|
|
HOT NEW REVIEWS
TOKYO
'ONE WORLD/LIVE SPIELBERG' (ROX4 RECORDS/GERMAN IMPORT) When I first discovered the legendary 80s
German/Austrian AOR band TOKYO I was in my teenage years and I quickly managed
to get hold of the 4 vinyl records they released between 1981 and 1985 and also
the albums of spin-off bands CRAAFT and JOJO, which eventually led me back to
the amazing ROKO, because that's where it all actually started for me
personally (Could you be my love is one of the greatest German AOR ballads ever
recorded!). Anyway, TOKYO has a special place in my heart, although I have to
admit that I lost them for quite some time, which is such a pity, but that
happens in life sometimes. Thankfully I got in touch with their original
guitarist/vocalist ROBBY MUSENBICHLER, who kindly send me their last 2 CDs,
because eventually they reformed somewhere along the way during the 2010s and
as a result a new studio-album (One world in 2014) and a live-CD (Live
Spielberg in 2019) were released. Great to see 4 of the original members
involved (bassist/vocalist KEN TAYLOR, guitarist/vocalist KLAUS LULLEY,
guitarist/vocalist ROBBY MUSENBICHLER and keyboardplayer LOTHAR KRELL) besides
drummer and newcomer AARON THIER (born in 1981!). One world is a great CD that
might not have the uptempo 80s AOR pieces included, it definitely has a great
modern AOR/Poprock sound. Opener and titletrack One world is a lovely 80s
calmer semi AOR/Poprocker in the style of MIKE AND THE MECHANICS. Following
Stand up is quite heavy and groovy, like TOTO in the 90s and I'm free is
basically a fantastic classic early 90s midtempo AOR in the style of RUSSELL,
SAY, FM and such. The TOTO similarities continue on the following songs If we
don't believe and the superb Soon, which once again show the incredible strong
lead- and harmonyvocals of TOKYO. After a couple of calmer songs, including the
beautiful AOR ballad Fall into sleep, which feels like a TOTO/STEVE LUKATHER
classic, things get rocking again on Do you feel the thunder, a groovy melodic
rocker with again the 90s/00s TOTO similarities. Children of darkness is a bit
proggy AOR, a very strong song for sure with great soaring guitarwork, while
closing track Desert life is yet another beautiful TOTO ish semi AOR ballad of
an incredible high level!
In 2019 the band released a wonderful
live-CD titled Live @ Spielberg, which shows an energetic band playing old and
new TOKYO songs quite perfectly. The German TOTO is still as good as the real
TOTO, and when you hear those old classic AOR tunes again, such as Tokyo,
Dreaming of you, Cryin', Keiko, and Carry on, it's a dream come true to hear
them live in the present day and hopefully I will be able to see them live in
action myself too! Anyway, TOKYO must not be forgotten and these CD releases as
well as the old material should be in the hands of every AOR fan out there!
More info at: http://www.tokyo-band.com/
(Points:
8.8 out of 10)
AS
STRANGE AS ANGELS 'MIRROR MIRROR' (INDEPENDENT/USA IMPORT)
We're heading over to Dallas, Texas for
the interesting band/project AS STRANGE AS ANGELS, which is fronted by MURDER
FM front man NORMAN MATTHEW. He has a fantastic clean voice and the music on
his debut EP Mirror mirror sounds very American modern day melodic heavy rock.
7 strong songs are included here and right from the start it's clear that
Norman's voice leads the way here, because he is able to go anywhere with the
way he sings. Other involved musicians/producers are Sahaj Ticotin (STARSET,
SEVENDUST, CJ Pierce (DROWNING POOL guitarist), Michelle Graves (drums) and Mick
Kenney (MOTIONLESS IN WHITE). The songs are all very melodic, quite catchy and
radio-ready, with as highlights Mirror mirror, Days go by and Eternal. It has a
modern approach for sure and the only remark I could make is that the songs are
all in a sorta similar style, so a bit more variation would be interesting and
then I mean a calmer song, a ballad or an uptempo rocker, because now all songs
are in that typical modern American somewhat groovy midtmepo direction, which
we have heard by millions of American bands the past 20 years. On the other
hand, it's quality stuff and for fans of a band like THREE DAYS GRACE, this is
highly recommended to check out at: https://www.asstrangeasangels.com/
(Points:
8.1 out of 10)
REVELATION
RAIN 'VENGEANCE IS MINE' (INDEPENDENT/USA IMPORT)
The Wyoming, Michigan based band
REVELATIONRAIN was formed in early 2020 and in less than a few months their
debutVengeance is mine was released, which was thanks to the speed of the
internetfor making the connections and finding the right musicians. Vengeance
is mine wasrecorded in 4 days, so really quickly put together, but on the other
hand sowere the first couple of THE BEATLES records! Anyway, the rawness
andauthenticity is very clear on this album, because it shows the band as they
wouldsound like live. The band's line up consists of ROB ROBINSON (guitar,
vocals),JT LONG (guitar, vocals), GRANT BEECH (drums, vocals) and MARTI ROBERT
(bass,vocals), and we have here 10 songs included, which are all written
bybandleader Rob. Be aware that it has a very independent rough sound and
actuallyreminds me a lot of early/mid 90s indie records. The best songs on the
albumare Taste of tomorrow (catchy 80s uptempo melodic hard/heavy rock like a
mixbetween LIZZY BORDEN and STRYPER), Tears on the wall and the title
trackVengeance is mine. Recommended if you're into traditional classic 80s
AmericanMelodic Heavy Rock/Metal and you want some real authenticity instead of
the bigproductions. Check them out at: https://www.facebook.com/RevelationRain
and https://www.revelationrain.net
(Points:
7.3 out of 10)
EVOLUTION
EDEN 'AUDIO THERAPY' (INDEPENDENT/USA IMPORT)
Out of California comes the classic 80s
inspired Melodic Hardrock/Hair Metal band EVOLUTION EDEN, and Audio therapy is
their 5th album so far. Their line up is lead guitarist/vocalist Brandon Owen,
rhythm guitarist/vocalist Mike “Pap” Pappas, bassist Mike McShane, and
drummer/backing vocalist Brian Powell. No less than 14 strong songs are
included, so there's a lot to enjoy here. After the groovy start of The animal
inside, things get interesting when they switch over to the classic late 80s
fun summer hookladen Californian uptempo Melodic Hardrocksound on the catchy Kiss
like a summertime, which is a wet dream for the fans of SHY TIGER, JOHNNY LIMA,
FIREHOUSE, PAUL LAINE, THE DEFIANTS, DANGER DANGER, STEEL PANTHER, etc. etc.
