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HOT NEW REVIEWS
PAGE 99
'FOR IMAGINATION'S SAKE' (INDEPENDENT/USA IMPORT)
We have seen some very
nice corona pandemic project albums the past few years, so despite the negative
impact on the world, it also led to a project like PAGE 99. JOHN H. NIXON
(drums, rhodes, piano, synths, guitar, vocals) is the man behind PAGE 99, and
with the help of RUSS FITZPATRICK (vocals) and DUANE HARLICK (vocals, guitars)
and a few others (bassist BILL SALISBURY, guitarist COLTON WEATHERSTON,
guitarist ANDREA DI PUCCIO, guitarist CARLOS SEVERICHE, acoustic guitarist CHIP
KIPPS and tenor sax player CHASE BAIRD) as well as a few very special guests
(BILL CHAMPLIN, TAMARA CHAMPLIN, PETER FRIESTEDT and PAUL PESCO), they recorded
a follow-up to 2021's same titled debut album. Musically no big changes as once
again we are delighted by picture perfect late 70s/early 80s American
jazzy/funky westcoast-AOR/Yacht/Pop/Rock of an incredible high level. Opener
For Imaginations Sake introduces the legendary BILL CHAMPLIN on lead vocals, so
you couldn't start more westcoast/yacht with a breeze like his voice, and he
still sounds fantastic after all these years.
Although The Only
Thing That Matters starts with keys like Babe (STYX) meets Sarah (STARSHIP),
the song itself develops into a superb piece of Westcoast-AOR with a glorious
catchy melodic harmonyvocal driven chorus in classic AIRPLAY style. Lifeline
dives a bit more into groovy classic funky westcoast and recalls bands like
YOUNG GUN SILVER FOX and DAWN PATROL, with a touch of STEELY DAN. The chorus is
once again killer and could perhaps become one of the big summer hits if radio
picks it up. It is clear that John has perfectionized the sound for the
Westcoast-AOR society when hearing all these wonderful new songs. The late 70s
westcoast/jazzy funky yacht-pop/rock influences shine through during the
semi-ballad Indian Summer, which features guest saxophonist CHASE BAIRD, who
can also be heard during the following funky Inside Voice that has a
CHICAGO/EARTH, WIND & FIRE touch. The MARC JORDAN ballad Dance With Me
follows, and this song also features a lovely guitarsolo of COLTON WEATHERSTON.
Tickin' Away changes the style to a more uptempo danceable funky jazzy
westcoast pop/rock direction as it it was still 1978. There's some STEELY DAN
influences here for sure, although with an AORish chorus and a rather cool
synth solo by John himself, so job done well for sure! Can't Stop is basically
back to 1981-1983 US radio perfection with it's breezy uptempo
westcoast-AOR-Poprock sound that is dangerously close to the legendary sound of
ALLIANCE (1982), JOHN O'BANION, DAVID ROBERTS and even a bit FRANKE & THE
KNOCKOUTS. This song is definitely my favorite song on the album, and I can
honestly inform you that things never sounded more close to the aforementioned
acts in the past 40 years than on this superb catchy tune! It also featured a
brilliant melodic guitarsolo by guest guitarist PETER FRIESTEDT
(CWF/AOR/LIONVILLE), so basically this is a dream come true for the fans of
pure early 80s Westcoast-AOR fans! Never Recover is another lovely semi ballad
with the YOUNG GUN SILVER FOX touch and this song has a superb funky soulful
approach. The ballad Sara (Restless Heart) follows in a TOTO ish direction,
while closing track You Owe It All To Love has the classic AIRPLAY/DAVID FOSTER
touch again. John has done it again, and I think that this new album might even
be a bit better than the already sensational debut. Hopefully it will also be
released on vinyl, because this is one of those albums you absolutely want to
have in your record collection sitting between the classic MARC JORDAN,
AIRPLAY, ALLIANCE albums of 40+ years ago! More info on this soon-to-become
yacht/westcoast classic can be found at: https://www.page99merch.online/ and https://www.facebook.com/Page99Music
(Points:
9.1 out of 10)
MONKEY
HOUSE 'REMEMBER THE AUDIO' (UNIVERSAL MUSIC CANADA/INAKUSTIK/GERMAN IMPORT)
MONKEY HOUSE is a
project led by Canadian singer/songwriter/composer/author DON BREITHAUPT, who
founded it 30 years ago. Every now and then a new album is released and a few years ago we
reviewed MONKEY HOUSE for the first time, which back then concerned the previous
album Friday. Remember The Audio is now the follow-up, and it's in total their
6th album so far. Besides Don on vocals, piano, rhodes, organ, synth...), the
other musicians are guitarist JUSTIN ABEDIN, drummer MARK KELSO, bassist PAT
KILBRIDE and a lot of guests, including the legendary RANDY BRECKER on trumpet.
11 songs are included on this superb new album, and once again we are heading
into high class groovy jazzy westcoast/funky pop/rock/aor in the style of
STEELY DAN. Higlights this time are opener The Future Is Almost Gone (pure
STEELY DAN early 70s style), the jazzy smooth westcoast ballad New York Owes
You Nothing (a bit like PAGE 99, YOUNG GUN SILVER FOX), the catchy
westcoast-AOR piece We Will Meet Again (AIRPLAY meets JOHN O'BANION), Before
You And After (lovely laid-back summer breeze westcoast/aor ish ballad), Let
Jenny be Jenny (lovely smooth AOR/Westcoast semi-ballad) and Last Days Of
Pompeii (pure STEELY DAN again). Without a doubt, another highly recommended
album to any fan of classic Westcoast, STEELY DAN, YOUNG GUN SILVER FOX, etc.
More info can be found at: http://www.almarecords.com/artists/monkey-house/
(Points: 8.9 out of 10)
TORCH
'LIVE FIRE VINYL RECORD' (METALVILLE/PIAS)
I have mentioned it in
several other reviews, but the pandemic also brought us a lot of nice things
that probably would not have happened if covid had stayed away from us. During
those 2 years, musicians went looking in their archives for untouched demos and
live recordings or started creating new music online with others, whom in real
life they probably woudn't have met. The Swedish band TORCH for example was out
of business for 2 years, so they started working on perfectionizing live
recordings they had in their archives, and as a result we now have this superb
sounding new live record Life Fire, which I received on an even better sounding
vinyl record! The sound on vinyl is especially in this case excellent, because
it has that nostalgic classic 80s melodic metal vibe of MAIDEN, PRIEST and
such, and actually it's been some time since I heard a vinyl recording of a
recent live concert. This TORCH live record is a perfect registration of what
went down at the legendary Sweden Rock Festival in 2018 when the original
performance was done by TORCH. The Swedish band was formed in 1980, released 2
albums before disbanding in 1986. They returned to the scene in 2013 and I
believe they released their official new comeback album in the first corona
year, which was their 3rd studio album Reignited on METALVILLE RECORDS, which
we also reviewed 2 years ago. So actually the band is still fresh and were at
the time of this recording absolutely on fire back in 2018! 9 songs are
included, and likewise it consists of mainly songs from their early 80s days.
The line up is also almost the same as their early 80s albums, except for their
2nd guitarist (HAKKY is new to the line-up), but the other 4 musicians are all
original members (DAN DARK/vocals, CHRIS J FIRST/guitar, IAN GREG/bass and
STEVE STREAKER/drums). Together they create this exciting 80s melodic metal
sound that live on stage is even better than in the studio, and on this live
vinyl record TORCH classics such as Mercenary, Feed The Flame, Electrikiss and
Watcher Of The Night were played really well and thanks to the vinyl record
release of METALVILLE RECORDS it feels like you were present that day in Sweden
4 years ago... More info at: http://torchrocknroll.com/
(Points:
8.4 out of 10)
We have
reviewed quite a few albums of the talented musician/singer/songwriter BRIAN
BARNHOUSE from Nebraska, USA, and now he delivers his 4th album entitled The
Same Ride. The included music is pure 80s inspired American Melodic
Hardrock/AOR in the style of KANE ROBERTS, PAUL LAINE, DANGER DANGER and such.
