Category: Music Reviews

Posted on: April 29, 2025 Posted by: Kim Muncie Comments: 0

Laura Sawosko’s Not What I Do Hits Hard with Honest Storytelling and Americana Charm

There’s a rare kind of magic that happens when an artist opens a window into their soul and invites you in. Laura Sawosko’s Not What I Do does exactly that. With a warm blend of Americana and modern country, Laura crafts a 12-track journey that feels personal yet universally relatable. URL: https://www.laurasawosko.com/ Right from the opening notes of “You Just Being You,” you know you’re in for something special. It’s…

Posted on: April 27, 2025 Posted by: James Comments: 2

Ron Brunk “You Make Me Crazy”

Ron Brunk’s “You Make Me Crazy” has an interesting blend of styles, with hints of Tom Waits, Randy Newman, and The James Gang all discernible here. The insistent vocals that interlace Brunk’s new single end up making this effort the best we’ve ever heard from the performer. During You Make Me Crazy, the guitars, drums, and Ron’s voice all combine to make for something that one could easily heard on…

Posted on: April 27, 2025 Posted by: James Comments: 2

A-Wax 1 Million “Baby”

On Baby, A-Wax 1 Million “Baby” is able to craft a track that calls back to the halcyon days of early 2000s rap. With a string-infused backing beat, the single presents A-Wax 1 Million with an accomodating canvas upon which he can indelibly imprint his own unique style. The contrasts between the dreamier, almost R&B styled sections with the more intricate and lyric-heavy main sections ensures that listeners are kept…

Posted on: April 26, 2025 Posted by: James Comments: 0

2 Pistols feat. Cooper Greer “Southern Boys Dream”

On Southern Boys Dream, 2 Pistols enlist Cooper Greer to craft a track that could easily rocket up the modern country charts. Cooper’s twang will have listeners take attention. The sheer range that he hits during this single is truly a sight to behold, drawing in anyone fortunate enough to be within earshot. Southern Boys Dream will scratch the itch of anyone that is looking for the next hot rap-country…

Posted on: March 30, 2025 Posted by: James Comments: 0

Aliza Li “Healing”

Healing is one of those efforts that is able to cover a massive amount of ground over the course of its run time. The linking together of modern jazz, Sade-esque pop, and R&B makes for a sound that feels timeless while standing out from the vast majority of music coming down the pipeline. The very deliberate arrangements that comprise Healing will have fans firmly on the edges of their seats.…

Posted on: March 30, 2025 Posted by: James Comments: 1

Pastor Jamaal “Global Word”

Pastor Jamaal has just released his Global Word, a song that deftly links together rap and R&B styles. PJ’s vocals are able to tell the song’s story while adding mightily to the overall harmonies that are built here. The booming bass beat and hi-hats add a sense of immediacy to Global Word, while Pastor Jamaal’s titular message is enough to inspire fans to firm up their relationship with God. We’ve…

Posted on: March 30, 2025 Posted by: James Comments: 1

daFinchi “Peter Rabbit”

Peter Rabbit has a laid-back feel that feels pulled right out of the early K.Dot discography, albeit with a bit of the UGK approach to the backing beat. This is a track one can put on and just relax to. The repetition of the track’s chorus allows for daFinchi to traverse a lot of ground during the main lyrical flow. There is a considerable replay value to Peter Rabbit that…

Posted on: March 30, 2025 Posted by: James Comments: 0

BEEWARE “The Black Seed”

The Black Seed, the latest track from BEEWARE, showcases a very focused rap flow alongside a dreamy backing beat. The single’s subtly stated style ensures that fans will be locked-in to what BEEWARE is presenting here. There’s a good amount of late 1990s / early 2000s influence here, while the crisp production of the instrumentation and rap flow ensures that it will fit nicely among other contemporaneous rap efforts. Give…

Posted on: March 23, 2025 Posted by: James Comments: 1

Crystal Starr “Part Time Lover”

On Part Time Lover, Crystal Starr is able to create a vibrant sound upon the framework of 1990s poerformers like Madonna and Annie Lennox. The bit of Prince-meets-Depeche Mode backing instrumentation imbues a timelessness to the track. As Part-Time Lover continues on to the chorus, Crystal is able to imprint her unmatched vocals deep into the minds and hearts of listeners. The inclusion of a sizzling guitar line into the…

Posted on: March 18, 2025 Posted by: James Comments: 1

The Dead Daisies “Crossroads”

Over the course of the last half-decade, we’ve had the privilege of covering The Dead Daisies’ own music. Crossroads, the Eric Clapton classic, is given new life by the band. The additional layer of guitar fuzz is precisely what the original needs. There’s an organic, dirty feel to the track that better captures the subject material of the song. During this track, the absolutely insane guitar work that is such…

