rescuing musical virtue in distress.
If you think that artists get set in their ways the further down the musical path they travel, then you have obviously never spent much time in Nelson King’s musical kingdom. It might seem logical that having found a sound that fits, a style which suits, a core audience, that you should keep ploughing away... Continue Reading →
There is an odd belief that anything which sits comfortably in the mainstream, anything which is earmarked for commercial success is somehow not as good as the more underground artist, artists presumably more earnest and creative. Odd Saints prove that there is a sweet spot between the two worlds and Blame The Young is all... Continue Reading →
This latest release from Joemayk is a further reminder of his ability to blend wonderfully accessible, pop-aware sounds with more mature, more cleverly wrought and more readily memorable music. The irony of most pop music today is that although it is designed to be easy to connect with and memorable, it encourages you to join... Continue Reading →
Drop the virtual needle onto the digital groove of a new Phil Cooper album and you do so with a few expectations already in mind. Clever lyrics. A supple groove. Infectious melodies. Easy accessibility. And all of those clever tricks and sonic smarts which seem to keep the Cooper-verse a unique and wonderful place. What... Continue Reading →
The first single from this Australian pop-rock duo perfectly captures the modern world, especially the one experienced by those of us caught up in its rat race. We find ourselves only half-committing to jobs which hold no interest for us whilst our mind wanders towards more interesting and often more fantastical places. Aided and abetted... Continue Reading →
Guitars and harmonicas have to be the most natural of sonic travelling companions, so much so that a whole series of genres, from blues to country to rock and roll, have used it as a springboard to make sweet music and so grab the attention of the music masses. And as Rory D’Lasnow fires off... Continue Reading →
There is a strap line on Julian Shah-Tayler’s page which asks… “What if Bowie, Prince and the Cure had a baby?”…and to be honest I couldn’t really sum his music up anything like as succinctly as that. I could leave it there but I guess you, dear reader, are looking for me to put a... Continue Reading →
We live in an age where your average pop-picker demands an easy handle on their music, a quick soundbite to help them compartmentalise a track by genre, sound or style. The irony of the internet age is that the new found freedom that should have been ushered in has instead resulted in an even more... Continue Reading →
I always maintain that the job of a single is to advertise a forthcoming album. It’s an old-school notion I know, especially in this age where today's artists seem to feel the need to spew forth every and any sonic endeavour as soon as the paint is dry. But if I am right and singles... Continue Reading →
Pop and rock are often at their best when the two genres are allowed to bleed into each other. Take rock’s drive and urgency and leave behind its cliched testosterone-fuelled baggage, add pop's fun and infectiousness whilst swerving its more style over substance traps, mix thoroughly, serve hot and voila!It is in such crossover territory... Continue Reading →
Up until now, most journalistic pens put to paper regarding Paul Lappin have dwelt on the back-story, the chance meetings, the lucky alignment of factors, the path from rural France to a Swindon recording studio. But the release of this first full length album means that all of that can now take a back seat,... Continue Reading →
We spend so much of our time looking to the future for sonic saviours to appear, for the next great slice of music, for the next big thing, that we often ignore the wealth of music which has gone before. What is great about Chris White’s current revisiting and remastering of just some of the... Continue Reading →
Although this is the debut single for Captain Mike, he has been a face and fixture on the Minneapolis music scene for years, something which is immediately clear from the quality of the music that he makes. Here he and his musical posse merge country imagery with off-beat pop perkiness, folk moves with some more... Continue Reading →
If Downward Dog (Wiggle Your Butt) show us that Mark R. Goujon has a neat way with perky, tongue-in-cheek lyrics, then A Dreamer of the Night shows that he has a more serious, smoother and more mature side to his songwriting too. Based around Addie Nicole's soft and seductive vocals, A Dreamer of The Night... Continue Reading →
With a title such as this you might be expecting something country-tinged, a slice of southern fried rock 'n' roll or perhaps more bluesy to wander out of the speakers once play has been pressed. Oh, no, here The Impersonators opt for something that wanders the pop-rock boundaries, a neat blend of fluid guitar work,... Continue Reading →