Brian is a good singer and he is definitely able to write catchy tunes that
will be a must-hear for fans of afforementioned acts. On drums we can hear CORY
DEFRAIN, while bass duties are filled by the legendary MATT BISSONETTE (DAVID
LEE ROTH, JOE SATRIANI, RICK SPRINGFIELD, ELTON JOHN...), who also co-produced
the album. Brian himself sings, plays guitar and keys, and especially the
uptempo melodic rockers like I Hear Her Calling, The Same Ride, Killed By Love
and Looking For You will be a joy to listen to if you like the legendary debut
albums of PAUL LAINE, FIREHOUSE and 80s BON JOVI, although the album really has
an independent kinda feeling, so it's minus the big major budget production. If
you accept this, then it will be very interesting for you to check out if
you're a fan of 80s Melodic Rock. More info at: https://brianbarnhouse.net/
(Points:
7.9 out of 10)
BERIKELY
& ZAMBA 'ELAELA' (ABRAZIK/IN OUIE DISTRIBUTION/VEEV.COM/FRANCE IMPORT)
Elaela
is the new album of the French/Madagascar based act BERIKELY & ZAMBA, which
is formed around Berikely (vocals, kabossy), Eric Doboka (guitar, backing
vocals), Samuel Ratovondrahery (Percussion, backing vocals), bassist Thomas
Boucherie and drummer Jean-Yves Boucherie, and together they deliver a
wonderful World Music/Afrobeat record that features a lot of catchy melodic
tunes that could easily become summer hits. A song like C'est le moment has an
incredible catchy beat and singable chorus, which makes it a true gem for the
fans of all-original World/African Music, and if radio would pick this up, then
it would become easily a massive hit! Other highlights are Fiova, Salama, and Tsara
Loatra. More info at: https://berikelyandzama.com/
(Points:
8.3 out of 10)
KLYMT
'MURDER ON THE BEACH' (ATYPEEK MUSIC/KDB RECORDS/CREATIVE ECLIPSE PR/GERMAN IMPORT)
KLYMT
is a dark cold wave/gothic band from France, and acually there is not much info
available on them, but I believe Murder On The Beach is their debut EP. 5 songs
are on the album and it is said to be influenced by bands like PORTISHEAD, NINE
INCH NAILS and FEVER RAY. There's some synthwave, industrial and electro pop
influences during most of the songs, and without a doubt, KLYMT sounds really
original and for the fans of underground experimental dark electro wave a highly
recommended band check to out at: https://arakirecords.bandcamp.com/album/murder-on-the-beach
(Points:
8.0 out of 10)
LA
REINE SEULE 'VISAGES' (KAPITAN PLATTE/SONIC RENDEZVOUS/CREATIVE ECLIPSE
PR/GERMAN IMPORT)
JUDITH
HOORENS is a Belgian pianist, who is best known as part of the post-rock bnd WE
STOOD LIKE KINGS, and she has now her first solo album titled Visages under the
moniker LA REINE SEULE. Musically speaking it is a neo-classical piano piece of
art featuring 8 songs with only Judith on the piano. Fans of instrumental piano
based classical music will absolutely love this CD, but I guess the prog fans
might also want to check this out. More info at: www.lareineseule.com
(Points:
7.4 out of 10)
DATADYR
'WOOLGATHERING' (IS IT JAZZ? RECORDS/PLASTIC HEAD/CREATIVE ECLIPSE PR/GERMAN
IMPORT)
Out of
Bergen, Norway comes DATADYR, and the music of this trio (formed around members
of the bands KRYPTOGRAF, DREAMARCHER, ATARI...) on their debut album
Woolgathering is quite lovely instrumental jazzy progressive rock. The guys
absolutely deliver a high class performance on the 7 included songs, and fans
of both jazz and prog will appreciate it. Hear for yourself at: https://datadyr.bandcamp.com
(Points: 8.0 out of 10)
LIPS
TURN BLUE ‘LIPS TURN BLUE’ (MIG MUSIC/GERMAN IMPORT)
LIPS TURN BLUE is a
New York based classic rock/hardrock band that makes their debut with a same
titled album on the German label MIG MUSIC. The band is formed around the
legendary late Canadian singer PHIL NARO (vocals, guitar), guitarist/ vocalist
Don Mancuso, keyboardist Eric Bieber, bassist Mike Mullane and drummer Roy
Stein, while there are quite some guests on the CD, and even LOU GRAMM
(ex-FOREIGNER) sings on 1 song. Anyway, the music is classic melodic (hard)
rock with memories of the past work of Phil likewise, but also Canadian bands
like VON GROOVE, SHADOW KING, WALL OF SILENCE, HAREM SCAREM and such late
80s/early 90s Melodic Hardrock come to mind when listening to the 13 songs on
the band’s first album. Phil of course is sadly no longer with us, because he
died 1 year ago, so it is really great that we can still hear his vocals on
perhaps his final recording he ever did. Recently the band found a new lead
singer called IGGY MARINO, but on this CD it’s Phil’s legacy that can be heard,
and after a groovy somewhat AEROSMITHish start with Just Push, the band
delivers a high class uptempo melodic hardrock song titled Build My Castle,
which features a tight rhythm, lovely guitar and keyboardwork, and a damn
catchy chorus in a pure late 80s style. The semi melodic rock ballad Pray For
Tomorrow follows and is another highlight. Other interesting songs are Better
Than I Used To Be (catchy cheerful uptempo melodic AOR rocker in the best 80s
style), Chain On Me (a song co-written by LOU GRAMM and BRUCE TARGON, starting
calm but developing into a sorta classic 70s uptempo rocker in the FREE/BAD
COMPANY style), Blood Moon (very strong uptempo melodic hardrock) and the
lovely calmer KINGDOM COMEish bluesy light psychedelic rock ballad No Need For
You To Call. Anyone who wants to hear real classic melodic hardrock that sounds
more authentic than the over-produced Frontiers Records releases, they should
check out this CD at: https://www.lipsturnblue.com/
(Points:
8.5 out of 10)
THE
MOVERS 1970-1976’ (ANALOG AFRICA/GERMAN IMPORT)
Out of South Africa
comes the legendary THE MOVERS, and they were mainly active during the 1970s,
releasing a lot of records, and becoming very popular over there. Outside
Africa they are hardly known, which is a shame, because their music is really
amazing and very interesting. Thanks to ANALOG AFRICA we get a new compilation
album of songs the band recorded between 1970 and 1976. The first 2 songs (Give
Five Or More and Tau Special) are instrumental psychedelic funky light
prog/rock ish pieces that have the true authentic 70s sound that nowadays is
also fabricated by a lot of bands, such as of course ALTIN GUN. The
vocals/soul/African influences pass by very clearly during Soweto Inn. Back to
the catchy funky, groovy Hammond-organ driven instrumental Soul Crazy that has
an amazing sound that would definitely appeal to everyone when played loud
somewhere. Summer/70s tropical disco influences are upfront during the catchy
Kudala Sithandana that really feel like the Caribbean/Reggae kinda world, so as
you can see there’s a lot of diversity going on here. Other highlights
are Balele, Hot Coffee, Phukeng Special and Gig Soul Party, all reflecting the
lovely groovy instrumental 70s funk/soul/rock mixture. The CD is available
through: https://analogafrica.bandcamp.com/album/the-movers-vol-1-1970-1976-analog-africa-nr-35
(Points:
8.3 out of 10)
ONE
WORLD GOVERNMENT ‘EAGLES & SERPENTS’ (INDEPENDENT/USA IMPORT)
The Arizona, USA based band ONE WORLD GOVERNMENT was
founded by songwriter, vocalist and bassist Paul Barrett, who gathered fellow
musicians James Linton (guitars, keys), Heidi Lynn (vocals), Jason Buchwald
(keys, synths) and Russell Gargula (drums) to join him on his adventure and
record a full length CD entitled Eagles & Serpents. It’s their 2nd album
so far, and musically speaking we are heading into 80s melodic hard/heavy rock.
The band is at their best during the uptempo pieces such as Alien Highway,
Heads Held High and Halls Of Amenti. They remind a bit of KEEL crossed with
SILENT RAGE somehow, also vocally, yet ONE WORLD GOVERNMENT throws in some cool
keys/synths here and there, so overall it is quite a melodic affair (BRIGHTON
ROCKish every now and then, such as during the catchy Halls Of Amenti). Heidi
sings on 1 of the songs, which is a pretty nice semi melodic rocker and the
midtempo semi-ballad Spiritual Lies does have a nice somewhat proggy influence.
In general, they did a nice job and fans of especially 80s melodic hard/heavy
rock/hair metal will appreciate this for sure! More info at: https://oneworldgovernment.net
(Points:
7.9 out of 10)
PARTY
DOZEN ‘THE REAL WORK’ (TEMPORARY RESIDENCE/KONKURRENT)
PARTY DOZEN comes out
of Sydney, Australia, and they are quite an experimental bunch together when
listening to their album The Real Work. NICK CAVE makes a guest appearance, but
musically speaking PARTY DOZEN is definitely something different than what Nick
usually fabricates. The duo consists of Kirsty Tickle (saxophone) and Jonathan
Boulet (percussion and sampler), and together they mix up all kinds of styles,
which sometimes is noisy and extreme, but also during a song like Fruits Of
Labour more accessible synthwave jazz ish orientated. The music is mainly
instrumental, but sometimes Kirsty screams into the bell of her saxophone which
itself goes through a bevy of effects pedals, and that gives it a sorta
alternative post-punk rocksound during a song like The Worker. It is impossible
to compare this duo, because they have clearly an own identity that might be
described as an out-of-control version of SMASHING PUMPKINS/PIXIES meets THE
WHITE STRIPES, but then completely different, but I think fans of such bands
might be open to check out PARTY DOZEN. Kirsty and Jonathan are amazing
musicians whom are making unique sounds with their instruments, kinda like HANS
DULFER in The Netherlands also has been known for. More info at: https://party-dozen.bandcamp.com/album/the-real-work
(Points:
8.1 out of 10)
NAIMA
BOCK ‘GIANT PALM’ (SUB POP RECORDS/KONKURRENT)
Giant Palm is the
debut album of the British (yet with a Brazilian father and Greek mother)
singer/songwriter NAIMA BOCK (ex-GOAT GIRL, a punkrock band). She plays guitar,
some percussion and sings, while she is assisted by JOEL BURTON on keys,
synths, guitar and he is also the producer of her first album. On drums we can
hear Cassidy Jake Hansen and on bass Mike O’Malley, while there are a few more
guests here and there on sax, flute, violin, backing vocals, etc. Although she
is heavily influenced by Brazilian music and Folk music, which she heard a lot
in her childhood, when listening to the opener Giant Palm, NAIMA BOCK is more
or less going into a calm slow darker atmospheric neo-folk/singer/songwriter
direction that reminds me more of LISA HANNIGAN and MARISSA NADLER, so it’s not
the cheerful uptempo Brazilian music style or much of those influences to be
heard on the album, although some good old Brazilian jazz influences are
hearable during a great song like Campervan. Naima has an unique voice that
will definitely appeal to the folk fans out there. It has nothing to do with
her previous band’s music, but I am sure there is an audience for her kind of
high quality dark folk singer/songwriter music. You can check out more info
at: https://naimabock.bandcamp.com/album/giant-palm
(Points:
8.1 out of 10)
TV
PRIEST ‘MY OTHER PEOPLE’ (SUB POP RECORDS/KONKURRENT)
My Other People is the
2nd album of the London based TV PRIEST. This Post-Punkband
released their debut Uppers in the middle of the corona pandemic, so they might
have been overlooked. Thankfully there is now a strong follow-up in the shape
of My Other People. The band consists of Alex Sprogis (guitars, synth), Charlie
Drinkwater (vocals), Ed Kelland (dryms, synth), Nic Bueth (bass, synth, piano),
and their Post-Punksound is close to the other bands in the genre at the
moment, such as LIFE, FONTAINES D.C., THE MURDER CAPITAL, SHAME, IDLES, etc.
