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HOT NEW REVIEWS
LAZULI
'LE FANTASTIQUE ENVOL DE DIETER BOHM' (L'ABEILLE RODE/FRANCE IMPORT)
It is such a great and
fascinating musicworld out there, because you discover new music everyday and
it is quite surprising that there are still many bands out there which are
still unknown. For example the French band LAZULI, because they already
released 8 albums and their new 2020 release is titled Le Fantastique Envol De
Dieter Böhm, which is already their 9th album! I had not heard of them before,
so when I listened to the first couple of songs on this album, I was amazed of
the incredible high level. Those first 3 songs (Prologue: Sol, Acte 1: Les
Chansons Sont Des Bouteilles À La Mer and Mers Lacrymales) and actually any
song of this concept album is an absolute pleasure to listen to. LAZULI plays
Melodic Progressive Rock with superstrong high pitched French sung vocals and
they add a sorta World Music touch to their sound, which all together makes
them a band that stands out for sure. The vocals are as mentioned very
important and quite impressive, while instrumental this is top-notch melodic
progrock that might be compared to MOSTLY AUTUMN, MAGENTA, CAMEL, MYSTERY
(Canada) and such perhaps, although a little bit different due to the French
lyrics. The melodies are really beautiful and that is what counts in every song
they present us. The album is a concept record about the fictional German aviator
DIETER BOHM sitting on a dodo, and with such a stunning CD booklet, one would
think we are dealing with a real (if somewhat awkward) story and an existing
person from the past, but everything is made up by
bandleader/vocalist/guitarist/songwriter/illustrator/composer DOMINIQUE
LEONETTI. Together with other musicians (Drums,
Percussion, Marimba – Vincent Barnavol, Guitar – Gédéric Byar, Harp Guitar,
Recorded By, Mixed By – Claude Leonetti and Keyboards, French Horn – Romain
Thorel), Dominique has created a masterpiece that will absolutely attract any
Progrockfan out there, but I can imagine that if more people outside the
Progworld will hear these songs, they will fall in love with this band
instantly, because this is just beautiful music from the very start until the
end. Let's truly hope that this 9th CD will see them breakthrough, because they
definitely deserve it. Do not miss this gem at: https://lazuli-music.com/
(Points:
8.7 out of 10)
Now here we have
something very interesting, because the ROCKING HORSE MUSIC CLUB is a US
tribute band to the music of original GENESIS guitarist Anthony Phillips. The
line-up consists of Justin Cohn: vocals, guitar, Brian Coombes: keys, vocals,
Patrik Gochez: guitar, keys, vocals, Brenden Harisaides: bass, Myron Kibbee:
guitars, Mike McAdam: guitars and Eric Wagley: drums/percussion, with on their
new album Which way the wind blows guest appearances by a lot of Progrock
legends, such as STEVE HACKETT (who of course originally replaced Anthony in
GENESIS), John Hackett (STEVE HACKETT BAND - flute), Noel McCalla (MANFRED
MANN'S EARTHBAND 1991-2009 - vocal), Nick Magnus (ENID / STEVE HACKETT BAND
synthesizer / piano), John Helliwell (SUPERTRAMP – saxophone), Kate St. John
(DREAM ACADEMY - oboe) and other musicians. Together with Anthony Phillips, the
band picked a selection of songs primarily from Antony’s first three solo
albums, The Geese & the Ghost, Wise After the Event and Sides. The result
is not just a tribute, because it actually feels like a real original album of
the band. When listening to these songs, I hear so many influences and that is
a good thing for sure. This gives it a whole new feeling and own identity for
the band, although personally I am not that familiar with ANTHONY PHILLIPS’
solo material, so it is hard to really compare them with the original
recordings. On the other hand, I can now judge this album on how they are
presented now. 9 songs are included in total, of which Um & Aargh opens the
album and is a nice uptempo proggy piece. The laid-back Paperchase follows and
is a very relaxing 70s based progpopsong, while Which way the wind blows is 70s
PINK FLOYD progrock at it's very best. Silver song is a bit more uptempo
pop/rock based, with a strong chorus in classic 70s style. Something blue is
completely different, as this is a sorta jazzy poptune in an almost
STING/GEORGE MICHAEL style, but very impressive for sure. It’s great to see so
much diversity going on, although the main style is always 70s prog ofcourse.
Collections has an ALAN PARSONS PROJECT kinda sound, ballad ish and
melancholic, simply beautiful!!! All together this is a highly recommended
album to any progfan and the great thing is that it is a tribute album to
ANTHONY PHILLIPS, but also feels like an original ROCKING HORSE MUSIC CLUB
album somehow. Definitely worth checking out for sure at: http://www.RockingHorseMusicClub.com
(Points:
8.7 out of 10)
We
reviewed a couple of the earlier releases of this Nottingham, UK based band and
now they are back with Vapours, a very strong album that might be their best so
far. It has a huge sound and the band's singer MATT BLACK has a great voice,
with an impressive range. 11 songs are included and it all starts with a superb
catchy fast uptempo Melodic Heavy Rocker in classic PRETTY MAIDS/MAD MAX style,
with also a bit of NOCTURNAL RITES. Next track Stand alone is a great midtempo
SHAKRA ish piece and then we get to hear the best song of the whole album I
think, because State of mind is a sensational catchy uptempo Melodic Hardrock
tune a la JADED HEART. Following track Blind is slightly more modern sounding
and one of the weaker tracks on offer here. Back to strong faster uptempo
Melodic Heavy Rock again on Pyre, while with Already gone the band slows things
down, because this is a lovely classic 80s Melodic Rockballad in an almost
FIREHOUSE kinda direction. The bitter taste of you goes for a classic midtempo
Melodic Hardrocksound that sounds like a perfect cross between BONFIRE and
VICTORY. Silent nightmare is going for a more modern approach, due to the gang
vocals and groovy guitar riffs, but Wake up and Requiem are happily a change
back to nice midtempo Melodic Hardrock. The album closes with the beautiful
calmer ballad I'm still me that has a SCORPIONS/BONFIRE touch. It is obvious
that we are most of the time dealing here with a much-recommended band to fans
of 80s Melodic Hard/Heavy Rock! Check them out at: https://www.fahran.com/
DREAMING
MADMEN 'ASHES OF A DIARY' (INDEPENDENT/USA IMPORT)
Once
you start listening to the debut album Ashes of a diary of the Austin, Texas
based band DREAMING MADMEN, you will immediately be fascinated, because already
the first song, which is an instrumental intro titled Page one, it gives you
the feeling that there is something happening here. The guitarsolo and overall
huge sound is kinda bringing memories of classic PINK FLOYD, MARILLION or
PORCUPINE TREE. Who is behind DREAMING MADMEN? Well, it concerns here a
Progressive Rock duo formed by two Lebanese brothers Mathew & Christopher
Aboujaoude in their home studio in their hometown Deir El Harf, Lebanon and
currently based in Austin, Texas, USA. There is not that much info available,
but take it from me that this DREAMING MADMEN is doing something extraordinary
on Ashes of a diary. From out of nowhere this independently released album
reaches the desks of progrock reviewers and each and everyone will agree that
this might become one of the big new Progacts in the near future. The first
real song is the amazing Behind my wall, which features once again superb
precise guitarwork (DAVID GILMOUR), strong vocals and beautiful melodies. This
is Progrock at it's absolute finest, sounding like it was recorded by a major
progband, but we are really listening to 2 brothers that create this
sensational sound. The songs are lengthy, but never stretches just to show off
with long instrumental passages. Instead they are more or less song based and
combine this with precise guitarsolos, which makes DREAMING MADMEN the
picture-perfect progband! The absolute highlight of the album is the terrific
Your possessor, with it's guitarsound from heaven and beautiful melodies. It's
like we are indeed dreaming when listening to this band, because they are
really good. The guitarsolo's are exceptional and belong to some of the best I
have heard lately, right up there with the best guitarplayers and everytime the
guitarsolo kicks in on any of the songs, you simply can't get enough and then
you know we have something special here. I am safe to say here that we're
listening to a band that could easily be mentioned right next to RIVERSIDE,
PORCUPINE TREE, MARILLION, RPWL, because they are as good as those established
progbands, just listen to the stunning instrumental Enigma and close your
eyes.. You absolutely don't want to miss this band, so make sure to check them
out at: https://dreamingmadmen.com/
We’re heading
to the Londen, UK where we can find a new interesting British singer/songwriter
called WAITING FOR SMITH (aka HARRY LLOYD), who actually travels between London
and Amsterdam. Anyway, he recorded a bunch of songs the past few years and I
received 2 mini-CDs filled with in total 10 songs he wrote/recorded. His latest
song was produced by TOM FULLER (CLEAN BANDIT, TOM WALKER…) and when listening
to his music, it is clear that he is indeed someone with a huge potential to
become the next big sensation. The singer/songwriter world is at the moment
mostly situated around GEORGE EZRA, ED SHEERAN and LEWIS CAPALDI. However, when
hearing such catchy songs like Trade it in, So much love and Now you’re mine,
we are hearing songs that could easily become mega radiohits. Harry is a gifted
singer/songwriter who has a good ear for writing a catchy song with memorable
melodies. The music itself is a mix of singer/songwriter and melodic pop/rock,
done quite nicely, although nothing new is happening here. Check him out
at: http://www.waitingforsmith.co.uk/
(Points: 8.0 out of 10)
PLANET
OF RHYTHM are as American as you can get, as they combine all the classic Rock
and Hardrocksounds from the glorious American music history. Not much info on
them, except they are coming out of L.A., California and they were kind enough
to sent me their 2 albums. Somehow the first couple of songs I heard on their
Damaged goods album from 2018 did not grab me that much, as this was just nice
American Rock n roll/Southern rock/Bluesy Rock. Those early songs on the CD are
clearly BOB SEGER and CREEDENCE CLEARWATER REVIVAL influenced, which was
definitely nicely done, but not as sensational as what would follow next. We're
talking about The song Your posession which brings a change in style, as this
is moving up the style to classic American Melodic Rock, reminding me of 38
SPECIAL, including those great vocals/harmony vocals/chorus. Following track
Voodoo woman goes even a step further, as this is a sensational uptempo high
class 70s/80s Californian melodic rocker like BLUE OYSTER CULT, STRANGER and
such. The running song is also excellent Melodic Hardrock, like BUDGIE meets
Y&T. Then we have to wait a few songs before the band returns to Classic
American Hardrock with the B.O.C./THE GODZ/GAMMA ish Shades of blue, which
features once again great VAN HALEN ish guitarwork like we only know it from
the classic 70s/80s. They have another surprise, because the lovely rocker
Forest Glen features a SUPERB female singer JULIET ROBERTS (I am now very eager
to hear more of this sensational vocalist!). And closing track Sunday road
features another guest, namely MICHAEL SWEENEY, but is musically speaking a
country ish semi-ballad. Concluded, Damaged goods is a very diverse record that
goes from country to hardrock and everything in between! The other album
(Saddlebag Sally) is a little less rocking, but still a nice diverse release
that has as highlights Nobody but you (cool classic 80s US Melodic Hardrock),
Morning light (relaxing beautiful melodic pop/rock with once again singer
JULIET ROBERTS on vocals), the early 80s Melodic Poprocker My embrace (a la
BILLY SATELLITE) and the Americana Noche solitario (a la CALEXICO). Concluded,
we have an interesting Californian band over here that is best comparable with
another Californian band I saw performing recently (KINGSBOROUGH), so if you
know those guys, then you will surely love this PLANET OF RHYTHM, because they
are doing the same kind of mixture of pop/hardrock/classic rock styles. When
going for that pure 80s hardrocking sound (on especially their best record
Damaged good), PLANET OF RHYTHM has one of the most authentic 80s
Hardrocksounds I have heard lately. They do it quite perfectly and therefore
fans of mentioned bands need to check them out at: https://store.cdbaby.com/Artist/PlanetofRhythm
although you have to take it for granted that they also do a lot of other
pop/rock styles in their repertoire!
