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HOT NEW REVIEWS
FEATHERS
AND GREED 'FEATHERS AND GREED VINYL RECORD' (VINYL RESERVAT RECORDS/GERMAN
IMPORT)
Out of Hannover comes
the talented band FEATHERS AND GREED, who are releasing their debut album with
this same titled vinyl record. The band is formed around Jacob Jordan (Cello),
Luca-Yannik Gierth (Vocals, Rhythm Guitar), Lukas Hagemann (Percussion,
Vocals), Marek Feddern (Lead Guitar, Vocals) and René Kretschmer (Percussion).
9 songs can be found on this album, which was recorded during the summer of
2019 and the most interesting there here is that it is not a full-blown massive
sounding rockalbum, but a calmer sorta stripped melodic progrockalbum that
actually reveals a lot of diversity. After the short intro Tiny creek, we are
heading into the beautiful calmer Sharing is caring, which features amazing
harmonyvocals during the catchy chorus that remind me of CROWDED HOUSE meets a
calmer ENCHANT/SPOCK'S BEARD, while the song itself is stripped down acoustic
tingled Progressive Rock orientated, yet with a lot of influences from other
music genres (World Music and a Spanish guitar for example) in a way THE
BEATLES also did over 50+ years ago. I think they have a come up here with a
sound that will appeal to a lot of music fans out there, because it touches
calmer progrock and also stripped melodic rock, but as already mentioned, it is
open for any other music style as well, although it is clear that FEATHERS AND
GREED's sound is always based around melodies (both vocally and instrumentally)
and that's where they get my approval for sure! This lovely vinyl record is
filled with wonderful back-to-basic music from start to finish, with as other
highlights besides the aforementioned Sharing is caring, the fantastic
progrocker Winding stair (a la AIRBAG), Angry (a great groovier acoustic
tingled melodic rocker that sounds a bit like the very early 90s, reminding me
of a stripped version of bands such as EVERY MOTHER'S NIGHTMARE and KING'S X!!!)
and closing epic Galaxies I (progrock heaven!). Make sure not to miss this
little hidden gem, because it may be overlooked since it was released in late
December of 2019 and that would be a huge miss for anyone into quality melodic
music! More info at: https://feathersandgreed.com
and https://feathersandgreed.bandcamp.com/album/feathers-and-greed
(Points:
8.6 out of 10)
CLEMENT
OURY 'LA TETE DANS LE MUR' (VLAD/INOUIIE DISTRIBUTION/VEEV COM/FRANCE IMPORT)
CLEMENT OURY is a
French multi-instrumentalist and on his album La tete dans le mur he uses all
kinds of object and instruments to create a rather obscure and original sound.
Actually it's an interesting instrumental release that has a bit of an 1970s
Krautrock kinda feeling a la CAN/TANGERINE DREAM, yet with also influences from
World Music, Baroque, Chamber Music and Jazz. The music is exciting and
adventureous, with as highlights Un an Apres and Autour de la table. There's a
lot to explore and here and there it might sound a bit awkward such as during
Miniball brass duo. More info can be found at: https://www.facebook.com/ouryclement/
(Points:
8.0 out of 10)
ANTONIO
PLACER SEXTET INVITE ANTONIO CAMPOS 'TROVAORES' (ALMA MUSIQUES/AUTRE
DISTRIBUTION/VEEV COM/FRANCE IMPORT)
Galician
singer/multi-instrumentalist ANTONIO PLACER lives in France and along with his
sextet and guest Fado singer ANTONIO CAMPOS he recorded the album Trovaores.
This album is filled with World Music that combines Fado, Jazz and Hispanic or
Gaelician poetic themes. The result is a summer friendly mediterranean kinda
album that makes you long back to the days before corona, when we went on
holiday and enjoyed all the great food, people and atmopshere of the Southern
European way of life along the coasts of
Portugal-Spain-France-Italy-Croatia-Greece. There will come a time again and
meanwhile you can enjoy this CD for old time's sake. More info at: https://www.facebook.com/antonioplacerofficiel/
(Points:
7.5 out of 10)
KEITH
TIPPETT 'THE MONK WATCHES THE EAGLE' (DISCUS MUSIC/PROPER/UK IMPORT)
The monk watches the
eagle is a very original album that contains a recording that took place at the
Norwich Cathedral in 2004 and features several singers (soprano, alto, tenor,
baritone) as well as a saxophone quartet. It was recorded by the BBB back then
and now released on CD. It's a sorta dark Opera/Classical Music meets
Avantgarde-Jazz, very experimental with several choirs reflecting a dangerous
tone that almost feels like a suspense thriller or horror movie. Well done and
perhaps not for eveyone's taste, but recommended if you want to hear something
completely different. More info at: www.discus-music.co.uk
(Points:
8.3 out of 10)
COLLAPSE
UNDER THE EMPIRE 'EVERYTHING WE WILL LEAVE BEYOND US' (FINALTUNE RECORDS/BROKEN
SILENCE/CREATIVE ECLIPSE PR/GERMAN IMPORT)
Heading over to
Germany with the duo COLLAPSE UNDER THE EMPIRE, which was founded in 2008 by CHRIS
BURDA and MARTIN GRIMM. So far they have released 8 studio-albums and their new
album Everything we will leave beyond us (their 9th) is quite an enjoyable
release that contains a great instrumental mixture of Post-Rock, Progrock and
Synthwave. In fact, this is instrumental prog/post-rock of an incredible high
level, right up there with the much praised LONG DISTANCE CALLING. COLLAPSE
UNDER THE EMPIRE add this interesting Synthwave touch here and there and
there's not a single dull moment on their new sensational album. Highlights
include Red rain, Resistance and the lengthy titletrack Everything we will
leave beyond us. They take you on this wonderful journey through a rocking
synth landscape that feel very atmospheric and also reminds of PORCUPINE TREE's
instrumental moments, yet crossed with the afforementioned LONG DISTANCE
CALLING and a bit of MAGIC DANCE as well. Highly recommended to the fans of
high quality instrumental rockmusic with a deeper meaning! More info at: https://collapseundertheempire.com/
(Points:
8.7 out of 10)
CORECASS
'VOID' (GOLDEN ANTENNA RECORDS/BROKEN SILENCE/CREATIVE ECLIPSE PR/GERMAN
IMPORT)
Interesting release
from a Hamburg based musician and compisor called ELIMOR LUDDE. She creates a
very dark cinematic atmosphere with her music that is sometimes beautiful and
classical music based when she plays her harp, while at other times it is going
more extreme guitar noise orientated, although most of the time it has a
certain Krautrock kinda approach a la CAN. It is very experimental, but also quite
interesting and really taking you this adventure of Elimor, exploring dark
atmopsheric sounds with lighter classical music and that beautiful sound of the
harp on especially Void 1 and Void 3. She is a very talented
multi-instrumentalist, playing many different instruments on this excellent
album, including the harp, accordion, electrical guitar, digital synths, etc,
while she even screams once, but overall it is instrumental music we get to
hear and it is done really well. Check it out for yourself at: https://corecass.bandcamp.com/
(Points:
8.3 out of 10)
THE
OUTLAWS 'LIVE AT ROCKPALAST 1981 CD +DVD' (MIG MUSIC/GERMAN IMPORT)
The 19th of August
1981 was a great day to be at the famous Loreley, Germany, because there was a
festival that featured THIN LIZZY, 38 SPECIAL and THE OUTLAWS. The legendary
American Southern Rockband THE OUTLAWS now gets a CD/DVD release of this
legendary concert they gave at one of the most beautiful outdoor venues in the
world! Thankfully I have been there twice to witness some great festivals, so I
can imagine how it went down there some 40 years ago with THE OUTLAWS and when
watching this fantastic DVD you can see it now in picture. These southern
rockers were right up there with the great other bands in this genre, such as
LYNYRD SKYNYRD and ALLMANN BROTHERS BAND, with 3 lead singers whom sang great
harmonyvocals and of course the triple-guitarwork that made them one of the
great live bands out there back then. They were active in the 1970s and early
1980s, but I believe that after they went the AOR direction they eventually
split up somewhere halfway the 1980s. Some of the members already went their
own way (HENRY PAUL and RICK CUA) before that, a few died sadly (BILLY JONES
and HUGHIE TOMASSON) and despite they more or less reformed 20 years later
around the mid 2000s, none of the current members played in the band we can
see/hear on this new DVD/CD, which featured Freddie Salem (guit./voc.), Hughie
Thomasson (guit./voc.), Billy Jones (guit./voc.), David Dix (drums) and Rick
Cua (bass). I think if you want to really see most of the original THE OUTLAWS,
then you should check out this awesome newly released Live CD/DVD of their
legendary concert from 39 years ago, which has been released by the German
label MIG MUSIC. 10 songs were played that day during the 1 hour lasting
performance, including the classics There goes another love song, Ghost riders
in the sky, Hurry sundown, Angels hide and a 20 minutes counting version of
Greeg grass and high tides. It's so much fun watching this highly underrated
band in action back in 1981, so any fan of Southern Rock should check out this
perfectly captured legendary concert. Available through: http://www.mig-music.de/
(Points:
8.5 out of 10)
SPEED
STROKE 'SCENE OF THE CRIME' (STREET SYMPHONIES RECORDS/ATOMIC STUFF/ITALY
IMPORT)
I was not familiar with the Italian band
SPEED STROKE before I received their 3rd album Scene of the crime for a review,
and I must say I am not disappointed at all! The band was formed in 2008 in the
Bologna area and have rapidly built up a reputation in the Italian rockscene.
They are by now one of the better sounding bands playing classic 80s American
Hair Metal. Opener Heartbeat is a cool faster uptempo melodic heavy rocker with
party/glam/sleazerock influences as well, basically very 1980s sounding. The
following 9 songs dig deep into the late 1980s/early 1990s US Major label Hair
Metal sound of bands like SKID ROW, WARRANT, AEROSMITH, MOTLEY CRUE, BRITNY FOX,
GUNS'N'ROSES and such. The highlights on Scene of the crime are After dark
(uptempo melodic hardrocking tune that even reminds me a bit of TESLA and GREAT
WHITE somehow), No love (semi classic late 80s Power Ballad that has a cool
middle section that reveals latin/salsa influences), Red eyes (catchy uptempo
80s melodic (party/classic) rocker like PRETTY BOY FLOYD meets MOORE/LYNOTT's
'Out in the fields', including soaring guitarsolo) and closing track Hero no.1.