However, they do have an own sound, which is thanks to both the singer (Charlie
sounds like a cross between NICK CAVE and JIM MORRISON) and the diversity of
their music that goes a bit further than most of the other bands. In fact, TV
PRIEST sounds like the most diverse band in the Post-Punk genre that connects
the old sounds of BAUHAUS, TALKING HEADS, JOY DIVISION and such with the newer breed
explosion of aforementioned bands. The resulting album is a great piece of art
that will stand the test of time for sure in the future. I’ll bet that live on
stage these guys will convince and with a song like It Was Beautiful, TV PRIEST
has an anthem that will please the crowd 100%. Do not miss this album if you’re
a fan of the Post-Punk genre. More info at: https://www.tvpriest.com/
(Points:
8.5 out of 10)
SZUN
WAVES ‘EARTH PATTERNS’ (THE LEAF LABEL/KONKURRENT)
Earth Patterns is the
3rd album of the trio SZUN WAVES, which is based around
producer/synth/pianoplayer Luke Abbott, saxophonist Jack Wyllie (Portico
Quartet) and drummer Laurence Pike (Triosk/PVT/Liars) who were in different parts
of the world (Australia and UK) when corona hit the earth, so they recorded
this new CD more or less online together. It resulted in endless hours of
music, so to cut down size, they hand-picked 7 songs that were improvised from
all those sessions in the past 2 years. Earth Patterns is a stunning piece of
classic hypnotical slow dark experimental instrumental Kraut/Progrock (and a
slight touch of 70s new modern electronic jazz), and it really has that feeling
of bands like TANGERINE DREAM, CAN, KLAUS SCHULZE and a touch of
Retro/Synthwave and 80s sci-fi soundtracks, kinda like what you get to hear
when watching a show like Stranger Things, V or Blade Runner, so it is
instrumental dark synth based music, and the 3 of them do a splendid job here
in making it sound just perfect! If you’re a fan of such music, then you will
absolutely love this album. More info at: https://www.szunwaves.com/
(Points:
8.6 out of 10)
ETELLA
‘UP AND AWAY’ (SUB POP RECORDS/KONKURRENT)
Opener and titletrack
of the new album of ETELLA is an instant summer hit, sounding like a cross
between KHRUANGBIN, ALTIN GUN and typical traditional Greek music, yet with a
melodic dream pop chorus and a modern nu-disco synth thrown in for good
measure! It concerns here ETALLA, an act formed around Greek
singer/songwriter/musician Stella Chronopoulou. She has a very smooth voice,
has a good ear for a catchy melody and combines traditional rhythms with a
modern pop touch, with as result she released an album that is chock-full of
winners. I have seen some mixed reviews here and there, but when hearing songs
like Nomad, the instrumental Maneros, Another Nation and , it feels just so
natural and sensational, as if you’re somewhere in beautiful Greece, yet
without sounding dated. Good job on the melodies here, and hopefully a live
performance will follow soon, but meanwhile fans of KHRUANGBIN, ALTIN GUN,
ZENOBIA and such will absolutely love this album! More info at: https://stellawithasigma.bandcamp.com/ and http://www.stellawithasigma.com/
(Points:
8.6 out of 10)
ARMY OF
BRIARS ‘MADE FROM A BROKEN STAR’ (DISCUS MUSIC/UK IMPORT)
Now
this is a very interesting and diverse record by a group called ARMY OF BRIARS,
which is formed around Julie Cole – voice, Tim Cole – voice, guitars, cello,
Martin Archer – woodwind, keyboards, electronics and Keith Jafrate – words,
voice, with as guests Paul Taylor – grand piano, Peter Sells – bass guitar and
Martin Pyne – drums, percussion, vibraphone, Natalie Purton – violins and
violas and Liz Hanks – cello. Although it’s released on the experimental jazz
orientated label DISCUS MUSIC, ARMY OF BRIARS offer something out of the box
that stretches much further than jazz only, because they offer a lot of other
influences musically speaking, which include 70s progressive rock, canterbury
and folk pop. In fact, it’s almost impossible to call Made From A Broken Star a
jazz album at all, because at times it even reminds one of classic RENAISSANCE
and such 70s Canterbury prog, but also come CLANNAD memories come to mind
(Flight Flower). There are a lot of beautiful songs on this CD, and every time
you re-listen to the album you will discover something completely new, and it’s
especially Julie’s amazing angelic voice in combination with a sorta light prog
rhythm (such as during a song like Think Of A Time) that ARMY OF BRIARS shows
they are an unique band with an own identity on their strong new album that is
currently out on DISCUS MUSIC. I am glad Martin’s involvements and releases on
his label are lately also developing into such different directions besides the
regular experimental jazz albums he puts out. Check out more info on ARMY OF
BRIARS at: https://discusmusic.bandcamp.com/album/made-from-a-broken-star-135cd-2022
(Points:
8.4 out of 10)
FORENSIC
TRIO ‘HEARTLESS’ (DISCUS MUSIC/UK IMPORT)
FORENSIC
TRIO is based around Martin Archer - electronics, alto, sopranino &
baritone saxophones, Pat Thomas – piano and Johnny Hunter - drums, percussion,
glockenspiel, and in total they have recorded 4 improvised pieces titled Rotten
Start (10:33), Improvisation In Traditional Form (03:53), Heartless, Heartless
/ Rotten State (25:04) and Rotten Star (09:42), which musically speaking is
likewise the experimental improvised free-jazz like we know it from DISCUS
MUSIC label. The 25 minutes counting song Heartless, Heartless / Rotten State
does reveal some interesting 70s krautrock (TANGERINE DREAM, CAN) influences
due to the use of electronics and glockenspiel, so there is more than meets the
eye here, although mainly speaking is instrumental free-jazz the way the fans
of this genre would like to hear it. More info at: https://discusmusic.bandcamp.com/album/forensic-trio-137cd-2022
(Points:
8.1 out of 10)
JAKTAR
‘JAKTAR’ (DISCUS MUSIC/UK IMPORT)
JAK TAR
is a 3-piece band that is all about improvised experimental jazz. This is a new
trio formed around Paul Hession - drums, cymbals and gongs, Michael Bardon -
double bass and Christophe de Bézenac - tenor saxophone, and together they
deliver a collection of experimental free jazz songs that is interesting for
the jazz fans that like their jazz to be refreshing and improvised all the
time. Don’t expect clean sax melodies here, but a tenor saxophone that does all
kinds of new things with as backing a groovy and experimental rhythm section.
