Zachary Kibbee has so much emotion that is packed into each note on his latest track, Don’t Fade Away. Little more is needed in this performance than Kibbee and his guitar. Each note is absolutely vital here in creating something engrossing, adopting hints of blues, surf, and mid-1990s alternative. The richness of this recording really allows his honestness and earnestness to shine through. While the track ends before the four-minute…
Wiley Watson’s The Kid has a funky sound replete with guitar and booming beats. Beautiful vocals a la MGMT establish the single as something wholly distinct from the rest of the music currently cluttering playlist rotation. Watson is able to do more with his vox than merely tell a story – he’s able to bolster the backing arrangements through the infusion of another layer of harmony. The Kid is one…
Midnight Escape is an effort that showcases Barbara’s considerable vocal range. During this track, Santora does more than weave a narrative over the course of three minutes. Rather, she’s easily able to add to the overall melody established by the piano and drums. The overall spirit of Midnight Escape is one of a smoky jazz club; one could easily imagine the track being included in some middle-century detective or noir…
Sarah Christine’s new single The Choice is an eclectic blend of styles and approaches, a bouncy sort of effort that takes on 1990s dance, alternative rock, pop, and even even a bit of R&B before the song ends. The glue that unites these distinct approaches is Sarah’s charismatic voice. Where she is able to tell a story in a way to get toes tapping, there’s a great deal more nuance…
ADITI’s Glass is a hopeful sort of track. The pianos and drums that start off ADITI’s latest will draw listeners in, while the passion and charisma that goes into each and every lyric here ensures that one will stick around until the track’s final few moments. During Glass’s run time, there are nods to pop institutions like Billy Joel and Elton John. The song is infused with ADITI’s unique take…
Better Off starts off with alluring keys and a bit of brooding synths. When BankrollShell’s vocals begin, the song is able to take an entirely different vibe. The song could easily make its way onto rap or R&B rotation. The production ensures that both the lyrical and musical sides of things are able to shine on their own as well as contributing to a greater whole. BankrollShell is able to…
Sankarshan Das’s “The World Peace Formula” will immediately draw listeners in. The song links together guitar with a rich set of vocals; there’s a set of influences that are obvious here from John Mellencamp to Dave Matthews. When Das makes it to the chorus, there’s a nod back to the protest tradition of the 1960s. With the incorporation of multiple voices to the chorus, Sankarshan is able to showcase the…
Grey DeLisle’s take on O Holy Night is a very reverent take on the classic track. The considerable talent showcased here by DeLisle becomes evident in the single’s first :20. There’s the lightest trapping of instrumentation present in this version, a smart decision to allow Grey’s voice to reach considerable highs. The vocal approach adopted here brings in hints of Stevie Nicks and Dolly Parton. The cover works as Grey…
Lost Romance’s “Heart On A Wire” calls back to the mid-1980s Buffalo punk of early Goo Goo Dolls. Punchy vocals, fuzzy guitars, and a stripped-down production ensure that each lyric is buried deep into fans’ minds. The vocals link together California hardcore with a bit of hardcore/emo punk (e.g. Rise Against). The bridge between the song’s beginning and end have a bit of nice echoing, while the sizzling guitar work…
Tealand Smith’s Christmas Day In America is a smooth and softly=sang song that both showcases Tealand’s ability to sing and his ability to create something that will hopefully keep fans hopeful about the holidays to come this year. The backing instrumentation is assertive and rich without threatening to overwhelm Smith’s single. The drum beat and keys playing at the background provide a bit of highlighting to Tealand’s vocals, adding further…
Cathedral is a wonderful blending of traditional-style arrangements with emotive electronic sounds. The sweeping synths and deliberate drum beats create an immersive sound. The gradual moving away from this sound to a more solo, lonely type of keys allows Cathedral to give up the ghost gently. The Last Machine is a track that ties together jungle / electronic sounds with sweeping synths to ensure that listeners remain firmly on their…
Moonray’s When You’re Around blends together psychedelic rock with Kraftwerk meets Klaus Schulze-type of arly electronic to make something wholly unique. The video should be required viewing for anyone seeking to gain the full nuance to the track, as the visuals range from cartoon to noir and zombie flick all in the course of five minutes. This multimedia approach has largely been cast to the side in the Spotify/streaming era,…
Neff Nuffsed’s Stranger Things is a furious rap track, tying together rapid-fire rap bars with chattering percussion and absolutely evil sounding synths. Nuffsed is able to bludgeon listeners over their heads with his fury, while the contributions by Mic B and Mr L-BO during StrangeThings keeps things fresh until the last drop. This is an effort that is truly larger than life, working well not only in the hardcore rap…
Sugar, Honey, Ice Tea has Dani Stevenson call back to Destiny’s Child and Blu Cantrell. Charismatic vocals blend with infectious synths and drums to make for a track that will get listeners dancing. Smart repetition of the titular phrase will bury the song deep into the minds and hearts of listeners. The raw passion and sexiness of Stevenson’s video will draw in eyes as well. Shya Lamour’s bars on Sugar,…
QVNTRO’s Hold On is a fantastic call back to early 1990s dance. With hints of CeCe Peniston’s Finally as well as C&C Music Factory present here, there’s no denying that QVNTRO know their stuff. The keys and hi-hats imbue an air of coolness that is hard to deny here, while the vocal sample acts as the glue that unites all the distinct sections of the track. Rather than merely refreshing…
Boston’s Elsewhere is able to build upon the foundations of acts like R.E.M. and Collective Soul on their new single, The Pledge. Elsewhere is able to deftly link together emotional pleas with seriously intricate instrumentation. Challenging norms of traditional time signatures, there’s even a bit of a nod to prog-rock legends like Pink Floyd here. Elsewhere creates a cut in The Pledge that will require individuals to strap on their…
Groove, a new cute from De Royce (along with Jay Dutch and BiiG Dreams) is a perfectly-polished piece of electrofunk. The song is easily able to make it onto R&B playlists, but there’s no denying that the inspiration for the track comes from the funk and disco of the late 1970s. There’s nods to early Michael Jackson and even Lionel Richie during the more laid-back and chill introduction. Even the…
Christopher Watson’s “Truth Is” is a powerful effort that tells a story of African-Americans historically and in the current era. With a narrative of uplift, Watson is able to showcase how much of a positive force an individual can be. The backing instrumentation on Truth Is is laid-back but deceptively deep. The different samples and deliberate percussive sample acts as the perfect palette upon which Watson can paint his vibrant…
Eliza May’s new single I’m Coming Home is one of those EDM tracks that immediately inspires hope in listeners. ;Alluring vocals combine with dynamic synths and percussive beats. Eliza May has the ability to create a cohesive blending of instrumental and vocal with her latest track, showcasing tremendous emotional depth even as she creates a burning desire in listeners to make it onto the dance floor. I’m Coming Home has…
Higher Love is one of my favorite tracks of all time, and it is great to see that there’s a new cover that does more than just hit the high notes of the original. Kamoken’s take on this (with Malou Beauvoir laying down the vocals) is one of those rare examples where a cover is absolutely able to hang with the source material. There’re hints of island melodies with just…