Alaria Taylor – Bread or Water / 2007 Self / 5 Tracks / http://www.alariataylor.com Alaria Taylor is perhaps the most decorated musician that you have never heard. Among these accolades are winning the VH-1 Song of the Year Contest and the Billboard Magazine World Song Contest. The five tracks that are on “Bread or Water†show the reason why Taylor has received all of these accolades. While the guitars start…
Brown Shoe – Vanity / 2007 Self / 13 Tracks / http://www.brownshoemusic.com It is a hell of time trying to find a band when you’ve screwed up their name. For the longest time, I thought the band’s name was “Brown Shoes†instead of “Brown Shoeâ€. After I got that problem worked out, I was able to hear the powerful indie rock of the band. Brown Shoe reminds me a lot…
Matt Woods – Something Surreal / 2004 Self / 12 Tracks / http://www.mattwoodsband.com / Most the time when I receive CDs done by a band with the name of an individual (typically the leader of the band), what I am “treated†to is something that is quiet, singer-songwriter styled, and is something that essentially rehashes the collected works of artists like Dave Matthews and John Maher. However, Matt Woods and…
The Campbells – The Kid From Gillette, Wyoming / 2007 Self / 8 Tracks / http://www.campbellsrock.com / The Campbells start out their “The Kid From Gillette, Wyoming†with a very early nineties type of alternative rock sound “My Silly Sparks†is a track that sounds as if The Campbells took equal amounts of Polaris and Soul Asylum and linked them together. There is still a little bit of fuzz coming…
Charlie Beresford – The Room is Empty / 2005 Self / 14 Tracks / http://www.charlieberesford.com / The dissonant opening that Charlie Beresford places on eir “The Room Is Empty†will provide individuals with a challenge. The artistic style of this track may be lost on some, but Beresford’s dedication to making “If Only†work will endear more than a fair share of fans. “Nosfer†is a twenty second string-heavy track…
Fjord Rowboat – Saved The Compliments for Morning / 2007 Self / 10 Tracks / http://www.fjordrowboat.com / This is Fjord Rowboat’s first full length album. After individuals listen to “Carried Awayâ€, they will marvel at how mature the band is. “Carried Away†is a track that has the same type of instrumental coolness and disaffected vocals that have been present in countless Franz Ferdinand and Interpol tracks, but what Fjord…
Arrica Rose & The …’s – Last Night on Earth / 2007 Poprock / 5 Tracks / http://www.arricarose.com / “Last Night on Earth†starts out slowly, but “Turn†(the introductory track) really starts going when Arrica Rose gets situated. The style that Rose & the …s play is hard to properly explain. “â€Turn†has a sixties pop type of sound, while Rose’s vocals have a mid-nineties sound..â€Occasionally the World’s An…
Cat-A-Tac – Past Lies and Former Lives / 2007 Needlepoint / 12 Tracks / http://www.cat-a-tac.com / http://www.needlepoint-denver.com / Cat-A-Tac starts out their “Past Lies and Former Lives†with a track that has a very nineties alternative type of feel to it. Coupled with that, “Needles and Pins†has more than its’ fair share of electronic and New Romantic influence, which makes Cat-A-Tac into a different act than anyone has previously…
Mike Mangione – Tenebrae / 2007 Mike Mangione / 12 Tracks / http://www.mikemangione.com / “Tenebrae†starts out slowly, with Mangione more concerned on creating a compelling and full sound instead of necessarily going forth and trying to wow listeners right off the bat. “Waiting For No One†is a very long track in terms of leading off “Tenebraeâ€, but the number of different twists and turns that ey puts into…
Kiff – You Can’t Keep It Down / 2006 PeaceLabs / 11 Tracks / http://www.kiff.com / Aside from knowing that Kiff (spelled differently, I think) was the name of Zapf Brannigan’s second in command on Futurama, I had no idea what “You Can’t Keep It Down†was ultimately going to sound like. The disc’s cover, which features Chris, the logo, and the album logo, does not give much more of…