The vocals are excellent and also instrumentally these guys know how to
deliver! Other highlights are Beautiful disaster (tough uptempo 80s Melodic
Hardrock), I won't let go, the semi melodic power rockballad Where did it go?,
the catchy Between love and losing you and Yesterday's news. I was quite
surprised by the high quality of this band's album, and you can check it out
for yourself at: https://evolutioneden.com/store-music
(Points:
8.2 out of 10)
BLACK
FOXXES 'BLACK FOXXES' (SPINEFARM RECORDS/CAROLINE)
The Exeter, UK based band BLACK FOXXES was
formed back in 2013 and released 2 albums prior to their new same titled album
Black Foxxes. The reason why this 3rd album is sametitled is due to the fact
that the original band members Anthony Thornton (drums) and Tristan Jane (bass)
left the band and so it became a solo project of lead singer/guitarist Mark
Holley. He found drummer Finn Mclean and bassist Jack Henley to help him out
and only 8 months later a new album was released. Musically speaking it is
somewhat slower Post-Punk with a real aggressive approach, because Mark sounds
quite angry! There are also 90s grunge influences quite clearly, with NIRVANA,
SMASHING PUMPKINS as references, especially on the first 2 rockers. From track
3 Drug holiday onwards, things settle down with a more hypnotical slow drone
rocksound, which is actually doom music for alternative rock bands, and I have
to say that this sounds quite melodic on strong songs such as this Drug
holiday, My skin is and the beautiful sensational almost dream pop ish Swim,
which has a soaring guitar solo towards the end. The guitar whales, the tempo
is slow as molasses, but in this case it works and Mark shows he is actually
able to sing very well and it does sound a bit like THE CURE melted with FLEET
FOXES (especially on the only uptempo Jungle skies). Towards the end of the
album, there are a few moments that could be seen as Noise-Rock, which will
please the fans of the aforementioned SMASHING PUMPKINS and NIRVANA. This is
quite a nice album in the end, rocking out quite heavily and post-punk
orientated during the first 2 songs, but then radically switching to slow
melodic calmer material and not look back anymore, so go check out more at: https://www.blackfoxxes.com
(Points:
8.2 out of 10)
KING
GIZZARD AND THE LIZARD WIZARD 'K.G. : EXPLORATIONS INTO MICROTONAL TUNING
VOLUME 2' (KGLW/CAROLINE)
Formed back in 2010 in Melbourne,
Australia, the band KING GIZZARD AND THE LIZARD WIZARD has become quite popular
in recent years. They are extremely productive, because in the past they even
managed to release 5 new albums within in 1 year (!), which sounds like a new
world record to me (and then I am not counting the legendary underground acts
RICK RAY, PHIL VINCENT and DESTRUCTORS 666!). The new album K.G.: Explorations
into microtonal tuning volume 2 is their 17th album so far, and I am really
impressed when listening to this band, because their music is a mixture of all
kinds of styles, although prog rock meets melodic indie rock meets psychedelic
world music could be a good description I think. The band's line up is Stu
Mackenzie (vocals, guitar, bass, keyboards, flute), Ambrose “Amby” Kenny-Smith
(vocals, harmonica, keyboards), Cook Craig (guitar, bass, keyboards, vocals),
Joey Walker (guitar, bass, keyboards, vocals), Lucas Harwood (bass, keyboards),
and Michael "Cavs" Cavanagh (drums, percussion). 10 songs are on this
strong new concept album, which musically speaking is of a very high level,
with as highlights the lovely middle-eastern influenced mid tempo prog/psych
rockers Minimum brain, Straws in the wind, Some of us and Ontology, which all
remind me a bit of the Turkish ALTIN GUN somehow, crossed with TAMIKREST and
even a touch of MOTORPSYCHO, which is another very productive band. Actually
this concept album's 10 songs are smoothly overlapping and in the end, it feels
like 1 long song and I have to say a really sensational one! These guys are
made to perform at festivals, so let's hope that after Corona they get the
chance to show their skills to a wide audience! More info on KING GIZZARD AND
THE LIZARD WIZARD at: https://kinggizzardandthelizardwizard.com
(Points:
8.9 out of 10)
SAMANTHA
MARTIN & DELTA SUGAR 'THE RECKLESS ONE' (GYPSY SOUL
RECORDS/MAPL/FACTOR/CANADA IMPORT)
The album The reckless one sounds like a
southern US state kinda blues-funk-soul-rock mixture, but is actually made in Toronto,
Canada, where a young female singer/songwriter called SAMANTHA MARTIN and her band
DELTA SUGAR have been building up a big reputation since their debut Send the
nightingale from 2015. 3 years later the follow-up Run to me was released and
now their 3rd album The reckless one is released. Without a doubt, we are
dealing here with music of an incredible high level, resembling a classic US sound
from the past, yet still sounding fresh and up-to-date. The artwork alone of
the album is beautiful with all kinds of colored pictures of butterflies and
flowers, and the list of musicians (16!) in the band DELTA SUGAR is very long
and include co-songwriter Curtis Chaffey: guitar, Ian McKeown: bass, Dani Nash:
drums, Will Fisher: drums, Adam Warner: drums, Andrew Moljgun: Rhodes, Wurlitzer,
piano, Hammond, vibes and saxophone, Renan Yildizdogan: percussion, Melloton, Ross
Hayes Citrullo: acoustic guitar, Jeff Heisholt: Hammond, Jimmy Bowskill: lead guitar,
Emily Ferrell: trombone, Tom Richards: trombone, James Rhodes: trumpet, Brian
Walters: trumpet, Sherie Marsh, backing vocals and Tafari Anthony, backing
vocals. Samantha has an incredible soul voice that sounds like a cross between
AMY WHINEHOUSE and BETH HART, and also musically speaking it is a bit in that
direction (especially closing track Who do you is close to Amy's classics!),
although clearly more soul/American rootsy bluesrock orientated perhaps, with
in total 12 sensational songs on The reckless one. I think if you put on songs
like Love is all around, Don't have to be, Sacrifice and the superb One
heartbreak, then you would think you're listening to someone who has been in
the business for many decades and the songs are classics from the past, but
this is all brand-new! If you're familiar with let's say YOLA CARTER, LEON
BRIDGES, CHARLES BRADLEY and such singers from the past 10 years, then you will
definitely like this too, just listen to the amazing soulful ballad I've got a
feeling and you'll get the picture! Check out this talented singer and her band
at: https://samanthamartinmusic.com/
(Points:
8.7 out of 10)
JOHN P.
TAYLOR BAND 'RIVER FLOW' (MIRAGE MUSIC/UK IMPORT)
JOHN P. TAYLOR is a musician, engineer and
producer based in North Yorkshire, UK and he was kind enough to send me his 3
CDs. I was immediately impressed when putting on his first album Realtime from
2017, which was released under his own name, while the 2 other albums are
released under the JOHN P. TAYLOR BAND moniker. Anyway, when doing my research,
it seems like I already did a write up on a band he was involved with in the
past, because the legendary melodic rockband BIG GUNS belted out a couple of
sensational albums back in the 90s, and we reviewed them! I found out John
produced them, so there is already a connection between Strutter'zine and John.
Now let's talk about his own music, which is very sensational actually. John is
a great singer/songwriter/guitarist and his music fits somewhere between
Americana bluesy rock, mature Melodic Rock/AOR and a little bit of Soul, kinda
like a mixture between ROBERT PALMER, CHRIS REA and JOHN MAYER, with also some
STEVE OVERLAND, PAUL RODGERS and ROBERT HART memories, while musically it's a
mix of these singers' music/bands as well. I have really enjoyed listening to
his wonderful albums, with as highlights on the first 2 albums the superb
uptempo AOR pieces Save the day (a la JOHN TAGLIERI/JOURNEY), Slow time tonight
and A better way, the AORish ballad Dark side of the night and the bluesy
melodic rocker So much more. In 2020 the JOHN P. TAYLOR BAND (further
consisting of bassist CHRIS RINGER, guitarist GEOFF KEELER, keyboardplayer
CHRIS ATKINS-GROOM and drummer DAN HIGGINS) released their latest album River
flow, which seems to be their most diverse album so far, starting quite calm,
but developing into a very professional record that seems to be heading more
into a pure Southern/Bluesy (Hard) Rock direction, and this is of course not
bad at all! And besides, there is still enough other music styles to be heard
as well, such as the lovely semi-westcoast ballad Shine on, which sounds like a
classic groovy mixture of STEELY DAN and ROBERT PALMER in his finest days.
