Category: Music Reviews

Paul Jacks is back this summer with a fascinating sequel to his watershed solo debut Defractor in In Other Words, a record which is literally filled to the brim with elegant melodies that have been shaped into catchy, yet always surreal, soundscapes of the most erudite variety. Right from the start of the tracklist in “In the Late Dark,” Jacks is playing like his life depends on it, and giving up one of the most passionate performances that I’ve personally had the chance to take a peek at this summer. Simply put, In Other Words is the full-color sophomore album that we had all hoped it would be.

FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/pauljacksmusic/

The synthesizer’s interplay with the drums in the title track, “Kintsu,” “Draw Upon” and the flamboyant “Anything At All” is simply brilliant. It adds so much aggression where there would otherwise be none in these compositions; it’s refined and yet still viciously raw thanks to the gritty arrangement of the other components in each track. Jacks has found the perfect combination of sugar and spice in In Other Words, and though I found Defractor to be really spellbinding in terms of stylistic fluidity, it lacked the aesthetical diversity that we find in spades on this album.

This master mix adds to the ethereal qualities of the rollicking “Too Emotional,” gothic textures of “On the Tightrope” and hypnotic thrust of “Do What You Will” substantially. Everything here is very deliberately structured as to draw our attention to all of the detail within the instrumentation and vocal, regardless of how subtle or intricately faceted it might be. In Other Words is about as highbrow as alternative music has been in a long time, but there’s not one occasion on which we feel as though we’re listening to an intellectual diatribe, or worse yet, a ten-track stroking of egos.

“Do What You Will,” “Too Emotional” and “Anything at All” are really danceable tracks, and I think that they express a lot more through their defined grooves than they ever do through the sizzling poetry that Paul Jacks emits (which is no small statement to make). Jacks wants us to be completely stimulated by every element of this record, and though he comes close to overdoing it in a few instances, this is by and large a really tight, robust offering from an artist who has clearly come into his own beyond what any of us expected on this second LP.

SPOTIFY: https://open.spotify.com/album/5waWzIOcaIdLIZV4tzuNKJ

After a lot of experimentation in his rookie release, Paul Jacks has found his signature sound in In Other Words, and I for one cannot wait to hear what it sounds like in-person. He’s got such an alluring charisma in this record, so much undying passion, and I’m really interested in seeing where it takes his music in the next couple of years. This is definitely a statement album, and what it says about its creator is just as valuable as what it tells us about the future of alternative music, and moreover, the independent artists responsible for keeping it alive in the 21^st century.

Kim Muncie

Ocean Blue is an effort that draws heavily on the rock of the 1960s and 1970s. The charisma of the vocals, confident guitars, and a taut instrumentation unite to make for an effort that will tattoo its melodies deep into the minds and hearts of listeners. Makin’ Good Time is an effort that goes a bit further back to the halcyon era of The Beach Boys and The Animals for its influence. The bright and bouncy sound of Zuffalo here keeps the album’s momentum high as the act continues to provide fans with further information about their influences and styles. A particular high-point during this cut has to be the robust bass line that plays at the bottom of the instrumentation, providing a secondary narrative aspect that interacts well with the lyrical content of the composition.

I See My Future has a jammy demeanor to it and a fantastic secondary set of vocals that further delineates this cut from the rest of this self-titled album. It is during this single that the instrumentation of the band may be the most dense and detailed. It will take fans multiple plays to hear each and every dynamic that the act establishes here.

The one-two approach of Lately and You Didn’t Tell Me provide an emphatic end to a solid album. Lately’s got a more laid-back, 1970s-infused style that will appease fans of Meatloaf and The Steve Miller Band, while You Didn’t Tell Me whips in a bit of psychedelic rock into the mix. While many bands are perfectly okay with winding things down in a general fashion, Zuffalo keeps things intense until the album’s concluding notes. Make sure to get your own copy of the band’s release from your favorite DSP.

