Pop/rock influences combine with a steadily melodic hip-hop persuasion in the new single from Stringz EMB, “Hijacked,” but while this might sound like just another hybrid rap track dropping this spring on paper, this is no run of the mill hip-hop single. There’s considerable depth to the instrumental framework of “Hijacked” that is hard for even the more discriminating of critics among us to ignore, and although Stringz EMB has…
Danger is all around in the new music video for XIIDC’s new single “3 Ninjas,” and I’m not talking about the visual setup alone. There’s an ominousness shadowing the verses that Artshow, Spell the Three and Typhanie & Co. are giving up in this performance, like a night stalker creeping behind us in the shadows, and yet there isn’t a drop of intimidation affecting the performance of these three rappers.…
The concept for Goldthread’s new single and music video “Tiffany Skylight” is pretty simple – push each other as much as possible to get the most dynamic effect out of the music. All the familiar rock n’ roll ingredients have been included in this recipe for rhythm-centric heavy music, but without the energy that these players are nudging each other forth with, “Tiffany Skylight” likely wouldn’t sound like the hard-hitting…
Although it features a heartily synthesized melody at the center of its arrangement, the new single “Say Nothing” from Flume and May-A doesn’t sound inorganic in the least. This is largely because of the vocal charisma its two stars offer from behind the mic, but even relative to some of the other clubby pop music I’ve been spinning this March, there’s something a lot warmer and truer to the artistic…
Geno Marriott’s new music video for his single “Take the Time: Smell the Roses” definitely lives up to its title in more ways than one, starting with the way it uses tempo to get us to appreciate the intricacies of nature on screen. Even though the music is merely a soundtrack, presented by Marriott himself in the video, it feels embedded with every frame of earthly beauty we see in…
A rock single is nothing without a signature riff, and Ignescent’s “Remnant” definitely has something special. The fretwork in this track isn’t quite the face-numbing brutality you would expect from a conventional heavy rock single, but it doesn’t need to be – the lumbering rhythm of the riffage here is enough to make anyone a rocker for life. Ignescent has a lot of competition coming at them from virtually every…
Pop-punk is pretty much everywhere once again in 2022, but this doesn’t mean there are many players in the mainstream doing the genre justice. I’m not talking about the usual suspects, the veterans, or the puritans either – when you’ve got more crossovers in this style of music than straight-up players, the fans can tell, which is why the Fizzgigs are getting the kind of love from listeners they are…
Against a vast urban backdrop like the one we’re introduced to in the opening frames of Goodfella Uno’s new music video for “Peace,” the upstart rapper seems rather small, as any person would beside all of the enormous skyscrapers behind him. It isn’t until his vocal comes into focus that we start to realize the irony of the imagery; in Goodfella Uno, indie rap fans have a giant voice that…
1. When did you first know you wanted to become a musical artist? What was the first song you ever wrote? I wrote a “song” when I was about four years old which was, in retrospect a reflection of my parents divorce. I basically took my mom’s side, and the song was a mockery of my dad. Years later, that song became an easy way to look at my early…
Whether driving home a huge melody in “Way Far Back” or tying together the harmonies in the video for “Why Does It Happen,” the guitars that guide the lyrics in Wave 21’s Brace Yourself are indispensable. Although there’s a lot more to this record than the luster of its string section, there is certainly no downplaying the importance of the fretwork in Brace Yourself, and I think this makes it a bit superior to its…
Some people wait a lifetime for that special person. That instant connection seems like an impossible dream. For others, it’s an instant and feels as though it was there all along. Time doesn’t seem to pass and the world seems to stop in the song “Sweetest of Melody”. Sung by Rina Chanel, with duet parts courtesy of Senghor Robinson, “Sweetest of Melody” is a lush, smooth jazz piece with a…
For Hanna Olah, opportunities have only just begun to arise for her budding career within the music industry. Performing under the moniker Hannyta, a remix of her latest single “17” arrives fresh off the heels of two more impeccable entries within her early career: both ballads, “Make It to the Night” and “Breaking Up” feel like crucial steps forward for Hannyta to make it to the point of being a…
It’s important to pick the right singles no matter what the style of music an album happens to present the audience with, and Barry Muir knows this. If he didn’t, I don’t know that we would be talking about the majestic new single “She’s a Little Wildflower” from his album Gentle, the second such track to see formal release in this format. Next to the impeccable “Weathered the Storm,” “She’s a…
90s alternative rock is a classic genre within rock n’ roll now, and while there are some who would use the style as a model to cheat the basics of pop with, others like FiveDFit are using it as the aesthetical jumping-off point they should. In their debut single “Super Galactic,” FiveDFit takes the alt-rock simplicity of yesteryear and marries it with melody-forward conceptualism becoming increasingly common in the 20s.…
The Midwestern wilds of the Dayton, Ohio area aren’t renowned for producing memorable popular music acts but that changes when you take Ludlow Creek into account. The quintet once known as Southbound began playing together as a cover band. A few years passed before the band eliminated covers from their typical set list and, instead, promoted their own material. A successful first album as Southbound opened the door to a…
Country singer/songwriter Matt Westin has been on a roll lately. His last few singles have charted well while his general profile within the country music community seems to be getting quite popular with all the right folks. That said, adaptation is necessary to sustain any real credibility in this business, and in collaboration with country/rockers Tennessee Outlaw Country, Westin is arguably putting forth some of his best work to date…
The ten songs on Carrie Biell’s new album We Get Along share an unity of purpose and theme that makes the Seattle based singer/songwriter’s new collection an instant contender for one of 2022’s best releases thus far. Biell is at home with several musical styles, never allowing herself to become a slave of any single direction, and her ability to move freely between musical masks diversifies these compositions in a way many…
1. When did you first know you wanted to become a musical artist? What was the first song you ever wrote? I believe I was around 10 years old. And the first song i wrote is, “You’re All I Want.” 2. Who are some of your top 5 musical influences? I would say Rick James, Sam Cooke, Michael Jackson, the other two can be interchangeable. 3. What’s in your IPOD…
Self-discovery can often include a lot of conversing with deities and an internal quest for understanding, and when the subject is broached so vividly in the song “Bazar” from Mary Broadcast’s Panic, we’re reminded just how personal the journey to holding a complete psyche is. While she’s pushing the boundaries of what separates the diary entries from lyrics in a pop track here, it’s par for the course in Panic; whether it’s…
Despite what some critics might try to sell you nowadays, there just aren’t many rappers who can make the crossover into singing melodically with any real level of success. It’s more than a skill – this is as raw a talent as it gets, and those looking to cultivate this kind of duality would be smart to take a peek at what Dici is doing with his new single “u…