Salutogenesis
took a couple of years to finish, but the German band SOULSPLITTER shows that
on their debut album they have reached an incredible high level. The band
consists of Fenix Gayed - Drums, Simon Kramer - Guitars, Daniel Gräupner - Keys
and Felix Jacobs - Bass, but on this album we can also hear a lot of guest
musicians and singers. It is a concept album and as already mentioned, it is of
a very high level and quite challenging musically speaking. Of course the main
style should be described as high class Progressive Rock/Metal, with clear
influences from STEVEN WILSON, PORCUPINE TREE, ELP, DREAM THEATER, PINK FLOYD
and such, with liong instrumental passages and complex breaks, as well as
various World Music influences. I am quite convinced that this is one of those
albums that will be adored by the die-hard Progfans and that's not so strange
if you listen to such lengthy songs like The transition, The moloch, The dream
of The sacrifice, which feel like a superb adventure through the never-ending
Progrockworld, where so much is explored time and time again. You have your
calmer parts (PINK FLOYD), beautiful singing (of female vocalists OPHELIA
SULLIVAN and VIC ANSELMO), some huge male screaming (Black Metal ish), a few
dark melancholic Goth parts, clean melodies in the guitarparts, but also
complex progmetal riffs in the old DREAM THEATER school, while also OPETH
influences can be traced, but there's so much more to explore. If you listen to
The moloch for example, you are able to hear everything in 1 song, kinda like a
mix between OPETH, KAYAK, DREAM THEATER and SENTENCED, with classical music
parts also available here and there and the male screams are also notable a few
times. And how about the fantastic instrumental The dream that simply blows
away any of the past few DREAM THEATER records. On the other hand there is also
a beautiful calmer song The eye of the cyclone and Melodic Progmetal at it's
best during closing track The sacrifice (a mix between ROBBY VALENTINE and
THRESHOLD). I think the enormous diversity in each and every of the 8 included
songs is making this album a joy to discover and hear something of interest
with every new listen. Check it out for sure if you like any of the mentioned
acts. More info at: https://www.soulsplitter.com/
(Points: 8.7 out of 10)
ORESUND SPACE
COLLECTION is a band/project/collective formed in Denmark back in 2004 by
Danish, Swedish and American musicians doing a free form of improvised space
rock music. They have evolved into a large changing collective playing many
concerts and releasing a lot of albums in the past 15 years. Their latest album
Experiments in the subconscious continues the style of their previous albums,
which is superb high class instrumental progressive rock with jazzy and fusion
parts, very 1970s orientated, with also spacy keys/synths besides the grooving
guitar parts. 5 songs are included and all of them (except the 3 minutes
counting Ooops) are quite long (15-20 minutes). Opener Lost in Africa has a
midtempo R&B sorta classic rhythm sound, but develops into a guitar solo
driving progrocksong after 9 minutes and ends up as being a picture perfect
instrumental jamming progtune that just doesn't stop happily and is very 1970s
based. This sensational tune clocks in at 17 minutes and I guess you can say
that instrumental music never sounded better! Prosthetic Cuban throws in some
SANTANA ish latin rock influences in the beginning, but also goes into space
rock/prog adventures later on, with a sensational 2nd part which features
amazing long guitarsolos that really stretch it to a sensational jamming
ecstasy. At 20 minutes, this is also the longest song on offer and Lost
milesage and Hieroglyphic smell are the 2 other songs that are of course also
such interesting sensational instrumental tunes to check out! Without a doubt,
this is a must-have for anyone who is fed up with the standard popmusic or any
of today’s music at all, because this is improvisation progressive rock like it
was only possible in the 1970s! Check out more at: https://oresundspacecollective.bandcamp.com/album/experiments-in-the-subconscious
(Points:
8.8 out of 10)
The
Maryland, USA based band HOLLOWED SKY was formed in 2016 and already in 2017
they released a CD. The foursome play pure Progrock with Progmetal guitar riffs
here and there, while the vocals/melodies/choruses are very melodic and song
based. The result is a strong sound that is very nice to listen to and
especially their singer JAY OREM has a great voice, perfectly suitable for this
kind of music. Strings is their new album, which contains 5 tracks in total,
sounding like a cross between RUSH, ENCHANT and TOOL. They recorded the album
here, there and everywhere, meaning in bedrooms and basements. Although the
production could be a bit better, the band's music itself is really good and
feels like a jam sometimes, just the way they originally started in 2016. While
the previous album was a bit more song orientated, this new album brings them
into a more experimental prog jam direction. However, fear not, because there
are still strong melodies to be heard. It's nice to see such small independent
US bands appearing on the horizon, because that was quite normal in the early
80s, but nowadays quite rare I'm afraid. Check them out at: https://www.hollowedsky.com/
Out
of Vancouver, Canada comes the talented FRAZEY FORD, who already released a
couple of albums before U Kin B The Sun, because she has a solo carreer since
2010 after the split of her former band BE GOOD TANYAS. That band we reviewed
many moons ago, although I can't remember the exact sound of them. Fast forward
to 2020, in April her new album U Kin B The Sun should be released and as I am
not familiar with her earlier solo album, let's focus on this sensational new
FRAZEY FORD album. She has a fantastic soulful voice a la BETH HART and YOLA
CARTER and so is her music, which is also not far removed from LEON BRIDGES,
CURTIS HARDING, BLACK PUMAS, TESKEY BROTHERS and such, but then with female
vocals. This is Soulful old school R&B rhythm driven light Westcoast Pop
kinda music, which I personally love very much. 11 songs are included, and if
we have a look at the album's highlights, I need to mention Money can't buy,
which is a very strong midtempo soulful and somewhat bluesy pop/rock song with
a very slight BETH HART meets AMY WHINEHOUSE kinda vibe, although it also is
quite close to the sensational BLACK PUMAS and the last record of DE WOLFF. A
little slower and really feeling like a classic Soul ish ballad is the song
Let's start again. Holdin' it down is one of the strongest songs, an almost
perfect cross between classic Soul/R&B of the old school and the Westcoast
of YOUNG GUN SILVER FOX, so a definite potential hit. Also a highlight is the
jazzy Motherfucker that could be a AMY WHINEHOUSE song. Overall a really strong
album, with a great soulful voice, but I also need to add that the rhythm section
is making such a fantastic slow laid-back sound that it almost feels like
you're on a boat on the Mississippi on a very hot summer day! If any of the
mentioned acts is up your alley, then you absolutely need to check out this new
FRAZEY FORD album! Check out all info at: https://frazeyford.com/
Out
of Aberdeen, Scotland comes THE DELERIUM TREES, which is a band formed around
one person, Drew Jarvie (Keyboards/Brass/Vocals/Percussion), who is assisted by
guitarist JACK FOX (who used to play in Heavy Metal bands) on this new album
Swimming with the ghost angels. The included music is a mix of instrumentals
and vocal tracks, while musically it contains influences from Indie, New Wave
and Alternative Rock. The 11 tracks are sometimes quite long, so you have an
extensive playing time. Opener and titletrack is a nice Alternative Melodic
Rocksong, with a melodic chorus and somehow a bit reminding of 80s SIMPLE
MINDS. Following track Do angels dream? is a lengthy (9 minutes) instrumental
midtempo tune that has a bit New Wave/Prog elements. Freak show is up next and
clearly shows that the only complaint on this album are the weaker vocals of
Drew. If he would hire a real good singer, then the vocal tracks would
definitely sound better, because now the highlights on Swimming wit the ghost
angels are the instrumental tracks, such as the excellent Fighting the Gods,
which is a mix of New Wave, Synth Wave and Krautrock/Prog, 70s meets 80s style
and a really strong song. In that same style we can find the long tracks Sound
of 633 and One day, 2 really great keyboard based instrumentals that sound
quite sensational. These songs make it worth checking out this album if you're
into especially Synthwave, but let's hope on a future record, the vocaltracks
will see an improvement and introduce a different singer, or it will be a full
instrumental album. More info at: https://www.reverbnation.com/thedeleriumtrees
She
wynds on is a 5-tracks counting EP CD by the Scottish musician CALUM WOOD, who
created a very nice semi-instrumental adventure through the Highlands on this
CD. it should be played when driving along the route of the Cairngorm
Mountains, but actuyally you could play anytime anywhere, because it is quite
beautiful. The included music is strong Folk driven instrumental pop/rock, with
even a touch of classic Progrock/AOR during Tomintoul to Grantown-on-Spey. Only
on opener She wyds, we can hear Calum's rather impressive vocals. Let's hope we
can hear more of that on a future album and perhaps some more tunes.
Nevertheless, a nice one to check out for sure! More info at: www.calumwood.com and https://store.cdbaby.com/cd/calumwood
Originally
from London, UK and now proudly living in Scotland, where acoustic guitarplayer
STEVE GARRETT recorded a mini-album together with double bass player PETER
LOWITT and String quarter arranger/director JAMES EDGE. The included music is
nice relaxing instrumental acoustic guitar driven jazzy/fusion. 4 songs are on
this CD, of which the highlights are You called me and Braw day, the longer
tracks with some variety in the guitarplaying of Steve. Definitely done very
well and for more info go to: https://stevegarrettguitar.com/in-arden
Almost
20 years ago singer/songwriter/multi-instrumentalist ROB CUTTINGHAM
(TOUCHSTONE/CAIRO) recorded the album Back behind the orchard tree, but nothing
happened until he re-recorded it in 2019. He was helped by JOHN MITCHELL, the
legendary Prog hero behind acts like KINO, FROST, ARENA, IT BITES, LONELY
ROBOT... John co-produced it and also played guitars, while on backing vocals
we can hear Esther Wildman and Rob's daughter Kerry Dawn and completing the
list of the additional musicians, we can hear saxophonist Anatoliy
Vyacheslavov. Rob has a truly wonderful voice and together with his relaxing
way of pianoplaying, it makes each and every song a winner if you like your Neo-Prog
to sound a bit calmer and very song based, with here and there a touch of AOR.
