CD and DVD reviews
“Sex”, the succinctly titled new single from New York City based indie alt-pop trio kingkween, builds on the considerable success experienced by the last single “Wild One” and points the way to the outfit’s bright future. kingkween was initially conceived in 2011 by collaborators lead vocalist KT Mulholland and producer/musician Captain Hitz. Drummer Rob Steadman…
Troy Lindsey & Shane Foote go for a soulful, heartfelt classic rock blues with the powerful “It Ain’t Freedom”. Elements of the song have an epic scale to it, accurately capturing the wild journey the two have embarked upon. Long ago, the two worked together in their very first band in high school back in…
Cinematic and delivered with such passion, Arash Behzadi creates a true masterpiece with the powerful “The Last Sigh”. Representing the absolute best of modern classical, every note feels deliberate and carefully considered. Melodies shine through while Arash Behzadi creates a natural rhythm that helps to frame the entirety of the proceedings. By opting for such…
Ezra Jordan brings the summer jams with the tropical, sun-drenched pop stylings of “10 Miles a Minute”. Absolutely silky smooth, his soothing voice rests front and center of it all. The flirtatious tenor of his delivery helps set the mood for the whole thing. Keeping things bright and airy, Ezra Jordan makes sure that this…
Gordon Thomas Ward offers a delightful take on folk and country with the tender “Providence EP”. Proving to be a deft storyteller, Gordon Thomas Ward sings with such crystal clarity. Over the course of the EP guitar playing possesses tremendous strength, whether it is the emotive acoustic take or the dreamier, spacious scope of the…
Playful to its very core, the Innocent Bystanders explore a celebratory sound with “Attractive Nuisance”. Saxophones have a swinging style to them helping to give the whole proceedings a bit of a ska flavor to them. Vocals go for something a bit untamed, wild as they roam through the impeccable tracks. Everything has such a…
Music plays a much bigger role in our daily lives than we often acknowledge. For most of us, it’s a pretty rare occasion to have a day go by where we don’t have some exposure to some sort of melodic sounds synchronized together in a catchy harmony, whether it be in a commercial jingle or…
Swinging with a bucolic, freewheeling positive energy, “Baby Put a Dress On,” the latest single from critically acclaimed roots rocker Frank Migliorelli, kicks off with a fiery start that remains consistently hot throughout the song, much like Migliorelli’s explosive, burgeoning career has been lately. “C’mon get ready, it’s Friday night,” he tells us with a…
Few Miles South’s “On Down the Road” does the traditional country music fan’s heart good. Heck, they’re unashamed fans of Sturgill Simpson and Chris Stapleton, the two near-saviors of contemporary country music. But good taste alone won’t win fans; the music must also be good, and Few Miles South has the goods. The song begins…
Laura Cheadle is not one to just kick back and do nothing but rather she is a fierce, go-getter with a pedal-to-the-metal-type attitude. But, Laura Cheadle decided to ease off the accelerator and slow things down a bit on her latest release, ‘Chill’. The title of the record matches the mood & tone of the…
In his new single “La Bikina” from the forthcoming album Piano Meets Mariachi, Esteban Alvarez presents us with the duality that exists within the parameters of contemporary Latin ambient music. On the one hand, we have a scene that is feverishly attached to its roots and preserving the rich textures that they’ve provided us with…
Terry Derosier’s “Thunderin’ Down the Road” is a single built upon a simple arrangement. It begins with a chugging acoustic guitar rhythm, where organ fills enter the mix before Derosier’s vocal. At about the track’s midpoint, however, the song slows down to a crawl before rolling faster again with an organ solo, which is followed…
Have you ever been to St. Louis, Missouri? Known ironically as the “Show Me” State, there are tons of things to do like Sweety Pies Restaurant, Six Flags, but move along to Nashville, Tennessee right to Music City and you would understand the importance of these two places as they have a lot to do…
Sister Speak goes for an angelic hue with the luxurious beauty of “The Stand EP”. With vocals that soar into the heavens, Sister Speak proves to have a deft, flexible voice, one that sits at the very heart of the entire collection. The tracks have a cinematic fervor to them while they unfold with an…
The Hills and the Rivers dive headfirst into a lush timeless folk with “The Fool & the Magician”. Keeping things to the essentials, the Hills and the Rivers allow their acoustic instruments to sing up into the sky. Doing everything with the utmost of care and taste, their carefully-considered arrangements recall the ambitious togetherness of…
Okay, first of all: THADEUS GONZALEZ! Secondly, SILVER INSIDE! I mean…I really wish that’s all I can say, but it isn’t. Matter of fact, I don’t think I can put it into words just how much of an artistic genius Thadeus is. This is one of those times, where it isn’t just about his voice…
Hailing from northwestern Minnesota, Terry Derosier’s journey into the professional music world began in 2014 when he fell off ten foot high scaffolding and landed on his head. The severe brain trauma experienced as a result of that fault ended his successful career heading a large construction company, but another door opened. Derosier soon began…
Bongo Boy Records & ANGELES goes for an untamed, unhinged sound with “Test of Time”. Reminiscent of the best of hard rock like Van Halen, the whole of the album feels life-affirming. Volume literally has a physical presence to it. Guitars scream up into the sky showing off their undeniable chops, with riffs adorning every…
To the fortune of Indie Rock lovers, following the release of the single and video “Ash Tray Kisses,” Singer/Songwriter Ryan Chernin recently dropped his debut LP “You Know Who You Are” via Inhuman Records, and what an assortment of work he has accomplished for inclusion his first full-length CD release which contains two more singles…
“Youth” is the first single from Blue Apollo’s EP When You Ask for Rain. Blue Apollo is a quartet from Dallas, TX, but like a lot of music out of Texas (e.g. Spoon), this song doesn’t sound much like stereotypical Texas music. These gentlemen met while attending Southern Methodist University’s Meadows School of the Arts.…
