Category: Music Reviews

Posted on: May 10, 2019 Posted by: Sargeant Comments: 0

Gold Light and Snakemusk release LP

URL: http://www.goldlightmusic.com/ Independent artists Gold Light and Snakemusk join forces to deliver a stunner of a debut album together in Shadows In The Shallows, which fuses emotional Americana with elements of raw garage rock, country swing and bittersweet folk music inside of nine decadently arranged tracks. Songs like the sensational lead single “The Heart is a Lonely Hunter,” acoustic “Nobody’s Baby” and vocal-driven “Heart of Black” engage us with their…

Posted on: May 10, 2019 Posted by: Sargeant Comments: 0

The Brothers Union – Silhouettes

Calm and collected, the vocals that begin The Brothers Union’s new single “Silhouettes” are the touchstone that guides one through the composition. Twinkling guitar work is the yin to the vocal yang; these elements are make to make something that will stick around long after the song ceases to play. Listeners will sing along with Silhouettes after the effort’s first spin. The Brothers Union are able to build off of…

Posted on: May 10, 2019 Posted by: Sargeant Comments: 0

All This Huxley – Comrade II

On Comrade II, All This Huxley is able to create a touching piece of indie rock that marries contemplative instrumentation with charismatic vocals. The progression of their latest single (the lead-off for July’s new album) will keep listeners on the edges of their seats. The rising tempo that the band establishes through Comrade II opens up into something beautiful, with the backing guitars, bass, and drums feeding into a wholly…

Posted on: May 8, 2019 Posted by: John B. Moore Comments: 0

Megg Farrell & Friends – Self-Titled (Self-Released)

Megg Farrell readily admits it’s a crooked line that brought her to the sound she has now. She grew up a kid in New York jamming to indie rock and Riot Grrrl bands like Sleater-Kinney. A little later, camping and rafting through the South turned her on to Bluegrass and introduced her to the finger-picking style. Back in the Northeast, she started a band playing venues up and down the…

Posted on: May 7, 2019 Posted by: John B. Moore Comments: 0

Andy Frasco & The U.N. – Change of Pace (CD)

It’s hard to believe that Change of Pace, Andy Frasco’s latest LP comes on the heels of a break up and a realization that his cocaine-fueled lifestyle may need a little adjustment. From the opening funk-drenched title track and throughout most of the other 10 songs here, Frasco and his band have the same party vibe that has quickly attracted audiences across the globe over the past few years. But…

Posted on: May 6, 2019 Posted by: Kim Muncie Comments: 0

Midnight Shine dispatch a respectable cover

Midnight Shine dispatch a respectable cover of Neil Young’s “Heart of Gold” in their latest single, and while it’s not that different from the original in terms of aesthetic and style, it’s still a gripping listen from an adept band of players. In their version of “Heart of Gold,” Midnight Shine incorporate elements of their own Cree culture into the song, including but not limited to translating verses in the…

Posted on: May 3, 2019 Posted by: John B. Moore Comments: 0

PEAWEES – Dead End City [Reissue]

It’s been nearly 20 years since the Italian four-piece Peawees turned in their fantastically succinct argument that stellar garage and punk rock doesn’t belong to the ‘60s and ‘70s; Dead End City was a near-perfect expression of frenetic joy, anger, optimism and cynicism all trojan horsed in a dozen tracks. Originally released in 2001 on a small indie label in the Netherlands, it was tragically overlooked by just about most…

Posted on: May 3, 2019 Posted by: Kim Muncie Comments: 0

Labán releases new Single

Skipping like a stone across a pristine lake, a gentle percussion creates a sensuous environment for Labán to unleash his signature serenade in the all-new single “Para Ti,” from the upcoming album Todos Somos Dueños de Aquí. We swing to an affectionate beat while a guitar and bass join forces to paint a vivid picture for us with nothing more than their decadent melodies, and while the strings are as…

Posted on: May 2, 2019 Posted by: Sargeant Comments: 2

Legion of Saints – Bottle it Up

On Bottle It Up, Legion of Saints is able to create an intense instrumentation that immediately draws listeners in. With nuanced vocals providing considerable depth to this single, the act is able to make a bold step forward. With nods to Bloc Party and Maroon 5, Legion of Saints makes something that could just as easily work on rock radio rotation as well as the most jaded technical music fans.…

Posted on: May 1, 2019 Posted by: Sargeant Comments: 0

Alejandra O’Leary – Wires

On Wires, Alejandra O’Leary is able to call back to the mid-1990s alternative sound of The Breeders and early Flaming Lips to make something interesting and eminently radio rotation-friendly. O’Leary’s vocals are able to simultaneously further the narrative of the track while working well with the guitars and drums. With just a hint of fuzz uniting these elements, Wires is able to keep listeners on the edges of their seats…

Posted on: April 30, 2019 Posted by: John B. Moore Comments: 0

Drunken Prayer – Cordelia Elsewhere (Deer Lodge Records)