Hear me starts the album and is a very nice calmer melodic Neo-Prog/AOR
rocksong with strong chorus and somehow even a bit reminding of DARE in their
late 90s/early 00s period. When listening to the sensational following track
Invisible man and the rest of the included material, the music on this album
really fits somewhere between Neo-Progrock a la PALLAS/ARENA and calmer
well-thought AOR/Poprock of the MIKE AND THE MECHANICS meets DARE/JOHN WETTON
kind. Most of the 10 included tracks follow that path, starting calmer with Rob
on piano and vocals, while slowly building up to something bigger sounding and
always very melodic. As mentioned, a bit AORish like DARE/MARK SPIRO/JOHN
WETTON/GARY HUGHES' 1993 solo album if you listen to a superb song like Hero,
with it's beautiful guitar solos. Despite a few unnecessary songs like the
reprise of Hear me and the orchestral version of Hero, it is a pleasure to
listen to this wonderful album that fills the gap quite perfectly between
Neo-Prog and Symphonic, calmer well-thought AOR in-between JOHN WETTON, DARE,
IT BITES and PALLAS. Check it out for yourself at: http://cairorocks.com/band/rob-cottingham/
One of the finest bands from the past 10
years is definitely SUBSIGNAL, the German Progressive Rockband already released
a lot of great albums, but in 2018 they released their best one so far, La
muerta. This sensational release brought a lot of new classic songs in the
Progworld, including The passage, which for me personally is one of the best
songs I have heard in the past 20 years! Their new release is a live album that
was recorded in Rüsselsheim, Germany on the 28th of March,
2019, so 1 year ago during their ‘La muerta’ tour. SUBSIGNAL was originally
formed out of the ashes of 2 other great German Progrockbands, DREAMSCAPE and
SIEGES EVEN, and I think all these years of playing high quality music is
contributing to the fact that all their experiences come together the past few
years in SUBSIGNAL. This live album shows that also live SUBSIGNAL is one of
the finest Progrockbands out there and of course a lot of songs from their La
Muerta album are played, along with older songs of the band. Usually I am not
that much interested in a live recording, because I prefer at home a studio
recording and when going to a concert I will see the live performance, but on
the other hand not everyone is able to catch this band live and then I would
say, check out this sensational live album of a band that is getting better and
better with every new release. They show they can easily perform their material
live as good as on the original album and therefore A song for the homeless is
a highly recommended album to check out in case you’re not familiar with
SUBSIGNAL. Looking already forward to a new album of them in the near future!
(Points:
8.7 out of 10)
THE
BROTHERS GILLESPIE 'THE FELL' (INDEPENDENT/BIRNAM CD/UK IMPORT)
Out of Northumberland,
UK comes THE BROTHERS GILLESPIE, a duo formed around brothers JAMES GILLESPIE
(vocals, guitar, fiddle) and SAM GILLESPIE (vocals, guitar, mandolin, whistle).
Together they have created a beautiful rich melodic folk singer/songwriter
popsound that is mostly built around acoustic guitars and the (harmony) vocals
of the 2 brothers. Comparisons to THE EVERLY BROTHERS, THE MILK CARTON KIDS,
TANGERINE and such are clearly possible on their 2nd album The
fell. 9 songs are included in total and from start to finish it is very
enjoyable to listen to these 2 extremely talented singer/songwriter brothers.
They released this album in 2018 and are currently working on a new album, so
we can already look forward to that. In case you missed The fell, then you
should definitely check it out a.s.a.p., because it offers so much beautiful
original songs that just scream to be heard! More info at: https://thebrothersgillespie.com/
(Points:
8.3 out of 10)
LORRAINE JORDAN ‘SEND MY SOUL’ (HAZELVILLE MUSIC/BIRNAM
CD/UK IMPORT)
Singer/songwriter
LORRAINE JORDAN from Wales has been in the music business for quite a long time
now, with several releases on her own, but she also played alongside acts like
THE WATERBOYS, LABI SIFFRE, RICHARD THOMPSON, THE CHIEFTAINS… Send my soul is
her 5th studio album and contains as she describes it herself
Celtic Soul. Together with co-producer and her partner DEBBIE DICKINSON (who
sadly passed away in March 2019) as well as lot of musicians, she recorded this
very strong album in 2018. 12 songs are included and this is one of those
beautiful albums you can listen to from start to finish without pressing the
skip button. Lorraine has a fantastic voice and her light Celtic/Folk ish
Melodic Pop/Rock is a pleasure to listen to. Songs like Heavenly voices, Say it
now and especially Desert sands are very strong ‘catchy’ melodic driven
pop/rock songs that might appeal to a lot of people. This is music from the
heart, with a lot of emotion and thanks to Lorraine’s wonderful vocals, a must
to hear for people who long for melodies and stories told in each and every
song. You could compare it to for instance KT TUNSTALL and countless other
female artists, in case you really want a comparison. However, LORRAINE JORDAN
has her own identity and I would definitely recommend this Send my soul album
to anyone out there! More info at: www.lorrainejordan.net
(Points: 8.4 out of 10)
COURSE OF
FATE 'MINDWEAVER' (ROCK OF ANGELS RECORDS/GORDEON MUSIC/GERMANY IMPORT)
Out
of Fredrikstadt, Norway comes a sensational Progressive Metalband called COURSE
OF FATE, whom are releasing their official debut album Mindweaver on ROCK OF
ANGELS RECORDS. The band was formed quite a while ago actually, with even a
demo release all the way back in 2006. Their current line-up consists of Eivind
Gunnesen: Lead vocals, Kenneth Henriksen: guitars, vocals, Marcus Lorentzen:
guitars, Daniel Nygaard: bass, Carl Marius Saugstad: keyboards and Per-Morten
Bergseth: Drums. Mindweaver is a concept album featuring 8 tracks, and is
musically Melodic Progressive Metal at it's very best, like a mix between
classic 80s QUEENSRYCHE (Operation Mindcrime), PAGAN'S MIND, EVERGREY and DREAM THEATER. Although it is a concept
record, the songs are very melodic and quite catchy when listening to them
separetely. The faceless men Part 1 and Endgame for example are very strong
songs with catchy choruses, but actually any of the included songs if offering
superb high quality Progmetal in the style of the aforementioned acts.
Definitely a must to check-out a.s.a.p., especially if Operation
mindcrime/QUEENSRYCHE is one of your favorite albums! More info at: https://roar.gr/artists/course-of-fate/
Now this is something
very different, because as the title of the album says, this is funeral music. The
FRA FRA trio from Northern Ghana is led by SMALL, a man who plays two-string
Kologo 'guitar' with dog-tags fastened at the head as rattles. Frafra or
Farefare, also known as Gurenɛ, is the language of the Frafra people of
northern Ghana. The music on Funeral songs is an almost accapella kinda
musicstyle based around singing alone and together, with just a few hand-made
instruments as back-up. The result is very interesting of course, because the
original Bluessound started this way a century ago. Here in its current
original raw sound, which was recorded 100% live and outdoors by Grammy Award
winning producer IAN BRENNAN (TINARIWEN, USTAD SAAMI, ZOMBA PRISON
PROJECT…), the result is very original and interesting to check out. You will
be surprised for sure, because this is as basic as you can get and it will
still grab you! Check it out at: https://pan-african-music.com/en/glitterbeat-records-trio-fra-fra/
(Points:
8.3 out of 10)
ZULYA
'SIX DAYS LOVING' (YUMMY MUSIC/XANGO MUSIC)
ZULYA KAMALOVA is the
artist behind ZULYA. She is originally from Russia, but moved to Australia in
1991 and ever since then she built up an impressive career. Meanwhile she has
released numerous albums and received a lot of Australian Awards for her World
Music sounding albums. She makes original Tatar music, and is actually regarded
as one of the best in this genre in the world. I am not familiar at all with
this original Russian Folk Music style, but what she does on her latest album
is clearly of a very high level. Alty Kon Yaratu/Six Days Loving is a
collaboration with a Tatar poet YOLDYZ MINNULLINA and the Dutch
musician MICHIEL HOLLANDERS. The music is very calm singer/songwriter based
with Russian lyrics/melodies and it actually sounds very nice. It somehow
doesn’t feel like something completely else, because I can even hear some
similarities to SADE, with very strong Russian vocals of Zulya. It is hard to
describe exactly of course, but the 9 included tracks really have something
that grabs you for sure. If you listen to Fifth day, this is definitely an
interesting midtempo pop/rock ish tune that even reminds me of stuff DALBELLO
was doing at one point, so a little bit experimental pop/rock but still with
some nice smooth melodies. I think it’s best to check it out for yourself
at: https://zulya.com
(Points:
8.4 out of 10)
JON
HASSELL/FARAFINA 'FLASH OF THE SPIRIT' (TAK:TIL/GLITTERBEAT RECORDS/XANGO
MUSIC)
Actually this album
was released all the way back in 1988, but is now re-issued by GLITTERBEAT
RECORDS. Flash of the Spirit from the American Trumpetplayer JON HASSELL was
made with the help of FARAFINA, a Percussion/Sing/Dance group from Burkina
Faso, while the album was produced by Jon himself, along with the legendary
BRIAN ENO and DANIEL LANOIS. The sound on the album is a mix of instrumental
Freejazz and African rhythms, very original and interesting for the fans of open-minded
Jazz. You can clearly hear a lot of improvisation that was going on when
recording the material on the album. 8 percussion players with a trumpet and
keyboards is all there is to be heard, but the way they worked and built up to
a climax and very rhythmic sound, it makes each and every song a blast to hear!
Highly recommended to anyone who wants to hear something completely different!
(Points:
8.2 out of 10)
PULLED
BY MAGNETS ‘ROSE GOLDEN DOORWAYS’ (TAK TIL/GLITTERBEAT/XANGO MUSIC)
The debut album Rose
golden doorways by London based trio PULLED BY MAGNETS is not easy to describe,
as the included music is very experimental. The trio is formed around drummer
SEBASTIAN ROCHFORD, who comes out of the so-called JAZZ RENAISSANCE movement
from a few years ago. With this new project, he focuses on something completely
different. The album was recorded in an old church and is basically a very dark
sounding album that features very slow instrumental music that almost sounds
like Doom Metal at the slowest possible distorted speed. Influences actually
come out of the Jazz, India, Metal and whatever is possible. Almost impossible
to exactly describe this, so go hear for yourself at: https://pulledbymagnets.bandcamp.com/album/rose-golden-doorways
(Points:
8.1 out of 10)
From
out of nowhere the debut LP of the Washington based 5-piece all-female band THE
OSYX landed on my desk. I was quite overwhelmed by them, because as soon as
their same titled debut LP was playing on my record player, it was clear to me
that this band is sounding very sensational and should easily be able to become
a huge band in the near future. They were kind enough to sent me their album on
VINYL RECORD, which of course is always a big bonus and especially since their
music is quite special and sounding picture-perfect, I am proud to praise their
first album. The band is formed around Erin Frisby (vocals, guitar, synth,
multi-instrumentalist), Ara Casey (vocals, guitar), Selena Benally (vocals,
guitar), Robzie Trulove (drums) and Maya Renfro (bass, guitar, vocals). Their
sound is a mix of pure Classic Rock, Vintage Retro Fuzzy Garage Rock and Heavy
Blues Rock, with a lot of soul in the vocal department, some beautiful
harmonyvocals and big massive guitar riffs, kinda sounding a bit like a mix
between BLUES PILLS, THE WHITE STRIPES and EX HEX, with here and there some
classic JEFFERSPON AIRPLANE similarities as well. 7 songs are included and the
overall production/sound quality is very raw and independent like, but in this
case it contributes to the retro rocksound of the band. The first 2 songs
(Carry it with me and Six feet under) are big midtempo rockers that show THE
OSYX at their best, as these are really rocking out big time and are combined
with strong memorable melodies. Bicoastal slows things down a bit and goes for
a somewhat early 90s grungier altrock approach, like L7 meets TEENAGE FANCLUB,
so with a slight Powerpop/College Rock touch as well. Side-A of the record
closes with the groovier hard hitting rocker Dog fight that reminds me somehow
of the band CYCLE SLUTS FROM HELL, if anyone can remember them of course!