Other highlights are the bluesy early BLACK STONE CHERRY/WHITESNAKE-ish melodic
rockers Devil shine a light on me and Anything you need, but also the uptempo
AOR song This time, the uptempo melodic rocker Let it go and the first couple
of calmer bluesy southern rocksongs River flow and Lie to me some more. I was really
overwhelmed by the incredible high level of John's voice and music, because it
sounds so crystal clear and perfect, so I really wonder why he hasn't had his
breakthrough yet. Also fans of KENNY WAYNE SHEPHARD will love this a lot, while
STEVE OVERLAND, ROBERT HART fans and people of the old school ROBERT
PALMER/JOHN MAYER, they will all be impressed when hearing JOHN P. TAYLOR
(BAND)'s music. Check out all on him at: www.johnptaylor.co.uk
(Points:
8.7 out of 10)
SIGNAL
13 'DESTINATION UNKNOWN' (INDEPENDENT/USA IMPORT)
Out of Baltimore, USA comes SIGNAL 13, and
their debut album is titled Destination unknown. Musically speaking we get to
hear strong traditional tough melodic hard/heavy rock form this female fronted
band around lead singer VICKY STARR. Opener Dirty is a great piece of classic
80s influenced uptempo melodic heavy rock that reminds me a bit of GIRLSCHOOL.
It seems like this is the best song of the 5 included, because the other songs
are more groovier and a bit modern, which is not bad at all, but some more
uptempo rockers like the opener would have been nice, although closing track
All fired up is a nice finish for this mini-CD. Nevertheless SIGNAL 13 rock
hard enough to keep the rockers happy and they have a great female shouter, so
fans of female fronted melodic heavy rock will surely like this! More info at: https://signal13band.com/
(Points:
8.0 out of 10)
VAMPIRE
JUNKIES FEATURING TEXAS TERRI 'VAMPIRE JUNKIES FEATURING TEXAS TERRI' (ANGELS
IN EXILE RECORDS/UK IMPORT)
Out of London comes the punky rock and
roll band VAMPIRE JUNKIES featuring TEXAS TERRI LAIRD on vocals, while the rest
of the line up consists of Kevin de Groot - Guitar (Leopardskin Nuclear Bomber,
The Kronstadt Uprising), Stephen 'Tash' Reddihough - Bass & Backing Vocals
(The Machines, Raw Power) & Steve Pegrum aka Steve Machine – Drums (The
Machines / The Ghosts of Lovers / The Kronstadt Uprising). The resulting same
titled mini CD is a strong classic real rock and roll record with punk and
sleaze elements. They are definitely influenced by the great NEW YORK DOLLS,
THE RAMONES, THE DAMNED, DEAD BOYS, IGGY POP and such on the 5 included songs.
It's mostly straight-ahead uptempo rock and roll with no-nonsense and it's done
very well here, including strong vocals, quality production and 5 hard-hitting
catchy tunes that will appeal to both punk, sleaze and rock and roll fans out
there, with as highlights definitely Mainline, Rocket red and the superb almost
glamrock sounding Denmark street. The album was released sometime ago, so let's
hope a future release will happen someday in the near future, because this is a
great sounding real rock and roll band with an authentic pre 80s sound. More
info at: https://www.angelsinexile.com/machines/vampirejunkies
(Points:
8.3 out of 10)
VARIOUS
ARTISTS 'SOUTHEND PUNK VOLUME ONE' (ANGELS IN EXILE RECORDS/UK IMPORT)
I am an absolute sucker for rare
compilation records and especially the ones with all kinds of unfamiliar
bandnames. I have about 1000+ on LP and CD I guess, and some are Punk/Powerpop
related, and I can now add the wonderful Southend Punk Volume One compilation
CD, which has been released on ANGELS IN EXILE RECORDS. The album documents
what was going on in the late 1970s and early 1980s in the Southend area of the
UK, which is actually not a really big coastal town along the coast, approx.
60km from the east side of London. The CD includes 14 bands in total, and each
of them deliver 1 song from the period 1977-1986, which is also featured
chronologically on this CD. THE MACHINES kicks off and this is classic fast raw
uptempo Punkrock the way it needs to sound. Following band STEVE HOOKER BAND is
going for a more Pub-Rock/Powerpop direction, with influences from New York
Punk and British Beat, reminding me a bit of very early JOE JACKSON going for a
rockier sound. THE VICARS have a JELLO BIAFRA (DEAD KENNEDYS singer) kinda
singer, while the music is in a punky Garage Rock direction like an
out-of-control THE WHO! Classic 1970s Punkrock all the way can be heard on the
song of the band THE DECIBALLS, while the following THE PSYCHPATHS is also pure
Punkrock with an obvious SEX PISTOLS similarity. It's a pity the sound quality
of Too close for comfort by THE SHOCKS is a bit rough, because the band shows a
really catchy melodic powerpopsound here, with strong vocalwork and a good ear
for melodies all throughout the song. THE BULLIES are presenting a more mature
punky and somewhat quirkly early 80s ska influenced pubrocksound that reminds
me slightly of THE CLASH, so it's a pity these guys only recorded a demo,
because they sounded quite professional, both vocally, instrumentally and
songwise speaking. Up next is THE ICONS, another band with only a demo, their
5:15 song that can be found here is uptempo Punk, borderline Hardcore,
reminding me a bit of GBH and EXPLOITED with it's slightly distorted
guitarsound. THE SINYX is going for the more hysterical Punkrocksound, while
THE KRONSTADT UPRISING is a real raw almost Oi! Punk sounding band in the style
of classic BLITZ and a touch of SHAM 69. ALLEGIANCE TO NO ONE goes for a
complete other direction, because they play a darker punky version of upcoming
gothic wave bands like BAUHAUS and NEW ORDER. THE BURNING IDOLS bring us the
song Give me a chance, a catchy early 80s melodic punky powerpoprocker like the
ABRASIVE WHEELS and ANTI NOWHERE LEAGUE in their 80s period. In the 80s
Punkrock went underground and the ones left started to become more melodic and
THE PREY's Sleepless nights is almost melodic hardrock of the NWOBHM kind,
which is quite nice for sure! Closing the CD is THE ARMLESS TEDDIES and their
1986 recorded Serenade, a long instrumental soaring guitar solo driven rocking
journey that reveal classic rock, prog and hardrock influences and is quite far
removed from Punk actually. The additional booklet tells the stories of each
and every band, so you have something to read while singing-a-long to these
underground classic late 70s/early 80s punkrockbands from the small town of
Southend! More info and availability of the CD via https://www.angelsinexile.com/
(Points:
8.3 out of 10)
NEEDLEPOINT
'WALKING UP THAT VALLEY' (CREATIVE ECLIPSE PR/BJK MUSIC/STICKMAN RECORDS/GERMAN
IMPORT)
NEEDLEPOINT is an interesting Norwegian
band that is said to combine jazz and 70s prog, with influences from CAMEL, ELP
and SOFT MACHINE, but I also trace some indie and folk influences in their
music. Personally I would rather call their music going into a calmer laid-back
melodic symphonic folk/jazz/pop/rock direction, especially when you listen to
the CAMEL meets SOFT MACHINE-ish I offered you the moon, but on the other hand