Definitely recommended to the open-minded jazz fan that want to hear something
completely different. More info at: https://discusmusic.bandcamp.com/album/jaktar-136cd-2022
(Points:
8.0 out of 10)
GROMBIRA
‘LUNAR DUNES’ (TONZONEN RECORDS/SOULFOOD MUSIC/CREATIVE ECLIPSE PR/GERMAN
IMPORT)
Here we have a very exciting sensational original
sounding instrumental release that is a mix of world music,
psychedelic/progressive/space rock and a tiny bit of experimental jazz. When
listening to the opening song Saraswati Supercluster, it’s like we start in a
deep psychedelic middle eastern adventure that develops into a spacey symphonic
keyboard driven uptempo journey in a way that it sounds like a cross between
the Arabic ZENOBIA and classic 70s HAWKWIND, and I must say that it sure feels
good. GROMBIRA comes out of the lovely city of Wurzburg, Germany (which I
recently visited for the 2nd time), and they consist of Achim
Schmidt aka Ahmed la Fünk (Bass), Manfred Feser-Lampe aka Fredh al Fezer
(Drums, Cowbell, Claps, Bow, Shaker, Calebasse, Tambourine), Andreas Leins aka
Habib L1 (Keyboards, Synth, Effect Pads) and Ralph Nebl aka sheyk rAleph
(Sitar, Saz, Oud, Gimbri, Zurna, Ney, Qarqaba, Claps, Tablas, Congas, Darbouka,
Riq,WahWah Tubes, Flexaton,Vibra Slap, Chimes, Singing Bowls, Gong, Kalimba,
Voice & Samples). Lunar Dunes is their 3rd album so far,
and musically speaking they are more or less the perfect bridge between old
school style krautrock/progrock and today’s new world music sounds. The
melodies, grooves and rhythms are well constructed into an original own sound
that will appeal to a lot of people out there. They recorded the album all the
way at the Bahamas, so I guess you can easily call this a true World Music
affair! The 5 long songs are all a joy to listen to, with as absolute
highlights the aforementioned Saraswati Supercluster and Civilization One,
although Dune Tune has this really great summer ish Reggae vibe. I can safely
highly recommend it to any fan of that genre (especially if you like for
example ALTIN GUN, ZENOBIA, MDOU MOCTAR…), although the open-minded progfan
(HAWKWIND, PORCUPINE TREE, LONG DISTANCE CALLING) should also check them out
at: https://grombira.bandcamp.com/
(Points:
8.9 out of 10)
SVIN
‘INTRODUCING SVIN’ (TONZONEN RECORDS/SOULFOOD MUSIC/CREATIVE ECLIPSE PR/GERMAN
IMPORT)
The Danish band SVIN
has been in the music business since 2008 and they have released 5 albums so
far. They have built up quite a reputation so far, and I have to admit that
their unique sound sets them apart from most other bands. Their music is called
avantgarde rock and actually it is impossible to describe what this sounds
like, because it is a combination of abstract dark gothic rock in a slow
experimental psychedelic direction that also takes sounds and rhythms from
various folk and world music styles. I would say check it out for yourself,
because there is no way to compare this band to another band. The line up
consists of Henrik Pultz Melbye: Saxophones, EWI, keys Lars Bech Pilgaard:
Guitars, keys Thomas Eiler: Drums, and the 9 experimental songs take you into
this journey that is mostly instrumental driven, but here and there we can also
hear some sorta gregorian chanting and vocals that might actually scare off
people. Fascinating for sure and highly recommended if you want to hear
something completely different and you're not afraid of noise rock elements
being crossed with weird complex jazz and world music sounds. In the end it
also has a krautrock approach, but then in a more 80s industrial kinda movement
(SWANS), however it's best to check for yourself if you're becoming interested
at: http://www.svin-music.com/
(Points:
8.2 out of 10)
DEZ
DARE ‘ULYSSES TRASH’ (CHIMP RECORDS/CREATIVE ECLIPSE PR/GERMAN IMPORT)
Although born in
Australia, DEZ DARE (aka DARREN SMALLMAN) is settled in the UK nowadays. He
entered the local punkscene back in 1990 and from then on played in multiple
bands. His new solo album Ulysses Trash is a dirty mean sleazy garage punk rock
affair that sounds like a real CBGB kinda record, so it's something for the
fans of the underground sound. Basically it's a sorta back-to-back classic raw
rock and roll sound like it became popular during the late 60s and late 70s,
with influences from bands like MC5, VELVET UNDERGROUND, THE STOOGES, NEW YORK
DOLLS and the punk era of THE DAMNED, DEAD BOYS and such. Dez does a great job
to connect those old band's influences to a modern retro garage punk rock sound
during the 13 included songs. Recommended if you're into real honest raw rock
and roll in the style of the aforementioned bands. More info at: https://dezdare.bandcamp.com
(Points:
8.0 out of 10)
DEAD
MAN’S EYES ‘3’ (TONZONEN RECORDS/SOULFOOD MUSIC/CREATIVE ECLIPSE PR/GERMAN
IMPORT)
3 is not the 3rd, but
the 2nd album of the Cologne, Germany based band DEAD MAN'S EYES. It's the
follow-up to their first full length album Words Of Prey from 2018. Musically
speaking the band is creating a retro late 60s/early 70s psychedelic bluesy
garage rocksound like it was very common to do 50+ years ago. CANNED HEAT for
example might be a good comparison, but there were countless bands making such
music back then, and DEAD MAN'S EYES are doing it at a very high level on this
new album, as if it was 1971 all over again! Although I mentioned CANNED HEAT
as comparison during the first song, the rest of the album clearly shows a very
diverse band that has much more to offer actually, such as during the strong
uptempo rockers Into The Madness, Never Grow Up and Nobody At All that seem to
take them into a different much rockier style. There's also some prog and even
rockabilly elements here and there, so it is all very diverse in the end, and
DEAD MAN'S EYES are doing it at an incredible high level. I can honestly highy
recommend this great pure rockband! More info at: https://deadmanseyes.com
(Points:
8.5 out of 10)
HIGH
FIDELITY ‘COME RAIN OR SHINE’ (INDEPENDENT/GERMAN IMPORT)
Out of Hanover,
Germany comes the sensational band HIGH FIDELITY, and Come Rain Or Shine is
their debut album. The band is formed around Thomas Wisniewski (Vocals,
Electric & Acoustic Guitar), Moritz Haak (Acoustic & Electric Guitar,
Backing Vocals), Nils Meyer (Bass, Backing Vocals) and Sven Braun (Drums,
Percussion, Backing Vocals), and their professional sound is dangerously close
to the classic old southern rockbands from the USA. 11 songs are included, and
it all starts with the uptempo classic rocker Too Many Times, which is a nice
opening song, but it's the following songs that show how impressive this band
really is. First off there is the beautiful southern rock ballad Sunset
Situations, on which we can clearly hear the superb soulful vocalwork of
Thomas. It's a song that reminds us of bands like BLACKFOOT, LYNYRD SKYNYRD and
also some good old BAD COMPANY/FREE influences can be traced. In fact, PAUL
RODGERS must have been a huge influence on Thomas, because they share the same
sorta soul in their voices. Next up is the lovely midtempo bluesy AOR piece
Only The Rain that smells a bit like 38 SPECIAL and ATLANTA RHYTHM SECTION, so
you could also call this Southern USA AOR at it's best. Back to a semi Southern
Rock Ballad style with the LYNYRD SKYNYRD/VAN ZANTish Time Will Pass Us By,
although the chorus also reveals late 60s THE BEATLES influences. Once again I
need to mention the amazing soulful vocals of Thomas, while also the subtle
relaxing guitarsound in combination with the smooth backing vocals make it a
true gem for the southern rockers among us. Shine A Light On Me is taking a
different turn, because this catchy uptempo 50s/60 shuffle rootsy Americana/Country
pop/rocker is quite close to DANNY VERA actually, although POCO also comes to
mind. Back Again is southern rock light again, with westcoast ish
harmonyvocals, it has a sound that is close to THE EAGLES. Free Bird is a very
relaxing laid-back midtempo semi-ballad with lovely melodies, it is a soulful
bluesy westcoast/southern pop/rocker in the FREE / BAD COMPANY style again, and
it also features a beautiful soaring guitarsolo. Take It For Granted follows,
and this is a nice uptempo classic rocker in the best 70s spirit. Why'd You
Come is a nice semi melodic rockballad, while following At The End Of The Day
is a sorta light THUNDERish semi bluesy melodic rocker. Closing track Look, The
Sun Is Rising ís a beautiful laid-back bluesy southern rock ballad that even
has a bit of a lighter JOE BONAMASSA feeling, including the fabulous guitarsolo
that stretches the song to an almost classic LYNYRD SKYNYRD style southern rock
gem, so perhaps this is the finest song of the whole CD! I think by now you'll
get the picture that you better get this gem a.s.a.p. and hopefully we will be
able to catch them live someday soon, because they absolutely deserve a wide
audience! More info on this sensational band at: https://highfidelitysongs.bandcamp.com/album/come-rain-or-shine
(Points: 8.7 out of 10)
DAVID LINDLEY 'EL RAYO-X VINYL RECORD' (ASYLUM RECORDS/SPEAKERS CORNER
RECORDS/GERMAN IMPORT)
Originally released in 1981, the solo debut album
El Rayo of singer/songwriter/multi-instrumentalist DAVID LINDLEY has been
carefully remastered a few years ago and re-released on vinyl. He played
alongside CROSBY, STILLS, NASH & YOUNG, LINDA RONDSTADT and JACKSON BROWNE
and several others besides being part of the psychedelic rockband KALEIDOSCOPE
back in the 1970s before starting a solo career which was launched when he
released this album 41 years ago. The included music was quite typical late
70s/early 80s American pop/rock, sounding a bit slick here and there, but
always catchy and melodic, not far removed from the likes of PHIL SEYMOUR, JAY
FERGUSON, MOON MARTIN, NICK LOWE and especially JACKSON BROWNE, who also makes
a guest appearance here. There’s a reggae touch in one of the major hits of
this album, which is the cover of the EVERLY BROTHERS classic Bye Bye Love, and
also during Quarter Of A Man, Ain’t No Way and several other songs, but when
David goes for the uptempo rockier approach, then we are heading into pure
early 80s powerpop bliss, such as during the catchy somewhat quirky Mercury
Blues that sounds like a mix of MOON MARTIN and THE ROMANTICS, yet with a
bluesy sharp guitar solo. Other musicians whom join David are GARTH HUDSON
(horns), CURTY BOUTERSE (dulcimer), BOB GLAUB (bass), REGGIE MCBRIDE (bass),
WILLIAM SMITH (organ), BILLY PAYNE (organ), IAN WALLACE (drums), RAS BABOO
(percussion) and vocalists JORGE CALDERON and JACKSON BROWNE as already
mentioned. The resulting album sounds very fresh, yet with that quirky early
80s reggae pop rock vibe, and it is definitely recommended to the fans of any
of the mentioned acts. The vinyl album is available through: https://www.jpc.de/?lang=en (Europe) and http://www.acousticsounds.com (USA).
