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HOT NEW REVIEWS
LONGITAL
'MAUNA' (SLNKO RECORDS/SLOVAKIA IMPORT)
LONGITAL is an interesting female fronted
band from Slovakia and they have already released 11 albums in the past. Their
12th album Mauna has recently been released on SLNKO RECORDS. The band is quite
popular in Slovakia, which I understand, because their music is quite exciting,
melting elements of folk, pop, alternative rock, a bit of jazz, classical music
and electro-poprock, but there’s much more to explore in the 9 included songs
on Mauna. They are sometimes compared to SIGUR ROS or JOHN GRANT with a bit of
POLICA, with as difference the lyrics that are sung in their own language. It’s
definitely a great journey to listen to this band’s music, which sounds
haunting and atmospheric, but also very melodic, yet with enough changes
musically speaking to keep things interesting from start to finish, without
every pushing the skip button. Although the band features more members, the
main core consists of guitarist Daniel Salontay and vocalist Shina or Šina Lo
(real name Jana Lokšenincová). There’s not a single weak moment on this album,
but as highlights I would like to point out the bombastic Biele ciary (White
Lines), the slightly KATE BUSH-ish Slova (Words), Len zavan (Just Breeze) and
closing track Potom (Afterwards). If you’re becoming interested, you can check
out all info on this band at: http://longital.com
KATARINA
MALIKOVA 'POSTALGIA' (SLNKO RECORDS/SLOVAKIA IMPORT)
Although sung in her own language, the
Slovakian singer/songwriter KATARINA MALIKOVA comes up with an international
sounding new album titled Postalgia. She has the voice of an angel and her
music is adventurous and very interesting. This is her 2nd album and without a
doubt, the included music is of a very high level. The album starts quite calm
with Usta, but gets experimental electronic/hi-tech on the following Cierna
Selma, which is an interesting modern sounding tune like FLORENCE AND THE
MACHINE and LAPSLEY. Also following song Vodnik moves into that direction and
has really strong vocal melodies by Katarina. Other highlights on her album are
V dome, Rozhodnutie and the haunting closing track Nest’astna nedel’a (SINEAD
O’CONNOR meets BJORK). Quite a surprise this release and recommended if you
like experimental but still melodic female fronted hi-tech electronic pop/rock.
More info at: https://katarinamalikova.com/en
(Points:
8.2 out of 10)
BILLY
BARMAN 'ZLATY VEK' (SLNKO RECORDS/SLOVAKIA IMPORT)
BILLY BARMAN is a band from Slovakia and
their latest album is titled Zlaty Vek, which is their 5th album so far. Their
sound is modern orientated catchy pop/rock, with a touch classic Synth/New Wave
and Poprock from the 80s. It would not surprise me if they would score massive
hits in their homecountry Slovakia with songs like Doba Doba, Ukaz Vrecka, V
Meste Strasi (a groovy melodic pop/rocker like DE WOLFF a bit), the electro
ballad Svita and the excellent uptempo poprocker Bez Tvojej Pomoci. BILLY
BARMAN is a pretty good band with a modern melodic electro-pop/rocksound and a
lot of catchy melodies like THE KILLERS, WHITE LIES, DEPECHE MODE..., but then
sung in the Slovakian language. More info at: http://billybarman.sk/
ZAPADAKOVA
'ZAPADAKOVA' (SLNKO RECORDS/SLOVAKIA IMPORT)
There is not much info on the talented
Slovakian singer/songwriter ZAPADAKOVA, who delivers his same titled album on
SLNKO RECORDS. The included music is calmer mostly acoustic guitar driven
singer/songwriter pop/rock (a la STING) with a focus on melodies on each and
every of the 12 included songs. More info at: https://www.slnkorecords.sk
CISTE
TVARY 'ZEM NAS CHCE CISTYCH' (SLNKO RECORDS/SLOVAKIA IMPORT)
Out of Bratislava Slovakia, comes the
sensational rockband CISTE TVARY. They were formed back in 2000, and so far
they have released 4 albums, of which Zem nás chce čistých is their 3rd, which
was released in 2015. Their music is a mixture of 90s Alternative Rock,
Progressive Rock and Melodic Pop/Rock, with strong vocals and memorable
melodies, while the songs are mostly groovy to midtempo. Although they sing in
their own language, this is definitely a great band to check out. They sound a
bit like a cross between the Italian DHAMM and the Bosnian 90s records of
DIVLJE JAGODE, so a band with a slightly lighter rocksound and a focus on
strong vocals and melodies. They could also be classified as a Melodic
Rockband, and among the 11 included tracks, there are a lot of highlights, but
the best ones are Dychat Siru (a wonderful midtempo melodic progrocker), Laviny
(a lovely epic semi-ballad), Prach Prikryl Nas (excellent melodies in this
beautiful calmer progrocker) and Z Minylych Tiel (awesome midtempo epic melodic
progrocker with nice keys as well). Definitely a band to check out and despite
the Slovakian language, it is still an enjoyable record that fits somewhere
between prog, melodic and alternative rock. More info at: http://www.cistetvary.sk/
