Idealism is able to craft an alluring electronic / chill track with their Fire Low. The track is able to immediately draw listeners in with a pair of vocals and a complex instrumentation. This instrumentation works to bolster the aforementioned vox, but is complex enough to stand up to repeat plays. With nods to trip-hop, industrial, and drum and bass, Idealism is able to make something wholly unique with their…
Over the course of four records, Oklahoma native Parker Millsap has managed to deliver four distinctly remarkable albums without retreading much on his own musical ground.
It’s pretty apt that the San Francisco Indie rock band Hi Lo Ha decided to borrow the name of Dylan’s Woodstock, New York home for their moniker. The group manages to draw deep inspiration from Dylan’s onetime backing musicians The Band for their Ain’t Gone Tonight EP. But far from being just another band stuck in the ‘60s, they also bring in some modern influences to round out their sound –…
Monsieur Job’s Chow Chow Eyyy Pow Pow skillfully blends reggae, EDM, and pop music in a fashion that will get listeners of all stripes out on the dance floor. The production of the track (featuring No Mercy) is robust, crisp, and clear – one could easily see this garnering major airplay. The drum and bass represents the cornerstone of the track, but the vocals pull double duty in including listeners…
Andromeda is the new album by New Jersey’s Undercover Rabbis (we previously covered their 2015 disc Electric Sand and their 2014 work Empires). The first thing that listeners should know is that Andromeda is one of those albums that are considerably better if you’re able to just sit back with a pair of headphones on. There are so many things occurring during each second of the album that even losing…
K-Syran’s “Shake That Booty” is given a retro sort of feel with the remix that Stonebridge & Damien Hall have created. The track is able to shine because of K-Syran’s inimitable vocals, but the backing instrumentation is surprisingly deep. The different percussive and synth elements that are weaved through this track link together the disco of the 1970s with Madonna’s 1990s work. The shining production of Shake That Booty ensures…
“Home” is the current single by John Tracy, and its hopeful sound is prersent through the soaring vocals, the on-point drums, and the chunky bass line that is weaved throughout the composition. A secondary chorus provides a robustness to Home, while anyone that has ever had something to come home to will find something to appreciate with this sound. John Tracy’s work here adopts equal amounts of alternative, indie rock,…
Beauty In The Breakdown’s “Thinkin Bout You” is a high-energy track that will get listeners out on the dance floor. Skillfully blending equal parts pop and dance music, the act is able to keep an insistent percussion percolating as strong synths and delicate vocals comprise the top part of the single. Thinkin Bout You succeeds because it builds upon the framework of late 1990s and 2000s female popstars while putting…
Sometime in the past few years, someone made the decision that modern rock bands were free to add liberal amounts of funk, soul and creativity to their sound and (thankfully) the floodgates seem to have finally opened. On the heels of some of the great eclectic Americana, folk and R&B musicians that seem to have surfaced from nowhere – folks like Nathaniel Rateliff, The Wood Brothers and Shovels & Rope…
Antherius’ take on Mason Williams’ “Classical Gas” is an interesting take on the classic. The number of twists and turns that listeners will encounter is impressive. Hints of progressive, synth-pop, and AOR can be discerned in the track. No matter how expansive the song may seem, there is a cohesive element that links each section together. Antherius’ steady hand makes this an effort that is reverent to the original while…
Justina Valentine has just released a new single, a reframing of the Eminem single “Stan”. This single, “JUST”, is able to continue the same heavy emotional content of the original while providing listeners with a tremendously introspective look into Justina Valentine. The original backing track is held over from Stan, but the rapidity of Valentine’s flow will amaze and keep fans firmly planted on the edges of their seats. The…
David Haerle’s “Finding Natalie” is a rock track in the vein of Dire Straits and Elvis Costello. The dynamic between the guitars, bass, and strings ensures that the tracks 6-plus-minute run time goes by quickly, while Haerle’s narration on the single will have listeners clamoring for more after the songs concludes. The chorus of the single will tattoo itself deep into the minds and hearts of listeners. The guitar work that…
“In the Fall” is the latest single from Natalise + the Sunset Run. This track immediately kicks into high gear and deftly maneuvers between rock, EDM, and pop genres over the course of its run time. Of course, Natalise is able to immediately capture listeners’ attentions with her unsurpassed vocals, but the punchy drums, sweeping synths and masterful usage of volume. In the Fall is the best track we’ve heard from Natalise…
Lady Moon & The Eclipse’s “Star Gazing” is a wonderful blend of classical and modern forms of R&B. This means that there are lush, funk/jazz-infused bass and drums, a bright and sunny set of vocals, and taut playing that ensures that the resulting effort is appeasing to all fans. On Star Gazing, Lady Moon is able to build upon the style of India.Arie, Corinne Bailey Rae and Mary Mary. Star…
Jungle’s “HAPPY MAN” is a funky and fun track in the vein of Crystal Castles or Chromeo. A shuffling dance beat and vocals that shift into a falsetto keep listeners on their feet. Despite this being a track destined for DJ rotation, there is a pretty intense depth that Jungle plums with this single. The clap track that delineates the first and second half of the tracks acts as a…
Adrian Conner’s “Airport Coffee” is a fun track that takes a bit of 1980s synth-pop and imbues it with an inimitable set of vocals. The track is able to get listeners out on the dance floors just as well as impress fans that have a pair of Grados strapped on. Conner’s funky, guitar-heavy effort is one of the quirkiest efforts we’ve heard so far this year, and it bodes well that the…
Shattered On The Inside, the latest single from ash.ØK is bolstered through a Conkarah x DJ Jounce collab. The track is able to bring in some of the ambient electronic music of the mid-1990s with hints of modern R&B and EDM, making for a haunting effort that has enough of a beat to draw listeners out on the dance floor in droves. The bit of echo present on the main…
Mr. Vegas’ “Wakanda Jam” a bouncy, fun reggae track that will stay fresh through this whole summer. A bigger than life beat matches perfectly with Mr. Vegas’ hopeful vocals. We’re particularly surprised at how the instrumental and vocal elements are able to combine here; each side is able to push the other into an entirely higher plateau. A vibrant video is the glue that is needed to tie each of these…
We’re digging the production choices made during the newest Silver Spoon single, “In the Heat of the Night”. With a seventy-five second introduction that sets listeners adrift on a voyage, Silver Spoon is able to make the main body of this song pop. A deliberate, driving beat keeps the energy high. The dynamic between the guitars and bass line keeps things bouncy, while the drums punctuate the track at all…
StereoRiots “Ghost Machines” is a perfectly-posed piece of thoughtful indie rock that draws upon Disintegration-era The Cure, The Appleseed Cast, and Brand New. Assertive guitar lines and splashy drums run parallel to the supersonic vocals. The StereoRiots are able to shift and modify this composition throughout its extended run time, keeping listeners firmly planted on the edges of their seats. We’re in love with the mid-point of Ghost Machines, as the…