Concluded, these guys have delivered a great classic Hair Metal/Glamrockalbum
that sounds like a serious version of STEEL PANTHER. Go check them out at: https://www.speed-stroke.com/
(Points:
8.3 out of 10)
EDENYA 'SILENCE'
(INDEPENDENT/FRANCE IMPORT)
The French band EDENYA started in 2017 and
they are now making their debut with Silence. The band is formed around Elena/Vocals,
Remi/Vocals and guitarist/keyboard/pianoplayer Marco, while on this album they
also get help from drummer/bassist Julien Perdereau. 8 songs are included and
as soon as Elena is singing on the opener The promise, it feels very good. This
song is a beautiful camer somewhat melancholic melodic progressive rocksong
with STEVIE NICKS/MAGGIE BELL ish vocals and haunting melodies, while overall
it sounds like a mixture between PINK FLOYD and WITHIN TEMPTATION. Next track
Sabrina is quite stunning and very melodic, reminding me somehow of classic 80s
MIKE OLDFIELD, although a bit more proggy/folksy and also akin to MOSTLY AUTUMN
or RENAISSANCE/FAIRPORT CONVENTION. After only 2 songs we can already conclude
that EDENYA is a high quality band with an own identity, although of course the
aforementioned comparisons are definitely possible. Other songs to mention here
are the lengthy calmer progrock meets postrock orientated tracks Will the
demons win? and titletrack Silence. Check out this great band at: https://www.facebook.com/Edenyaband and
https://edenya.bandcamp.com/track/silence
(Points:
8.4 out of 10)
THE
BEAUTY OF GEMINA 'SKELETON DREAMS' (TBOG MUSIC/ALIVE/SWISS IMPORT)
THE BEAUTY OF GEMINA
is a popular underground Swiss band, which was formed some time ago and they
have already released 9 studio-albums, but this is the first album I ever get
to hear from them. Their latest album is titled Skeleton dreams and besides
band leader/songwriter and mastermind Michael Sele on vocals and almost all
other instruments, we can also hear bassists Philipp Kung and Andi Zuber as
well as drummer Mac Vinzens. 14 songs are included on this new album and when
listening to the awesome opener A night like this, it feels a lot like classic
late 1960s THE DOORS crossed with a bit of classic Gothic Rock (calmer THE
CULT) and a part BLUE OYSTER CULT (in a song like Dark Suzanne), so it is
sounding dark and melancholic, but still with some very nice melodies. It
continues this style and THE DOORS in an 80s Gothic Rock jacket is definitely
the best description, but also here and there are memories of MARK
KNOPFLER/CHRIS REA/CHRIS ISAAK during a song like Naked and even DAVID BOWIE
fronting THE CURE could be said when hearing Apologise. A combination of a few
different worlds here, because also a tiny bit of progrock a la PINK FLOYD can
be heard, while dark JOHNNY CASH ish singer/songwriter is also part of the game
here (Friends of mine), so concluded we can say that this is not bad at all and
definitely recommended to check out at: https://thebeautyofgemina.bandcamp.com/
(Points:
8.3 out of 10)
ORESUND
SPACE COLLECTIVE 'FOUR RIDERS TAKE SPACE MOUNTAIN' (SPACE ROCK
PRODUCTIONS/GERMAN IMPORT)
We already did a
review of a previous album of the Danish band ORESUND SPACE COLLECTIVE, and now
they have another record out titled Four riders take space mountain. Musically
speaking no changes and so once again we can hear high quality instrumental
music that is a mix of all kinds of styles, although overall you could label it
as 1970s Spacerock. 4 songs are on the album, which features Jonathan Segel /
violin, guitar, Mathias Danielsson / guitar, Hasse Horrigmoe / bass, Dr Space /
synthesizers, Mats Orbation / guitar, effects, KW Westman / keyboard, Jonas
Berge / organ, synth, guitar and Alex / drums. The result is one big adventure
through the fields of the experimental and improvising 1970s, when Progressive
Rock was king and introduced us all these strange sounds via the synthesizer
and/or keyboard. If this was released in 1975, then it would be a classic by
now. The 4 songs are lengthy and offer so many beautiful melodies and
especially closing track Descent to Reality is an interesting song, because it
is a unique mixture of Indian raga and progressive rock, with just a
synthesizer (Dr Space), sitar (KG), violin (Jonathan), bass (Hasse) and drums
(Tim). The album was recorded between 2014 and 2016, but for this kinda music
that’s no problem at all, because this is timeless music and in the case of
ORESUND SPACE COLLECTIVE it couldn’t sound any better. Definitely a big
recommendation to fans of instrumental progressive/spacerock in classic 1970s
style, with a lot of room for improvisation. More info at: https://oresundspacecollective.bandcamp.com/album/four-riders-take-space-mountain
(Points:
8.5 out of 10)
DOCTORS
OF SPACE 'FIRST TREATMENT' (SPACE ROCK PRODUCTIONS/GERMAN IMPORT)
Besides the elsewhere reviewed ORESUND
SPACE COLLECTIVE album, on the same label we have DOCTORS OF SPACE. This
project is formed around Dr Space (Oresund Space Collective, Black Moon Circle,
Aural Hallucinations) and Dr Martin Weaver (Wicked Lady, Dark). Although the
music is not that much different from ORESUND SPACE COLLECTIVE, the overall
approach here is a bit too experimental sometimes (especially closing track
Into the oort cloud), although it still not far removed from progrock,
spacerock krautrock and such 1970s experimental music. Done very well, I have a
slight preference for ORESUND SPACE COLLECTIVE, but if you somehow find them
not experimental enough, then DOCTORS OF SPACE is a must to check out at: https://doctorsofspace.bandcamp.com/album/first-treatment
(Points:
7.7 out of 10)
CELESTIAL
BURST 'THE MAZE' (INDEPENDENT/FRANCE IMPORT)
Out of France comes
the sensational Progrockband CELESTIAL BURST and their debut album is titled
The maze. They were formed back in 2012 and are situated around Alexis
Lustenberger/Lead Guitar, songwriter, composer and Kenza Laala/Lead Vocal,
songwriter, while the final song on the album has a big surprise, because
ANNEKE VAN GIERSBERGEN (solo and ex-THE GATHERING) sings on this song, which is
the titletrack. Anyway, there are 6 songs in total on the album, and thankfully
also Kenza is able to sing very well, so it doesn't make such a difference who
of the 2 ladies sings actually. The included material is of an incredible high
level, very relaxing atmospheric melodic progressive rock with a 1970s approach
a la PINK FLOYD and PORCUPINE TREE, yet here and there with a rockier part,
although most of the time it stays in this calmer mode. It's music to relax and
just listen, because each and every song has lovely melodies, with as absolute
highlights Obedience (beautiful calmer piece a la PORCUPINE TREE/PINK FLOYD),
First flight (midtempo rockier tune like KATE BUSH meets THE GATHERING) and of
course Anneke's vocal led The maze (which has a heavier uptempo part at the
end). Make sure not to miss little gem, more info at: https://celestialburst.com
(Points:
8.4 out of 10)
PETER
CARLSOHN'S THE RISE 'OUT OF THE BLUE' (PCM MUSIC/SWEDEN IMPORT)
Bassplayer PETER CARLSOHN comes out of Sweden and has been in the music
business for over 50 years now. He is best known as the bassist for the
legendary Christian Rockband JERUSALEM, but now releases his first solo-CD
titled Out of the blue, on which he sings himself. Besides Peter, other
involved musicians are Stephen Carlson – Guitar, Lars Carlsohn – Guitar, Svenne
Jansson – Keyboards, Michael Ulvsgärd – Drums and Cutta John Kåre Gullestad –
Backing/co-lead vocals. 10 songs are included in total and musically speaking
it is an 80s inspired typical Swedish Melodic Hardrockalbum, not too far away
from JERUSALEM actually. After a somewhat calmer start with the semi melodic
rocksongs Holy ground and Why, third track Sing the song is the first song that
gets your feet from the ground in a very positive way, because this is a
fantastic slightly faster uptempo 80s inspired Melodic Heavy Rocker with a
catchy chorus and a soaring guitarsolo, kinda in the spirit of 'Out in the
fields' - GARY MOORE, PRETTY MAIDS and MAD MAX, so very 80s Hardrock European
orientated. The bluesy ballad Shine your light follows, while the midtempo
sing-a-long I want it all is a nice catchy tune. You are my life is uptempo
melodic rock that somehow reminds me of DOMINOE and other German late 80s
Melodic Hardrockbands, including also the classic 80s guitarsolo. Peter's voice
is quite raw and very basic, so no high pitched vocals can be heard here,
neither the clean ''musical" AOR kinda voice, but instead you get to hear
a real rough but interesting voice to listen to. Next track Gloria slows things
down to a calmer pop/rock direction a la LARRY NORMAN. The midtempo melodic
rocker Kiss from above is reminding me of that other Swedish Christian Rockband
from the 80s, namely LEVITICUS, although the chorus also has a bit of
similarities to RETURN. The titletrack Out of the blue is a nice uptempo
melodic rocker with a catchy chorus a la MAGNUM and The dream closes the album
in a nice smooth calm direction. Concluded, a nice record and anyone familiar
with JERUSALEM might want to check this out. More info can be found at: https://petercarlsohn.com/
(Points:
8.2 out of 10)
VARIOUS
ARTISTS 'THE SOUND OF TRUE NORTH AND STONY PLAIN' (TRUE NORTH RECORDS/LINUS
ENTERTAINMENT/FACTOR/CANADA IMPORT)
The Canadian record
label TRUE NORTH RECORDS is the oldest independent record label in Canada and
they were kind enough to sent me some of their albums, of which The sound of
True North and The sound of Stony Plain are 2 interesting compilation albums
that contains in total 20 songs by 20 different acts from Canada that are
mostly signed to TRUE NORTH RECORDS. Without a doubt, these are 2 high quality
records with a lot of interesting releases, and musically also quite diverse.
Most interesting ones on these compilation albums are the acts BUFFY
SAINT-MARIE (nice), CRAIG CARDIFF (quite good), LEEROY STAGGER (great), JEREMY
BENJAMIN (very good), MATT ANDERSEN (sensational!), SASS JORDAN (legend!), DUKE
ROBEBILLARD (nice!) and COLIN JAMES (another legend). We have done a few
reviews now (including the wonderful album of CRYSTAL SWAWANDA), but hopefully
soon we will review more releases of this label, because they have a lot to
offer we hardly hear of in Europe. More info at: https://truenorthrecords.com/
(Points:
8.5 out of 10)
CRYSTAL
SHAWANDA 'CHURCH HOUSE BLUES' (TRUE NORTH RECORDS/LINUS
ENTERTAINMENT/FACTOR/CANADA IMPORT)
It's quite fascinating
this powerhouse female singer from Canada has not yet had her big break,
because with a voice like her, she should be massive all over the world!
