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HOT NEW REVIEWS
MEGAN NASH & THE BEST OF INTENTIONS
'SOFT FOCUS FUTURES' (ACRONYM RECORDS/CANADA IMPORT)
Out of Canada comes singer/songwriter MEGAN NASH and
Soft Focus Futures is her 3rd album so far. 10 songs are on the
new album, and besides Megan singing and playing guitar and piano, she is
assisted by DANA REMPEL (bass, sax), DARNELL STEWART (guitar, synthesizer) and
TANNER WILHELM HALE (drums, percussion, vibraphone), and several other guests
make their appearance. The album starts very peaceful with a calm acoustic
singer/songwriter piece titled Table For One, but gets a bit more uptempo with
the strong Artifact and especially the lovely catchy light uptempo poprocker
Quiet gives the album a fresh modern melodic uplifting direction in a way like
THE WAR ON DRUGS also does. Megan has a fantastic voice and during this uptempo
rocking song we can hear that she has a voice that is also very suitable for
rocking material. My Own Heart slows things down again, but Megan shows here
that she is also able to make beautiful calmer material, as this is a beautiful
indie pop/rock ballad. Other highlights are the midtempo indie/wave ish Coffee
(with it’s lovely guitarsolo), the amazing calmer acoustic singer/songwriter
piece Another Silent Night and the slow alternative rocker Chew Quietly / Clean
Slate. Megan is a huge talent and I am safe to say that she has got all it
takes to become a major artist in the future. In Canada she has already been
awarded several times and is working her way to the top. This new album should
easily bring her the attention from elsewhere too. Check her out at: http://www.megannash.ca/
(Points: 8.4 out of 10)
THE
AUTUMN KILLERS 'DARKSIDE' (SKYFIRE RECORDS/UK IMPORT)
Out of Wales comes THE AUTUMN KILLERS, and
Darkside is their debut album. The band was formed 3 years ago and features
ROBERT P REECE (vocals, bass, piano), DUNCAN RICHARDSON (guitar, keys, synths)
and drummer GRAEME HOY. Their music is modern sounding, but still very catchy
and quite melodic overall. Somehow they remind me a bit of bands like GUN and
KICK from the late 80s/early 90s, which means timeless melodic classic
rock/hardrock with a certain pop/rock vibe. Highlights among the 12 included
songs are Do You Want It, Spin the Wheels, Mother Of The Monkeys (WHITE LIONish
melodic hardrock), Stand Up and Social Animals. Robert reminds me a lot of MIKE
TRAMP (WHITE LION) and the music is really nice to listen to, with also some
great soaring guitarwork here and there. Well done job here by THE AUTUMN
KILLERS and a band to watch out for in the future of classic rock! More info
at: http://theautumnkillers.uk/
(Points:
8.1 out of 10)
THE
SMALL BREED 'REMEMBER A DREAM' (BICKERTON RECORDS/SPAIN IMPORT)Although THE SMALL BREED is a Dutch band,
I can honestly say that I have not seen them live yet and neither have I seen a
lot of exposure on radio, tv or in the media over here, which is a pity,
because their debut album Remember I Dream is a sensational album that has the
best late 1960s melodic psychedelic folk/pop rock sound I have heard in ages.
THE BYRDS, THE BEATLES, THE BEACH BOYS, THE KINKS, THE MOODY BLUES and CROSBY,
STILLS, NASH & YOUNG are blended perfectly in songs like Remember A Dream,
Picturesque Pictures, the sweet She's So Lovely, the rockier Mirror Man and the
amazing The Man Who Lost His Consciousness Of Time. The band hails from the
city of Tilburg, were formed out of the ashes of the band BLACK MARBLE
SELECTION and they are signed to a Spanish label called BICKERTON RECORDS, whom
are doing a wonderful job, because THE SMALL BREED seems to be one of the best
new Dutch bands at the moment, based on this first album release. The band
consists of Erik Bus - Guitar, Vocals, Guus van den Heuvel - Keys, Vocals, Jan
Kappé - Guitar, Keys, Vocals, Malenzie Mac Donald Jr. - Bass Guitar and Gijs
Van Der Heijden - Drums, Vocals, and their debut album Remember A Dream is of
an incredible high level. If this was released back in the 1960s, then THE
SMALL BREED would have been huge. They are right up there with all those
legendary Dutch Nederbeat bands from the glorious 1960s, such as SHOCKING BLUE,
Q65, SANDY COAST, THE MOTIONS, GOLDEN EARRINGS, TEE SET, THE BINTANGS...
However, THE SMALL BREED are a young band with a fresh sound that is even more
diverse than those bands ever were back in the 1960s. I am safe to say we as
Dutch should be proud of this new band, which you can check out at: https://www.facebook.com/thesmallbreed
and https://bickertonrecords.bandcamp.com/album/br047-remember-a-dream
(Points:
8.8 out of 10)
THE
BRAVE 'EVIE'S LITTLE GARDEN' (INDEPENDENT/USA IMPORT)I remember the Christian Hardrockband THE
BRAVE very well, because they did a lovely debut album release in the shape of
Battle Cries 30 years ago, and their lead singer JAMES SALTERS went on fronting
FAITH NATION for a while. The band got help from the Elefante Brothers and Neil
Kernon, so it was no wonder their first CD was such a great record. Although
they released a follow-up, titled Trust, they disappeared for a while, but
returned in 2014 with a new album (Rise) and now it's 2022, and the band has released
a wonderful new record titled Evie's Little Garden. 2 original members are
still on board, STAYCE ROBERTS, the guitarist who now also plays keys and even sings,
and he does a great job actually, and also bassist MALCOLM PARIS is present,
but the threesome has a newcomer called JOHN SPITTLE on drums. 12 songs are
included and I have to say that it's a really sensational record! Opener and
titletrack Evie's Little Garden is a lovely uptempo melodic hardrocksong with a
modern groovy edge, but also featuring a catchy classic memorable chorus that
reminds me a bit of BATON ROUGE, XYZ and early WINGER, while the soaring
guitarsolo gives it the classic late 80s/early 90s finishing touch. Following
Run To You brings the band in full 80s swing, because this is a superb uptempo
classic 80s American Arena/Hair Metal Melodic Rocker in the style of 80s
DOKKEN, STRYPER, KNOW ILLUSION, FIREHOUSE and such. Here and there THE BRAVE
also reminds me a bit of MICHAEL BORMANN fronted JADED HEART, especially during
midtempo melodic hardrocksongs like I've Always Wondered and We're Not In
Kansas Anymore. Other highlights are the lovely midtempo Creep, the DEF
LEPPARDish If I Told You, the superb midtempo AOR ballad Come To Me and the
uptempo melodic rocker And We All Fall Down. If you want to hear a perfect
massive sounding mixture between FIREHOUSE, JADED HEART, WINGER and BATON
ROUGE, then look no further than this new THE BRAVE album! More info at: http://www.thebravemusic.com
(Points:
8.8 out of 10)
SAMUEL
MAINGAUD 'ODAYIN' (L'AERONOTE/INOUIE DISTRIBUTION/VEEV COM/FRANCE IMPORT)
This is the perfect sunday morning record!
