Category: Music Reviews

Posted on: September 1, 2007 Posted by: Sargeant Comments: 0

Laura Aidanblaise – Get Thee to the World

Laura Aidanblaise – Get Thee to the World / 2007 Self / http://www.myspace.com/lauraaidanblaise “Get Thee to the World” shows Aidanblaise as one of the most innovative indie artists currently creating music. While it is a forgone conclusion that most instrumentation is created to highlight a singer, Aidanblaise takes this to its’ logical conclusion. The pacing and emotional intensity of the instrumentation is directly linked to Aidanblaise’s vocals, something that becomes…

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Posted on: September 1, 2007 Posted by: Sargeant Comments: 0

Foley McKenna Band – Moving My Feet

Foley McKenna Band – Moving My Feet / 2007 Self / 5 Tracks / http://www.thefmb.net / “Kimberley” is the first track on “Moving My Feet”. It starts out with a soulful set of guitars that do not easily fall into a genre category. The vocals slide in soon after, and blend together the work of Adam Duritz (Counting Crows) with Matchbox 20. There seems to be a little more in…

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Posted on: August 31, 2007 Posted by: Sargeant Comments: 0

MOTU – Going Back To Memphis

MOTU – Going Back To Memphis / 2007 Self / 11 Tracks / http://www.motu.net / “So Lonely” starts out “Going Back To Memphis”, and it shows MOTU as an act that is tremendously influenced by blues. The male vocals during “So Lonely” have a Randy Newman-like approach to them, and the inclusion of the second, female vocals on the track give the track further expansion. The instrumentation of the track…

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Posted on: August 31, 2007 Posted by: Sargeant Comments: 0

Michael Hensley – Fire Behind Me

Michael Hensley – Fire Behind Me / 2007 Self / 12 Tracks / http://www.michael-hensley.com / “This Machine” is the first track on “Fire Behind Me”, and it shows Hensley as a purveyor of dance music. Specifically, the track is supported by hints of Pet Shop Boys, Erasure, and Depeche Mode. Besides being influenced by these earlier dance acts, Hensley’s music on “Fire Behind Me”  is imbued with a current and…

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Posted on: August 22, 2007 Posted by: Sargeant Comments: 1

The Payola Reserve – 200 Years

The Payola Reserve – 200 Years / 2007 Self / 13 Tracks / http://www.thepayolareserve.com / The Payola Reserve have a smoothed out sound that blends a Radiohead sound with a more classic, folk style. “Grade A Television” starts off “200 Years”, and it is here where The Payola Reserve begin to impress listeners. They impress listeners through this blending of styles, and through the confidence of the band’s lead singer.…

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Posted on: August 21, 2007 Posted by: Sargeant Comments: 0

Lifehouse – Who We Are

Lifehouse – Who We Are / 2007 Geffen / 12 Tracks / http://www.geffen.com /  http://www.lifehousemusic.com / You know, I had no clue that Lifehouse took their name from a failed Who follow-up to their classic album “Tommy”. Enough for random trivia: “Who We Are” marks the fourth full length album for Lifehouse, and it shows the same sort of stable sound that acts like Nickelback and Daughtry have been creating…

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Posted on: August 20, 2007 Posted by: Sargeant Comments: 0

Sacha Sacket – Lovers and Leaders

Sacha Sacket – Lovers and Leaders / 2007 Golden Sphinx / 11 Tracks / http://www.Sachasacket.com / Sacha Sacket plays a brand of pop music that takes on the style of a Stephen Curtis Chapman or a Michael Smith. However, during tracks like “Stay”, there seems to be much more of an electronic influence to the track than either of those two singer songwriters. It is almost as if Sacket has…

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Posted on: August 20, 2007 Posted by: Sargeant Comments: 0

Bedouin Soundclash – Street Gospels

Bedouin Soundclash – Street Gospels / 2007 SideOneDummy / 13 Tracks / http://www.bedouinsoundclash.com / http://www.sideonedummy.com / “Walls Fall Down” really put Bedouin Soundclash in a position that reminds me of a modern Clash. The act is able to make a track that will come forth easily and naturally on rock radio, but does not lack in any sense in regards to the smartness of the instrumentations. There is an eclectic…

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Posted on: August 19, 2007 Posted by: Sargeant Comments: 0

June – Make It Blur

June – Make It Blur / 2007 Victory / 12 Tracks / http://www.junerock.com / http://www.victoryrecords.com / I have known about June for a few years now. They played with some of the bands around the Greencastle area right before or after signing with Victory Records, but I never had the chance to hear or review them before receiving “Make It Blur” in the mail. The disc starts out with “No…

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Posted on: August 16, 2007 Posted by: Sargeant Comments: 0

V/A – Reggae Gold 2007

V/A – Reggae Gold 2007 / 2007 VP Records / 15 Tracks / http://www.vprecords.com / I do not get much in the way of reggae albums. Pretty much the last one that I really think we received was probably the last Shaggy album, and that has been a few years ago. It doesn’t mean that I do not like the style, but that we here at NeuFutur do not get…

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Posted on: August 14, 2007 Posted by: Sargeant Comments: 0

The Spoken X – Wild Child

The Spoken X – Wild Child / 2007 Metro / 13 Tracks / http://www.thespokenx.com / The title track to “Wild Child” just exudes cool. From the spoken narrative that starts out the track (think the opening to “Shaft”) and the ropy, cop-drama bass line present, and an individual would have a good idea of what The Spoken X are trying to do with this album. Instead of just sticking with…

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Posted on: August 14, 2007 Posted by: Sargeant Comments: 0

Alaria Taylor – Bread or Water

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…

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Posted on: August 13, 2007 Posted by: Sargeant Comments: 0

Brown Shoe – Vanity

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 Shoe”. 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…

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Posted on: August 13, 2007 Posted by: Sargeant Comments: 0

Matt Woods – Something Surreal

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…

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Posted on: August 13, 2007 Posted by: Sargeant Comments: 0

The Campbells – The Kid From Gillette, Wyoming

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…

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Posted on: August 12, 2007 Posted by: Sargeant Comments: 0

Charlie Beresford – The Room is Empty

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…

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Posted on: August 12, 2007 Posted by: Sargeant Comments: 0

Fjord Rowboat – Saved The Compliments for Morning

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 Away”, 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…

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Posted on: August 12, 2007 Posted by: Sargeant Comments: 0

Arrica Rose & The …’s – Last Night on Earth

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. “”Turn” has a sixties pop type of sound, while Rose’s vocals have a mid-nineties sound..”Occasionally the World’s An…

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Posted on: August 11, 2007 Posted by: Sargeant Comments: 0

Cat-A-Tac – Past Lies and Former Lives

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…

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Posted on: August 11, 2007 Posted by: Sargeant Comments: 0

Mike Mangione – Tenebrae

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 “Tenebrae”, but the number of different twists and turns that ey puts into…

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