CD and DVD reviews
“On the Run” presents a track that feels truly lived in, tender in tone and revealing the Royal Turns to be true masters of a dreamy world. With a sound that feels reminiscent of a reflective moonlit night there is something quite graceful about the way they let the song unfold. Everything simply works, from…
After breaking up in 2014, South Carolina pop band Eleventyseven is back with their new album, Rad Science, that’s coming out on November 7th. Their single from the album, “Holding Out,” is a deeply relatable millenial anthem. Eleventyseven is a fun band that delivers great pop tunes with electronic undertones- classified as neon punk, they…
The two latest singles from New York City based trio Phil Varca and the SlamJammers, “Cash” and “Don’t Push Me”, are the best recordings yet capturing the gloriously raw live sound and energy this blues inspired three piece are capable of generating for a crowd. Replicating a band’s live sound and performance velocity in studio…
Mike Derek went from being raised on a farm in Ontario, Canada singing in church choirs, to a singing competition in Nashville and was selected as one of two people who auditioned to record with famed Producer Richard Donahue. Richard set up a 3-song demo at Landshark Studios in Nashville and the rest is history.…
Jupiter In Velvet runs the gamut with an explosion of sound that is like no other. This one-man, wrecking crew & chameleon of sorts brings a wide array of musical elements, styles and tastes to his new album titled ‘In2 the Arms of Love’. I’m no stranger to Jupiter In Velvet and his eclectic act…
Walter has staged a remarkable comeback from some serious health issues, and is sounding and playing as good (if not better) as ever. This guy could play air guitar riffs in his sleep and wake people up. He’s enlisted a lot of blues/rock talent to complete this latest offering. He has an influential guest appear…
Sung with true heart and grit, Divining Rod’s “Hemlock Blues/Love Come Tumbling” represents folk’s glorious future. The energy that drives these two piece alongside is truly spellbinding, with the impressive guitar work giving it a sense of life. By far the true soul of the sound comes from the reassuring, warm vocals that tie the…
Supersonic Blues Machine is made up of Fabrizio Grossi on bass, Lance Lopez on guitar/vocals, and Mr. Energy himself, Kenny Aronoff on drums. SBM did much of the songwriting on this. This well connected trio has enlisted some of their cohorts to lend their talents to this release. Guests Billy Gibbons, Robben Ford, Eric Gales,…
The latest single from young songwriting prodigy Lexie Rose offers us a prime example of how talent informed by passion and discipline can produce amazing results early in an artist’s career. “20 Weeks” shows off the talents of a singer/songwriter/musician who is already working at or near the first of what promises to be a…
MicFreeze is a blossoming talent in the hip-hop/rap world whose Detroit upbringing informs his songwriting with a sense of hard won wisdom. He’s a young performer, so the layers of experience that come through in his songs have surprised many listeners and remain in full evidence on his latest single “Cousin Skeeter”. His talents are…
Out of Minneapolis, Minnasota comes enigmatic artist Austin Carson, better known as YYY, with a new spin on one of the most iconic albums of all time- The Beach Boys’ Pet Sounds. It is YYY’s first full length album, that features a number of Minneapolis-based artists that are just as eccentric as Carson himself. The…
Flatt Lonesome’s fourth album Silence in These Walls continues the winning streak for this six piece Americana act specializing in bluegrass and country music. Their songwriting mood is never limited, veering from despair to moments of genuine exaltation, and the depth of each collection from this critically lauded outfit continues to deepen with each new…
Brutal in its aural assault on the senses, Boy Eats Girl takes an intensely emotionally style with the powerful “Zugszwang”. Downright chaotic the multi-faceted, multi-layered approach work in unison to capture a plethora of doom-laden effects. By far the true heart and soul rests with the vocals, whose dexterity works wonders within the epic expanse.…
Kevin Fisher a multi-talented Multi-Platinum rock / country artist and pure genius or shall we say Guinness has pulled out all the stops and delivered a piece of musical perfection. He seems to have discovered the secret equation to a sure fire hit. One part music plus one part beer equals a whole lot…
Lee Roy is the Texas music legend associated with country music that grew up playing rock and roll. This release has a lot of everything including a blues vibe to it. Lee Roy collaborated on all of the songwriting with Greg Barnhill. Lee Roy plays all of the various guitar parts. electric, acoustic, slide, etc.,…
Monsieur Job’s first release; “Chow Chow Eyyy Pow Pow” is a project created and led by Basswalk Latino’s executive head; Jose Fernando Holguin. Written by Toby Holguin & Stan Kolev, that features Martin Cintron the singer and guitar player from the recognized nineties band; “No Mercy.” Also featuring a long list including; Kiño, Luis Carlos…
This release is a blues tribute of sorts, covering classic blues tunes originally delivered by Willie Dixon, Leon Russell, Booker T. Jones, and Muddy Waters. The Kentucky band does a really good job of resurrecting these blues classics. Built For Comfort is a good version, having a nice slow building presence. Champagne And Reefer is…
Running is a song that begins soft and gradually picks up. In this way the song itself seems to be running. Why the running is occurring doesn’t seem to be specified however they are definitely creating that feeling you get on a jog. Creating a feeling in a song is something which is difficult and…
The twelve songs on Gina Clowes’ solo debut True Colors testify to her talents within the bluegrass realm as well as her ability to transform it into something wholly her own. Rather than being beholden to the genre’s traditional subject matter, Clowes wields the music as a worthy vehicle for self-expression covering a gamut of…
Donna Ulisse’s new release from Mountain Home Music Company, Breakin’ Easy, features a dozen songs from the reigning IBMA Songwriter of the Year and brings a new found synthesis to her long standing style of mixing modern and traditional bluegrass music tropes with gospel and country. The songs come across as intensely personal statements Ulisse…