(Points:
8.2 out of 10)
LALO
SCHIFRIN 'BULLITT ORIGINAL SOUNDTRACK VINYL
RECORD' (WARNER BROS RECORD/SPEAKERS CORNER RECORDS/GERMAN IMPORT)
90
years of age, the Argentinian-American pianist, composer, arranger and
conductor LALO SCHIFRIN is still going strong and is mainly known for composing
movie and TV scores. In fact, he is the master of creating legendary
instrumental music for some of the greatest movies ever, such as Mission
Impossible and Dirty Harry. Back in 1968 he had just started and this excellent
sounding vinyl release of his album Bullitt is the theme to the same named
movie from 1968. What makes him standout is that he really captures the essence
of a movie in the accompanying music that runs along with the movie from start
to finish. When it gets dangerous, you can honestly feel it while listening to
the music, and so it goes on and on with the emotions of the humans that can be
felt while listening to the record. You picture yourself certain images when
listening and that makes this a true wonderful masterpiece. It’s a piece of
movie score music history that continues to this very day, because in the
following decades it became the standard for most movies. Of course eventually
computers took over, but especially back in the way it was normal to use an
orchestra or full jazz band to create movie or tv scores. Besides Lalo as
arranger and conductor, the other involved musicians were John Audino, Bud
Brisbois, Tony Terran – trumpet, flugelhorn, Milt Bernhart, Dick Noel, Lloyd
Ulyate, Lew McCreary – trombone, Bud Shank, Ronnie Lang, Gene Cipriano, Bill
Perkins, Jack Nimitz – reeds, Mike Melvoin – piano, organ, Mike Deasy, Howard
Roberts, Bob Bain – guitar, Ray Brown – bass, Carol Kaye, Max Bennett –
electric bass, Stan Levey – drums, Larry Bunker – percussion, Robert Helfer –
orchestra manager, Dick Hazard and George Del Barrio – arrangers. Together they
absolutely delivered a wonderful masterpiece! The vinyl album is available through: https://www.jpc.de/?lang=en (Europe) and http://www.acousticsounds.com (USA).
(Points:
8.9 out of 10)
OSCAR PETERSON 'THE LOST TAPES/EXCLUSIVELY FOR MY FRIENDS VINYL RECORD'
(MPS RECORDS/SPEAKERS CORNER RECORDS/GERMAN IMPORT)
OSCAR PETERSON was a legendary Canadian virtuoso
jazz pianist and composer, who performed a lot of concerts in the past, and
likewise a lot of them have been released. In 1995 this studio album Lost Tapes
was released as part of his Exclusively for My Friends series. The 10 songs
were recorded in 1965, 1967-1968 at a studio in (West) Germany along with Ray Brown
(double bass), Ed Thigpen (drums), Sam Jones (double bass) and Bobby Durham
(drums), and as expected the music is piano-led classic Jazz like we know it
from Oscar. The sound on this vinyl edition sounds amazing, crystal clear as if
you were sitting in the same room at the time it was recorded almost 60 years
ago. It’s strange, because almost everyone has died since the recordings took
place, including all the composers of the songs, except for the 2 composers of
the song Put on a Happy Face, because both LEE ADAMS and CHARLES STROUSE are
still alive, although both aged close to 100 years old! Anyway, the great thing
about this recording is that it sounds so wonderful and Oscar is doing his
virtuosi piano playing here in a way that is almost impossible to do. There is
a great groove going from start to finish, and it easily shows how the
musicians could get things going easily in the German studio, which was located
in the beautiful Black Forest area. A wonderful moment in time is this music
recording, which you absolutely need to hear on this excellent vinyl release. The vinyl album is
available through: https://www.jpc.de/?lang=en (Europe) and http://www.acousticsounds.com (USA).
(Points:
8.2 out of 10)
HENRI MANCINI 'THE PINK PANTHER VINYL RECORD' (RCA RECORDS/SPEAKERS
CORNER RECORDS/GERMAN IMPORT)
As soon as The Pink Panther Theme of this
beautifully sounding vinyl record spins on the turntable, everyone in the world
will recognize it and it probably never sounded better than on this vinyl
release. The composer and performer of this legendary theme song is HENRI
MANCINI, who was an American composer, conductor, arranger, pianist and flautist,
and he composed a lot of music for movies during the 1960s. His son Chris
released a fantastic AOR/Westcoast record back in the early 80s by the way,
which also needs a re-issue someday, but his father Henri is of course one of
the best known movie music composers from the 1960s and 1970s. Together with
his orchestra he recorded almost 60 years ago in Hollywood a full record
dedicated to the Pink Panther, and actually there is a lot of variety going on
here, as it captures elements of classical music, big band music, French,
Tango, jazz, samba, cha-cha, shuffle and even a vocal featured song. Besides
the aforementioned Pink Panther Theme, another highlight is the wonderful
melodic swinging Something For Sellers. It’s a truly wonderful album that features
the likes of Plas Johnson - tenor saxophone, Gene Cipriano, Harry Klee, Ronny
Lang, Ted Nash – flute, saxophones, Frank Beach, Conrad Gozzo, Jack Sheldon,
Ray Triscari – trumpets, Karl DeKarske, Dick Nash, Jimmy Priddy – trombones,
John Halliburton - bass trombone, Al Hendrickson – guitar, Larry Bunker, Frank
Flynn – vibes and percussion, Jimmy Rowles – piano, Rolly Bundock – bass,
Shelly Manne – drums, Pete Jolly – accordion and Ramon Rivera - congas,
percussion being directed by Henri perfectly. The vinyl album is available through: https://www.jpc.de/?lang=en (Europe) and http://www.acousticsounds.com (USA).
(Points:
8.4 out of 10)
RAY CHARLES PRESENTS DAVID NEWMAN 'FATHEAD VINYL RECORD' (ATLANTIC
RECORDS/SPEAKERS CORNER RECORDS/GERMAN IMPORT)
The legendary RAY CHARLES is of course known as a
vocalist/pianist in the soul/rhythm & blues/pop world, but before he
entered the big fame and fortune with such classic songs like Georgia On My
Mind, Hit the road Jack and I Can't Stop Loving You, Ray was playing pure
instrumental piano/sax dominated swinging good old jazz, of which this album
Fathead is a great example. It was recorded in November 1958 at the Atlantic
Studios in New York by TOM DOWD, who later became a successful producer in the
Southern Rock movement during the 1970s. Anyway, before they went on and spread
their wings in different genres of music history, Ray and Tom worked with DAVID
NEWMAN (sax), BENNIE CRAWFORD (bass), MARCUS BELGRAVE (trumpet), EDGAR WILLS
(bass) and MILTON TURNER (drums) and recorded a classic jazz masterpiece that
will delight the fans of the genre. This new vinyl release sounds exceptionally
well, especially considering it was recorded almost 65 years ago! Ray on the
piano and David on the sax are the stars here, although the swinging rhythm
section keeps things going smoothly. The vinyl album is available through: https://www.jpc.de/?lang=en (Europe) and http://www.acousticsounds.com (USA).
(Points: 8.5 out of 10)
THE
SLAMBOVIAN CIRCUS OF DREAMS 'A VERY UNUSUAL HEAD' (STORM KING RECORDS/TALKING
ELEPHANT RECORDS/TENACITY/UK IMPORT)
I was
not familiar yet with THE SLAMBOVIAN CIRCUS OF DREAMS, but after listening to
the strong first couple of songs, I am definitely interested in checking out
more on this rather interesting and unique sounding band. They are very close
musically speaking to 1970s DAVID BOWIE when hearing songs like Look Around and
Fi, with a 70s prog rock/PINK FLOYD touch and some folk elements thrown in for
good measure. Now what is this band all about, because they have been active
since 1998 and A Very Unusual Head is already their 6th album. They were formed
in Sleepy Hollow, New York almost 25 years ago, and the current line-up
includes 3 original founding members (JOZIAH LONGO - songwriter, vocals,
guitar), TINK LLOYD (accordion, cello, flute, ukulele, theremin, keys) and
SHARKEY MCEWEN (guitar, mandolin), and in addition there are a few guest
musicians to complete the rich 70s influenced sound. The songs are mostly in a
slower tempo, leaving room for some improvisation, while the beautiful melodies
really take you into this nostalgic classic 70s DAVID BOWIE meets Progrock
direction. They are doing a great job, and therefore this CD is recommended to
people who appreciate classic original music. More info is available at: www.slambovia.com
(Points:
8.3 out of 10)
NICK
FLETCHER 'THE CLOUD OF UNKNOWING' (INDEPENDENT/TENACITY/UK IMPORT)
JOHN
HACKETT BAND guitarist NICK FLETCHER
returns with his 2nd solo album The Cloud Of Unknowing, which is the
follow-up to his debut Cycles Of Behaviour from 2021. Included is superb high
quality instrumental progressive rock with a focus around Nick's fabulous
precise guitarwork. It's the kind of old school instrumental prog, although
during 2 songs we can also hear vocals from STUART BARBOUR. 4 songs and an epic
23-minute suite titled Scenes From The Subconcious Mind are together his new
album, which besides Nick on guitar also features the likes of
LIFESIGNS/STRAWBS/IONA guitarist DAVE BAINBRIDGE, bassist TIM HARRIES (BILL
BRUFORD, STEELEYE SPAN) and drummer RUSS WILSON. The resulting album is a joy
to listen to, something a bit complex and very proggy, but also a lot of calmer
super melodic moments. The 2 vocal songs (the Cloud Of Unknowing and The
Paradox) are lovely melodic progrock songs that breathe classic 70s sound, but
it's Nick's excellent guitarplaying that does most of the work here. Recommended
to check out at: www.nickfletcherguitarmusic.com
(Points:
8.2 out of 10)
JOE
BOUCHARD 'AMERICAN ROCKER' (ROCKHEART RECORDS/DEKO/USA IMPORT)
The
original bassist/singer and co-founder of the legendary band BLUE OYSTER CULT
left that band about 35 years ago. He has played in several other bands besides
building up a solo career ever since, and his new album is titled American
Rocker, which is the follow-up to Strange Legends from 2020. Joe plays most of
the instruments himself, but on drums he got help from MICKEY CURRY (BRYAN
ADAMS, THE CULT, HALL& OATES...) and there are several guest appearances,
including his brother ALBERT BOUCHARD, with whom he played in B.O.C. Anyway,
the music continues the style of the previous album, which means it is a 70s
classic rock/bluesy rock affair that will mostly appeal to the B.O.C. fans
likewise. The songs are quite melodic and have that typical B.O.C. ish retro
classic rock vibe, especially during the best songs In The Golden Age, Love Out
Of Thin Air, Off Season Hotel and Katherine. More info at: www.joebouchard.com
(Points:
8.2 out of 10)
DIANTHUS
'REALMS' (DEKO/USA IMPORT)
DIANTHUS
is a Californian band formed around twin sisters JESSICA and JACKIE PARRY.