songs like Where the ocean meets the sky and Carry me way even reveal CROSBY,
STILLS, NASH & YOUNG meets FLEET FOXES-ish close-harmonyvocals driven
melodic indiefolkpop. Walking up that valley is their 3rd album so far, and it's
8 songs are a pleasure to listen to, with the so-called authentic pure 1970s
sound all over the place, no matter if you call it sympho, prog, folk, indie,
jazz or the Canterbury sound, it's just all combined here and it can be heard
all throughout the album, with as highlight for me the superb closing title
track Walking up that valley, which really takes you into a journey to a
different timezone (the glorious 1970s). NEEDPLEPOINT's line up is Bjørn
Klakegg / lead vocals, guitars, violin, flute, cello, David Wallumrød / hammond
organ, clavinet, fender rhodes, harpsichord, upright piano, prophet-5, arp
odyssey, arp solus, minimoog, Nikolai Hængsle / electric bass, backing vocals,
guitars, and Olaf Olsen / drums, so you can imagine the use of all these
instruments make it sound even more like the classic 1970s when major labels
released countless albums that featured so much variety thanks to the musicians
and their creativity on playing all these instruments. Check out this wonderful
authentic 1970s sounding Norwegian band at: https://needlepoint.bandcamp.com
(Points:
8.5 out of 10)
MEER
'PLAYING HOUSE' (CREATIVE ECLIPSE PR/KARISMA RECORDS/PLASTIC HEAD DISTRIBUTION/GERMAN
IMPORT)
When listening to the superb opener
Picking up the pieces of the 2nd album of the Norwegian band MEER, I am
surprised there is still so much undiscovered talent out there. MEER is a band
that started as a duo back in 2008 in the city of Hamar, and through the years
they developed into a full band consisting of 8 musicians, Johanne Kippersund
on vocals, Knut Kippersund on vocals, Eivind Strømstad on guitar, Åsa Ree on
violin, Ingvild Nordstoga Eide on viola, Ole Gjøstøl on piano, Morten Strypet
on bass and Mats Lillehaug on drums. The music on Playing house is extremely
melodic and accesible, yet also with a progrock complexity here and there,
while certain bombastic symphonic classical music arrangements are also
included. The result is a sensational album that is also featuring lovely clean
vocalwork of the 2 singers (male and female). The melodic rocking chorus of the
progrock opener Picking up the pieces is a great start and sets the bar very
high for the rest of the album, but thankfully the interest and incredible high
level is kept until the end of the album. Other highlights are the SUPERB Songs
of us, Child, Honey and Across the ocean. Check out this wonderful 2021 release
at: https://meer.bandcamp.com/album/playing-house
(Points:
8.8 out of 10)
LOVE
MACHINE 'DUSSELDORF-TOKYO' (CREATIVE ECLIPSE PR/UNIQUE RECORDS/THE ORCHARD/MEMBRAN/GERMAN
IMPORT)
Now this is a fascinating album that
reflects a sorta NICK CAVE kinda approach, but then a bit less darker and
musically speaking also influenced by Psychedelic Rock and the 70s Krautrock
movement, while the later period of DAVID BOWIE also comes to mind a few times.
Most of the songs on the 4th album of LOVE MACHINE from Dusseldorf and Cologne,
Germany, they are slow, dark psychedelic with deep low octave, almost baritone
like vocals (by singer Marcel Rösche) in a way CAVE and BOWIE are/were also
able to do. I am not familiar with the band's 3 earlier records, but this
Dusseldorf-Tokyo is definitely an interesting album that needs a few good
listens before making a good judgement. There is a lot to discover here
actually, with mostly calm songs as already mentioned, sung in the German
language, I am impressed by Golo mann (in the style of DAVID BOWIE's Golden
years), 100 Jahre Frieden and Gemeinsam einsam (like a German version of JOHNNY
CASH!). However, my favorite songs are the 2 final songs that are sung in the
English language. That mean old thing is the first song to step away from the
slow melancholic calm sound, because this uptempo aggressive post-punk
influenced rocker reminds me a lot of IGGY POP actually. Also closing track The
animal is following that direction of uptempo rocking, yet with also a calmer
part, quite close to late 80s IGGY POP crossed with even a touch of 80s JOY
DIVISION/BAUHAUS here and there. As you can see, this is a very diverse album
that combines 70s psychedelic, kraut and a bit of rock with mostly German
lyrics and a low baritone-ish voice, so it's best to check it out for yourself
at: https://lovemachinegermany.bandcamp.com/album/d-sseldorf-tokyo-2
(Points:
8.3 out of 10)
TAUMEL
'THERE IS NO TIME TO RUN AWAY FROM HERE' (TONZONEN RECORDS/SOULFOOD/CREATIVE
ECLIPSE PR/GERMAN IMPORT)
TAUMEL is a band formed by SVEN POLLKOTTER
(drums) and JAKOB DIEHL (piano/rhodes), who met each other 10 years ago during
a musical production at the Funkhaus in Berlin, Germany. In 2016 they began the
journey of TAUMEL and now it's time to reveal their debut album There is no
time to run away as a band, because along the way BORIS NICOLAI (guitar) and
MANUEL VIEHMANN (flugelhorn) joined them. The result is an impressive
instrumental album that goes in various directions, as each of the 5 included
songs build up to a certain suspense and you can really feel the tension of the
music, it's like watching an exciting movie... There are clear influences of
70s kraut, prog, minimalism, jazz, post-rock and such thrown in a slow dark
ambient style that sometimes creates a rather dangerous and frightening
suspense you really get when you watch a dark noir thriller or something. They
create this sound that is described as doom-jazz/dark-jazz and I can relate to
that, although fans of rare Kraut a la CAN and EINSTURZENDE NEUBAUTEN will
absolutely love this TAUMEL as well! Away is one of the songs that reveals the
most jazzy part of the whole album, while the rest sits nicely between kraut
and the described dark-doom-jazz sound. It's all very well done and I guess
live it will have even more impact than on a physical CD, so if you're starting
to become interested, then check out this band at: https://taumel.bandcamp.com/album/there-is-no-time-to-run-away-from-here
(Points:
8.2 out of 10)
VESTINDIEN
'NULL' (CREATIVE ECLIPSE PR/DARK ESSENCE RECORDS/PLASTIC HEAD/GERMAN IMPORT)
I am not sure how many people play music
in the city of Bergen, Norway, but not a month goes by without a new release
that has it's origin in Bergen. VESTINDIEN was formed all the way back in 2009
as a Hardcore band, but after a couple of years they already split up, however
7 years later re-emerged with a new sound that is a combination of punk, noise,
black metal, heavy metal and old school rock and roll. The resulting debut
album of the band is quite good, although perhaps not of interest for people
who don't like those black metal screams. I have to say that due to the
combination of various rock and metal styles, it's not even disturbing that
singer Torjus Slettsnok is sounding like a Black Metal singer most of the time.