CRYSTAL SHAWANDA has been active in the music business since 2008, released
quite a few albums that charted well in homeland Canada, where she also won
several awards. However, she actually started as a countrysinger in Nashville,
but thankfully switched to blues eventually and her new album Church house
blues is a sensational album in the world of Blues! She got help from Louis
Winfield (drums), Darren James (drums), Dave Roe (drums, JOHNNY CASH), Michael
Dearing (bass), Jonathan Nixon (bass), Hinkie Hamilton (bass), DeWayne Strobel
(guitar), Peter Keys (keyboards, LYNYRD SKYNYRD), Jesse O’Brien (keyboards),
Dana Robbins (sax), Miqui Guitierez (sax), Stephen Hanner (harmonica) and the
McCrary Sisters (backing vocals). 10 songs are on the album and there's not a
single dull moment to be found. Opener Church house blues is an uptempo funky
bluesy rocker, while following track Evil memory slows things down and is a
lovely slowtempo soulful bluesy ballad in the style of BETH HART, both vocally
and musically. The groovy relaxing Move me is a lovely tune, while Rather be
alone is almost pure Gospel meets Blues, with amazing vocals of Crystal and a
precise guitarsolo. When it comes to love is back to SAM COOKE ish slowtempo
melodic Soul R&B old school, also reminding me of LEON BRIDGES and
especially YOLA CARTER. This song is definitely the most hit potential, a
definite radio-ready tune with a catchy chorus you will easily remember. The
lovely uptempo rocking Hey love is up next, and Blame it on the sugar follows
that same uptempo route, with a certain old school Motown vibe. Bigger than the
blues is another deadringer for fans of BETH HART, with Crystal belting out
every piece of soul she has in her heart to make it sound as authentic as
possible. I can't take it is another slow R & B old school Bluesy tune like
YOLA CARTER again. Closing track New Orleans is sinking is one of the finest
songs, a slow heavy raw dirty mean blues rocker with superb vocals once again,
like BETH HART and JOE BONAMASSA doing a song together, but then perhaps even
better! Without a doubt, this is one of the finest 'Blues' albums of 2020! Make
sure not to miss this album, so for more info go to: http://crystalshawanda.co
(Points:
8.9 out of 10)
THE
MAHONES 'UNPLUGGED' (TRUE NORTH RECORDS/LINUS ENTERTAINMENT/FACTOR/CANADA IMPORT)
Out of Ontario, Canada comes the
Irish/Celtic Punkband THE MAHONES. They were formed in 1990 and have ever since
built up quite a reputation. Their music fits right between THE POGUES and
DROPKICK MURPHYS. Their current line-up consists of Finny McConnell - Lead
Vocals, Guitar, Mandolin, Songwriter, Katie McConnell - Accordion, Vocals,
Michael O'Grady - Tin Whistle, Vocals, Sean Ryan - Bass, Vocals, Guillaume
Lauzon - Drums and ex-DROPKICK MUPRHYS' Scruffy Wallace - Bagpipes. Unplugged
is their 12th album and as the title predicts, it's a stripped album and a real
good one, as you can clearly follow the lyrics and what Dublin born singer
FINNY MCCONELL is singing about. What is very surprising is the guest
appearance of SIMON TOWNSHEND on acoustic guitar and harmonyvocals on one of
the songs, because he is the younger brother of PETE TOWNSHEND of THE WHO, and
I once bought a great 80s vinyl record he did with MOVING TARGETZ, an AOR band.
Anyway, back THE MAHONES, this is typical Irish/Celtic Punk the way we know it,
singing along to uptempo happy hymns, only it's unplugged here and that shines
a whole new light on their classic tunes. Check out all on this legendary band
at: https://www.facebook.com/TheMahones
(Points:
8.0 out of 10)
BRUCE
COCKBURN 'GROWING IGNITES' (TRUE NORTH RECORDS/LINUS
ENTERTAINMENT/FACTOR/CANADA IMPORT)
50 years ago the
Canadian singer/songwriter BRUCE COCKBORN released his debut album on the same
label as this new record Growing ignites. I am a bit unfamiliar with his
earlier work, but this new album is a lovely instrumental acoustic guitar
tingled album with a focus on classic folk and blues melodies. Bruce is a
legend in the Folkrockscene and I think this album will also find it's way to
his fans. He usually also sings, but this time he choose to keep it
instrumental and somehow it works, because the included 11 songs are all little
masterpieces. Check out more info on Bruce at: http://brucecockburn.com
(Points:
8.3 out of 10)
MEMOREMAINS
'THE COST OF GREATNESS' (INDEPENDENT/FINLAND IMPORT)
Out of Finland comes MEMOREMAINS, a female
fronted band with a modern sounding catchy Melodic Popmetalsound that fits
somewhere between a more polished AMARANTHE, NIGHTWISH and AMBERIAN DAWN. The
style Popmetal (or Discometal as mentioned on the CD) was used in the past by
Hair Metalbands, because they connected commercial radio hits with a rocking
'metal' ish guitar, and RATT was one of those bands that was labelled this way
in the 1980s. Now a few decades later it is used by this band, and actually
they have a point, although it is perhaps better to describe their music as
catchy radiofriendly uptempo Melodic Rock with a focus on memorable choruses
and the AOR keyboards upfront, kinda like what AMBERIAN DAWN is also doing.
Anyway, I think they have a lot of great tunes to offer here, despite it might
not all sound really original. The sound/production is huge and it surprises me
this is just an independent release, because it could well have been on a major
label. The band was formed not that long ago and The cost of greatness is their
debut album. Their line up is Vocals – Johanna Ahonen, Keyboard – Mikko
Kujanpää, Guitar – Aleksi Mäkelä, Bass – Aapo Timonen and Drums – Eemeli
Timonen. Songs like Eternal flame, Bring it on, Riot in the crowd and Pounding
heart (you can't get closer to the 1980s than this, even reminding of NENA/KIM
WILDE's Anyplace Anywhere Anytime!) are great uptempo pieces that almost feel
like the AOR/Melodic Rock we usually get to hear from Sweden (bands like ONE
DESIRE, H.E.A.T., NIGHT FLIGHT ORCHESTRA...), yet with female vocals. I am
quite safe to say that live on stage and on the radio MEMOREMAINS will do a
good job with their catchy music. Most remarkable song is the lengthy closing
track, which is the titlesong, an epic tune that reveals their love for
NIGHTWISH and Prog combined with one of the strongest choruses on the album!
Check them out at: https://www.memoremains.com
(Points: 8.3 out of 10)
ELECTRIC
MUD 'QUIET DAYS ON EARTH' (INDEPENDENT/GERMAN IMPORT)
I was personally not familiar with
ELECTRIC MUD, but they have definitely made an impact on me with their new CD
Quiet days on earth. They are a duo consisting of Hagen Bretschneider (music
conception, bass, video editing) and Nico Walser (guitars, keys, fretless bass,
noises, drum programming, co-composing) and are situated in Hanover, Germany.
They have already released a few records before this new one, but it's my first
experience with this interesting duo. The music they are playing is
instrumental calmer 1970s inspired Neo-prog/Krautrock in the style of ELOY,
CAMEL, PINK FLOYD, TANGERINE DREAM, KLAUS SCHULZE... It's actually a journey
you go through and a really amazing one I can assure you! The 79 minutes are
split over 15 songs and it's building to a climax several times, with calmer Nature/New
Age/Ambient parts and wonderful Progrock/ Krautrock moments. It's really beautiful
and a joy to listen to the full album that makes you dream about a different
time and age, and you really feel connected to natural beauty when listening.
Normally that happens with New Age music, but here it's as already mentioned
several times combined with Progressive Rock, Krautrock and a bit of Synthwave.
A wonderful adventure you need to experience yourself for sure and perhaps one
of the finest surprises this year in instrumental music, as it is very diverse
with elements of the instrumental landscapes of prog, new age and synthwave. If
we have a walk through the songs, this album should actually be seen as one
long experience with many wonderful moment, such as Quiet days on earth and
Adventures in a liquid world (both with a lovely guitarsolo and melodies a la
classic PINK FLOYD/CAMEL), Wading through the waters of time and Durance (both
with heavy synths, almost synthwave), calmer parts with a romantic feel (Eyes
watching skies), exciting moments with a bit of suspense (Foggy postcard from a
barren land) and lovely pure 1970s Prog (Sleeping under a green desert tree). It's
all present and without a doubt, a must-have for fans of high quality
instrumental music. More info can be found at: https://electricmud.bandcamp.com/album/quiet-days-on-earth
(Points:
8.7 out of 10)
MANEZ
'MANEZ ETA KOBREAK' (KALIPTA PRODUCTIONS/XANGO MUSIC)
MANEZ is the artistic
name of singer/songwriter/percussionist THIERRY BISCARY, who is accompanied by
a vocal and brass band called KOBREAK on his first solo CD Manez eta kobreak.
It's all about melodies here and Thierry has a great voice to sing them in 13
diverse songs. The first song Zapetagilea starts calm and quite melancholic,
but the cheerful following Xarpota brings the Spanish/Latin uptempo rhythm.
Actually when listening to this wonderful album, you can hear so many beautiful
melodies that really give you that feeling you're in the area where Thierry is
coming from, which in this case is the San Sebastian/Spain and Biarritz/France
area (Basque). Other highlights are 100 alargunen dantza, Libertimenduetan and
Soaz amodioa errateriano. Some of the songs are accepella and very emotional,
while there's also a lot of fun uptempo moments. Nice World Music album and
more info at: https://biscary.bandcamp.com/album/manez-eta-kobreak
(Points:
7.9 out of 10)
JUHANI
VALKAMA 'KOTIIN' (ECLIPSE MUSIC/XANGO MUSIC)
I have reviewed more
albums with Finnish lyrics in the past, but it's always a challenge due to the
language barrier. However, when listening to the album of JUHANI VALKAMA, I
feel a lot of joy and happiness, because it really is a wonderful album. The
album Kotiin he released is featuring wonderful melodic calmer music with a
light jazzy meets bluesy feeling, some Latin influences, quite some late 1970s
Westcoast/Pop/AOR and crystal clear laid-back singing, with a certain 1970s
melodic soulful pop/rock approach like STEELY DAN and LITTLE FEAT to finish it
off, but believe me there's a lot more to explore here. The musicians on the
album are Juhani Valkama - vocals, keyboards, Tapio Ylinen - guitars, bass,
mandolin, Simo Haapala - drums, Elina Valkama - vocals, saxophone, Mikko Löytty
- bass and Miia Lepola - vocals. There are many highlights to be found, such as
Kottin, Kaksi kaunokaista (quite superb, with lovely melodies and great
guitarwork a la STEELY DAN), Karsivallisyytta (sensational pure Westcoast-AOR,
breezy as the summer and like an excellent Finnish version of JAY GRAYDON, LEE
RITENOUR and such), Abasverus, Ei ole myohasta (lovely uptempo AOR/Poprock), Ei
muuta jaettavaa (uptempo Americana ish) and the semi melodic rocking ballad
Exodus. It's not entirely a Fusion/Westcoast/Pop affair, because during a song
like the uptempo Pelkoa paiin, the sound is more traditional almosy Gypsy kinda
(with a Finnish language/schlager ish touch), but with still guitarwork to give
it a modern approach and thanks to Juhani's wonderful vocals, every included
song is a joy to listen to, no matter if it's moving a bit more into a jazzy
direction, a traditional Finnish/World Music way or the Westcoast/AOR/Fusion/Pop
vibe! Check all info on his new album at: https://eclipsemusicrecordlabel.bandcamp.com/album/kotiin-2
(Points:
8.6 out of 10)
BARCELONA
GIPSY BALKAN ORCHESTRA 'NOVA ERA' (SATELITE K/BGKO/XANGO MUSIC)
Formed in 2012, Nova era is the new album
of the BARCELONA GIPSY BALKAN ORCHESTRA. The permanent members of BGKO are
vocalist Margherita Abita (Italy), clarinetist Daniel Carbonell (Spain),
accordionist Mattia Schirosa (Italy), double bassist Ivan Kovačević (Serbia),
guitarist Julien Chanal (France) and percussionist Stelios Togias (Greece). In
addition are various musicians contributing, giving the overall sound on each
album an interesting diversity. The music is typical uptempo Gypsy Music
orientated, yet with many other musical influences, including Klezmer music,
Jazz Manouche, and Roma music. The female vocals are very strong and as already
mentioned, the musicians come from different regions in the world and therefore
the sound changes everytime during the 13 included songs. A great adventure
through the Mediterana, Latin America and other parts of the world. You can
check more on them at: https://www.facebook.com/BarcelonaGipsybalKanOrchestra/
(Points:
8.0 out of 10)
MARCO
MEZQUIDA 'TALISMAN' (SGAE/XANGO MUSIC)
Out of Spain comes
piano/keyboardplayer/componist MARCO MEZQUIDA and together with Martín Meléndez
- cello and Aleix Tobias - bateria, he recorded a great instumental piano-led
album that is quite challenging, although the music is mostly jazz orientated.
