On his new cut, B. West is able to bear the standard of those like Nas and Freeway who preceded him. The Narrative is a sparkling track, one that succeeds not only through the impressive bars dropped by B. West but the fantastic beat that plays throughout. There’s a bit of the classic Chicago sound here, interspersed with monolithic keys to make something that simultaneously whets the appetites of old…
Mighty Koba’s 2 Many is a beautiful R&B track that showcases the performer’s sultry vocals, played alongside a booming bass line and thoughtful keys. With a bass line bubbling up at points, the instrumentation that plays at the bottom of 2 Many draws mightily from the 1980s funk and 1990s dance genres. Adding Jaey London to the mix gives 2 Many the additional oomph it needs to end as authoritatively…
On Big Bands, Star2 is able to club listeners over their heads with ample braggadocio. The flow presented here stands in bold opposition with the West Coast-infused backing beat. The feature on Big Bands by $tupid Young does well to provide further depth to the song while adding a further air of realness to the composition. The song is able to immediately reach its goals and ride out shortly after…
Albert Cummings’ “Meet The Man” is a powerful country track that succeeds due to the dusty guitar work, the deliberate drums, and Albert’s inimitable vocals. These elements join together to make something absolutely timeless in its execution. With a slower pace, each and every note of Meet The Man has a point. Each note is immaculate, leaving listeners with a track that will have them sitting firmly at the edges…
On Sunset Black’s latest single White Trash Wasted, a blend of punk and rap-infused pop dominate. With nods to performers like Riff Raff, Good Charlotte and MGK, Sunset Black exudes enough charisma to ensure that the cut will garner looks on radio and Spotify playlist. The ability of SB to both tell a story and provide further harmonies to the backing instrumentation makes White Trash Wasted a cohesive statement that…
Psyclo has released her new EP, Slaughter House. Now residing in Los Angeles, Psyclo is one of the most mysterious and intriguing artists on the scene today. Her music sounds both modern and futuristic, finding the perfect balance between accessibility and the avant-garde. Psyclo attempts to find beauty in dark spaces, playing musical hide and seek, while maintaining a vaguely protected emotional barrier. She is disturbingly authentic and her introversion…
Blue On the Inside is a powerful track that defies genre conventions. There are nods that Katie makes here to Fleetwood Mac, Paramore, and Blondie. The dynamic instrumentation present here builds upon the angular sound of acts like Franz Ferdinand, Bloc Party and Interpol. This single will easily chart on a bevy of different playlists due to this every-person sort of sound. We’re particularly enamored with the track’s bridge, in…
Eyes Wide Open, the latest track by Powered by Joy, has an eclectic sound to it that links together pop and alt rock. The instrumentation presented listeners here is eclectic, with guitars, drums, bass, and vocals working simultaneously to promote themselves while building up a cohesive entity. The hooky chorus will be bouncing around listeners’ brains long after the song ceases to play. I’ll Be Waiting has a slower tempo…
John McDonough’s songs are full of lessons learned from life, love, practicing psychotherapy, and a quarter-century of playing music in Austin, Texas. He makes his home in Chicago since 2020 and continues writing, recording, and performing with renewed vigor. The newfound vigor came ten years ago, in part, from McDonough’s decision to stop working as a practicing psychotherapist and, at long last, devote himself full-time to his art. He’s released…
Zen Juddhism (Jude Ωne Eight and collaborators) have released their new album, Return of the Juddha. The album begins with Love Will Save The Day, a fuzzy homage to the post-grunge of acts like Hole. Pammie’s vox here provide additional depth to a thoughtful instrumentation while ensuring that the resulting effort is hooky enough to garner play on college rock stations. Sing My Song has Jude Ωne Eight blend a…
“Flame Of Truth” is the new single from Chalice Collective. A beautiful, and almost spiral-like formation, Chalice Collective takes special care in making this track a spindle of light and magic. All the senses come alive, as does the old noggin’. This song gets you both thinking and grooving. Imagine being stuck inside a Light Bright (remember those!) with a whole motherboard of colors at your feet. “Flame Of Truth”…
The Roughhousers (Grey DeLisle and Eddie Clendening) have released a new song with their “Monkey Butt”. The track has Eddie laying down a set of vocals drawing inspiration from Roy Orbison, while the subject material captures the griminess of young children. There’s more than a fair share of tongue-in-cheek statements here that any parent will appreciate while being crafted in a fashion that will amuse the younger set. Coming forth…
AJ Smith’s “Better” is a resounding success as the track incorporates huge drums, insistent keys, and a set of vocals that will bury themselves deep into the minds of listeners. The subject material (concerning a previous lover) is something that anyone that has had to move on will be able to understand and appreciate. The dynamic sound of Better means that no two seconds of the song are the same;…
RM47’s “Strangers” has an emphatic beat that will get listeners out on the dance floor, while the dreamy vocals that play at the top of the track ensure that it has the legs to crossover onto pop rotation. Adding a second set of vocals to the mix provides a boost to Strangers’ momentum, allowing fans to ride out the song with as much momentum as they began it. There’s a fair…
Ananda Xenia Shakti has enjoyed a long musical career working with some of the finest performers emerging in the late 20th century. However, it sounds like she’s discovered her truest self by exploring Indian music with Love Power the Band. The five songs on the EP Love is Where You Are roar with passion, never for the sake of hearing itself roar alone, but announcing to the world what it believes and holds…
GuUs’s “Baron Saturday” is one eclectic sort of track. While at first glance it feels as if the vocals, percussion, and guitars are working toward cross-purposes, there ends up being a cohesive effort that has considerable humanity present in each interaction. With nods of bluegrass, Acadian, and traditional country and western (to say nothing about the fair helping of early R&B), GuUs has made his Baron Saturday into a musical…
The type of reggae that Hitpapa crafts on I’ll Be There is immaculate. The vocals are supremely self-sure while contributing to the overall harmonies established by the drums and clap tracks. Bits of synth lines weave their way through the track, while Emtee’s feature provides further variation to the song. There are a number of moving parts in I’ll Be There but smart production and the talent exhibited by the…
Veve C’s “BREEZE” is a strong, assertive rap track that benefits from a booming bass line and drums playing at the bottom of the track. Veve C’s bars here showcase considerable confidence in herself while having enough of a pop tinge that the song has a potential to cross over to mainstream radio. What I like most about BREEZE has to be that Veve C imprints the song with her…
Run Run Run is a sunny sort of track that works in the mold initially established by They Might Be Giants, Cake and Weezer. There’s a fair bit of college rock that Major Spark incorporates alongside the charismatic vocals. With hooks aplenty, the act is able to make one of the most honestly catchy tracks that we have heard so far this year. The music video is essential watching, as…
Neil Nathan’s “The Folly Of War” is an epic, progressive-tinged track that links together early Genesis, Queen, and just enough James Taylor to make the vocals soar. Strings are incorporated into The Folly of War to add a timeless air. The back and forth between instrumental and vocal-heavy sections provides further gravitas to the composition. The two elements are able to work together at points to weave a story about…