Tough On Fridays delivers an unforgettable, joyous sort of style with the beautiful “Wind”. Reminiscent of the best of early 90s alternative rock and pop-punk, their style still feels uniquely their own. Comparisons to Blink 182 and Nirvana are unavoidable, for Tough On Fridays draws from both bands. Akin to Blink 182, they have a…
The first thing I noticed right away when listening to Camille Nelson’s latest album, Lead Me Home, is just simply the sheer joy that went into each song. This 12-track recording is an absolute labor of love for Camille and one spiritually uplifting experience. Camille Nelson has been in the music industry for over 8…
This is one I’m particularly excited to review after I read D.L. Byron’s backstory and how he has quite the musical past! Byron was signed by Clive Davis the year I was born in 1979 to Arista Records and had his debut album produced by Jimmy Iovine, which churned a Top 40 Hit single and…
Louisville, Kentucky might superficially seem to be an unlikely home base for any sort of progressive music, but Ultratone buries that shallow assumption. Their latest single release “A Dream” hails from their fifth studio album Mellow and embodies an ongoing consolidation of their place in the modern music scene. Ultratone has long since evolved from…
Art always finds a way to bind one’s soul with its passion and there is no one born who has enough strength to abandon their soul even at the most demanding situations. Sarantos is one of the best examples of such a talent who has taken his passion from the childhood scribbles on a writing…
Originally hailing from the United States, Pete Atkinson has been ruling the world of modern pop music for quite sometime now. Most popular with his earlier stage name Fabulous p, he has currently reformed the name into Fabpz the Freelancer, which is already going places depicting his creative mind. An engineer by profession, music has…
Immensely skillful and tempered by life’s experiences, Luke Mulholland’s music is representative of a swath of recent young performers edging into pop world prominence with a stylized classic rock influence in tow. Mulholland’s choice of a primary instrument, guitar, is distinctly unfashionable in a EDM/hip hop world, but there’s undoubtedly still an audience out there…
Los Angele’s Clare Means stands out in an overcrowded indie music scene – her ability to deliver just what you need in the time you need it is both refreshing and magical. She hits all the emotions with effortless energy. Means, whose newest album Sidewalk Astronomy charts together starry-eyed reflective songs and emotional landscapes so…
“Evolution” by Ashley Delima leaves you wanting more – more of her voice. At just 19, this New Jersey resident is already on her second single and finding her niche in what feels like a pop rock abyss. She stands out and I have a hunch she will keep rising. Though born in New Jersey,…
With “Holding On To Nothing” Broken Testimony goes for a wild, feral take on alternative rock. Reminiscent of Korn and Alice in Chains, the sound is shrouded in darkness. The riffs have a heaviness to them while rhythms go for a force of nature quality to them. Determination rests at the very core of it…
Slick…that’s the one word I could use to describe Jacob Needham and The Blue Trees’s Procrastinated Memoirs album, released in April of this year. Actually, make that two words: slick and clever…this album is slick and clever. At least, that’s what Jacob Needham and The Blue Trees made it out to be, especially with their…
Have you ever been to Australia, Tasmania, or The United Kingdom? One thing is certain, the recent death of world-renowned Chef, Storyteller, and Traveler Anthony Bourdain has rocked the entire world as it relates to cultures being understood, new faces being met, and new places being seen. Many times, Australia, Tasmania, and The United Kingdom…
Look over your shoulder and be aware because the wildly zany bunch known as The New Occupants are urging people to “Be Careful What You Listen To”. I have heard all kinds of acts from all over the world but I can honestly say I’ve never heard anything quite like this group. Right away, I…
It’s almost impossible to examine modern hip-hop without seeing the obvious operatic qualities that have the genre for more progressive in 2018 than it was during its humble, stripped down beginnings in the 1980s. Audiences have gradually desired more and more of the epic, anthological rap tracks ala the experimental efforts of the Fugees, and…
Mark Schirmacher’s single “Are You Okay?” is a stark, honest question set to music. Shirmacher’s sincere singing voice is set against a folky electric guitar accompaniment and a politely quiet rhythm section. A Neil Young-ish harmonica solo is smartly placed within the track, as well. It’s both quiet and sweet. This song/question suggests all is…
Eye’z sings with fire and passion on the soulful “Still A Rainbow”. Her voice has a commanding presence to it rising above the rest of the arrangement. Done with the utmost of care, her voice possesses a soulfulness, one that incorporates elements of pop, R&B, and the blues into a satisfying whole. The arrangement has…
T C Crosser delves into an ornate modern chamber music with the thoughtful narrative of “Book Of Arius”. Reminiscent of Rachel’s fondness for delicate, carefully considered arrangements, the entire album feels alive. Listening to the album as a whole gives it a sort of soothing, inspirational quality to it. Gestures go for dramatic flourishes at…
Astronomique is a new band based out of Minneapolis that we’ve been keeping an eye on for a while now. They are about to release a new LP called Sharp Divide and have released another single called “Losing our Control” from the upcoming LP. This band sticks to their recognised genre of indie rock which…
Every day in the world, people are seeking new ways to do business. People are seeking no ways to create medication to cure various diseases, while people are trying to invent new technology to make the world a better place to live in…According to the Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary, a ‘Paradigm Shift,’ is considered to be…
Yam Haus is a synthesizer-anchored rock fourpiece from Hudson, WI. The single “West Coast” is taken from the group’s full-length Stargazer. The song’s sound is bright and hopeful. The lyric is not quite so confident, though. These words focus on a relationship that isn’t quite working out. Its title comes from how the protagonist is…
