rescuing musical virtue in distress.
There is a place where blues is swallowed up by an apocalyptic howl, where country music beats out a rhythm that seems to echo the primal heartbeat pulse of ancient America and where rock music is subsumed to burn in the fires of hell. It is a place that the likes of Johhny Cash passed... Continue Reading →
As a music reviewer, you never really know what sort of music is going to fall under the pen from one hour to the next. Occasionally you are faced with something that you might happily pay good money for, something that you immediately transfer from the work pile to the personal selection. More often than... Continue Reading →
Braindead offered us a wonderful view into the eclectic and adventurous world of Pierre Lecarpentier with tracks that wandered all over the darker end of the sonic spectrum. Mr Fantasy, his latest release, seems almost to do as much work within the context of just one song. More focussed but no less experimental, Mr Fantasy,... Continue Reading →
Sitting somewhere between alt-rock adventurousness and classic rock traditions, Widow Lamb is a silky, slinky, sonic beast. It is proof that rock music can be more than just a bombastic blast of energy and volume, although when it decides to make its moves it certainly has no shortage of that. But around these musical highs... Continue Reading →
Although Bryan Banks has a long pedigree of drumming for highly regarded bands, particularly Pennsylvania rockers Owen's Grunge, sitting in on vacant local drum stools and even playing the percussion for more acoustic-based acts, there comes a time when you feel like striking out by yourself and working on your own, original music. And that... Continue Reading →
If the job of a single released ahead of an album is to build interest and intrigue for the full-length sonic delights to follow, then Entwined should expect a heft Christmas bonus from its employers. Opening with the ethereal drift of the enigmatically and existentially titled Nothing is But What is Not, we revisit the... Continue Reading →
Well, that came out of nowhere. 364 days since West of House dropped their debut album, Crescendo of Silence, we find its follow up, Drown The Wind heading our way. No fanfare, no teaser, no hype…well, there might have been, I may have missed it, I'm so out of the loop these days, but anyway,... Continue Reading →
Rock music has, to a certain degree, found its final, perfect form. Yes, it occasionally gets subjected to certain make-overs or experiments, is spliced with other genres or given a new, fresher image, but what rock and roll is really about, what lies at its heart never changes. Other musical genres might go through identity... Continue Reading →
Having already had a taste of this new album via the wonderfully languid and mysterious James River Swim and knowing from earlier singles that Jacques has an eclectic and singular style, the only thing that you can expect going into this latest album is …the unexpected. But navigating the unexpected can be a joyous experience,... Continue Reading →
If a Jefferson Airplane crashed into a Marquee Moon then the resulting sound might be a lot like this record. The guitar parts periodically echo Tom Verlaine and are subsumed into rich swells of prog rock guitar overdubs and sweet folksy vocal harmonies. There's a lot going on and that ensures multiple listenings. Some enthusiastic... Continue Reading →
Aside from having one of the best band titles I have heard of in a while, ‘Amusement Parks on Fire’ have put together an album that is raw, cool, retro and immediately engaging. There is something likeable about the way the album is produced, there are no breaks between songs meaning that the album is... Continue Reading →
Coming on like Roadhouse Blues being played by demons from the outer circles of hell on pneumatic drills as they fly through a landscape that was the inspiration for a Hawkwind album cover, the title track then explodes into a psychedelic infused, madness-tinged, anarchic, apocalyptic blues groover of its own design. And that is the... Continue Reading →
Dead Sea Sirens represent not only everything innovative and exciting about making music in the modern age but also a perfect example of creativity and problem-solving in the face of lockdown restrictions and enforced isolation in the time of the pandemic. I guess the fact that the band is made up of people from all... Continue Reading →
With the previous, Charmed to Death, album Stephen Jaques proved that he was as equally at home with a foot on the monitor arse-kicker as he was a more deft and delicate ballad. This latest single, taken from his new album, Soul Hydraulics, certainly comes from the latter end of the sonic spectrum. But as... Continue Reading →
Pennies By The Pound walk some very fine lines on their latest album, the groovily titled Heat Death of The Universe. The Finnish three-piece have always been open about their progressive leanings, frontman Johannes Susitaival happy to admit a taste for the likes of Marillion and Rush in particular. But like those two bands, it... Continue Reading →
Long before you even get to the moment when you start playing the music, TMTE offers a lot of intriguing ideas and interesting elements to think about. Firstly titles. Titles are important. They speak volumes. Take Istanbul Hovercraft, just those two words together are intriguing, songs with names such as Casting Nasturtiums shows that they... Continue Reading →
Getting old. It happens to us all. It also creeps up on us quicker than we could ever expect. One minute you are bouncing about on the stage at CBGB's playing to like-minded gutter-punks and rock 'n' roll rebels, the next it is just a fading memory. And at that point, you start to get... Continue Reading →
Cave, Waits, Cash, Campbell. These are all name that come to mind when you listen to the depth of the vocals on this record. I would definitely put Danny Kiranos (ATD) into this particular hall of fame. Where is this person from? Could be The Med, Eastern Europe or the USA. There is great diversity... Continue Reading →
As the cascades of picked guitars give way to more solid beats, as sonics are joined by the vocal top line, you realise that Out There is the perfect example of how music keeps moving forward. Sure, there is no shortage of bluesy grooves and rock'n'roll moves, but there is something intrinsically modern about the... Continue Reading →
Opening with a real anthem middle-finger salute to the last year and the difficulties and isolation that it ushered in, 2020 simply unleashes all of the pent up frustrations that we have all been feeling and does so to a runaway, pop-punk beat and a groovesome gallop. The perfect calling card for a new band... Continue Reading →
The first thing that hits you as I Am Your Queen struts and swaggers its way towards you is just how out of keeping the track is with any current musical fad or fashion. And I say that as a good thing. A very good thing. But then again, I guess if it had landed... Continue Reading →
Any band that can take you from ambient to epic in just over four minutes is a band that you need to take note of. Especially if they can do it through the deft use of measured increments, slowly adding sonic weight, building beat, turning grace into the groove, in a way that is so... Continue Reading →
I think it is safe to say that the whole rock genre knows what it is all about these days. I mean, so good has it been since its earliest days, that it has only ever required slight alterations and evolutions to turn it into a whole new scene. And so, whilst skinny-jeaned, fashion-conscious kids... Continue Reading →
By the time I got to January, the second song on the album, I was hooked. It has a fantastic groove, relentless, dedicated and unwavering but lyrically it just reminded me of the depth and delicacy, poeticism and poise of someone like Leonard Cohen and at that point, I just hand over the money and... Continue Reading →
That Witch is a strange and beguiling affair. Opening up with some squealing and squalling guitars, a maelstrom of raucous sounds which then stop as violently as they started, to settle down into a soft and soulful piano piece. It feels like you have walked through the most bitter and battering sonic winds to emerge... Continue Reading →
If Pennies By The Pound are regarded as makers of music which falls into the broadly progressive realm, Indigo Screams proves that it is prog with punch, prog with power, perhaps even prog with a pop-heart. Sure, it throws in a few dynamic twists and sonic turns to make the soundscape more interesting but the... Continue Reading →
If Images of Imogen made for an understated and intriguing start and Mankind & Destiny set a more buoyant pace, then this third offering from the spooneristically titled Tash Hagz, really ups the ante. You are immediately greeted by a John Lennonesque, post-Beatle vibe, not necessarily in terms of the sound of the song itself... 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 →
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 →