Pop Noir’s “White Jazz” an interesting creature. The track takes in a number of distinct musical styles – synth-pop, dreamy California pop, and a bit of alt rock and dance to make something wholly unique. The vocals on White Jazz variously flirt with the synths and guitars to make a cohesive and bouncy track. White Jazz is one of those efforts that has something for everyone – one second, a…
Liily’s “Toro” builds off of the work of Bloc Party, Foo Fighters and Franz Ferdinand, with a bit of the dirty 1970s rock sound (MC5) interspersed in. Of particular note during Toro has to be the band’s scintillating guitars and technically impressive interplay between the drums, vocals, and aforementioned lead. Liily’s charisma is undeniable – the lyrics are supersonic, bringing the assertive drums and riffs into an entirely higher plateau.…
Paul van Dyk’s “Music Rescues Me” is a hopeful track that blends an assertive synth line with a set of hopeful vocals laid down by Plumb. Building off of the late-1990s Italo dance sound while whipping in a louder than life instrumentation makes this special. The bit of classically-styled keys incorporated in at the two-minute-mark allows for Music Rescues Me to remain as engrossing as it was when it first began.…
sam.’s Wreck My Soul is a track that ties together current pop and EDM approaches with hints of trip-hop and Bjork-esque indie music. Together, these elements are able to wholly involve listeners. The numerous layers on Wreck My Soul further allow fans to tuck in and find new twists and turns on subsequent listens. The single’s arrangements deserve additional attention as the dynamics between percussive and synth elements tell just…
While The Clash, The Damned and the Sex Pistols all justifiably get their due in just about any discussion around the origins of punk rock, Cock Sparrer is almost always inexplicably left off the list by many in this country. Which is odd considering the London band had several years head start on all of the aforementioned peers, dating all the way back to 1972. And as influential as the…
Jason Isbell surprised many when he walked away from cult favs Drive By Truckers 10 years ago. What were the chances of an Americana artist that bristled against modern country music making it beyond a record or two. Turns out, the chances were a hell of a lot better than most thought. It helps that Isbell also happens to be one of the best songwriters to come around in a…
The Weeklings are able to refresh the power-pop / AOR of the 1960s and 1970s with their new song, “In The Moment”. In The Moment has soulful vocals built off of the bands of the British Invasion while the guitars take inspiration from ELO and Boston. The Weeklings are able to make a clear, guitar / drum / vox dynamic shine brightly. With just a bit of a nod towards…
PSYRUS’s “Hitcher” is able to deftly tie together synth-pop and new wave in a bold new direction. Haunting vocals and sweeping synths unite to make for a track that shifts between sounds, tempos, and even approaches. Hitcher is one of those efforts that continues to provide twists and turns to fans after multiple plays. With Hitcher being one of those earworms that will bury itself deep into the minds of…
My Demons Galore’s “Carry Your Own Light” is a tremendously compelling effort that immediately hits listeners with passionate vocals and brooding, intricate arrangements. Hints of The Smashing Pumpkins, My Chemical Romance, and Avenged Sevenfold can be picked up here. Carry Your Own Light is made with intricate drums, a lush instrumental environment, and the limitless charisma of the lead vocals. Where the track would work fine on any alternative or…
BLXPLTN create a homage to the punk, thrash and hardcore of the 1980s with “No English”. With hints of Black Flag and even a bit of the Sex Pistols’ snottiness, BLXPLTN are able to make a catchy track that merges immediacy with a tremendous wall of sound. No English has that sort of chorus that will have listeners singing along after a single play, while the two minute mark of…
Pablo Embon has released a new album, Nobody’s Land. On Dragonfly, the album’s first track, Embon is able to make a musically intricate effort that tells a rich tale through the interaction of guitars and drums. While the song is only about 4 minutes long, Embon adds a number of twists and turns to ensure that listeners are on the edges of their seat. The frenetic tempo of this introductory…
The idea of revisiting someone else’s album is fraught with plenty of downsides. The idea of covering an iconic Ray Charles record is down right ballsy.
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…
Five albums into it, Boston’s Sarah Borges has perfected that mix of alt country with punk influences; like Willie Nelson in a worn-out Sex Pistols shirt.
“Album Nobody’s Land has been professionally remastered. This remastered version of the album is exclusively available for download on Pablo Embon’s Web Site”.
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…
Few names in technical death metal actually stick around to be instantly recognizable in the genre, and with Diluvium, German sluggers Obscura find themselves genre veterans, often in the same breath as critically acclaimed acts like Necrophagist and Death. This new offering is the fourth and final chapter in the album-saga and is a direct sequel to the 2015 banger, Akroasis. Is Diluvium the crescendo of the story?
On Bambi, Hippo Campus are able to create a laid-bit style of rock that blends together the style of acts of Owl City with Go West and Of Mice and Men. The richness of the vocals, snappy sound of the instrumentation, and ability of the band to effortlessly move between stanza and chorus ensures that fans will be able to get their groove on with this single. Bambi’s multiple layers…
Is a deliberate sort of effort that builds upon the alt rock of the 1990s. Myers’ vocals during Numb are slinky and pull double duty in providing listeners with the narrative content of the track while adding a more spontaneous sound to the orthodoxy established by the guitars, bass and drums. Fans of Metric or current Paramore will find something to appreciate here; delve into the video for Numb (below…
Yes I Can, the third studio album from Californian Corinne Cook, solidifies her position as one of the best song interpreters working in the independent modern country/pop scene today and establishes her as a promising songwriting talent as well. Cook’s willingness to continue growing as both a performer and artist sets her apart from countless peers and contemporaries who prefer perfecting a winning commercial formula durable enough to be revisited…