JANA
KIRSCHNER 'MORUSA CIERNA' (SLNKO RECORDS/SLOVAKIA IMPORT)
JANA KIRSCHNER is a Slovak singer,
songwriter and multiple award winner across several music genres, and she has
been in the music business since 1996. I believe she already released 10
albums, and Morusa Cierna was released back in 2014. The album starts with a
calm classical music piece titled Idu, but following song Muzika! is an uptempo
modern sounding sorta synthwave meets pop meets world music orientated piece,
which is very interesting and quite catchy. The music is a mixture of all kinds
of styles, sounding very diverse and quite original actually, but perhaps
closest to early 80s experimental synth-pop meets lo-fi 90s pop/rock and quite
a bit of World Music (especially traditional Slovakian music), with as other
highlights Duch Mesta, Na kridlach divych vciel (very traditional Slovakian
kinda folk music), the atmospheric almost CLANNADish Premeny and the jazzy
pop/rocking closing track Potopa. Jana has a wonderful voice and she writes
very diverse songs that might appeal to a lot of people out there. Imagine TORI
AMOS, yet with lyrics in Slovakian and also some traditional folk influences,
then you’re perhaps closes to the sound of Jane, although I would say she has
an own identity. Check it out for yourself at: http://www.janakirschner.com/
NINA
BERGLOVA & STEFAN BARTUS 'INOU KRAJINOU' (SLNKO RECORDS/SLOVAKIA IMPORT)
Composer and singer NINA BERGLOVA joined
forces with renowned Jazz bassist ŠTEFAN “PISTA” BARTUS, and together they
created a wonderful very relaxing smooth jazz-pop album with lovely vocals by
Nina. 9 songs are included and the overall vibe is really beautiful, especially
during songs like Veruze len trava, Priad meze len, Jari, Boze jari and Vojana.
An album to start your day or finish your day, as it is a lovely calmer
jazz-pop adventure. More info at: https://www.slnkorecords.sk/nina-berglova/inou-krajinou
RICHARD
AUTNER 'ODPOVEDE' (SLNKO RECORDS/SLOVAKIA IMPORT)
Out of Bratislava, Slovakia comes RICHARD
AUTNER, a talented person, because he is best known as actor on the Slovakian
TV and in the National Theater, but he is also a passionate musician. He
recently recorded his debut album Odpovede along with Slovak musicians Marek Žilinec,
Milan Koyš, Martin Christov a Vlado Nikulin. Richard has a great voice and his
music is at first sight very relaxed melancholic melodic pop/rock orientated
with a focus on strong melodies. Sometimes it reminds me a bit of the prog/pop
of 70s KAYAK and ALAN PARSONS PROJECT crossed with MARK KNOPFLER, with as
highlights Zem, Opdovede, Zivot and Hlavna Postava. However, some of the
material later on the CD is also showing a combination of traditional world
music influences (Klara), modern electro/indie pop (Ocel Kalena) and
singer/songwriter elements, so basically it is a very diverse album. Check for
yourself at: https://www.slnkorecords.sk/richard-autnerat
DARKNESS
POSITIVE '?' (SLNKO RECORDS/SLOVAKIA IMPORT)
DARKNESS POSITIVE is a young Slovakian
band with a very diverse sound on their album Y. It starts jazzy, but next song
Abyhralima introduces a groovy mixture of progressive rock, modern rock and
funky jazz, ending up sounding like a cross between LIVING COLOUR and LENNY
KRAVITZ, with a proggy touch as well, especially during the lovely soaring
guitarsolo. Well done for sure, and the rest of the album offers a lot more
interesting material, with as highlights Zahynul, Slava and Kam Ideme. There is
a nice mixture of mostly instrumental jazz, prog and groovy rock going on here,
but also some very modern parts are slipping through here and there, sounding international and therefore
recommended to check out at: https://www.facebook.com/darknesspositive/
SINA
LONGITAL & SLAVO SOLOVIC 'ANALEMMA' (SLNKO RECORDS/SLOVAKIA IMPORT)
The Slovakian SINA LONGITAL & SLAVO
SOLOVIC made an album together titled Analemma, which has a fascinating
frontcover and musically speaking is calmer ambient, almost Celtic/CLANNAD/ENYA
orientated from start to finish, with a sorta Icelandic touch as well. A song
like Dych zatajujem is suddenly quite experimental, with a haunting dark synth
sound, and also here and there some of the songs are revealing Electropop influences, so it’s a
melting pot in the end, along with the Slovakian lyrics. I think it’s perhaps
best to check out for yourself at: https://www.slnkorecords.sk/shina-longital/analemma
BLANCH
'DELUSION' (SLNKO RECORDS/SLOVAKIA IMPORT)
The Slovakian band BLANCH is led by the
talented singer/songwriter/guitarist BIANCA MACKOVA and I am somewhat surprised
this hasn’t been picked up yet by the international press, because their album
Delusion is very impressive. 12 songs are included, and opener Waves is showing
right from the start this is high quality melodic pop/rock/dreampop/indie with
strong soulful vocals and great melodies with a lovely relaxing vibe. The focus
