ILL Level has a hard-edged approach that will immediately get fans’ heads bopping. There’s a bit of grittiness here that feels like a mashup of Detroit and NYC styles. The intricacies of Phat Kat’s bars are nothing to sneeze at, while the hooky chorus act as a way to further highlight this approach. The distinct approaches of each side of this triad keeps ILL Level’s momentum high as it winds…
On “Play Ball”, Shaheed & DJ Supreme are able to create a very chill, laid-back track that will have fans singing along before the first play of the single concludes. The hopeful sound is generated not only from the lyrical flow, but from the keys and shuffling drums that comprises the single’s backing beats. Play Ball’s chorus is a whole other level of catchy; this is the sort of stuff…
On Too Late, The BreakBomb Project “Too Late” take listeners on a journey. The music video for Too Late is immediately able to draw in fans with brooding, emotive strings that approximate a cityscape. As additional elements enter into the frey, Too Late’s overall sound begins to shift and change. The fuzzy vocals are something for fans to pick up on, while the insistent dance beat tattoos itself deep into…
My God Is Amazing is a truly hopeful track by Mack Holland. The back and forth between the song’s chorus and Mack’s vocals pushes each to a higher level, while the song’s instrumentation is the glue that binds these two sections together. There is a timeless sound that is presented here ranging from the early 1990s R&B to a more contemporary gospel sound. The narrative that Mack presents here is…
On Motivation, Triple Blaxxx is able to defly maneuver between reggae, R&B and pop music styles. There are nods to performers like Akon and Wyclef Jean, all while the performer puts his own indelible stamp on the resulting song. The incorporation of gospel to Motivation’s periphery is smart, as it provides greater complexity to the song while bringing in fans of other musical styles. The hopeful message of Motivation will…
What an interesting effort by Jeff Schubert. His new track I’m The Quarterback! feels as if it is going all the way back to the mid-1980s with hints of the Fat Boys mixing with the Super Bowl Shuffle. The overall backing beat that plays at the bottom of I’m The Quarterback! seems to moor the cut into the bounce genre. The single’s bridge is something that comes out of left…
Medusa’s “Double Dutch” is a fun throwback rap track that builds upon the tradition of late-1990s performers like Lil Kim and Missy Elliott. The bars that listeners will encounter during Double Dutch are absolutely intense, head-bopping lyrics that both ferry the song’s narrative elements while contributing to the overall beat of the track. I particularly appreciate the different approaches that Madusa adopts here, as there are minor changes to the…
Blacq Prodigal’s For What You Have Done is an engrossing track that is very grounded in the traditional gospel sounds of the 20th century, while adding a multi-media component (see embedded video) that grants further depth to the track. As a result, these three sides (vocals, instrumentation, and emotive visual performance) will keep listeners firmly in their seats until the drums kick into higher gear. After this catalyst, Blacq Prodigal…
Tina Leon grants her audience access into her inner world of romance with the release of her debut full length album, “Push & Pull”. The title represents the emotional charge that empowers this body of work. Through her songwriting, Leon reconciles the tension between the warm affections of romantic partnerships, and the strenuous moments of disappointment that come from these same relationships. The desire to support and nurture is an…
On The Dead Daisies’s new single Boom Boom, guitars immediately hit listeners. The song blends together the blues-rock style of a 38 Special or Marshall Tucker Band with all of the aural swagger of a David Lee Roth-era Van Halen track. What separates The Dead Daisies from the rest of the acts currently crafting music has to be the dedication that the act has. Each note is crafted perfectly on…
Danny is an amazingly catchy dance track that will have listeners singing along after their first experience with the track. The absolutely luxurious synths act as the song’s backdrop, while Crystal Starr’s vocals go supersonic at all the right places. This means that Danny is one of those songs that will pack dance floors with its flawless execution. The song is hard to pin down influence-wise; while some of the…
The Other Side is the newest track by Major Spark. The song draws from the mid-1990s alternative rock scene. With vocal nods to performers like Oasis, REM, and the B-52s, this effort will invite in a wide swath of listeners. The Other Side’s production allows for a bit of grit to be paired with the hooky paired vocals. Major Spark is on the top of their game here, with the…
On The Flea, Captains Of Entropy are able to make a heady effort that will keep fans firmly on the edges of their seats. The track blends together jam bands, progressive rock acts, and funk into something vibrant and engaging. COE are able to weave a narrative throughout the single without uttering more than a passing word. The dynamics established between the guitars, drums and keys end up ferrying fans…
Breaking Hearts is the latest single from Stephen Thomas. Beginning with a blend of pop-punk and mid-oughts radio rock, Breaking Hearts is a welcome addition to what’s currently populating radio stations. There is a dynamism here that ensures that listeners are just as amped up at the single’s conclusion as they were when it began. Emphatic drums and stratospheric guitar work are given their times in the spotlight during Breaking…
Eddy Puyol’s “Good Time” is one of those fun tracks that will stick with listeners long after the song has ended. The raw charisma exhibited here by Puyol is hard to deny, while the single’s production ensures that the vocals and instrumentation are able to shine alone or as part of a greater whole. There’s hints of funk, soul, disco, and modern R&B that can all be picked out here.…
Psycho Warfare is the newest work by Ron Brunk, a track which is fun in the eclectic approach that dominates. The song fits into the general rock genre that Brunk’s tracks have previously played in, but there are hints of rockabilly and post-modern rock that are presented here. Of course, fans that pick up Psycho Warfare really have to watch the video (embedded below) to get a full idea of…
GWYN’s I Beat U 2 It is one of the best pop tracks we have heard so far this year. The song succeeds primarily due to GWYN’s impressive vocal range. While the instrumentation is a perfect backdrop for these vocals, I feel that GWYN is able to simultaneously call back to the pop music of the early 2000s (Pink, Kelly Clarkson) while giving fans of current music something to sink…
Aria Mody’s “Made In India” is a softly stated sort of single, with the performer building off of the framework of performers like Corinne Bailey Rae and Ciara. This track puts Mody’s vocals to the fore, but particularly focused listeners will hear exactly how much the backing instrumentation contributes to the overall feel on Made In India. Together, the vox and arrangements combine for something that should get some serious…
On Agape Love, the Archduchess Of Divinity is able to create something absolutely timeless. Blending late nineties and early oughts gospel with R&B and funk notes, there are more than enough reasons for a listener to fall in love. The contributions of Brian Laskey add nicely to the track, blending together Kirk Franklin with a Bryan McKnight. The “silent” third partner, Agape Love’s instrumentation, does a lot of heavy lifting.…
Against The World, the latest single from Mic Nickels, is a track that calls back to the late 1990s NYC rap scene. The flow that starts off things is very curt and to the point, with a bit of scratching that acts as the separator between the different features. It is the collection of Rockness Monsta and Rah Digga to the track’s next sections that provide further complexity and an…