When I first put on the Ari Shine disc, I was expecting something more folksy, a type of music that would be played at any coffee shop or frat house across America. However, when “Crank It Out!” starts, I was transported back to the pop-rock of the mid-sixties, before Ari spices it up ever so slightly to give listeners in 2006 a reason to listen in. The track revels in…
I had heard snippets of this band for a decent period before actually laying my hands on the record itself. While everything that I’ve read about the band tags them as pop-punk wunderkinds, I would have to disagree. The music which Del Cielo puts out goes so far beyond the limitations of a loaded term like pop-punk into a term that is almost as derogatory : alternative. If they put…
There is a very organic sound to The Shimmers’ opening to “The Way You Shine”. This has much more in common with the folk music of the late sixties and early seventies than anything in the current period. If anything, the only act in the last few years that The Shimmers can compare themselves to in the last few years would have to be Davison/Coleman. The presence of two vocalists…
Shook Ones really come out of left field for bands that are on Revelation; this snotty style of straight-forward punk rock is done with the utmost care, with more than a little hint of Rancid to be found during the 7-inch’s opening track “Slaughter of the Insole”. There is also a more than healthy helping of Fat Mike’s vocals that make it onto the track, which makes for a track…
Shedaisy plays a brand of country meets pop music that individuals would be confused to hear coming out of CMT or the like. Songs like “23 Days” could conceivably be on the adult contemporary radio stations, or it could conceivably be on the Christian station; there is nothing that really marks the track as a country song. Still, this does not change the fact that Shedaisy comes up with a…
The slow tempo that starts off “Palo Santo” mixes together Rufus Wainwright, Ben Folds, and John Maher to create something that works well with either the pop set or the individuals that are into challenging music. The simple drumming that begins “Red Sea, Black Sea” is coupled with an electronic sound to approach the album in a fundamentally different way than “La Dame et la Licorne” began the disc. This…
A second year of In:motion, a second season of road-blocked parties, tens of thousands of smiling faces and a host of amazingly good times and memorable moments for all those that were part of it. Bristol’s revamped Motion skate park has lent itself not just as club but a stage and theatre of entertainment, hosting the best in electronic music and live production. There has been a feast of highlights…
Beginning tomorrow, DIKEMBE (Gainesville, FL) will team up with good friends You Blew It (Topshelf Records) for a two-week Winter tour of the East Coast. Affectionately titled “Fulfill The Prophecy,” the trek will find both bands playing shows as far north as Boston and Providence with the likes of Dads, The World Is A Beautiful Place and Cattle Drums. For details and other information, see below or click here. Dikembe…
By some fluke, Neil Diamond – the once cheese-tatstic singer that pretty much defined the 70’s, sequenced shirt and all – has managed to not only remain relevant more than four decades after his first record, but has gotten everyone from housewives to hipsters to look beyond the sideburns and Vegas-ready stage show and see him for what he really is: a damn great songwriter. As The Very Best of…
I Came Around is a song of regret and loss that mirrors well the emotional intensity felt by someone in that situation; I believe a large part of Emerick’s allure comes in being able to capture in song what a great segment of the population has had to go through. Round and Round is the teetering track on this seven-song EP, and the more pensive and quiet approach here creates…
Sal Piamonte is able to imbue rock music with a vitality that is matched only by the asheer array of styles and influences that are present during Lives in Devil City. Fans of Hinder, Papa Roach, and even Lostprophets will find something to sink their teeth into. Take Me Home is a track that just feels destined for radio rotation; with a set of vocals that will ensure listeners and…
As much as I wanted to say that Jules Shear has a sound that is similar to Bob Dylan during the opening track of “Dreams Don’t Count”, the fact is that Shear blazes a path for eirself by only the third or forth minute of the disc. The tracks are fairly dreamy, with the sound of acoustic rock bolstered by an atmosphere that cradles Shear’s output at all sections of…
The first track on (S)he’s album sounds a lot like Destiny’s Child and the other women-centric acts on the market today. From the beginning of the disc (S)he sounds as if they have drawn heavily from a number of similar sounding acts. (S)he goes into a more gospel like style with “Temptation”, to the degree that the track sounds very influenced by acts like Trin-I-Tee 5:7 and Nicole C. Mullen.…
Jack Blades was in Night Ranger and Damn Yankees. Tommy Shaw was in Styx. Together they are Shaw-Blades, and they don’t play anything original on this album. Tracks confront listeners from acts like Seals & Crofts, Paul Simon, and the Mamas and the Papas. From these two individuals, who created some of the harder rock and hair metal of the seventies, eighties, and nineties, to hear a song like “Summer…
No Work Dancing begins with Molina (oh yeah), a slow and steady-paced track that touches upon the pop-rock of the sixties just as much as it does on Weezer and slacker rock. The titular track for No Work Dancing has a more insistent beat, with the drums tattooing a rhythm on listeners’ hearts. With a nod to early Rolling Stones and Monkees, the narrative quality of the instrumentation here establishes…
The Drive EP begins with the titular track, a song that updates the work of the Goo Goo Dolls into a mature and intensively emotive format. The vocals have that little bit of punk stylings playing at the periphery, which provides the band with a truly unique style. The fullness of the instrumentation is shown as well during Drive, with a resplendent bass line adding that much to the track.…
Do It All Over Again is a flipping of the traditional guy and girl song that will have listeners ecstatic. By reversing these gender roles, Janzen is able to provide a voice to all of womankind. In terms of instrumentation, there is a layered approach taken that stashes a fuller sound in the background. Everybody Knows Better moves Janzen into a more pop sound; hints of Sheryl Crow and Alanis…
The singer-songwriter trope is one in which there is a tremendous amount of flotsam. It is hard to find a solid title among all of the titles that are released on a monthly basis. However, I feel that Beverly McClellan’s Fear Nothing is a title that looks to redefine the genre, as well as provide a solid experience for anyone that happens to find a copy of the album. Fear…
Revolutionary Girl Utena’s The Black Rose Saga is where I originally cut my RGU teeth; the storyline showcases substantial evolution from the original series, while containing the same quality that one had came to expect from the show. For those unfamiliar with the Black Rose Saga, it takes place as the friendship between Anthy and Utena starts to twist and turn. As this is happening, Utena’s world become more hectic…
Mushroomhead is one of the biggest active bands to come from Cleveland. While they have formed their style over the course of numerous albums, Jeffrey Nothing (the band’s vocalist) has boldly went out on eir own with The New Psychodalia. There is a confidence that is weaved through the album’s 13 cuts that pushes the album past Mushroomhead territory. This is an evolutionary step forward for Nothing, and the album’s…