French Saxophone player SAMUEL MAINGAUD releases his new album Odayin with the
help of other musicians Nenad Gajin (guitar), Fred Dupont (Hammond B3), Yoann
Schmidt (drums), Thomas Ostrowiecki (drums), Nicho Vella (claviers) and Adriano
Tenorio (percussion), and the included music is of a very high level. Odayin
contains Instrumental music that mixes jazz, fusion and world music, sounding
very relaxed and melodic overall. The music is mostly quite calm, but very exciting
and has a wide appeal to a lot of people I think. There's a lot of diversity
going on, including smooth jazz fusion such as Mysen and Le Prenom, and a
heavier mixture of groovy rock and Middle Eastern influences in a lovely song
like 13 Au Bar, while the beautiful romantic songs Lullaby and Apres La Pluie
lift you up to higher places. It's all there and a pleasure to listen to from
start to finish! This is definitely one of the better instrumental albums I
have heard lately. More info is available through: https://samuelmaingaud.com
(Points:
8.7 out of 10)
OCTARINE
SKY 'CLOSE TO NEARBY' (UBERWALD RECORDS/USA IMPORT)
When you have the legendary drummer SIMON
PHILLIPS on board on your first album, then you're doing something right. It
concerns here a project formed around DYANNE POTTER VOEGTLIN (vocals, piano,
keys, hammond). She is a gifted singer and musician from the Milwaukee,
Wisconsin area in the USA, and she was previously fronting the band POTTER'S
DAUGHTER, with whom she also released an album, but when Simon became part of
the new recordings the bandname was changed to OCTARINE SKY. Besides Dyanne and
Simon the other involved musicians are JAN CHRISTIANA (bass, synth, keys,
guitar) and a few guest musicians such as the ASIA/GPS/ARISTOCRATS guitarist
GUTHRIE GOVAN. All together they created a beautiful album that contains a
lovely mix of melodic progressive rock and a bit of jazz (especially in the
pianowork of Dyanne), both instrumental and vocally always going for memorable
melodies. Opener One is a great instrumental mix of prog and fusion/jazz, while
the following Rosewind features the great smooth vocals of Dyanne and this song
is in itself a beautiful calmer melodic progressive rocksong in the style of
MOSTLY AUTUMN. Slightly rockier and basically a dream come true for the
progressive rockfans is the fantastic Night Sky / Into The Dream, which
features the amazing guitarwork of Guthrie. The rest of the album continues
this excellent style of high quality melodic progressive rock with a touch of
jazz here and there. One of my favorite songs is the superb The Mask, which has
really beautiful vocal and guitar melodies (progressive rock heaven!), while
Simon also shows his thoughtfull skills on the drums. 8 songs are included in
total, and there is not a single weak moment to be found here. Check it out for
yourself at: https://pottersdaughterband.com/
(Points:
8.7 out of 10)
MODERN STUDIES 'WE ARE THERE' (FIRE
RECORDS/KONKURRENT)
Although the Scottish/British band MODERN
STUDIES is called a Chamber Popband, there is a lot more to discover on their 4th album
We Are There. The band is formed around Emily Scott (vocals, organs, piano,
double bass), Rob St. John (vocals, guitar, synths, harmonium, tape loops),
Pete Harvey (cello, bass, piano) and Joe Smillie (drums, mellotron, vocals),
and their music has elements of 70s progressive pop/rock (RENAISSANCE) and
melodic indie folk pop/rock, sounding very melodic and thanks to the superb
vocals of Emily it is a pleasure to listen to this excellent new album We Are
There. The album starts calm with the beautiful melodic semi-progressive
rocksong Sink Into, while the following Light A Fire has an uptempo folky indie
poprock touch with lovely melodies, and actually the whole album is a mix of
this kinda material, featuring both calmer songs and uptempo rockier tunes,
with as other highlights Wild Ocean, Don’t Be long, and Mothlight. The overall
sound of this band us very relaxed, laid-back and melodic, perfectly suitable
for a lazy sunny afternoon. Check them out at: http://www.modernstudiestheband.com/
(Points: 8.4 out of 10)
SEGEDUNUM
RUST 'SONGS TO THE RAIN/GET CHASED (BUT DON'T GET CAUGHT VINYL RECORDS' (SHOESIZE
RECORDS/INDEPENDENT/UK IMPORT)
SEGEDUNUM RUST is named after the Roman
fort Segedunum, which can be found in a small town close to Newcastle, and
that's where this band is also coming from. The bandleader BILLY PARKER
(guitar, keys, vocals) was kind enough to sent me the 2 vinyl records of
SEGEDUNUM RUST. Songs To The Rain from 2018 was recorded as a trio, consisting
of Billy, PAUL GALLAGHER (bass, ukulele, vocals) and the late bassist TERRY
KNOX, who sadly died recently. The follow-up Get Chased from 2021 also saw the
likes of drummer TONY POLLOCK joining the band (although he did already perform
on the 1st album as well), and I have to say that new album is also more
rocking than the somewhat laid-back previous album. Nevertheless, Songs To The
Rain is a very nice calmer Americana folky pop/rock album that reminds a bit of
a mix between THE GRATEFUL DEAD, NEIL YOUNG, CALEXICO and CROWDED HOUSE,
although SEGEDUNUM RUST actually has a real own identity that sounds a bit
melancholic and dark, folky and calm, but with a slight raw edge as well. They
are a band where you need to take some time before getting the picture right.
From their first album songs like Quiksand, I Listen To The Radio and My Own
Way are really beautiful calmer pieces of dark folky pop/rock. Get Chased
follows that style, yet sounding a bit more rockier, upbeat and modern, kinda
like THE WAR ON DRUGS here and there, yet still with an own identity. The big
difference with the 2018 album is as already mentioned that Get Chased sounds
more uptempo, is quite diverse and has some interesting sounds here and there,
such as the theremini moog (by guest musician JULES PARKER) during the lovely
midtempo progressive classic rock/krautrocker That Thing I Said. Other
highlights are the slow dark psychedelic bluesy rocker My Team, the excellent
late 60s psychedelic rocker Dust and the fantastic uptempo rootsy psychedelic
classic rocker Tonight Matthew (CANNED HEAT meets KING GIZZARD AND THE LIZARD
WIZARD). In the end, there is a lot of diversity going on here and quite
interesting to discover original music on especially the latest vinyl record of
SEGEDUNUM RUST. More info can be found at: https://segedunumrust.bandcamp.com/album/get-chased-but-dont-get-caught-2
(Points:
8.1 out of 10)
RADIO DRIVE ’BEFORE THE DAY IS THROUGH’
(12 STORY RECORDS/USA IMPORT)
RADIO DRIVE is a band/project formed around
multi-instrumentalist/singer/songwriter KEVIN GULLICKSON from Lakeville, MN,
USA, and he was kind enough to send me his melodic pop/rock album Before The
Day Is Through. Kevin does almost everything on his own, and it’s a joy to
listen to his rather catchy tunes that have a real nostalgic feeling. If you
hear a song like the uptempo powerpop/poprocker Giving The Best, it’s like you
stepped in a time machine and went back to the early 1980s and acts like THE
CARS, THE KNACK and RICK SPRINGFIELD were on top of the charts, although you
might also smell a 90s WEEZER touch as well in a song like No Time To Stay, and
how about a throw-back 70s singer-songwriter pop ballad (Let My Love Be The
Proof). Kevin is a talented musician and singer and it’s great to hear him sing
and make music with the feeling of the old days when melodic pop/rock was the
most popular genre in especially North America. Check him out at: www.radiodrive.net
(Points: 7.8 out of 10)
DETTMAR QUARTET ‘ESCALES’
(EQUILIBRE/INOUIE DISTRIBUTION/VEEV.COM/FRANCE IMPORT)
Escales is the new album of DETTMAR QUARTET, a lovely
instrumental melodic jazz-fusion Arabic influenced act that is formed around
GUILLAUME DETTMAR. Obviously he is influenced by the likes of AVISHAI COHEN and
IBRAHIM MAALOUF, and this new album is a wonderful journey that connects
jazz-fusion with Arabic influences and a touch of progrock as well. 8 long
songs are included and there is a lot of variety and improvisation going on,
which you can already be heard during the lovely opening song Danse 1. Dettmar plays
the electric violin as if he is a rock guitarist, and that makes it such an
interesting album to check out. Besides him other involved musicians are
Alexandre JOURAVSKY (piano, co-arrangements), François LAIZEAU (drums) and
Bernard COCHIN (contrabass), and together they deliver a superb album that has
so much to offer that I could easily mention every song of the album as
highlight. The song The Earth is a marvelous melodic peaceful piece that shows
like every other song the skills of Dettmar on the violin, and how about the
jazz-prog sounding mixture of the superb Danse 2. Wonderful album to check out
a.s.a.p.! More info at: https://guillaumedettmar.com/
(Points: 8.7 out of 10)
MARCELA ‘O’ROMA’ (JAMALAFAK/MUSIC BOX
PUBLISHING/SOCADISC/VEEV.COM/FRANCE IMPORT)
Originally from Slovakia, vocalist MARCELA
CISAROVA found her home in France where she built up as career and O Roma is
her new album. She is assisted by BENOIT VINCENT (guitar), CHARLES LAMOUROUX
(guitar, banjo), LORAN BOZIC (violin) and YOANN GODEFRAY (contrabass), and the
included music is traditional Eastern European orientated Folk/World Music with
a clear focus on melodies that are beautifully sung by Marcela. 12 songs are
included and from start to finish it’s a great journey to experience. It has
this pure World Music sound that makes you happy when listening and the songs
have that typical Roman/Turkish/Greek kinda touch as well. Lots to explore and
for more information PLEASE GO TO: www.marcela.band.com
(Points: 8.0 out of 10)
DAVID AUBAILE AND JULIEN TEKEYAN ‘HIMA’
(UVM DISTRIBUTION/IDOL/VEEV.COM/FRANCE IMPORT)
The album Hima by DAVID AUBAILE (piano, flute,
keyboards, FX) and JULIEN TEKEYAN (drums, percussion, looping) is a great
original sounding album that should appeal to a variety of music fans. There is
a lot of influences to discover while listening to the 11 songs on the album,
and thanks to the use of keys/FX it has a certain 70s and 80s touch, in a way
it does have the best bits of prog, sympho, electro, kraut, new wave,
jazz/fusiomn and new age. The resulting album is a joy to listen to from start
to finish, including a lot of great instrumental pieces that sound both modern
and retro, especially during wonderful songs such as Deca Danse (MIKE
OLDFIELD’s Tubular Bells are melted with electronic and world music vibes), the
superb funky groovy 70s orientated jazz-fusion rocker Mash Mash, the STANLEY
CLARKEish Tron, and the African World Music influenced Kobagna (which features
like 3 other songs vocals by guest singers). This is a really great instrumental
effort and definitely one to check out if you’re a 70s/80s
jazz-fusion/prog/krautrockfan, but also for anyone else, because especially the