Joemca – Jum+Ka / 2006 One Stone / 5 Tracks / http://www.joemcamusic.com / Joemca is someone that I was not familiar with before picking up this EP. The very Depeche Mode style to the vocals during the first track “Strangers†make it seem like Joemca is influenced tremendously by the New Romantic style. Unlike a number of the acts from that era, there seems to be a high amount of…
The Horrifics – Now Fear This / 2006 1031 / 17 Tracks / http://www.thehorrifics.net / http://www.1031records.com / I must admit that I did not expect a hard type of punk music looking at the band. One member of the band has hair like Wayne Static and yet another looks like ey would be perfect in Union Underground. However, what The Horrifics sound like is nothing like how they look. “Uzumaki 
Daylight Dies – Dismantling Devotion / 2007 Candlelight / 8 Tracks / http://www.daylightdies.com / http://www.candlelightrecordsusa.com / Daylight Dies has a very subtly stated introduction to “Dismantling Devotion†that gives the resulting section of “Life Less Lived†that much more gravity. There is nothing in the way of vocals during the opening minutes of “Dismantling Devotionâ€, but this does not hinder Daylight Dies in the creation of a solid bit of…
Oliver Future – Pax Futura / 2007 Fireproof / 12 Tracks / http://www.myspace.com/oliverfuture / Oliver Future have a decent amount of Radiohead influence in their brand of rock. Oliver Future operate with a very interesting approach to rock, linking together Maroon 5 and Modest Mouse with the aforementioned Radiohead to create something that is both impressive for the reviewers and musicians along with the average music fan. “Stranger Than The…
Jeff Babko – Mondo Trio / 2007 Abstract Logix / 9 Tracks / http://www.abstractlgix.com / The first track on “Mondo Trio†is “Head Traumaâ€, and despite the funkiness present in this track (or perhaps because of it), the resulting track has a very Zaappa-like sound to it. Everything would be okay if the song remained without vocals, as the horns and guitars provide a vocal sound that is just as…
    / 2007 Hydra Head / 8 Tracks / http://www.bigbigbusiness.com / http://www.hydrahead.com / While I was expecting something either drone-y or otherwise inapproachable, what Big Business do on “Here Come The Waterworks†is create a very sludgy (Alice in Chains) meets trippy (Jane’s Addiction) type of rock cum metal. “Just as the Day was Dawning†is the first track on the disc, and it will bring any listener back to…
Mother Jones – Union / 2006 Sun Rising / 10 Tracks / http://www.motherjonesband.com / Mother Jones has something in common with the magazine that has the same title; liberal media love the. Specifically, they were featured as the “Jam Band Artist of the Year†for 2006, and Neil Young has actually deemed them worthy enough to be on eir website as “songs of the timesâ€. The first track is “Lost…
Slaughterhouse 3 – S/T / 2006 Abstract Logix / 11 Tracks / http://www.abstractlogix.com / There is a lot of Primus present in Slaughterhouse 3. This is due to the fact that the band starts out the disc with a self-titled track that has the same eclectic sound as what has been crafted in the past by bands like Primus and To My Surprise. There is a little bit more funk…
Charles Mingus Sextet With Eric Dolphy – Cornell 1964 / 2007 Blue Note / 9 Tracks / http://www.bluenote.com / I am not the most well versed individual when it comes to blues and jazz music. As one can glean from the artists present in the title of this disc (Charles Mingus and Eric Dolphy), this is a jazz album. The fifties and sixties were an interesting time for jazz music,…
Young Stunna – The Best of Me / 2007 RJM / 19 Tracks / http://www.rjmrecords.com / There are a number of independent rappers that are trying to ply their trade in the current perio.d So many of them suck that it means finding a halfway decent rapper is a shore in and of itself. Many times, there are a few strong tracks on a disc and about ten times the…