Tony Joe White – Bad Mouthin’ (CD)
Just two years after his last release for Yep Roc, legendary songwriter and swamp rock/country funk pioneer Tony Joe White is back again and he’s doubling down on the Blues with this offering.
Category: Features
Kanisha K – Talk is Cheap
This is a great “I’ve had it with you” song, maybe the best in a long time. Kanisha K is frequently classified as country music, but there’s a tangible rock and roll spirit beating inside of the song as well. The instrumental elements running through the song like banjo point the way towards a history steeped in such sounds, but the lead guitar work recalls blues rock and hits the…
Brother Reverend – The Tables Turn Too Often (CD)
Like a better-behaved version of The Kinks, without the complicated family bond and on-stage fisticuffs, Brother Reverend deliver a remarkably addictive debut with “The Tables Turn Too Often.”
Mikey See releases “Love My Body” (single)
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…
Reverend Peyton’s Big Damn Band – Poor Until Payday
Just over a year after Indiana’s Reverend Peyton’s Big Damn Band turned in their last record the trio is back with another full album of sublime, stripped-down American Blues.
Elsewhere Band release EP
2018 has been the year of rock n’ roll revivalism, and no one has been taking charge of the movement to bring chest-pumping rhythm back to the forefront of pop music than Elsewhere. Elsewhere are a band based out of New England and originally started back in the 90’s, but their sound is about as far from grunge and proto-alternative rock as Boston is from Seattle. Their latest EP, Multi-Man, is…
Territories – Self-Titled (Pirates Press)
For more than two decades, Canada’s long-running punk band Knucklehead put out a slew of ferocious, tight punk rock anthems. So, it’s no surprise that Territories, the new outfit comprised of alumni from Knucklehead, would be just as impressive.
Bill McBirnie releases “Silent Wish” (LP)
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…
Joss Jaffe – Dub Mantra Sangha Remix
Joss Jaffe’s new release Dub Mantra Sangha Remix blends together reggae, EDM, and soulful vocals. Aloha features Sophia Mae Lin to draw deeply upon Island rhythms and Italo dance styles. Robin Livingston’s remix of Durga has an insistent quality and a similarly sunny demeanor. The complexity of the arrangement ensures that listeners will be able to play it multiple times while unearthing new styles and approaches. Timonkey’s Remix of Sri Ram (featuring…
James Lee Baker – Home Again
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…
Brown Kid – Rusty Strings (EP)
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,…
Nika Cantabile – Selections from ‘Naked Soul Opus 2’
Cantabile’s new album ‘Naked Soul Opus 2’ has Nika’s inimitable violin imbuing each composition with life. The depth of Alchemia Story will have listeners on the edges of their seat as the theme continues. Code Geass – Colors benefits immediately from a robust instrumentation that melds together strings and a funky bass line. Cantabile’s take on the opening from No Game No Life imparts the same highs and lows of the…
TOZ Antonio Piretti – ‘Heroes’
TOZ Antonio Piretti’s ‘Heroes’ is a single that deftly brings together 1980s synth-pop with modern instrumentation to facilitate a truly epic sound. The full instrumentation stands up to repeat spins; listeners will need to strap on a pair of headphones to hear every nuance and interaction that Piretti has inserted within. TOZ’s vocals during Heroes pull double duty in the sense that they both convey a narrative while adding mightily…
Dangermaker unleash their most musically sophisticated album
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.…
In/Vertigo – Bad Enemy (EP)
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…
Willie Nelson – My Way (Vinyl)
It’s been less than six months since the wildly prolific/national treasure Willie Nelson last put out a record, so of course he’d have another one out before 2018 ended. But unlike “Last Man Standing,” an album of new originals, “My Way” finds Nelson sidelined by another covers album, this one dedicated solely to the music of Frank Sinatra (much like 2016’s Gershwin album, 2011’s Ray Charles album, 2006’s Cindy Walker…
Sarah Clanton releases “Here We Are” LP
Some artists don’t mind existing in the shadows for the bulk of their professional lives. They don’t care about advancing the evolutionary trajectory of music, they simply just want to play whatever is trending within their scene at the moment. In no way am I trying to run these artists down as invalid or somehow completely irrelevant, but when juxtaposed beside the ingenuity and creativity of a singer/songwriter like Sarah…
Tokyo Police Club – TPC (CD)
It probably wouldn’t have been surprising if “TPC,” Tokyo Police Club’s fourth and latest record was never made. Members of the band, originally based in Canada, have scattered to different parts of the continent since their last release with singer/bassist Dave Monks settled in New York, drummer Greg Alsop now calling LA home and guitarist Josh Hook and keyboardist Graham Wright staying put north of the border. Adding to the…
Delerium & JES “Stay”
Delerium & JES “Stay” has a wonderful sort of modern pop meets 1980 synth-pop sound. Richly emotive synthesizers provide a great counterpoint for the breathy, dreamy vocals on the single. Stay has each side – instrumental and vocal – contribute mightily to the finished composition. There are narrative elements to the minor shifts and changes of the instrumentation, while the vocals are integral in providing additional depth and complexity to…
David Sereny “Spotlite”
David Sereny’s “Spotlite” is a single that brings in a number of distinct approaches. This means that there is a lively disco beat, hints of flamenco and blues guitars, and a bit of the vitality of the R&B and gospel traditions. The dynamic of the horns, guitars, and drums is such that a narrative is weaved here as bright as any set of vocals could hope to lay down. Sereny’s…