is melodies and Bianca has a smooth voice, while musically it is a mix of
classic 90s female fronted melodic pop/rock (LEANNE RIMES, JENNIFER PAIGE,
FAITH HILL) and modern day soulful pop (BIRDY, ADELE, LANA DEL REY, LYKKE LI,
DUFFY), while almost each and every song could turn out into a massive
worldwide radio hit. Other highlights besides the opener are Like a Good Boy
should, Echo, Gaia, and Just be. BLANCH has definitely potential to become
huge, because everything sounds crystal clear on this debut album. You can
check out more info at: https://www.slnkorecords.sk/blanch/delusion
KORBEN
DALLAS 'STREDOVEK' (SLNKO RECORDS/SLOVAKIA IMPORT)
The Slovakian band KORBEN DALLAS has been
around for a while now, with quite a few releases so far. Their 5th album
Stredovek was released in 2017 and despite they sing in their own language,
it’s an enjoyable album that is a mix of various music styles, although they
prefer to be called an alternative pop/rockband. 11 songs are included and if
we go through them, there are uptempo pieces (Tvrdý), epic midtempo pieces
(Vietor) that sound a bit ALICE IN CHAINS/PEARL JAM, a faster uptempo punky
rocker (Oranžová), quite a few calmer pieces (Nič sa nepýtaj, Ako para, Prepáč
and Stromy (EDDIE VEDDER solo material ish, bit depressing dark singer/songwriter orientated), Vzdať sa (a
nice semi-epic rockballad, pretty good and reminding me a bit of DE WOLFF), 95
(strong soulful semi-ballad/melodic rock, best song), Múry (heaviest song on
the album, a massive sounding groovy modern heavy rocker a la ALTER BRIDGE’s
post-modern rock, more songs like this would be interesting) and even a funky
jazzy piece during closing track Ona. The band has a strong singer, who sings
mostly in the lower octave range, so therefore the 90s altrock similarities,
but overall it is a very diverse album actually and I look forward to hear more
of this band in the future. More info at: https://www.slnkorecords.sk/korben-dallas/stredovek
PERFECT CRIME ‘VARIOUS ALBUMS’
(FONO/RUSSIAN IMPORT)
Out of Moscow, Russia comes PERFECT CRIME,
a band formed back in 2010, and they were kind enough to send me the 2 albums
they released so far, which are the CDs of Perfect Crime from 2013 and The
Battlefield from 2019. Their sound is quite massive and reminds me of the
classic late 1980s US Hair Metal/Melodic Hardrocksounds of bands such as SKID
ROW, EVERY MOTHER’S NIGHTMARE, TESLA, SLAUGHTER and such. In fact, when hearing
a song like The Trap from their same titled debut, it’s like we are listening
to the perfect mix between SKID ROW and SLAUGHTER, so they are dangerously
close to that classic American sound, thanks to a great MARK SLAUGHTER-ish
singer (IVAN NOSKOV), 2 excellent guitarists (VALENTIN DMITRICHENKO on their
2nd album, SERGEY GINDIYA on their 1st album and NIKITA BOROVKOV on both
albums), a tight rhythm section (bassist ALEXANDER FEDONIN and drummer EVGENY
KORABLEV), a huge production and some really strong songs. Other highlights on
their first album are Into the Light (superb catchy uptempo Arena melodic
hardrock, like SCORPIONS meets SLAUGHTER meets FIREHOUSE), the 80s Power
Ballads Lookin’ For and One More Time (the latter has a sensational epic
uptempo guitarsolo part), Watch out! (fantastic guitarwork!) and the excellent
80s Melodic Heavy Rocker Open Your Eyes (a la PINK CREAM 69). In 2019 they followed
it up with The Battlefield, which musically speaking is in the same direction,
with as highlights this time the faster uptempo Dangerous Game, Destination
Reached (pure SLAUGHTER, with a chorus that reminds me of the Melodic Heavy
Rock of MAD MAX, PRETTY MAIDS and CASANOVA), the midtempo VICTORYish melodic
rocker Love is… (Just a Crime), Real Love (high class uptempo melodic rocker,
pure 80s and NOT the SLAUGHTER song!) and the midtempo melodic heavy rocker
Free, where Ivan shows his vocal skills. Check out one of the finest Russian
bands from the past few years, especially if you’re a fan of the classic late
80s American Melodic Hard/Hair Metal sound of aforementioned bands and you can
do that via https://www.facebook.com/perfect.crime.band
(Points: 8.7 out of 10)
OUDEN ‘NOTHING LEFT BUT SEA’ (ECLIPSE
MUSIC/XANGO MUSIC)
Singer/songwriter DEBI WONG and
keyboardplayer/programmer AKI YLI-SALOMAKI joined forces and recorded an album
together as OUDEN. The album is titled Nothing Left But Sea, and despite it is
released on the jazz orientated label ECLIPSE MUSIC, the included music is
modern electronic pop orientated with a focus on big sounding keys/synths,
programmed drums and the angelic voice of Debi. In fact, a song like First
Stone could easily become a huge hit, because this is a very catchy chorus
driven hi-tech popsong in the style of so many others at the moment. There are
also some Dreampop and Indie influences to be heard in a song like Needing and
overall it reminds me a bit of LAPSLEY, FLORENCE & THE MACHINE, THE XX and
