Mix It Up is an extremely catchy effort that builds upon the tradition of performer like Sean Kingston and Nico & Vinz. With rapid shifts through R&B, pop, and rap, iinvad3 is able to call out to a wide swath of listeners. With some soulful vocals leading up to and including the song’s chorus, Mix It Up is one of those earworms that will continue to bounce into listeners’ brains…
Do The Damn THing is a confident, assertive statement laid down by Blondia. With no-nonsense lyrics dropped alongside a brooding and intense backing beat, Blondia immediately draws in listeners’ attentions. There’s a harmony, a cadence which Blondia uses to great effect in this single. The rising and falling movements of the song established a varied sound – no two moments of Do The Damn Thing are the exact thing. Utterly…
On Hotel, A.T.L.D.V. bring a bit of T-Pain, Tyrese, and Public Announcement to the current era. Tremendous vocals, a sexy groove, and a funky production backing the vox combine to make for something that could easily chart on modern R&B and pop stations. There’re a lot of things going on during this track, but A.T.L.D.V. are able to corral everything into a cogent sound that will ring loudly in listeners’…
Someday is a hopeful track that ties together bright vocals and a backing instrumentation that draws heavily from the 1970s soul and funk styles. The jazz-infused drum line adds a bit of spontaneity to Da$Htone’s lately. The flow that is weaved through Someday simultaneously furthers the positive narrative while adding a further layer of complexity to the mix. Bringing in Alma Cook’s vocals to the second half of Someday, Da$Htone…
Thee End has an eclectic sound to it that is united by the inimitable vocal flow of Maribased1; there are calls back to 1990’s California rap, the wavy sound of Kid Cudi, and a nod to the modern approach of performers like Migos and Post Malone. Whipping in a bassier flow from D Menace, Thee End ensures that it has considerable replay value throughout the rest of the summer. With…
You Were Light is the introductory effort on Arielle Silver’s A Thousand Tiny Torches. Rich vocals immediately wash over listeners, as Silver builds upon the tradition of performers like Carole King and Sarah McLachlan. The guitar work calls to a different style, adopting the trappings of 1980s and 1990 country. The rising and falling sections on You Were Light keep fans firmly planted on the edges of their seats. There…
Follow Me Home begins with an atmospheric production that sets the stage for Benny Freestyle’s laid-back approach.A hooky chorus will have listeners singing along; the bit of guitars and percussive elements are more than able to make an alluring backdrop. The narrative that is established here with Benny Freestyle’s lyrics and the hauntingly brilliant female vox imbue the composition with a bit more substance than what is typically encountered on…
A little anxious but attractive to listeners who dig chic grooves in contemporary pop, the sensuous and alluring beats in “Lemon” are perhaps the perfect yin to the yang that is Hewas’ lead vocal. If you’ve never heard of Hewas before, don’t feel left out – “Lemon” is his official studio debut, and it’s hitting record store shelves at a particularly important time this season. Eclectically stylized but not quite…
The Side Deal is not your run-of-the-mill rag tag band. These guys can play and they have themselves a solid hit in the updated rendition of “I Can See Clearly Now” out now via Goldie Records. If one song could encapsulate the hopes and dreams of a nation, and the summer of what to come, this is the time. “I Can See Clearly Now” is a bright, bright hit. Originally…
Few songwriters today can claim to be as eclectic as Seattle’s Electric E. A former resident of New York City, there’s no doubt the songs on Babylon Music and 3 Sides to Every Story have a distinctly urban flavor, but Electric E never confines himself to electronic music alone. Babylon Music is more varied overall than 3 Sides to Every Story – this is clear from the first song. The title track recalls Tom Waits in some ways…
I Want It Now is a powerful opening to the new album by Sundogs, The Code. With sizzling guitar work and an emotive take on the song’s arrangements, the act is able to bring listeners in by the barrelful. Settling into the seventies style of rock that links together early Ted Nugent with Boston and Bachman-Turner Overdrive with a dollup of 1980s hair metal (e.g. Ratt, Cinderella), Sundogs immediately kick…
Elly Ball’s Control begins with a funky, layered approach that acts as a nice counterpoint for single’s poppy vocals.There’s a nice chiaroscuro exhibited during this composition with Ball’s soft and sly vocals interacting with the bassy synths. These two elements combine to make for an engrossing sound. The slowdown that occurs at around the 2:40 to 2:45 mark allows Ball to move into a vocal approach that draws from traditional…
Jenn Nucum’s Out For Blood hits listeners with introspective guitar work and tender yet strong vocals. With an uncanny ability to create a vibrant landscape with each lyric, Nucum will immediately draw fans into the track. The dynamics established between the guitars and Jenn’s voice pushes each to an entirely higher peak. The deliberate arrangements here are reminiscent of OK Computer-era Radiohead or Bush’s Glycerin. Indie rock and twee are…
On NEOMI’s new single On Your List, a slinky vocal style is matched to an assertive, bassy synth. The hooky vocal style of NEOMI will bury itself deep into the minds and hearts of listeners. Instrumental sections do well in refreshing the track immediately after On Your List’s chorus. With Kevin Jardine building off of the eclectic and dance floor-ready style of producers like Shock Value-era Timbaland, NEOMI is able…
ZZ Top frontman Billy Gibbons is best known for three things: playing a mean guitar, his obsession with exotic hot rods (check out any band video from the ‘80s) and one of the most impressive beards in rock. His book, Billy F Gibbons: Rock + Roll Gearhead, tackles two out of three. Initially out in 2011, this latest book is an expanded version with over 200 pages devoted to Gibbons…
There have been countless attempts by Universal to reboot and retell the classic H.G. Wells story of The Invisible Man, but thanks to an inspired modern twist on the classic story, the studio has finally turned in possibly the best and easily the scariest telling yet of this classic monster movie. Written and directed by Leigh Whannell (best known for his screenplays for Saw and the Insidious franchise), the movie…
Though not as attractive as the guitar parts in the song are, the synthetic shards of melodicism that comes skating through the backdrop of Gianni Bodo’s “Hurricanes and Butterflies (Flowers Don’t Die)” are an irreplaceable cornerstone of the track’s harmony. As integral to the development of the hook as any of the other components of the composition are, the synth element in this single serves to create balance and warmth…
There aren’t many independent players in Canada that have the kind of buzz that Francine Honey has going for her right now – and justifiably so. Honey has been on a whirlwind ride through the last three years, and in 2020, she’s taking all of her professional knowledge and hammering out one of her best performances yet in “I Carry On.” “I Carry On” is being released as a double…
All in It Together is a track born out of the current pandemic. Showcasing the collaborative element of humanity while insisting upon the need for safe behaviors, Dos Floris are doing their due diligence to keep the whole of humanity safe. With a hopeful set of vocals and guitar-led backdrop, Dos Floris is able to create a catchy set of harmonies. These harmonies will bury themselves deep into the minds…
NOLA Resistance has crafted their own re-tooling of Gil Scott-Heron’s classic “The Revolution Will Not Be Television”. Updating the vibrant lyrical examples to the current period, the act has given the composition a new lease on life. More than changing up the narrative, NOLA Resistance has also created a wholly distinct set of backing instrumentation for the song. Where there was an insistent flute and a forceful tempo on Scott-Heron’s…