He also puts on a growling Teutonic Metal voice here and there as well, which
is definitely impressive. The rest of the line-up consists of Simon Skøien on
guitars, Karl Johan Johannessen on drums and Pål Eirik Veseth on bass. 7 songs
are on the album, and it's best to hear for yourself if this is interesting
enough to pick-up, which is possible at: https://vestindien.bandcamp.com/album/null
CONNY
FRISCHAUF 'DIE DRIFT' (BUREAU B/KLANDERMAN PROMOTION)
Out of Austria comes CONNY FRISCHAUF, a
talented musician or perhaps art music performer, who released a couple of EPs,
but here she present her debut album Die Drift. This is a fascinating journey
through 80s synthpop/retrowave, 70s krautrock and electronic music, while still
keeping her focus on a certain pop melody. Elements of CAN, KRAFTWERK and
TANGERINE DREAM are quite easy to detect and along with her way of bringing a
simple repetitive vocal melody in each and every song, it somehow really
connects with the listener, and that's what she does very well on especially
songs like Rauf, Parapiri, Zeit verdrehen and the 10 minutes counting closing
track Freundschaft. Check out this interesting release at: https://connyfrischauf.bandcamp.com/album/die-drift
(Points:
8.1 out of 10)
KACY
& CLAYTON AND MARLON WILLIAMS 'PLASTIC BOUQUET' (NEW WEST
RECORDS/KLANDERMAN PROMOTION)
Here we have an interesting and rather
unusual combination of the Canadian Saskatoon duo KACY & CLAYTON and New
Zealand singer and songwriter MARLON WILLIAMS. Not unusual musically speaking,
but distance, time zone and climate are quite the contrary any time of the
year! Anyway, these musicians have successful careers on their own, but now
they have recorded an album together, along with the help of a few other
musicians. The resulting album Plastic bouquet is a nice mixture of songs where
Kacy takes the lead in the vocal work and other songs with Marlon on lead
vocals, while the two combined provide the close-harmony vocals during the
choruses, and here and there we can also hear a real duet. The songs are quite
short and mostly calm, but that’s no problem because the music is high quality
traditional Country/Americana with a soul. There are clear references to the
classic late 50s/early 1960s, such as during the lovely ballad-ish I wonder
why, which actually sounds like a cross between ELVIS and ROY ORBISON. Another
highlight is the duet I’m gonna break it, which has some tempo changes during
the song, and this is basically sounding like a future country classic! Other
highlights are Plastic bouquet, the
catchy Light of love, the strong midtempo Your mind’s walking out and closing
track Devil’s daughter. In The Netherlands, this would fit somewhere between
DANNY VERA, DOLLY PARTON and THE COMMON LINNETS and so there is potential for
sure, while in the USA it could easily become massive, but as this a Canadian/New
Zealand combination, the competition in the USA might probably stand in the
way. However, Marlon is quite well-known in the USA already, so who knows what
will happen! The high quality of the country/Americana music on their debut
album is not the problem, so we’ll see what happens. More info at: https://marlonwilliams.bandcamp.com/album/plastic-bouquet
(Points:
8.1 out of 10)
THE
TELESCOPES 'SONG OF LOVE AND REVOLUTION' (TAPETE RECORDS/KLANDERMAN PROMOTION)
The British band THE TELESCOPES has been
active for over 30 years now and Songs of love and revolution is their 12th
release so far. Actually I was not familiar with them, but if we listen to
their music, we can safely say that it isn’t the most commercial music either.
In fact, this band does something you don’t hear every day, at least not at
first sight, because if you search deep enough you will always find a band
playing obscure Krautrock or Noiserock, musicstyles which most people don’t
relate to sadly. THE TELESCOPES are as alternative and underground as you
probably can get, with a 90s slow depressing altrock/noise style that has a
hypnotically trance like feeling, especially when hearing the bass dominated
mid tempo Strange waves, Come bring your love and the title track Songs of love
and revolution, 3 excellent songs that live will probably go down very well.
The vocals are as depressing as possible I think (doom-post-rock is a term I
could use here), but on the other hand, this also gives the band an own
identity. This is one of those records that will become very popular amongst a
certain amount of people, who’ll get the picture, while others will face a hard
time listening to the album. I would say to those people, take the time and
listen to this fascinating band at: https://thetelescopes.bandcamp.com/album/songs-of-love-and-revolution
(Points:
8.2 out of 10)
CAMERA
'PROSTHUMAN' (BUREAU B/KLANDERMAN PROMOTION)
Prosthuman is the 5th album of the German
band CAMERA, and it marks their 10th year anniversary. The Berlin based band is
clearly making instrumental music in the German tradition, although there is
definitely more than meets the eye on Prosthuman if you listen very clearly.
The band’s foundation is based around two keyboard virtuosos (STEFFEN KAHLES
and founder TIMM BROCKMANN), while completing the new album are the musicians
TIM SCHROEDER (synths), ALEX KOZMIDI (guitar) and MICHAEL DRUMMER on drums (!).
Musically speaking we are dealing here with superb and exciting 1970s
Krautrock/Synthesizer dominated instrumental music that has a lot of grooves
and spacey sounds to keep you entertained from start to finish. Influences of
NEU!, CAN, TANGERINE DREAM and a portion of 80s/retro Synthwave is melted
together very nicely, although you can even trace more influences (rock and
prog) on the album, which has as highlights the fantastic synth heaven of
Prosthuman/Apptime, El ley and Chords4/Kurz vor, the uptempo 80s gothrock
influenced Freundschaft and A2, and the vocal featured early 80s dark new wave
ish Schmwarf. Instead of sampled drums, here we have an actual band kinda
feeling thanks to a real drummer, which sets them apart from most krautrockacts
from the past. It gives CAMERA the push to make it bigger and I assume live on
stage these guys will grab your attention for sure and put you in a trance like
I experienced in 2019 during the performance of the similar sounding underground
Russian band GNOOMES at the LEFT OF THE DIAL festival in Rotterdam. Check out
all info on CAMERA at: https://camerawithin.bandcamp.com/album/prosthuman
(Points:
8.6 out of 10)
LOUIS
PHILIPPE & THE NIGHT MAIL 'THUNDERCLOUDS' (TAPETE RECORDS/KLANDERMAN
PROMOTION)
The French-born Londoner LOUIS PHILIPPE’s
day job is being a professional football writer, but in his spare time he is
also a musician and songwriter/producer, having worked with bands like BIG BIG
TRAIN, THE HIGH LLAMAS, THE CLIENTELE and many others. His new solo-record
Thunderclouds is a beautiful old-fashioned chamber-pop meets 70s
singer/songwriter kinda album that reminds me quite a lot of RUFUS WAINWRIGHT
actually, especially during a song like Once in a lifetime of lies. There is
also a lot of crystal clear 70s pop balladry included as well, such as No
sound, which reminds me a bit of CAT STEVENS and the last couple of songs are
melancholic (The man who had it all), singer/songwriter ish (The mighty owl) or
reflecting a sort of old musical epic dramatic ballad orientated style (Do I).
The final song When London burns is lyrically quite depressing I think, but
musically speaking it is actually one of the few happier sounding songs that
reminds me a lot of AL STEWART and such 70s British singer/songwriter popmusic.
Most of the album is situated around piano-led 70s inspired chamber-pop, done
very well for sure and in case you’re interested in hearing it for yourself,
then go to: https://louisphilippe1.bandcamp.com/album/thunderclouds
(Points:
8.0 out of 10)
RICHARD
VON DER SCHULENBURG 'MOODS AND DANCES' (BUREAU B/KLANDERMAN PROMOTION)
Out of Hamburg, Germany comes musician,
synthesizer player and DJ RICHARD VON DER SCHULEBURG, who releases a
fascinating interesting kraut/electronic instrumental album that is mostly
focused on creating dark and exciting synth orientated songs, which are as it
seems quite improvised most of the time. 9 songs are included, with as
highlights Flowers for the Farfisa sphinx, dx7S Broken heart and the
sensational rhythmic Dance of the space pentax (with its African tribal
influences). It’s quite a journey through all kinds of interesting weird sounds
that reminds you here and there of natural sounds you hear in the environment
somewhere somehow around you, so actually it gives you a certain connection
with Richard’s way to communicate via his synths and keys. Synthwave fans will
also be interested in hearing this album, while the Kraut/Electronic and
KRAFTWERK/CAN/TANGERINE DREAM fans will love this album for sure, as it is a
clear ode to the classic German past of this kind of Kraut/Electronic music.