such. Other highlights are the wonderful Cliché and the superb midtempo
slightly Gothic-rock-ish Persephone (KATE BUSH influences). OUDEN is a great
duo that has all it takes to become huge in the future, so this is a great
start with their debut album Nothing Left But Sea. More info at: https://eclipsemusicrecordlabel.bandcamp.com/album/nothing-left-but-sea
(Points: 8.4 out of 10)
L’ALBA ‘A PRINCIPIU’ (BUDA MUSIQUE/XANGO
MUSIC)
Out of Corsica, Italy comes L’ALBA, a band
playing Middle Eastern influenced World Music with Italian lyrics but singing
beautiful close-harmonyocals in the typical style like we know it from the
Middle East, which makes it a very interesting band to check out. Of course on
the Island of Corsica there is a lot of traditional music, which they
incorporate into their music. The band consists of Sébastien Lafarge
(harmonium, vocals), François Guironnet (clarinet, pivana, vocals), Eric
Ferrari (bass, vocals), Laurent Barbolosi (violin, vocals), Ghjuvan Francescu
Mattei, Nicolas Torracinta (guitar, vocalsl), and A Principiu is their latest
album. Highlights are Indiferenti, So diventatu, Ancu sfarente and U
Tornaviaghju, which all make you long for those long warm summer evenings
somewhere south in the sun. As already mentioned the harmonyvocals are very
impressive and also the strong lead vocalwork is making this a highly
recommended album! More info can be found at: https://l-alba.com/
(Points: 8.3 out of 10)
BRANKO GALOIC ‘DANSE DE LA LIBERTE PLES
SLOBODE’ (SACEM/XANGO MUSIC)
Originally from Zagreb, Croatia, musician
BRANKO GALOIC lived in different places in Europe, such as Amsterdam, Berlin
and now in Paris. He plays guitar and sings, and on his new album Dance de la
Liberte/Freedom Dance he is assisted by a lot of guest musicians from Portugal,
Iran, France, Serbia, Bosnia and Holland, who are giving his Balkan traditional
music roots a different twist due to the use of many different instruments and
additional vocals. The resulting album is a great journey through different
World Music genres, although most of the 15 included songs give you that South
Europe/Mediterranean feeling, with as highlights Million ways (with Greek
influences), If You Want To Love Me (with a lovely guitarsolo a la SANTANA),
Rebirth (lovely instrumental shredding guitar piece, even MALMSTEENish!!!), and
the guitar version of the titletrack. Branko is a great guitarplayer, which you
can hear once again on his new CD, although he also gives room for the other
musicians to show their skills on tuba, trumpet, accordion, cello, etc.. Check
out more at: http://branko-galoic.com
(Points: 8.2 out of 10)
VAEV ‘VAEV’ (GO’ DANISH FOLK MUSIC/XANGO
MUSIC)
VAEV is a Swedish duo consisting of David
Mondrup and Poul Lendal. The duo works with interpretations of traditional
Danish folk tunes and give it a sorta Irish/Celtic kinda version. They did a
great job on the 12 included songs that really make you happy when listening.
The music is actually called folktronica and both musicians are well-respected
veterans of the Danish Folk Music history. Check it out for yourself at: https://soundcloud.com/vaev-duo
(Points: 7.5 out of 10)
OSA7029 ‘ROOTS/BRANCHES/CONES’ (ECLIPSE
MUSIC/XANGO MUSIC)
Besides the first album as OUDEN, a
project with Singer/songwriter DEBI WONG, Finnish keyboardplayer/programmer AKI
YLI-SALOMAKI also released an album as OSA7029. The album consists of 3 songs
(Roots, Branches and Cones) and all of them are composed, mixed and produced by
Aki, who has recorded a lot of albums in his career, mostly in the classical
music and ambient pop direction. With some help of Max Gaertner on Vibraphone
and Jonas Petersen (24 violins) on Strings, this new album is an interesting
instrumental krautrock/70s electronic orientated record that reminds me a bit
of TANGERINE DREAM and KLAUS SCHULZE, so the focus is atmospheric ambient music
created on the synthesizer. You can hear more at: https://eclipsemusicrecordlabel.bandcamp.com/album/roots-branches-cones
(Points: 8.2 out of 10)
TAMMELA 33100 ‘MUSTAN VAIN ASTUNEENI
SUMUUN’ (ECLIPSE MUSIC/XANGO MUSIC)
Although there are some Finnish
traditional folk music influences here and there, the album of the Finnish band
TAMMELA is a very melodic affair actually, basically going for smooth
radiofriendly melodic pop/rocksound with both female and male lead vocals.
Highlights include the uptempo melodic poprocker Je Suis mita tahansa, the
lovely 80s midtempo AOR/Poprock-ish Mina olen loytanyt sinut (a la TONE NORUM),
the superb catchy 80s uptempo hookladen AOR/Poprocker Minka taakseen jattaa and
the lovely epic and even slightly progrocking Ei kenenkaan mailla. In contrast
to that material you also have the traditional Finnish Folk music influenced
calmer acoustic orientated songs such as Lankaikkisesti, Vallissamme on seina
and Karsimyskukkia, but also a Eurovision Song Contest piece like Suuri
rakastaja. This mixture is quite interesting and not heard before much I think.
