Goodbye Birdcage is a fun and hopeful album that will be eagerly devoured by any fan of rock, whether it be The Beach Boys or They Might Be Giants. Pretty Girls has a sun-drenched and slightly jazzy sound that highlights a set of lyrics which will tattoo themselves upon listeners’ minds and hearts. Learn to Swim looks further back to the nascent days of rock music; this 1940s and 1950s…
Age of Progress is Chains of Logic’s new album, and the 12 cuts on the album provide fans with a considerable amount of genres, styles, and looks into his soul. I Love You creates a dark and emotionally intense atmosphere that is punctuated through the rapid stylistic shifts that occur. As the track continues to gain speed, listeners will begin to pay attention – Chains of Logic is able to…
Sounding like very few bands around today, on The Bastards of Fate’s sophomore record (Vampires Are Real And Palpable), they offer up a perfect example of how refreshingly creative a group can be if they simply don’t give a fuck about pleasing anyone but themselves. Over the course of just 10 songs, the Roanoke-based band pull apart pop, psychedelic and college rock and then twist and force it into their…
Earth & The Next Society are currently preparing their latest effort, The 100th Monkey. Cheap Hustle has a soulful and funky groove that builds off of eighties rock into something vibrant and current. Confident bass, drums, and vocals elicit comparisons to Hall and Oates and later Eagles, while the bold and front-forward vocals ensure that listeners will be on the edges of their seats.
Three dudes and six songs can still add up to a lot of noise. On their latest 12” EP, Guilt, this Minneapolis trio conjure up an aggressive, eclectic mix of atonal music. Whether or not the result is impressive all hinges on how much you can take of the barrage of sounds. I gave up after just two go rounds with the record.
Whiskey & Wine is the new EP from Dyanne Harvey, and it contains five new compositions that, taken together, paints a good picture of where Harvey has been and wants to go with her career. The titular track Whiskey & Wine is catchy, with both the instrumental arrangements and Harvey’s vocals tattooing themselves upon listeners’ minds and hearts. The track is destined for radio (and online) rotation and represents a…
Together has a blend of pop rock and mid-seventies styling; there is a current and contemporary feel to this effort that is provided further depth through the sheer eclecticism of the styles that McMorris has included here. The track Lo & Behold expands upon McMorris’ repertoire with slightly hard rock styling; the track comes forth as a blend of Matchbox 20 and John Maher while still having a bit of…
Long before they became catnip for modern hippies and jam band devotees, the Dave Matthews Band was just another group trying to find their niche in an alternative rock music world. Remember Two Things, featuring mainly live tracks, was released on the band’s own label in 1993, when radio stations were liberally defining modern rock as something between Liz Phair and Pearl Jam. It was pretty adventurous then for a…
Kiran Murti begins Namasté Yoga with a timeless sort of composition that provides listeners with an authentic feeling; by the end of the track, listeners will be able to tackle the nearly ten-minute Guru Charanam by Sacred Earth. The track has an atmospheric feel that approximates the winds and cold chill that a late-Spring outdoor gathering would have. The momentum ebbs and flows in a fashion that ensures that listeners…
There is a very intricate and dense tack taken during Soul Searching by the Calgary alt-rock band 36?. The track has a tremendous vocal harmony that is further highlighted through the turbulent and tempestuous arrangement. The act is able to further establish their own unique styling with Beauty/Strong, a trip-hop inspired track in the vein of Massive Attack or early-oughts Bjork. There is a warmth to this composition that keeps…