Check out all info on Richard at: https://soundcloud.com/bureau-1/richard-von-der-schulenburg-moods-dances-2021-album-preview
(Points:
8.2 out of 10)
HALLELUJAH
CHICKEN RUN BAND 'TAKE ONE' (ANALOG AFRICA/ IMPORT)
It’s such a pity there is not so much
coverage of Afro-Rock, because there is a real scene over there now in
especially Mali (SONGHOY BLUES), but also in the past a lot of bands were
active and a lot of them succeeded in combining classic African sounds with
rockmusic, and nowadays the mixture is referred to as Desert rock. ANALOG
AFRICA is a fascinating German label, because they dig up all these hidden
masterpieces from the past and give it a fresh and remastered sound onto CD and
VINYL. One of these releases include the HALLELUJAH CHICKEN RUN BAND from
Zimbabwe. Their recordings from the 1970s have been carefully restored in 2005
and now re-released in a deluxe package CD that contains in total 14 cheerful
rhythmic Afro-Rocksongs of the legendary 1970s band. The energy of these songs
is impossible to ignore and if you like the aforementioned Desert rock of
SONGHOY BLUES, then you will also absolutely love this album. There's a touch
of Caribbean music in songs like Tinokumbira kuziva, Mwana wamal dada naye and
Chaminuka mukuru, but overall this is Afro-Rock at it's very best, with as
highlights Mudzimu Nldlringe, Kare nanhasi, Sekai and Gore iro. The original
line-up of the band included legendary singer THOMAS MAPFUMO, who later on in
the early 1980s found fame and fortune with his band BLACKS UNLIMITED. The
importancy of HALLELUJAH CHICKEN RUN BAND on the development of a music culture
in Zimbabwe is quite impressive, because they were among the first to combine
western rock with african rhythms, political lyrics and sing in the Shona
language, with as result the birth of a new genre within Zimbabwe, which is
called Chimurenga (and means struggle). This compilation CD contains their 14
recorded songs from the 1970s and also an extensive booklet that tells
everything about them and it's members. It's available through https://analogafrica.bandcamp.com/album/take-one-2
and http://analogafrica.com/
(Points:
8.5 out of 10)
LA
LOCURA DE MACHUCA 'BARRANQUILLA - COLOMBIA 1975-1980' (INDEPENDENT/ IMPORT)
South America is one of the least spoken
countries in the music world, which is a real pity, because in the past 50
years countless interesting bands have emerged from that part of the world. It
was in the past quite hard to learn about south american music, and despite the
situation has changed a bit nowadays, it is still almost impossible to hear or
at least read something about a music scene in for example Peru, Brasil,
Argentina or any South American country. Here ANALOG AFRICA steps in, because
there are also a lot of connections to the Afro-Rock genre in South America,
and this particular compilation CD covers the most important songs produced in
Colombia for over a period of 5 years in the 1970s. There is a lot of
background info in the CD booklet, which leaens us all about MACHUCA RECORDS, a
label from the town of Barranquilla in Colombia, and it's founder was a massive
Afro-Rockfan, but due to the fact the import prices of such records were
extremely expensive, so he came up with the idea to have local musicians record
those Afro-Rocksongs themselves and release it on his label, so he could print
it much cheaper locally. He earned a lot of money in that period, because the
music became very popular and so the popularity of Afro-Rock emerged somewhere
in Colombia over 40 years ago! A great story and the effort and work that has
been put into compiling this CD is likewise fascinating as well, because how on
earth is it possible to get hold of rare Colombian music on vinyl, let alone
the remasters to create this compilation album! Thankfully ANALOG AFRICA
managed to do this and now we can listen to a total of 17 bands on this
compilation CD, of which the best are EL GRUPO FOLCLORICO, RIO LATINO, ANIBAL
VELAZQUES, the Afro-rockers of LA BANDA AFRICANA and MYRIAN MAKENWA. Definitely
a recommended compilation to people who want to learn something about the rich
music history of World Music! It's available through: http://analogafrica.com/
(Points:
8.3 out of 10)
SLAVES WAGE 'HEAVEN OR HELL' (SANCROSANCT RECORDS/BLACK SHEEP MUSIV GROUP/USA IMPORT)
After a massive sounding instrumental
opener that is basically classic melodic metal with lovely shredding
guitarwork, the vocals join on the following Push. The Christian/White-Metal
band SLAVES WAGE is coming out of Arlington, Texas, USA and their 4th album
Heaven or hell is a very strong album with a huge sound, excellent guitarwork,
strong vocals and a classic traditional melodic metal sound. For example the
song Heaven or hell is a fantastic uptempo Melodic Metal piece in the classic
STRYPER/MASS style, with razor-sharp biting guitarwork and a superb catchy
melodic 80s Hair Metal chorus to sing-a-long to. The band was formed over 2
decades ago and with already 3 releases before Heaven or hell, they have built
up a certain sound and I think this new album is their finest so far. The
threesome consists of drummer PEDRO CORTES, guitarist JAMES JOHNSON and
vocalist/guitarist JEFF SAENZ. Everything sounds quite perfect here and it's a
pleasure to listen to this talented band. Other highlights are the semi melodic
rock ballad I feel you, which sounds like a cross between FIREHOUSE and DOKKEN,
the BLACK SABBATH influenced epic Doom, the lovely classic 80s Melodic Power
Rock ballad All alone (another FIREHOUSE-ish song) and The stone (huge sounding
Prog/Power Metal). Except for the somewhat aggressive modern thrashy metal of
Soul slave, a song that features DANIEL BAS of BECOMING SONS on vocals, SLAVES
WAGE are a band to check out for sure if you like classic traditional US
Melodic Heavy Rock/Metal and Christian/White-Metal! More info at: https://slaveswage.net
(Points:
8.5 out of 10)
STORM
WARNING 'DIFFERENT HORIZONS' (LIGHTNIN' FINGERS RECORDS/UK IMPORT)
STORM WARNING is a band from the UK and
Different horizons is their 5th album so far and sadly probably their last,
because during the recording of the album, the band's guitarist BOB MOORE
passed away. For the past 16 years he was the key factor within STORM WARNING,
and with his passing, the soul and heart of the band has left. Thankfully we
have this final album as a memory to this fantastic guitarist. 9 songs are
included and there is a nice mixture of midtempo and uptempo rockers included
as well as a slower bluesy sorta ballad here and there, such as the lovely
hammond featured Stranger (which turns into a midtempo rocker halfway).
