rescuing musical virtue in distress.
ReLoVe are great at fusing music from what might be termed world and roots genres and using those sonic building blocks to build their signature sound. This time out they give us Voices which blends funky basslines, soulful harmonies, busy drum salvos and folky fiddles. As always the individual elements are recognisable but the way... Continue Reading →
Matthew Austin Hunt has been great at displaying his more subtle side, Bye London Bye being a case in point, and even the eponymously titled album which followed having balancing his more punchy sonic bursts with more considered ballads and tasteful understatement. Free, his latest single, sees him throw caution to the wind, a real... Continue Reading →
Not every band seems to come with full working knowledge of musical dynamics. Many are just happy to throw all their ideas, sonic kitchen sink and all, at the listener and hope that style rather than substance wins the day. Of course, sometimes it works but usually only temporarily before the next fashion or fad... Continue Reading →
You have to wonder why so many bands still expend so much energy chasing that elusive record contract when the timing and technology are perfect for setting-up your own label, releasing your music yourself and just doing things your own way. It's what Brooklyn's A Brand New Start has done and their first single is... Continue Reading →
Music is a broad church. It takes as many forms as there are artists making it, and it serves as many purposes as there are those consuming it. It can be big and bombastic, still and delicate. It can carry global messages as easily as it can intimate conversations. It can be poignant and powerful,... Continue Reading →
Albums made up of purely instrumental music have a tougher job on their hands than those who add lyrical content, simply because lyrics are, without sounding rude, a distraction. Most people like a song or love an album because of the connection that they have with its words, the message, the literary landscape. An instrumental... Continue Reading →
There is always a danger when you front-load an album with the recent singles that it might run out of steam once you have gone beyond their obvious charms. That said, the opening, triple salvo which greets you on Tim Kile's solo debut album is a bit special. The wide-screen and ambitious sonic span of... Continue Reading →
Most music has at least a small nostalgic thread running through its core. How can it not, being that music is made through standing on the shoulders of giants. And if nostalgia is your thing, then it is easy to pick up on some gorgeous sonic blends of 70's English folk revival and lush Laurel... Continue Reading →
This latest release from Christian O’Connor is steeped in rock and blues traditions but also feels very much of the moment and perfectly up to date. A tasteful blend of freshness and familiarity, past glories and forward-thinking exploration....Read the full review at The Big Takeover
Music can be many things to many people and often what it means to the listener is very different to what it means for the creator. And if The Perfect Son is a bundle of disco vibes, 80's electronica vibes and 21st-century dance floor poise to the casual ear, to its creator, David E. Johnston,... Continue Reading →
On this short, three-salvo sonic collection, H-chris offers us a triptych of tracks that span a number of dance moves and moods. His chosen style is an instrumental, groovesome synth, deep house sound and even without the lyrical component, there is plenty of melody and emotion to be found. Waiting In The Back Seat is... Continue Reading →
Leadboots seem to have mastered the art of taking base musical elements - the ruggedness of blues, the swagger of rock and roll, the deftness of folk - and turning them into solid sonic gold. And Call Of The Void is all the proof that you need. Unlike many bands of today, those that favour... Continue Reading →
Late again, but that is only because I've been too busy writing about cool music to have the time to fashion it into a playlist. But better late than never, eh? https://open.spotify.com/playlist/3O4NuQWfTEJHMDBfRx5HVb?si=9051a54bc1d74446
Music, and the scenes that surround them, might often seem to be about revolution but bands are without doubt more about evolution. Watching Tough On Fridays grow has been a fantastic experience. People may have come and gone but the music always seemed to play out to a solid vision, one built of strands of... Continue Reading →
There is a fantastic ethic at work behind the eloquently named Yew Haiku's latest release. Eschewing style in favour of substance, polished production for creative poise (though there is nothing rough and ragged found here and if there is, it feels like creative honest rather than any lack of attention to detail,) Psy and Cygnet... Continue Reading →