3 vocal featured songs show a complete different sound (such as the NINA SIMONE
ish Les Tenebres!). More info can be found at: https://davidaubaile.com/hima-project/
(Points: 8.7 out of 10)
JACK KEROUAC ‘100 YEARS OF BEATITUDE’
(BEAR FAMILY RECORDS/GERMAN IMPORT)
To celebrate the 100th birthday of legendary American
novelist and poet JACK KEROUAC, BEAR FAMILY RECORDS releases a great 2-CD set
that pays tribute to a man who formed part of the core cell of the Beat
Generation. 52 songs and historical audio documents from 1946 to 1963 are
included that represent the period of time in music history that formed the
bridge between be-bop jazz from the 50s with eventually rock and roll/beat
music in the 1960s. It’s a joy to listen to the songs and go back in time to
discover how jazz and rock were connected somewhere in the early pop music
history of especially the 1950s. Included are songs by acts like THE BEATSM BIG
JAY MCNEELY, CHARLIE PARKER QUARTET, PERRY COMO, CHET BAKER, LOUIS ARMSTRONG
and countless others. BEAR FAMILY RECORDS introduce us another piece of
essential music history. It’s available through: www.b2b@bear-family.de
(Points: 8.2 out of 10)
THE WILDROOTS ‘WILDROOTS SESSIONS VOLUME
2’ (WILDROOTS RECORDS/USA IMPORT)
There are a lot of musicians involved in this project
THE WILDROOTS and their new album Wildroots Session Volume 2, but the main core
of the band is formed around VICTOR WAINWRIGHT (Piano, Organ, Vocals), STEPHEN
DEES (Guitars, Bass, Percussion, Vocals, Production) and PATRICIA ANN
(Saxophone, Vocals, Flute, Bass), while Billy Dean – Drums, Charlie DeChant –
Saxophone, Greg Gumpel – Guitar, Stephen Kampa – Harmonica, Ray Guiser – Sax,
Nick Black – Guitar, Vocals, Ray Guiser – Saxophone and Alberto Cruz – Drums
join THE WILDROOTS on this new album, and then there are countless guests as
well, such as JOHN OATES (of HALL & OATES), Michael Shrieve (ROLLING
STONES/SANTANA), Bryan Bassett – Guitar (FOGHAT/WILD CHERRY), Lucky Peterson —
Hammond Organ, Pat Harrington – Guitar (The Train), Todd Sharp – Guitar (Rod
Stewart/Delbert McClinton), David Kent– Piano (Hall & Oates) and Eddie
Zyne– Drums (Hall & Oates/Foghat).Thompson, Robert “Top” Thomas (Smoke
House), Billy Livesay (Clarence Clemmons/The Livesays), Mark Hodgson (Midnight
Creepers), and Chris Merrell (Dicky Betts), and many more. The music is a
healthy mix of mostly slow delta-blues, a tiny bit of classic heavy blues rock,
some rootsy Americana and quite a lot of soul in the vocal department, which
can all be heard during the 16 included songs. Highlights are Lazy Little
Daisy, Long Way To Go, I Feel Fine, The Threads Of Time, and Working For My Car
Blues. This is definitely an interesting album to check out! More info
at: https://www.wildrootsrecords.com/
(Points: 8.5 out of 10)
BJORN RIIS ‘EVERYTHING TO EVERYONE’
(KARISMA RECORDS/PLASTIC HEAD/CREATIVE ECLIPSE PR/GERMAN IMPORT)
BJORN RIIS is best known as the co-founder, songwriter
and lead guitarist of the progressive rockband AIRBAG, but he also has a solo
career going on that already gave birth to 3 albums. Everything To Everyone is
his 4th solo album, and it contains 6 long songs that feature
Bjorn on vocals, guitar and some other instruments, while he is assisted by a
lot of guest musicians from bands like AIRBAG, WOBBLER, OAK, etc. The resulting
album is a wonderful calmer melodic progressive rockalbum that has some more
70s classic rock influences than AIRBAG for example, although PINK FLOYD and
PORCUPINE TREE similarities are definitely possible most of the time. The
guitar riffs however are definitely 70s classic rock influenced, which works
really well in combination with the calmer melodic guitarsolo’s (a la PINK
FLOYD) and melodic clean vocals of Bjorn, such as can be heard at its best
during Lay Me Down, Every Second Every Hour and the titletrack Everything To
Everyone. A wonderful surprise here and a must to check out if you like classic
melodic progressive rock that combines the relaxing calmness of the genre with
a few hard rocking classic rock guitar riffs out of the THIN LIZZY/LED ZEPPELIN
book. More info at: www.bjornriis.com
(Points: 8.6 out of 10)
KRYPTOGRAF ‘THE ELDORADO SPELL’ (APOLLON
RECORDS/PLASTIC HEAD/CREATIVE ECLIPSE PR/GERMAN IMPORT)
Bands like WOLFMOTHER, DE WOLFF,
MOTORPSYCHO, SPIDERGAWD and even FOO FIGHTERS are a few examples of bands that
gave old school 70s classic heavy doom/rock a new face in the past 20 years.
The Norwegian band KRYPTOGRAF are one of the latest new sensations in this
retro hardrock genre. They released their self-titled debut album in 2020 and
now follow it up with The Eldorado Spell, a pure 70s BLACK SABBATHish
orientated heavy/doom classic rock album that contains 10 strong songs. I can
honestly say that they are a lovely sounding band with the right guitar riffs
and doomy parts while their singer has a great strong voice (although I believe
several members share the lead vocals). The line up consists of Vegard Strand -
Guitar / Vocals, Odd Erlend Mikkelsen - Guitar / Vocals, Eirik Arntsen - Drums
/ Vocals and Eivind Standal Moen – Bass, and from start to finish this is a
superb album that should easily get a lot of praise! There’s not a single weak
moment to be found and despite sounding doomy, it is very melodic and it should
make any fan of classic BLACK SABBATH interested. Check out KRYPTOGRAF
at: https://kryptograf.bandcamp.com/album/kryptograf
(Points: 8.8 out of 10)
SOONAGO ‘FATHOM’ (KAPITAN PLATTE/CARGO
RECORDS/CREATIVE ECLIPSE PR/GERMAN IMPORT)
Out of Germany comes the superb
instrumental progressive post-rock/metal band SOONAGO, and Fathom is their 2nd album
so far since their formation in 2014. The 4-piece band brings us instrumental
melodic music of an incredible high level, sometimes with clear similarities to
LONG DISTANCE CALLING and melting it with the instrumental side of RUSHish
guitar melodies. 4 songs are included by the band that is formed around
Christian Blaue/Drums, Simon Kohler/Bass, Lukas Külker/Guitar and Niklas
Teich/Guitar. Here and there it quite heavy and atmospheric, but always very
melodic in the guitar department. SOONAGO is definitely a must-have to check
out if you’re into instrumental post-progrock/progmetal. More info at: https://www.soonago.de/
(Points: 8.6 out of 10)
COLIN
JAMES 'OPEN ROAD' (STONY PLAIN RECORDS/CANADA IMPORT)
The Canadian blues
guitarist/singer/songwriter COLIN JAMES has been around for almost 40 years
now, and his new album Open Road is his 20th record so far. The album is a mix
of originals and covers, in total 13 songs, and besides Colin on guitar and
vocals, the other musicians are drummer GEOFF HICKS, bassist NORM FISHER and
organ player SIMON KENDALL, as well as several guests. Colin is a gifted blues
musician who takes it to another level on each new album, and Open Road is
definitely a superstrong album, and perhaps his finest so far. He has a superb
voice and his guitarplaying is sensational, kinda like a mix between JOE
BONAMASSA, STEVE RAY VAUGHAN and KENNY WAYNE SHEPHARD. Highlights on his new
album are As The Crow Flies (TONY JOE WHITE cover), Can't You See What You're
Doing To Me (ALBERT KING cover), Change It, , and. Do not miss one of the
finest new blues rock albums at the moment! Check out more info at: www.colinjames.com
(Points:
8.7 out of 10)
BRUCE
COCKBURN 'GREATEST HITS (1970-2020)' (STONY PLAIN RECORDS/CANADA IMPORT)
BRUCE COCKBURN is a legendary Canadian
singer/songwriter/guitarist who is quite well-known in Canada and among
musicians worldwide, but outside of Canada not many people are aware of him,
which is a pity, because he delivered some great material in the past. There is
now a CD available that consists of 30 of his greates hits recorded between
1970 and 2020. You can hear clearly hear that Bruce always followed the popular
music genres during the decades, but always gave it his own approach. The music
on this 2-CD set is therefore very diverse, because it covers 5 decades! You
have BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN doing a Reggae meets Westcoastish VENICE mixture in a
song like Rumours Of Glory, while the AORish Tokyo does even have RICK
SPRINGFIELD similarities. However, the older 1970s recorded songs are pure 70s
folk singer/songwriter orientated in a NEIL YOUNG meets BOB DYLAN meets MARK
KNOPFLER direction, while Folk, Blues, Rootsy Rock, World Music and Jazz
influences can also be traced here and there (during the 70s and 90s recorded
songs). All together this 2-CD set gives a clear overview of the variety of
music styles and the incredible way of singing and writing of Bruce throughout
the years. Other highlights are especially the late 70s/80s recorded songs,
such as the midtempo TOM PETTYish Westcoast/Heartland pop/rocker The Coldest
Night Of The Year, the catchy uptempo powerpoprocker Wanna Go Walking, the 80s
New Wave/Canadian Poprock/AOR orientated Lovers In A Dangerous Time, the
relaxing 80s synth driven Pop/New Wave ish If I Had A Rocket Launcher, the
midtempo poprockers Last Night Of The World and Put It In Your Heart, and the
uptempo poprockers People See Through You and If A Tree Falls. If you want to
hear a real Canadian pop/rock/folk/aor hero who sits nicely between other
legendary Canadian musicians, such as ALFIE ZAPPACOSTA, TOM COCHRANE, BRYAN
ADAMS, NEIL YOUNG, GINO VANNELLI then you should definitely check out BRUCE
COCKBURN, and this new 2-CD Greatest Hits set is a must-have therefore! Bruce
has had an enormous influence on the Canadian Poprock/AOR sound of the 1980s,
but was overall the Canadian BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN, yet with his own identity of
course! The CD is available through: www.truenorthrecords.com
and www.brucecockburn.com
(Points:
8.7 out of 10)
JORDI
BAIZAN 'THE LOVE IN YOU' (BERKALIN RECORDS/HEMIFRAN/SWEDEN IMPORT)
The Love in You is the 3rd album
of Texas based singer/songwriter JORDI BAIZAN. Along with a few other musicians
he recorded a nice calmer singer-songwriter folk/pop album that has a certain
1970s kinda feeling in an AL STEWART meets JOHN DENVER meets JAMES BLUNT meets
JIM GROCE kinda direction. It’s very laid-back and sounds very relaxed,
although a bit more uptempo songs wouldn’t hurt I guess. More info at: https://jordibaizan.com/
(Points:
7.7 out of 10)
SURRENDER
HILL 'JUST ANOTHER HONKY TONK QUIET WESTERN TOWN' (BLUE BELLY
RECORDS/HEMIFRAN/SWEDEN IMPORT)
Americana, Singer-songwriter, country,
rootsy rock and all things American pop/rock is the mixture of melodic styles
that can be heard on the lovely new 2-CD set of SURRENDER HILL, a duo formed
around husband/wife ROBIN SALMON (vocals, acoustic guitar, organ, piano,
electric guitar, dobro) and AFTON SALMON (vocals), whom along with a long list
of guest musicians, they have released another bulk of high quality material.
