Mimosa Hygiene is the first collection from Nashville based duo The Criticals. The talents of Cole Shugart and Parker Forbes are formidable even after a single listen; this is a band who have their songwriting wrapped up far tighter than your average emerging act and I can’t point to a single track among the six included as an obvious example of filler. The Criticals, instead, come out of their corner swinging…
During Joey, The Bobbleheads are able to craft a taut collection of guitars, drums, and soulful vocals in a package that will have fans fondly remembering the college / alternative rock of the mid-1990s. The guitar / vocal dynamic established during Joey calls back a bit further to the pop-rock of the mid-1960s. Taken together, these unique elements bode well for The Bobbleheads. Joey shines because the band is able…
During Long Game, Gavin Haley is able to create some of the most honest and touching pop music we’ve ever heard. Putting his own unique spin on the style of Bruno Mars and Mike Posner,Gavin’s vocal abilities are provided further fuel through swelling drums, ethereal synths, and careful curating of the song’s overall momentum. The effort concludes with a robust boost to the instrumentation’s momentum, ensuring that Haley’s inimitable vocals…
Nobody Knew is a tremendous rock track that shines brilliantly. From the robust bass lines to the dynamic established between the guitars and drums, Appice’s rock truly is timeless. There is a bit of grit presented alongside the supremely epic sound of this cut. Charisma and passion are dripping off this composition. True music aficionados will drool over the extended instrumental interlude that joins together the two halves of Nobody…
On Trill Cosby, Wettworker is able to link together a brooding, industrial-infused backing beat with coy, punchline bars. The intricate wordplay presented on Trill Cosby further boosts the overall replay value of the track. Rather than merely laying on the backing beat, Wettworker is able to imbue additional harmony to the composition through his vocal cadence. The clap track that is included during the last minute of Trill Cosby refreshes…
On Worse or for Better, The Sarandons are able to create an easy-going sort of rock that touches upon the work of America and John Denver as well as 1990s-alternative acts liker Jellyfish and the Counting Crows. Booming instrumentation, fuzzy guitars, and splashy guitars unite to make for a dense, thrushy backing upon which the vocals can shines. With just a hint of grit present, these vocals are able to…
Canadian indie-rockers Wolf Parade have been around the scene for a while, yet their five-year hiatus in 2011 gave fans pause and wondered if the magic would come back. Following Cry Cry Cry in 2017, the band seems to be back on steady ground and are back with their latest full-length Thin Mind. Granted, Wolf Parade hadn’t popped up on my radar, I took a dive into their back catalog…
The Lily Vakili Band has just released their new cut, She Wants What. The effort is a stripped-down, dirty rock effort that links together The Velvet Underground with The Breeders. With multiple vocals contributing to the top of this cut, fans could easily hear hints of the Sisters of Mercy or the B-52s. At no point during She Wants Want will fans be wanting; the Lily Vakili Band keep the…
Juliana Hatfield’s 2018 tribute to Olivia Newton-John, Juliana Hatfield Sings Olivia Newton-John (naturally), was as satisfying as it was unexpected. One of the most underrated singers of the ‘90s, Hatfield, turned her distinctively impassioned vocals on songs that for decades had become shorthand for ‘80s bubble gum pop for many cynical listeners and in doing so, was able to get across her genuine appreciation for songs that shaped her as…
Ah, the covers album. Once seen as little more than a stop gap until the band could pull together enough new material for a new album, lately, thanks to folks like Corb Lund and Ben Lee’s soon-to-be released record, cover albums seem to be moving towards a much more satisfying experimental phase (Americana Lund covering AC/DC, Indie stalwart Lee covering Fugazi, for example). And while The Mavericks don’t venture too…
Somewhat somber and yet capable of encapsulating the honest optimism of the lyrics in the foreground, the piano plays with a tortured resilience at the start of “Don’t Stand a Chance,” the new single by Mattia Pironti, and its opulence will only grow more noticeable as we press on. Its keys frame a poetic window into the soul of Mattia Pironti that had only been teased in his first two…
Scizzorman crafts a track that links together Frank Zappa, Captain Beefheart, and Primus into a bass-heavy composition. With quirky (but positive) lyrics, Scizzorman is able to generate an effort that will bury its infectious melodies deep into listeners’ brains. Taut instrumentation and a lush production ensures that the resulting track could easily slot into rock and alternative music playlists. For fans of psychedelic, funk, and 1990s college rock (e.g. Porno…
On Walking On Stars, Sarah J’Vine is able to make an ethereal, haunting melody balance between pop and electronic genres. Vocals pull double duty here in that they contribute mightily to the overall arrangements while imbuing the resulting effort with a humanity heard in performers like Vanessa Williams and Mariah Carey. With instrumentation that draws upon the tradition of Massive Attack and Bjork, Walking On Stars is a cut that…
With an opening stanza that starts off with the lines “Undercover operations takes / A lotta discipline and patient waitin’ / Gotta secretly manipulate / To speed fate up,” MkX is getting real with us in his new song “right place, at the right time” and causing a stir among critics and fans for the third time in 2019. MkX is no loose cannon in “right place, at the right…
Tummyache’s Humpday opens with “Machine”, an often raucous cry from the heart looking to wrest meaning and purpose from a world often seeming to lack both. The five songs included on this EP release embrace that as theme. Songwriter Soren Bryce, through her inter and intra personal relationships, is an artistic voice chronicling how to hang onto your emotions in the general miasma of modern life. The roughhewn musical feel of “Machine”…
Kim Shattuck, singer/guitarist for the shockingly underrated band The Muffs, died unexpectedly just weeks ago, after a two-year battle with ALS that many outside of her close circle were unaware of. She left a brilliant legacy, with half a dozen near-perfect pop punk records to her name, a dedicated fanbase and a slew of heartbroken, normally jaded music journalists who were charmed by their interactions with her over the years…
Who would have thought some of the best Outlaw Country-inspired music would be coming out of the Pacific Northwest? On Right On Time, their second LP and first since 2015, The Lonesome Billies pick up right where they left off, but with a little more groove this time around. Across a dozen tracks of twangy Telecaster riffs and a baritone that even Waylon Jennings would envy, The Lonesome Billies prove…
John DeNicola might not be a household name, but he should be, because you’ve probably heard his work in one form or another, whether you realize it or not. And his new album is his debut solo record, but it’s not exactly clear to me what’s all original and what is covered concerning both his own past works and covers of other’s work on this disc. What is clear to…
If Dr. John grew up a punk rocker in the Midwest rather than in the jazz and funk clubs of voodoo-soaked New Orleans, chances are he’d sound a lot like Jake La Botz. On They’re Coming For Me, the Nashville, by way of Chicago, musician turns in a wildly eclectic, deeply satisfying gumbo of blues, funk, jazz and even snatches of rock. And despite being decades younger than the brilliant,…
On I Forgot About Me, Jonathan Karkar is able to craft a pop track that rises and falls in all the right places. Listeners will be on the edges of their seats with the blending of traditional and electronic sections. Similarly strong has to be Karkar’s vox here, which are able to exude tremendous charisma as well as bringing listeners along for a tremendous narrative ride. Reviving the pop of…