Blue Muse begins with A Fiddle Player’s Love, a tender track that shows the intricate arrangements that are commonplace during the release. Tozer’s vocals link together Stevie Nicks with Reba McEntire, while the instrumentation will resound loudly in listeners’ ears long after the title ceases.
The band begins Fire Work with a tremendously interesting use of time signatures, meaning that the act has a sound that has equal parts of Tool, 311, Sublime, and Primus. The vocals are able to expand upon the work of bands like Coheed and Cambria and Fall Out Kid, along with hints of Incubus and Godsmack.
Sacred Earth has created one of the most cohesive meditative albums that we have heard this year. Each of the disc’s first five tracks range in length from eight to ten minutes, and provide a wide array of distinct influences along with considerable twists and turns over the course of the sixty-plus minute run time.
The Haiku Project is a musician that is looking to further the ambient genre into something that is tremendously effecting while still being approachable by the widest swath of listeners. The album begins with Atlantis, an eight-minute track that feels to be a fraction of that.
People don’t normally consider Canada to be a hotbed of extreme metal. When talking about the best black or death metal bands, Scandinavia is constantly mentioned, along with a few American bands, German bands and various regional scenes but the Canadian scene is often overlooked which is a shame because some of the bands to come out of the Great White North are some of the best bands metal has…
Prospect is a very emotion track that requires nothing more than Thorpe’s fantastic voice. The different harmonies that she achieves before the whistling begins is simply unparalleled in music, with comparisons being drawn to Sarah McLachlan or Paula Cole.
Jeff Bobbin is a musician that is looking to expand the progressive metal genre into bold new directions. Calling Orlando, Florida his home, Bobbin’s band The Conduit has just released the Six LP. This disc begins with a cover of a Tesseract track (Perfection) which Bobbin has twisted and contorted into his own unique style, providing the proper momentum that listeners need to stick through the rest of the album.
Do You Believe? Is the first track on Love Transmitter, and it provides listeners with a solid introduction to the styles and approaches that will be presented on the remainder of the album. Taken separately, the track is something that could easily be on rotation at alternative and modern rock stations.
Lonely Place begins Breathe Air in a very emotional and touching way. This effort has hints of Elton John and Styx, even as a darker and more rock-oriented style bubbles beneath the Broadway façade. The track gradually picks up steam and ensures that anyone focusing in to this introductory effort will be glued to the edges of their seats.
A Beautiful Way is a perfectly polish track that showcases equal amounts of Adam’s soulful vocals and intricate compositions. Hints of Coldplay, Jason Mraz, and The Wallflowers can all be discerned as influences during this introductory track. Our Man is a track that looks back to the work of Blur and James. while keeping things fresh and interesting. This track combines with A Beautiful Way to showcase that beautiful instrumentation…
Follow is an album that shows a variety of styles, providing listeners with a great introduction to the band. The album starts off with Wrecking Ball, a mid-tempo track that takes on hints of Maroon 5, Mumford & Son, and Matchbox 20.The track deftly blends equal parts instrumentation and alluring vocals. The track moves into Water from the Well, an intricate effort that provides just as much narrative with the…
Darling is a wonderful bit of lo-fi rock that will appease fans of the seventies and eighties. With equal parts stoner and hair metal, what The Falling Birds do on this intial track is immediately bash their fans with catchy melodies and Edgar Winter-esque heaviness. The track keeps listeners on the edges of their seats for four minutes, and provides brief hints into the band’s influences. This means that bits…
Roll On is a solid bit of seventies rock that keeps a frenetic amount of energy from beginning to end. The track benefits from a solid production, allowing the guitars, drums, and vocals to shine separately or as a cohesive unit. The switch between instrumental and vocal elements keeps things particularly fresh, while the narrative that is created by Morley here allows listeners to be firmly involved with the track.…
Believe it or not kids, there was a time when Elton John was not only cool, but wrote songs you didn’t have to listen to on the sly with the windows rolled up in the car or through earbuds, pretending you were listening to The National.
Gunfighter is an album that has a number of twists and turns, allowing The Heart Pills to take on hints of mid-90s California, The Anniversary, and even hints of Bright Eyes before the initial effort Concrete ceases. Cowboy has a bouncy feel to it that will appease fans of NoFX and The Aquabats, even as an electric sound (think The Red Hot Valentines) plays at the periphery. The dynamic that…
Nothin to Lose is a track that utilizes deep and dark production, creating a Three 6 or B.O.B. sound for the backing beat, while the flows themselves very between Del the Funkee Homosapien, J. Cole, and XV. The track is catchy while not eschewing the street aspects of rap. The lyrical flow is incredibly tight and complex, while keeping things interesting for those that are looking for music similar to…
Few artists are able to provide listeners with a full semblance of the band’s nuance in the course of two tracks. Hooyoosay has stuffed each track on this single with enough passion and aplomb to keep things lively. Come On is a track that touches upon the sixties and eighties with a bouncy beat and a surfish vibe that permeates all points of the song. There is a tautness to…
Wanna feel old? Cyndi Lauper’s breakthrough debut, She’s So Unusual, the album that launched a career and a slew of hits that took over radio in the ‘80s (“Girls Just Wanna Have Fun,” “Time After Time,” “Money Changes Everything, “All Through the Night”…) came out 30 years ago! In its honor, Legacy is putting out a two disc box set complete with demos, rehearsal takes, remixes and a live track.…
Few musicians are able to keep listeners interested through ten tracks, much less fifteen. TaQuita Thorns has imbued each of the cuts on Rough and Fancy with enough of her inimitable style and eclectic tastes in music to ensure that fans will stick with the album from the beginning strains of “Forever” until the last notes of “Believe (Power of Love).” The production of the tracks on Rough and Fancy…
Friend Slash Lover have just cut their new single, “Don’t Retouch Me There.” The track presents listeners with hints of Chromeo, Imagine Dragons, and MGMT. With equal parts EDM and seventies-inspired indie rock, “Don’t Retouch Me There” is as much of a dance single as it is good fodder for dorm parties. The band cultivates a crisp sound on this release, while keeping the echo-heavy vocals in perfect harmony…