Of course it's easy to make comparisons to BILL EVANS, but Marco has his own
style and that is quite nice to listen to. Definitely a quality release and
recommended to fans of instrumental jazz-piano music with some improvisations,
sometimes calm and at other times more experimental. You can hear it for
yourself at: https://marcomezquida.bandcamp.com/album/talisman
(Points:
8.0 out of 10)
SSUE FEATURING
PAT THOMAS 'BAMBAYA FIRE' (SCRATCH STUDIOS/UNIVERSAL/XANGO MUSIC)
SSUE is a talented young female singer
with an incredible soulful voice and in Ghana she recorded just before the
pandemic this interesting 6 tracks counting album that explore World Music,
Latin beats and African Rhythms, with as result a catchy little record with
songs that could easily become hits. The sound is rich due to the use of a full
band (guitar, keys, drums, bass) and an additional horn trio. She has a
wonderful voice that lifts up the material to higher places and it really
swings from start to finish here. The songs really make you smile and you can
easily have a good time while listening. The professionality is also clear due
to the use of so many musicians (Ekow Mbrah Otchere (saxophone), Luis Emmanuel
Gyima (trombone), Joseph Amankwa Twum-Baah (trumpet), Apau Samuel Awuku
(Guitars), Emmanuel Addai (Drums), Michael Laryea (Percussion), Godbless Buabin
(Keyboards) and David Aidoo (Bass)) as well as the fact the EP was recorded at
Black Note Studio in Accra, Ghana, it was produced by Lahai Samurai (Sierra
Leone) and Mobeatz Bangr (Chicago, USA), mixed by Zapp Mallet (Ghana ) and
mastered by Kai Blankenberg at Skyline Tonfabrik in Dusseldorf, Germany, and
finally, Kofi Amoakohene and Henry Holdbrook-Smith were the Executive
Producers. A lot of people involved and all delivering all they could and the
result is happy fun music with a carribean meets african kinda feeling, with a
jazzy touch here and a pop sensibility (especially Should I is a lovely tune!),
while of course SSUE shines as a marvelous singer you desperately want to hear
live. We will have to wait a while for that, but you can meanwhile check out
more at: http://ssuemusic.com/discography/bambaya-fire/
(Points:
8.5 out of 10)
CRUEL
EXPERIENCE 'SEASONS CASSETTE TAPE' (SANTA VALVOLA RECORDS/ITALY IMPORT)
During the 1990s I
received daily many demo tapes, yes real tapes! Eventually it completely vanished
when the CDR was introduced, but thankfully fast forward to 2020 and I received
the 2nd cassette tape. It's a great 5 tracks counting high quality tape from
Italy and the included music is British Post-Punk in the style of LIFE,
FONTAINES D.C., A MURDER CAPITAL and such, with a touch of fuzzy guitar based
Garage Rock as well. CRUEL EXPERIENCE is doing it very well and songs like
Burden and especially Smile and Alley are great uptempo Post-Punk/Garagerockers
with strong vocals and also great use of their instruments. They were formed in
the city of Lucca back in 2013 and have already released a few EP's before
launching this awesome sounding cassette tape titled Seasons end. I am pushing
the play putton, the pause button, rewind it a few times, I think I'm in love
again with the cassette tape and it's all thanks to this Italian band CRUEL
EXPERIENCE! Check them out at: https://cruelexperience.bandcamp.com/
(Points:
8.4 out of 10)
TURNING
VIRTUE 'BEAUTIFUL' (TURNING VIRTUE MUSIC/USA IMPORT)
Not so much info on
this band, but as soon as I listened to the first song of their 2nd album
Beautiful, it is clear TURNING VIRTUE from Buffalo, New York is a high quality
band, with a crystal clear Melodic Progressive Rocksound that reminds me a bit
of ENCHANT. This is how progrock should
sound like and actually TURNING VIRTUE was already active in the 1990s, but
after a long pause, they reformed a few years ago and released their official
debut, which is now followed by Beautiful. The band is formed around DAVID
KARCZEWSKI (vocals, guitars, keys), DPA (bass), MARK HELLENBACH (guitars), MARK
ZONDER (studio drums), ROB THURMAN (live drums) and TIM PALMER (additional
guitars/keys). Mark is of course best known as FATES WARNING drummer, so it is
understandable we are dealing here with an interesting band. Back to the album,
there are 7 songs included, and it all starts with the beautiful calmer
progrock song Postulate, while the next track Trapped in the system is heavier
and more complex proggy, a bit like KING'S X meets SPOCK'S BEARD. One in the
same slows things down again, although this is a slightly experimental and
modern song with even some rapping going on as well as a female backing singer.
Bridge toward home is a superb piece of original Progressive Rock, with many
tempo changes and after a few minutes a great melodic RUSH ish Pomprock chorus
and some cool keyboardwork reminiscent of the 1970s. Zero gain and Come to me
azure calm things down to the ENCHANT ish direction again, both wonderful
melodic tunes. Closing track Eyes of the beginning is another great melodic
progrocker with a superb catchy chorus and some lovely soaring guitars.
Concluded, this is a recommended hidden progrock gem you need to check out at: https://turningvirtue.bandcamp.com/releases
and http://www.turningvirtue.com
(Points:
8.5 out of 10)
DOUGLAS
LEE 'FALLING DOWN STAIRS' (INDEPENDENT/IT'S A LIE MEDIA/USA IMPORT)
Out of L.A., California comes the talented
performer/composer DOUGLAS LEE, who releases his debut album with the CD
Falling down stairs. Douglas is playing musical glasses, guitar, koto,
shamisen, organ, analog synthesizers, melodica, marimba, electric vibraphone,
jaw-harps, tuned gongs and chimes, aprés baschet sound sculpture, suikinkutsu,
vinyl manipulation, noise and soundscapes, while on this first album he is
joined by Scott Doherty - rhodes piano, Sarah Kramer - trumpet, Heather Lockie
- violin, Paul Pate - clarinets, saxophones and flutes, Robert Petersen -
double bass, Danny Ursetti - drums and a few other guests. The album was co-produced
by Michael Rozon (MINISTRY) and the result is a lovely original instrumental
album that sounds quite relaxed actually, but is different than anything else
you heard before, because Douglas is influenced by Nino Rota, Angelo
Badalamenti, Miklos Rozsa and Carl Stalling, Themes is equal parts 40s Film
Noir soundtrack, Romani gypsy music, Shibuya-Kei Japanese pop and 30s Shanghai
cabare. Actually it has sometimes memories of a QUENTIN TARANTINO movie or a
film noir, especially when you hear a song like Raid on the purple river. The
Japanese influences can be heard very clearly in a song like Jeminor's lost
night in Kakarta, while a song like Montgomery's trek is a jazzy tune.
Zarseilles lowrider is one of the most beautiful instrumentals of the past few
years, with a certain 1970s kinda feeling. No weak moments at all and the
diversity makes this a recommended instrumental album to check out at: https://douglaslee.bandcamp.com/album/themes-for-falling-down-stairs
(Points:
8.4 out of 10)
THE
ELWINS 'IV' (PINK EYE RECORDINGS/CANADA IMPORT)
Out of Ontario, Canada
comes the rockband THE ELWINS, who were formed back 2006 and have so far
released 3 albums. IV is therefore likewise their 4th album of this band that
is formed around singer and guitarist Matthew Sweeney, drummer Travis Stokl,
guitarist/keyboardist Feurd and bassist/singer Frankie Figliomeni. In those 14
years they built up a reputation and this new album is a strong modern rock
sounding album with plenty of lovely melodies. The band's sound combines
elements of Indie, Melodic Rock and Powerpop, with a slight British pub meets
post-punk retro vibe, such as can be heard on the sensational Rockin' the
horse. 13 tracks are included in total, and other highlights include Her be the
one (a bit like TEENAGE FANCLUB), Giving up on yourself (fantastic uptempo
melodic catchy powerpop, almost like early 1980 RICK SPRINGFIELD) and Take me
all the way. Overall they remind me quite a lot of DAWES, THE JAYHAWKS, SON OF
BILL and such. The vocals are really great, clean and melodic, while the music
is close to melodic rock meets powerpop/college-rock, so the focus is clearly
on radio-ready melodies. Check them out for yourself at: https://wearebusybodies.bandcamp.com/album/the-elwins-iv
(Points:
8.3 out of 10)
THE
PICASSOS 'THE PICASSOS' (RENEGADE SOUNDS/CANADA IMPORT)
The Canadian label
RENEGADE SOUNDS brought us a lot of wonderful AOR/Melodic Rock releases in the
past, and now a new album has been released. The band is called THE PICASSOS
and their same titled debut is a great Melodic Rockalbum with some very catchy
tunes! It's actually a mini-album from this Canadian band, which is a duo
compromised of singer/guitarist/keyboardplayer/programmer CAM VAN AS and ROB
BEGG (guitars/bass), and I'm not sure if this is a real new band, because their
sound is dangerously close to the classic late 1970s/early 80s Canadian
AOR/Melodic Poprocksound of PRISM, HARLEQUIN and such. The 2 musicians met each
other in 1987 and must have written the material on this album back then,
because all 6 tracks are catchy hookladen AOR/Melodic Rock orientated, with
superb vocals, lovely melodies, soaring guitarsolos and all that made this such
an enjoyable sound 35-40 years ago. I felt in love with the songs I'll take
maybe, I'm not in love and Living in the past. Songs that sound like the early 1980s
when AOR/Melodic Rock and Powerpop were ruling the airwaves in the USA and
Canada! Highly recommended if you like that classic sound! More info at: www.renegadesounds.com and https://thepicassos.hearnow.com/
(Points:
8.5 out of 10)
SEAN
O'BRIEN 'VARIOUS ALBUMS VINYL RECORDS + CDs' (FIRST COLD PRESS/USA IMPORT)
Out of Calfiornia
comes singer/songwriter SEAN O' BRIEN, who kindly sent me his vinyl records and
cds he released during his 40-year music career, It all started for him with
the Powerpopband MEANTIME, and the vinyl record Two for one he released with
them in 1981, it contains brilliant early 1980s uptempo catchy Powerpop/Poprock
in the style of THE JAM. 11 tracks are included, of which the highlights are
Indifferent, Is there someone out there?, Two for one (excellent early 80s
brilliance Powerpop) and Tight fist. I believe this vinyl release is a re-issue
of their 1981 EP along with unreleased songs, and all I can say is that it's a
must-have for fans of that classic early 1980s Powerpopsound! Guitarist Russ
Tolman later formed the band TRUE WEST (I have somewhere a record of them) and
vocalist/guitarist Sean O'Brien later formed the band DENIM TV and a few other
bands. Eventually he went solo and released quite a lot albums, of which My
colors dark was sent to me on vinyl record. This album was recorded with the
band HIS DIRTY HANDS and released in 2019, and it contains catchy melodic punky
powerpop with a folkrock touch as well. Highlights are opening rocker Master of
the slow burn, the titletrack My colors dark (a lovely 1960s/1970s Powerpop
piece with a THE BEATLES ish chorus), the CREEDENCE CLEARWATER REVIVAL ish
Hilarious, the catchy 80s Powerpoprocker Trying to stop (like THE JAM meets THE
STYLE COUNCIL) and the superb Three snakes caught (a la THE UNDERTONES). Sean
has a strong voice and easily combines the best of singer/songwriter, powerpop
and a tiny bit of folkrock (JOHN LENNON solo meets THE BEATLES meets THE JAM
meets THE UNDERTONES would be a nice description) on this great album! He also
sent me 3 other CDs, namely the 1992 release Too personal, Risk profile from
2014 and a 1985 recorded concert CD from his former band DENIM TV. He did a lot
of great stuff, that is clear, and you can check out all on him at: http://www.seanobmusic.com/my-colors-dark-2019
(Points:
8.4 out of 10)
SCATTERFACE
'2020' (ECHOZONE/BOBMEDIA/GERMAN IMPORT)
When looking at the
frontcover, I thought this was going to be either 80s AOR, 70s/80s Funk/Disco
or the current Synthwave. 2020 by SCATTERFACE is closest to Synthwave, yet with
a Gothic touch as well, and here and there a melodic rock guitarsolo, but
they're not shy from Industrial Metal either. However, when the thrird song
Null is playing, it's like we're suddenly into high class catchy Melodic
(Power) Metal in the style of HELLOWEEN and EDGUY, and basically this is quite
a sensational tune. The diversity of this album is unbelievable, but the good
thing is that it's all done very well. SCATTERFACE is formed around Chris
Techritz – Vocals, Tamara Radler – Vocals, Vitali Bull – Guitar, Sebastian
Michaelis – Guitar, Paul Curtis – Bass and Jake Curtis – Drums. 2020 is the
debut album, and it sounds very modern, combining Industrial Metal, Gothic and
Synthwave, with as mentioned before, also some steps into Melodic Power Metal.