Turning over to Side-B, we open with Scavengers, which starts very calm, but
ends up being a somewhat melancholic Melodic Rockish semi-ballad that reveal
some influences from JEFFERSON AIRPLANE in both the lead vocals and
instrumental parts. This song also features lovely melodic harmonyvocals during
the catchy chorus and has a Cello solo by guest musician Hannah Sternberg. All
together an interesting song for sure! It is followed by the Classic Heavy
Bluesrocker Diving intervention (a la BLUES PILLS), which features a great
guitarsolo and a strong memorable chorus. The album closes nicely with Bad
Omen, another JEFFERSON AIRPLANE ish epic Psychedelic Garage Rocker, with
haunting vocals that almost reaches classic 1970s ANN WILSON (HEART) screams
towards the end of the song. Concluded, this is really a remarkable record that
is highly recommended to any rocker out there. I am amazed this 2019 release
went unnoticed and hopefully this review will contribute to the development of
their bandname outside Washington D.C. The music is available through their
website at: https://theosyx.bandcamp.com/music
Out of Mali, Africa
comes singer/songwriter KANKOU KOUYATE, shortened to KANKOU as artist name, and
in 2017 she met the Scottish producer/multi-instrumentalist MARK MULHOLLAND.
Together they started writing music that is a mixture of African and Western
music, resulting in a very original sensational sound that is a cross between
bluesy rock, folk/world music and African rhythms. Now there is a full-length
album available, which is titled Kuma, and also features OLAF HUND on
electronica for the beats and textures. The album contains 10 songs and they
are all a pleasure to listen to, sounding like nothing else that is out there
at the moment. It rocks quite a bit actually and Kankou’s beautiful voice is
making it all such a great experience to go through, because it is such a
unique combination. Songs like Sigi, Kuma, Dimi and Yande are all very strong,
but actually any of the included songs should be checked by anyone. It should
appeal to both (blues) rockfans and people who are into World/African music,
although I am safe to say that basically it will appeal to a very wide
diversity of people. Kankou herself by the way even worked with the legendary
BRIAN ENO back in 2013, so it is really nice to see someone from Mali
delivering such great music that also has connections with the Western
Pop/Rockworld. Check out more at: https://www.facebook.com/kankoumusic/
(Points:
8.4 out of 10)
STEVEN
MACIOMHAIR ‘CLADAICH LOCH LU/SHORES OF LOCH EWE’ (INDEPENDENT/BIRNAM CD/UK
IMPORT)
STEVEN MACIOMHAIR
comes out of a small village in the West Coast of Scotland, and Cladiach loch
lu is his debut album. The included music is Gaelic/Folk in a singer/songwriter
approach. You really need to get used to not only the Gaelic language, which is
for most of us quite unknown and hard to follow, but also his way of singing
takes a long time before it grabs you. Once you are comfortable with his music
and vocals, then you can easily listen to his first album that is recommended
to the fans fo Gaelic music. Available through https://www.birnamcdshop.com/product/steven-maciomhair/
(Points:
6.5 out of 10)
SGOIL
CHIUL ‘NA GAIDHEALTACHD’ (INDEPENDENT/BIRNAM CD/UK IMPORT)
The National Centre of
Excellence in Traditional Music is what SGOIL CHIUL stands for. It is an
exciting opportunity for young Scottish traditional musicians to develop their
talent to its full potential. Now there is a 2-CD set available, which contains
music played by these students and I can guarantee you it is of a very high
level actually. The music is Gaelic Folk orientated and I have to say it is
quite nice to listen to for sure, showing the enormous talent of these young
musicians, who might one day become well-known musicians. Available
through https://www.birnamcdshop.com/product/sgoil-chiuil-na-gaidhealtachd-9/
(Points:
7.4 out of 10)
ANDREW
J. NEWALL ‘JANUS 2020/REFLECTIONS FROM AN AIRPORT’ (INDEPENDENT/BIRNAM CD/UK
IMPORT)
In London and Bristol
singer/songwriter ANDREW J. NEWALL is quite well-known in the Folkscene,
although I am not really familiar with him until I received his latest 2
albums, Janus and Reflections from an airport. He recently moved to Scotland
and when listening to his music, you can clearly hear is influenced by his new
surroundings. What strikes me most is his beautiful voice, as he sings so
easily and the combination with real stories in his songs, it is a pleasure to
listen to all of his music. The music itself is a sorta Singer/songwriter
Folk/Pop with a lot of melodies that are sung quite perfect by Andrew. Although
it is Folk orientated, I can imagine also all the Singer/songwriter fans out
there will absolutely love this talented musician. One of the guest musicians
is GRAEME DUFFIN, who is known for being a ‘hidden’ member of the band WET WET
WET since 1983. I would recommend this album to people who like
singer/songwriter that really tell a lot of stories and who also like good
strong singing. More info at: https://www.birnamcdshop.com/product/andrew-j-newall/
(Points:
8.1 out of 10)
JACKIE
LYNN is actually the fictional alter ego name of American singer/songwriter
HALEY FOHR from CIRCUIT DES YEUX. Jacqueline is the name of the 2nd album of
JACKIE LYNN, and joining her on this new album are BITCHIN' BRAJAS member
COOPER CRAIN, ROB FRYE and DAN QUINLIVAN. The music is quite diverse, with a
variety of music styles hidden here and there. 1980s influenced music is
clearly most present here, but JACKIE LYNN is on the other hand making it sound
modern and also the whole package and presence is showing someone who is
devoted to become the next big thing! FLORENCE AND THE MACHINE might be a
really good comparison overall, but if we go through the included songs, we can
discover much more than that. Starting with a very interesting pure 80s
Synthpop driven midtempo catchy little tune titled Casino queen that shows
influences from HUMAN LEAGUE, OMD and such bands. Going for a more rockier
uptempo approach and still holding on to classic early 80s is the rather cool
excellent guitar riff driven Shugar water, which is once again a radio-ready
hit tune that even recalls memories of the early 80s Poprocksound of THE
MODELS, PAT BENATAR and even the very first LOVERBOY record (somehow the
guitarsound, the melodies and rhythm are dangerously close to that band
actually!). It's all about diversity, because following track Dream St. is
completely different again, because this is a somewhat laid-back modern
sounding hi-tech Shoegaze meets Disco ish tune, with somewhat soulful vocals of
Hayley. Short black dress is basically pure ANNIE LENNOX/EURYTHMICS, with a
strong high-pitched vocal driven melodic chorus, which is built around a
hi-tech popsound. It took me a while to really describe Jackie's sound, but
when Lenxa kicks in, it is obvious that JACKIE LYNN has an own identity,
because this vocal/accapella driven song, with some haunting dark synths, it is
a song that combines elements of the aforementioned FLORENCE AND THE MACHINE
and ANNIE LENNOX, with however a sound that is taking a different direction
than the first 5 songs. It sounds like something you could hear on the
background of an epic movie, and as soon as the synths/keys (with an early 90s
acid-techno-house vibe) take over during Odessa, we are in a hypnotic journey
of JACKIE LYNN that really sets her sound apart from any of the earlier
mentioned acts. This is retro early 90s Techno-house like we know it from the
house/rave scene in 1991 (CHANNEL X meets MOBY meets LADY GAGA meets DONNA
SUMMER or something like that!). I have in my lifetime as a reviewer not heard
so much diversity on 1 record, although of course it never becomes a rock
record apart from the earlier mentioned semi-rocker Shugar water. After this
long Trance/Techno Classic Odessa (7 minutes), the album continues with
Traveler's code of conduct, another modern hi-tech ANNIE LENNOX ish groovy
poptune. Diamond glue grabs back to the 1970s and is a funky synth driven tune
that seems simple, but is very catchy somehow and reminding of a cross between
CHIC and STEVE MILLER BAND's Fly like an eagle, yet with a modern touch in the
vocal department. The album closes nicely with Control, a slow dark 80s Synth
driven tune that sounds like a cross between BRONSKI BEAT and ALISON MOYET.
Concluded, we have here a very diverse album that might appeal to a lot of you
out there. Although a few times in the beginning it feels like a sorta
radio-ready album, the further we go into the full album, it becomes more
challenging, experimental and therefore more interesting for the open-minded
musicfans out there. Definitely worth checking out this new JACKIE LYNN album
if you're keen on something old in a new jacket! More info at: https://circuitdesyeux.bandcamp.com/album/jackie-lynn
Out
of Scotland comes REELY JIGGERED and their 3rd album Tricky terrain will be
released in May 2020. The line-up of the band consists of Alison McNeill MMus
(Fiddle and Vocals), Fiona McNeill MA Arts Hons (Guitar, Vocals), Scott Mclean
(Drums and Percussion) and Frank Douglas (bass) The music of REELY JIGGERED is
Celtic Rock, with a focus on strong melodies, high-pitched almost Soprano like
vocals and a pretty solid rocking instrumental sound. The result is a very
impressive new album that is a mix of uptempo melodic Celtic Pop/Rock songs a
la THE CORRS (Walking boots, Searching for you, Lost in time...) and more
traditional Celtic/Folk (titletrack, The Deli's awa, Countdown...). What is
clear that they have a modern approach, which will appeal to a lot of people,
as it sounds fresh and even rocks quite a bit. A song like the instrumental
titletrack has a bit of Progrock influences, while it might all even appeal to
fans of BLACKMORE's NIGHT or DELAIN/NIGHTWISH, yet then take away the massive
guitarsound of course. I was pleasantly surprised by this high quality release
of REELY JIGGERED and I can only agree that their international success is well
deserved. Let's hope they will be able to keep performing live again in the
future, because I feel they will live on stage definitely impress a lot! More
info at:
https://www.reelyjiggered.co.uk/
IMAGINARY CREATURES
‘SOMETIMES THEY GET INTO THE MACHINERY’ (BIRNAM CD/UK IMPORT)
Now this is quite a big surprise, because when looking at the frontcover picture of the CD booklet of the CD of IMAGINARY CREATURES, I was absolutely not expecting a full-blown Progressive Rockalbum! I honestly thought this was a classical music album based around a Contrabass. Before diving into the music, let’s first have a look and see who is behind this band or should I say project, because actually IMAGINARY CREATURES is a studio project formed around singer/songwriter DAVID SCOTT and multi-instrumentalist IAIAN MCKINNA. Sometimes they get into the machinery is already their 4th album, but the first to feature strings, as guests WENDY WEATHERBY and RON SHAW play cello and SENOAID AITKEN plays violin. Also important is the addition of drummer TED MCKENNA, who played in the past with acts like ALEX HARVEY BAND, RORY GALLAGHER, BAND OF FRIENDS and MICHAEL SCHENKER FEST. 12 songs are included on the album, which starts with Electric warrior and Extase, 2 beautiful 70s Progrock songs that sound like a mixture between ELO and PINK FLOYD. The calmer At winter’s end follows and is a 70s ALAN PARSONS PROJECT kinda progpop tune. Things get rockier during the uptempo progrocker Dreams of California, which also reveals some modern influences. The catchy Shades in the rain is up next and is a 70s type of happy friendlier melodic prog/poprocker with once again ELO similarities, although I also must think of CITY BOY and TRICKSTER here! A slight change in style follows in the Psychedelic late 60s pop/rocker MrTeddy Bear, which reveals clear THE BEATLES Sgt. Pepper influences and more of THE BEATLES influences can be heard on Wait for me Judy. This song is very close to ELEANOR RIGBY, yet with an own twist, kinda 70s prog with lyrics that seem like a tribute to DARK SIDE OF THE MOON/PINK FLOYD. It is a lovely tune that captures the best of the classic progsound from the past, and is definitely one of the highlights on the album. The messenger offers a classic Hardrock guitar riff and is a nice uptempo rocker in classic FOREIGNER (Hot blooded) style. The night is the first slightly weaker tune on the album, being a nice somewhat calmer pop/rocker. More PINK FLOYDish prog can be heard during Dread the dark season and ELO ish proggy poprock during the strong lengthy Ground zero. The album closes very nicely with the epic instrumental PINK FLOYDish prog orientated The wrap party of the damned. Overall, this is a perfect record with strong vocals, tight drums and overall quite a rocking sound, while still capturing that classic 70s progsound, especially thanks to the use of real strings besides the standard band section of guitar, keys, bass and drums. The album was released in 2018, but definitely deserves more attention, so let’s hope this review will contribute to that. Available through http://indanet.indaver.int/myhome/nl/Pages/home.aspx