In total 23 songs are included and from start to finish it’s a joy to listen to
these 2 gifted musicians/singer-songwriters whom seem to come up with memorable
songs on each new album. This is their 5th album so far, which
has once again many highlights to offer, especially on CD2 that seems to cover
the best songs, so I can highly recommend it to check out. More info can be
found at: https://surrenderhill.com/
(Points:
8.3 out of 10)
BROCK
DAVIS 'A SONG WAITING TO BE SUNG' (RAINTOWN RECORDS/HEMIFRAN/SWEDEN IMPORT)
A Song Waiting To Be Sung is the new album
of singer/songwriter BROCK DAVIS, who grew up in Vancouver, Canada, but is now
peddling between Nashville and Santa Cruz, California. Not entirely sure if
this is his first album, but I truly hope he gets the attention he deserves,
because his music is a lovely mix of American rock, Country, Americana,
AOR/westcoast and a touch of Southern Rock. The album was recorded and mixed in
Nashville by Grammy award winning engineer Zach Allen (KEB MO, CHRISTONE
‘KINGFISH’ INGRAM) at Ronnie’s Place in Nashville, TN, a historic studio once
owned by ROY ORBISON and, later, RONNIE MILSAP. It all sounds really picture
perfect, and besides Brock on vocals, the other involved musicians are
guitarists PAT MCGRATH and JUSTIN OSTRANDER, bassist DUNCAN MULLINS, drummer
MARCUS FINNIE, SCOTTY SANDERS and RUSS PAHL (pedal steel), MICHAEL HICKS (B3
& Piano) and 6 backing vocalists. The material is superstrong from start to
finish, with a total of 13 songs included, and it definitely rocks from time to
time, although towards the end it gets a bit more mainstream country/americana
ish (with even a DANNY VERA kinda song in the shape of Any Lie). The best songs
however are the rockier ones, such as Can't Get Close Enough To You, which is a
lovely midtempo heartland/rootsy melodic rocker that sounds like a mix between
TOM PETTY, BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN, JACKSON BROWNE, JIMMY DAVIS and such, featuring a
superb catchy soulful AOR/Westcoast chorus and a real classic rocking vibe to
finish it off. I Get It Now is the kinda typical American country/southern
power rock ballad like it is only possible to create in the good old USA. It’s
a wonderful catchy radio-ready tune that should easily find its way on the
American radio stations. All Free takes it a step further, because this
semi-rockballad is almost purely in the classic AOR/Rock direction of MITCH
MALLOY and STAN BUSH, although vocally Brock sounds a bit rawer in a TOM
KIMMEL/TOM COCHRANE kinda direction. Here and there we do find some more calmer
singer-songwriter pieces in the JACKSON BROWNE style and as already mentioned
country and americana influences are upfront towards the end of the CD, but all
together A Song Waiting To Be Sung is a highly recommended album to check out!
More info at: https://brockdavismusic.com/music
(Points:
8.5 out of 10)
JUDY
NAZEMETZ 'MEAT BIRD IN BEIGEVILLE' (INDEPENDENT/HEMIFRAN/SWEDEN IMPORT)
JUDY NAZEMETZ is an American
actress/singer-songwriter who delivers a nice new album titled Meat Bird In
Beigeville. She wrote all of the songs on her own and there is a long list of
guest musicians appearing on this original sounding album that has a sorta old
school 1920s jazzy noir feeling sometimes. The closest comparison I could make
is definitely CARO EMERALD, yet Judy is a bit older I think, but her voice
sounds really good. On the other hand there’s also some DOLLY PARTON country
and a little blues here and there to keep things diverse enough, and Judy does
some spoken word as well. Check it out for yourself at: https://www.judynazemetzmusic.com/
(Points:
7.3 out of 10)
STEPHEN
DOSTER 'OVER THE RED SEA' (FAW RECORDS/HEMIFRAN/SWEDEN IMPORT)
Recorded in Austin, Texas, Over The Red
Sea is the 3rd solo album in 7 years from the American
musician/singer/songwriter STEPHEN DOSTER. He worked with a lot of well-known
musicians and vocalists in the past, such as DR. JOHN and NANCI GRIFFITH, to
whom he pays tribute here. It’s an acoustic driven singer-songwriter album that
also features Chris Searles, drums and percussion, Sam Pankey, upright and
electric bass, Seela, vocals, Rich Brotherton, vocals, cittern, tenor guitar,
Andrea Magee, vocals, bodhran, penny whistle, Jon Grossman, vibraphone,
electric and acoustic piano, organ, JM Stevens, vocals, Brian Standefer, cello,
Sam Jeffrey, flugelhorn, and Doster himself, vocals and guitars. The album is
loaded with songs Stephen wrote at the different locations he stayed throughout
his life, such as the beautiful The Singing Bus Driver which is telling us
about a story he experienced in Ireland. Fans of JIM GROCE, DON MCLEAN and such
will love this album for sure! More info at: https://stephendoster.com/pre-order-over-the-red-sea/
(Points:
8.0 out of 10)
TOBIAS
BACKSTRAND 'HEAL' (PARAPLY RECORDS/HEMIFRAN/SWEDEN IMPORT)
Although the album Heal of Swedish
guitarist/singer/songwriter TOBIAS BACKSTRAND starts quite celtic/folk
orientated with the instrumental Irish Coffee, things get a bit rockier during
the following … Och Regnet Full. Besides Tobias on vocals, guitar and Bouzouki,
other musicians in his band are ANNA-LENA SEYDLITZ (vocals, percussion), BERRA
KARLSSON (pedal steel), MIKAEL PERSSON (guitars, vocals), HASSE LINDSTROM
(drums), MAGDALENA GERBERG (flute) and PELLE JOHANSON (bass, vocals). The music
is a mix of folk, country, some rootsy rock and americana, all sung in the
Swedish language except for a few songs. Done nicely, the Swedish once again
show they can make any type of music and still sound melodic enough to appeal
to everyone, which is also a gift of course. Candle Bright is probably the best
example, because this is a beautiful calmer singer-songwriter piece, but also
the instrumental Gao Shan Liu Shui is a great song that combines elements of
prog, folk and Chinese melodies. Without a doubt, a nice diverse album that
will work best if you enjoy northern European folkmusic. More info can be found
at: https://www.facebook.com/t.backstrandmusic
(Points:
7.3 out of 10)
PETER
ROGAN 'BROKEN DOWN LOVE' (MELT SHOP RECORDS/HEMIFRAN/SWEDEN IMPORT)
Although American
guitarist/singer/songwriter PETER ROGAN has been active in the music business
for over 5 decades, Broken Down Love is only his 2nd solo-CD.