16 songs can be found and it's not bad at all what we are hearing. There's so
much diversity going on, it will keep you entertained from start to finish,
with as other highlights besides the afforementioned power metal tune, the
melodic WITHIN TEMPTATIONish sympho-gothic melodic rock piece Lust 2, the
lovely melodic rockballad Snowflake and the calmer beauitul Path of the sun.
After a while, the album drifts into a symphonic gothic metal meets melodic
progmetal adventure when listening to songs like Endless rain and Secret rooms,
with even some cookie monster vocals a few times (We all float). Overall,
SCATTERFACE is hard to compare, but that's not a problem at all, because their
diversity is making them interesting enough to check out at: https://www.facebook.com/Scatterface.Music/
and http://www.scatterface.com/
(Points:
8.0 out of 10)
THANATEROS
'INSOMNIA' (ECHOZONE/BOBMEDIA/GERMAN IMPORT)
The German band
THANATEROS released 4 albums during the 2000s, but they took a break in the
2010s and now they are back with a very strong new album titled Insomnia. The
included music is catchy Melodic Folk/Power Metal with somewhat raw/rough
vocals and memorable melodic choruses, especially during great uptempo pieces
like Wait for me, The lost king, Shine0 and From the pain. A total of 17 tracks
is included, although the last 4 are instrumental version of some of the
earlier 13 tracks. The band is formed around Ben Richter/Vocals, Programming,
Chris Ryll/Bass, Chris Lang/Guitars, Christof Uhlmann/Violin and Marcus
Hotz/Drums. This is one of those albums that might pass you by, which is a
pity, because it is definitely a recommended record to check out: https://thanateros.bandcamp.com/album/insomnia
(Points:
8.1 out of 10)
J.
PETER SCHWALM & ARVE HENRIKSEN 'NEUZEIT' (RARENOISE RECORDS/UK IMPORT)
The German
electro-acoustic composer J. Peter Schwalm and Norwegian trumpeter Arve
Henriksen joined forces and recorded a nice calmer instrumental album that
is electro-jazz orientated with a focus on beautiful melodies created by the
trumpet. Done very well, this is a very nice relaxing album to enjoy on a late
evening. More info at: https://jpeterschwalm.bandcamp.com/album/neuzeit
(Points:
8.0 out of 10)
THE END
'ALLT AR INTET' (RARENOISE RECORDS/UK IMPORT)
Allt ar intet is the
2nd album of THE END, a band formed around Swedish saxophonist Mats Gustafsson
(Fire!, The Thing), Norwegian saxophonist Kjetil Møster (Møster!, Zanussi 5),
Ethiopian-born vocalist Sofia Jernberg (Fire! Orchestra, PAAVO), Norwegian
guitarist Anders Hana (MoHa!, Ultralyd), and Norwegian drummer Børge Fjordheim
(Cloroform). Together they create extremely experimental freestyle jazz/prog on
the 6 included songs of their new album. Especially during songs like Intention
and release and the titletrack Alllt ar intet it gets really experimenta. If
BJORK and SINEAD O'CONNOR would sing and scream on a KING CRIMSON record, this
could be the result. I am quite open-minded and I have heard a lot albums in my
life, but this THE END is the most experimental piece of work I have heard,
except perhaps maybe the side-project of FAITH NO MORE, MIKE PATTON with JOHN
ZORN. If you're a fan of such experimental extreme music, then this recommended
to check out at: https://endisnear.bandcamp.com/album/allt-r-intet
(Points:
7.7 out of 10)
WORLDSERVICE
PROJECT 'HIDING IN PLAIN SIGHT' (RARENOISE RECORDS/UK IMPORT)
The London, UK based
WORLDSERVICE PROJECT is a freestyle punk-jazz band formed around Dave Morecroft
– Keyboards / Vocals, Ben Powling – Saxophones, Arthur O’Hara – Bass / Vocals
and Luke Reddin-Williams – Drums / Percussion. They have already released 4
albums in the past, so Hiding in plain sight is their 5th so far and I must say
it is a sensational instrumental (except for some Italian speaking parts) record
that feels like the perfect mix of progressive rock and jazz, with not only
experimental moves, but also room for beautiful melodies in each every song.
These melodies are created by the sax, keys and addtiional trombones (guest
Kieran Mcleod), and especially during the songs Deeper, Pomped-up Freddie and The
kipper and the pork pie (proggy with arabic rhythms), it all sounds perfectly
fine for both prog and jazz fans. ELP meets ESP might be a nice description
here, but actually WORLDSERVICE PROJECT has a sound on their own, and it is one
to listen to for sure if you're not yet familiar with their music. Check out
more at: https://worldserviceproject.bandcamp.com/album/hiding-in-plain-sight
(Points:
8.4 out of 10)
KAURNA
CRONIN 'ALOFT IN BLUE' (INDEPENDENT/HEMIFRAN/SWEDEN IMPORT)
Out of lovely sunny Adelaide, Australia
comes KAURNA CRONIN, a talented multi-instrumentalist/singer/songwriter with a
nice little album titled Aloft in blue. Besides Kaurna on Vocals, Guitars,
Harmonica, Piano, Synth, Drums and Percussion, other involved musicians are Tom
Kneebone on Electric Guitars, Kiah Gossner on Bass, Matt Morison on Piano,
Organ, Synth and Lauren Henderson on Backing Vocals. Kaurna has a strong voice
and his songs are melodic and friendly, situated between Singer/songwriter and
classic 1970s Westcoast/Pop. All 10 included songs bring us beautiful melodies,
with as highlights Glass road, The part of me I let you see, Give your love to
a stranger and the uptempo rockier Roses can be blue. Kaurna has this typical
British tone in voice, despite he is from Australia, kinda reminding me of AL
STEWART somehow. Anyway, this could perhaps be one of the better
singer/songwriter albums of 2020! More info can be found at: https://kaurnacronin.bandcamp.com/album/aloft-in-blue
(Points:
8.3 out of 10)
FAY
HIELD 'WRACKLINE' (TOPIC RECORDS/PROPER MUSIC DISTRIBUTION/UK IMPORT)
Wrackline is the 4th
album of the English Folk singer/songwriter FAY HIELD, who sings/writes songs
in the classic British traditional folkstyle. She used to be in several bands
during the 1990s and 2000s, with whom she also recorded albums, but since her
solo debut album in 2010, she has quickly built a name under her own name. Her
music is as mentioned clearly old style traditional Folk music and on Wrackline
she gets help from Rob Harbron (guitar, convertina, harmonium, percussion, vocals),
Ewan MacPherson (vocals, harp), Ben Nicholls (contrabass, vocals) and Sam
Sweeney (violin, nyckelharpa, percussion, vocals). 12 songs are included and
most of the songs follow the same direction, which is calm, acoustic tingled
traditional Folk that feels really good and pleasant to listen to. Fay's voice
is unique and should be heard by the masses. There's not a single dull moment to
be found here and the fact that Fay did not go a commercial AMY MCDONALD
direction here tells a lot about her will to bring back the classic traditional
Folksound to the public, just like it was some 50 years ago. Check out more on
Fay at: https://fayhield.com
(Points:
8.3 out of 10)
COCKTAILS
'CATASTROPHIC ENTERTAINMENT VINYL RECORD' (ALIEN SNATCH RECORDS/GERMAN IMPORT)
When listening to the
first couple of songs of the new album Catastrophic entertainment of the band
COCKTAILS, it's like we're back in time to the year 1980, because this kind of
fun catchy uptempo Melodic Powerpop/Poprock was around that year the most
popular genre in the Western musicworld. It was more or less the period when
there was a transition from late 1970s UK Punkrock, early 1980s
NWOBHM/Hardrock, early 1980s US AOR/Poprock to 1980s British New Wave. Powerpop
took a bit of all these genres and added some Pop sugarness to make it
radio-ready whike still rocking out uptempo most of the time. I hear so many
similarities that I could fill a full page, but I guess if you're into for
example MOON MARTIN, RICK SPRINGFIELD, THE KNACK, THE ROMANTICS, THE BOYS, 4
OUT OF 5 DOCTORS, NOVO COMBO, THE SHOES, 20/20, THE RECORDS, DWIGHT TWILLEY,
CHEAP TRICK, THE ONLY ONES and such, then you're safe and well here.
COCKTAILS are coming
out of San Francisco and Catastrophic entertainment is their 3rd album so far.
