Legacy is a powerful track that needs little more to succeed than Kellie-Anne’s impressive vocal range and piano. The song is able to slot easily enough into pop rotation, but there’s a more wide-reaching appeal present here. It’s no surprise that Kellie-Anne’s vocals are able to pull double duty – more than just going and telling a story, her voice is able to bolster and add considerable depth to the…
On Lust, Trav Torch is able to refresh the sound of R. Kelly and T. Pain, adding considerable emotional quality to a sultry, sexy R&B effort. The instrumental side of Lust sets up an emphatic backdrop upon which the confident and inimitable style of TT can shine. The multiple vocal layers that are included in the song’s chorus keep things fresh and energetic; an increase in the effort’s momentum will…
F$O Dinero has a laid back style on Talk To Me that showcases considerable finesse. While the backing beat rises and falls in all of the right spaces, F$O Dinero’s vox are what really make the effort. Skillful usage of multiple vocal layers give the song a deeper, more fulfilling approach. With a fun dynamic between the aforementioned vox and keys leading out Talk To Me, there’s no doubt in…
On The Mountain, Bruce Sudano is able to build upon the tradition of performers like Warren Zevon and Tom Petty. A powerful narrative is presented here as contained here, bolstered through smart piano lines, Jackson Browne-infused guitars, and an ear for the single’s overall arrangement that is unparalleled. The Mountain spins off in a bold new direction at the 2 minute mark. Everything – Bruce’s vocals, the bass, and guitars…
All That I Am links together 1970s funk with mid-1990s Tori Amos to make something raucous and alluring. A bit of guitar fuzz calls out the pop-rock of the 1970s. The multiple layers that exist during Sunny Ozell’s latest single make for a much more complete sort of track; fans will delight in dissecting each taut bass liune, horns, and haunting choral element that the track has to offer. The…
Love Is The Weapon has a fun blend of styles from more middle eastern / Indian to reggae and even bits of rap. Elephant Heart’s new composition is confident and assertive in its sound, inserting itself quite nicely into listeners’ brains with an inimitable backing beat. An extended instrumental section provides a distinct middle to the single; when the vocals start back in, there’s a considerable boost to the momentum.…
What changes have occurred in your life since we last sat down? Not that much, mostly a lot of learning and experimenting with new gear and music ideas! You’ve had a busy 2019; what sort of events do you have planned for 2020? With the exception of some gigs, I would love to get 2-3 singles out with their own videos and maybe do one as well for Surrounding Me…
Malou Beauvoir’s Papa Damballah draws upon considerable tradition in its overall sound and subject material. Key to the song’s success has to be the crystal-clear vox contributed by Beauvoir. The focused drums and guitars imbue the composition with a classic sound that fans of modern jazz and flamenco will appreciate. Stunning visuals add a further layer of complexity to the composition. Fans ought to strap on a pair of headphones…
Grown Bones is a furious, eclectic track that showcases a performer in Lila Blue that has no parallel. With rapid shifts through vocal stylings, emotional states, and a set of continually shifting musical influences, Blue’s latest defies convention. There are some seriously head instrumental arrangements that build off the gnarly riffs of early Tool, while the vocals traipse from Bjork to Ani DiFranco and Janis Joplin. No two seconds of…
It has been a moment since we last checked in on Justina Valentine, but we were floored when Strawberry Soda crossed our desk. The thick, bass synths immediately draw in fans, while Valentine’s vocals refresh the time-tried approach of performers like Trina and Lil Kim. The unity of Justina’s bars and the hypnotic backing beat separates this cut from the rest of songs charting on the Billboard rap parts. The…
On The Moon, Natalie Major is able to weave an honest and earnest narrative with some of the most impressive vocals we’ve heard so far in 2020. Standing at the intersection of pop and the timeless singer-songwriter tradition, Major will have listeners firmly on the edges of their seat by the time that the first minute concludes. The dynamic established between the piano and the aforementioned vox is fantastic, pushing…
Benjamin Went Fishing, the latest track from Frogbelly and Symphony, has some of the most interesting time signatures we’ve heard this years. There is a fascinating pacing of the vocals that provides a more contemplative, introspective flair on the laid-back 1970s California folk rock sound. Multiple vocals included into the mix at points during Benjamin Went Fishing add further complexity to an already heady effort. The dynamic established between the…
Darling is a fun, retro-infused track that calls back to the days of A Flock of Seagulls and Duran Duran. The sweeping synths work well with the hopeful, heart-melting vox. There is a robustness to the single’s production – rather than redlining each constituent element of the song, Heartracer uses a gradient of loudness to make for a fully fleshed-out soundscape. Darling will appease fans of Walk the Moon and…
Naughty Jenny has Project213 calling back to the late 1980s and early 1990s. There are hints of the Sisters of Mercy, The Smiths and Midnight Oil. With an assertive set of vocals and luxurious instrumentation, Jared is able to make a song ring out loudly among a mountain of generic music. There is particular care taken into the creation of an aesthetic for Naughty Jenny. The slinky, stripped-down style of…
On Make U Happy, Force MD’s are able to establish their lasting style through multi-part harmonies and a chill, sultry backing beat. The approach they take during their latest single is utterly timeless; the song is easily able to work a New Jack sound as it is a K-Ci and JoJo swagger, all while keeping the resulting track honest to the tried and true approach used by the act back…
Into The Ground has a deep and dark sound to it that really allows the brooding vocals of Wettworker to shine. This means that there are nods to rap just as there are to darkwave and industrial. A head-nodding groove issues forth from this single; piano lines out of the Black Tape for a Blue Girl playbook imbue the composition with a timeless sound. Human and electronic elements couldn’t be…
I remember absolutely trashing my voice trying to reach the notes that Tom Keifer would hit during Cinderella’s hits back in the day. I was pleasantly surprised that his supersonic skills have not diminished after thirty years. On Hype, his latest track, there’s a very intense style of hard rock that fits Tom’s vox perfectly. This means that are bits of sludge rock and post-grunge that are incorporated here to…
No Ceiling hits a number of distinct marks at its onset. There are nods back to 1980s synthpop (think Zapp Band and neo-retro acts like Chromeo), the raw sex of performers like Chris Brown and Jason Derulo, and a bit of the finesse of a Babyface or Lionel Richie. EMG’s No Ceiling has a timeless sound to it as a result, ensuring that the song can bounce around a wide…
LVVRS are able to create a bouncy, musically intense rock track in the vein of Fall Out Boy and Walk The Moon. Supersonic vocals, a catchy clap track and sizzling guitars all unite to make something special. Iconic oozes charisma as LVVRS are able to whip in hints of 1980s rock (The Police, Genesis) to a vibrant and robust guitar and drum dynamic. Listeners will be singing along to LVVRS’s…
On Balance, Leah Jenea is able to call back to the Motown sound of the 1960s as well as the strong vocal style of performers like Angie Stone and Corinne Bailey Rae. The inimitable voice of Jenea is what will draw listeners in to Balance, while the bit of instrumentation that plays at the bottom of the single provides further complexity and drive to the song. There is an honest…