Sarantos plays around quite a bit resulting in a freewheeling, funhouse take on songwriting. His vocals are heavily treated and manipulated, becoming pure elastic at times. Melodically nimble the way the…
The album Million Birds marks Six Mile Grove’s 20th year together as a band. It’s also the act’s seventh album to date, and it’s a fine one. It’s a release that asks the question, ‘Why aren’t these guys better known?’ Front man Brandon Sampson has a voice a little like Radney Foster’s. This Lyle, MN…
FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/myluvnotes/ “She Ain’t Me” by My Luv Notes is the new single featuring Stephanie Hochman, an outstanding singer with a classic delivery. The concept of My Luv Notes seems to be more about the music than the product sales, but that’s not only an honest approach, it’s actually-putting the music first. But it’s also…
A thunderous, bass-heavy beat rains down on us from above in the opening bars of “All My Girls,” the new single from the one and only Taylen, but its thunderous march is only a taste of what’s about to come in the next few minutes of unmatched melodies. A grooving percussive track enters the picture,…
Recorded across a number of live shows performed at none other than Brooklyn’s very own Strange Stage, Book of Clouds’ Livre De Nuages Vol 1 is an ambient tour de force that is making some pretty spectacular waves within the scene this season. This improv project designed by Ian C. Bouras and Federico Balducci takes an almost…
