rescuing musical virtue in distress.
I always say that when it comes to the best music, the use of genres and labels are terrible ways to try to describe things. It's a bit like talking about cars by just mentioning the colour of their bodywork, or describing a meal via a list of ingredients. Genres might be easy shorthand for... Continue Reading →
Never judge a book by its cover, and when it comes to music this is doubly true. With a raven-haired queen of the night staring out from the single's artwork, it would be easy to assume that what is found within would be full-on gothic theatrics or explosive alt-rock, and that isn't to say that... Continue Reading →
Having already been wonderfully impressed by Echoes' blend of accessibility and sophistication, its infectiousness and ornate structures, it would seem to be the perfect stepping stone from which to leap into their full-length album. But, as is often the way with singles, it can only say so much about what to expect and, as great... Continue Reading →
Writing about instrumental music is quite an intriguing process. In the absence of lyrics, the meaning and nature of the music have to come from interpreting the feelings and emotion found at the heart of the music itself. But then, it is the same challenge that faces the person making the music, that of wordless... Continue Reading →
The aptly titled Down The Rabbit Hole is a collection of B-sides, rarities, covers, unreleased songs and alternate versions of well-known tracks, and considering this is the music that didn't form the main thrust of their musical charge, it is incredible. In short, the songs that The Dollyrots have in their back pocket are, in... Continue Reading →
When a press release starts throwing around terms such as “Laurel Canyon Sound” then I know that I am going to like it. Well, at least, I’m a target audience…whether I like it will depend very much on how fitting such a title is. After all, not everyone is astute enough to capture that trademark... Continue Reading →
Things are slowly picking up after the post-Christmas, post-New year, Post-apocalyptic, post-everything lull of recent months. Plenty of new music swirling around the office to share with you. As always, check out more of their work, follow pages, share music, buy merch and generally ensure that cool grassroots music gets a shot at competing in... Continue Reading →
We live in a world where so many artists are trying to find a new sound, are looking to instigate a new scene, set zeitgeists in motion, lead fads and create fashion, that we often forget the old adage of "if it ain't broke, don't fix it." Blues ain't broken and the appropriately, and quite... Continue Reading →
Jazz and country might not seem like the obvious genres to try to bring together, especially if you are looking to build something with the widest appeal, but that is exactly what Chris Pastore does with his latest release, Turn The Music Up Loud. Obviously, some songs lean more towards one genre than the other,... Continue Reading →
Jim Hall and Nick Duane have served their time and earned their sonic stripes in a who's who of East Coast, grassroots bands such as Undergroove and Monolith, Section Eight and Outpatients. Cold Shivers is the result of their collaboration and a five-track e.p. is the first musical offspring to come from this union. And... Continue Reading →
Music trying to push at the boundaries of sonic convention often gets things very wrong. Either it tries too hard to be different, is too "out there" for even the most adventurous and discerning tastes and collapses into an undignified, and unlistenable, mess, or it just tries to push together two or more genres that... Continue Reading →
To an outsider like me, especially one writing from the other side of the ocean, Nashville seems to be two separate cities. The western half seems to be all rhinestones and tasseled jackets, stetsons, and songs about the alone and the wronged driving their pickup truck into the sunset. The eastern half, by contrast, is a more... Continue Reading →
We might live in an artistic world still fascinated with notions of genres and styles but it is the music that cuts across such nonsense that seems destined to last. This music doesn't worry about ticking this box or that, instead, it seems to adopt a sound that can best be described as classic. Classic,... Continue Reading →
The great thing about this latest track from 4IV is the anticipation and atmosphere that it builds. The video is almost a mini film in its own right, moving from opening credits to a narrative laying out the theme of what is to follow and then a finger-picked acoustic interlude and it is a full... Continue Reading →
Recent years have been difficult for many people but they have also been times of great generosity and empathy. When, as the world was just starting to come to terms with the pandemic, Rich Jacques, for unrelated reasons, decided to temporarily move out of Los Angeles, it was through the true friendship and warmth of his friends... Continue Reading →
