Bold starts listeners off on Donna Zed’s new release, the Surrounding Me EP. The piano that kicks off things creates the perfect backing instrumentation upon which Zed’s 1990-infused vox can shine. Together, these two elements are able to make a rocking chorus that will tattoo itself deeply into fan’s psyche. The strings / vocal dynamic is perhaps the most tantalizing of this first track; fans of Fiona Apple or Tori…
Baradar (translated as “Brother”) is a short film about the distance that exists by two siblings. Composer Daniele Carmosino is able to cover a wide swath of ground with Hope, the release’s first composition. He is able to create an effort that will tattoo itself deep into the minds and hearts of listeners. Hope has an airy sound that builds its way to prominence by linking together a gradually-increasing tempo…
Low is the first effort on Summer Colds’ Here Comes Nothing, which unites the vocal styles of They Might Be Giants with the heavy fuzz of mid-1990s alternative. The bouncy beat that the band crafts during this intial salvo will draw in listeners, a trend that continues with Found. The refreshing take on pop-alt music like Weezer will appease fans of the style as well as those that are coming…
Air and Water is the introductory effort on An Ethereal Landscape, providing listeners with a lighthearted track. Sommavilla blends together organic and electronic sounds along with touching upon traditional, modern, and new age genres to craft a wholly unique sound. Everything flows naturally into one another; a synthesizer can open up to emotive guitars and vocal-esque arrangement. All in all, this first song will keep fans firmly planted on the…
Ease up (Into Love) is a soft-rock track that refreshes the singer-songwriter style of performers like John Denver and Gordon Lightfoot. Jay Elle’s instrumentation link together the Barenaked Ladies and Semisonic with a very germane and honest approach. There’s a surprising deep sound to this introductory track that will continue to yield dividends to listeners even five or ten plays in. Take a Holiday adds a bit of laid-back Island…
Talking With Owls immediately will draw listeners in with a high-energy guitar line, bold and assertive bass lines, and a set of vocals that meld together Sum 41 and Glenn Danzig. The Finger Guns are able to build upon the pop-punk of acts like Wakefield, Rise Against and Mest by mooring their music to the intricate early emo of mid-1980s DC acts. The immediacy of Go Away will call back…
Forgotten City is the initial track on Alex Hass & Bill Laswell’s Smoke and Glass, and it immediately takes listeners on a journey that refreshes the synth-heavy electronic music of the late 1970s and early 1980s. The fascinating thing about this introductory track has to be the narrative quality to the song’s compositions; listeners will be able to draw as much of a story here as they would with a…
Back Home is the first track on ei8ht and it immediately calls listeners back to the days of power rock bands like Boston and Journey. With a driving beat, down and dirty guitars, and supersonic guitars present from the onset, fans will be enthralled by the music that is to follow on Innuendo’s latest. Hard To Remember keeps the momentum of the first part of ei8ht high with guitars that…
On Life Without You, Mark Newman is able to make an impassioned, funky rock track that soars due to interesting arrangements and a timeless set of vocals. While the song builds upon the 1970s type of rock of Thin Lizzy and Wild Cherry, there is a vibrancy present throughout Newman’s latest that will make his latest into something special for many eras of fans. The contemplative instrumental dynamic that kicks…
On Ride Tonight, Dress Code is able to craft a dance track that immediately draws listeners in with a high energy and charismatic vocals. The song is able to refresh the 1990s electronic sound of Jesus Jones and a bit of INXS. Sweeping synths and emphatic drums tattoo the single’s melody deep into the hearts and minds of listeners. By including just a hint of U2-esque guitars into the mix,…
On Wake Up Call, Thomas Priest is able to create an energized emotive track that immediately draws listener in with charismatic vocals and a taut instrumentation. Whether it be complex drum lines or sizzling guitar riffs, the backing beat is able to provide ample highlighting to Thomas’s lyrics. A back and forth between more contemplative sounds and a furious, electronic-infused guitar/drum dynamic keeps the momentum high until Priests concludes his…
Today, we are speaking with iLUMiNATiVE. How have you been? Hi pretty good thanks, I am happy to finish a new project for this year. I have been marketing my new music and have been enjoying positive feedback. The album overall is pretty positive so I guess I get what I put out. What sort of events have transpired in your life since your last album, 2017ʼs The Awakening? It…
The titular single from Kundalini Rising blends rap, modern rock, and hints of acts like Linkin Park into a cohesive sound that will stick with fans long after the song ceases to play. Smart usage of synths unite these disparate elements and provide ample energy to the rest of the album’s compositions. Sacred Temple is a hard-hitting track that has a similar clap/bass assertiveness to Eminem’s Till I Collapse. The…
In her latest single, “Hold the Moon,” Charley Young is as vulnerable with listeners as she is fierce in her cunningly charismatic style of attack. Atop a swaying synthesized groove, Young’s vocal ascends into the heavens from which her harmonies were first spawned, taking all of us with it in a powerfully melodic chorus that I haven’t been able to get out of my head. “Hold the Moon” is quite…
Oh No is an effort that destined for big things. With bars that will immediately have listeners nodding their heads, Big Greg is able to insert a bit of a hooky groove with the cut’s chorus. There’s a bit of a retro sound to this with hints of Dorrough and Fabolous sprinkled in here. LaTruth, the featured rapper on Big Greg’s latest, does a tremendous job in varying the overall…
On Drake Sh!t, Trav Torch is able to create a sexy, sultry sound that looks back to the mid-1990s R&B sound of Public Announcement and Jodeci. The light instrumentation present here provides highlighting to Torch’s vox while standing up on their own. This is the sort of effort that will get the raw passion of a club ramped up to 11. Trav Torch is able to hit all the notes…
My First Hunnid is a hot track. The flow that Mike Smiff lays down here is unparalleled with a hell of a lot of melody and a style that is purely his own. Where a number of performers have some cornerstones that they are influenced by, Mike Smiff is able to boldly forge his own approach through the meat of this single. The presence of Gank Gaank into this mix…
Love You Forever is a dense and deep track that continues to yield new twists and turns 5, 10, or 20 spins in. The synths decidedly look back to the early 1980s while maintaining the same high energy of modern EDM. Settling in Sam Martin to the vocal side of things ensures that Love You Forever will garner airplay not only in the dance charts, but even in the most…
Heartache has a dirty groove to it that sweeps up The Killers with the sizzling guitar work of The Darkness and Wolfmother. With more than enough rockstar swagger to keep the song’s energy high, Biting Elbows state their case quite well here. Give a listen to the all-in chorus at the 2:25 mark for precisely what we’re talking about. Control is a dark and emotive synth-rock track (imagine Franz Ferdinand…
Lovely I Am is a touching pop track that is able to pick up the standards of Lana Del Ray and Ellie Goulding while allowing Empress the opportunity to bring her own unique siound and charisma to bear. A twinkling instrumentation, replete with Vanessa Carlton-esque pianos, provides all the highlighting and support that Empress’ voice needs to make this effort into something special. The back and forth between the piano…