“Gone” is the opening track for The Oohlas on “Best Stop Pop”, and the band immediately begins to create a diverse sound for themselves. There are a number of different styles that the band sticks into this first track, but perhaps the most present during “Gone” has to be an early-nineties brand of alt rock that has more than its fair share of later, Radiohead influence. The fact that different…
Imagine a mixture of White Zombie and Hatebreed and one can get an idea about how Maine’s On the Outside sounds on “Tragic Endings”. A screamed-out set of vocals dominates all facets of On the Outside, but there are minor amounts of variations on Kyle’s vocals that keep things at least somewhat interesting. The meshing of hardcore and metal is a marked step away from most of the hardcore acts…
This may only be the second album that Only Crime has released together as a band, but members of the band have been in other bands, releasing a number of album before taking on the Only Crime name. Specifically, members of Only Crime came from the seminal punk band Good Riddance, along with members from the lesser-known act Bane and the smaller band Hagfish. “Everything For You” has a typical…
Funny story. I got this CD totally out of the blue in the mail a few days after I slammed this twelve-year old’s grandfather’s CD. Eir grandfather, Len Guardino, created an absolutely mediocre disc that supported sexism and all the things wrong with the music and the actions of the 1950s and 1960s. From the title of this single, I can only think that Len imbued these values on eir…
The 101 starts out “Green Street” with a more sedate version of the Replacements with their “Never In”. However, the three-piece ensures that when music is being played on this disc, all parts are immediately noticeable – especially Ben’s bass, which sounds are timeless and fresh as “When I Reach For My Revolver”. “Wolf” uses the same omnipresent nature of each instrument to further Eric’s Michael Stipe meets Phil Collins…
While the beginning of “The Harvest” sounds as if The One AM Radio is not doing anything that the stars of AM radio did over thirty years ago, the ambient instrumentation that becomes the norm for the track gives them a style different from anyone else on the market today. This tender sound is something that is present as well during “In The Time We’ve Got”. The band sounds here…
The opening to Marykate O’Neil’s “1-800-BANKRUPT” album is pretty middle of the road, which the style of music that ey plays not too much different from Jill Sobule, who produced this album. The track could make it onto alternative radio, but there is little more that will endear listeners beyond that small scope. “Stay” is much of the same type of music, although O’Neil has more of a Suzanne Vega…
Ohn plays an electronic brand of pop-rock that comes out sounding like it is from a different period of music, especially during tracks like “Dear Prudence”. With hints of Alanis Morrissette and Natalie Imbruglia during this track, Ohn makes a ploy to ensnare listeners of that genre. While the music has been heard in similar ways before, Ohn incorporates newer approaches and styles to turn the track into something relevant…
After coming into O’Halloran’s work after listening to different rock and metal CDs, I Have to say that this is a sea change. Even calling this album that is still something of an understatement. What O’Halloran does here is create classical influenced but modern piano solos, of the quality one would expect foor a movie or television shows. Where individuals that are used to lyrical content in music may be…
The jangly guitar work that starts off “Bye Bye Beautiful” is reminiscent of the work that late eighties Cure would release on their album. However, during tracks like “Through the Waves and Stars”, a blend of Blur, Muse, and Oasis is much more the course of the day than anything else. In much of the same way, The October come up with a sound that is very radio friendly. Te…
The idea that Sinead O’Connor is merely a one-hit wonder is one that should be abolished. The tracks on “Collaborations” throw this idea out the video, as track after track finds O’Connor working at eir peak with some of the biggest names in music, including but not limited to Peter Gabriel, Moby, The Edge and Afro Celt Sound System. The different tracks elicit something different from O’Connor each time; a…
You’d be forgiven if you have never heard of The Mommyheads. A definitive example of a cult band, the San Francisco, by way of New York, indie band had a handful of small label releases throughout the 90’s, one shot at the majors with a Geffen release, then disbanded shortly after in 1998. During their time together, the band did manage to collect a slew of positive reviews from critics…
There is no denying that Tom Petty is still one of rock’s best-known performers. “Damn The Torpedoes”, eir third album, was released in 1979 and prominently featured such rock radio standards as “Refugee” and “Don’t Do Me Like That”. Over thirty year out from its initial release, and the album is still getting substantial play. The long life exhibited by this release has brought Interscope to release a substantially upgraded…
The jangly guitar work that starts off “Bye Bye Beautiful” is reminiscent of the work that late eighties Cure would release on their album. However, during tracks like “Through the Waves and Stars”, a blend of Blur, Muse, and Oasis is much more the course of the day than anything else. In much of the same way, The October come up with a sound that is very radio friendly. Te…
After coming into O’Halloran’s work after listening to different rock and metal CDs, I Have to say that this is a sea change. Even calling this album that is still something of an understatement. What O’Halloran does here is create classical influenced but modern piano solos, of the quality one would expect foor a movie or television shows. Where individuals that are used to lyrical content in music may be…
The style of “Aeolian” is fairly undistinguished during “The City and The Sea”. Sure, there is some point where an individual has to go back and say that “yes, this is metal” but beyond this, what else does The Ocean bring to the table? In fact, what The Ocean seem to bring to the table on “Aeolian” is a very long and drawn out approach to creating metal that stays…
Reminiscent of early Fastball and Barenaked Ladies, The Obsoletes do not easily fit into the mold that so many new-rock bands find themselves. Mixing so many inflences, Uncle Tupelo and Matthew Sweet to name a few, The Obsoletes burn through “Is This Progress” with the talent necessary to string together so many different bands without seeing bland or rote. Each track is mastered to such a point to flow perfectly…
Shirin’s single ‘Taking You Away’ is the first out of the blocks from a recording trip she made to LA in February 2010. It combines the musical genius of USA based Producer Marcus Bell of Bellringer Music, with Shirin’s prolific talent for song writing.
Everyone remembers who Oasis are/were. They were the British act who in the mid nineties became nearly as famous as the Beatles while sounding somewhat similar to the Fab Four, albeit with slightly newer influences. The brothers that founded the band – Noel and Liam – were the equivalent of a Mick and Keith or a Steven and Joe, with a number of well documented blowups. The band has fallen…
Following on the heels of her recent digital single “Is This Love,” GRAMMY®-winning artist Corinne Bailey Rae will release The Love EP on January 25th, 2011, on Capitol Records. The Love EP is a five-song collection of covers that Bailey Rae calls an “homage to some of my favorite musicians, as well as a conversation between some of my musical influences.” The Love EP opens with a cover of Prince’s…