Epic vocals are the cornerstone of Riku’s sound, and in his new single “Overwhelming,” you could say they’re as epic as any of the potent rock n’ roll instrumentation behind him and be completely right. There’s righteousness to this track that I haven’t heard as much of in his other content, and it starts first and foremost with the dynamic way in which he layers his vocals beside the crushing…
The decline that heavy music has experienced on the mainstream level just in the past twenty years has left a lot of diehard fans feeling more than a little depressed, while others have been more than content to see cerebral, distorted songcraft returning to the sheltered world of the American underground that spawned it. There’s strength behind both sides of the argument, but no matter where you stand on the…
Some artists put everything they’ve got out there on the first couple of verses and let the beat tell the rest of the story. Others would just as soon spend a lot of time building up to the prose, often diluting whatever the message was with a lot of chest-pounding and unwanted machismo where it doesn’t belong. Rappers of all stripes have been relegated into a couple of predictable groups…
“Call Me” is one of Blondie’s biggest hits and most people can recognize it in an instant. MR.Slade, a relatively new musician to the scene, attempted a cover and executed something awesome. His single version of “Call Me” has all the grit and power of the original, but with an updated sound. It’s a little electronic, a little hard rock, and a whole lot of interesting. You can hear all…
Doug Ferony revives an old classic with his new cover of “I’ve Grown Accustomed To Her Face.” First performed in the 1956 musical My Fair Lady, the song details the inner thoughts of a man falling in love with a woman he didn’t originally like very much. Ferony’s beautiful voice glides through the tune, backed by impeccable performances from his bandmates. The song transports you to a different time and…
FrankySelector’s “Ice Breaker” hails from his latest studio release Never Better and represents a peak moment in Selector’s career trajectory. He’s a multi-instrumental who has played music since an early age and growing up in an intensely artistic household, its focus falling on music, naturally accelerated his development. His tenure as a founding member of Montreal’s Skyjuice introduced him to the upper echelons of modern music sharing stages with The Groove Collective and…
San Antonio’s Studd Da Kidd cannot be fit into a tidy little box. She’s set her sights on broader horizons with her creation of DRH Consulting and projects such as their Exposure Explosion Festival. The concept is an event in multiple cities and states where creative imaginations are afforded the chance to demonstrate their talents for diverse and appreciative audiences. It is an outgrowth of her inclusive personal vision. Community…
Florida based – Once Great Estate, can be compared to the likes of nobody in their category of Folk and acoustic-heavy music on Even The Undertaker’s – 8 lucid and well-crafted numbers. These are tunes to live by, and not being new to them it just made me want to hear more where they come from. The voice of Tracy Horenbein is remarkably astonishing, as well as the musicianship of…
Emotion has a special role to play in the new single “Tell Me” from Missing-Nin, and it has more to do with shaping the core of the narrative than it does facilitate a smart rhyme. Rather than exploiting a generic pop model in this performance, the much-hyped Missing-Nin seems deliberately removed from the lead vocal, as if to translate unspeakable grief into the most brooding delivery I’ve heard from an…
With electronic melodicism riding the top of the charts harder and heavier than ever before, it’s not surprising that quality rock has become all the more a coveted commodity in 2021. The once-abundant guitar solos and searing lead vocals of yesteryear are now the underground cries of expression they started out as, and in the case of the new single “Sunlight Surfing” from Mercury Messiah, they’re the skin and bones…
Guiding a soft rhythm with surgically precise string play, The Transonics form a lush backdrop for elegant lyrics to adorn in the song “Tequila,” one of the star tracks from their new EP Tides. Although labored in the delivery of the chorus, the rest of the track plays out rather seamlessly, alluding to a dreamy, almost surf-like psychedelic edge that becomes a bit of a calling card in the record. Unlike…
“Bullet in the Head” is a song that may cause many listeners to flinch. Few, if any, will be able to recall any album opener confronting such a difficult topic like killing yourself. It isn’t a broadside set to music, however, and the humanity of both the words and musical arrangement satisfies despite the downbeat theme. There’s no doubt that Tom Tikka and the Missing Hubcaps contemplating death such as…
Whether he’s working out a sly groove in “Tequila Kiss” or offering a balladic melody via “Who’s Camille,” singer/songwriter Jay Elle has a pure love affair with the guitar in his new album Ride the Wave. Their relationship is at times volatile – “Rainy Day,” “Better Luck Next Time” – while in others it’s one of the more harmonious in contemporary rock – “Insane,” “Want Me Bad” – but it’s always…
I am always bowled over by one-man creative dynamos. John Blangero’s Sun King Rising project isn’t a “real” band, it’s true, but he brings such all-encompassing passion and musical vision to bear on the album’s ten cuts that it is a complete listening experience. There’s no holes in this release. It isn’t a concept album, per se, but Blangero wrote and designed the album with several central themes in mind…
It isn’t always easy, being Dici, but it would appear that things are looking up, based on his new single, “Something’s Right.” Dici is an Italian born Rapper/Producer/Entrepreneur. He currently resides in Miami, and has also spent time in Japan. At only 18 years old, Dici has already established himself, quite well. His newest release is a bit of a departure from the vibe of his earlier work. INSTAGRAM: https://www.instagram.com/dicimusic/?hl=en Since his previous single, “Five…
I remember when the doctor told my ex-wife and myself that our oldest daughter had a heart murmur. Panic overcame me in a flash. I told myself to slow down just as quickly, however, ask questions, find out what’s going on here. I remember the doctor saying that, among the treatment options, surgery is a consideration. My pulse fluttered imagining my baby girl asleep on an operating table and her…
Australia-born and Nashville-based multi-instrumentalist, singer-songwriter and producer Saint Rienannounces the release of new visuals for his latest hit single, the explorative “Medusa.” The music video is written, directed, and produced by Saint Rien, and features Ariah Janay, as Saint Rien’swife. The couple is captured at home, with Saint Rien sitting at the table using clippings to create hisdream girl by cutting and gluing the clippings of a face together. Representing…
Like a strong summer breeze, the strings that embrace us in the opening bars of “Temporary,” the first track in Timberline’s 2020 LP Florescence, glide through the air around us and impart a youthful lack of inhibition to anyone within reach of their melody. The vocal harmony isn’t quite as retrospective in tone as “Better Days” is, but I don’t know that “Temporary” could’ve set the pace for what comes next…
The drums are dashing forward as the bassline pulls everything in the master mix back, but as the different channels within “Summer Bliss, Feature Mist” are pulled in every direction, Gorazde’s melodic war starts to sound rather harmonious and justifiably filled with rage. In the new record The Fury of Lullabies, Gorazde take a look at the “notion of shadow archetypes and their assimilation into conscious reality,” as they put it…
What’s your musical background? I grew up dancing and doing music theater on side, but I studied fashion design and pattern making in France. Starting out my fashion brand is what brought me back to music. When I decided I needed to take a chance as a musical artist, I enrolled into the Musicians Institute to learn more about the business and more importantly how to produce myself. I…