Come Back to Me is an epic R&B track that is able to convey some seriously heady emotions. Drea Jeann’s vocal range is without comparison, hitting highs and lows in the same breath. Come Back to Me is made stronger by DJ’s ability to tell a cogent narrative while bolstering the instrumental side of things with each note. It is precisely when Drea Jeann steps away from thie lyrical content…
Taut emo with a bit more contemplative guitar playing in the background, Nesting is one of those efforts that will continue to yield new twists and turns multiple plays in. The band is able to tell fans a multitude of stories with this layered approach. Building upon the style of early Taking Back Sunday and Alkaline Trio, An Old Friend refers back to the halcyon days of emotive rock while…
Kerry Pastine and the Crime Scene’s third album release City of Love promises to be their defining moment to date. The Denver, Colorado native and her band mates built the two previous releases around a rockabilly blues hybrid sound earning raves in the process and established a reputation as a lively concert act more than capable of building on the energy they capture in the studio in front of enthusiastic fans. Her…
Bleeker has released a very chill single in Straight For The Money. The track oozes with charisma and succeeds due to the dynamics established between smart instrumentation and alluring vox. The band is able to stop and start on a dime, further providing separation between Straight For The Money and the rest of the songs seeking popular recognition. Bleeker builds upon Walk The Moon and OK Go; the louder and…
The Best has AWOLNATIOn calling forth synth-pop and a bit of progressive to bolster their inimitable style. The soft vocals that start each stanza are pushed to their limit as things switch to a higher gear. The drum fills that are interspersed throughout The Best has AWOLNATION at their creative plateau. A very stylized video adds further context to the song as well as going all in to a children’s…
A sludgy, mid-1990s alt-rock sound issues forth from Utility’s Bull In The Shop. Deliberate, crunchy guitar riffs match nicely with classic / hair rock-style drums. There are nods made throughout this effort to acts like Deep Purple and early-1980s-era Motley Crue. By whipping in just a hint of grunge music to Bull In The Shop, Utility is able to make something bold and new while hitting some of the high-water…
During Take Me Down, Alexa Friedman is able to provide some confident and catchy vocals. Laid upon an EDM-infused backing instrumentation, Alexa’s voice ensures that fans of dance, pop, and rap will be able to find something that they can sink their teeth into. Take Me Down is able to renovate the mid-oughts sound of performers like Nelly Furtado by pairing them with a modern set of pop sensibilities. A…
During Honesty, Mychael Gabriel is able to marry together the synth-infused R&B of the early 1980s with the vocal-forward R&B of the early 1990s (e.g. Tevin Cambell, Babyface). This laid-back groove allows for Gabriel’s vocals to shine out brilliantly over the composition. A taut groove ties together luxurious synths, fat bass liners, and punctual percussion that ensures that listeners will get out on the dance floor. We’re particularly enamored with…
On I’m Straight, Kimberly Rice immediately impresses with hard-scrabble flows and more than a bit of swagger. The snap track and synths build off the mid-oughts rap of performers like Lil Jon. When Calvin Cofield enters into the mix, the effort is able to garner a bit of additional momentum. With each side of the composition hitting on all cylinders, I’m Straight ensures that it can hang quite nicely with…
On The Hardest Part, Oliver James is able to make a hauntingly beautiful track that needs little more than echoing vocals and a strummed acoustic to make huge waves. There are nods here to the alt-rock of the late 1990s as well as earlier traditions like The Smiths. Beautiful strings are weaved throughout The Hardest Part, imbuing the effort with a richness that will fulfill fans long after the song…
On Motion Sick, Anna Claire Loftis is able to blend equal amounts 1990s pop and atmospheric indie to make something that will resound with listeners long after the song ceases to play. The backing instrumentation is surprisingly deep here, with a wall of sound needing to be unraveled to hear everything that Loftis has placed within. The guitar / drum dynamic plays at the fore, but smart usage of loud…
It’s sometimes taken for granted just how brilliant a songwriter Tom Waits is. The sky is blue, water is wet, and Waits can write a truly heartbreaking song. Maybe it’s the fact that he’s been making music for more than four decades; Maybe it’s that some just can’t get past his graveled vocals, but sometime all it takes is listening to a fresh take on his songs to realize just…
“Nobody’s listening / Don’t know the world you’re in / You want someone to understand” croons David Leask in the first couple of lines of his new single “When You Think No One Loves You,” a sense of defenselessness trailing his every word. Leask has never been one to hold anything back from his audience in the music that he records, but he’s getting especially vulnerable with us in this…
Guttural in one track, smothered in a synth’s playful harmony in another, the guitar parts that adorn the material we hear on the new Parker Longbough LP Green and Gold/Drink the Hemlock are at times reminiscent of early White Stripes records, 80s Seattle sludge and even the noise-laden riffs of Sonic Youth all at once, and yet they rarely translate as being overly experimental in songs like “Avalanche Beacon,” “Bad Attitude” and…
Drugs, sex, Jesus and a telecaster’s twang. That’s pretty much the Beaumont formula and hell, if it isn’t enough to make your whole goddamn day. On their first live record, This Is Austin, recorded appropriately enough at Austin’s The White Horse, the five Lubbock cowboys turn in a monstrously hilarious best of compilation in front of a live audience. Whether it’s singing about Toby Keith (“Toby Keith is the…
Gryndin may just be our favorite Jae Mansa song out, as it is able to call back to the early days of Kanye and Styles P. Impressing Young Marco into throwing down some bars for this track is a genius-level decision, as the two distinct approaches taken by the performers makes Gryndin into an unmitigated banger. With smart use of samples and hints of mid-oughts acts (The Game, early Rick…
On Recognize, pineappleCITI is able to create an easy-going rap track that builds upon the framework of Young M.A. and A Boogie. With a backing beat that is more dreamy, accentuating rather than boldly countering PC’s bars, Recognize comes forth as utterly distinct from other rap tracks currently populating playlists. Delicate and replete with an infectious vocal hook, Recognize gradually increases in speed as one hurtles to the end of…
Touch It succeeds because of a haunting, Hypnotise Minds meets Migos sort of production. Intricate wordplay is spat at a bullet’s pace as PM beats fans over their head with the most ornate maul. Get It is a hard-hitting track that has PM spit lyrics that are cocksure and confident. Matched well with a booming bass and trap-inspired backing beat, Get It is the sort of track that will immediately…
Dan Ashley is a celebrity in his own right, but What Really Matters is an effort that will catapult him alongside such rock luminaries like Michael Stanley and Elvis Costello. The same charisma that bubbled through his news broadcasts comes through in droves during his latest single. Easy listening rock with musical chops to add more than a bit of oomph, What Really Matters is able to revive the style…
On Planet, The Phoenix Rose create a wholly unique effort that links together the taut pop-rock of later Genesis, a bit of 311-styled modern rock, and the orchestral pomp of Dream Theater. Throw in some huge jazz-infused bass and a bit of reggae wobble and one will have some semblance of what The Phoenix Rose is trying to do here. The band picks up speed at around the 3:25 mark,…