Horizons opens the album, and this is a great midtempo bluesy melodic rocker
with somehow similarities to JOHN WETTONs solo records, especially due to the
vocals of singer STUART MAXWELL, who reminds me a bit of John. Musically
speaking it is a bit more bluesy orientated, although we can also trace some
progrock influences of the PINK FLOYD kind and a song like Come on in even
shows some DIRE STRAITS similarities. Besides Bob and Stuart, the other members
of STORM WARNING are by the way keyboardplayer IAN SALISBURY, bassist DEREK
WHITE and drummer RUSS CHANEY. Other highlights besides the aforementioned
songs are the midtempo bluesy rocker Call it midlife, the superb relaxing
prog/bluesy classic (semi) rocker Long road that somehow reminds me of PHIL
LYNOTT crossed with DAVID GILMOUR, and the midtempo classic rocking closing
track Questions. I was not familiar with the band before and its really sad
that their original guitarist has died, but this CD is definitely a great way
to remember his wonderful guitarplaying. More info at: https://stormwarningband.bandcamp.com/album/different-horizons
(Points:
8.2 out of 10)
JENNY
STURGEON 'THE LIVING MOUNTAIN' (HUDSON RECORDS/UK IMPORT)
Out of Scotland comes
singer/songwriter/multi-instrumentalist JENNY STURGEON, who released her 2nd
album titled The living mountain on HUDSON RECORDS, which is a label set up by
ANDY BELL, who also produced, recorded and mixed the album besides playing
synth, percussion and providing backing vocals. Jenny herself plays guitar,
piano, harmonium, duicimir, whistle, synth, field recordings, while the other
involved musicians include Grant Anderson (vocals, bass), Mairi Campbell (viola,
vocals) and Su-a Lee (cello). The 12 songs on the album are musically speaking beautiful
calm folk acoustic guitar based singer/songwriter, with the main focus around
Jenny's angelic voice. The music and its lyrics are based on the book The
Living Mountains from the Scottish writer NAN SHEPHERD, which was published in
1977, although it was written in the 1940s. Jenny was so much influenced by
this book, she wrote 12 songs about it and so these 12 story-telling songs are
a joy to listen to, but also a journey into wilderness, connections, and being.
Jenny sings her songs absolutely beautiful, with as one of the absolute
highlights for me personally Frost and snow. You can hear the album for
yourself at: https://jennysturgeon.bandcamp.com/album/the-living-mountain
(Points:
8.3 out of 10)
SILENT
'FRAGMENTS' (INDEPENDENT/BRASIL IMPORT)
The Brazlian band SILENT has been active
in the music business for quite a while and we reviewed them as well in the
past. Fragments is their 3rd album and without a doubt a really good one from
this Rio de Janeiro based band. Their line up consists of Gustavo Andriewiski/vocals,
guitars, Alex Cavalcanti guitars, Roberto Sousa bass and Luiz Tilly Alexandre
drums, and their independently released new album looks and sounds very
professional. 11 songs are included and opener The tinted glass (I remember) is
a strong midtempo melodic rocker with some prog influences and a great soaring
guitarsolo. The mix of melodic rock, aor and progressive rock/neo-prog with
always the focus on catchy hooks and a melodic chorus continues on the
following songs, with as other highlights the lovely Burning alive, the uptempo
melodic rockers You and Rise and the beautiful closing track This side of
eternity, which is a FIREHOUSE ish melodic rockballad in early 90s American
radio style. SILENT delivers a quality record here that fits right between
classic melodic (hard) rock and neo-prog with as mentioned a focus on catchy
choruses orientated songs. Check them out at: www.silent.band
(Points:
8.1 out of 10)
THE HU
'GEREG VINYL RECORD' (BETTER NOISE MUSIC/USA IMPORT)
Without a doubt, THE HU is the first act
from Mongolia I ever get to hear and review! They released their debut album
The Gereg back in 2019, but in 2020 a new deluxe edition of this album has been
released, and their label BETTER NOISE MUSIC was kind enough to sent me the red
vinyl version of this re-release. I have to say that it's an incredible journey
we are experiencing when listening to this wonderful album. The music is very
original, combining modern Rock/Metal bass/drums/choruses with traditional
Mongolian instrumentation like the Morin Khuur (horsehead fiddle), Tovshuur
(Mongolian guitar), Tumur Khuur (jaw harp) and guttural throating singing. It
is sorta like the Mongolian version of a band like APOCALYPTICA crossed with
KORPIKLAANI, TYR and World Music, with a focus on mostly quite catchy midtempo
orientated pieces, such as can be heard during the fantastic songs The gereg,
The wolf totem, The Legend Of Mother Swan and Shoog shoog.
The band was originally founded in 2016 in
Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia by producer DASHKA and the musicians Gala (Lead Throat
Singer and Morin Khuur), Enkush (Lead Morin Khuur and Throat Singer), Jaya (Jaw
Harp, Tsuur, Flute, and Throat Singer) and Temka (Tovshuur), and in those 5
years they exist now they have already established themselves as a world class
act with a bright future ahead of them. So far The Gereg is their only release,
and this new edition of the album contains 6 additional bonustracks, which included
3 acoustic versions of songs from the original album, and 3 newly recorded
versions of original THE HU songs, yet now featuring the vocalists of the
established Hardrock/Metal bands PAPA ROACH, FROM ASHES TO NEW and HALESTORM. These
new versions make the band sound massive, with the right connection to modern
heavy rock/metal, and without a doubt, songs like Wolf totem, Yuve Yuve Yu and
Song of women sound superstrong and tight in these new version, basically ready
for the further worldwide invasion of THE HU!
All together THE HU is doing something new
and original, and I'll bet live on stage these guys will sound impressive, so let's
hope this will be possible soon. Meanwhile check out their highly recommended
album as well as more info on THE HU at: https://www.thehuofficial.com
(Points: 8.9 out of 10)
AWOLNATION
'ANGEL MINERS & LIGHTNING RIDERS VINYL RECORD' (BETTER NOISE MUSIC/USA IMPORT)
I was actually not familiar with the
American band AWOLNATION, but their 4th album Angel miners & lightning
riders arrived in it's vinyl editon at my office and so I gave it a few good
spins and checked all the facts and figures of this band. Guitarist/singer/songwriter
AARON BRUNO formed the Californian AWOLNATION in 2009 and through the years
there were notable line-up changes, but the most current one includes Isaac
Carpenter (drums), Zach Irons (lead guitar), Daniel Saslow (programming,
keyboards) and Michael Goldman (bass). The band's music is a mix of modern pop,
rock, indie and some electronic/dance, and we can find 10 songs on this new
album. Opener The best is a strong modern electro poprocker with a big arena
chorus, not far removed from IMAGINE DRAGONS and BASTILLE. Following track Slam
is slightly more electro/wave ish, but the band gets rockier on the strong
uptempo anthemic rocker Mayday!!! Fiesta Fever!!! Lightning riders is a clear radio-ready
commercial attack and a sure hit for fans of aforementioned IMAGINE DRAGONS and
BASTILLE. Closing side-A of the vinyl record is California halo blue, which
basically follows the sound of the previous track.