Posted on: March 18, 2025 Posted by: James Comments: 1

Stephen Thomas “Back Home”

Back Home’s drums are front-and-center, showcasing a booming sound that acts as the perfect backdrop upon which Stephen Thomas’ super-sonic vocals can reside. The song settles into a mid-oughts modern rock style, albeit with a clarity and crispness that is hard to achieve. Back Home has something for everyone, whether it be the tremendous vocal range that Stephen achieves, the tautness of the instrumentation, or the production that gives ample…

Posted on: March 18, 2025 Posted by: James Comments: 2

Stephen Thomas “Stay Strong”

Stephen Thomas’s Stay Strong is a wonderful blend of emo, pop-rock, and the lightest trapping of modern country music. What results with this effort is a bit Yellowcard, a bit Red Jumpsuit Apparatus, and a whole lot of riffy guitar work that will get fans’ toes tapping. Stay Strong’s chorus is one that will bury itself deep into the minds and hearts of listeners. I can see this effort rocketing…

Posted on: March 18, 2025 Posted by: James Comments: 0

Susan Aquila “No Where”

No Where is the latest track from Susan Aquila, showcasing an intense rock effort that is replete with sizzling guitar work and assertive vocals. The track is further built out through Susan’s violin, an inclusion that differentiates No Where from the rest of the music currently comprising modern rock playlists. With subtle hints of 1980s goth music playing nicely with the single’s hard rock backbone, Aquila’s newest contribution to music…

Posted on: March 18, 2025 Posted by: James Comments: 1

Greg Hoy “What, My People?”

Greg Hoy & The Boys have just released their latest single What, My People. The single starts with authoritative guitar licks pulled straight out of the 1970s. The harmonies achieved by Hoy’s vocals ensure that the song will appease fans of melodic rock. The constituent elements heard on What, My People gel together to make a coherent effort. For fans of Pink Floyd and Thin Lizzy, the song has enough…

Posted on: March 5, 2025 Posted by: James Comments: 1

Nuke The Soup “Dancin’ On The Edge”

Nuke The Soup’s “Dancin’ On The Edge” is a track that touches upon a wide range of different Americana / rock efforts. This means that particularly adept listeners will be able to hear where the act has incorporated Dylan, Tom Petty, and Donovan. The song is able to work in the contemporary era as Nuke The Soup hits on all cylinders. Each guitar line, drum fill, and charismatic vocal are…

Posted on: March 5, 2025 Posted by: James Comments: 0

Jelani Lateef “I’m A Star”

Jelani Lateef’s “I’m A Star” will immediately draw listeners in with larger than life production and a blazingly fast lyrical delivery. The production of Lateef’s latest is on point, ensuring that the arrangements are able to work alongside the bars, even as thew two attack the track in distinct fashions. The middle of I’m A Star slows things down a bit, providing greater focus on the subject material that Lateef is…

Posted on: March 5, 2025 Posted by: James Comments: 0

Sachet De’Aun “Patty Cake”

Sachet De’Aun’s “Patty Cake” is a slinky track with tons of swagger to it. She is able to immediately hit listeners over their heads with a rap-fire flow that builds upon the weork of a Cardi B or a Megan Thee Stallion. Patty Cake’s instrumentation works perfectly to lift up Sachet De’Aun’s inimitable flow. The clicking, electronic-infused backing beat ensures that Patty Cake will pick up numerous adds from rap and…

Posted on: March 3, 2025 Posted by: James Comments: 0

CONTAGEOUS FUNK “ALL DAY EVERYDAY”

All Day Everyday has a stylistic shift from the previous work we’ve heard from Contageous Funk. This is more in the vein of performers like early T-Pain or Flo Rida, albeit with a bit harder of an edge than either of those performers. The rapid-fire rap flow laid down here both sounds miles away from the single’s chorus while matching in ferocity and intensity the titular section of All Day…

Posted on: March 3, 2025 Posted by: James Comments: 0

Forgottensong “Shirts And Skins”

Forgottensong’s “Shirts And Skins” immediately reminds me of the work of acts like Vertical Horizon and Incubus. The fuzzy guitar provides a solid counterpoint for the vox, while the deliberate pace of Forgottonsong ensures that anyone listening in will be eagerly devouring whatever they serve up. While the song is built upon the tradition of earlier pop rock, I think that the ways in which Forgottensong weaves Shirts And Skins…

Posted on: March 3, 2025 Posted by: James Comments: 0

SUPER-Hi and NEEKA “Get Ready”

Get Ready has a laid-back sound that settles the song into a decidedly oughts vibe. There’s nods to pop and EDM here, widening the potential audience to a considerable degree. SUPER-Hi and NEEKA’s combined forces are able to create an airy and alluring arrangement, something that will have fans singing along after their first encounter with Get Ready. One of the strongest facets to the single has to be the…