The band's line up consists of singer/songwriter Patrick Clos, lead guitarist
Joel Cusumano, synth/vocalist Lauren Matsui, bassist Rob Goodson, and drummer
Phil Lantz. Their sound is so authentic that you might almost believe we are
listening to a remastered 1980 record, but believe me that COCKTAILS is a real
new band with brand-new songs that just recall the long-forgotten days of all
those aforementioned acts. 11 songs are on the album, of which opener Bun E.
Carlos is pure 1980 uptempo Powerpop, while the following uptempo Powerpop tune
Nobody's going to the movies reveals some slight AOR/Poprock influences, thanks
to the lovely soaring guitarsolo and superb catchy chorus. The album continues
with likewise another catchy uptempo Powerpop affair in the shape of Janeland.
Then we get to hear great female vocals (I think Lauren sings here) in the
fantastic quirky early 1980s US female fronted Melodic Poprocker Love is gone
that sits nicely between BLONDIE, SUE SAAD & THE NEXT, early 80s PAT
BENATAR and SPIDER. Washoe county follows in the classic Powerpop direction
again, while Side-A closes with Never be alone, a quirky Powerpop tune a la
early THE CARS.
Side-B opens with one
of the few uptempo Powerpop tunes that actually reveals a tiny bit of early 90s
retro college rock/psychedelic poprock of bands like TEENAGE FANCLUB, THE
POSIES and JELLYFISH, which can also be heard on the following ballad ish
Buried alive. One of my favorite songs follows, because Waiting on the summer
is an incredible catchy early 1980s US Melodic Poprocker that sounds like the
perfect cross between RICK SPRINGFIELD and THE CARS during the hard rocking'
anthemic chorus! This song also recalls the 90s retro punkpop sound of bands
like WEEZER, FOUNTAINS OF WAYNE, THE CLICK FIVE and such. COCKTAILS would be a
perfect fit for the International Pop Overthrow Festival, which is held each
year (pre-corona) all over the world. I visited the wonderful Liverpool edition
in 2019 and hopefully in the future I will be able to do it again! Anyway, the
album continues with another excellent catchy uptempo Melodic Powerpoprocker
titled Those changes that recalls the late 1970s Punkpop sound of THE BOYS and
THE UNDERTONES. The album closes with Take it back, an early 90s deadringer for
fans of TEENAGE FANCLUB!
Concluded, this is a
highly recommended Powerpop album that sounds like a cross between all the
mentioned acts, although actually COCKTAILS has an own identity that happens to
be quite sensational! Check it out for yourself at: https://aliensnatch.bandcamp.com/album/cocktails-catastrophic-entertainment
(Points:
8.6 out of 10)
O.A.K.
OSCILLAZIONI ALCHEMICO KREATIVE 'NINE WITCHES UNDER A WALNUT TREE VINYL RECORD'
(INDEPENDENT/GOOD FELLAS/ITALY IMPORT)
The Italian Progrockband O.A.K. was formed
way back in 1993 by multi-instrumentalist/singer/songwriter JERRY CUTILLO, who
was kind enough to sent me their new album Nine witches under a walnut tree on
vinyl record. The packaging of the record is really nice and since this is the
3rd part of a trilogy, it should be seen as a conceptional record about
likewise nine historical witches. Jerry plays and sings a lot on his own, but
he is assisted on the album by Jonathan Noyce (Bass), David Jackson (Sax),
Daniele Fuligni (Grand Piano), Tetyana Shyshnyak (Soprano and Backing vocals),
Cristiana De Bonis (Backing vocals), Gerlinde Roth (Spoken words), Marta
Perozzi (Backing vocals) and Eclisse di Luna (Backing vocals). The resulting
album is a diverse strong record that captures the true 1970s sound when prog,
sympho and folkrock were very important musicstyles for major recordlabels. Now
in 2020 most musicians that play this kinda mix are either connected to one of
the very few prog labels out there or they release the music independently,
which is also the case with O.A.K.´s new album. 9 songs are included in total
and opener Chlodswinda starts very interesting, combining influences from World
Music, Folk and Progressive Rock, with strong diverse arrangements throughout
the 6 minutes counting song, while still presenting a lot of pleasant melodies.
Following Gioconna is a combination of 1970s ish uptempo Progressive/Symphonic
Rock/Krautrock with soprano female vocals during the calmer middle section.
Dame harvillers is a beautiful theatrical melancholic Progressive Rocksong like
FISH and PETER GABRIEL meets ELOY, but then with Italian lyrics of course. The
instrumental Janet Boyman follows and is a very nice folk/progrock tune, while
side-A closes with Franchetta Borelli, which is one of the highlights on the
album, because this is a lovely semi-instrumental tune that combines 1970s
progrock with 1970s fusion/jazz, kinda like JETHRO TULL meets BOB JAMES, with
of course the Italian lyrics. I have to say that Jerry has a nice calm voice,
so to speak that he doesn't do any weird singing thankfully and just adds his
voice to his lovely instrumental efforts throughout the album. This is very
clear on the opening song Polissena, a lovely instrumental synthesizer driven
70s Symphonic pop/rocksong that sounds like a cross between CAMEL and KAYAK. Following
Donna Prudentia is one of the most melodic songs on the album, a beautiful
emotional semi-progrock ballad with a lovely diverse use of instruments
throughout the song. Nadira is a floaty 1970s inspired Symphonic Folk adventure
that even recalls memories of FOCUS, FAIRPORT CONVENTION and RENAISSANCE. Closing
the album is a 1970s German sung Kraut/Progrocksong that recalls memories of
ELOY, KRAAN, GROBSCHNITT and such legendary bands (also JETHRO TULL and GENESIS
a bit). It is one of the more fun/cheerful tunes on the album, with also a
folky touch and as mentioned the German singing voice of Jerry, which he does
remarkably well! Concluded, this is an interesting album you need to listen to
a few times before making up a good judgement. However, once you passed that
station, you will discover a lot of beautiful music here that is sounding very
authentic and recalls the days when prog ruled the world in the 1970s! More
info at: http://www.oaksound.com/it/
(Points:
8.5 out of 10)
ALMOST
DEAD MEN 'A BRILLIANT FUTURE WASTED GROWING UP VINYL RECORD' (BOGUS
RECORDS/OPEN MIND RECORDS/SWEDEN IMPORT)
The Malmo, Sweden based band ALMOST DEAD
MEN are all about rock on their album A brilliant future wasted growing up, and
then I mean dirty raw gritty rock and roll like it was done in especially the
1970s. Although they are influenced by DR. FEELGOOD, DEAD BOYS and THE
DICTATORS, which you can clearly hear likewise, I could smell a lot more here.
Side-A seems to be a bit calmer, because Side-B of the vinyl record they sent
me, this is a more rockier affair. Imagine a mix of HERMAN BROOD, LOU REED,
GOLDEN EARRING and THE DICTATORS, then you're quite close I think, Anyway, the
band's line up consists of Sören G Andersson, Lead Vocals, Matts Bergkvist,
Drums, Magnus Larsson, Guitar, Vocals, Jan Sandred, Bass, Vocals and Tom
Stenström, Guitar, Vocals. 12 songs are on the album, which starts with Queen
of the bar, a catchy STATUS QUO ish uptempo rocker, with a boogie rhythm and a
rootsy rock touch like ROLLING STONES. The no-nonsense Classic Hardrocksound of
AC/DC, KROKUS, DIRTY LOOKS and ROSE TATTOO is captured on the catchy following
uptempo rocker Pretty thing. These first 2 songs are very short (around the
2:20 minutes in length), but it doesn't really matter since they rock hard and
will definitely bring a smile on your face! The calmer rootsy bluesy rocker
Cruising around sounds quite laid-back and raw, while the uptempo rocker In for
the kill is a great classic rocktune that reminds me a bit of GOLDEN EARRING
somehow. The titletrack A brilliant future wasted growing up follows and is one
of the more melodic tunes on the album, because this is a lovely radio-ready
catchy Powerpop/Poprocker. Side-A of the vinyl record closes with another cool
Classic Rock guitar riff driven tune titled Here she comes, which has very raw
vocals that almost sound like LOU REED, while the song itself has some memories
of ROLLING STONES and THEM.
Side-B starts with the
strong uptempo punky Classic Rocker City boy that reminds me a bit of BILLY
IDOL in his early 1980s period. The NEW YORK DOLLS ish Glamrock meets HERMAN
BROOD's WILD ROMANCE rock and roll can be heard in Guttersnipe, while Let's go is
back to classic late 1970s uptempo Punkrock with memories of their heroes of
THE DICTATORS crossed with a bit of THE RAMONES of course! Hot nurse is a fun
uptempo classic rootsy rocker, the short Fight! is a cool late 1970s uptempo
melodic punkrocker, and the album closes with the melancholic gritty DR.
FEELGOOD/THE CRAZY WORLD OF ARTHUR BROWN/GRATEFUL DEAD (and a tiny bit of BLUE
OYSTER CULT when ERIC BLOOM is singing, as well as THE DAMNED/THE DOORS/THE
CULT) orientated dirty mean dark slightly Gothic ish rocker Rider, which is also
the longest and most interesting song on the album (almost 6 minutes!).
No-nonsense and just rocking out, that is the name of the game here most of the
time on the debut album of the Swedish band ALMOST DEAD MEN. They do a great
job for sure and I can recommend it to anyone who wants their rock to sound a
bit edgy, raw and gritty like in the 1970s. More info can be found at: https://www.almostdeadmen.se
(Points:
8.3 out of 10)
WHITE
WALLS 'GRANDEUR' (TENTASOL RECORDS/ROMANIA IMPORT)
There are quite a few bands called WHITE WALLS, but
this one comes out of Romania and as we don't get many bands from that country,
it is quite interesting to learn about this strong and impressive Progmetalband
called WHITE WALLS. They were kind enough to send me their latest 2 albums, of
which Grandeur has been recently released independently. The band released
their debut 10 years ago and it's good to see them develop into a high quality
band in 2020 with this new album. The band is formed around Alexandru-Eduard
Dascălu (Dasu) – guitar, Eugen Brudaru – vocals, Șerban-Ionuț Georgescu – bass
and Theo Scrioșteanu – drums. Their sound is clearly Melodic Progmetal
orientated, with yet a slightly extreme part due to the cookie-monster growls a
few times, especially during the beginning of the album. Thankfully they are
not that disturbing and especially during songs like Home Is On the Other Side,
Holy Worse and Velvet (lovely chorus) there are some
beautiful melodies to be heard. However when they drop almost entirely the
growling during the 2nd part of the album it sounds even more impressive. Songs
like Starfish Crown, Month’s End, The Descent and The Slaughter (Marche Funèbre) are therefore
the best songs and then we can hear great melodic clean vocals/choruses driven
pure Melodic Progmetal a la DGM. This is definitely by far the finest Romanian
Metal release I heard so far, so go check them out at: http://www.whitewalls.ro
(Points:
8.1 out of 10)
A LIGHT
WITHIN 'EPILOGUE' (INDEPENDENT/USA IMPORT)
The Kansas, USA based
band A LIGHT WITHIN has not released a full-length record so far, but only a
few EP's and their latest release is another EP, which is entitled Epilogue.
