On far, Rob Eberle is able to make large strides from his previous efforts. The tremendous emotion that impacts listeners from the onset of this cut is substantial. Perhaps most fascinating to us has to be Eberle’s abiliy to ensnare listeners with little more than his voice. Gradually incorporating instrumentation into far, Rob will keep listeners firmly on the edges of their seats. There’s nods to pop and electronic here;…
Chris St. John has released his new EP, “When Dreams End”. On Lost Without Your Love, St. John is able to create a timeless track that draws upon the tradition of Chris Isaak and the more introspective output of the Pet Shop Boys. The song outwardly feels laid-back, but underneath that exterior, contains very thoughtful arrangements. As a result, the single will stick with listeners long after the effort ceases.…
KRiTTA’s “DEAL MYSELF” is a banger of a track. The song is able to call back to the inimitable production of mid-1990s NYC while having some of the most alluring wordplay we’ve heard so far this year. Staying reverent while boldly forging through with his own unique style, KRiTTA is making big plays with his latest single. The track could easily slot into rap radio but there’s a depth to…
On Out of Touch, Seth Adam is immediately able to ratched up the emootion. Little more is needed during this introductory section than a man and his guitar. Gradually adding other twists and turns into the composition, Seth takes fans on a journey. Rather than meander, he is able to have a singular focus. Imparting himself into each and every note, this cut ends up being wholly engrossing for anyone…
On Memories Of You, Rich Wyman & Lisa Needham are able to speak to numerous generations of pop-rock fans. The paired vocals are able to push each other to greater heights, while the dynamic between the guitars and drums on the track make for a lively outing. The song is produced masterfully, with enough distinct elements to keep listeners tuned in even five or ten plays in. We’re enamoured with…
On Shower Thoughts, Tamas Bulla is able to impart a tremendous amount of heartfelt emotion into the mix. There’s nods to Shawn Mendes, Justin Bieber and Lorde that are discernible here, but the beauty of Bulla’s song is how much he is able to impart himself into the pop tradition. The overall instrumentation is fairly austere, providing just enough of a backdrop to Bulla’s vocals to push each into an…
Angela Moss Poole’s “Speak To The Mountain” is a powerful effort that will resound with listeners long after the song ceases playing. There’s a supreme confidence present with each lyric laid down by Poole, while the funky backdrop of the single’s instrumentation remains reverant of the greater corpus of gospel music. The production present on Speak To The Mountain gives both Poole’s voice and the arrangement ample time to shine…
The 21 different performances included in Elizabeth Sombart’s Singing the Nocturnes are a more than adequate overview and re-interpretation of Frederic Chopin’s vaunted Nocturnes written just before the composer’s untimely death. Sombart’s musical reputation is built on superlative piano playing that’s propelled the French-born pianist from her beginning at seven years old, multiple years of study in various major foreign capitals, and working alongside the finest music instructors working today. INSTAGRAM: https://www.instagram.com/elizabeth_sombart/?hl=en…
Scarecrow is a slow-burning track by AV Super Sunshine that gradually opens up into an assertive, hook-heavy track in the vein of Styx or BTO. The strong percussive beat that is weaved through the single will tattoo itself deep into the minds and hearts of listeners. The amount of charisma that bubbles forth from the single’s vocals is hard to deny. With each element of AV Super Sunshine working at…
On Tug of War, Joe Bermudez is able to lay down some infectious beats while Dana McKeon imbues the song with just enough in the way of pop (crossover) vibes. This single could easily be slotted on major radio rotation as well as being added to numerous DJ sets. The emotive power of Bermudez’s synths here add further complexity to the track. What results is something that both amps up…
Pale Blue Dot begins with Don’t Turn Me Away, a hopeful effort that ties together the singer-songwriter style of the 1970s with a modern, alternative rock sort of approach. Dead All Day immediately will impress through intricate guitar lines and an emotive bass that bubbles up to a prominent role. There’s a bit of the Dave Matthews Band and Ben Folds that fans will be able to discern here. Never…
The Harmony Dreamers project, led by multi-instrumentalist and composer Byron Lee Scott, gathers musicians and vocalists from around the globe for a sprawling album release entitled I Come from Earth. The driving concept behind this release is gathering a collection of world musicians from North and South America, Europe, and far beyond to perform a song cycle laudable for its positivity and welcoming tone. This musical moment is meant to encourage…
Gary Sohmers claim a long list of successful credits and collaborations during their long music career but their work together conceptualizing, writing, recording, and releasing Beasties: A Sci-Fi Rock Opera must rank among the most unique entertainment and musical experiences in recent memory. It harkens back to an early era in music history when the concept album reigned as the pop world’s flavor of the moment. Pop songwriters long ago began exploring…
The Refusers are a Seattle based five piece who’ve been around for a while writing and releasing angsty, entertaining, and guitar-driven diatribes. It is the sort of browbeating you get from many humorless clods masquerading as bands or songwriters – witness the title of their latest single “Eat the Bugs”. It is the sort of songwriting that no one else would do but these guys, tailored to the audience they’ve…
Walter Sickert and the Army of Broken Toys’ new single “Goth Beach” the latest off-kilter confection from Sickert’s wonderfully skewed songwriting imagination. Sickert and his extended band of cohorts of Boston staples boast a long catalog of prior releases endearing them to indie music aficionados and tastemakers in the United States and beyond. The single “Goth Beach” gives listeners surf and beach music with unexpected Sickert twists. He blows away…
2022 has been a busy year so far for Alt.Pop artist Little Hurt (Colin Dieden, Ex-The Mowglis) with touring ramping up again. He continues to explore the edges of Alt. Pop & Alternative Rock with new single “Cooler If U Did”, due to be released on Friday, 9/16. The song features a tight groove and a soaring atmospheric chorus that is instantly memorable. Dieden says “Cooler If U Did’ was a song that was written after I went…
Paul Nourigat isn’t going to let the world and life he loves sink down the drain, if that’s where it’s headed, without saying something about it. His EP collection of demos Complex Truths presents listeners with three tracks that tackle modern life with unsparing contempt for anything that strikes Nourigat as limiting individual potential. Potential is a wide thing. It’s potential for happiness, material success, and decision-making mundane and large, and Nourigat…
Les Fradkin’s return under the moniker California feat. Les Fradkin isn’t any attempt to cash in on a moribund but potentially lucrative musical brand name. The band’s original incarnation notched a few hits in the 1970s before bowing out at the dawn of the 1980s. Rejuvenating the band sounds and feels like unfinished business for Fradkin, however. The new single “Perfect World” is unquestionably pop. The harmony vocals, piano, guitar,…
The newest single by Country Singer/Songwriter, Ralph Curtis, is an emotional trigger, in the quietest way possible. While that description may sound like something of an oxymoron, there’s just such a contemplative and gentile quality to “Man You Want Me To Be.” The song begins with a hollow and unobtrusive piano riff, yet it manages to immediately subdue your sensibilities. At 5 minutes in length, “Man You Want Me To…
You could say that there are a lot of big concept pieces in mainstream rock right now and you’d be 100% right, if not understating the situation just a bit in 2022. Everyone hates the term progressive when it comes to contemporary rock aesthetics, but when it comes to embracing the qualities of storytelling and camp that made prog what it always was, most are going full-steam ahead; save for…