Cocktails and Cannabis opens up May’s current release, the Insatiable EP. The track has a unique style that builds off of the work of Peter Murphy and Midnight Oil, while having hints of funk bass and an epic, almost Peter Gabriel-like feel to the song. Hey Peter is wholly different from Cocktails and Cannabis, adopting the outward style of reggae. The guitar is stellar with all of the spirit of…
The RockTronix are an all-star act that are looking to take the world by storm with their latest effort Magnificent Obsession. The specific constellation of influences and style that the band brings to each of their compositions on Magnificent Obsession ensures that listeners will both be on the edges of their seats and have no idea where the act will take them. Surrender is a tremendously introspective track that is…
You can throw a can of mustache wax on just about any street in Brooklyn and hit an indie folk band. But finding a great indie folks band in the borough is a much tougher task.
The Tiger Club starts their latest album, Mephisto Island, with a sound that ties together Gilberto and Getz’ version of Girl From Ipanema with a little hint of the Squirrel Nut Zippers. The unity of lounge, psychedelic, and first-wave ska makes for an innovative and unique style to issue forth during the initial registers of Mephisto Island that will have listeners on the edges of their seats.
1000facez has just released a collection of their songs with the Robokingdom EP; during the album’s five cuts, listeners will be provided with considerable variation in overall sound. The one thing that is constant from beginning to end is how fleshed-out the tracks are; this is a cohesive and a coherent effort from stem to stern. Robokingdom is a track that links together goth, industrial, and alternative rock into a…
Aside from (maybe) The Dead, no other artists’ fans have been more rabid about collecting every scrap of recorded music put out by that musician than Bob Dylan’s acolytes. Ever since his label started releasing their Bootleg Series in 1991 – mainly comprised of outtakes, demos and live recordings, many that had never been heard outside of Dylan’s circle – fans have been speculating about the existence of more songs…
It’s always a tough act trying to replace a deceased front man. For every band like Big Country, who successfully (at least for a while) moved Alarm singer and longtime band friend Mike Peters to the front of the mic, there’s an INXS or Doors who have fumbled through various weak versions and ended up looking like sell outs. When the ‘80s band The Call lost its singer to a…
Broke My Heart is a pop effort that possible considerable instrumental ability; Alice Sungurov creates vocals during this single that tie together Jewel, Kelly Clarkson, and Avril Lavigne. The spontaneous approach taken by the instrumentation on Broke My Heart imbues the effort with considerable replay value, something that is further bolstered through a larger than life arrangement. The track may be a hair over four minutes but all of the…
I Think We Should Be Friends is the first track on Naked Tunes, and the effort provides listeners with a blend of styles that ties the track into the eighties (Pet Shop Boys), nineties (Julian Lennon, George Michaels) and something more current and contemporary (Robin Thicke). The presence of the guitar and strings during I Think We Should Be Friends provides additional complexity to the initial strains of Naked Tunes.
Kansas City’s Organized Mess have just released their latest album, Topography. Glass Shards utilizes an interesting time signature to imbue the track with a distinct sound that resounds loudly through the reminder of the disc. The track links together Defiance, Ohio and The Devil Is Electric with a very approachable and radio-friendly alternative / emotive rock style. The violin solo that links together the two sides of Glass Shards keeps…
Bird Song is the latest effort from Canary Burton, and it is one of the best albums we have heard this year. The One & Future Star has a wonderful opening that gradually expands into something that could be present in a Tim Burton film; there are so many things happening (And not happening) with the effort that listeners will continue to find new twists and turns after a fifth…
R.I.C.E The Proof is an artist that looks to completely place written and spoken poetry on its ear with No Religion. No Religion is a track thatstraddles rap and slam poetry while having all of the nuance and gravity of some of the most storied performers. The light amount of instrumentation that is present on No Religion provides a backdrop that provides highlighting for the relevant sections of R.I.C.E The…
Not Where I Wanna Be slows things down and provides Sarantos ample opportunity to create an expansive and sedate effort that continues to twinkle long after the song has ceased. The deliberate tempo crafted here will indelibly tattoo the rhythms and melodies deep into the psyche and hearts of listeners, something that the song shares with Are You Sure You Can Last Long. Are You Sure You Can Last Long…
Charades is an introduction to the complex and challenging efforts that are commonplace on the album of the same title. SoHo Party is a tremendously interesting effort, with the instrumentation setting up a narrative that is furthered through the alluring vocals – hints of Pinkerton-era Weezer can be easily discerned. I Could Care Less takes Tulsa emotive rock and links it to Death Cab for Cutie to establish something wholly…
If you were a fan of Sallie Ford & The Sound Outside, don’t assume you know what her new album is going to sound like.
The titular beginning to Any Other Way is a track that ties together Garbage, Atari Teenage Riot, and an earlier, late seventies / early eighties goth sound (Siouxsie and the Banshees, 45 Grave) into something that is instrumentally intense while having a very approachable sound. Flesh and Bone further varies up RxGF’s sound in its inclusion of dual harmonies; the shuffling sound of the synths and drums create an effort…
All I Think About starts with an energetic clap and stomp sound that sets the stage for the various paths that The Great Escape will take on their eponymous album. This first track introduces listeners to Amie Miriello, whom is able to craft her own distinct musical path while taking up the standard previously carried by Lorde and Adele. The hard, seventies-infused rock that hits hard during this first track…
This three-piece act has an energetic rock style that will keep listeners locked in from the beginning to the end of their latest release, Be Yourself. The introductory track on Be Yourself (Be Yourself in Time) shines on honest vocals, intricate guitars, and splashy drums that resound loudly. Hey Darlin’ is soulful, a hint funky, and is completed with a ropey and thick bass line. The production makes the finished…
Can’t get behind Robin Thicke’s white guy soul act (be it because there is too much modern pop and not enough soul in the mix… or maybe just because he’s an asshat)? There are plenty of others who can fill that funk void, from the brilliant Sharon Jones & the Dap-Kings to the under-the-radar jams of someone like Caleb Hawley.
Released at a point when emo, screamo and pop punk were having an inexplicable revival in the early aughts, upstate New York’s Coheed and Cambria managed to sneak into the party when no one was watching the door, playing an impressive mix of prog rock and metal with a subtle inclusion of pop.