The band’s line-up consists by the way of Aimo Laitamo (Bass, Electric Guitar,
Vocals), Elias Nieminen (Drums, Percussion, Vocals), Jaakko Luoma (Electric
Guitar, Acoustic Guitar, Vocals), Lauri Pulakka (Keyboards, Vocals), Annaleena
Haapasalo (Vocals) and Jaani Haapasalo (Vocals, Acoustic Guitar), and this new
album Muistan Vain Astuneeni Sumuun is their 3rd record since their formation
about 10 years ago. For more info please go to: http://tammela33100.com
(Points: 8.3 out of 10)
LA GIOSTRA ‘LA GIOSTRA’ (LIBURIA
RECORDS/XANGO MUSIC)
The album of the Italian band LA GOISTRA
is a mix of various World Music styles, mainly staying in the traditional music
style of Folk and Gypsy, but also influenced by the Balkan and South to
Mediterranean part of the world, stretching to as far as Syria or Algeria. The
result is a fun album, and I believe this new CD of the band is a compilation
of some of their older work. The 8 included songs are a joy to listen to, with
as highlights the uptempo Folk/Gypsy-ish (with strong vocal melodies) pieces
Tutti Frutti (lovely), Tre Tzigani and Ballata a Ritmo Incerto. The band
consists by the way of Maurizio Pellizzari – vocals, guitar, etc, Vincenzo
Grasso – Clarinet, Sax, Bruno Galeone – Fisarmonica, Manuele Salinaro – drums,
etc. and Francesco Pellizzari – drums, and they seem like a great band to check
out live someday. For more info please go to: https://www.liburiarecords.com/la-giostra
(Points: 8.2 out of 10)
ROBERT JURJENDAL ‘WATER FINDS A WAY’
(NEWDOG RECORDS/ESTONIA IMPORT)
I received 2 albums of the Estonian
musician ROBERT JURJENDAL, including his new album Water Finds A Way and a
previous album titled The Power Of Distance from 2019, which he recorded
together with MIGUEL NOYA. This album is a bit more instrumental Progrock
orientated, although musically it is also not that different from his solo
work. The new record Water Finds A Way is a lovely relaxing atmospheric album
that combines influences of prog, kraut and new age, sometimes instrumental and
at other times including beautiful vocals/choir. Besides Robert on electric
guitar, U8 touch guitar, 12th string guitar, guitar synth, vocals and
percussion, other involved musicians are Signe Jürjendal on vocals, Anti
Jürjendal on cello and Miguel Noya on piano. The result is a lovely laid-back
sounding album with the aforementioned influences out of the classic prog,
sympho, kraut and new age world, with sometimes memories of ALAN PARSONS
PROJECT, TANGERINE DREAM and even KAYAK. Well done and with quite some
highlights among the 14 included songs, such as the beautiful instrumental Grey
and Blue, the ambient melancholic choirs in Morning Land, For the Bees and the
lengthy closing track Everything goes on. This is definitely a recommended
album, which will probably mostly interest the fans of calmer old school
prog/sympho a la CAMEL, ALAN PARSONS PROJECT and Krautrockfans of the TANGERINE
DREAM, KLAUS SCHULZE school. More info at: https://robertjyrjendal1.bandcamp.com/album/water-finds-a-way
(Points: 8.3 out of 10)
STEWART CLARK ‘LET’S GO THERE’
(INDEPENDENT/UK IMPORT)
Although the 2nd album of British
multi-instrumentalist STEWART CLARK is a short affair (under 40 minutes), it’s
definitely a strong album that will appeal to most progfans out there. He got
help from drummer IAN MCKENZIE, but he did everything himself actually,
although the beautiful frontcover was designed by ROGER DEAN. The included 9
songs are a joy to listen to, and if we point out some of the songs to reflect
the direction it’s heading into, I need to add Almost 20/20 (excellent classic
prog/symphonic rock with cool keys, strong melodies and such), Let’s Go There
(a slight change in style, with a sorta relaxing 70s CSN&Y kinda
close-harmonyvocal driven melodic westcoast ish pop/rocksound , but with also
CAMEL influences), When (relaxing acoustic based), The Empty Page (STYX
influenced Pomprock) and the relaxing IQ/PENDRAGONish Neo-Prog of How Much
Fear?. Concluded, a recommended album to check out at: https://stewartclark.bandcamp.com/album/lets-go-there
(Points: 8.2 out of 10)
BLACK
ROCK BAND 'IDENTITY' (WANTOK MUSIK/AUSTRALIA IMPORT)
Out of Australia comes the BLACK ROCK
BAND, and when hearing the superb opener Red Black & Yellow of their new
album Identity, I was immediately impressed. This song is a sensational catchy
uptempo AOR/Melodic Rocker with a lovely chorus and hooks that seem to come
straight out of the classic rockbook of BLUE OYSTER CULT, yet it has a sorta
own touch if you learn more about this interesting band. What makes them unique
is the fact that this is an ABORIGINAL band from Australia, and they are
settled in The Kakadu West Arnhem Social Trust community, which was established
in February 2013 to “assist disadvantaged Aborigines in the Kakadu West Arnhem region
now and in the future”. This means that they are not just another band, but
they are really standing up for their own rights and via their music this
should be able to reach a lot of people, because everything is connected to
their cultural region and family history. The band is formed around Richie
Guymala: Vocals, John Anderson: Bass/Vocals, Dillon Brennan: Keys/Vocals and
Romeo Redford: Guitar/Vocals, and they released their debut album back in 2015.