Opener on side-B of the vinyl record is
Radical, which is slightly rockier, but this midtempo rather commercial
midtempo rocker continues where we left off on side-A. I do have to say that
this side-B is more interesting than side-A, which is due to the following 2
songs, the alternative rocker Battered, black & blue (Hole in my heart),
which features a catchy 80s THE CARS-ish chorus, but is packed in the heaviest
rock jacket of this album. Pacific coast highway in the movies features WEEZER
bandleader RIVERS CUOMO as guest singer, but musically speaking it is the most
commercial song on the album, which even has a chorus that could have been
taken from a BEE GEES album! Anyway, Half Italian is up next and this is
another IMAGINE DRAGONS-ish modern pop/rocker, while I'm a wreck is closing the
album in a nice indie rock anthem style. AWOLNATION is a radio/commercial
orientated act and I think their new record will gain radio airplay for sure
and that's what Aaron is probably trying to achieve here. More info at: https://www.awolnationmusic.com
(Points:
8.0 out of 10)
TOMMY
LEE 'ANDRO VINYL RECORD' (BETTER NOISE MUSIC/USA IMPORT)
American drummer TOMMY LEE is of course
best known as the MOTLEY CRUE drummer, but for a lot of people outside the USA
he is a TV personality. Anyway, he is actually a multi-instrumentalist who did
a lot of other bands, projects and solo recordings besides his time in the
legendary MOTLEY CRUE. Personally I am a sucker for his fantastic drum skills
in the past, because on his new solo album Andro, we can't hear much of his
drumming and it also has nothing to do with his rocking past. In fact, Tommy is
also a DJ and this is his new solo/DJ/Dance/Electronic record. Opener Knock me
down starts with a modern take on combining rap, nu-metal and industrial metal,
while the following You dancy is a short light 80s electro-pop/PRINCE
influenced catchy tune. Modern dance beats, hip-hop and breakbeat can be heard
during Ain't tellin me nothing, while the rap/hip/trip-hop continues on the
following Some coma. PRINCE similarities can be heard during the strong
midtempo poprocker When you were mine, which was mixed by BOB ROCK by the way! The
rest of the album continues with this mixture of modern
trip/rap/electronic/beats music and a couple of PRINCE-ish tunes, so this is
really something completely different than Tommy's rocking past. It's hard to
recommend this album to any TOMMY LEE/Rockfan, but in case you're extremely
open-minded and want to hear something completely different and modern
sounding, then this US Billboard chart orientated record is yours to take! More
info at: https://www.tommylee.com
(Points:
- out of 10)
FROM
ASHES TO NEW 'PANIC VINYL RECORD' (BETTER NOISE MUSIC/USA IMPORT)
FROM ASHES TO NEW is a
typical American band with the modern American rocksound as we know from
countless other bands, yet they do it just a bit differently and therefore
stand out between the rest. Panic is their 3rd album and they are actually
quite popular over there, because the first single, which is the titletrack
Panic, this song has peaked in the top 20 of the US Billboard Mainstream Rock
Songs chart back in April 2020. In Europe not many people will be familiar with
them I'm afraid, which is a pity, because Panic is a strong record that mixes
perfectly distorted heavy guitars with melodic choruses, and the band has a
strong lead singer by the name of DANNY CASE. The rest of the band features
MATT BRANDYBERRY (vocals, rap vocals, keyboards, rhythm guitar, bass), LANCE
DOWDLE (guitar, bass) and MAT MADIRO (drums). LINKIN PARK is clearly a good
comparison, because there is some aggressiveness inside the band's music, with
a certain Hardcore/Punkpop touch, although the music is most of the time quite
melodic Nu-Metal based, just like LINKIN PARK. The album was said to be
released much earlier, but due to covid-19 it got delayed and although it is
now released, there are some notable changes as well. The third single Scars
that I'm hiding which was released prior to the album release in the summer of
2020, this featured guest vocals by IN FLAMES shouter ANDERS FRIDEN, but they
can not be heard on this new album version. Anyway, I received the vinyl
edition of the new album, and I must say that it is a huge sounding record with
the so-called American way of making modern rock, as it sounds aggressive, huge
on the distorted guitars, some screaming here and there, but also sweet clean
vocalwork, and working it's way in each song to a catchy radio-ready chorus.
This has been polished here and there, especially in the song Wait for me,
which is the best song on the album by the way, because it is a very strong catchy
modern melodic rocker in the Nu-style of let's say STONE SOUR. The guys look
like a cross between a boyband and a poppunkband from the 1990s, but they
surely sound like a heavy modern rockband on their Panic album, which lyrically
is now more or less also related to the covid-19 measures around the world that
makes it impossible to do any touring and support the album release, but I
believe all of the songs were written before the virus pandemic. Thankfully the
vinyl album is out now and I can recommend you to check out this band in case
you're a fan of any of the mentioned bands. More info at: https://www.fromashestonew.com/
(Points:
8.2 out of 10)
PATRIK
JANSSON BAND 'IV' (SNEAKY FOOT PRODUCTIONS/SWEDEN IMPORT)
Straight from the green forest just north
of Stockholm, Sweden comes the excellent guitarist/singer PATRIK JANSSON, who
has formed a band around him along with LRS ERIKSSON (organ, keys), THOMAS
ANDERSSON (bass) and MARTIN FORSSTEDT (drums). They have released 4 albums so
far, of which the latest from 2020 is simply titled IV. 9 songs are included,
starting with She ain't gonna come back any more, which is a very relaxing
laid-back bluesy calmer rocker with a certain ROBBEN FORD meets JEFF HEALEY
touch. The album continues this vibe, with as other highlights Love will find a
way, Same Thing All Over Again, Someone who treats you right (the best song, a
fantastic melodic song that has memories of KENNY WAYNE SHEPHERD and 90s GARY
MOORE) and the superb smooth bluesy balllad Only the lonely. Patrik is also
influenced by Jazz music, which can be heard very clearly during the uptempo
instrumental She said what?, so there's enough variety to keep you entertained
from start to finish, but especially the fans of calmer high quality bluesy
rock with a focus on clean melodies, they will absolutely love this album!
Check out this strong blues/rock band at: https://patrikjanssonband.com/
(Points:
8.3 out of 10)
THE
ADAM BROWN 'WHAT WE'LL NEVER KNOW VINYL RECORD' (ACTION AIR RECORDS/CANADA IMPORT)
Out of the beautiful city of Montreal,
Quebec in Canada comes THE ADAM BROWN, a band/project formed around
singer/songwriter/multi-instrumentalist ADAM BROWN. I believe What we'll never
know is his first official album release and I am pleased to say that Adam sent
me the vinyl record edition of the release, something which is always highly
appreciated! Besides Adam on vocals, synths and guitar, the other members of
his band are Martha Rockhard on bass and vocals, Steph Janukavicius on drums,
Monique Laflamme on additional vocals and Carl Bedard and Colin Merriam on
additional drums. Anyway, the included music is mostly classic Powerpop orientated
and in total we can find 10 tunes on the album. Opener Indie Rock Has-Beens is
a catchy uptempo melodic powerpoprocker in a sorta classic early/mid 1980s THE
CARS style. Following Disco Mossman is a late 1970s inspired disco-poprocker
like a mix between DAVID BOWIE and ROXY MUSIC, a somewhat quirky but catchy
little tune here, with BLONDIE ish female vocals as backing vocals. Hummin'
around is a pretty good catchy early 80s punky poprocker with a strong chorus,
once again as if BLONDIE is doing a song with CHEAP TRICK! Back to DAVID BOWIE
meets ROXY MUSIC during the catchy poptune I will let you run, while It's
emotion! closes side-A of this vinyl record in a lovely pure early 80s catchy
RICK SPRINGFIELD Powerpop/Poprock style (his Working class dog album), and I
have to admit that this particular song is definitely one of the absolute
highlights!
Side-B opens with Get up, which is another classic uptempo Powerpop anthem like a mix between THE CARS, RICK SPRINGFIELD and MOON MARTIN. The law was love is slightly more groovier and actually going into a sorta early 90s college rock direction a la TEENAGE FANCLUB. The post is a very catchy uptempo classic piece of Powerpop in the THE CARS style again, while the slightly rockier uptempo tunes Firsty and closing track Spirit tacos recall a 1970s style again like a melting pot of BLONDIE, BOWIE and CHEAP TRICK! Adam does a great job here and I can highly recommend this Powerpop gem to anyone who misses the days of all the aforementioned acts! More info at: https://theadambrown.bandcamp.com/album/what-well-never-know
(Points:
8.3 out of 10)
| CLICK HERE FOR MORE NEW REVIEWS |
| GO TO THE REVIEWSINDEXPAGE |
| BACK TO HOMEPAGE |