Most music that you receive as a music reviewer is just that, music. That isn't a problem, after all, that is the nature of the job. But writing about music that comes accompanied by a video is a much more immersive affair, sort of the difference between watching a standard 2D film on TV at... Continue Reading →
If ever you were going to try and sum up the word sophistication with just a piece of music, this latest release from Third Development would be as good a soundbite, literally, as any. It seems to blend classy, cocktail jazz vibes with lingering soulful grooves. It funks in a restrained manner and has understated... Continue Reading →
Power pop / indie rock collective The Speed Of Sound present 'Last Orders', hot on trail of revealing the single 'Opium Eyes' and 'Tomorrow's World' from their Future-Retro-Modernist long-player 'Museum of Tomorrow'. 32 years to the day when the band's debut EP saw the light of day in 1989, they've released this album on CD and Deluxe LP via California-based Big Stir Records. Hailing from... Continue Reading →
British dance-pop duo Spray presents their clever and concept-packed single 'The Big Idea' from their new 12-track album 'Ambiguous Poems About Death', newly released via Manchester's Analogue Trash label. Packed full of acerbic wit with tongue firmly in cheek when needed for maximum effect, this album will delight fans new and old. Earlier, the duo previewed the singles 'Hammered in An Airport', 'Félicette (Space Cat)' and 'Blurred in... Continue Reading →
Over a series of recent singles, Loud Apartment has proven itself to be the perfect urban fusion band. The term fusion might conjure images of terrible rock bands employing funk grooves or jazz moves as a way of trying to make themselves seem more palatable but in Loud Apartment’s deft hands, fusing genres into new forms becomes an art... Continue Reading →
The songs found on Spectrum may come from a very straightforward place, built from an engaging voice floating over either simple guitar lines or occasionally more intricate electronica, but there is a lot to be said for simplicity. Simplicity is not in any way subordinate to complexity, in fact, it is often a more accomplished... Continue Reading →
If it is the “cold light of day” that is given over to the practicalities of life, a time for fresh starts and renewed vigour, it is The Golden Hour, the dying embers of the day when the light changes in increments of gold and grey, that is a time for reflection. And that is the... Continue Reading →
The BRKN is one of those bands whose music is less about a signature sound and more about a signature vibe. Their previous releases, such as Lovers, Come Outside and Lost Boy have neatly proven that within a sort of upbeat neo-soul, punchy pop and sparky indie corner of the musical Venn Diagram, they are... Continue Reading →
There is a lot to be said for kicking off an album with a glorious sonic sucker punch, of putting your best, or at least most bombastic foot forward, of being bold and brash. It’s what gets you noticed. But, there is something braver and more artistically authentic if your opening salvo is a soft,... Continue Reading →
Not masses of music being written about over the last week, for obvious reasons, so I have added a few more local artists and people that I am working with to help promote them, their music and their tours. So check it out, explore the artist's music further, buy their albums, spread the word, and... Continue Reading →
With a background ranging from jazz to progressive rock and embracing everything from guitars to the more rootsy Mandolin family of instruments, When Mountains Speak has had quite an eclectic musical upbringing. But even that knowledge doesn't quite prepare you for the sheer uniqueness and gorgeous understatement that makes up the music found on From... Continue Reading →
Taking the honest, no-holds-barred language of the urban music world and a sweeter sonic undercurrent that owes more to neo-soul and R&B, pop and even some slow dance vibes, Lon3ly offers us some insights into the thoughts and experiences of a young man living on the darker edges of society. And like most music coming... Continue Reading →
Music may have first been created as a form of devotion to a higher power but I bet more songs have been written about girls than any other subject. From lewd Dark Age poetic recitals to love-lorn Troubadoic ideals of chivalric romances to the more sophisticated dedications of the pop world, boys have always been... Continue Reading →
If music is all about conveying messages, ideas and feelings then it is worth remembering that there are different ways of doing this and what works for one style of music isn't always right for another. At one end of the spectrum you have the no-holds-barred, bombastic nature of the punk and rock aproach. Usually,... Continue Reading →
It's a classic tale. Three bored teens stuck at home (although the reason for their incarceration…Covid…is a new twist) listening to their favourite punk and emo records, thinking I wanna play music like that and I've got some things I wanna say, and voila! Bluedive, after a few twists and turns and the addition of... Continue Reading →
