In his new single, the brilliantly melodic “Be My Main,” Allocai is discussing love, lust and the life that we all try to live in between the two in one of the most poetic tracks the young songwriter has dropped to date. “Be My Main” is structured as to keep our focus on its airy lead vocal from beginning to end, but despite the highly stylized lyricisms the he dispenses,…
Most critics will agree with me when I say that country music is reshaping its identity right now, and it’s partly due to the influx of alternative, folk-influenced and Canadian talent entering an arena that has traditionally been dominated by artists who are anything but. Among the more interesting newcomers that I’ve had the pleasure of coming across this month is none other than the Canadian two-piece The Promised, whose…
“Why can’t we pretend? / It’s not me… it’s them / Why did we believe? / That this would be okay” croons Sharon Lia in “Why Can’t We Pretend?,” the new single from her eponymous band’s upcoming studio album Beyond Wonderland, every word glistening with as much of a reflective nuance as the music in the background does. Lia is all heart in this single and the album from which it…
Kris Oestergaard’s Transforming Legacy Organizations is a short book brimming over with information. It has an ambitious aim. Oestergaard studies how long-standing companies with deep histories are able to compete with modern start ups if they are willing to embrace innovation, encourage a culture valuing its principles, and commit themselves towards overcoming whatever perils may obstruct their vision for future development. His examination is well rounded. There are no extended sidebars or…
The financial information pertaining to risk factors alone are what help pack Risk: Living On The Edge full of vital history in the age of mass data and tells some great stories involving the rise of it all in chapter 3, and that’s one of its more fascinating parts early on for me. The information in the stories are key to getting interested in the following chapters in the book…
Paul Jacks is back this summer with a fascinating sequel to his watershed solo debut Defractor in In Other Words, a record which is literally filled to the brim with elegant melodies that have been shaped into catchy, yet always surreal, soundscapes of the most erudite variety. Right from the start of the tracklist in “In the Late Dark,” Jacks is playing like his life depends on it, and giving up one of…
Canada has been producing some really exciting talent this year, and among the brightest stars that I’ve had the pleasure of taking a look at lately is none other than Rebecca Binnendyk, the sultry singer/songwriter whose 2016 album, Some Fun Out Of Life, won the hearts of critics and fans across the country and beyond when it first debuted. 2019 sees Binnendyk returning to the spotlight once more with the release…
Caracol’s “Flooded Field” from the album Symbolism is the work of an engaged and top notch recording artist intent on providing listeners with a worthwhile listening experience and abundant entertainment alike. Caracol has enjoyed a career a little over a decade long and, rather than repeating herself with each successive release, This new single continues tilling much of the same fertile ground that has paid enormous dividends for her on previous releases,…
With a mild rattle at the center of its rhythmic swing, “Give in 2 Me” is easily one of the more seductive songs for us to behold on Ronnue’s Introduction 2 Retro-Funk, but it’s not the only sexy set of bass-driven beats in this tactful funk twelve-pack. The vintage “You Tried Me (The Man’s Anthem)” and “Do It (The Remix),” the latter of which features Roc Phizzle and Soultry stepping up…
Remixes, particularly when they’re boxed together in a single disc, allow for us to look at a song from a litany of different angles, but the new extended play centering on ooberfuse’s “Call My Name” composition goes well beyond that. From the abrasive sounds of “The Noise” remix to the fundamentally simple “Hal St John Radio Edit,” each version of “Call My Name” gives us a unique insight into the…
In his latest album, the long-awaited Vertigo, Nicholas Altobelli delivers an eclectic collection of alternative Americana via songs like the brilliant “Runaway Trains,” “Red, White, And Blues,” and “Don’t Let the World Get You Down” whilst redefining his artistry with an experimental aesthetic that just wasn’t present in previous offerings bearing his moniker. Altobelli pulls out all of the creative stops to make Vertigo as unflinchingly honest and endearingly melodic as possible, and…
Plunging percussive thrusts are joined by a gush of distorted melodies in “Butterfly Joint,” one of the eight songs comprising King Ropes’ exquisite sophomore album, Gravity and Friction. In “Butterfly Joint,” and really all seven of the tracks that it’s accompanied by on Gravity and Friction, a mind-bendingly surreal soundscape is utilized as a forceful canvas atop which the band can colorize the otherwise simplistic beats. The music is unrepentantly experimental, but…
Tell us about being a musician in Los Angeles. Being a part of the creative music scene in Los Angeles is cool. There is a network of us indie musicians that gravitate towards each other in different areas of town. I’ve got my singer-songwriter clan in the Valley, the rock ’n rollers in Hollywood, my EDM & hip-hop crew in K-town, and the chill surfers down in Venice. We all…
Though its sway can be, at times, both nauseating and cerebrally entrancing, Jaco’s “Say Goodbye” is nonetheless one of the most evocative tracks that you’ll encounter in the debut solo affair from the noted Birmingham scene stalwart, You Know. Released this past July 19th to critical acclaim, You Know is built around stylishly heavy tracks like “Say Goodbye,” the crushing “Shoe” and monolithic “For Myself,” all three of which contain as many pop facets…
With a fierce gallop of the drums, Chris Douglas welcomes us into his incredible new single “Ain’t Getting Any Younger,” the juggernaut debut release from one of the season’s most discussed young songwriters. Right off the bat, we’re hypnotized by the chic stylization of the percussion, the marvelously melodic crooning of Douglas, and the fiery tonality of the guitars, which have a much sportier, hard rock-inspired depth than what I…
SPOTIFY: https://open.spotify.com/album/5EA6FSQuQ489bOrdCvJRSN Silence. And then, out of nowhere, we’re smacked in the gut by the first in a tizzy of boldly arranged beats. The bass and the percussion are fused together in “Chemical Smiles,” the new single from Ronin, and they’re likely to leave anyone and anything that gets in their path humbled (and hobbled) by their devastating thunder. “Chemical Smiles” is a song that can be described as a sonic…
A bassline burns its way through the tidal wave of grooves that are waiting to come down on us “Joyride.” It’s not nearly as ominous a contribution as it makes in the otherwise playful “Other Side,” but it’s still affective enough to stoke a reaction out of anyone within earshot of its menacing bellow. “Sola” takes a couple minutes to get warmed up, but once it’s at the right temperature…
URL: https://satellitesofmontreal.com/ A lot of artists are going old school with their music videos this summer and utilizing everything from DIY-style camcorder photography to stop-motion animation and other 80s-fashioned aesthetical looks, but there’s something quite unique about the four minute visual spectacle that Satellītes has made for us in the new music video for “Love & Disaster,” the title track of the debut album from Jasmine Bleile’s emerging solo venture.…
In their brand new single “Blinded by the Sun,” rockers Relic Kings expose an intimate, raw lyrical nerve without showing the slightest bit of hesitation, and though it’s only one example of the unfiltered poeticism to behold on their debut album of the same name, it likely has the most crossover appeal to listeners of different tastes and backgrounds. Relic Kings have a dynamically experimental sound, but while it borrows…
Acclaimed Austin-based, New England-born singer/songwriter Robert LaRoche is back this season with a brooding new EP in A Thousand Shades. Comprised of six relaxing, mostly carefree summer songs, A Thousand Shades lives up to its title and delivers a kaleidoscopic smorgasbord of color, texture and tonality in tracks like the gorgeous “Seeds of Doubt,” rocking “Jet Blue” and polished pop tune “The Dream is Gone.” LaRoche is at the top of his game…