Woebetide, the new effort from Ready, Steady, Die! is glorious in how it captures listeners’ attention. Beautiful vocals play at the front of the track while the instrumentation gradually reaches a creschendo. Breaking over the song like a weave, the synths and guitars push the aforementioned vocals into a higher plateau. Working towards the same goals, these distinct elements combine into a perfectly-polished piece of drama. The track’s final minute…
On Half Of It, Lila Blue is able to call back to the days of performers like Joni Mitchell and Carole King. Strong vocals are matched through confident pianos. While there is a passing nod to the pop of the 1960s and 1970s, a look forward to the work of Fiona Apple and Ani DiFranco will draw fans in by the barrelful. Fans will be on the edges of their…
On Radical Change, A Permanent Shadow is able to blend together new wave and 1980s ska styles into something bold and refreshing. Assertive vocals hand off the reins to Flock of Seagulls-inspired guitar work and luxurious synths. Most stunning of this composition has to be the masterful use of tempo; the slower section in the song’s middle allows for A Permanent Shadow to gradually build things back up into a…
Gusty grooves adorn the string balladry of “Never Apart.” Discordant minor-key harmonies make merry with a happy-go-lucky swing beat in “Never Miss.” Ruark seduce us with a glowing melody in “Naturally,” the staggering “Sick of It,” “Time Wouldn’t Waste Away” and the title track of their new album When You Coming Home with as much ease as they do when provoking thoughts unique to every listener in a contemplative “Sweet Senseless World,”…
During Wake Me Up, Ryan Black is able to call back to the alt-rock of the 1990s. With nods to the Goo Goo Dolls and The Wallflowers, Black will interest listeners; a fuzzy guitar lays bold strokes down while the on-point drumming keeps the composition moving at a solid pace. Ryan’s voice is special here in that it tells an emotion-packed narrative while blending in well with the guitar lines.…
While The Raspberries and Big Star are almost always the first bands namechecked in any discussion about Power Pop, there were a slew of remarkably brilliant U.S. bands throughout the early-, mid-1980s who picked up that flag and carried it on for a while before getting drowned out by synth pop and hair metal on the radio. Groups like The Plimsouls, The Romantics and Dramarama created some remarkably addictive songs…
Roses From Blood is an effort that looks back to the high-water mark of 1990s-goth, with hints of Black Tape for a Blue Girl and Apocalyptica meshing well alongisde breakneck industrial / electronic composition. This track hurtles along in a deceptively fast fashion. Smart usage of similar string lines establish a soundscape that could easily fill in for your favrotie cyberpunk novel. By linking these styles to a traditional /…
On Magic, Keldamuzik is able to blend together a bit of funk and 1990s R&B into a modern form of EDM. These calls to disparate musical styles are coordinated into a cohesive entity, ensuring that fans are out representing the performer on the dance floor. Keldamuzik is able to pull double duty in telling a cogent story as well as bolstering the sequenced beats and authoritative percussion that peek through…
When it comes to getting personal in a song, there aren’t a whole lot of country groups as adept and skillful as Flat River Band are in most every song they record, and in their fifth studio album, the retrospective Every Dog Has Its Day, they impart one provocative country tale after another as though we were sitting with the power trio around a blazing flame in the wilderness. The fireside…
World is Burning is a fun blend of styles. Hints of reggae and drum n bass unite to make something eclectic. The number of distinct shifts in tempo and genres incorporated here will immediately draw attention to both the musical and lyrical sides of the track. The number of current events that spell doom for the world – global warming and pollution are but a few – are given bold…
On Green, Greg Hoy & The Boys create a straight-forward rock track that incorporates hints of 1960s Merseybeat, The Descendents, and Franz Ferdinand Vocals echo boldly out at the top of the song, while the chorus brings infectious vocals alongside taut instrumentation. The bass / drum interactions are punctuated quite nicely through sizzling guitar work. These instruments are able to ratchet up the song’s momentum, ensuring that listeners are firmly…
Go For It is a timeless rock track that takes up hints of U2, 1990s British alternative rock, and hints of acts like The Black Crowes for inspiration. Tying together these disparate elements are Hollis’s inimitable vocals, exuding charisma while pulling double duty as another source of harmony for this track. Holistic in its approach, Go For It is one of those efforts that will have listeners singing along long…
Soul Sister Revolution, the latest effort from Rockie Brown has a solid blend of 1990s-infused rock and assertive vocals. A rich emotion is weaved through this composition; the guitar / drum dynamic lays a solid foundation upon which Rockie’s vocals can soar. The bit of gospel chorus that is presented here adds further replay value to the composition. Rockie Brown’s bright sound and confidence separates Soul Sister Revolution from other…
A gentle percussion and a gorgeous piano dance back and forth with one another as we listen in on the first few bars of Rob Alexander’s “Friend of Mine (Elton’s Epic),” and with the sway of every beat, we find a little bit more color within the growing melody before us. Alexander starts to sing, and even though his initial attack is as soft and decadent as the rhythm of…
Dark pop is a niche genre at best, but thanks to a few indie artists, the genre whispers on in the shadows. Colorado-raised California-resident Roniit is no stranger to the undercurrents of the indie electropop and darkpop scene, and her newest record “XIXI” is less of a music album and more a contiguous journey through the wilderness of her subconscious. The crickets overlaying the introduction to opening track “Noumenia” is…
Joe, the first track on Mike Bertini’s new extended play Thing Called Life is a fun effort that calls back to the college rock of the middle 1990s. This means that there are hints of Keller Williams and Dave Matthews that can be discerned here; tremendously amount of soul and positive vibes issue forth here as Mike creates a thoughtful composition. There’s a bit of material here for those that…
For the past 15 years, The Wood Brothers have managed to forge a wildly uncompromising career, trends be damned, churning out their own brand of folk, blues and Americana through a series of eclectically satisfying studio records and live albums, bringing along a growing crowd of followers with each successive release. Kingdom In My Mind, thankfully fits right in line with the rest of their cannon. This, their seventh album,…
On Iconic, Spitten Image is able to lay out some introspective bars as a haunting backing beat adds further gravity to each lyric. There’s a smart tack taken with the production here as each side (vocal / instrumental) recedes a bit to allow the other part ample time to shine. The straight-forward buckshot that Spitten Image fires here is honest and earnest, coming forth as utterly unique in an era…
Love & Fidelity is the first composition on Death Party Playground’s (DPP) new release, Little Joy. The track benefits from major Barenaked Ladies vibes, uniting a front-forward, confident set of lead vocals with splashy drums and assertive guitar riffs. Immense drum fills provide the head, while the guitars (~1:50 mark) bring the fire. This song will be burying itself in your brains for the foreseeable future. Bright New’s beginning instrumental…
Roll You Up is a fun track; the latest from Tex Moonlight ties together traditional country with funk, alternative rock, and soul styles. Moonlight’s earnest vocals stretch out over the song, linking together these distinctive section. Tex is able to lay layer after layer to the overall sound of Roll You Up until what results is one of the most epic and engrossing songs that we’ve heard so far this…