It is the follow-up to his debut album which was released in 2019. The music is
a mix of classic rock, blues, jazz and singer-songwriter, with a focus around
Peter’s raw MICK JAGGERish voice. There are 12 songs on his new album, and the
groovy/funky jazzy touch to his semi-blues rocking material gives it a rather
cool touch that is actually reminding me of STEELY DAN and LITTLE FEAT (and of
course ROLLING STONES of whom he covers the classic It’s Only Rock’n’Roll),
although as mentioned it is vocally sounding like a cross between MICK JAGGER,
TOM PETTY and BOB GELDOF. I think by now you will more or less understand where
this is going, and I have to admit that Peter does a really good job. If it was
still 1978, then Peter would become huge with this great new album, but
nowadays it will be a bit harder, although I do hope that people who appreciate
any of the aforementioned acts will be interested in checking out this strong
original album by the talented PETER ROGAN as well. More info can be found
at: https://peterrogan.com/
(Points:
8.1 out of 10)
MICHAEL
WARD WITH DOGS AND FISHES 'HIGHWAY 61' (INDEPENDENT/HEMIFRAN/SWEDEN IMPORT)
Only 1 song can be found on this CD-single
of MICHAEL WARD WITH DOGS AND FISHES, the rootsy Americana bluesy uptempo
rocker Highway 61, which is a nice song that you can check out at: www.facebook.com/MICHAELWARDWITHDOGSANDFISHES
(Points:
7.0 out of 10)
VARIOUS
ARTISTS 'SATURNO 2000 LA REBAJADA DE LOS SONIDEROS 1965-1981' (ANALOG
AFRICA/GERMAN IMPORT)
‘Saturno 2000 - La Rebajada de Los
Sonideros 1962-1983’ is the 34th compilation album on the ANALOG AFRICA record
label, and once again we dig deep into the interesting underground scene from
the past. It concerns here the country Mexico and the period between 1962 and
1983. Most of the material is instrumental, except for a great song by a band
called GRUPO CELESTE that contains male vocals, although like most latin music
the groove and rhythm is most important. Almost all of the bands are featured
with 1 song only, except for JUNIOR Y SU EQUIPO, whom have 3 songs on offer.
That band offers a fantastic definite 80s retro synth orientated style that
even recalls memories of the current scene in the Middle East (ZENOBIA and
ALTIN GUN), but there is also a lot of traditional instruments used and with
hitting the right groove it almost has a sorta QUENTIN TARANTINO vibe, such as
can be heard during the song of the lovely LOS ATOMOS DE PARAMONGA. In total we
can find 15 songs on this excellent compilation album, and you can clearly hear
that the label did all they can to make everything sound perfect. Although it
concerns a period of over 20 years, the songs go smoothly from one to another
without ever sounding really dated, especially since the synth driven songs are
currently quite popular again musically speaking due to the aforementioned
similar sounding bands that are active. However, 40 years ago somewhere in
Mexico there were also bands active playing a similar kinda music style.
Traditional Latin music with a groove is the name of the game here, and
probably most of you have probably never heard any of these songs, and I would
highly recommend you to check it out a.s.a.p. because these are clearly lost
treasures. More info at: www.analogafrica.bandcamp.com
(Points:
8.7 out of 10)
BORIS 'W' (SACRED BONES
RECORDS/KONKURRENT)
W is already the 27th album
of the experimental Japanese band BORIS. There is a lot of diversity to be
found on this new album, because at first sight it is semi-instrumental
experimental krautrock orientated, so it is quite interesting and calm,
although there are also doom metal influences here and there, while even
shoegaze, gothic, new wave and all kinds of other music can also be heard
throughout the album. Underground dark music the way it needs to sound is
perhaps the best description, and by now BORIS has developed an own style. The
threesome is formed around Takeshi – bass, guitar, vocals, Wata – lead vocals,
guitar, keyboards, accordion, echo, music box and Atsuo – drums, electronics,
percussion, vocals, and if you’re in the mood for something really original and
dark look out for this new album of these Japanese rockers. More info at: https://boris.bandcamp.com/album/w
(Points: 8.0 out of 10)
YEULE 'GLITCH PRINCESS' (BAYONET
RECORDS/KONKURRENT)
YEULE is the musical project of
Singaporean songwriter and producer Nat Ćmiel (born Natasha Yelin Chang that
was started in 2012, and Glitch Princess is the 2nd album so
far. Musically speaking it is a mix of Ambient, Asian post-pop, modern
synthpop, calmer electronic lo-fi dreampop and even some experimental krautrock
influences can be heard. I believe Nat does almost everything on her own,
although it is mainly synths, vocals and a bit of guitar, so it is quite
minimalistic. Nevertheless, it sounds quite nice to listen to, especially since
we sadly don’t hear that much modern Asian music over here in Europe. Check out
YEULE at: https://yeule.bandcamp.com/album/glitch-princess
(Points: 8.0 out of 10)
CLOSURE IN MOSCOW ‘PINK LEMONADE’ (BIRD’S
ROBE RECORDS/PLASTIC HEAD/CREATIVE ECLIPSE PR/GERMAN IMPORT)
Formed in 2006, the Australian band
CLOSURE IN MOSCOW is one of the more original bands in the progressive
rockgenre. They are formed around guitarist-singer Mansur Zennelli, guitarist
Michael Barrett, drummer Salvatore Aidone, bassist Duncan Millar and lead
singer Christopher de Cinque, and so far they have released 2 albums, of which
Pink Lemonade is their 2nd album, originally released back in
2014, it is now re-released by the band’s label BIRD’S ROBE RECORDS. The album
is filled with super original melodic progressive rock that sometimes sound
extremely complex ZAPPAesque (The Fool) and at other times more melodic and
friendly (the titletrack Pink Lemonade and the catchy Seeds Of Gold combine
influences of THE MARS VOLTA, MUSE, QUEEN and RUSH for example). It’s an
interesting band that mix aforementioned influences with an own approach, and
in case you missed their 2nd album the first time around, then
do check it out now, and soon a 3rd album will follow, so keep
your eyes open for this band. More info at: http://www.closureinmoscow.com/
(Points: 8.3 out of 10)
SOUND OF SMOKE ‘TALES’ (TONZONEN
RECORDS/SOULFOOD/CREATIVE ECLIPSE PR/GERMAN IMPORT)
Here we have a very interesting band out
of Freiburg, Germany that was formed in 2016 and is now ready to release their
first full-length debut album Tales. The band’s line up consists of Isabelle Bapté
- vocals, keys, Jens Stöver – guitar, Florian Kiefer – bass and Johannes
Braunstein – drums, and their music is a fascinating mix of psychedelic rock,
blues, classic rock and a bit of funky soul. The resulting album Tales is a
lovely piece of work that consists of 7 strong original songs. Isabelle shines
on vocals, and she also plays some cool sounding keys, while the guitarwork is
straight out of the classic 70s groovy hardrocking book and the rhythm section
surely knows how to keep up with them and improvise here and there (especially
during the almost progrocking closing track Human Salvation). All sounds great
here and I am quite sure that we will hear much more of SOUND OF SMOKE in the
future. Here and there we can find some similarities to BLUES PILLS and WHEN
RIVERS MEET, but on the other hand SOUND OF SMOKE does have an own identity!
This is how original rock should sound like and you can check them out
at: https://www.soundofsmoke.de/ and https://soundofsmoke.bandcamp.com/
(Points: 8.4 out of 10)
DAVID
KRAKAUER 'MAZEL TOV COCKTAIL PARTY' (LABEL BLEU/TABLE POUNDING
RECORDS/VEEVCOM/FRANCE IMPORT)
The past 25 years clarinetplayer DAVID KRAKAUER has been active in the music business with all kinds of projects. Together with MAZAL TOV COCKTAIL PARTY he created a new album that features besides David on clarinet and vocals also features Kathleen Tagg on Keyboards, Cello, Accordion, Electronic/Samples, Sarah MK on Voice and Rap, Martin Shamoonpour on Daf (Iranian frame drum), jew's harp and mouth percussion, Yoshie Fruchter on Electric Guitar, Oud and Mandolin and Jerome Harris on bass and vocals. The resulting album is a cheerful diverse mix of all kinds of styles, although World Music meets SANTANA would be a good description. It’s modern yet also feels very natural and traditional, with a focus on melodies that seem ready for summer radio if you hear a song like Bella’s Calypso. Check out more info at: https://www.mazeltovcocktailparty.com/
(Points:
8.0 out of 10)
EL KHAT ‘ALBAT ALAWAI OP.99’ (GLITTERBEAT
RECORDS/XANGO MUSIC)
EL KHAT is a four-piece band from Tel
Aviv, all with different backgrounds – Iraq, Poland, Morocco, and Yemen, and
the leader is Jewish Yemeni Eyal El Wahab. The music is a mixture of all kinds
of influences, but here and there TAMIKREST comes to mind when listening,