Jessica plays drums, piano and synths, while Jackie sings and plays guitar,
bass, piano and synths. Realms is their 2nd album, and it is the follow-up to
2020 debut Worth Living For. The new album is produced by STEVE EVETTS (THE
DILLINGER ESCAPE PLAN, SYMPHONY X, BUTCHER BABIES...), and musically speaking
we are entering the progressive metal direction. Actually it sounds really
good, although nothing new is being done, because we have seen similar sounding
albums the past 20 years in especially Europe where this kind of female fronted
melodic metal is extremely popular. DIANTHUS are perhaps a bit less bombastic and
more proggy orientated, most of the songs go in a midtempo direction with a
strong focus on crystal clear melodies. Jackie has a great voice and I can
overall highly recommend this album to anyone into the symphonic female fronted
European melodic metal, but as already mentioned DIANTHUS are from California! Check
out more info at: https://www.dianthuslive.com/
(Points:
8.3 out of 10)
THE BE POSITIVES 'EVERYTHING ABOUT…’ (THINK LIKE A KEY MUSIC/USA IMPORT)
Everything About... is
the 2nd album of the Manchester, UK based band THE BE
POSITIVES. This band is formed around Mike Seal: Guitar, Keyboards &
Vocals, Simon Mayne: Guitar & Vocals, Rob Hatton: Bass, Vocals and Callum
Darley: Drums, Percussion & Vocals, and they deliver a great mixture of
styles, which include garage rock, powerpop, melodic rockand some indie pop.
The resulting new album contains 11 very strong songs that could easily gain
them a lot of attention from the media. There are the obvious influences of THE
KINKS (especially during closing track Goodbye), BIG STAR and THE BEATLES,
while comparisons to LEMON TWIGS, TEENAGE FANCLUB, THE JAYHAWKS, THE POSIES and
such are also possible. The guys are doing a great job and deliver a very nice
album that will easily find it’s way to the fans of melodic classic powerpop
when listening to such great songs such as Rain & Stormy Weather, I’d
Rather Be With You and Heaven Knows. More info at: https://thebepositives.bandcamp.com/album/everything-about
(Points:
8.3 out of 10)
PABLO
SOLO 'SOLO SINGS SIMON' (THINK LIKE A KEY MUSIC/USA IMPORT)
The corona pandemic
also brought us new dimensions and interesting changes in our lives, such as
working more at home while still being connected with each other online. Also
in the music business the creativity of a lot of musicians went up to an
enormous amount of newly recorded music and new projects and collaborations
came to life. One of these stories is about PABLO SOLO and JOHN SIMON. John is
an American music producer, composer, writer
and performer who was one of the top record producers during the 1960s and
1970s, producing numerous classic albums by acts like BLOOD, SWEAT & TEARS,
LEONARD COHEN, JANIS JOPLIN, THE BAND, etc. However he also recorded several
solo albums throughout the decades, and somehow this material influenced Pablo,
who is a Spanish pop-rock musician/vocalist (guitar, piano, drums) from
Santander/Spain. He acts as a one-man band and decided during lockdown to
contact John and sent him a song he covered. John was impressed and this kept
the ball rollin’ until a full CD was recorded by Pablo, including 10 songs
originally written by John. John appears on a few songs, playing the piano, but
it’s Pablo who does all the work here, and he did a terrific job for sure. I am
not familiar with the original songs, some of them were recorded over 50 years
ago, but after listening to the whole album I was very impressed by the
incredible high quality of Pablo’s versions, which sound quite raw and rocking,
while he also sings very well. The music has this classic 70s approach when
melodies and improvisation were the most important part of the music, you could
call it a groovy mix of soft-rock and singer/songwriter, but it’s best to check
out this sensational release for yourself at: https://pablosolo.bandcamp.com/
(Points:
8.3 out of 10)
BORDELLO
AND CLARK 'ATLANTIC CROSSING' (DIPPY RECORDS/THINK LIKE A KEY MUSIC/USA IMPORT)
Here we have a real
underground sounding record that has a certain 60s/70s psychedelic rock
approach, yet also with elements of singer/songwriter and even krautrock. It
concerns here a duo called BORDELLO AND CLARK, which consists of the British
underground cult band leader of THE BORDELLOS, BRIAN SHEA on vocals and guitar,
and guitarist/singer of American cult band 20th
CENTURY TOKYO PRINCESS, TED CLARK on guitar, keyboards, percussion, bass, drum
Programming and xylophone. Their debut album is sounding like it was recorded
somewhere in a basement on a tape recorder, but that is also the charm of the
included music, which sounds alternative and underground cult ish. Most of the
songs are calmer pieces with a focus on the somewhat depressing vocals of Brian
and Ted’s minimalistic use of the instruments. Do not expect full-blown rock
here, but instead a very calm somewhat dark sounding
alternative singer/songwriter album that you can check out for yourself
at: https://bordelloclark.bandcamp.com/album/atlantic-crossing
(Points:
7.3 out of 10)
BLACK FLOWER 'MAGMA' (ZEPHYR MUSIC/SDBAN ULTRA/L'AUTRE DISTRIBUTION/VEEVCOM/FRANCE
IMPORT)
While playing the
first song of the new CD Magma by the Belgian band BLACK FLOWER, I knew right away that this was going to be a great
journey to experience. This ethio-jazz band has already released 4 albums in
the past 10 years, but I was not familiar with them yet. Thankfully I received
their 5th CD Magma for a review, because BLACK FLOWER is a sensational original sounding band. They are
formed around Brussels based saxophonist / flutist / composer NATHAN DREAMS
(ECHOES OF ZOO, DIJF SANDERS), JON BIRDSONG (DEUS, BECK, CALEXICO) on cornet,
drummer SIMON SEGERS (ABSYNTHE MINDED), bassist FILIP VANDEBRIL (LADY LINN) and
keyboardplayer KAREL CUELENAERE. Their music is a vibrant hypnotical mix of
ethio jazz, Afrobeat, psychedelia and oriental influences, inspired by MULATU
ASTATKE, FELA KUTI and various western musical traditions, although I can also
hear Krautrock influences besides clear Middle Eastern melodies (such as during
the lovely Half Liquid). The resulting album is a very exciting adventure
throughout various worlds, but always keen on interesting various melodies. The
music is instrumental, although there is a guest singer to be heard during the
song Morning In The Jungle. I think I am safe to say that this is going to be
one of the most exciting and original instrumental albums of 2022! It will
appeal to fans of various genres, such as minimalistic, lo-fi electronic music,
prog, jazz, krautrock, middle eastern/African/world
music, etc. so make sure to check out this highly recommended band, which I
personally hope to catch live one day! More info at: http://www.blackflower.be/
(Points:
8.8 out of 10)
VEERA
NEVA 'GRANDE ONDE' (ECLIPSE MUSIC/XANGO MUSIC)
There is not much info
on this release, and from what I could find it was written in the Finnish
language. The music is some sort of electronic ambient dark jazzy orientated,
although at times it also has somehow a krautrock connection. New
Age/experimental jazz is how this is described on the internet, but I feel
there is more to discover on the new album of the Finnish musician VEERA NEVA.
She is a talented multi-instrumentalist, composer, and musician who takes you
on a journey through 4 experimental long songs on her new album Grande Onde.
