There is an absolutely sage sound to the tracks on Resilience that belies the youth of tenor sax player Tim Mayer. While a more youthful disposition would have Mayer push eirself to the front of each of the album’s 10 tracks, Resilience has a much more varied and intelligent use of the aforementioned instrument. Nowhere is this heard as well as during the introductory For Miles; the track is able…
How Do You Do is an album that is like fine wine; it gets better with age. Get To Know You is an impressive introduction, with emotive sentiments tying in perfectly with intricate arrangements. The intense feelings that are brought to bear during How Do You Do represent the glue that holds the track together. While there are definitely rising and falling moments to be experienced here, the same nuanced,…
Out of the Sun is the first track on The Loose Hinges’ self-titled album, hitting listeners with a sound that is boldly different than practically anything that is on the market. The female vocals, coupled with the shifting, slinky sound achieved by the rest of the band has no comparison. Hints of Dusty Springfield and Nancy Sinatra can be heard in this aforementioned vocals, but the electronic arrangements that cradle…
Tony Desimone is an artist that wishes to establish himself as being one of the major forces of Americana rock. By taking on bits and hints of John Mellencamp, Tom Petty, and even newer acts like Third Eye Blind and Matt Nathanson, what results on The Second Time Around is something that bleeds red, white and blue. This does not mean that Desimone saturates everything with Old Glory, but rather…
The attention span of the average music listener is short; most tracks are able to end in about three minutes. eM feels that they can create a track in Promise Me that will keep the attention of these listeners, and I feel that they are able to succeed with this single. The track looks back to the days of Kraftwerk for inspiration; the band is able to modernize that sound…
I have a soft spot for bands that have an emotive rock velour – All The Right Moves start out of the gate with a blend of Yellowcard, Philmore, and Melee. Point of View will impress with every recorded note – the production allows the splashy drum, honest vocals, and fulfilling arrangements to work perfectly. At the end of a single listen, I found myself following the band’s imperative. With…
The June Rise create in Good Lion a track that is bouncy and will immediately capture the attention of anyone that may be listening in. Their tender touch during Pull The Arrow will undoubtedly keep fans focused in – the rich instrumentation is what does it. Nothing more than the interactions between the different instruments are need to create some of the most affecting music that we have heard this…
There is not a band that has came out with a title this year that comes forth in such a unique way as Frank. There is no easy way to categorize the band, which ties themselves to the B-52s, R.E.M., Fastball, and even classic acts like Queen and The Rolling Stones. With each track on this album, Frank comes one step close to showcasing this unique flair. Peace Out is…
The emotive guitar work that begins Pink Champagne will be immediately amenable to fans of The Wallflowers or the Counting Crows. The blend of funk, soul, and other rock styles alongside the sheer vocal intensity brought to each track will create a legion of fans. This trend is something that continues through the bulk of Pink Champagne; Face Down In The Gutter ratchets up the gritty sound considerably. Hints of…
There are a whole slew of different influences and styles that are cultivated during the twelve tracks that comprise the original self-titled effort by Yuck. However, I feel that the album takes a much different tone when a second CD of six tracks are included. Fat Possum has just released a deluxe edition of this album, providing fans with some fun new tracks and a snappy packaging option. Rubber is…
With the storm of troubles that J. Cole has had to weather over the course of the last few months (problems with the release schedule of eir mixtapes, being dropped from Jay-Z’s label due to dalliances with Rhianna), I really thought that the Cole World would be a much more uneven album. “Can’t Get Enough” is a great start to the album; it is a track that shows the fire…
From the sounds of their self-titled debut in 1995, it was clear Ben Folds Five was going to more than a flash in the pan alt rock band. At the time a guitar-less trio with singer Ben Folds more than making up for the void with his piano, the group sounded both comfortably familiar (everything from Elton John to The Beatles) and shockingly original over the span of just a…
For years, all my Screeching Weasel collection consisted of was the classic Boogadaboogadaboogada, and I always wondered why people said all the local bands in Lancaster sounded like Screeching Weasel. With my receiving of “Wiggle”, I finally begin to understand what those individuals were talking about. This is the harder edge of the early nineties punk rock, a movement which had as its lighter front bands like Green Day and…
“How To Make Enemies” begins with “Planet Of The Apes”, a typical Screeching Weasel sound that yet has intense arrangements all around it. For example, the bass line present on the song is always present, but has a stepped-style sound to it that shows a cognizance of where Danny was in relation to the band. The entire sound of the band has been increase substantially in the space of one…
I believe that the different tracks on The Good Feeling allow The Christian McBride Big Band to stretch their collective limbs to the greatest possible degree. What results in this album is one of the largest collections of different influences and styles, created in a fashion that will have listeners of all age groups and styles listening along to every beat. The Good Feeling starts out with Shake ‘n Blake,…
It is always interesting to see a band like Eve To Adam on the upside of their move toward fame; I believe that Banquet For A Starving Dog will be where many listeners first can get in to the band. The title starts off with Run Your Mouth, an assertive track that will provide fans with a first look into the band’s unique take on rock music. Where modern radio…
“Anthem For A New Tomorrow” mixes the pop-punk of the Ramones with the wall of sound present with The Replacements and the earliest albums of Husker Du. While the band had already moved beyond the short and breakneck-paced tracks of “Boogadaboogadaboogada”, Screeching Weasel had came up with tracks on this album (such as “Rubber Room”) that replicate the speed of the earliest tracks with the catchiness present on albums like…
Rich Schroder plays the same style of singer-songwriter rock that can be heard in many a coffee shop on any day of the week. There is more than a fair share of white boy soul, in the same style of a Mellencamp or a Billy Joel. However, this style is updated by the inclusion of styles common to artists like John Maher, so a wider swath of listeners can find…
A very lo-fi guitarist is this Scout, and at times, she falls into the same repetitive stylings as her labelmate, Jorma Whittaker. Sounding slightly like What’s That Smell-era Bitch and Animal in the vocal department, the sheer repetition of the music on the disc keeps it from being a true work of art. While trying to go the retro route by playing outdated instruments (a Ludwig 1965 Silver Sparkle drum…
Very few individuals would be able to get a member of the Goo Goo Dolls to be on their disc, but Zoe Scott is talented enough to have John Rzeznik (the lead singer of the band) accompany eir on this disc. The style of music that Scott creates on “Beautiful To Be Alive” is a brand of rock-influenced pop, in much of the same vein as artists like Kelly Clarkson…