Tub Go Around is a vibrant beginning composition on Masaki Hanakata’s SONGBOOK1, bringing old fans and new listeners in alike. Hints of traditional Americana and folk styles bubble through. A cohesive statement continues through Open A Season. The presence of a vocal element here adds considerable depth to this composition, making the resulting track resound loudly in listeners’ ears long after the song has ceased to play. Slow Cook is…
Dates: Friday, May 22, Saturday, May 23 & Sunday, May 24 At Pryor Creek Music Festival Grounds in Pryor, Oklahoma Early Bird Passes On Sale Friday, January 24 at 10:00 AM CT Rocklahoma is set to take place on Friday, May 22, Saturday, May 23, and Sunday, May 24 at Pryor Creek Music Festival Grounds in Pryor, Oklahoma, just outside of Tulsa. Now in its 14th year, the three-day camping…
This mid-1990s record was Marshall Crenshaw’s first for the indie Razor & Tie and simultaneously marked his move into a more indie mindset. Recorded at least partially at his own home and playing just about all the instruments, its’ also the record that comes closest to Crenshaw’s brilliant 1982 debut. Having regained ownership of his efforts from the Razor & Tie era, Miracle Of Science is the first of four albums Crenshaw…
While G. Love’s latest, The Juice, is technically a solo album, he still filled the studio with plenty of friends for the outing. Most prominently was former labelmate Keb Mo, who co-produced, co-wrote and performs on several songs across the record. Other guests who stopped by the studio include Marcus King, Robert Randolph, Roosevelt Collier and Ron Artis. And while this slew of new voices and players don’t entirely change…
Too Close represents a major leap forward for Ontario’s The Noolands. The act is immediately able to create a bouncing beat and a memorable set of vocals that cut through the band’s instrumentation. There is a rawness, a ferocity to Too Close that calls back to the earliest days of Foo Fighters and Bloc Party. Of particular note during Too Close has to be the intricate guitar line and the…
Wilma Archer announces a new album, A Western Circular, due for release on April 3rd. A Western Circular is Will Archer’s debut under his new nom-de-plume, following early EPs and an album under the now-retired Slime moniker. Alongside the announcement, he shares a new track, “Last Sniff”, featuring MF DOOM. The video, directed by Jesse Collett, is available to watch now. Within A Western Circular lies an exciting and varied…
Today, of Montreal released their new album UR FUN via Polyvinyl Record Co. prior to release, they shared electro-pop protest song “Peace to All Freaks,” the pet-friendly video for “Polyanuerism” and the intimate, “You’ve Had Me Everywhere” giving us a taste for ten concise electro-pop songs to follow. It’s a collection that exposes the depths of Kevin Barnes’ current life, his private thoughts—both optimistic and brooding— and his passionate relationship…
Altuz Baby! showcases a backing beat and rap flow that are immediately at 100. A piano line tracing back to 1970s rock is married to a bold and confident flow that refreshes the 1990s NYC scene like no other. The high-water mark of Altuz Baby! hits right before the end, as the rapper effortlessly lays down some of the most complex lyrics we’ve heard. Bitchin’ has a tremendous backing beat…
Nuke The Soup have just cut their Feed The Fire. This sizzling track defies all genre conventions. This means there are nods to reggae, funk, soul, and progressive music. Easy-going on its surface, there’s no denying that Nuke The Soup can create some heady instrumentation here. The track moves into Police-level of intricacy between the drums, bass, and guitar lines. Vocals drip with charisma here while a sizzling horn line…
That’s It has Snypa coming forth hard as head. With nods to Migos and Lil Wayne in his vocal flow, Snypa is given a further boost through a booming backing beat that is part trap, part Hypnotize Minds. A distorted, echoing drum beat cuts through the silence between Snypa’s bars, adding a hint of urgency to the composition. Wrapping up things with a nice bow at the 2:30 mark, Snypa…