The band's line up consists of Jeff Irvine – Guitar, Josh Bennet – Guitar, Nick
Sloan – Drums, Kyle Brandt – Vocals, keys and Andy Schiller – Bass, and they
present us dark melodic Progmetal with also some light Gothic influences. The
vocalwork is quite strong and during a song like Chemical drive we can hear
lovely mid tempo melodic prog metal a la PSYCHOTIC WALTZ, with haunting
melodies, a bit darker and also EVERGREY comes to mind. There is also some
light screaming here and there, a touch of 90s post-rock, 80s gothic as well
here and there, although overall it is Progmetal and the highlight is the
fantastic closing track An Educated Gentleman. If you're starting to
become interested, please check them out at: https://alightwithin.bandcamp.com
(Points:
8.4 out of 10)
THE
ALEX BUTTER FIELD 'PSYCHEDELIPOP' (SUBURBAN POSER RECORDS/USA IMPORT)
Out of New Haven, Connecticut, USA comes
THE ALEX BUTTER FIELD and Psychedelipop is their debut album. The included music
is clearly influenced by classic 60s psychedelic/garage rock and 70s powerpop,
and they are doing it really well, sounding quite authentic. The band is based
around Hank Hoffman: Vocals, 6- & 12-String Electric Guitars, Electric
Sitar, keyboards, Melodica, Tom Smith: Drums, Percussion, Invaluable Moral
Support, Andy Karlok: Bass, Dean Falcone: Electric & Acoustic Guitars,
Sitar, Keyboards and Scott Amore: Keyboards, Percussion. 7 songs are on their
first album and without a doubt we are dealing here with a quality band with
memorable tunes. If we go through the highlights, I need to mention a song like
Candy's got it, which is a pure 1960s catchy uptempo Powerpop tune that is not
far removed from the classic THE HOLLIES and THE SEARCHERS. Pit of fire is also
a sensational tune that captures once again the 1960s psychedelic pop/rock
sound, this time akin to THE KINKS. Another highlight is the strong uptempo
Powerpop of Radiating so quietly. It's all done so well that THE ALEX BUTTER
FIELD is a highly recommended band to anyone who wants to hear new music in the
style of the good old classic 60s garage pop/rock (and a bit of 70s powerpop
too), with a focus on catchy hooks and memorable choruses. More info at: https://thealexbutterfield.bandcamp.com/album/psychedelipop
(Points:
8.3 out of 10)
THE
LEMON TWIGS 'SONGS FOR THE GENERAL PUBLIC' (4AD/BEGGARS GROUP)
Out of New York comes
THE LEMON TWIGS, a band formed in 2014 and now releasing their 3rd album with
Songs for the general public. They are situated around the brothers Brian and
Michael D'Addario, who both are vocalists, songwriters and
multi-instrumentalists. Live they are joined by a few other musicians, but on
this new record they did almost everything on their own, although here and
there a few guests musicians also appear. Brian and Michael produced it
themselves at the famous Electric Lady Studios in New York, and we can find 12
strong songs on the record. Opener Hell on wheels is basically pure early 1970s
Glitter/Glamrock like a mix between DAVID BOWIE, ROLLING STONES, T-REX and
ALICE COOPER. Following song Live in favor of tomorrow is quite a change in
style, because this is catchy early 1970s uptempo Powerpop a la THE RASPBERRIES,
with a touch of THE HOLLIES and a lot of cheesiness, but in a good way, as if
we're listening to a a classic poptune from 1973. No one holds you (closer than
the one you haven't met) also has that British late 1960s/early 1970s sorta
psychedelic pop/rocksound, sounding like a classic once again, kinda like a mix
between 10CC, THE BEATLES and ELO, with a cool quirky keyboardsound added as
finishing touch. The band is doing it all so perfect, you would really believe
this is some sorta re-issue from a 1970s record, but it's brand new music that
sounds as authentic as possible. Thankfully the whole album keeps the
incredible high level of the first 3 songs, with as other higlights Fight
(catchy sing-a-long bubblegum powerpop/rock), Moon (if THE WINGS would team up
with SUPERTRAMP and do a song of ELTON JOHN it could sound like this!) and the
slightly late 1970s Punkrock inspired Leather together. There is also a lot of
variety going on, with a few calmer songs as well, such as closing track
Ashamed that smells a lot like THE BEATLES in their late 1960s period.Concuded,
this is an excellent band with one of the most authentic and long-forgotten
1970s Powerpop/Rock/Threatrical Pop melted sound I have heard in a long time.
If anyone out there recalls the band TRICKSTER from the 1970s UK Pop/Rockscene,
well then look no further, because THE LEMON TWIGS is yours! Go check them out
at: https://thelemontwigs.com/
(Points:
8.6 out of 10)
U.S.
GIRLS 'HEAVY LIGHT' (4AD/BEGGARS GROUP)
U.S. GIRLS is coming
out of Toronto, Canada and is based around American musician and record
producer Meghan Remy, who formed her band/project back in 2007 and has so far
released quite a few records. Heavy light is released in the middle of the
pandemic, so it will be hard to promote it live around the world. That's a
pity, because the album has a lot of potential crowdpleasing hitsongs. Although
her music is called Experimental Pop, when listening to the opening song 4
American Dollars of Heavy light, it sounds quite strong and accessible
actually. On the other hand U.S. GIRLS has an own identity, because we can hear
mostly a combination of catchy pop melodies with a groovy rhythmic/danceable
pop/rock vibe, but there's also room for a sorta singer/songwriter kinda
pop/rock direction here and there, a sorta 1960s THE SUPREMES meets an African
tribe kinda song (State house) and even some spoken-word parts a la SUZANNE
VEGA. Concluded, there is a lot going on here, but it's always based around
strong 'pop' melodies, with as other highlights Overtime (reminds me of HAIM),
Born to lose, And yet it comes, Woodstock 99 (even a bit ELLEN FOLEY ish late
70s Power Ballad) and the epic bombastic semi-proggy The quiver to the bomb.
Don't miss this talented musician, who is by the way helped by a lot of
musicians on this new album Heavy light. More info at: http://yousgirls.blogspot.com
(Points:
8.3 out of 10)
MUZZ 'MUZZ'
(MATADOR RECORDS/BEGGARS GROUP)
MUZZ is a new
so-called supergroup formed around INTERPOL singer PAUL BANKS, drummer MATT
BARRICK (THE WALKMEN, FLEET FOXES) and multi-instrumentalist JOSH KAUFMAN
(BONNY LIGHT HORSEMEN, DAY OF THE DEAD, THE NATIONAL). The resulting same
titled debut album is a mix of those bands, so it's combining Dreampop with
Indie Pop/Rock and here and there also singer/songwriter 70s pop/rock. 12 songs
are on the album, which starts dark, calm and melancholic, but when the tempo
changes to uptempo, we get to hear a sensational Indie Pop/Rocker (Red western
sky) in the style of THE WAR ON DRUGS, FLEET FOXES, BEAR'S DEN... A song like
Everything like it used to be sounds a lot like DAVID BOWIE, and along with the
aforementioned song Red western sky, these are the radio-ready tunes that could
bring MUZZ fame and fortune. However, as also already mentioned, the band goes
sometimes a bit too much into that lesser friendly darker calm direction, which
even touches NICK CAVE musically and vocally speaking (especially Broken
tambourine for example). Gladly they also know a few times how to get back to a
more psychedelic rock affair, which can be heard at best during a song like How
many days or All is dead to me, where we can hear comparisons to THE DOORS. Although
you need to get used to those mostly calmer dark melancholic pop/rocksongs on
their debut album, it's all done very well and interesting enough to check out
at: https://muzztheband.bandcamp.com/album/muzz
(Points:
8.3 out of 10)
BING
& RUTH 'SPECIES' (4AD/BEGGARS GROUP)
Out of New York City
comes DAVID MOORE, who started his band or project BING & RUTH back in the
mid 2000s and the new album is titled Species. The band started with 11
members, but now in 2020 the only other members besides David on Combo Organ
are bass player Jeff Ratner and clarinetist Jeremy Viner. Recorded in the
desert of Texas, the included music of these 3 musicians is instrumental sorta
Ambient meets Kraut like STEVE REICH meets TANGERINE DREAM and KLAUS SCHULZE.
It's quite hypnotic and almost like a Trance, with the minum use of instruments
that also play monotone rhythms throughout the 7 included songs. Done very
well, this feels like the background music to an exciting documentary about
planet earth. On the other hand you have to appreciate such music, because it
might not appeal to everyone I think. You can hear more at: https://bingandruth.com/
(Points:
8.0 out of 10)
PERFUME
GENIUS 'SET MY HEART ON FIRE IMMEDIATELY' (MATADOR RECORDS/BEGGARS GROUP)
PERFUME GENIUS (aka
Michael Alden Hadreas is an American singer/songwriter/pianoplayer and his new
album Set my heart on fire immediately is described as 'an art rock and pop
album that features elements of baroque pop, art pop, synthpop, funk, alt-pop,
shoegaze, ambient, psychedelic, R&B, acoustic pop, disco, swamp rock,
chamber, doo-wop, industrial, and heartland rock!!! That's even more different
musicstyles than there are actual songs on it! Anyway, Perfume is a talented
singer/songwriter with a voice and sound that fits right between JOHN GRANT,
RUFUS WAINWRIGHT and DUNCAN LAURENCE. It's artistique Baroque Chamber Pop with
a dark side and also ambient melancholic parts throughout the album. It takes
some time to understand what Perfume is doing, but when the more accesable
third song Without you is playing, we can actually hear a rather catchy
pop/rock tune that sounds like a modern take on classic JOE JACKSON material.
The material included is very diverse and reveals the earlier mentioned
musicstyles here and there. If you like the earlier mentioned artists, with an
ambient, almost new age kinda approach, then you're safe with the album of
PERFUME GENIUS. Personally I would have loved to hear more uptempo tunes, such
as On the floor and Without you. Nevertheless, it's quite a decent record and
for more info you can go to: https://perfumegenius.org/
(Points:
7.7 out of 10)
EVERYTHING
IS RECORDED 'FRIDAY FOREVER' (XL RECORDINGS/BEGGARS GROUP)
Friday Forever is the
second album from multi-artist project EVERYTHING IS RECORDED. Leader of this
project is producer/recordlabel owner of XL RECORDINGS, Richard Russell. The
album takes on a multi-lensed perspective of a classic night out, although the
diversity of musicstyles is mainly situated around R&B, a bit of Neo-Soul,
some Ambient and a lot of cool-down Hip Hop, so it's not exactly the kind of
music we usually review. I'll bet some of these songs will do well on the
national radio, and every now and then we can hear a nice melodic Soulful
R&B old school style, such as Dream I never had, and also the idea behind
the album is very original. Nevertheless, it's something completely different
here and only interesting for the fans of modern R&B/Hip-Hop and such...