We previously covered Zuffalo’s Any Given Speed and Loose Cannon.

Top Tracks: Any Given Speed, Makin’ Good Time, I See My Future

Rating: 8.4/10

Zuffalo – Zuffalo / 2019 Self Released / 9 Tracks / Domain / Facebook /

Everything, the latest single from J-Carter, is able to refresh the sound of late-1990s and early-2000s acts like Common, Nas, and Talib Kweli. Booming beats and sultry secondary vocals are able to mesh well with the pointed and intense wordplay of J-Carter. There are a number of distinct arrangements presented here that will take fans multiple plays to fully appreciate. The 1:45 mark demarcates an increase to Everything’s momentum, a decision made that keeps listeners firmly on the edges of their seats until J-Carter rides through the single’s last note.Everything does much to reinvigorate a classic form of rap into as modern timeline. Everything comes out on September 13th.

J-Carter – Everything / Facebook /

Bad Energy is an energetic track that blends together a haunting backing beat with a rap flow that builds off of the tradition of J. Cole and Kendrick Lamar. The nuanced wordplay here will have listeners repeating LINKS’s latest single to hear everything that had been contained in. The chorus is able to strike out in a bold new fashion while riffing on the main backing beat. Bad Energy allows the instrumental and vocal sides of LINKS to shine. Together, they are able to establish the single as something wholly different from what’s currently garnering air play while keeping reverent of the acts that immediately preceded them.

We previously checked out LINKS’ STEPS.

LINKS – Bad Energy / Domain /  Facebook / Twitter

The one-two punch that begins the Broke Royals’s new album Saint Luxury is warm, emotional, and musically impressive. The brief introduction that washes over listeners with Ave continues into the full, confident alt-rock that issues forth with Saint Luxury . The same deep sound is fostered during the extended vocal introduction to Bad Chemicals. The Broke Royals move into bold new territory with Love & Tatters. Blending together the 1980s rock approach of Dire Straits with the same charismatic sound of The Ataris and Brand New. A hint of electronic tinge interspersed into the track ensures that fans will continue to find new dynamics even five or ten plays in.

Can’t Say draws well from the lo-fi sound of early-oughts indie rock. With bits of The Anniversary and The Red Hot Valentines studded throughout, the Broke Royals are able to craft a bold new sound that is tremendously reverent of the acts that have preceded them. Born To Break’s beginning blends together sizzling guitar work with punchy drums; the vocals stand out in a timeless fashion as fans of both John Mellencamp and Jakob Dylan will be able to find something alluring during this cut.

Love, Youth & Glory is a polished power-pop track that maintains the same serious vocal gravity that had been a cornerstone of previous efforts on Saint Luxury while kicking out the jam. God Bless Saint Luxury goes back to the late 1990s with hints of Cake, Weezer, and Marcy Playground. The rising motion that the vox hit at points during this cut keeps the momentum high as fans move into This Is Really Happening. The album’s final cut is massive, a monument to ten-minute epics that has the band traverse considerable ground in a space less than half of that.

Top Tracks: Love & Tatters

Rating; 8.8/10

Broke Royals – Saint Luxury / 2019 Self Released / 14 Tracks / Facebook / Instagram   

The Oddneighbourhood’s Cherry Wine is a laid-back, fuzzy track cast in the mold of 1990s alternative music. Dreamy vocals do more than merely contribute the lyrics, adding mightily to the swirling guitars. Instrumental interludes are used to great effect during Cherry Wine, allowing the vocals to punch back in with oomph. With subtle nods to 1980s acts like The Psychedelic Furs and David Byrne, The Odd Neighbourhood are able to craft a song that is truly their own. Cherry Wine will stand up to multiple plays as fans will continually find new nooks and crannies secreted away by the band.