(Points: 8.7 out of 10)
KING OF THE TRAMPS is a very good interesting band from Auburn, Iowa, USA, and their latest album is titled Wild water. This album was released back in 2018, but now finally found its way to our desk. I am glad it did, because the included music is a healthy mix of Classic Southern Rock and old school Bluesy R&B, with a bit of American Countryrock as well. Wild water is their 5th album so far of the band, which is formed around vocalist/guitarist TODD PARTRIDGE, keyboardplayer ADAM AUDLEHELM, guitarist REILLY PARTRIDGE, drummer RYAN AUDLEHELM and bassist RYAN MCALISTER. Overall, the album really rocks in a sorta retrorock style like ROLLING STONES, yet during great songs like Wild water and Burnin they also show their love for LYNYRD SKYNYRD. The vocals of Todd are very American, with the kind of working class original soulful approach like BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN, but also with a Country kinda touch here and there. I think by now you’ll get the picture what KING OF THE TRAMPS more or less sounds like. American Rock at its finest and therefore a must to fans of any of the mentioned acts, but especially people who like their rock to sound southern and bluesy with a raw edge. Check them out at: http://kingofthetramps.com/
(Points: 8.3 out of 10)
JAMIE MICHAELS ‘IF YOU FALL’ (APPALOOSA RECORDS/HEMIFRAN)
Funnily enough I already reviewed this album, but here is a slightly 2nd vision review of If you fall. Singer/songwriter JAMIE MICHAELS comes out of New Mexico, but is somehow popular in Italy. His new album If you fall is also released on an Italian label, so he must be doing something right over there. His music is singer/songwriter and reminds me a lot of RANDY NEWMAN (especially during So it goes), partly due to Jamie's raspy and almost talking kinda way of singing. He has a great voice actually, with a sorta own identity. 12 tracks are included in total on his latest album and fans of the mentioned RANDY NEWMAN and perhaps also PAUL SIMON (just listen to Almost deadalus) need to check out Jamie a.s.a.p. The music is a mix of uptempo Americana pop/rock and a lot of calmer singer/songwriter pop in the style of mentioned artists. The best songs are the more uptempo rockier tunes like If you fall, Bag O bones and Carnival town, which remind me of JOHN COUGAR somehow. Concluded, a nice diverse album that brings a good collection of calmer and slightly more uptempo tunes, although hopefully on a future release JAIME will rock a bit more, because he proves on the JOHN COUGAR type of tunes he is able to do that! More info at: https://www.jaimemichaels.com/
(Points: 8.0 out of 10)
RALPH MOLINA ‘LOVE
& INSPIRATION' (VAPOR RECORDS/HEMIFRAN)
It’s not that strange the debut solo-album of American musician RALPH MOLINA sounds a bit like NEIL YOUNG, because Ralph was part of Neil’s journey from 1962 onwards as a member of his band, being the drummer in the CRAZY HORSE. He recorded 30 records with Neil, but recently thought it was time to record a solo record at the age of 76 (!). Now Love & inspiration is released and musically speaking the comparisons to NEIL YOUNG are clear, but Ralph offers more. His voice is more clean and melodic, which makes it a pleasure to listen to the 70s orientated calmer semi-acoustic tingled singer/songwriter pop/rock. Here and there a sorta ART GARFUNKEL ish Popballad can be heard as well, but most of the time, it reminds me actually of the early AMERICA records, especially during great songs like Dance on the wind, Wonderland, Trash for the dollar and Follow that star. The biggest surprise was the fact that iconic popstar KELLY CLARCKSON sang some backing vocals, but believe me, musically speaking this is mostly early 1970s calmer acoustic pop/rock we get to hear! Check out all at: http://www.ralphmolina.net/ or https://ralphmolina.bandcamp.com/releases
(Points: 8.0 out of 10)
TALINKA ‘RAINBOW OVER
KOLONAKI 2020’ (FANFARE RECORDS/BIRNAM CD/UK IMPORT)
Quite a diverse album, this Rainbow Over Kolonaki by TALINKA, which is based around Israeli-born and London-based vocalist and filmmaker Tali Atzmon. Together with Jenny Bliss (a baroque virtuoso artist who plays viola da gamba, baroque violin, and sings on this album), Yaron Stavi (double bass player) and Gilad Atzmon (a Jazz saxophonist, performing here on bass clarinet, soprano saxophone, Tenor sax, accordion and guitar), TALINKA creates a very experimental and open-minded Freejazz style. Rainbow over Kolonaki is their 2nd album and features a mix of originals, English folk music and classic songs from The Great American Songbook. The result is as mentioned earlier on in the review a very diverse adventure that starts very complex Jaxx orientated with the titlesong and If I should lose you, even revealing some Tango influences here and there in the vocal department. As you see, this is not for the standard musicfans, but one who likes a challenge need to check this out. Folk, Tango, Jazz and Soprano vocals are melted together with some complex instrumental parts, but there’s also room for calmer singer/songwriter jazzpop here and there, such as during the songs She moved through the fair, I’m a fool to want you and Greensleeves, which are the more friendly songs. It’s best to check this out for yourself, because it sounds so different. If you’re becoming interested, then please go to: https://www.talinka.live/
(Points: 7.8 out of 10)
GEMMA MAE ANDERSON ‘LIFE’ (INDEPENDENT/BIRNAM CD/UK IMPORT)
Singer/songwriter GEMMA MAE ANDERSON leads a hard life ever since she was diagnosed with Rheumatoid Arthritis when she was only 17 years old. Struggling her way through life, she is now able to present her debut album life, of which all profits are going to Versus Arthritis. Together with a lot of other musicians, including CANDIDA DOYLE (keyboardplayer from PULP), Life brings a nice mixture of pop, rock and a bit of country. 12 songs are included in total, and the overall sound is happy and uptempo friendly melodic pop/rock with some catchy tunes among the 12 included. Gemma’s voice is not that strong and sounds a bit uncertain and it feels like she is holding back here and there. Nevertheless, this is a nice product and especially for a good cause a reason to check out at: www.birnamcdshop.com/product/gemma-mae-anderson
(Points: 7.3 out of 10)
MICHAEL JEROME BROWNE
‘THAT’S WHERE IT’S AT!’ (BOREALIS RECORDS/HEMIFRAN)
The Canadian singer/songwriter MICHAEL JEROME BROWNE has quite an own sound on his latest album That’s where it’s at. It’s acoustic driven bluesy jazz-soul or something like that, and while listening you really hear something completely different. I starts with a jazzy instrumental, but later on the material gets more song orientated and mixes elements of jazz, blues, soul and a bit of Americana, sounding quite melodic. Michael has a great voice and songs like Black nights, Skeletons and Love’s a funny thing are very strong and sounding quite relaxed. This is smooth music at its best and comes across like a mix between RAUL MIDON and RANDY NEWMAN, of whom Michael also covers a song titled Louisiana 1927. Check it out for yourself at: https://www.michaeljeromebrowne.com/
(Points: 8.1 out of 10)
L. PROTECTOR ’L. PROTECTOR’ (INDEPENDENT/BIRNAM CD/UK IMPORT)
Now here we have something very interesting, as L. PROTECTOR is the artist name of this Brighton-born British/Iranian singer/songwriter who delivers a nice debut album. ALEX MILANIAN is his real name, a young musician who procides music that is somewhat dark, melancholic and even a bit depressing when understanding the lyrics that are about misgivings, failures, desperation and bad decisions, but on the other hand this makes L. PROTECTOR’s first album such a great record to explore. There are comparisons to RYAN ADAMS, JAKE BUGG, NEIL YOUNG and even WILCO possible here, so it should appeal to a lot of people out there and if lucky, L. PROTECTOR might become a household name in the future. His way of singing is reminding me a lot of TOM PETTY, especially when the opener 2ml Barrel kicks in, which is basically a typical TOM PETTY ish semi-handclap pop/rock song. He also reminds me a bit of the praised HOZIER, but then a bit more laid-back and as mentioned, quite dark and melancholic. I would not call this a real uplifting album, especially in these dark times (2020), but on the other hand if any of the mentioned artists are your cup of tea, then should check him out at: https://lprotector.co.uk/ and the album is available via: https://www.birnamcdshop.com/product/l-protector-cd/
(Points: 7.8 out of 10)
NICO CHONA
& THE FRESHTONES 'NICO CHONA & THE FRESHTONES' (ELECTRIC GEORGE
RECORDS/HEMIFRAN)
The
Nashville based band SUGAR LIME BLUE was actually sorta formed more than 20
years ago by the band's married couple Ashley Beth - Lead Vocals and Dave Beth
- Guitar, but it took a while before it was actually a real band instead of a
duo. Somewhere in the mid 2000s it became a real band and from then on SUGAR
LIME BLUE released a number of albums. Today's line-up further consists of
Willie Bee - Bass Guitar and Jeff Gaylor - Drums, and Narcoluptuous is their
latest album. After listening to a couple of songs, I was very impressed,
because their sound is basically pure 1970s classic rock orientated. Taking a
bit of AOR, Southern Rock, Folkrock and Americana blended into their Classic
Rock format, along with fantastic female vocals, this is basically a lovely
mixture of classic 1970s HEART and JEFFERSON AIRPLANE, with AOR melodies in the
chorus department and excellent guitar solos out of THE ALLMAN BROTHERS BAND
book, with a huge bluesy touch as well. The result is very sensational,
starting with the uptempo Southern fried Melodic AOR rocker Dance in the
sunshine, which sounds like ROSSINGTON COLLINS BAND meets 70s HEART. A pity not
more of such uptempo tunes are included, but the rest of the album is
nevertheless also very good, featuring a lot of great laid-back bluesy melodic
rock material (best ones are Willow, Dragging our sails, Keep on, keeping on
and Fool's lament) and a few bluesy rockers (Laying off the breaks and
Brickbats). All 12 included songs are sensational and it is a pleasure to
listen to this amazing band, of whom I can hopefully hear much more in the near
future! Check them out at: https://sugarlimeblue.com/music
Belle of the Ball is the debut EP of Scottish
singer/songwriter AINSLEY HAMILL. It contains 5 songs and is a rather short
affair, but on the other hand it features nice traditional Gaelic Folk
pop/rock. It reminds me of a less commercial AMY MCDONALD, and somehow she does
sound at her best during the English sung tracks. The gaelic language is of
course for most quite hard to follow, so it isn’t that strange the English sung
songs (like the catchy Runaways) are preferable here. Check it out for yourself
at: https://ainsleyhamill.com/music/
(Points: 7.9 out of 10)
PONS AELIUS ‘FIRE UNDER THE
BRIDGE’ (INDEPENDENT/BIRNAM CD/UK IMPORT)
Now here we have a great mixture of instrumental
Progressive Folk/Rock meets Traditional almost Bluegrass ish music. PONS AELIUS
is a band from Newcastle, UK, and are a six-piece band that came together
whilst studying at Newcastle University. Fire under the bridge is their 2nd
album and things sound quite modern and rocking most of the time, uptempo and
it is clear that we are dealing with 6 young guys that want to bring the old
traditional Irish/Scottish/Celtic sound to a younger generation. There’s enough
diversity here and sometimes they sound like an instrumental rockband, but then
with the mentioned Gaelic approach. Check it out for yourself at: http://www.ponsaeliusmusic.com/
(Points: 8.0 out of 10)
(Points: 7.5 out of 10)
Out of Aberdeen, Scotland comes LA LLAMAS, a duo
formed around Davy Cattanach (Old Blind Dogs, Pictones, Catford) and Paddy
Buchanan (Marionettes, Jigs Akimbo and Himself). They started playing music
together a few years ago, and now their debut is released. The music is a mix
of Rootsy Americana, Celtic Folk and World Music rhythms, acoustic tingled with
a Bluegrass guitar and vocals/harmonyvocals that remind me a bit of THE MILK
CARTON KIDS. It is very calm music and back-to-basic instrumental, as if we
went back in time to the 1920s or something. I even think fans of the early
Singer/Songwriter Folk of BOB DYLAN might find some interesting songs here,
although LA LLAMAS are much better vocally speaking. More info at: https://la-llamas.com/