although EL KHAT is more middle eastern based musically speaking, and therefore
World Music with a touch of Desert Rock is a better description. The songs are
sometimes a bit complex and clearly reflect the influences of the various
background of the musicians, but on the other hand also a lot of times during
the album quite catchy actually with that typical middle eastern world music
drum based rhythmic sound with Arabic vocals, and as absolute highlight I need
to point out Naksah Al Ras and Leilat Al Henna. If you’re into Arabic World
Music, then do not miss this strong album at: https://elkhat-music.bandcamp.com/album/saadia-jefferson
(Points: 8.2 out of 10)
HENRIK AF UGGLAS ‘ANOTHER LANGUAGE’
(PARAPLY RECORDS/HEMIFRAN/SWEDEN IMPORT)
HENRIK AF UGGLAS is a Swedish
singer/songwriter/multi-instrumentalist who recorded the album Another Language
with drummer CHRISTER JANSSON and guitarist PEDER AF UGGLAS on a couple of
songs, but Henrik did a lot on his own. The mini-CD consist of 7 songs that
have mostly a rather nice sorta 70s psychedelic calmer singer/songwriter/light
prog touch, especially during When I Go and Water. Henrik is a passionate
musician with clearly an old school vibe to his sound, reminding me a bit of
JACCO GARDNER here and there. Dreampop influences can also be traced here and
there (Each Other) and during Screaming Louder things get rockier in the
psychedelic rock style, so the album has enough to explore despite the short
playing length. More info can be found at: https://hemifran.com/artist/Henrik%20Af%20Ugglas/
(Points: 7.7 out of 10)
JOHNNY BEAUFORD ‘JUST A LITTLE PICK ME UP’
(INDEPENDENT/HEMIFRAN/SWEDEN IMPORT)
Just A Little Pick Me Up is the new album of
Texas based singer/songwriter JOHNNY BEAUFORD, who was part of several bands in
the past, but now releases a solo album, yet with the help of several guest
musicians. There are 10 songs included and I must admit it all sounds pretty
good. Opener Killer Bus Driver is a very strong modern sounding uptempo
Americana meets Poprock orientated piece that reminds me a bit of BEAR’S DEN
and THE WAR ON DRUGS. It gets a bit more TOM PETTY/JOHN COUGARish during the
catchy following rockers Cool Breeze and Golden Lungs (which even has a T-REX
guitar riff), so with a sorta Heartland rock touch. The mixture of heartland,
americana and rootsy rock can be heard on the other 7 songs as well, and
there’s never a dull moment, because Johnny sings very well and his songs are
all quite catchy. Other highlights are the superb melodic Americana rocker
Doomsday Café and the funky Messin’ Around, while during the calmer songs I
even felt a memory of JOE JACKSON and ELVIS COSTELLO in a song like The Fog
Song and pure early 80s Powerpop is hearable while listening to the catchy
uptempo CST, so if you’re a fan of any of the aforementioned acts then you will
love Johnny’s music for sure. More info at: https://johnnybeauford.bandcamp.com/album/just-a-little-pick-me-up
(Points: 8.3 out of 10)
LES FRADKIN ‘THE CROSS IN THE SKY’ (RRO
ENTERTAINMENT/HEMIFRAN/SWEDEN IMPORT)
LES FRADKIN is a
Producer/Multi-Instrumentalist, Singer/Songwriter from Colorado, USA and The
Cross In The Sky is his new album. He did everything on his own on the CD,
which starts with the catchy 60s inspired poprocker Under The Covers that
immediately shows that he is making lightweight music in the style of ELECTRIC
LIGHT ORCHESTRA and ROY ORBISON. Although it doesn’t have the big JEFF LYNNE
orchestral alike production, LES FRADKIN is definitely a great musician you
need to check out if you’re a fan of this catchy old school bombastic pop/rock
sound. More info at: https://lesfradkin1.bandcamp.com/
(Points: 7.8 out of 10)
GUERILLA TOSS ‘FAMOUSLY ALIVE’ (SUB
POP/KONKURRENT)
The New York based band GUERILLA TOSS was
formed back in 2012 in Boston, and so far they have released 4 albums. Famously
Alive is their 5th album and this new record contains 10 songs
in total. The band is formed around Kassie Carlson – vocals/violin, Peter
Negroponte – drums, Arian Shafiee – guitar, Sam Lisabeth – keyboards and
Stephen Cooper – bass, and their sound is experimental modern electronic
alternative new wave/poprock with strong female vocals and instrumentally
speaking it is quite extraordinary (noise, punk and electropop influences are
melted here), but still songs like Famously Alive, Live Exponential and a few
others reveal clearly the band’s love for catchy 80s melodies. There are clear
similarities to DALBELLO and SIOUX AND THE BANSHEES, yet with an updated
approach overall. Nice record for sure and for more info please go to: https://www.guerillatoss.com/
(Points: 7.9 out of 10)
WIDOWSPEAK ‘THE JACKET’ (SUB
POP/KONKURRENT)
Out of New York comes the
Indiepop/rock/dreampop duo WIDOWSPEAK. They are formed around Molly Hamilton
(vocals) and Robert Earl Thomas (guitar), and The Jacket is already their 7th album
so far. The music is calmer typical modern indiepop/rock with a mostly
slowtempo sound built around Molly’s dreamy vocals. It sounds quite good
actually, and some of the songs could easily turn into radio hits, such as the
beautiful True Blue, which is NOT a MADONNA cover! There’s some guitarpop and
even Americana influences (The Drive) as well, and if you like the indie
dreampop shoegaze sound of countless bands from the past 30 years (WILD
NOTHING, REAL ESTATE, BEACH FOSSILS, SLOWDIVE, BEACH HOUSE, etc.), then you
obviously need to check out WIDOWSPEAK a.s.a.p. Recommended to check out
at: https://widowspeak.bandcamp.com/
(Points: 8.0 out of 10)
IBIBIO SOUND MACHINE ‘ELECTRICITY’ (MERGE
RECORDS/KONKURRENT)
Out of London comes the exciting band
IBIBIO SOUND MACHINE that is formed around vocalist Eno Williams, guitarist
Alfred Kari Bannerman, percussionist Afla Sackey, drummer Joseph Amoako,
bassist Philip PK Ambrose, trombonist/keyboardist Tony Hayden,
trumpeter/keyboardist Scott Baylis and saxophonist/keyboardist Max Grunhard.
Electricity is their 4th album so far, and I have to say it has
a perfect modern yet retro 80s electronic vibe that combines old school disco,
afrobeat, pop and synthwave in a catchy unique atmosphere. 12 songs are
included and the songs are mostly built around Eno’s lovely African way of
singing, groovy rhythmic beats and a lot of synths. A song like the titletrack
Electricity, All That I Want or Casio (Yak Nda Nda), the early 90s disco based
Wanna See Your Face Again could easily become big radio summerhits! The band
has an own identity and I can therefore definitely recommend their new album
for you to check out when it’s available in late March. More info at: https://ibibiosoundmachine.com/about/
(Points: 8.4 out of 10)
BARRIE ‘BARBARA’ (WINSPEAR
RECORDS/KONKURRENT)
Barbara is the 2nd album
of BARRIE LINDSAY, a multi-instrumentalist/singer/songwriter from Ipswich,
Massachusetts, USA who self-produced her new album. Her music is a mix of
lo-fi, dreampop and indiewave, sounding calm, laid-back and melodic, while she
is at her best during the uptempo pieces such as the 80s influenced
synthpop/wave pieces such as Frankie and Concrete. She is a gifted
singer/songwriter and she is also able to do everything on her own, playing
guitar, synthesizer, drums and such, although on a few songs she is assisted by
a few guest drummers. All together a very nice relaxing album, and for more
info on this talented musician please go to: https://winspear.biz/barrie
(Points: 8.0 out of 10)
CAMP COPE ‘RUNNING WITH THE HURRICANE’
(RUN FOR COVER RECORDS/KONKURRENT)
CAMP COPE comes out of Melbourne,
Australia, and they were founded back in 2015 by singer, songwriter and
guitarist Georgia "Georgia Maq" McDonald, bassist Kelly-Dawn
Hellmrich, and drummer Sarah "Thomo" Thompson. Running With The
Hurricane is their 3rd album, which is a strong Alternative
Poprock/Wave album that also features guest singer COURTNEY BARNETT, who of
course is quite well-known in especially home country Australia. CAMP COPE
could easily become big as well, because their melodic alternative rock has got
that raw 90s indie edge that is quite popular nowadays. Highlights on their new
album are the catchy uptempo rocker Running With The Hurricane, the midtempo
Blue, and the uptempo Jealous. More info at: https://campcope.bandcamp.com/album/running-with-the-hurricane-2
(Points: 8.2 out of 10)
MARTIN ARCHER TRIO ‘SEE YOU SOON OR SEE
YOU SOMETIME’ (DISCUS MUSIC/UK IMPORT)
Recorded at Martin’s own studio in
Sheffield on the 26th of August 2021, saxophone player/producer
and label owner MARTIN ARCHER invited MICHAEL BARDON (double bass/cello) and
WALT SHAW (drums/percussion) to join him as a trio to record 6 improvised long
complex freestyle jazz songs that are a mix of Martin’s fantastic sax skills
and the unusual complicated drum/bass rhythm section of the other 2 musicians.