The modern electronic influences give it an interesting dimension, and it's
best to check out more on this talented musician at: https://www.veeraneva.com/
(Points:
7.7 out of 10)
SAARISALO
'VALETHELE, MAAILMA CI TULE MUUTTUMAAN' (ECLIPSE MUSIC/XANGO MUSIC)
Valthele, Maalma ci
Tule Muuttumaan is the debut album of the Helsinki based SAARISALO. Like many
other Finnish musicians, it's hard to find decent background information, especially
when they sing in their own language. However, what we get to hear is actually
quite beautifully Finnish sung modern pop/rock/singer/songwriter, with as
highlights Valkamaan, Maatuska, Kommunismi & Rakkaus and Juoksen. More info
at:
https://www.facebook.com/Ssaarisalo
(Points:
8.0 out of 10)
MIKA
KALLIO 'GOING ODYSSEY' (ECLIPSE MUSIC/XANGO MUSIC)
Basically this is experimental krautrock
at it's very best, with a focus on strange industrial alike sounds as if you're
standing some of sorta industrial environment or a port, but then again it's
all created by one man only! It's the Finnish musician MIKA KALLIO, who plays
percussion and gong, and do it in a way it sounds completely innovative and
different than what you might expect. Some might call it avant garde
experimental jazz, but I think krautrock might be an even better description.
JUSSI FREDERIKSSON guests on synth by the way, so Mika is not all alone here. 6
long songs are included (Odyssey, Sun, Speak to Me (part 1), Sun, Speak to Me
(part 2), Solid Mercury, Water, Speak to Me (part 1) and Water, Speak to Me
(part 2)), and fans of classic kraut or experimental modern electronic jazz
need to check out Mika's music at: https://mikakallio.bandcamp.com/album/gong-odyssey
(Points:
8.0 out of 10)
BLACK
LUNG 'DARK WAVES' (HEAVY PSYCH SOUNDS)
Dark Waves is the
sensational 4th album of the Baltimore, MD, USA based Psychedelic Rock / Stoner
/ Doom band BLACK LUNG. This band is formed around Dave Cavalier - guitar,
vocals, Elias Mays Schutzman - drums, Dave Fullerton - guitar and Mac Hewitt -
bass, and their incredible huge melodic heavy doom metal sound is one of the
finest I have heard in ages. A song like Hollow Dreams is sounding really
amazing, kinda like classic REVEREND BIZARRE, SAINT VITUS, BLACK SABBATH,
CANDLEMASS and such. The fact the band's singer Dave has got such a strong
voice definitely helps, but also the sound of the band is massive, so BLACK
LUNG might have develivered the best doom metal album of 2022 with their new
record Dark Waves. It sounds dark, slow and heavy, but still very melodic, and
this is one of those albums you will play over and over again, and then you
will still discover something new everytime. Death Grip features as guest
singer SHAWNA POTTER, who gives it an even more melodic approach to an already
superb doom metal sound, while the uptempo Mad King is the loudest song BLACK
SABBATH never made in their prime time years. I am not familiar with the band's
earlier releases, but after listening several times to their new album, BLACK
LUNG definitely belongs to the best in their genre, and so it is likewise for
me to check out their earlier work as well. More info at:https://blacklungbaltimore.bandcamp.com/
(Points:
8.8 out of 10)
LORD
ELEPHANT 'COSMIC AWAKENING' (HEAVY PSYCH SOUNDS)
Formed in 2016 by Edoardo
De Nardi (bass), Leandro Gaccione (guitar) and Tommaso Urzino (drums), the trio
LORD ELEPHANT has worked over 5 years to release their official debut album
Cosmic Awakening. Thanks to HEAVY PSYCH RECORDS, the album has now been
released, and without a doubt we are enjoying here a fantastic set of songs
that should be described as an instrumental mix of Doom, Stoner, heavy
Blues/Power Rock and Psychedelic/Progressive Rock. It has that classic 70s
approach, so there is a lot of time created for improvisations. It does get
quite heavy here and there, which immediately shows you that it's a product of
the modern age. https://heavypsychsoundsrecords.bandcamp.com/album/lord-elephant-cosmic-awakening
(Points:
8.3 out of 10)
SOMMUS
THRONE 'NEMESIS LATELY' (HEAVY PSYCH SOUNDS)
SOMMUS THRONE is a cool dirty mean raw
psychedelic stoner/doom rock band from Los Angeles, California. They released
their same titled debut in the first corona year of 2020, and now there is
already a follow-up titled Nemesis Lately. The band is formed around Evan:
Vox/Guitar, Ansel Bretz: Bass and Matt Davis: Drums, and what makes them
standout is their incredible massive fuzzy sound that reveals some really cool
instrumental psychedelic doom parts and also Evan has a strong melodic voice
that gives each and every of the 6 included songs a rather catchy touch
somehow, with as highlights Snake Eyes, Dice And Scarecrow and Calm Is The
Devil. Check them out for yourself at: https://somnusthrone.bandcamp.com/
(Points: 8.6 out of 10)
GEEZER
'STONED BLUES MACHINE' (HEAVY PSYCH SOUNDS)
Stoned Blues Machine
is the 6th album of the Kingston, New York based heavy blues rock band GEEZER.
This trio is formed around PAT HARRINGTON (guitars/vocals), RICHIE TOUSEULL
(bass) and STEVE MARKATO (drums), and they deliver a high class sound that
takes you straight back to the glorious late 1960s Power Rock sound of JIMI
HENDRIX, CREAM and a bit of BLACK SABBATH, yet with an overall still slightly
updated sound that even reminds me a bit of MONSTER MAGNET here and there. The
artwork is stunning and as mentioned the music is quite raw and heavy, but
rocks from start to finish big time, completely guitar driven that's for sure! More
info can be found at: https://geezertown.bandcamp.com
(Points:
8.0 out of 10)
BRANT
BJORK AND THE BROS 'SOMERA SOL' (HEAVY PSYCH SOUNDS)
The American musician, singer, producer,
multi-instrumentalist BRANT BJORK is one of the founding members of the
legendary stoner rock band KYUSS, but eventually it's members went their own
ways during the mid 1990s, and some of them formed new successfull bands
(QUEENS OF THE STONE AGE), while Brant joined several bands besides starting up
a colo career. Somera Sol is an album he recorded back in 2007 together with
DYLAN ROCHE (bass), CORTEZ (guitar) and ALFREDO HERNANDEZ (drums), and this
album has been now been re-released and to those who were not familiar with the
album, it's a lovely diverse record that combines classic retro melodic
hardrock, progressive rock and stoner rock to a very melodic adventure. Songs
like Love Is Revolution, Oblivion, ChinaRosa and Shrine Communications are perfect
examples of songs that sound like a cross between THIN LIZZY, FOO FIGHTERS,
DANKO JONES and KYUSS. Brant has a strong classic rock voice and the music is
very accessible. More info can be found at: https://brantbjork.bandcamp.com/
and https://www.brantbjork.net/
(Points:
8.6 out of 10)
BELZEBONG
'SONIC SHAPES & WEEDY GROOVES' (HEAVY PSYCH SOUNDS)
BELZEBONG hails from Kielce, Poland, and
they were formed in 2008. Sonic Shapes & Weedy Grooves was their debut
album originally released back in 2011. More than 11 years later it has been
re-released by their new album HEAVY PSYCH RECORDS. The band consists of Sheepy
Dude: Bass, Alky Dude: Guitar, Cheesy Dude: Guitar and Hexy Dude: Drums, and
their music is extremely slow and heavy fuzz dominated distorted doom metal,
and they do their job really well during the 4 included songs that all together
give the CD a 30 minutes of playing time. I don't think you will get closer to
pure heavy psych Doom than this BELZEBONG, so in case you're a fan of REVEREND
BIZARRE and such you urgently need to check out this Polish band as well at: http://belzebong.bandcamp.com/
(Points:
8.2 out of 10)
STIU NU
STIU 'NEW SUN' (HEAVY PSYCH SOUNDS)
Out of Sweden comes the sensational band
STIU NU STIU. They were formed 10 years ago and their current line up consists
of Jessica Mengarelli/vocals, Nicklas Bargell/guitar , Kalle Mattsson/bass,
Martin Sandström/guitar and Christian Augustin/drums, percussion, synths,
piano. New Sun is their 4th album so far, but their very first on the HEAVY
PSYCH label. Musically speaking we enter an interesting mixture of classic
original heavy doom of the BLACK SABBATH kind with a lot of progressive rock
and psychedelic rock elements. The female vocals give it an unexpected melodic
approach (even a bit like the very old EARTH & FIRE and SHOCKING BLUE
records), so it does have quite a catchy touch as well somehow in especially
songs like Styx, Siren, Nyx and Visa. Check them out for yourself at: https://stiunustiu.bandcamp.com/
(Points:
8.3 out of 10)
CACHEMIRA
'AMBOS MUNDOS' (HEAVY PSYCH SOUNDS)
Out of Barcelona, Spain comes the female
fronted Power Rock trio CACHEMIRA, and Ambos Mundos is their 2nd album so far.