Identity is their 2nd album and besides the 4 musicians, there are also guest
appearances by SAM TESKEY (THE TESKEY BROTHERS) and Jackson Phelan
(RAT!HAMMOCK). After aforementioned opener Red, Black & Yellow, next track
Skin Name continues this excellent catchy uptempo melodic rocking style, while Nabarlek
and the lovely If It Was Me are slightly different, because these are Reggae
influenced songs with a BOB MARLEY-ish approach. The combination of catchy
uptempo melodic rock with a touch of Reggae is hearable during the lovely Bush
Tucker. Moriah is a calmer song, while Yibengwarrbawon has once again a Reggae
influenced approach, and is basically a very fun radio-ready song with also
some Ska influences a la MADNESS. Following Highway 21 is a fantastic catchy
uptempo melodic rocker with a strong chorus and a soaring Classic Rocking
guitarsolo, while Modjarrkki is pure Reggae again, and closing track Manbadjan
is a real aboriginal song with traditional instruments. Definitely a surprise
this band from a part of the world that is for most of us quite unknown, but
thanks to the music of BLACK ROCK BAND we also learn about this part of
Australia and I would therefore recommend you to check them out at:
www.wantokmusik.org/blackrockband and https://blackrockband.bandcamp.com/
(Points:
8.5 out of 10)
AMERICAN
MAFIA 'ROCK N'ROLL HIT MACHINE' (GROOVEYARD RECORDS/USA IMPORT)
The New York, USA based band AMERICAN
MAFIA has quite a fascinating history, because they started out as HOLY WATER
and were about to release their debut album until their lead singer DAVID
KNIGHT commited suicide. Eventually the other bandmembers continued under a
different name, AMERICAN MAFIA, and Rock n'roll hit machine is the result.
Besides guitarist Tom Jude, bassist Freddy Villano, drummer Bobby Marks and
keyboardplayer Mike DiMeo here and there, we can also hear several guest
vocalists. Due to the use of those various lead singers (6 in total!), the
album also sounds quite diverse musically speaking, although it is mostly in
the melodic bluesy/groovy hardrock direction. JOHN WEST is one of the lead
singers, and he is of course known for his involvement in many other bands and
projects (ARTENSION, ROYAL HUNT...), but we can also hear RIOT singer MIKE
DIMEO (who also plays keys as already mentioned earlier in this review) and David's
vocals can be heard during 2 songs. After the first couple of hard hitting
heavy groovy and bluesy traditional rockers of Obsession and Every Time that
are a bit reminding of BADLANDS, the band switches to a more melodic almost
1980s FOREIGNERish AOR direction during the excellent midtempo melodic rocker
Your Good Lovin', which even reminds a bit of FM and SHADOW KING. The album
continues with this mixture of classic rock/melodic rock and bluesy groovy
hardrock, with as other highlights the superb melodic classic groovy hard
rocker Friendly Fire (LED ZEPPELIN meets WHITESNAKE), If I Knew (excellent midtempo
classic rock/melodic rocker with a sorta GLENN HUGHES/JOE LYNN TURNER touch),
the STEVIE WONDER cover Living For The City and the uptempo Melodic Rocker The
Sky Is Falling (a la TYKETTO). Although the album was released back in 2014, it
is never too late to give it another try! In the end, the record also reminds
me a lot of the late 80s/early 90s major label mainstream hard rock period when
bands like BANGALORE CHOIR, BADLANDS, MR. BIG, BLACK CROWES, BABYLON A.D.,
TESLA, GREAT WHITE and many more were signed to major labels in the USA. I
think you will more or less understand in which direction is going and in case
you're interested, the CD is available through: www.grooveyardrecords.com
FREEROCK
SAINTS 'ELECTRIC PASSION' (GROOVEYARD RECORDS/USA IMPORT)
Electric Passion is the 2nd album of the
Greek female fronted Hardrockband FREEROCK SAINTS and without a doubt, this is
a sensational release! The band is formed around the amazing singer ARETI
VALAVANOPOULOU and her brother STAVROS PAPADOPOULOS as the guitarist,
songwriter, producer and creator, while the rhythm section consists of drummer
LAZAROS SIMITSIS and bassist JIM MORALIS. Areti has an amazing soulful voice,
perfectly suited for the melodic hardrock of FREEROCK SAINTS, while Stavros is
an excellent guitarist, who is also known for his efforts with bands like SUPER
VINTAGE, HARD DRIVER, UNIVERSAL HIPPIES... 13 songs are included on the album,
and it is an absolut joy to listen to from start to finish, with as highlights Reason
To Live (a superb midtempo classic 80s female fronted melodic rocker with a
catchy chorus in the style of the classic days of LAOS, HEAT, WITNESS, IF ONLY,
DANTE FOX, etc.), Rocking In The Fast Lane, Beautiful Dissonance (lovely
uptempo Melodic Heavy Rocker a la early PHANTOM BLUE), The Reason Why, Blind,
the sensational Why Lie? and the lovely BETH HART meets DARBY MILLS orientated
groovy melodic rockers Funky Mama and Soul Train Ride. I can't believe this
release went unnoticed when it was released back in 2017, because FREEROCK
SAINTS is an absolute winner for fans of classic hard hitting melodic hard/heavy/bluesy