The Odd Neighbourhood – ‘Cherry Wine’ / Bandcamp / Facebook

Slark Moan, the pseudonym for Nashville singer/guitarist Mark Sloan, has spent plenty of time of late gigging with some of that town’s greats, serving as touring guitarist for folks like Margo Price and Erin Rae. But even with that impressive resume, it’s still remarkable just how great his latest effort, Superstition For The Consumer Romantic, manages to be.  

Across 10 tracks, delivered with airy, soaring vocals – steeped in sweep melody and wrapped in strong, tight guitars, Slark Moan churns out dreamy indie pop that would fit just as comfortably on a playlist alongside bands like Deer Tick and  J Roddy Walston as it would with some of the Americana bands he tour with. While there’s not a weak track in the collection, the up-tempo “American Middle-Class Disaster” is easily the highlight of the set.

In true indie fashion, he not only wrote and played every instrument on the record, he also produced and engineered the album himself as well. After years spent standing on the side playing someone else’s music, Sloan proves that he is more than ready to have his name at the top of the show flyer.

Slark Moan – Superstition For The Consumer Romantic/10 tracks/self-released / 2019 / Facebook /

Although Mike Jacoby offers hints of Americana and even rockabilly throughout his third solo offering, the record is still firmly planted in the world of rootsy rock and roll.

Jacoby cites folk troubadour Todd Snider as an inspiration for Long Beach Calling, but it’s just as easy to pick out influences from folks like John Fogerty and The BoDeans here. The opening song, the rollicking title track with its Johnny Cash-like rumbling train guitar sound sets a high bar for the rest of the songs that follow. And while that one is easily the album’s high mark, there are still plenty of other great songs spread throughout the record, like the lyrically savvy “Pine Box” and the superb “Just In Case,” sounding like a long lost Kinks rarity.

The album gets weighed down a bit toward the end with a handful of less-inspired tracks (like the mediocre “BBQ Pit” or the unnecessary “Play Like Richards,” an answer to Maroon 5’s long-since forgotten “Moves Like Jagger”); But not so much that it takes away from the highlights that dominate the rest of the record.

Mike Jacoby – Long Beach Calling/11 tracks/ Self-Released /2019 / Domain /

Canada has been producing some really exciting talent this year, and among the brightest stars that I’ve had the pleasure of taking a look at lately is none other than Rebecca Binnendyk, the sultry singer/songwriter whose 2016 album, Some Fun Out Of Life, won the hearts of critics and fans across the country and beyond when it first debuted. 2019 sees Binnendyk returning to the spotlight once more with the release of her brand new single, the lovesick power ballad “Brick by Brick,” ahead of the long-awaited follow-up to her acclaimed greenhorn LP. I got the opportunity to give “Brick by Brick” a listen ahead of its premiere recently, and to say that I was impressed with what I heard would be putting it very mildly.

Every component of this track and its music video is used to stimulate the mood created by the harmony between Binnendyk and the foundational piano parts that are beneath her in the mix. From the crumbling bricks that we see on our screen to the supple recoiling of the percussion as the melodic wallop of the other instruments comes crashing through the silence during the chorus of the song, there’s nothing unnecessary or nonfunctional in this recording, and that’s not something that I can say about most of the pop singles that have landed on my desk this month. It’s obvious that some serious work went into making “Brick by Brick” the masterfully produced video (and tightly arranged title track of Binnendyk’s new album) that it is, and I’m not surprised in the least that it’s been garnering the critical praise that it has been this August.

SPOTIFY: https://open.spotify.com/album/7MvU9xjRcyE069OlqkODhs

If this song is a fair representation of what we can expect to hear out of Rebecca Binnendyk’s sophomore LP, then I can’t wait to get ahold of my own copy as soon as it comes out. “Brick by Brick” is overwhelmingly multifaceted, and though some listeners might find it to be a bit cerebral when juxtaposed beside the singles that have been gracing the top slots on the Billboard charts lately, I think that’s exactly what makes it such a uniquely fetching listen. Binnendyk’s got my attention, and I doubt that I’m the only music journalist saying as much right now.

Kim Muncie