Kristy Chmura’s “Abandoned House” calls back to the strong female vocal style of Tori Amos and Sarah McLachlan. Chmura is able to pull double duty on this single as her vocals tell a story as well as contributing mightily to the overall harmony of the track. Abandoned House is fairly spartan in its instrumental arrangements, but uses each flash of guitar, drums, or strings in a fashion that highlights Kristy’s…
The Broke Royals’ “Higher” is a hopeful track that builds upon the rock of the Goo Goo Dolls and Imagine Dragons. While the chorus of this single is incredibly infectious, I think that the backing instrumentation far outstrips what is heard on radio stations. The band is able to turn on a dime here, with a number of distinct sections ensuring that the final few notes of Higher are as…
The time between when we first covered Cowboy Mouth and today may just be the longest we’ve ever seen. We covered the band’s Fearless about a decade ago. The band’s still together and has just released a new single, “Broken Up”. Broken Up is a bouncy effort that comes with a catchy set of vocals, sizzling guitar work, and a close and cozy production that makes it seem as if…
Earthquake Lights’ “The Fix” is one of those special tracks that absolutely pops. The instrumentation is absolutely perfect, with the guitars, drums, and bass both contributing to a cohesive sound while providing just enough in the way of highlighting to the rich vocals. The ebb and flow of The Fix ensures that listeners will be on the edges of their seats. Earthquake Lights build upon the alt-rock of the late…
U2 is the latest in line to get the re-release treatment on vinyl and the occurrence serves as a great reminder of the band’s ability to redefine their style again and again. Their latest records to get a proper 180-gram double LP treatment are 1991’s Achtung Baby, 1993’s Zooropa and their first of two hits packages, “The Best of 1980-1990”. Achtung Baby was their first proper studio album in four…
BHC DIPA, a double IPA released by Ska Brewing (Durango, Colorado) is well-balanced, linking together the traditional hoppy, piney, and floral elements of an India Pale Ale with a bit of juiciness. By hitting both of these marks, Ska is able to make something that any fan of hop-forward beers can appreciate. With an 8% ABV, the specific array of flavors that have been imparted upon this brew are extraordinarily…
We’re sitting down with Maryland’s 3 Dice Ceno. Let’s get right to it – What’s your story?
When people are living in harmony and love is plentiful, communities at peace and joy is more common than fear or hatred, there is always music. In times of distress and chaos, where no one seems to want to get along and there isn’t any singular uniting shelter that we can come together under from the storm, there is always music. Music is in fact the one element of our…
England’s classic street punk torchbearers The Filaments had a couple of solid releases under their belts before calling it a day in 2005 when their singer emigrated to the U.S.
On Insane, Taylor James is able to craft a release that touches upon a wide swath of distinct musical genres. On Back 2 U, the album’s first track, James is able to blend together pop, soul, praise and funk music into a very dense and detailed effort. The vocals on the single do more than tell a narrative; they are able to come forth and bolster the aforementioned instrumentation. Say…
Today, we are speaking with Paul K. Can you give us a little background information about yourself? Sure. I’m Paul Kirkpatrick, aka Paul K, and I’m a UK based songwriter, composer and producer. I write instrumental music that is a mix of electronica, classical, rock and ambient and I’m also one half of the electro rock duo “Glitch Code”. How did you get into music? I got into music at…
Arguably one of the best punk rock/goth supergroups of all time, The Lords of the New Church was sadly close to being forgotten by an entire generation. Comprised of Dead Boys singer Stiv Bators, Brian James from the Damned, Sham 69’s Dave Tregunna, The Barracuda’s Nick Turner and occasionally the Damned’s Rat Scabies, the band’s fantastic 1982 self-titled debut mixed punk rock, British goth and some of the earliest hints…
While we have had beers sent our way for NeuFutur nearly a decade now, actually visiting breweries is a fairly new frontier for us. Luckily, we were able to join up with Emily from RadCraft to see what was going on at Strange Craft Brewery. Head brewer Tyler Bies has crafted a considerably wide collection of efforts available both year-round and seasonally in the Denver area.
El Gato Dice have released their third album, Tres. The disc begins with Simplest Design, a work that calls back to the alternative rock of the mid-1980s (The Replacements, Yazoo). The guitar work is complex and adds considerably to this initial effort’s gravitas. With the shift to the second set of vocals at the 1:45 mark, listeners will be further impressed at the instrumentation’s ability to shift to something wholly…
While we were in the Denver area, we had a moment during the afternoon to visit the city’s Ocean Prime location (a second location will be opening later this fall). We were able to drop off our car at the valet without much in the way of hassle – Larimer, the street that the restaurant was on, was busy but the restaurant had placed the valet corral front and center…
Long Claw’s “Razor Blade Tears” is a strong track that tells a story. The guitar line contributes mightily to the overall narrative of the song. During this single, the vox pull double duty. Rather than solely establishing a narrative, these vocals add an additional layer to the harmonies of this effort. Razor Blade Tears is a track that defies easy description. Fans will be impressed at the passion and ability…
Navakaine’s “Skyliner” is a tender track that succeeds due to its honest and earnest vocals and a richly emotive backing instrumentation. The two elements are able to shine alone or as a cohesive entity. We loved the ability of the two to rise and fall; the shifting tempo of Skyliner ensures that listeners will be continually engaged with the song. Unique in its sound, fans of Taylor Swift and Bif…
Kevin Tiah’s “Voices” is an intense blast of hard rock that brings in hints of late-oughts hardcore, emocore, and a bit of melodic / progressive metal to the mix. The supersonic vocals laid down by Keven during Voices are matched nicely during splashy drums and sizzling guitar lines. The track is able to hit all of the marks in an extremely proficient fashion. With a polish that ensures it garners…
Jamieson’s “The War” is an engrossing single, with a rapping style that links together the rich London rap scene (e.g. The Streets) with late 1990s NYC (Jay-Z, Nas) and modern rap (Ed Sheeran, Macklemore). There is a chiaroscuro between the pointed rap flow and the more melodic hook. Jamieson’s powerful lyrical content on The War is bolstered by a backing beat that rises and falls in all the right ways.…
Ryan Rebo’s “Boogieman” is a dreamy alternative effort that pulls together hints of Death Cab for Cutie, Oasis, and Bruce Springsteen. The guitar line bolsters Ryan’s vocals, while an intricate drum line provides additional depth to the composition. A repeated section during the last minute of Boogieman is a call back to The Smashing Pumpkins’ Disarm. The production of Boogieman is key in making this track a success. It provides…