Mainstream Country music has gotten some bad press over the past few years because… well, it’s bad, sometimes dreadful. For the most part, it relies on clichés and unimaginative recycled themes and lyrics that appeal to the broadest, most unimaginative audiences out there. But then there’s those musicians that live in the shadows of Mainstream Country music – the authentic Americana bands, the Bluegrass groups that don’t give a shit…

Posted on: April 30, 2019 Posted by: Kim Muncie Comments: 0

Jeffrey Halford & the Healers release new Music

URL: http://jeffreyhalford.com/ Americana gets a much-needed makeover in the all-new effort from Jeffrey Halford & the Healers, West Towards South. Recorded in San Francisco and Mill Valley, California, West Towards South features a bittersweet Californian catharsis that blankets the Heartland harmonies and balladic blues elegies and lends a supple surrealism to tracks like “The Ballad of Ambrose and Cyrus,” “A Town Called Slow,” “Sea of Cortez” and “Three-Quarter Moon.” Textures within the string…

Posted on: April 29, 2019 Posted by: Kim Muncie Comments: 0

Talk Me Down by Drake Jensen

URL: https://drakejensen.ca/ I kind of knew what I might be getting into before I heard Drake Jensen’s “Talk Me Down” for the first time. The title conjured images of a man standing on a ledge contemplating plunging to his certain death and, sure enough, the chorus builds around that image. The joy of this song, for me, is hearing how Jensen gets there and the emphatic emotional power he packs…

Posted on: April 29, 2019 Posted by: John B. Moore Comments: 0

Scissor Sisters – Scissor Sisters (Vinyl Re-Release)

Scissor Sisters eponymous debut created quite a stir when it was unleashed on the world in 2004. It was an odd time for music, with Green going full rock opera on American Idiot, Avril Lavigne doing her best suburban bubble gum punk rock impression and a pre-douchebag Kanye West all competing for the attention of music buyers across the globe. Meanwhile, the New York-based pop/rock/dance Scissor Sisters came out of…

Posted on: April 28, 2019 Posted by: Kim Muncie Comments: 0

Toronto’s iridescent indie rock syndicate Across the Board drop the high-powered anthology

YOU TUBE: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCw3tv2Y9iPCU-FgOmRWRUaw Toronto’s iridescent indie rock syndicate Across the Board drop the high-powered anthology of sonic super-strength that we’ve all been waiting for in their all-new album Wild Ones, and after having the opportunity to review the LP ahead of its highly-anticipated release, I can confirm that it’s everything that critics like myself had hoped it would be. We start off with a haunting prologue in track one that can’t…

Posted on: April 27, 2019 Posted by: Kim Muncie Comments: 0

Little Bird’s – gHost

URL: http://www.thisislittlebird.com/ When you mix cerebral post-rock that knows no boundaries when it comes to dishing out a mountainous melody with lush R&B harmonics and an ambient groove pattern taken straight out of a science fiction novel, you get Little Bird’s “gHost,” in all of its magical musical glory. Little Bird aren’t a household name, but they have been churning out some really urbane, psychedelic-tinged R&B over the past few…

Posted on: April 26, 2019 Posted by: Kim Muncie Comments: 0

Project Grand Slam’s all-new LP PGS 7

Bluesy riffs start a fire that singer Ziarra Washington will cool with her sensuous serenade in the stylish hybrid “Redemption Road.” A sly groove will wash away the slightest notion of anxiety as we strut to the beat of “Python.” Washington and saxophonist Mario Castro harmonize in the heavenly melodic tapestry that comprises “The ‘In’ Crowd”,” and in all three of these tracks and the ten that accompany them on…

Posted on: April 23, 2019 Posted by: John B. Moore Comments: 0

The Rolling Stones – Honk [Deluxe Version] (CD)

There’s certainly no big hole out there in the record collections of Rolling Stones fans when it comes to greatest hits albums. But if there’s any group in history of rock that would deserve yet another package of best of songs, it’s The Stones Honk collects a slew of hits (36 to be precise) that span the band’s 1971 classic Sticky Fingers up to their latest studio album 2016’s Blue & Lonesome.…

Posted on: April 18, 2019 Posted by: Kim Muncie Comments: 0

Victor Pedro’s “Call Me, I Miss Ya!,”

Making R&B that stands out in the crowded and competitive market that the genre’s biggest scenes have been enjoying the last decade is no easy task no matter how talented the artist, but in Victor Pedro’s “Call Me, I Miss Ya!,” the Nigerian singer/songwriter makes it look incredibly simple. Following collaborations with some of the biggest stars in the South African circuit, Pedro has truly come into his own as…

Posted on: April 18, 2019 Posted by: Kim Muncie Comments: 0

Kingdom of Birds are finding a nice niche in their latest record Glitz

Millennials can be a tough crowd to please, but Kingdom of Birds are finding a nice niche in their latest record Glitz that appeals to their generation in a uniquely surreal way. Kingdom of Birds are a band of musicians whose ages range from eleven to sixteen, but were you to miss the video for Glitz’ leadoff single “Goodbye” (in which they star), you might be disinclined to realize how young they really are.…