“Telescope” was a tremendous effort by Steve Dawson, and is an album that still finds its way into my CD player every month or so. I was surprised to learn that ey came out with a new album, “Nightshade”, that looks to top even the lofty example of the aforementioned title. The album begins with “Torn and Frayed”, which creates over the course of four minutes a Cliff’s Notes to…
I believe that Ralph Peterson is one of the world’s most slept-on drummers. Sure, there were a few years that ey attempted to break it big (with the Harrison-Blanchard Group and OTB), but I feel that eir path to the top has to have Peterson’s unique style in front and center. “Outer Reaches”, the latest album by Peterson and eir Unity Project, is a title that looks to do just…
2011 has been a pretty dead year for music. We’ve went through the releases of countless artists in a variety of genres, from Christian to punk to metal and even classical, and very few acts really seem to shine. I contend that Jake Allen’s Etherica is one of a small number of titles that ultimately deserve repeated listens. Allen’s work, beginning with the disc’s first track “Ascension”, is of the…
Eyedea (the late Michael Larsen) was one of the first celebrities that I met. Back in the early 2000s, he (along with Brother Ali and Musab) freestyled for a crowd that was not informed that they were too young to attend their concert next year. He absolutely laid down some sick freestyles over RJD2 instrumentals, and we gave him some NeuFutur love. However, we were able to get a hold…
All Time Low is a band that has paid their dues. They have been touring endlessly since their formation in 2003, and I believe that they have evolved considerably since the last time we covered them (2006’s Put Up or Shut Up). The deluxe edition of Dirty Work contains three extra tracks, adding further context to what may just be their best album yet. “Do You Want Me (Dead?)” is…
This band has a lot of fans, and I had no clue who they were until I was able to get this album and listen to it a few times. “Triumph or Agony” starts out with a brand of instrumentation and orchestration that would be better in a movie, while this style comes through slightly during the opening of the title track. Rhapsody of Fire skillfully add their own brand…
Reza’s music is interesting. That’s probably the only thing that came to my mind when I first came to listen to “Ray of the Wine”. The only Persian-American that I’ve ever reviewed, Reza mixes eir two heritages incredibly well, placing in a traditional set of instruments with more American ones (bass, electronic keyboard). What first emanates to listeners’ ears is “Wild Hair”, a foreign-language track that skillfully mixes the ancient…
Like pairing a Sex Pistols t-shirt with a pair of old cowboy boots, Dallas-based band The Von Ehrics play cow punk in a way that everyone from Willie to Glen Matlock would approve off. Fast, raucous and loud, Two Foot Stomp finds the band at its finest with the release of their fourth album. You can still hear a slight twang in Robert Jason Vandygriff’s vocals that sound simply sublime…
“Vasene” is a track that defies convention and takes a turn through a number of genres and distinct styles to create Jane Hunt’s first single on her self-titled EP. The dynamic, high-energy violin line weaves its way masterfully through the track, while the atmospheric vocals push the track even further. The track is fleshed out through the addition of an emotive and understanding drum line. “Melia Dream” is the disc’s…
It always felt a little disingenuous to label Great White as a hair metal band. Yes they were popular during glam metal’s late 80’s heyday and yes they were featured right alongside bands like Poison and Ratt in the pages of Hit Parader and Circus magazines. I’m sure their concert riders even called for cans of Aqua Net at the time, but if you listen to their music, it was…
Earth & The Next Society – Live Earth (CD) / 2011 Self / 5 Tracks / http://www.earthandthenextsociety.com “Golden Age” is the first track on Live Earth, and the confident guitar work that opens up the album will immediately ensnare listeners. While the presence of a nearly six minute track may be a hard hurdle for some bands to hop, Earth & The Next Society craft a song that is as…
Five years seems like a long time to wait nowadays for a new record, when any laptop can convert into a portable recording studio, but Nicole Atkins gets a pass. On Mondo Amore, the first real follow up of new music to her 2006 debut (the EP released in 2009 was all covers), Atkins ratchets up everything from the writing to the music, turning in an effort that eclipses her…
So, a brief story about this release. We had a reviewer at NeuFutur that requested this title. They flaked out. I took over and finally found a copy of the album, and have been spinning it nonstop since then. Piano Red is nothing less than Atlanta blues royalty, and The Lost Atlanta Tapes represents recordings that were previously deemed lost.
Shilpa Ray and Her Happy Hookers may just be the largest band we’ve ever reviewed without a Wikipedia. I am confident that as soon as listeners can give “Teenage and Torture” a fair shake, that those in the know at Wikipedia will fall over themselves creating a page for them. This band has had one previous recording – 2009’s A Fish Hook An Open Eye – which set the stage…
There are few singer-songwriters that are able to create something that successfully marries the rich tradition brought the genre by luminaries like Dylan and Cohen in the sixties with a vitality and vibrancy that is germane to current audiences. However, I believe that Tom Shaner does just that on his new recording, Get Real or Get Gone. This disc begins with “Waltz 13”, a track that does more than merely…
“Invest in Heaven” is the first track on “Front Row Seat To The End of the World”, and it will immediately bring listeners to the dance floor. What glamourKings does on this track is tie together dance, electronic, and industrial music into something fun that maintains a sharp edge. “Generation Greed” adds a little punk attitude to the mix, with the overall effort of glamourKings during the track touching upon…
It has been a few years since we had the ability to hear Lift to Experience, but they were a bright light at the beginning of the last decade. In the last few years, Pearson has been honing eir craft. 2011’s Last of the Country Gentleman is eir first solo effort, but the keen edge created over the last decade immediately will strike listeners. The album begins with “Thou Art…
The Obits’ first album was 2009’s I Blame You, an album that distinguished the band considerably from Hot Snakes, Rick (lead’s) prior band. 2011 brings the release of a new album, Moody, Standard, and Poor. Moody, Standard, and Poor brings forth a considerably different sides to The Obits, while linking each of the album’s 12 tracks to the band’s prior releases. The album starts out with “You gotta Lose”, a…
It seems as if a number of female singers have given up any desire to be unique and largely morph together into one bland mess. Morgan Bracy, during her “End of Cinderella”, looks to destroy this trend. “Between the Covers” is a track that works on a number of levels, whether it be country, pop, and even rock genres. Bracy’s soft vocals will bring listeners in by the barrelful, while…
“Someday” is a track that is intense, emotional, and hard-edged all at the same time. Updating the sound of acts like Yellowcard and The Starting Line, Life After Liftoff craft a mature sound with “Someday”. The track can be enjoyed on a number of levels; while the overall emotive rock style will immediately gain a number of fans for the band, the interplay present between the different elements of the…