The band's line up consists of Gaston Lainé/Guitar, Claudia González/Bass &
Vocals and Alejandro Carmona/Drums, and the music they bring us on this new
album is of an incredible high level. Claudia has a superb voice and the music
is classic rock at it's very best, actually not that far removed from bands
like DEVIL'S BLOOD and BLUES PILLS. 8 songs are included, and Claudia gives the
material an extra dimension due to her superb vocal chops. Songs like Don't
Look Back (To The Fire), Keep An Eye On Me and Mujer VuduI are pricless classic
rocksongs with superb melodies and instrumentally in the best 70s way of
improvising. Make sure not to miss this sensational band at: https://cachemira.bandcamp.com/
(Points:
8.7 out of 10)
ECSTATIC
VISION 'ELUSIVE MOJO' (HEAVY PSYCH SOUNDS)
Formed in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania back
in 2013, the band ECSTATIC VISION now releases their 4th album with Elusive
Mojo. The line up of the band consists of Douglas Sabolick, Jordan Crouse,
Kevin Nickles, Michael Field Connor, and they make heavy psychedelic space rock
that is quite close to bands like HAWKWIND, MONSTER MAGNET, THE STOOGES, etc.
etc. 7 songs are included, and all of them sound very raw and authentic, just
the way it needs to sound like if you want to hear a 70s psychedelic rock
journey, just listen to the guitarsolo, saxsolo and distorted vocals during a
song like the superb Times Up, and you will be hooked for sure! Check out this
band at: https://ecstaticvision.bandcamp.com/
(Points:
8.2 out of 10)
NEBULA
'TRANSMISSION FROM MOTHERSHIP EARTH' (HEAVY PSYCH SOUNDS)
Out of L.A. comes NEBULA, and in the
review of their 2009 re-released album Heavy Psych you can read more about
them. Transmission From Mothership Earth is their 9th album so far since their
formation about 25 years ago. NEBULA's current line up consists of Eddie Glass
- guitar, vocals, Tom Davies - bass, vocals and Michael Amster - drums, and if
I would need to describe their music I would say that you need to imagine an
unique mixture of psychedelic rock craziness, experimental progressive rock,
70s doom/stoner rock and retro hardrock like a hybrid between MOTORPSYCHO,
HAWKWIND, BLUE OYSTER CULT, BLACK SABBATH, KYUSS, MONSTER MAGNET and GRATEFUL
DEAD, with a focus on big fat groovy guitar solos and distorted vocals packed
in a spacey rocking sound, then you're quite close to the original sound of
NEBULA. This new album Transmission From Mothership Earth might perhaps be
their finest album so far, with some of the grooves even featuring an usual
jazz alike drum rhythm, which can be best be heard during the superb Warzone
Speedwolf, Wilted Flowers and the catchy psychedelic rock trip of I Get So High.
Check out this incredible original sounding band at: https://atomicritual.com/
(Points:
8.5 out of 10)
NEBULA
'HEAVY PSYCH' (HEAVY PSYCH SOUNDS)
The Los Angeles,
California based band NEBULA was formed in the late 90s after a few members
left FU MANCHU. The band was signed to the legendary SUB POP RECORDS, and
released a few albums between 1999 and 2009. After a gap of almost 10 years,
they returned to the scene and released a new album on the Italian label HEAVY
PSYCH RECORDS in 2019. Then corona came around the corner, and as a result they
started digging into their archives and released a live record, and now also
re-release some of their earlier albums such as this Heavy Psych, which was
their final album before they went on hiatus during the 2010s. Although not as
good as their new album, Heavy Psych was definitely a great album that showed
the band delivering the goods in mixing the best of psych, stoner, doom, heavy
rock, metal and prog into an exciting sound that was not heard since
MOTORPSYCHO, HAWKWIND and PORCUPINE TREE entered the music world during the
past 20-50 years. NEBULA should be right up there with them, but first check
out their superb new album before checking out their back catalogue, which are
all available through their label at: https://www.heavypsychsounds.com/
(Points:
8.3 out of 10)
STONER
'TOTALLY' (HEAVY PSYCH SOUNDS)
Calling your project
STONER is only possible when the music is stoner rock orientated and the
featured musicians were important for the stoner rock development in the past
and thankfully indeed the line-up consists of ex-KYUSS members, which was a band
that helped to shape the stoner rock sound during the 1990s. Nick Oliveri/Bass,
Vocals, Ryan Güt/Drums, Percussion, Greg Hetson/Guitar, Mario Lalli/Guitar and Brant
Bjork/Guitar, Vocals joined forces and recorded a superb melodic stoner rock
album that has got all the ingredients to become a classic in the genre in the
future. Songs like A Million Beers, Strawberry Creek and Turn It Around Now are
all wonderful pieces of classic stoner rock in the style of KYUSS, QUEENS OF THE
STONE AGE, MONSTER MAGNET and BLACK SABBATH. It's by the way not the first
STONER album, because this corona project already gave us a studio and a live
record in the past 2 years. Check them out at: https://www.facebook.com/StonerBandOfficial/
and https://www.stonerband.com/
(Points:
8.3 out of 10)
OREYEON
'EQUATIONS FOR THE USELESS' (HEAVY PSYCH SOUNDS)
Originaly named ORION,
the Italian stoner metal band from La Spezia changed their name to OREYEON back
in 2018. Their latest album Equations For The Useless was recorded back in
September 2021, and now released on HEAVY PSYCH RECORDS. The band's line up
consists of Richard Silvaggio - Bass/Vocals, Andrea Ricci - Guitar, Matteo
Signanini - Guitar and Pietro Virgilio - Drums, and their music is likewise
heavy stoner doom, but also with a sorta ALICE IN CHAINS/SOUNDGARDEN ish
approach here and there. This makes them an interesting and quite diverse band
to check out. More info can be found at: https://oreyeon.bandcamp.com/
(Points:
8.2 out of 10)
Out of France comes
the African sounding ELECTRIC VOCUHILA, a band formed around MAXIME BOBO (sax),
ARTHUR DELALEU (guitar), FRANCOIS ROSENFELD (bass) and ETIENNE ZIEMNIAK, and
their latest albyum Kiteky is a lovely album that captures the essence of world
music which is a combination of jazz, african music (mainly Congo and
Madagascar orientated traditional music) and desert rock. The sound of their
new album is very catchy and swings at an incredible high level. Live on stage
this band will be a guarantee for an adventure you don't want to miss. 9 songs
are included in total, and the fact that some of them are quite lengthy and
cross the 8 minutes of playing time, such as Kidola Dola and Kitkey, it gives
them also enough room to experiment and improvise. The instrumental music of
ELECTRIC VOCUHILA is definitely recommended to check out. More info can be found
at: https://www.facebook.com/electricvocuhila
(Points:
8.1 out of 10)
NORTH
MISSISSIPPI ALLSTARS 'SET SAIL' (NEW WEST RECORDS/KLANDERMAN PROMOTION)
As soon as songs like
Set Sail Part 1 and See The Moon of the new album of NORTH MISSISSIPPI ALLSTARS
blast through the speakers, it is safe to say that we are listening to a superb
high quality recording. They were formed in the town of Hermando, Mississippi
26 years ago, and Set Sail is already their 11th studio album. The core members
are brothers Luther Dickinson (guitar, lowebow, vocals) and Cody Dickinson
(drums, keyboards, electric washboard, vocals), whom are the sons of legendary
producer Jim Dickinson. Luther also plays every now and then with THE BLACK
CROWES, but devotes most of his time to NORTH MISSISSIPPI ALLSTARS. The band
has a popular status in the USA, because they already got several Grammy Award
nominations for some of their past albums. That's not really strange, because
also this new album is a guarantee for a pure American cocktail of blues, swamp
southern rock, Americana, rootsy soul and such Mississippi kinda relaxing
groovy summer ish feel-good traditional music. There are a few guest vocalists,
including legendary 83 year old WILLIAM BELL (BOOKER T. JONES, STAX RECORDS),
and LAMAR WILLIAMS JR (son of the THE ALLMAN BROTHERS bassist LAMAR WILLIAMS
SR). All together this is a lovely album that will be loved if you like that
southern US States kinda soulful swamp southern rock. It's done at an
incredible high level and really captures that groovy rhythm that is needed to
keep things authentic. Besides the aforementioned songs also Set Sail Part 2
needs to be mentioned here as one of the absolute highlights, but in general speaking
this is a picture perfect album from start to finish. Check out more info at: http://www.nmallstars.com/
(Points:
8.2 out of 10)
ELEGANZA
'WATER VALLEY HIGH' (DIAL BACK SOUND/SONIC RENDEZVOUS/KLANDERMAN PROMOTION)
Even If There's One
starts the album of ELEGANZA very calm in an almost NEIL YOUNGish Americana
direction, but following Sick Of What I Need truly blows you away in a sorta
punky garage rocksound with a soulful touch, even reminding a bit of NEW YORK
DOLLS meets VINTAGE TROUBLE. There's also vintage 70s soulful ROLLING STONES to
be heard in a song like the swampy Lonesome N'High and how about some true
classic uptempo late 70s punky rock and roll during Here Comes Trouble of the
more melodic STARZish late 70s melodic rocker Down With Me! This CD here
concerns the 2nd album of the Minneapolis–Saint Paul based band ELEGANZA, which
is formed around 3 guitarists, a bassist, a drummer and a keyboardplayer, and 3
of them share the lead vocals, so therefore a mixed bag of styles pass by. The
resulting album is a great diverse record that will definitely stand the test
of time. After a first listen rest assured you will give it more spins, because
there are really some great potential songs included. Basically ELEGANZA might
become one of classic rock's new superstars in the future! I have to say
however that the calmer songs are less interesting than the rockers, except for
the LYNYRD SKYNYRD meets ROLLING STONESish southern semi-ballad Get Brown,
which is a really great song, and the closing southern rockballad Borderless. If
they would drop however the few NEIL YOUNGish songs and let only the 2 other
singers share the vocal duties, then ELEGANZA will have a bright future in the
music business. Anyway, check them out for yourself at: https://eleganza.bandcamp.com/album/water-valley-high
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