hardrock with a focus on powerful female vocals, strong catchy choruses and
biting classic 80s shredding guitarwork. Check out more at: www.grooveyardrecords.com
KUKO DE
KOBRA 'RETURN TO SPLENDOUR' (GROOVEYARD RECORDS/USA IMPORT)
Out of Denmark comes KUKO DE KOBRA, a band
formed around BLINDSTONE guitarist/vocalist MARTIN J. ANDERSEN,
vocalist/bassist JOHN GAMMA SHARLING and multi-instrumentalist MARTIN PAGAARD
WOLFF (drums, bass, guitar). I was unfamiliar with them, and actually this new
CD Return To Splendour is a compilation CD with songs taken from their first 3
albums, with one new song added. The band's music is a mix of modern American
Heavy Rock, Classic Rock, a touch of Doom Metal (especially during the new song
Echo Of Stevenson) and Melodic Hardrock like a combination between AUDIOSLAVE,
ALTER BRIDGE, GOTTHARD and DIZZY MIZZ LIZZY. John has a fantastic voice,
instrumentally it is top-notch and production wise the album has a major
label-ish sound, of which the highlights are Curse Of The Elephantom, Bed (fat
heavy guitar riffs in the SABBATH/SOUNDGARDEN direction, with huge melodic
clean vocals, also a bit reminding of SORCERER during the chorus), the
titletrack Return to Splendour, the wonderful TYKETTO-ish Melodic Rocker be
Leaf and the catchy Save Our Ashes For The Fire. Once again GROOVEYARD RECORDS
shows there are a lot of unheard quality bands in the world, and KUKO DE KOBRA
is one of them. Their previous albums are quite rare, but hopefully with this
new 'compilation' CD they will get the attention they deserve, because this
band sounds sensational! More info at: https://kukodekobra.bandcamp.com
and http://www.kukodekobra.com and http://www.grooveyardrecords.com/kukodekobrareturntosplendour.html
RED SODA ‘METATRON CHRONICLES’ (MINITEL
RECORDS/FRANCE IMPORT)
The French band RED SODA released their
debut EP in 2018, followed it up in 2019 with their first full-length Decaded
to Midnight, and now in 2021 their new album Metatron Chronicles is released
through MINITEL RECORDS. The members of RED SODA are guitarist Julien Negro,
keyboard/synthplayer Fred Colombo and lead singer Soda Runk. 9 songs (and 2
bonustracks on the CD) can be found here, and opener Before The Rain starts
very Synthwave ish, but also reveals some 80s AOR/Melodic Rock/Powerpop
influences during the catchy melodic chorus. Following song 屑鉄 is a
lovely sensational instrumental Synthwave piece that easily reaches the level
of a band like MAGIC SWORD. It doesn't get much better than this in the
Synthwave department! Lonely Time Traveller introduce vocals again, and also a
great bass player (Nacim Virieux), while the song itself is basically classic
80s Synthwave/Powerpop/Retrowave with lovely sci-fi 80s synths and beautiful
melodic soaring guitarwork. Jon E. is a little bit experimental, melting
present day modern electropop influences with classic 80s retrowave and a
Metalish guitarsound is included as well, while the saxsolo by Olivier Hoarau
and the beautiful 80s guitarsolo should also be mentioned. After the short
Metatron Interlude, following song Scarlett is a great pure 80s melodic pop/rock/wave
piece that almost reminds me of DURAN DURAN. S(ko)oma is in the same sorta
direction, including a strong catchy chorus and a retrosound, yet with also the
possibility to score a massive radiohit right now, because a band like THE
WEEKND does the same. Epsilon is another mixture of modern electropop and
classic 80s retrowave, with somehow memories of classic ULTRAVOX. At The
Crossroads closes the album in a relaxing classic 80s Pop/Retrowave style, with
very strong vocal harmonies. Fans of Synthwave who don’t mind sometimes a focus
on pop melodies in both a classic 80s and a modern pop direction should check
out this great French band at: https://minitelrecords.com/release/red-soda-metatron-chronicles
(Points: 8.4 out of 10)
THE NORTHERN BELLE ‘WE WITHER, WE BLOOM’
(DIE WITH YOUR BOOTS ON RECORDS/KLANDERMAN PROMOTION/SUBURBAN)
As soon as the first song Gemini from the
new album of the Norwegian band THE NORTHERN BELLE is playing, I feel something
good is happening here, because this fantastic classic 70s FLEETWOOD MAC
influenced melancholic up-tempo melodic folk/roots rocker has superb lead-and
harmony vocals, beautiful melodies all over the place and a perfect soaring
guitar solo. I was not familiar with this Oslo based band yet, but they have
been around for a while now, because they were formed in 2012 and We Wither, We
Bloom is their 3rd record so far. The band’s line up consists of Stine
Andreassen (lead vocals/guitar), Ole-Andre Sjřgren (guitar/mandolin), Bjřrnar
Ekse Brandseth (dobro/pedal steel guitar), Johanne Flottorp (Hardanger fiddle),
Marie Tveiten (percussion/guitar), Yngve Jordalen (bass) and Svein Inge
Bjřrkedal (drums), and each and every song of their new album is a mixture of
pop melodies, country, folk and classic rock, sounding crystal clear and still
radio-ready even though it feels like we are back in the mid-1970s again! The
chorus of a song like Remember It reveals some classic ABBA influences for