Any album which comes bundling into earshot with such a blast of euphoria and energy, such passion and joy is going to grab your attention right from the world go. No tricks, no gimmicks, just getting right on with the job at hand. The job at hand in this case being to make sassy blends... Continue Reading →
Considering the melancholic and almost baroque nature of previous single Gone By Noon, Acid Rain is the perfect follow up track. In may ways it is the perfect contrast to the mood of that previous outing, opting for a more confident and vibrant beat, a more energetic and obvious groove. Although these are enough touches... Continue Reading →
Between pop and a hard place, between melody and musical muscle, between groove and grace there is a sweet spot. Many artists try to find their way there, few get it quite right. Battlescars is the sound of someone hitting that spot perfectly. Estani Frizzell has already proven that she is able to turn her... Continue Reading →
Joemayk has always walked a neat line between pop and a hard place, so to speak, weaving accessible melodies through Americana-tinged rock to great affect. It’s a clever balancing act, one which gives his songs as much appeal within the mainstream and commercial end of the spectrum as it does with the more discerning and... Continue Reading →
Being that I am sat here scribbling away whilst looking out at the midday traffic flowing along one of the main routes through downtown Swindon, the mystery and logistical majesty of the infamous Magic Roundabout just out of view but not earshot, it is easy to see why my ears prick up when I hear... Continue Reading →
Hemisphere does that rarest of things - make music which is both eclectic and controlled. The former term is generally applied to music which is wild and wide-ranging, the latter to music which is “in the pocket,” as the saying goes. But here the two terms apply because Transmission seems to be a heady blend... Continue Reading →
Say what you like about JD Days but there is no denying that he is able to turn his hand to pretty much any genre he chooses. Angel Woman is pure romantic balladry, Vote Now raucous, busker-folk and this latest single is a more questioning slice of pop-rock. So he’s done the wonderfully personal, the... Continue Reading →
Well, I wasn’t quite prepared for that. Last time out Taouil delivered a lovely modern, funky pop number, one which was also that rarest of things in the modern age, a song about everything going right in a relationship. And image-wise he always seems such a refined and mainstream sort of guy. So when Bleed... Continue Reading →
Full disclosure. I have to start by saying that Steve Kilbey can almost do no wrong in my eyes. He wrote “Unguarded Moment,” he wrote “Under The Milky Way” and even if I found out that he was mean to puppies or was a close friend of The Kardashians I would still be okay with... Continue Reading →
The Haunt is nothing less than the sound of rock and roll traditions and pop predictability being dragged kicking and screaming in to bright new futures. That is a clever trick to be able to pull off and “Constant” is a great example of it in action. There are plenty of...Read the full review at The... Continue Reading →
Last time around we saw JD Days in a romantic and sincere mood, this time out things seem to be much more tongue-in-cheek. Vote Now is a slightly silly take on a very serious subject and the message is a simple one -have your say, be heard, make your vote count. And unlike so many... Continue Reading →
The first track I heard by you guys, “Yesterdays”, reminded me so much of any number of British, post-punk bands that I was surprised to find that you are from the quintessentially American Orange County. Perhaps we can start by discussing the band’s sound and influences? Erick: The West of House “sound” is an interesting recipe of... Continue Reading →
Time seems to pass slowly in the world of rock and roll. Influences linger long and every new explosive “scene” which rears its unkempt head proceeds to inspire half a decade of poorly executed pastiche and creative plundering. What I’m saying is that rock bands have a fairly obvious family tree if you care to... Continue Reading →
I’m easily won over with a good pun, so the fact that I find myself putting pen to paper on behalf of a track from an album with the glorious title of For Richmond or Poorer has me warming to it even be for the virtual needle drops on the non-existent record. (Curse this modern... Continue Reading →
Trey Connor makes music which sits in a sweet spot. It isn’t big enough to be rock but it channels some of its energy whilst neatly swerving the cliched baggage that the genre carries about with it. It isn’t really pop, not in the current sense of the word anyway, but its easy attractions and... Continue Reading →