(Points: 8.0 out of 10)
JONO MANSON 'SILVER MOON'
(INDEPENDENT/HEMIFRAN)
Out of New York City comes JONO MANSON, a musician
who has been in the musicscene for decades now, and Silver moon is already his
10th solo album. He actually has been living in New Mexico for the
past 30 years, since he has a studio there, where countless acts recorded
music, but started his music career in the Big Apple. On his new album Silver
moon there are quite a few guest appearances of well-known musicians. The great
soulful bluesy ballad Silver moon is southern rock ish a la ALLMAN BROTHERS
BAND and features WARREN HAYNES of ALLMAN BROTHERS BAND/GOVT MULE on Slide
guitar. And JOAN OSBORNE is making a guest appearance on the bluesy ballad
Loved me into loving again. Overall, the music on the album is actually very
diverse, ranging from Americana to Bluesy Rock to Classic Retro Rock and some
singer/songwriter pop/rock. It’s all there, and besides the already mentioned
songs, other highlights are Home again to you (nice uptempo Americana Bluesy
Melodic Pop/Rock a la DOOBIE BROTHERS), Only a dream (good midtempo/semi-ballad
orientated like TOM PETTY meets NEIL YOUNG) and I have a heart (great Heartland
rocker in the classic American tradition of JOHN COUGAR and TOM PETTY, very
good song!). Recommended album for sure! More info at: http://www.jonomanson.com/bio.html
(Points: 8.4 out of 10)
BROOKE BENSON 'I AM THE SUN'
(INDEPENDENT/HEMIFRAN)
I am the sun is the debut album of Los Angeles
based singer/songwriter/Spoken Word artist BROOKE BENSON. When listening to her
album, it is clear that this is something different. She starts more or less
speaking in each and every song and only during the chorus there is actual
singing. We have heard it before and artists like KATE TEMPEST, LYDIA LUNCH,
LAURIE ANDERSON and even PATTI SMITH did this in the past, but it feels so
awkward when listening. On the other hand, it is interesting and it seem like
real storytelling songs we hear. The music itself is a mix of singer/songwriter
and pop/rock, also like PATTI SMITH. When she rocks uptempo and the chorus
kicks in, it is a real catchy poprocker like during the song In the eye. It is
nice to hear something else, although after a couple of songs, the fast talking
gets a bit too much for some I think. Nevertheless, fans of mentioned artists
will definitely like this I guess. More info at: https://www.brookebensonmusic.com
(Points: 7.5 out of 10)
Just words is already the 7th album of
the talented Canadian singer/songwriter LYNNE HANSON, who is assisted by
guitarist KEVIN BREIT (NORAH JONES, CELINE DION, MARC JORDAN, etc.) and
producer/musician Jim Bryson on this wonderful new album. She has an amazing
voice and the 11 new songs are sounding really perfect. It is quite a diverse
album as well, with different pop/rock styles included, as the start is quite
late 1970s Westcoast/Poprock orientated with the uptempo True blue moon that
reminds me of a cross between JAIME KYLE, AMERICA and VAN STEPHENSON. Long way
home is a wonderful semi AOR ballad that somehow reminds me a bit of STAN BUSH
circa his ‘Higher than angels’ album. Going for a slow bluesy rock approach
during excellent songs like Higher ground and Lollipops and roses, which sound
like a sensational cross between BETH HART, BONNIE RAITT and ALANNAH MYLES.
Further highlights are the great semi melodic rockballad Just words (a la KT
TUNSTALL) and the beautiful calmer singer/songwriter pop/rock ballads Clean
slate and Every minute in between. Concluded, this is a highly recommended
album to any fan of female fronted pop/rock! Music can be downloaded via https://lynnehanson.com/music
GUNTHER
BROWN ‘HEARTACHE & ROSES' (INDEPENDENT/HEMIFRAN)
Out of Portland, Maine comes THE GUNTHER
BROWN BAND, and Heartache & Roses is their 3rd album so
far. The band is formed around Pete Dubuc – Lead vocals & guitar, Derek
Mills – Drums, Mark McDonough – Lead guitar, Joe Bloom Anderson – Vocals,
harmonica, keys & guitar, Greg Klein – Vocals, guitar & mandolin and
Drew Wyman – Bass. Together they deliver a fine piece of classic retro-rootsy
rock, with Americana, Southern Rock and Country influences, sounding very
American in the end. The vocals are strong, clean and melodic, instrumental
they have a good catchy sound that is quite radio-ready and overall, they might
appeal to a lot of people. Highlights are definitely such catchy uptempo
rockers like Unlearned and Slow me down, but also a semi rockballad like The
crossing sounds pretty good and reveals some Soutern Rock influences of the
LYNYRD SKYNYRD kind. There are also quite a few calmer acoustic tingled songs
included that make the band sound like a cross between DANNY VERA, VENICE and a
Country act, especially during songs like New man, Ally and Ruderless. Towards
the end, the album could have used a few more uptempo tunes, but nevertheless
GUNTHER BROWN delivers a strong quality album that should be interesting to
check out if you’re into any of the mentioned acts. More info at: https://guntherbrown.com/
(Points:
8.2 out of 10)
KAJA
‘ORIGO' (KAKAFON RECORDS/HEMIFRAN)
Out of Sweden comes
KAJA, a Folk trio formed around Livet Nord – Violin, Camilla Åström –
Accordion/Piano and Daniel Wejdin – Contrabass/Synth Bass. Together they
already recorded 4 albums before Origo, so this is their 5th CD
so far. The included music is a sorta Gypsy Music, with Swedish Folk influences
and it all sounds quite nice and the Accordeon really takes a major part in the
instrumental sound of the band. When things get uptempo like during Irrfarden,
it becomes quite fun to listen to and despite they hail from Sweden, the
Accordeon gives it a World Music touch that could even appeal to people from
Portugal, Spain or Argentina. Check it out for yourself at: https://www.kajatrio.se/en
(Points:
8.1 out of 10)
MEJRAM
‘MEJRAM’ (KAKAFON RECORDS/HEMIFRAN)
Out of Goteborg,
Sweden comes MEJRAM, a band formed around vocalist/mandolin/pianoplayer Amanda
Frisk, guitarist and drummer Jonathan Hansson, violinplayer Gabriella Josefsson
and bouzouki/contrabass player/ Marcus Fenn. Together they created their same
titled debut album, which contains in total 10 songs, of which ½ is sung in the
English and the other half in Swedish. The included music is very nice calmer
melodic Celtic/Folk pop/rock that is beautifully sung with a mixture of lead-
and harmonyvocals. I would not immediately compare it to FIRST AID KIT, but at
times there are similarities, although as mentioned there are 5 songs sung in
Swedish, which are harder to follow. On the other hand, it also has its charm,
the songs in Swedish, such as the beautiful Se mig that even makes me think of
THE CORRS or THE STAVES. More info on this interesting Swedish band at: http://www.mejramofficial.com/
(Points:
8.2 out of 10)
WHITE
OWL RED ‘AFTERGLOW’ (HUSH MOUSE RECORDS/HEMIFRAN)
Out of San Francisco
comes the band WHITE OWL RED, whom are delivering their 3rd album
titled Afterglow. The line-up consists of singer/songwriter Josef McManus,
drummer Kyle Caprista, guitarist Gawain Mathews and backing vocalist Leah
Tysee, and the music they play is a mix of pop/rock, country and singer/songwriter.
Here and there they sound like a mix between NEIL YOUNG and MARK KNOPFLER, with
a more Band kinda feeling. Americana influences are also very notable, which
was actually their starting point on earlier albums. On Afterglow however they
seem to be going for a more Country pop/rock approach, including a JOHNNY CASH
tribute with the album’s best song I walk the line for you and there’s also a
JOHN LENNON cover Working class heroes to be found. Nice little album, although
it takes a few spins before making up a good judgement. More at: https://whiteowlred.com/music
(Points:
7.8 out of 10)
DIESEL
PARK WEST ‘LET IT MELT‘ (PABLO SANTO RECORDS/HEMIFRAN)
Quite a surprise this
band, because apparently DIESEL PARK WEST already exists for over 40 years,
released 9 full albums and had several UK hitsingles, but I am not that
familiar with them I’m afraid. I believe I did hear something of them in the
past, but can’t recall that very well, so let’s move on to their latest album
Let it melt. This CD was released in 2019 and features John Butler (vocals,
guitar), Rich Barton (guitar, vocals), Geoff Beawan (bass) and Rob Morris
(drums) in the band’s line up. The music is a mix of Rootsy Rock and Americana,
reminding me of TOM PETTY, JOHN COUGAR, ROLLING STONES, BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN, with
vocals that come across like a mix between MICK JAGGER and BOB DYLAN. Songs
like Let it melt, Pictures in the hall, The Golden mile and Living in the UK
are uptempo Rootsy rockers, sounding raw and edgy with a very clear ROLLING
STONES kinda approach. When the band goes a few times for a more melodic rock
ish direction, we get to hear some really great tunes as well, such as No
return fare and Incredible things. Also the bluesy Americana Across the land
would make SPRINGSTEEN proud! Nice new album of this legendary band! More info
at: https://www.dieselparkwest.com/
(Points:
8.3 out of 10)
CROHM
‘FAILURE IN THE SYSTEM’ (INDEPENDENT/ITALY IMPORT)
CROHM is a legendary
Italian Metalband formed all the way back in the mid-1980s, with also already
several album releases in their long career. The current line-up of CROHM
consists of Sergio Fiorani - Lead vocal, Claudio Zac Zanchetta - Lead guitar,
background vocal, Riccardo Taraglio - Bass, background vocal and Fabio Cannatà
– Drums. Their new 2020 album Failure in the system has an album cover that
immediately makes you think of the current Corona situation we are dealing
with, although of course in the past more Thrash Metal bands featured such
covers (DEATH, MEGADETH…). CROHM is more Melodic Metal orientated, a bit
traditional, but with a big modern heavy sound and some Thrash Metal influences
in the guitar department. It sounds a bit like NOCTURNAL RITES, PRIMAL FEAR,
MYSTIC PROPHECY and such. A lot of the included songs are uptempo and quite
strong actually, although vocally it has a bit the typical Italian accent way
of singing, which thankfully is not that disturbing at all. Highlights can be
found in especially the beginning of the album with such strong uptempo Melodic
Metal tunes like Failure in the system and Restart. As bonus, the band included
2 remastered songs from their 2015 album Legend and prophecy. Recommended band
to fans of real Metal! More info at: https://www.crohm.org/
(Points:
8.0 out of 10)
JUDITH
OWEN ‘SECOND HAND SEXBOT’ (TWANKY RECORDS/HEMIFRAN)
Sadly only 1 song on
this CD-single, but a good one from singer/songwriter JUDITH OWEN. A nice
bluesy semi rocker with strong vocals and further I can mention that a lot of
well-known guests are involved here, such as LELAND SKLAR (Bass), RICHARD
THOMPSON (Guitar), BOB KATZ (mastering) and a lot more. Hopefully soon more
music from this talented singer/songwriter/pianoplayer/producer. Meanwhile,
more info at: www.judithowen.net
(Points:
8.0 out of 10)
MANNISH
BOY ‘LAST TICKET TO ROCK’N’ROLL LAND’ (PARAPLY RECORDS/HEMIFRAN)
Not so much info on
this excellent Swedish band called MANNISH BOY. They were formed at the end of
the 1990s, but Last ticket to rock’n’roll land is the first album I get to
hear. The band is clearly influenced by Classic 70s (Hard) Rock, although
opener Trash boogie is more going into the ROLLING STONES direction. After that
first track on their new album, the sound is switched more and more into an
almost THIN LIZZY kinda classic twin-guitar-duel based Melodic Hardrocksound,
which is at times sounding really sensational. Especially during the uptempo
melodic rockers You (very catchy and better vocals than on the first song),
Berlin nights (American orientated early 80s Melodic Hardrock, kinda like
STRANGER (USA) meets GAMMA meets RAGE (UK) and even a bit of Y & T!), Who
are they fighting for, One of these days, Darkest water (pure THIN LIZZY meets
ROBERT PEHRSSON) and Blessed with passion. Definitely a big surprise this album
from the Swedish MANNISH BOY and highly recommended to fans of WHITESNAKE, THIN
LIZZY, GRAND SLAM, GAMMA, etc. etc. More info at: https://mannishboy.nu/about/
(Points:
8.5 out of 10)
Now
this is quite a strong new album of the married couple duo GENNA & JESSE,
whom are coming out of Whitehall, Michigan, USA. We reviewed their previous
album Give and take and now there's the new album Say OK, which contains 13
tracks and is quite diverse musically speaking. They call it Normandic Folk
Soul, but the music is actually a combination of 1970s orientated melodic
singer/songwriter, pop/rock and a bit of Jazz/Westcoast, with fantastic vocals
of both of them. There's actually not a single weak track to be found here,
starting with Happy song, which is a nice BILLY JOEL ish fun summer pop tune.
