I Want It Now is a powerful opening to the new album by Sundogs, The Code. With sizzling guitar work and an emotive take on the song’s arrangements, the act is able to bring listeners in by the barrelful. Settling into the seventies style of rock that links together early Ted Nugent with Boston and Bachman-Turner Overdrive with a dollup of 1980s hair metal (e.g. Ratt, Cinderella), Sundogs immediately kick…
Elly Ball’s Control begins with a funky, layered approach that acts as a nice counterpoint for single’s poppy vocals.There’s a nice chiaroscuro exhibited during this composition with Ball’s soft and sly vocals interacting with the bassy synths. These two elements combine to make for an engrossing sound. The slowdown that occurs at around the 2:40 to 2:45 mark allows Ball to move into a vocal approach that draws from traditional…
Jenn Nucum’s Out For Blood hits listeners with introspective guitar work and tender yet strong vocals. With an uncanny ability to create a vibrant landscape with each lyric, Nucum will immediately draw fans into the track. The dynamics established between the guitars and Jenn’s voice pushes each to an entirely higher peak. The deliberate arrangements here are reminiscent of OK Computer-era Radiohead or Bush’s Glycerin. Indie rock and twee are…
On NEOMI’s new single On Your List, a slinky vocal style is matched to an assertive, bassy synth. The hooky vocal style of NEOMI will bury itself deep into the minds and hearts of listeners. Instrumental sections do well in refreshing the track immediately after On Your List’s chorus. With Kevin Jardine building off of the eclectic and dance floor-ready style of producers like Shock Value-era Timbaland, NEOMI is able…
All in It Together is a track born out of the current pandemic. Showcasing the collaborative element of humanity while insisting upon the need for safe behaviors, Dos Floris are doing their due diligence to keep the whole of humanity safe. With a hopeful set of vocals and guitar-led backdrop, Dos Floris is able to create a catchy set of harmonies. These harmonies will bury themselves deep into the minds…
NOLA Resistance has crafted their own re-tooling of Gil Scott-Heron’s classic “The Revolution Will Not Be Television”. Updating the vibrant lyrical examples to the current period, the act has given the composition a new lease on life. More than changing up the narrative, NOLA Resistance has also created a wholly distinct set of backing instrumentation for the song. Where there was an insistent flute and a forceful tempo on Scott-Heron’s…
On JFK, Head Fake create a compelling track that blend together slinky late-1990s rock (e.g. Stabbing Westward, U2, Pulp) with a gritty set of vocals that build upon the tradition of Tom Waits and late-era Johnny Cash. The production on JFK ensures these numerous sections are able to shine alone or as part of the greater whole. The bass line, keys, and splashy drums establish a vibrant soundscape upon which…
2020 marks the third time that Anchor Brewing and San Franpsycho have teamed up to create an India Pale Ale that exemplifies the spirit of the city. This time around, the duo have released an IPA that utilizes apricots and peaches to give a little tartness to the oftentimes sweeter juicy IPA style. The brew pours with a darker yellow / goldenrod coloration and a little less than a finger’s…
Today, we are speaking with Chicago pop/punk act Dead Freddie. Can you give us a little background information about yourselves? The current members of the band are: Gintas Buinevicius on Drums, Guitar and Backing Vocals, Gary Vacha on Guitar and Backing Vocals, Karl Sperling on Bass Guitar and Backing Vocals, Sam Steagerman on Trombone and backing vocals and Donatas Ramanauskas on Lead Vocals and the occasional Punk Accordion. Gintas, Gary,…
MC Homeless & HaplogroupX (Transplant and Bernichus) released their Duress EP in late May. First off is Disarray, a single that utilizes a backing beat that calls back to 1970s folk rock. Taking turns tackling the track with disparate styles, listeners can pick up hints of mid-1990s NYC and a bit of the Digital Underground in the triad’s vox. The extended instrumental interlude (beginning at 1:30) gives listeners a second…
Silence Is Violence has some sick synths interlaced into the track. The message that Sanya N’Kanta impress upon the track is timely and showcases the need to provide consistent pressure on one’s oppressors. Guitar riffs punctuate the different segments of the single, making for a delicious blend of instruments when considered alongside a bass line playing at the bottom of the track. Silence Is Violence is a track that should…
Change My Life is a dance / pop track that blends together confident and positive vocals with sweeping synth lines to make for something easy to bop along with. The track has a message that anyone that has ever fallen in love will be able to understand. The backing instrumentation is simultaneously familiar and interesting; rising and falling to properly bolster Kolette’s vox, it represents Change My Life’s backbone. Kolette’s…
The Light, Forrest Isn’t Dead’s newest single calls back to eighties-pop rock and modern emo music. Charismatic vocals link together Brendon Urie and Jakob Dylan, while the instrumentation ties together hauntingly beautiful guitars and an insistent synth beat. The production of The Light keeps each element separate, joining together the riffs, synth lines, and calming vocals for the chorus. The song is so unlike anything currently out on Spotify playlists;…
Klassy is a hard-hitting track that brings a ton of lyrical fire even as listeners are brought into a scintillating musical backdrop. Touching upon issues of racism in the music industry, the cut is able to put a spotlight on a behavior that can be traced back over 100 years. Touching upon R&B, Dr. Dre’s 1990s production and even a bit of trap, Klassy just works. Where there’s a number…
On Stay, JamLive are able to bring in hints of Muse and Radiohead to something that is tremendously emotional and alluring from its onset. The care in which JamLive takes to create this soundscape is nothing less than incredible; both the vocal and instrumental sides contribute to a greater whole. The usage of white space here is nothing less than impressive; the act can move from quiet sections to something…
On My Phone is Trying to Kill Me, The Aces are able to create a song that not only has a good pop-rock groove, but also contains one of the most infectious chorus we’ve heard so far this year. Charismatic vocals in the vein of Paramore or Taylor Swift unite with lush synth lines and a bit of contemplative guitar work to make something larger than life. Truly a multimedia…
Bored has Sun & Flesh create a track that will bury its melodies deep into fans’ hearts. There’s sizzling guitar riffs, splashing drums, and a tautness to the arrangements that ensure that the band’s latest will stand up to repeat plays. Fans of the Deftones, The Eels, or Fear Factory will find something to dig into here. The band’s vocal melodies that play at the top of Bored add a…
On his new single Floatin‘, Pomona’s own Overlord Gruff is able to craft a hard-hitting track that calls back both to gangster rap as well as the dirtiest bars of performers like Freddie Gibbs and Surve. The production of Floatin‘ is another solid piece of the puzzle, going back to the mid-1990s California scene and the mid-oughts Atlanta sound. Add just a dash of Organize Minds-styled ethereal synths at the…
Box Food begins Specyal T’s new LP, A Specyal Remedy. The track is able to effortlessly straddle the line between R&B and funk, blending thick bassy lines with ever so cool jazz keys. This initial track expands upon the tradition of performers like Angie Stone and Sade while sounding fresh and current. Yorkshire Pudding is a sultry and sexy effort that succeeds due to Specyal T’s vox and a bit…
It’s All Over Now, Baby Blue starts off Vargen’s collection of Bob Dylan covers. Immediately showcasing his ability to transform vital parts of Dylan’s corpus, this introduction is heartfelt, emotive, and well-polished. With such a distance between the original and Vargen’s version, fans will be locked in to see what the performer does with the rest of these compositions. I Threw It All Away keeps hitting listeners in the feels…