(Points:
-)
LEGION
'REDEMPTION' (ROCK COMPANY)
It must have been the
mid 1990s when I received the first couple of albums from the American
multi-instrumentalist/singer/songwriter PHIL VINCENT and now 25 years later he
still releases new albums, not only solo recordings, but also under different
band/project names, where he gets a little help. However, most of the time he
does everything on his own, especially on his solo albums. Anyway, he releases
quite a lot nowadays, because I received a package with 3 new albums of him.
The first one is under the bandname LEGION, which he recorded together with
guitarist Vince O'Regan, Irv Parratt on keys, Andy Pierce on drums and Gav
Cooper on bass. Their new album is titled Redemption, and this is a great 80s
melodic metal inspired album, with as highlights Run, Face to face (the good
old DOKKEN meets FIFTH ANGEL style Phil sounds like on most of his albums) and closing
track Holy man. Melodic and keen on classic guitar riffs and solo's, this is a
nice album for sure, which likewise is a must-have if you're familiar with PHIL
VINCENT's vocals/music, because it is never far removed from his earlier work.
More info at: https://rockcompany.nl/
(Points:
8.1 out of 10)
TRAGIK
'FAITH HEALER' (ROCK COMPANY)
And here we have
American singer/songwriter/multi-instrumentalist PHIL VINCENT on another new
2020 album, which in this case is his band TRAGIK, which features besides Phil
also bassist/guitarist DAMIAN D'ERCOLE and drummer DIRK PHILLIPS, while VINCE
O'REGAN (guitar) and the legendary JANNE STARK (guitar) make a guest
appearance. The included music is strongly 80s influenced American Melodic (Hard)
Rock like it was done 30+ years ago. Phil does a good job once again, although
the first couple of songs are not so strong as the rest of the album.
Thankfully when track number 4 comes around, we dive into a great selection of
songs, of which the highlights are the catchy superb AOR/melodic rocker Hanging
by a string (featuring an excellent catchy dut-dut keyboard driven chorus,
perhaps the finest song Phil has recorded in his career!!!), Tell me why, Don't
know what to believe and the uptempo PRAYING MANTIS ish Do it again. Another
recommended album to PHIL VINCENT fans! More info at: https://rockcompany.nl/
(Points:
8.2 out of 10)
PHIL
VINCENT 'TODAY, TOMORROW, YESTERDAY' (ROCK COMPANY)
2020 also brings a new
solo-record of American singer/songwriter/multi-instrumentalist PHIL VINCENT.
The album is titled Today, tomorrow, yesterday and Phil does almost everything
on his own here, except for the lead guitar, which is played by VINCE O'REGAN.
The included music is classy 80s orientated AOR/Melodic Rock, with catchy
choruses and soaring guitarsolos, with as highlights Pictures (uptempo AOR),
Flying high (BOSTON meets BON JOVI), Same mistake and Loser in the end. Another
recommended PHIL VINCENT record and musically speaking his closest to the
AOR/Melodic Rock of his first couple of albums from 25 years ago! More info at:
https://rockcompany.nl and www.philvincent.com
(Points:
8.2 out of 10)
KHAIMA
'OWING TO THE INFLUENCE' (BARHILL RECORDS/GERMAN IMPORT)
Take a bit of 80s DEPECHE MODE ish Gothic
Rock, 90s Post-Rock, modern Progrock a la PORCUPINE TREE and a touch of classic
Doom Metal, then you might have a cocktail named KHAIMA. This band from Saarbrucken,
Germany is melting these influences nicely together, although in the end they
could also be seen as TOOL ish modern Progmetalband on their debut album Owing
to the influence. The band is formed around Sven Hill – Vocals, Toufik
Bougherara – Guitar, Jo Rauber – Bass, Andreas Becker – Keyboard and Markus
Scherer – Drums. 9 songs are on the album and it all sounds very professional
and quite melodic actually, yet with a darker melancholic take on the included
music. Not a single weak moment and a lot to enjoy here for sure, just listen
to songs like Blomback, Assimilation and Parasomnia, all wonderfully displaying
the earlier described combination. Fans of Post-Progrock like TOOL meets
PORCUPINE TREE meets OPETH be aware, because this KHAIMA is heading your way!
Don't miss their first album, which you can check out at: https://khaimamusic.bandcamp.com/album/owing-to-the-influence
(Points:
8.3 out of 10)
FLARES 'SPECTRA'
(BARHILL RECORDS/GERMAN IMPORT)
Spectra is the new
album of the Saarbrucken, Germany based band FLARES and I have to say it sounds
sensational. Musically speaking it is semi-instrumental Progressive Post-Rock
like a cross between LONG DISTANCE CALLING and PORCUPINE TREE. It seems the
band now introduces vocals for the first time, but as I am not familiar with
their earlier work, I cannot ccompare, but everything sounds crystal clear
here. It's modern and melodic in all it's aspects and also the vocals of MIKE
BALZER, who also plays synths, it sounds quite strong. 7 songs are on the CDR I
received, with a total length of barely 30 minutes, so that would be the only
negative remark to add, because after hearing the album, you want to hear much
more of this talented band. The band is formed around Bassist Dmitro Fedoruk, Bassist/Drummer
Christian Schönlaub, Guitarist Christian Detzer, Keyboardplayer/Vocalist Mike
Balzer and Light machinery/percussion player Tobias Weber. The result is a
lovely album and it definitely puts them right up there with the mentioned
bands, although also fans of OCEANSIZE, MOGWAI, BOARDS OF CANADA and such need
to check out this band at: https://flaresmusic.bandcamp.com
(Points:
8.5 out of 10)
NEAL
CASAL 'FADE AWAY DIAMOND TIME' (NOT FADE AWAY/KLANDERMAN PROMOTION/BERTUS)
The legendary American
singer/songwriter/guitarist NEAL CASAL sadly died in 2019, but his music lives
on and here we have a 25-year old anniversary re-release of his album Fade away
diamond time. The included music is a lovely mix of Americana, Blues and
SInger/songwriter, with beautiful vocals of Neal and overall a very relaxing
vibe. 12 songs are on the debut CD, which was produced by JIM SCOTT (TOM PETTY,
WILCO, JOHNNY CASH) and from start to finish this is an enjoyable journey with
many highlights. It's quite amazing Neal never became as big as for example JOE
BONAMASSA, RYAN ADAMS or KENNY WAYNE SHEPHARD, because his music is quite
splendid and fills the gap between Americana and Blues Rock with a lot of
pleasant melodies, both vocally and instrumentally. The best songs are Free to
go, Leaving traces, Detroit or Buffalo (almost a Southern Rock ish classic) and
One last time. Neal played with a lot of other musicians, artists and bands,
such as RYAN ADAMS, GOSPELBEACH, BLACKFOOT, CHRIS ROBINSON BROTHERHOOD, etc. ,
while also releasing a lot of solo records. He is therefore a praised musician
in the Americana and Blues/Rock world, although solo he did not become as big
as he should have been with his own material, because this album alone is a
classic record! It's good to see his own music lives on through this
re-release.
(Points:
8.7 out of 10)
THE
GHOST OF PAUL REVERE 'GOOD AT LOSING EVERYTHING' (ROCKSNOB/KLANDERMAN
PROMOTION/SONIC RENDEZVOUS)
Out of Portland,
Maine, USA comes THE GHOST OF PAUL REVERE a band named after a historical
American figure from the American Revolution of the 18th century, although PAUL
REVERE is also a 60s rock musician. Anyway, the band releases their 3rd album
with Good at losing everything and without a doubt, this is a lovely pure
Americana record in the style of THE AVETT BROTHERS, with also a touch of
Bluegrass like we know it from a band such as MUMFORD AND SONS, and there's
also some Southern Rock and Bluesrock here and there. The band consists of Max
Davis [vocals, banjo], Sean McCarthy [vocals, bass], and Griffin Sherry
[vocals, guitar] and Charles Gagne [drums]
The album starts with
a short Gospel harmonyvocal, but titlesong Good at losing everything changes
quickly into a great midtempo Americana piece with also influences from Folk,
Southern Rock, Blues and Soul. This is real American music with influences from
all the genres that made this country such a great experience through music
history when travelling throughout all the states. The songs are sometimes calm
and back to basic, but at times the band goes for a rockier uptempo direction,
such as during the lovely melodic Two hundred and twenty six days, the superb
catchy midtempo Travel on (Southern Rock ish like LYNYRD SKYNYRD meets KID
ROCK), the melodic One of these days and there's also pure Blues in the song
When can I see you again. Definitely a recommended album if you want to hear a
mixture of the classic American musicstyles Blues, Americana, Southern Rock and
Bluegrass. More info at: https://www.ghostofpaulrevere.com
(Points:
8.4 out of 10)
RANDALL
BRAMBLETT 'PINE NEEDLE FIRE' (NEW WEST RECORDS/KLANDERMAN PROMOTION/PIAS)
I was not familiar
with the American singer/songwriter/multi-instrumentalist RANDALL BRAMBLETT
yet, but his 12th solo album Pine needle fire is definitely showing he is an
established musician. He is already 72 years old and worked with legendary
musicians such as BONNIE RAITT, GREGG ALLMAN, STEVE WINWOOD and more, while
also delivers a solo record every now and then. Pine needle fire is a nice
bluesy rock record with that old spirit like JOHN HIATT, BB KING, GREGG ALLMAN
and even a bit of VAN MORRISON. One of the highlights is the beautiful relaxing
Even the sunlight, with it's subtle smooth touch a song to play more frequently,
and also Built to last has that kinda feeling. Another song to listen is the
lovely slightly melodic rocking Another shining morning and while you're
spinning the album don't forget to hear the excellent soulful rocking Don't get
me started. Randall is not entirely focused on Blues, because he takes
influences from other musicstyles as well, such as Americana, Melodic Rock,
Westcoast, etc., which only a true musician is able to blend together
perfectly! Check out this well-seasoned musician at: https://randallbramblett.com/
(Points:
8.3 out of 10)
GRAINNE
DUFFY 'VOODOO BLUES' (INDEPENDENT/GERMAN IMPORT)
Although the Irish
singer/songwriter/guitarist GRAINNE DUFFY has already built quite a reputation
with her 4 earlier albums, she should have been huge by now, because her
powerful soulful voice in combination with her excellent blues rock originals,
it is right up there with other female singers in this genre, such as BETH
HART, JOANNE SHAW TAYLOR, ANA POPOVIC, etc. Her new album Voodoo blues once
again shows her amazing vocal skills, while she also plays the guitar very
well. Other involved musicians on Voodoo blues are guitarist PAUL SHERRY,
bassist DALE DAVIS, drummer/hammond organplayer TROY MILLER and backing singer
RONAN MORGAN. There are 10 songs on the album and musically speaking it is actually
quite diverse with a mixture of slower, midtempo and uptempo pieces. Some of
the highlights are opener Voodoo blues, Roll it (a fantastic catchy uptempo
rocker) and the midtempo rockers No matter what I do (a little bit reminding of
ALANNAH MYLES) and the 70s groovy rocker Tick-tock. After corona Grainne should
do a full tour and show the world what an exceptionally wonderful and talented
singer/musician she is. More info at: https://www.grainneduffy.com/
(Points:
8.7 out of 10)
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