This four-track mini-album bristles with hypnotic electronic beats. It is overlaid with lush improvised virtuoso jazzy licks and beautiful instrumental detours. The treatment and understanding of balance is sublime. Loads of space, grooves, dynamics, tricks and tonal treats. Side one is a full 11 minutes of pure sonic joy. Moments of Ted Milton and Miles... Continue Reading →
As soon as the first gorgeous grooves hit your ears, you can hear the sound of a life dedicated to music playing out before you. You can picture a young boy wandering the streets of his Cuban home following the sound of the conga drums as he searched out the island's folk music, Latin beats... Continue Reading →
Hip-hop has a reputation for being upfront and in-your-face, but with We Got It, Lil Bro injects something more relaxed, more sultry even into the proceedings. It runs on that skittering, trap-infused groove that is the hallmark of the modern sound, spacious bass pulses linked with ticking percussion. It even blends and blurs the lines... Continue Reading →
As I write this, I am listening to an artist that has come to my attention almost by accident. The music is from a five-song EP called ‘In Bloom’ by an artist born in Poland and living in Florida. If you keep an ear on all things hot and happening in the world of the... Continue Reading →
Shackles set out the sonic stall nicely for this latest ep from Seattle duo Sugar Addikt, but one song, as great as it is, can only say so much. And if you liked that first single, and why wouldn't you, then embracing the sonic charms of this 5-track offering is the logical next step. As... Continue Reading →
Built around a bundle of brooding beats and building tensions, The Shadow blends modern metal moves with Doorsian 60's grooves, tribal energies with primal sonic screams. And as the musical journey continues, it occasionally explodes to release some of that tension, letting off steam in frantic bursts before returning to the job of building anticipation... Continue Reading →
Seattle synth duo, Sugar Addikt, take elements from 70's disco, 80's mainstream pop, 90's dance music and 21st-century electronica and use those wide-ranging influences to forge music that is both familiar and infectious yet unique and forward-thinking. Shackles, from their latest ep, Phoenix, is a song that wanders between pulsating dancefloor energy and the highly... Continue Reading →
If Lovers leant into a more rootsy sound, this time out there is a much more indie vibe running through The BRKN's latest single. That soulful vibe is still in the mix, how could it not be, it seems to be an integral part of their DNA, but here the emphasis is on something more... Continue Reading →
There is plenty to be found on this tasteful album from Paul Nourigat that echoes the sound of the classic American songbook and the golden age of the singer-songwriter. Hints of the poetic philosophies that sat at the heart of the songs of James Taylor or the folk fusions of people like Jackson Browne are... Continue Reading →
As if to underline just how small the world is, especially when it comes to musical styles and cultural traditions, Swedish artist Eva No's latest single is a fusion of reggae vibes and Latin rhythms, sounds that, at one time at least, would never have been associated with her Scandinavian home. But the world today... Continue Reading →
Blending a dark and brooding R&B vibe with a rapped vocal delivery, The Grudge is a reflective journey through past thoughts and relationships. We are all the product of the journey through life which has got us to this point in the present and Ukaga explains that it is past indiscretions and being let down... Continue Reading →
The great thing about New Chums is that they make music which is both big and clever. Usually a band is able to do one well but to the detriment of the other, New Chums, however, find a wonderful sweet spot between the two elements. The result, Shruggin' Off the Feelings, is a collection of... Continue Reading →
Spear-headed by three rich, standout vocalists, The DK Effect is a soul and blues outfit that explores the legacy of those genres from their earliest days to the present. They construct songs from all the elements that made such sounds and styles the sonic sensations that they become - lush harmonies, easy grooves, intricately interwoven... Continue Reading →
Given the design of the logo on the cover, the artwork itself and even the name Rexide, I was half-expecting to be greeted by a screamo vocal roar and the grunt and grind of a thrash metal tsunami in full flow. And, although there are a few moments when the vocals spill over into that... Continue Reading →
As soon as the almost a capella delivery of the lyrics greet the listener, there is a feeling of freedom writ large across the sonic canvas. On My Own is about the twin feelings of escape and freedom, that sensation of being untethered and breaking free of the shackles of the past mixed with the fear of... Continue Reading →