The resulting album is a joy to listen to, because every time you discover
something new. Opener Rotten Star is one of the more accessible songs on the
CD, because especially the 3 longest songs are extremely complex. One of the
absolute highlights for me personally is the melodic blues inspired Walt Blues
that has Martin shining on the sax. The open-minded jazz fan will definitely
like this album! More info at: www.discus-music.co.uk
(Points: 8.1 out of 10)
TONY OXLEY ‘UNRELEASED 1974-2016’ (DISCUS
MUSIC/UK IMPORT)
Recorded in 1974 and in 2016, drummer TONY
OXLEY has been an important figure in European improvised music, and now the
recordings he did with several other musicians, they are now released on CD for
the very first time. It’s not an easy album, because it is extremely complex,
yet also very interesting, because the recordings could appeal to fans of both
jazz and prog/kraut, especially due to the use of saxes and electronics. It’s a
nice collection of some of the most innovative and improvised music ever
recorded. More info can be found at: www.discus-music.co.uk
(Points: 8.0 out of 10)
ECLECTIC MAYBE BAND ‘AGAIN ALORS?’ (DISCUS
MUSIC/UK IMPORT)
I definitely remember UNIVERS ZERO, which was
a progrockband if I recall correctly. One of their members was GUY SEGERS, who
was the band’s bassist, and now Guy is part of a band/project called ECLECTIC
MAYBE BAND. Again Alors? Is the 3rd album under this moniker, which besides Guy
on bass, virtual keys, drums and samples also welcomes a lot of other
musicians, such as Carla Diratz: vocals, whistle, Cathryn Robson: vocals,
Pierre Bernard, Roland Binet: flute, Stephan Köhr: bassoon, contrabassoon,
Martin Archer: clarinet, Dirk Descheemaeker: clarinet, bass clarinet, Dave
Newhouse: saxophones, bass clarinet, Joe Higham: clarinet, keyboards, Jean
Pierre Soarez: trumpet, Cécile Broché, Ariane Plumerel: violin, Sigrid
Vandenbogaerde: cello, Catherine Smet: piano, Andy Kirk: keyboards, Kazuyuki
Kishino: ghost machine, Michel Delville: e-guitar, Ángel Ontalva, Pascal
Vaucel: guitar, Fabrice Owerzarzak and Dirk Wachtelaer: drums. The included
music is challenging, because it combines progrock and jazz in a rather smooth
style that sometimes is very melodic and at other times complex in a way we are
used to when listening to a CD of DISCUS MUSIC. There’s a lot of great stuff on
this CD, such as opener Disquet that almost feels like a classic Krautrock
piece a la CAN, yet with that jazzy undertone. 8 songs are delivered here by
lots of different line-ups, so of course musically speaking it is even more
diverse than the aforementioned kraut, prog and jazz descriptions. For example
Further On The Ladder is a fantastic soulful progressive rock piece that
features Carla’s interesting vocals that combined with Paul’s guitar and the
organ of Guy makes it one of the finest songs on offer here. It rocks in an
almost doom direction, yet the vocals make it sound just a little but more
accessible. This CD is one of the best and most diverse albums released on the
DISCUS MUSIC label lately, and I can recommend it therefore to all prog, jazz,
krautrock fans out there. Check out more info at: www.discus-music.co.uk
(Points: 8.4 out of 10)
RON CAINES/MARTIN ARCHER AXIS ‘PORT OF
SAINTS’ (DISCUS MUSIC/UK IMPORT)
With the release of the CD Port Of Saints,
MARTIN ARCHER (sax, organ, Rhodes, electronic) delivers his 3rd album
with RON CAINES (sax, kalimba, percussion), although this time other musicians
are involved to help out Martin and Ron on drums, bass, guitar, etc. The
resulting album is a strong calmer yet innovative freestyle jazz album that
also has an important part for the rhythm section thanks to drummer JOHNNY HUNTER
and bassist GUS GARSIDE, yet it’s both Ron and Martin showing 2 gifted sax
players whom belt out some lovely melodies here and there during the 6 included
songs. More info can be found at: www.discus-music.co.uk
(Points: 8.1 out of 10)
RIZON ‘PRIME TIME’ (PURE STEEL
RECORDS/GERMAN IMPORT)
Prime Time is the 5th album
of the Swiss band RIZON. They were formed about 20 years ago around Matthias
Götz – vocals, acoustic guitars, Anastasia Panagiotou – vocals, Christian Götz
– guitars, Reto Hähnel – guitars, Marco Küderli – keyboards, Maik Kindermann –
bass and Tom Lindegger – drums. RIZON offers high quality (symphonic) Melodic
Metal in the style of AVANTASIA, PRETTY MAIDS, KAMELOT, ALLEN/LANDE, NOCTURNAL
RITES etc. and their new album Prime Time was produced by the legendary JACOB
HANSEN. The sound is therefore massive, and thankfully the performance is also
fantastic, because the band is able to write some very catchy uptempo melodic
metal tunes that sound just a bit better than the rest due to the fact that
both Matthias and Anastasia have a strong clean melodic voice. 12 songs can be
found, and in total the playing time is reaching the 1 hour mark, so enough to
enjoy here, and as highlights I would like to point out the uptempo Melodic
Metal anthems Truth Or Consequences, the superb catchy Rebel Heart (with it’s
AORish sing-a-long chorus a definite winner), Back To The Game, Heaven’s Gate
and Save My Soul. Quite a surprisingly strong release that will wet the
appetite for fans of catchy Melodic Metal in the style of PRETTY MAIDS,
ALLEN/LANDE, SEVENTH AVENUE, etc. I do have to say that the band is really at
their best during the uptempo songs when there is a real theatrical duet
between the 2 singers, because the calmer songs are slightly weaker.
Nevertheless, a great album and for more info go to: http://www.rizon.ch/
(Points: 8.5 out of 10)
BLACKSLASH ‘NO STEEL NO FUTURE’ (IRON
SHIELD RECORDS/PURE STEEL RECORDS/GERMAN IMPORT)
No Steel No Future is the 4th album
of the German Metal band BLACKSLASH, and once again they deliver high class
pure 80s influenced traditional Melodic Metal in the style of IRON MAIDEN,
NOCTURNAL RITES and THIN LIZZY. The band was formed in 2007, and their line up
consists of vocalist CLEMENS HAAS, guitarists CHRISTIAN HAAS and DANIEL
HOLDERLE, bassist LAEX TROJAN and drummer DAVID HOFMEIER. Clemens has a
fantastic voice, sounding like a cross between MICHAEL BORMANN (ex-JADED HEART/BONFIRE)
and JONNY LINDQVIST (NOCTURNAL RITES), and the mostly uptempo songs are super
melodic with catchy hooks, memorable choruses and soaring twin-guitarwork. 10
songs are included in total, and the highlights are Queen Of The Night,
Midnight Fire, The Power, Under The Spell (superb!) and Demons Of Life. We have
seen an invasion of new retro 80s sounding Melodic Metal/Heavy Rockbands the
past 10 years (especially in Sweden), and BLACKSLASH might be one of the better
ones. This new album is definitely a must-have for any fan of the genre,
especially if you like bands such as STRIKER, WHITE WIZZARD, CAULDRON,
STORMZONE, ENFORCER, SKULL FIST, BULLET, DEAD LORD, NIGHT, WYTCH HAZEL, etc.
etc.! More info at: www.blackslash-band.de
(Points: 8.6 out of 10)
POWERGAME ‘SLAYING GODS’ (IRON SHIELD
RECORDS/PURE STEEL RECORDS/GERMAN IMPORT)
Slaying Gods is the 3rd album
of the German Heavy Metal band POWERGAME. They play true authentic Teutonic
Heavy Metal in the style of NOISEHUNTER, RAGE, GRAVE DIGGER, RUNNING WILD,
WIZARD etc. Most of the time it’s fast twin-guitar driven Melodic Power Metal
that is done very well and spread over 8 songs on this new album. The lead
vocals of guitarist Matthias Weiner are sadly not really strong, but thankfully
the sound and songs make that up in delivering True Metal from start to finish!
Check them out for yourself if you’re starting to become interested at: www.facebook.com/powergame.heavymetal
(Points: 7.3 out of 10)
LESSON
IN VIOLENCE ‘THRASHFALL OF MANKIND’ (IRON SHIELD
RECORDS/PURE STEEL RECORDS/GERMAN IMPORT)
LESSON IN VIOLENCE is a German band that
goes back musically speaking to the late 80s Bay Area Thrash Metal sound of
bands like DARK ANGEL, DEATH ANGEL, TESTAMENT, XENTRIX, MEGADETH, EXODUS (of
course, because that’s where they got their bandname from!), etc. etc. Founded
in 2019, they now release their debut album Thrashfall Of Mankind on PURE STEEL
RECORDS. The sound is very professional and the raw underground Thrash Metal
sound is well presented, with as one of the highlights the superb Thrash Metal
Mankind, a song that will please any fan of the classic sound of bands like
TESTAMENT, FORBIDDEN, DEATH ANGEL, EXODUS and very early METALLICA, although
VENOM and SLAYER influences can also be traced here, and in particular during
this song I heard a lovely melodic soaring guitarsolo besides the catchy
gang-vocal driven chorus. Thrash Metal fans of the real classic 80s movement
will love this first album of LESSON IN VIOLENCE. Check them out at: https://lessoninviolence.com/
(Points: 8.2 out of 10)
SPACE PARASITES ‘THE SPELLBOUND WITCH’
(IRON SHIELD RECORDS/PURE STEEL RECORDS/GERMAN IMPORT)
SPACE PARASITES is a German band that was
founded in 2017. They released their debut album in 2019, but due to covid they
were not able to perform live, so eventually they recorded a new album The
Spellbound Witch, which also marked their debut on PURE STEEL RECORDS.