example, but there’s also mature singer-songwriter country pop in a song like
THE STAVES-ish How Deep, which would then again also make ILSE DE LANGE
jealous. And how about the classic uptempo Countrypoprocker Tailor Made that
feels like DOLLY PARTON singing a THE CORRS song! Overall, this is a beautiful
album with all kinds of influences, but melody is king from start to finish,
with a bonus point for the amazing crystal clear vocal work of Stine and her
band. Other highlights are Late Bloomer, Two Minds, No Clue and Evelyn, and I
can only conclude that this album is a must to check out if you like classic
70s inspired melodic (and sugar sweet) pop/rock with a country and/or folky
touch. More info can be found at: https://thenorthernbelle.bandcamp.com
(Points: 8.6 out of 10)
STEVE EARLE ‘J.T.’ (NEW WEST
RECORDS/FRANCE IMPORT)
J.T. is the new album of the legendary
STEVE EARLE (& THE DUKES), on which Steve pays tribute to his late son
JUSTIN TOWNES EARLE who sadly passed away in 2020. I have seen his son live
years ago, so it is a pity he is no longer with us, but thankfully Steve does a
great job here remembering his son via covering songs from the past that were
almost all originally written and recorded by Justin, while Steve also wrote a
song as a tribute to his son (Last Words). It doesn’t happen a lot in the music
world that a son dies earlier than his own father, and it’s even more
remarkable to see a musician covering a full album of songs from his son, but
J.T. is the result and I can easily say this is a great classic rootsy
Americana folk/country-rock album that will easily find its way to the fans of
JUSTON TOWNES EARLE, STEVE EARLE and legendary performers of the genre, such as
HANK WILLIAMS and TOWNES VAN ZANDT. Highlights include I don’t care, Maria, Far
Away In Another Town, Turn Out My Lights and the special song Last Words. Check
out more info at: www.steveearle.com
(Points: 8.4 out of 10)
SISTER HAZEL ‘ELEMENTS’ (CROACKIN’ POET
RECORDS/AVERAGE JOE’S ENTERTAINMENT/USA IMPORT)
The Florida, USA based band SISTER HAZEL
has been around since 1993, starting with a couple of major label releases, but
eventually went independent. Elements was released over a year ago, and it
marks their 10th album in those 28 years of activity. It’s a double-CD that
contains a total of 25 tracks, and perhaps this is their finest record so far.
The band’s line up has been the same all this time, including Ken Block – lead vocals,
acoustic guitar, Jett Beres – bass, harmony vocals, Andrew Copeland – rhythm
guitar, vocals, Ryan Newell – lead and slide guitar, harmony vocals and Mark
Trojanowski – drums. The music is typical American crossover country-poprock
mixed with light Southern Rock, but also akin to melodic rock/90s AOR/Poprock
here and there, such as during the lovely midtempo Small Town Living (even
touching classic Southern AOR/Rock of 38 SPECIAL), the uptempo Come A Day
(JOHNNY VAN ZANT-ish), Whirlwind Girl (classic uptempo Southern AOR/Rock, pure
38 SPECIAL again), the midtempo pure early 90s AOR of Every Heart Break and the
AORish semi ballad Follow The River. ALABAMA, BLACKHAWK, RESTLESS HEART,
DIAMOND RIO, EXILE and such come to mind most of the time, but also THE EAGLES,
VENICE (the close-harmony vocal driven calmer Westcoast ballad In Two) and the
aforementioned 38 SPECIAL and JOHNNY VAN ZANT when they go for a slightly
rockier approach. Fire and Memphis Rain are very strong classic southern
rockballads that sound like a polished version of LYNYRD SKYNYRD mixed with THE
EAGLES and POCO, Good For You is a typical classic American Melodic Poprocker
that fits somewhere between classic 80s JOHN COUGAR and 90s BRYAN ADAMS, and I
Don’t Do Well Alone is a great Southern Rocker that even touches a bit BLACK
STONE CHERRY. All together it is a mixture of all kinds of typical American
pop/rock styles, but melody is always king and despite it might sound too
polished for some of you, the fans of the aforementioned bands will absolutely
love this great double-CD of the underrated band SISTER HAZEL. More info at: http://www.sisterhazel.com
(Points: 8.5 out of 10)
WREN ‘PINK STONE’ (SWIMMING RABBIT
RECORDS/BIRNAM)
American singer/songwriter/guitarist WREN
was once invited to a house-sit cabin in Washington’s Methow Valley (USA), a
place of epic mountain peaks and wild rivers, which influenced her to write
song and eventually record material that would become her 3rd album Pink Stone.
Produced at Airtime Studios in Bloomington, Indiana by David Weber (Moira
Smiley, Carrie Newcomer, Straight No Chaser) and featuring Jason Wilber (John
Prine band), Krista Detor, and world flutist Gary Stroutsos, and Wren’s emotive
vocals and classical-guitar accompaniment, this is a great
Americana/Folk/classic 70s singer/songwriter pop album. To accompany the album,
Wren is releasing a 98-page Companion Book. Job well done and a joy to listen
and read, so if you’re interested please check out more info at: www.wren-music.com and https://www.swimmingrabbitarts.com/wren
(Points: 8.0 out of 10)
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