Habitz goes back to the mid-1990s with his latest effort, Cadillac Dippin. With luxurious synths representing the backdrop, the soulful vox that issue forth shortly after delve into the funk of Zapp & Roger. Including Knitwit and Trazel into the mix, Habitz are able to refresh the style of a Too $hort or an E-40. The duo are able to approach their flows in a distinctly different fashion, ensuring that…
Broken is a fun pop-rock track that marries confident vocals with straight-foward guitars and splashy drums. The back and forth between the insistent vox of bree and the sizzling guitar riffs that follow immediately afterward calls back to performers like Kelly Clarkson and Bif Naked. Broken takes a strong turn at the two-minute mark to allow the guitar, bass, and drum to craft one seriously heavy instrumental interlude. Bree’s latest…
Love & Tatters look back to the synth-popo of the mid-1980s for inspiration during their new single, Love & Tatters. The alluring vocals, synth sequences, and hard-hitting choruses ensure that this track will have legs for days. The band reaches a higher plateau with a multi-part vocal harmony. Touching upon Walk The Moon and Dave Grohl’s vocal stylings, Broke Royals are able to bring fans in while crafting their own…
Raven Salve’s CoCo Brown is a sultry, slow R&B track that immediately showcases Salve’s vocals like no other. Raven is able to pull double duty during this track as she’s able to weave a cogent story alongside building up the fat beats and Childish Gambino-esque guitar lines playing in the background. The effort is timeless in its execution, drawing from the late 1990s and early oughts rhythmic style just as…
Lost Cause is a taut track that provides Buffalo band Marquee Grand with a good amount of positive vibes as the band begins their new extended play. The track builds upon the framework of The All-American Rejects and Yellowcard, marrying charismatic vocals with intense bass line and jangly guitar work. The song even touches upon The Killers and Goo Goo Dolls, easily ensuring that it could garner playlist and radio…
For a period of time in the early-to-mid ’80s, Phast Phreddie & Thee Precisions were one of the hippest bands in the Los Angeles. So hip that members of such acclaimed L.A. bands as X, Los Lobos, the Gun Club, The Plimsouls and The Blasters lent their talents to their recordings and live shows. So hip that the brilliance of Phast Phreddie & Thee Precisions was largely unknown apart from…
Wettworker’s Are You Okay comes forth with some serious fire. There are nods to Atmosphere and Swollen Members here, while the gothic / industrial-tinged backing beat adds a bit more teeth to the effort. These two distinct elements ensure that the song is hurtling past listeners by the minute mark. With a lead-out that calls back to the more ferocious side of Marilyn Manson, Wettworker is able to imbue rap…
The late 2010s produced a lot of interesting singer/songwriters, and among the more intriguing that I heard in 2019 was Andy Michaels, whose record Incendiary Heart raised a lot of eyebrows in his native Australia as well as overseas in the United States. A product of hybrid creativities and eclectic collaborations with singers like Tiarna Madison and Kerry Ironside, Incendiary Heart takes everything that was suggested as being possible in Michaels’ debut LP Revisited and reshapes…
The Districts today shared the Laura-Lynne Petrick-directed video for new single “Cheap Regrets,” the second from their forthcoming album You Know I’m Not Going Anywhere, which will be released on March 13th, 2020 (Fat Possum). “‘Cheap Regrets’ is some late capitalist nihilism channeled into a Districts dance party. It’s about the extremes of American culture constantly reinforcing the self,” explains singer/guitarist Rob Grote of the kinetic track. “The mirror reconfirms…
Barrow calls back to the days of Garth Brooks and mid-1990s country music (Diffie, Lawrence) with his latest single, Country’s Just Cooler. The track soars based on taut instrumentation, a heck of a lot of sizzling guitar work, and an imitable set of vocals laid down by Barrow himself. While the song looks back to the halcyon days of country music, there’s a bit of Paisley or Chesney here in…