Musically speaking they play pure Thrash Metal, and vocally they remind me of
ENFORCER, yet SPACE PARASITES is slightly more going into the Thrash Metal
direction of TESTAMENT, FORBIDDEN, DEATH ANGEL, EXODUS and such. They are not
that far removed from LESSON IN VIOLENCE, which is another German Thrash Metal
band with a new release on IRON SHIELD RECORDS, although SPACE PARASITES’ album
has a bigger sound/production. The vocals of female singer NADINE WOELK are as
mentioned reminding me a bit of the ENFORCER singer, although somehow also DAVE
MUSTAINE and even WENDY O. WILLIAMS come to mind, and at first I really was
unaware that the band featured a female singer. I also have to admit that the
guitarwork of guitarists SEBASTIAN DASCHKE and MATTI SCHNEIDER sounds
sensational, especially during the album’s highlight Cross The Line, which is a
rather catchy tune! Thrash Metal meets a bit of Melodic Metal is the best
description for SPACE PARASITES, and you can check them out at: www.spaceparasites.de
(Points: 8.2 out of 10)
Out of
Barcelona, Spain comes the modern sounding electro-post-punk/new wave band A
PERMANENT SHADOW. Modern as in a way it is nowadays quite popular again to play
the style of the classic early 1980s. The band is formed around CP Fletcher on
vocals, Albert Catala on piano, keys and synths, Valenti Nieto on guitars, bass
and synths, and Peter C. Crickett on drums, and they are doing things at a very
high level. If they would come out of the UK, then A PERMANENT SHADOW would be
the latest new sensation! Songs like Speedtrain, Beautiful People (DEPECHE
MODEish) and Play Dead are really great uptempo pieces that have a clear DAVID
BOWIE influence, although the songs are as catchy and modern as for example SEA
GIRLS, INHALER or THE KILLERS. The synths/keys, catchy hooks, memorable
choruses and soaring guitars make this band a true winner for anyone into
classic 80s new wave or modern post-punk/wave, yet it does have a modern
approach as well. More info at: https://www.facebook.com/apermanentshadow
(Points:
8.2 out of 10)
ASKARA
'LIGHTS OF NIGHT' (FASTBALL MUSIC/GERMAN IMPORT)
ASKARA
is a Swiss Melodic Metal band that combines death metal growling/cookie-monster
vocals with angelic female clean vocals in a way we have heard it by countless
bands in the past, so there’s nothing really new going on here. The music
itself is nice melodic dark metal in the AFTER FOREVER/EPICA style, so with a
bombastic and proggy touch here and there. 11 songs are included in total, and
I must admit that the ones with singer MIRIL SCHMIDT upfront are the best
moments, and she also plays the piano very well. Lights Of Night is their 2nd album
so far, and they do have potential, although I hope they can deliver more
strong material like their songs By God, the superb beautiful Hibernation and
To Ailsa Rock, and put the male growling of bassist ELIA SCHMIDT a bit more to
the back. Fans of EPICA and that direction of Metal will like this for sure.
More info at: www.askara.com
(Points:
7.8 out of 10)
SILVER
DUST 'LULLABIES' (ESCUDERO RECORDS/FASTBALL MUSIC/GERMAN IMPORT)
The
Swiss band SILVER DUST was formed in 2013 and they have meanwhile built up a
reputation with 3 previous album releases and even a performance at the
Montreux Jazz Festival. Their 4th album is titled Lullabies and
features the likes of Lord Campbell – lead vocals, guitar, Kurghan – bass,
backing vocals, Neiros – guitar, backing vocals and Magma – drums as
bandmembers. Their music is a mix of theatrical melodic gothic metal and
aggressive dark metal parts, including a few growls here and there. A song like
I’ll Risk It has the harder Metal edge, while the beautiful melodic There’s A
Place Where I Can Go shows the band’s love for theatrical melodic rock.
In-between there are all kinds of songs that contain the aforementioned gothic
and metal parts, sometimes going for the heavier direction, although they never
lose their melodies. HIM, THE 69 EYES and such bands come to mind, but as
mentioned the growls give them a much heavier touch as well, and how about the
almost progmetal orientated Echoes Of History. This is one of those bands that
might go down well during festivals, because their songs are a joyful mix of
heavy and theatrical, balancing right between hardrock, gothic and modern
metal. Check them out for yourself at: https://silver-dust.net/ and https://silver-dust.bandcamp.com/releases
(Points:
8.0 out of 10)
SUNRUNNER
'SACRED ARTS OF NAVIGATION' (FASTBALL MUSIC/GERMAN IMPORT)
The
American band SUNRUNNER has been around for a while now, and Sacred Arts Of
Navigation is their 5th album so far. They sound quite diverse,
taking the best of 80s melodic metal, melodic hardrock and a bit of modern day
prog and power metal. They are doing their job quite well, and the 11 songs on
their new album pass by very quickly. The faster uptempo melodic power metal
Obstacle Illusion is quite a catchy tune, while the calmer proggy ballad Last
Night In Thulum shows a completely different band. In-between the band delivers
a bit of everything, even reminding of ICED EARTH meets PRETTY MAIDS here and
there, such as during No Mess, No Magic, while also SEVENTH AVENUE comes to
mind quite a few times, and the slower doomy songs like Faraway Worlds sound
like a mix between EVERGREY, CANDLEMASS and MANOWAR. The production is not of
the same label as aforementioned bands, and sometimes the band struggles a bit,
but overall it ain’t bad either. Check them out at: www.sunrunnermusic.com and https://sunrunnermusic.bandcamp.com/
(Points:
7.7 out of 10)
THE
OPHELIAS 'BARE BODKIN' (INDEPENDENT PROJECT RECORDS/USA IMPORT)
THE
OPHELIAS are a psychedelic rock band from San Francisco led by singer-songwriter,
multi-instrumentalist LESLIE MEDFORD, and they were mainly active during the
1980s when they released several albums, and despite they broke up in 1989, a
‘new’ CD has now been released titled Bare Bodkin. The album contains the best
old and some unreleased material, and this is definitely one of the most
diverse albums I have heard lately, because the first 2 songs (Anywhere You
Look and the Golden Calf Played Rock n Roll) are late 60s psychedelic rock
orientated with a sorta late 60s PINK FLOYD meets 70s DAVID BOWIE direction in
a slightly 80s Alternative Rock jacket, while following Sleepy Hamlet has an
80s Gothic/Post-Punk touch thanks to the use of keys. The short Thanks For This
Shade is an experimental jazzy piece and FRANK ZAPPAesque prog meets TALKING
HEADS weirdness is hearable during the midtempo rocker Holy Glow that also has
some 80s DAVID BOWIE influences. Back to 60s melodic psychedelic uptempo
pop/rock with the catchy Strange New Glasses that almost feels like THE KINKS
and late 60s THE BEATLES, and it is one of the more accessible songs I think,
while some of the theatrical songs also have a QUEEN comparison, yet without
the bombastic rock approach, such as can be heard during Pretty Green ice-Box
Eyes that even reminds a bit of JACK BLACK’s TENACIOUS D. Anyway, the mixture
of all these aforementioned acts and a lot more is traceable in each and every
of the 15 included songs on this CD, yet THE OPHELIAS made it their own for
sure and during the 1980s they must have been one of the most original non-80s
sounding bands on the planet, and despite they are hardly known nowadays, this
new ‘compilation’ CD shows the incredible strength and diversity of this band,
so make sure to check it out once you get the chance. More info on the band can
be found at: https://theopheliasofficial.bandcamp.com/
(Points:
8.2 out of 10)
ALISON
CLANCY 'MUTANT GIFTS' (INDEPENDENT PROJECT RECORDS/USA IMPORT)
Only a
couple of songs are included on the CD-single of New York based
musician/performer ALISON CLANCY, but they are already showing that she is a
gifted and very talented person who delivers high class original music that
balances somewhere between TORI AMOS, MARISSA NADLER and KATE BUSH. It’s calm,
dark and poetry, yet with an electronic and modern touch, while her vocals are
angelic sounding. I can’t wait for a full-length album, but meanwhile check out
her music at: https://www.alisonclancy.com/
(Points:
8.0 out of 10)
SHIVA
BURLESQUE 'MERCURY BLUES (+ SKULLDUGGERY)' (INDEPENDENT PROJECT RECORDS/USA
IMPORT)
Just
like every other release on INDEPENDENT PROJECT RECORDS, also this CD comes in
a beautiful original packaging (letterpress cover) that makes the label’s
releases standout between the rest for sure. The included music is usually also
quite original and mostly alternative pop/rock based, such as also can be heard
on the double CD of this SHIVA BURLESQUE. They were a band from California
formed around vocalist Jeff Clark and guitarist Grant Lee Phillips, while other
musicians joined them during the 2 albums they released in the late 80s. The 2nd album
Mercury Blues from 1990 has now been remastered and released as part of this CD
release, which also contains a bulk of unreleased demos from the band. It all
starts quite calm with the Indie pop/rock of Mercury Blues, but things get
rocking during the strong midtempo Alternative Blues Rocker Do The Pony. The
psychedelic dark folky singer-songwriter piece Cherry Orchard follows in a
sorta JOHN LENNON meets LEONARD COHEN direction, while the uptempo rocker Sick
Friend is a truly great mixture of pre-90s US Alternative Rock meets 80s UK
Post-Punkrock, and here the band may be compared to bands like BAUHAUS, JOY
DIVISION, ECHO AND THE BUNNYMEN… There is a lot going on the 2 CDs, and
especially during the rockier songs SHIVA BURLEQUE sounds really sensational,
which is thanks to both the strong vocalwork and the tight instrumental
backing. Other highlights are the midtempo Gothic/Wave/Post-Punk/Folk-rock
mixture Peace (a song that could have easily been a huge hitsingle in the 1980s
when bands like THE CHURCH, BIG COUNTRY, THE SMITHS and such had similar
sounding tunes), the 80s gothic/wave rocking midtempo Chrome Halo and the uptempo
post-punkrocker Stoves! However the unique mix of such rockers along with
calmer dark folk orientated pieces a la LEONARD COHEN and NICK CAVE, this gave
the band an unique sound and in case you never heard of them before, then this
is a great opportunity to check out the 2 CDs that are now released on their
lovely label INDEPENDENT PROJECT RECORDS. More info can be found at: https://www.independentprojectrecords.com/
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