Other highlights are Don't be surprised (a light jazzy singer/songwriter tune a
la CARO EMERALD), The ballad of Sandra Bland (uptempo strong Americana Pop/rock
a la HEATHER NOVA), I don't feel like myself tonight (another BILLY JOEL kinda
70s semi Popballad), Anytown USA (BILLY JOEL ish midtempo pop/rock) and At ease
(very good catchy midtempo melodic AOR/pop/rock midtempo a la RUFUS WAINWRIGHT.
Concluded, a nice album that is very diverse, thanks to both singers and their
love for various music styles. More info at: https://www.gennaandjesse.com/
The
Swedish band LAZY AFTERNOON brings us a mixture of Sparkling Country, Tex-Mex,
Cajun, Folk and Rock'n'roll, with female and male vocals. The kind of
musicstyle really depends on who is singing, because Make love real is a pure
Country twangle uptempo pop/rock tune that would make JUICE NEWTON and DOLLY
PARTON jealous. While a song like the BO AHLBERTZ sung Rocking chair is
basically pure RANDY NEWMAN ish slow pop/rock. And so the 12 songs take us into
various directions, while personally I feel mostly comfortable with the amazing
Country female vocals (CHRISTINA SAFSTEN). The singers also sing a nice duet
here and there, such as Water. A few times it also sounds bit like a heartthrob
sound (BZN/GEORGE BAKER/Palingpop), but you can't ignore the somewhat catchy
material on this album. I would love to hear more of Christina herself with a
full solo record that would explore her Countryside completely. as now it all
feels a bit too sappy, although as mentioned it isn't that bad. More info at: https://www.lazyafternoonmusic.com/
PETER
GALLWAY & THE REAL BAND out of Maine, Portland, USA consists of
multi-instrumentalist/singer/songwriter PETER GALLWAY and his band ANDREA RE
(vocals, drums) and MARK WAINER (electric guitar). Together they recorded a
nice laid-back semi 1970s pop/rockalbum that sounds a bit like TOM PETTY here
and there, although also JACKSON BROWNE comes to mind a few times. Especially
vocally Peter reminds me a lot of them, but the songs are less interesting I'm
afraid. It's not bad, but the material is just not strong enough to compete
with the songs of the mentioned legendary singer/songwriters. On the other
hand, die-hard fans of PETTY, COUGAR, BROWNE, SPRINGSTEEN... might like this a lot, as it surely isn't
bad. More info at: http://www.petergallway.com
Out
of the westcoast of Scotland comes SKIPINNISH, a band formed in 1999 by 2
students in Glasgow. Through the years they built up a big reputation with
their catchy singer/songwriter/pop melodies influences Scottish traditional
music. The line-up consists of Angus Macphail (Accordion/Vocals), Andrew Stevenson
(Highland Bagpipe / Whistles), Norrie MacIver (Lead Singer/ Guitar), Alistair
Iain Paterson (Piano), Alasdair Murray (Highland Bagpipes / Whistles, Bodrahn),
Charlotte Printer (Bass) and Rory Grindlay (Drums). Their sound appeals to a
diversity people due to the immense catchy songs they produce. SKIPINNISH
combines the traditional Scottish Celticfolk with catchy pop melodies in a way
we also know it from both DROPKICK MUPRHYS (whom are of course adding a
Punkrock touch to their sound) and MUMFORD & SONS (Bluegrass is their
sound). Yes, SKIPINNISH sounds quite polished, radio-friendly with clean
melodic vocals and really strong singable choruses, but still give you the
authentic Scottish feeling. 14 songs are included in total on their latest
album Steer by the stars, and especially during the uptempo pieces like Anchors
of the soul, Steer by the stars, Coir Bhreacain and Land below the waves, the
band is at their very best. Choruses of these songs will be sung-a-long by
everyone when they would play them live on stage. In between the uptempo
material, we also have the more calmer acoustic campfire Folk songs, which are
also quite nice, but the uptempo songs will please each and everyone, as they
are very danceable and somehow also very radio-ready. A sing-a-long balladry is
also included (Wishing well) and then I also must mention the few great
instrumental bagpipes orientated pieces The Lads of Mull and The atholl set,
which sound as Scottish as you can possible get! Check out this sensational
Scottish band at:
http://www.skipinnish.com
Totally
unexpected we received a wonderful new Progressive Rock/Melodic Rockalbum from
a Finnish band called RANTAMA. They were formed in 2014 and are making their
debut with this same titled CD. The band's line-up consists of Timo Rantama -
Guitar, Taavi Kiiskinen - Vocals, Iiro Laitinen - Drums and Tatu Back - Bass.
Their sound is very melodic and fits in between the Progrocksound of ENCHANT,
the Melodic Progmetalsound of VANDENPLAS and SUBSIGNAL and a little bit of
AOR/Melodic Rock like FRONTLINE meets JOURNEY. The music is very clean song
orientated in most of the included 8 tracks, with a progrock structures in the
rhythm and tempo, while the hooks and choruses are out of the AOR book. They
remind me so much of a band called MARA, but I am afraid not many people will
remember them! The combination of AOR melodies in the vocal and chorus
departments with the soaring guitar solos make it sound ultra melodic and very
accessible to a lot of people. There is really a lot of sensational stuff to be
heard here, such as Roaring rapids, Dying star, We are and the 10 minutes
counting closing track The pond of no return. Also need to add that we can hear
some Jazz influences as well, such as during the instrumental Ground frost
forger, which is not that strange, because RANTAMA started out as a Jazz band
in the first place and you can also hear traces of let's say KING CRIMSON,
WEATHER REPORT and such throughout their music. It is great they developed
themselves into a sensational Melodic Progrockband that is a must-have for fans
of SUBSIGNAL, ENCHANT, VANDENPLAS, but also people into JOURNEY, FRONTLINE,
MARA and such will probably like this high quality release for sure! More info
at: https://www.rantamaofficial.com/
Facets
of Folk is the 3rd album of the New Jersey based singer/songwriter MARIA
LEVINE. She is influenced by a lot of the legendary singer/songwriters from the
past, of whom she covered 13 songs on this album. She has a great voice and
will obviously appeal to fans of JOAN BAEZ, JONI MITCHELL and JUDY COLLINS.
What is quite clear when listening is the fantastic vocals of Maria and along
with a long list of guest musicians, this album is a definite recommendation to
fans of female fronted classic Folkpop. Involved guest musicians are
co-producer/guitarist Bob Harris, (Johnny Cash, Vasser Clements, Girlyman),
John Guth (Tom Chapin, Galt MacDermot), Kim and Reggie Harris, Robin Greenstein,
Michael G. Ronstadt, Ed Trickett, Josh Joffen, Terry Kitchen, Caroline
Cutroneo, Jan Alba, Harold Morton, Sean McComiskey, Barbara Novick, Cheryl
Prashker, Tilman Reitzle, Akiva Wharton and Patrice Avsharian Wiseman.
The result is as earlier mentioned a pleasure to listen to, because it makes
you feel very relaxed. The songs are mostly based around a Folk sounding
guitar/mandolin and banjo, Maria's beautiful voice and some lovely
harmonyvocals when the chorus comes around. I really enjoyed the album and can
only hope for some own original songs on a future album, because now of course
the 13 songs are all covers (including songs by PAUL SIMON, LEONARD COHEN,
GORDON LIGHTFOOT and a lot of lesser known artists from the past). Check it out
for yourself at: https://maralevine.com/
The
American singer/songwriter/guitarist REVEREND FREAKCHILD has already released
quite a few albums in the past. Road dog dharma is from 2019 and contains no
less than 26 tracks. I have to say that quite a lot are short intro/radio
commercials/acoustic, covers or live tunes and that is a pity, because when we
hear one of his real own original songs we can hear REVEREND FREAKCHILD has a
lot to offer actually. Inferno avenue for example is a great groovy heavy
Retrorocker, with a bluesy approach and sounding like a mixture between ZZ TOP,
SEASICK STEVE and even RIVAL SONS. And the uptempo All across America is a
great uptempo classic American rocker in the style of good old JOHN COUGAR.
