There’s probably no place better to embrace the warm, loving feeling of Christmas than beside a crackling fireplace decorated with stockings awaiting Santa’s arrival. Many an artist have tried to capture this exact moment, this unexplainable happiness that comes with basking in the glow of the holidays, but only a select few have even come close. R&B songsters Norm Adams and Julia Robertson join those exclusive ranks with their new…
Bill Abernathy’s new album Crossing Willow Creek is a diverse fusion of styles that all share something in common with the fabric of Americana, and fans of his last LP Find A Way will be more than pleased to find the themes of that record greatly expanded upon in this one. Abernathy touches on a lot of ground with this release – from old fashioned country swing to electrified blues rock – but…
In an exploding Mexico City music scene that is developing a lot of really amazing talent right now, Labán sets himself apart as an old fashioned R&B singer in his new single “Dueños de Aquí,” the first from his upcoming album Todos Somos Dueños de Aquí. Designed as a protest song but outfitted with a classy, effervescent groove in the style of light funk, “Dueños de Aquí” isn’t a particularly detailed…
“Depression” figuratively gets the better of Jade Massentoff on the single of the same title, as she eloquently defines it in her own terms on this finely written, arranged and marvelously produced gem. The magnitude of emotions alone is off the charts on what is sure to be a hit song if I were to claim that about any this year. To say I was blown away by it wouldn’t…
New York rockers Skyfactor hold nothing back from us in their new LP A Thousand Sounds, a record that encourages us to shed our inhibitions and follow the passionate groove of its cathartic lyrics. Hand claps give way to a percussive palm muted acoustic guitar that draws us into the majestic vocals of frontman Bob Ziegler; the acoustic sonic ribbonry wraps around us like a warm blanket and stays with us…
Mu’Sonique Records present Dustyy Lane, a band and a duo in one, with a new single, “Now It’s Christmas.” The Dustyy Lane Band spell the name with two y’s, but that could just distinct them from other using the same name. But they’re not just a duo, as pointed out they are also a big stage band. This is a review of their original new hit single together, as they’ve…
Steeped in enigmatic lyrics that could double for riddles, romantic exchanges between two equally talented vocalists and haunting harmonies between both the players and the instruments, Timber deliver a watershed album in The Family that promises to satisfy the pair’s longtime fans and newcomers alike. The most sensational quality that this record has to offer is its riveting tonality, which triumphs in the face of discordant rhythm and impossibly cerebral grooves with…
I don’t care much for albums with an inordinate amount of polish. Too often musicians working in the Americana vein will opt for glossy over authentic, but you don’t get any of that with Molly Hanmer. Her vocal and musical skills are unquestionable, but she also clearly pushes herself to dig as deep into a song as she can and isn’t afraid to put herself on the line. The opener…
Barry Abernathy and Darrell Webb present Appalachian Road Show, the first joint musical effort between Abernathy, Webb and guest star Jim VanCleve on fiddle, is a multidimensional foray into the realm of bluegrass and its southern relatives constructed out of the trio’s love of the Appalachian landscape, and it doesn’t waste any time dispensing the rich melodies that the region is synonymous with. Abernathy commands our heart-strings with his lightning-fast…
The second single from Patiently Awaiting the Meteorite’s album Canyon Diablo, “Strange Intuition”, accelerates the momentum the collaboration between producers/writers The Grand Brothers and singer/songwriter Dee generated with the album’s first single “Electrified”. The band cites a variety of influences for their material, but the latest single demonstrates no clear pedigree while still working well within the realm of electro-influenced rock. The hard-hitting, yet immensely stylish, approach to this single moves…
Kazyak’s Reflection is the sort of album I think you’ll be able to keep returning for years to come and never fully exhaust its appeal. The band complied eight demos, b-sides, and outtakes to form this album, but this unlikely method for structuring anything more than a hodgepodge collection lacking rhyme or reason pays off, instead, for Kazyak in a big way. Patterns and connections aren’t always apparent in an artist’s work…
The smoldering reverse echo of a guitar rises from the ethers in the opening bars of Opposite Day’s “Day of the Triffids” as if to warn us that there’s an ocean of chaotic discord just waiting to be unleashed behind this fragile dam. A bass with the legs of a spider dexterously wanders between the strut of the riffs that are literally growing around us, and before we know it…
In an era when dirge and depression seem to dominate the pop charts to the point of leaving no room for anything other than music celebrating the bleakness of society, folkie singer/songwriter Abby Zotz offers up a piece of pure optimism in her new album Local Honey, and it couldn’t be coming at a more significant time. In all of the gloom and doom of modern music, a record as remarkably…
Saint Jaimz’s vocals immediately bring you into his world and heart and he isn’t even singing. Instead, “AWOL (Absent Without Love”) begins with Jaimz’s spoken word voice in a brief introduction that sets an early mood. This is near torch song R&B, a reflective rumination on the descent of a relationship holding together by pure inaction and long past its sell by date. It’s all part of Jaimz’s purpose in…
Of every genre in modern music, R&B is arguably the most eclectic in its body of artists. From soul crooners to the furious high tech beats of club DJs, R&B has become a blanket term for virtually every kind of music that incorporates smooth, dance-inspired rhythms with the sizzle and brooding tinge of the blues. Mikey See, a rising star in the west coast indie pop scene, has often been…
The Silent Wish is a new, joint album from extreme flutist Bill McBirnie and jazz magnate Bernie Senensky, but to say it’s simply another record would be the understatement of the decade. The Silent Wish is a 12 song journey into the heart and soul of Canadian jazz as played like no others can, and if you’ve got the sonic capacities to take the leap, this listening experience is one you won’t soon…
Countrified singer/songwriter James Lee Baker has become quite the cult favorite of the Midwestern indie folk and alternative country circuits over the last couple of years, and with his new album Home Again audiences worldwide finally have the opportunity to experience his ethereal charms in all of their magnetic glory. Divided into ten equally stylish tracks produced with the upmost care and attention to detail, Home Again is a supremely affectionate look at one…
In his first extended play and fourth overall release, entitled Rusty Strings, Peruvian singer/songwriter Brown Kid struts with a swaggering confidence through a plethora of colorful material that is instantly memorable and contagiously optimistic. Rusty Strings sees Brown Kid’s signature style of easy going folk music and reggae-influenced pop advancing to a new level of conciseness and clarity that was hinted at in previous releases but comes to fruition in this latest offering,…
California indie rockers Dangermaker unleash their most musically sophisticated album to date in Run, a twelve track smorgasbord of textured sonic bliss that will change the way you think about modern pop. Dangermaker have been quietly building up a cult following on the west coast over the last few years, and their latest record sees their sound evolving into a full color kaleidoscope of rich melodies that are unparalleled in 2018.…
Rock music has never been about sucking up to trends and fads – no matter how fleeting or exciting in the moment they may be. Since the very beginning rock has been about giving the earth the sonic ferociousness that we need to remind us that we’re still alive, still kicking and still apart of the vitality of the universe. Rock was meant to transcend and transport us to another…