Premiers
Album Premiere: Powers of Observation – Seven Crows (reviewed by Dave...
Although Chris Murphy, the man behind the Seven Crows moniker, has been dropping singles for many months as a build-up to this album, hearing Powers of Observation in...
Rock/Punk/Metal
Get Away – Social Gravy (reviewed by Dave Franklin)
The second single from the forthcoming The Pebble EP, “Get Away,” finds Social Gravy leaning confidently into their self-described role as “romantic rock ‘n’ rollers.” And if rock’ n’ roll...
Post Punk/Goth
8th and Alvarado – Youth “Champagne” Remix – Darling Black ...
Name-dropping is all the rage. Especially in artists’ press releases. Usually, such sheets are full of information that relates to the fact that a...
Shoegaze/Dreampop
Birthday Cake – Ava Valianti (reviewed by Dave Franklin)
If I were one of those more pedantic writers, I would probably be giving you a potted history of the early eighties post-punk scene...
Indie
EP Premiere: The Risk of Happiness – The Long Honeymoon (reviewed...
Just as I finished waxing lyrical about how impressive The Long Honeymoon’s songwriting chops were on the delicious The World is Waiting (okay, I was a bit...
Pop/Power Pop
Another Monday – Alla Igityan (reviewed by Dave Franklin)
There is something effortlessly comfortable, instantly likable, and deeply relatable about “Another Monday,” the new single from Alla Igityan, the kind of song that draws you...
Folk/Country
Album Premiere: The Chariot – Sawtooth Witch (reviewed by Dave Franklin)
The blending of folk music with electronic elements is, quite logically, called “folktronica”, but clever as that tag is, it isn’t quite right for what Sawtooth...
Singer-Songwriter/Acoustica
By My Side – Ryan Edward Kotler (reviewed by Dave Franklin)
If the previous single “Insomnia” was a hushed, early-hours meditation on sleepless nights and troubled thoughts, “By My Side” shifts the focus somewhat, where...
R&B/Soul
In Every Quiet Moment – Lawrence Tomini (reviewed by Dave...
“In Every Quiet Moment” is a song that seems to exist in a very specific space, a place between not only genres, sounds, and...
Reggae/Ska/Dub
Album Premiere: Lost Files – JaDon Blaxx (reviewed by Dave Franklin)
If Dancehall arrived in the seventies as reggae's leaner, faster, more street-charged younger sibling, then Lost Files is a clear snapshot of where that...
Dance/EDM
Hope In Hell – Hot Hail! (reviewed by Dave Franklin)
It's funny how serendipity works. The day after I referenced The Blitz Kids - that short-lived, massively influential, fashion-driven post-punk London club scene -...
Hip-hop/Rap
Mind How You Go – PanthaDogg (reviewed by Dave Franklin)
Hip-hop has come a long way from its birthplace in the South Bronx all those years ago. And while all genres move with the...
Jazz/Blues
Floating Sheep – Floating Sheep (reviewed by Dave Franklin)
Floating Sheep might easily be labeled as a “nu-jazz” outfit, but the emphasis is definitely on the word “nu.” Of course, jazz vibes and such...
Classical/Instrumental
Ephemeral (The Weight of Now) – Caleb Knowles (reviewed by Dave...
If album titles are often arbitrarily chosen, perhaps merely for effect or just taken from the name of a track, Ephemeral (The Weight of...
Avant Garde
True Human Trough – Bell Barrow (reviewed by Dave Franklin)
Comfort zones? Who needs them? Well, not Bell Barrow that’s for sure. Anyone already familiar with any music that Jeremy Moore has made under this or any other...
Interviews
Stranger Than Fiction: A short chat with The Flavor That Kills...
With a new album, Thunderbird Lodge, on the way, I sat down and caught up with The Flavor That Kills guitarist, singer, and lyricist Ryan Corcoran, to find...
Live
The Crack – En Heat (reviewed by Dave Franklin)
If, like me, you feel that mainstream music is all a bit safe, merely appealing to fads and fashions, comfort zones and marketing reports,...
Swindon
Back where it all began. A Big Day out with EXTC
Terry Chambers will always remember his twenty-first birthday. After all, who would forget being subjected to their friend’s TV show reel, fifteen minutes (well,...
News
‘Mariachi El Bronx IV’ out February 13 Marks Alter Ego of...
On February 13 LA trailblazers Mariachi El Bronx will release Mariachi El Bronx IV, their long-awaited new album, and first in over a decade. MEB is the alter...
Playlist
That Was The Music Week That Was – 080825
Another busy week at Dancing Towers, plenty of cool grassroots artists put under the pen, lots of great music mused over, and lots of...
Books
How Not To Write About Music – III: Starting the Week...
One of the joys of writing about new music is that it stops you from getting trapped in the past. Of course, bands like...
6 of the best
Against The Waves – Cable Street Riot (reviewed by Dave Franklin)
Although many bands are increasingly turning their attention to political matters and engaging in sonic social commentary, using their platform to advocate, well, anything...
Floating Sheep – Floating Sheep (reviewed by Dave Franklin)
Floating Sheep might easily be labeled as a “nu-jazz” outfit, but the emphasis is definitely on the word “nu.” Of course, jazz vibes and such...
Another Monday – Alla Igityan (reviewed by Dave Franklin)
There is something effortlessly comfortable, instantly likable, and deeply relatable about “Another Monday,” the new single from Alla Igityan, the kind of song that draws you...
Album Premiere: Powers of Observation – Seven Crows (reviewed by Dave Franklin)
Although Chris Murphy, the man behind the Seven Crows moniker, has been dropping singles for many months as a build-up to this album, hearing Powers of Observation in...
Hope In Hell – Hot Hail! (reviewed by Dave Franklin)
It's funny how serendipity works. The day after I referenced The Blitz Kids - that short-lived, massively influential, fashion-driven post-punk London club scene -...
Please Don’t Make Me Come Back From the Moon – E. G. Phillips (reviewed...
It is quite timely to find this latest release from E.G. Phillips drop just as the Artemis II moon flights are hitting the headlines. And if the 1969...