Overall, he is a great rocking artist with a true raw American rock roots sound
and I would love to hear a normal album of him with his own originals, as he is
able to sing very well and compose some great material too. Now we have to work
our way through a lot of these unneccessary short snippets. Anyway, check him
out at: http://www.www-reverendfreakchild.org/road-dog-dharma
American
singer/songwriter DREW JAMES from California was kind enough to sent me his
albums, of which Beside myself is his latest release. The included music is a
very diverse adventure which combines a lot of styles, of which
singer/songwriter, rootsy rock, Americana and such are most notable. The music
is very melodic and will appeal to a lot of people for sure due to the high
level of musicianship by Drew and his guest musicians. The legendary
co-producer/multi-instrumentalist BRUCE KAPHAN (JOHN LEE HOOKER, SHERYL CROW,
THE BLACK CROWES and countless others) is helping out Drew the most. Highlights
between the 12 included tracks are the ELVIS/MARK KNOPFLER style uptempo Taking
my time, You're the one (pure ELVIS) the ballad One thing led to another and
the catchy pop/rock of the titletrack Beside myself. The ELVIS similarities
both vocally and musically are somehow very clear, and also NEIL DIAMOND comes
to mind here and there (the ballad A friend I used to know) and I even think
fans of DANNY VERA will like this a lot. One of the few rockers is the great
bluesy rocker Different worlds, so let's hope for some more of such rockers on
a future album. Drew has a great voice and can easily sing all his self-penned
tunes, so if you're starting to become interested, then go check him out at: https://drewjames.net/track/1970088/beside-myself
The
new album of DENNIS ROGER REED is a mixture og originals, tradtionals and
covers, making it to a total of 21 songs. The most interesting ones are his own
original tunes, which musically speaking is pretty much pure singer/songwriter
Folkpop in classic 1970s style. Highlights are I had to ride, I'd rather be
your enemy and Back on the street again. Surprising cover is the RANDY MEISNER
classic Hearts on fire, which got a new sound by Dennis. Not bad at all and
recommended to fans of typical American genres, such as Bluegrass,
SInger/Songwriter Folk, Country, etc. More at: http://www.dennisrogerreed.com/
The
band AUBURN is formed around the British singer/songwriter LIZ LENTEN, who now
releases a very nice relaxing album titled Game of faith. Included music is a
nice mixture of light bluesy and light jazzy riffs with a sorta old style
smooth kinda way of singing, as if it was the 1930s. Perhaps fans of CARO
EMERALD are going to like this a lot, but it is more laid-back in a way we
heard it in the past from JJ CALE or STEELY DAN. Game of faith is a very decent
record with a lot of great songs and great vocals by Liz. More info at: https://www.auburn.org.uk/
It
took some time before the Swedish band MUDFISH would release their debut CD,
because they were formed back in 2013, but now they have released 9 tracks on a
full same titled first CD on PARAPLY RECORDS. MUDFISH consists of Joakim
Lövgren (lead vocals, harmonica), Åke Strömberg (guitar), Mats Svedberg
(guitar), Christer Rudmyr (guitar), Anders Nilsson (keyboards), Johan Novenius
(bass) and Ulf Svedberg (drums). The result is a nice Rootsy American Rock
meets Powerpop album that sounds like a perfect cross between TOM PETTY and
JOHN COUGAR. Vocally there is a slight accent to be heard, but on the other
hand, the album features a lot of catchy uptempo rocking tunes, such as Lucky
me, Hallelujah, I'm falling (almost pure Melodic Rock), I'm okay and Kiss of
promise. Nothing wrong at all with this band and I am quite convinced they will
be around for a while now that they have released their official debut album.
More info at: www.hemifran.com/artist/Mudfish/
The
British Singer/songwriter JOHN CEE STANDARD has already been in the music
business for over 5 decades now, played in bands and is solo also doing his
thing, of which Moving on is his latest adventure. The included music is
Singer/songwriter with a clear bluesy approach here, a bit of jazz there and a
lot more music influences, reminding me overall musically of VAN MORRISON,
although vocally we are more heading into a RANDY NEWMAN direction. The result
is a nice diverse album, which is quite perfect as background music. It will
appeal to both blues and jazzfans out there I think, but any singer/songwriter
fan will also certainly enjoy it. More info at: https://www.johnceestannard.co.uk/
TERI
MANTERE 'EVERYTING NEEDS TO BREATH' (ECLIPSE MUSIC/XANGO MUSIC)
Out of Helsinki comes
singer/songwriter TERI MANTERE, a multi-instrumentalist with an own style on
his official debut CD Everything needs to breath. He has a strong and quite
diverse range in his vocals that go up quite high sometimes, even reminding a
bit of GEORGE MICHAEL. Also musically there are sometimes similarities to
early/mid 1990s GEORGE MICHAEL, although Teri's music is more going into the
current modern sound of today's singer/songwriters, with here and there some
World Music influences a la RAUL MIDON, JOHN GRANT, RUFUS WAINWRIGHT and STING,
with also some Chamber Music here and there. However, as already mentioned in
the beginning of the review, Teri has an own kinda style and that is of course
highly appreciated. He did almost everything himself on this first album, which
includes acoustic guitar, keyboards, bass, percussion, tenor guitar, songwriting,
arranging and of course singing. There are some beautiful songs on the CD, especially
the laid-back stripped acoustic songs such as Evening sun, Never alone and
Quota. Although I mentioned some similar artists, you really have to check out
his music for yourself, because it is definitely something special and very
interesting ti listen to, especially due to Teri's rather unique voice. More
info at: https://www.terimantere.com/
(Points:
8.3 out of 10)
TOOTARD
'MIGRANT BIRDS' (GLITTERBEAT RECORDS/XANGO MUSIC)
As soon as the first
song on the new album of TOOTARD plays on the stereo, it is very much clear
that we are dealing here with something special. There seems to be a huge music
scene in the Middle East with many so called Desert Bluesrockbands, such as
TINARIWEN, TAMIKREST, ALTIN GUN and this TOOTARD is another sensational band.
This band hails from the 'highlands' in Syria, in an area that is called The Golan
Heights, They are formed around the brothers Hasan and Rami Nakhleh and present
us their 2nd album on GLITTERBEAT RECORDS. The music on this album is very fun
and cheerful with lots of 70s psychedelic pop/rock, some ASWAD ish Reggae and 80s funkpop/disco influences,
combined with swinging Arabic rhythms and vocals. The result is an incredible
catchy record that might be the surprise of 2020! When you hear opener
Moonlight (translated, as all songs are sung in the Arabic language), you will
rightaway feel that this catchy tune could easily become a huge radio hit,
because it feels like a perfect summer tune and so does most of the other songs
(especially Kiss)! The songs are keyboard driven, with a pure late 70s/early
80s kinda sound and actually they do remind me quite a lot of ALTIN GUN,
although perhaps a bit more polished and always have the keyboards/synths
upfront. There is not a single weak moment to be found here and I am almost
safe to say that this is one of the highlights of 2020 regarding World Music!
Do not miss this album if you're interested in catchy World Music with strong
80s Pop/Keyboard melodies in a retro funky jacket. Let's hope that after the
whole Corona virus, we will be able to watch these guys live on stage, as I am
quite convinced they will deliver a sensational show! Check them out at: https://tootard.com/
(Points:
8.7 out of 10)
LASTA
SANCO 'ELONGA YA NGO' (COOPULA RECORDS/XANGO MUSIC)
Now here we have a
very interesting mixture of African World Music and Latin/Spanish pop/rock,
with some really catchy melodies. The line-up of this new band exists of Bernardo
Manzambi vocals, Dario Díaz - guitars, Dídac Prat - Bass, Moog synthesizer and Gerard
Royes - drums. I believe Elonga Ya Ngo is their debut, but I am not completely
sure, because there is little information on this band. LASTA SANCO is
definitely bringing very catchy music that should do well live on stage and
during the summer, with such excellent strong songs like Salte (with a melodic
rock ish chorus) and Na lingui yo (proggy tune somehow, with a sorta BOB MARLEY
ish Reggae chorus). The band combines a lot of various styles, rock here and
there for sure, but also leave room open to go for a Spanish/Latin rhythm, a
touch of Disco, Reggea and also World Music sounds. It's a melting pot and that
is what makes LASTA SANCO a really interesting band to check out, and perhaps
this can all be heard at it's best during Aqui no hay medo. The song Tonight is
one of the more commercial English sung songs that is basically typical catchy
Melodic Poprock with even a chorus that reminds me of BRYAN ADAMS, RICHARD MARX
and RICK SPRINGFIELD, but this is the only song that goes in that direction and
actually one of the least songs here, because it is quite standard. However, in
general their album Elonga ya ngo (mastered at the famous ABBEY ROAD STUDIOS)
is highly recommended it to check out if you want to hear a great mixture of
styles! More info at: https://www.lastasanco.com/
(Points:
8.4 out of 10)
SANTROFI
'ALEWA' (OUT HERE RECORDS/XANGO MUSIC)
No less than 9
musicians are part of the Ghanese band SANTROFI, whom are making a very catchy
rhythmic swinging sound on their debut album Alewa. The band is led by EBO
TAYLOR bass player Emmanuel Ofori and the music on their first album has a
great authentic sound that combines classic 70s funky groovy pop/rock/disco (of
the SHAFT meets EARTH, WIND & FIRE kind), African World Music and some 50s
Big Horns, with typical African harmonyvocals (SHAKA ZULU) and some Desert
Bluesy rock licks and riffs. The resulting album Alewa is a very strong album
that contains a lot of catchy tunes, such as Alewa, Africa (with great
guitarsolo) and Kwabena amoah. A surprisingly impressive album that is yet another
contender for best World Music album of the year 2020! Let's truly hope that
this band will one day return to the stage after the Corona crisis and then
perform live for as many people as possible during a full European tour,
because they will probably make every concert a party you will never forget! More
info at: https://www.facebook.com/santrofimusic/
(Points:
8.5 out of 10)
SOLFRID
MOLLAND 'HAPETS KAPPE' (KIRKELIG KULTURVERKSTED/XANGO MUSIC)
Not so much
information on this album, but SOLFRID MOLLAND is a Norwegian vocalist, pianist
and accordion player who combines her classical music background with a passion
for romanian gypsy music. Her 4th album Haoets kappe is a nice melancholic album
that combines songs that could be classified as calm slow classical piano
pieces and they are really beautiful, but her album also contains uptempo pure
Gypsy/Romanian kinda music. One of the guests on her album is the trumpet
player HAYDEN POWELL, who gives it another additonal touch here and there.
Although it is something we don't usually review, I can imagine people will
like this a lot, because somehow it has a kind of charmness. The songs are very
melodic and memorable and Solfrid's vocals are very strong and especially the
Norwegian lyrics are making it sound differently than anything else out there.
Check for yourself at: https://www.facebook.com/solfrid.molland.5
(Points:
7.5 out of 10)
A CHOIR
OF GHOSTS 'AN OUNCE OF GOLD' (GREYWOOD RECORDS/XANGO MUSIC)
Opener Sinner in
raptore of the debut album An ounce of Gold of the Swedish band A CHOIR OF
GHOSTS grabs you rightaway due to it's rather own identity. There is a mixture
of Nordic Indie-Pop / Contemporary Folk mentioned in the bio sheet, but
actually there's much more. The band is actually one person, namely JAMES
AUGER, who plays and records his own music in the upper North of Sweden. He has
a fantastic voice and his songs are very melodic actually. The packaging is
slightly going into an Indie meets Modern Folkpop direction, but on the other
hand you can also call it melodic singer/songwriter with a commercial pop/rock
approach. James does a great job here, because a lot of the songs are a
pleasure to listen to, and the few times he goes for a more uptempo rockier
direction, such as during the very catchy MUMFORD AND SONS/KEY WEST soundalike
An ounce of Gold, it gives the overall album a very diverse approach. There's
also a very commercial touch to be heard here and there, such as the uptempo
folkpop song Better off alone that could easily become a summer hit and is very
close to FIRST AID KIT. Concluded, this is a very nice debut album of a
talented singer/songwriter for Sweden. Fans of FLEET FOXES, FIRST AID KIT,
BRIGHT EYES and such will definitely like this album a lot. Check him out at: http://www.achoirofghosts.com/
(Points:
8.3 out of 10)
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