Reckoning is the first experience that listeners will have with The Colours of Kings’ new album, The Truth is in Me. The track blends in equal amounts electronic and alt rock, touching upon the style of the Goo Goo Dolls and Dishwalla while bringing in bits of U2 and Owl City. A more wondrous sound continues into Fight the Future, where the band utilizes the X-Files as a frame of reference.…
Little Animal begins Fox and Bones’ new album, Better Land. The bouncy alt-pop that immediately issues forth blends together the vocal stylings of Cat Stevens and John Popper. With a robust instrumentation that will have listeners’ toes tapping after the single’s first play, Fox and Bones are able to continue on to Love Me Like A River. Love Me Like A River whips in a bit of country and blues…
Jared Dymbort’s Rearrange immediately hits listeners with a soulful, slightly-bouncy take on Ian Curtis or Robert Smith. The track is able to benefit with a number of twists and turns that places listeners in a much different place than they began. While the instrumentation takes a backing spot during Rearrange, the music that is crafted through the inclusion of synth, guitar, bass, and drums is intricate and fulfilling to parse.…
Holy WOW!’s Nebulas is an effort that will stand up to repeat plays. The sheer depth of the single’s arrangements keeps fans from hearing everything that the band has laid out down here. Hauntingly beautiful vocals call back to the days of Bauhaus and 45 Grave. The taut instrumentation that comprises the backing to this single kicks ass; the bass is dense and brushy, while the synthesizer punctuates the song.…
The Imaginaries have released a pair of holiday tracks. On Merry Christmas, Baby, the duo is able to make something drawing on blues, pop, and country that makes a play at garnering plays on Holiday playlists. Intelligent vocals, fulfilling bass, and a pair of smooth, capable vocals are all that listeners need to sail away with. First Thing On My Christmas List is a laid back track that showcases technically proficient instrumentation…
House of Light is a dreamy, traditional rock / alt track in the vein of Stevie Nicks and Natalie Cole. Deliberate, contemplative guitar lines and booming drum beats establish an engrossing environment for Barton. The yin and yang of the vocals and instrumentation ensures that each side pushes the other to a higher plateau. With just a bit of mid-1980s Tom Petty whipped into the track, the familiarity fans will…
Black Coffee is a funky track that is able to call forth the vibrancy of the titular beverage. Soulful vocals beam out over the track, comprised of an intricate bass line, a tinge of the Dave Matthews Band, and enough passion to draw in even the most dour of us. Rob Higginbotham’s vocals are further bolstered through a matching female set of vocals, while the beginning of the second minute…
Nuke The Soup’s Deeper is a hopeful track that builds upon the approach of mid-nineties / early oughts alternative rock and punk music. Hints of Green Day and Natalie Cole can be picked up here, while the strong guitar work presented on the track allows Deeper to stand on its own. The stylistic shift that listeners will experience at the two-minute mark keeps things interesting, as does the psychedelic-tinged guitar…
When You’re Gone is a powerful effort that goes back to the early-nineties style of goth music (e.g. Christian Death, Switchblade Symphony) and makes it important and vital again. The slow introduction showcases a very traditional sort of instrumentation; the emotionally intense vocals completely change things up shortly after. Taken together, these two disparate elements make for a loud, resounding effort that will stick around with listeners long after the…
Worth Taking are able to refresh the emo-punk sound of the early oughts with their new single, Am I The Only One. Alluring vocals work quite nicely with taut instrumentation. A robust bass line interplays nicely with splashy drums to make something eminently listenable. We’re immediately tapping our feet by the end of the first minute. Never content with the status quo, Worth Taking are able to keep shifting and…
The Reverend Horton Heat (known by his parents as Jim Heath) is likely the only musician out there to be name-checked by Johnny Cash, Carl Perkins, John Lydon and Rob Zombie. But it makes sense, as no band since The Cramps has done a better job of fusing rockabilly with a sharp punk rock attitude. And his latest, “A Whole New Life,” shows he still has a foot planted firmly…
Chris Beer is able to bring forward late-era Johnny Cash and Mumford & Sons in his latest track, Remember to Forget. Blending together contemporary with a much more storied style (e.g. Snow Patrol), there is always a unique flair that is presented in Beer’s new effort. Where there is a seemingly straight-forward sound that is dominated during this single, listeners should really strap their headphones on and listen deeply to…
Thomas Passon creates a bouncy EDM track that blends together industrial, drum and bass, and pop. Taking influences from U2 and Scooter, Passon can make a song that will appease fans wishing to dance as well as those music aficionados that want something a bit deeper and more comtemplative with their acts. Los’s usage of a guitar style out of the Weezer or post-grunge playbook alongside the perfection of electronic…
On Gottweist’s latest single Weight of the World, the band is able to create a hard and heavy track that calls back to Machine Head and Fear Factory while having just enough harmony to have listeners hanging on every world. The dynamic that is established by the band – guitars and drums rotating, a brutal set of vocals reigning over the composition – firmly ensconces the band among the top…
ash.ØK has a new single – We’ll Waste Away – that deftly ties together EDM, pop, and a global sound into a sound that will bury itself deep into the minds and hearts of listeners. The electronic side of things (laid down with a fulfilling synth line) work nicely with a traditional, vocal-heavy component. A brief instrumental interlude at the three-minute mark keeps things fresh and bouncy, with a beat…
The Broke Royals are creating a tremendously catchy pop-rock track that is in-line for the holiday season. Emotive vocals, taut instrumentation, and a bit of sleigh bells make for a track that will stick with listeners long after the effort ceases to play. A secondary set of vocals allows for a back and forth that further lays out the single’s narrative. The track is able to rise and fall, keeping…
Only Elvis could get away with having an album full of songs by a rising star recorded entirely for him. But that’s exactly what happened in the mid-1960s, with one of Elvis’ favorite songwriting duos, Ben Weisman and Sid Wayne, convinced an early-in-his-career Glen Campbell to record a dozen-and-a-half of their songs, so they could pitch them to The King. The tactic obviously worked as Elvis went on to record…
The Finger Guns blend together Green Jelly with NoFX to make for something eminently catchy with their latest single $9.99 Quesadilla. The vocals whip in hints of the Descendants and Rise Against. Intense guitars, splashy drums, and a perfect bass line unite to make something that could hang right alongside The Ramones or Social Distortion. Just like a good quesadilla, there’s a tremendous amount of material stuck between the beginning and end…
On Masquerade, Boy Breaking Glass’s latest single, a tremendously emotional and impacting set of vocals are able to work with echoing guitars and eclectic drums to make for something that will stick with listeners long after the effort ceases to play. With a middle-point providing a few seconds of the band’s instrumental side, Masquerade is able to gradually gain speed in the single’s second half. Moving towards the finish line…