Magnificent Man is a wildly inventive, wacky musical circus. Hailing from small town Midwestern America, his story is almost archetypically American. His youth is the story of a young imagination responding to the allure of Freddie Mercury and Michael Jackson and making his own homemade music videos as another avenue of self expression. He pursued…
Russell Lee represents the power of country music on the classic “Meant to Be”. With a warm, welcoming message that feels universal. Quite tasteful, the way the song builds up swinging feels particularly satisfying. Over the course of the track a sense of finding oneself becomes the true theme of the entire piece. A journey…
Willy and the Planks plays with a psychedelic bluesy grit with their heartfelt self-titled effort. Sung with such fury, the songs work as meditations on a life lived most fully. Neatly referencing the blues greats while still incorporating their own style, Willy and the Planks crafts carefully laid out stories, mere snapshots of what it…
Channel K creates decadent pop perfection with an edge on the confident swagger of “Super Queen”. Exploring the importance of self-worth, the way the track unfolds gives it a true sense of joy. At times Channel K simply lets loose while the piece simply explodes in a brilliant burst of color. Layer upon layer works…
Kenny Fame takes creative music to new heights with his new experimental venture ‘Another Man’s Woman (I Don’t Wanna Lose This)’. A native of Harlem, New York, Kenny Fame is an international award-winning singer, poet, and songwriter, who have risen to fame with his fervent contributions in alternative R&B music. A new single EP, ‘Another…
Scott Smith delivers a blistering, bluesy take on the classic rock sound with the surefire “Igniting The Flame”. Neatly drawing from folk, country, all anchored within a careful singer-songwriter tradition the pieces linger in the mind. Riffs roll across the luxurious hyperactive pieces. Tempos rush through with a truly muscular presence. By far though the…
Stone Mob goes for a wild unhinged attitude on “Guaranteed (Betty)”. Volume deserves to be blasted for this is a sound that needs to be felt as much as heard. Guitar work feels outright insane, while the riffs have a raw quality to them, revealing an impressive degree of chops. The vocals and lyrics further…
San Diego, California based Trevor Drury has experienced considerable success in a couple of different worlds. The environment of the international modeling and musical worlds might seem, at first impression, to be distinctly different spheres, but there are similarities undoubtedly influencing Drury’s approach to both forms. His latest single “Trip to the Water” makes it…
Mama Juke’s debut album, is not your typical album release but a live album release titled “Mama Juke Live At Unit J”. So while you are getting original music by them, it is done in a live setting as opposed to a non-live atmosphere type of set up. This being not a bad thing at…
Listening to this Mixtape made me think back to the Golden Age of Rap/Hip-Hop when things were simpler and the music was hype. My very first Rap record was The Fat Boys LP from 1984 and that’s when I fell in love with this art form called Rap. Even at just five years old, I…
Shauna Burns brings back the magic of classical ballad with her new single release, ‘Scarborough Fair.’ Listen and enjoy the music. Shauna Burns, a seasoned singer, songwriter, and pianist from the high mountains of Salt Lake City, Utah, rejuvenates the charm of a classic ballad in her newly released single ‘Scarborough Fair,’ on the sixth…
SYBS’s “Motivation” positively shines with a message of inspiration and confidence. Over the course of the track SYBS neatly incorporate elements of R&B, hip-hop, pop resulting in a story that touches the very heart. Vocals have a silky-smooth quality to them, one that perfectly rides the easy-going grooves. Melodies possess a light and airy touch…
Portsmouth, England native Ben Brookes is out with a new single called “Integration (Not Segregation)”. As you can imagine, it’s a political song where Brookes basically says that he’d rather be on Mars instead of here, given how much of a mess everything else. Brookes is working on releasing his first full-length album called The…
Putting the spotlight directly on the wonderful genre of Reggae, Robert Ledesma looks to make a big impact and take the music to another level. Reggae artists and songs simply aren’t tearin’ up the U.S. charts today but Ledesma hopes to change that with his debut album titled ‘Any Moment’. The record has plenty of…
Drive On Mak opts for a classic cool on the laid-back atmospherics of the “Babylon EP”. Featuring loose and limber grooves the tracks have a freeform quality to them while they explore mellowed mood. A reflective spirit defines the entirety of the collection, shown both in the thoughtful lyricism and the glistening arrangements. Hard to…
The Commotions, given the choice between going big or staying home, choose to go big. The Ottawa based band features an extended eleven member lineup along with two lead singers, a trio of songwriters, and a five piece horn section anchored by trombone as well as baritone and tenor sax. Their influences inform the music…
The new single from California based five piece “Shake, Rattle, & Roll” is a surging, raucous guitar driven rocker that presses itself close to the listener from the start and doesn’t let them breathe. Four of the band’s five members hail from the Los Angeles area and each of the players involved earned top…
Laura Rizzotto sculpts a perfect pop track full of passion on the giddy “Red Flags”. Exploring the importance of reading the signs before beginning a relationship Laura Rizzotto opts for an energetic approach one that emphasizes the giddiness of the early stages of getting to know another person. Stylistically Laura Rizzotto anchors everything with a…
You need to pay attention to this song. If you just let the chorus breeze past, you might think Mark Newman is speaking in favor of its point of view, but far from it. Newman’s hard and unsentimental gaze at America’s love of owning firearms isn’t just some right-minded polemic set to an non-descript or…
The new remix of Kanisha K’s “Oh Damn Yeah” is a single certain to send the young singer’s career into another, higher, gear. A successful variation of a song mix should accentuate certain aspects of the track and the bold, boisterous production driving her performance and the sound of this particular track is notable. The…
