HOT
NEW REVIEWS
UPDATED March 4, 2023
DUPLEX ‘MAELSTROM’ (ARC MUSIC/DISQUES
DOM/VEEVCOM/FRANCE IMPORT)
Maelstrom is the new album of DUPLEX, a Belgian band
formed around DAMIEN CHIERCHI (violin, composer, arranger), DIDIER LALOY
(diatonic accordion), QUENTIN NGUYEN (keys) and OLIVER COX (drums). Musically
speaking we are heading into an interesting and quite sensational direction of
instrumental music that combines elements of World Music, Jazz and Progressive
Rock into an exciting original own style that sounds very fresh and modern. 14
songs are included, and melodies are all over the place, while almost each
continent is presented somehow somewhere throughout the CD, and especially the
use of the violin and accordion in combination with keys and a drummer who has
the jazz/progrock kinda touch, it all sounds very strong and impressive from
start to finish. Songs like Magic House, Broken Leaf, Vikhren and the superb
O’Mar will appeal to fans of every of the aforementioned genres. It is one of
the finest combinations of modern music, world music, jazz and prog I have
heard in a long time. Highly recommended and an act that would be at home at
North Sea Jazz festival for sure. More info at: www.duplexmusic.be
(Points: 8.5 out of 10)
AURELIA NARDINI ‘NENIA IRA’ (VLAD
PRODUCTIONS/ABSILONE/BELIEVE/VEEVCOM/FRANCE IMPORT)
AURELIA NARDINI is a very talented French
singer/songwriter who delivers a fantastic debut album titled Nenia Ira. She is
based in Marseille, and I believe she does everything on her own here with the
help of electronic (computer) effects, a shrutibox (an Indian accordion) and
the toun-toun Pyrenean string drum, a traditional instrument. While listening to
the album you would imagine a full band, but it’s just Aurelia and a couple of
instruments she uses, although I did saw some guest musicians on keys,
percussion, synths and violin here and there. She is however a gifted singer,
because her voice is absolutely beautiful and very pleasant to listen to, and
her songs are quite accessible actually, so a song or two could easily become
huge pop hits. The songs are sung in French, which gives it an even more
authentic and original touch. There’s some FLORENCE AND THE MACHINE and SINEAD
O’CONNOR (early days) similarities, yet Aurelia has an own identity, and her
music is a sorta World Music meets Pop melodies kinda mixture, and it works
really well during the 8 fantastic bombastic songs on this first album. More info
can be found at: www.neniaira.fr
(Points: 8.5 out of 10)
WE STOOD LIKE KINGS ‘AWAY’ (KAPITAN PLATTE/CARGO
RECORDS/CREATIVE ECLIPSE PR/GERMAN IMPORT)
Out of Brussels, Belgium comes the piano-based
instrumental psot-progrockband WE STOOD LIKE KINGS. They have already released
4 albums, and Away is described as a mix of PINK FLOYD, CHOPIN and MOGWAI. This
seems very interesting and thankfully JUDITH HOORENS (piano, synth), DIEGO DI
VITO (guitar), COLIN DELLOYE (bass) and LUCAS VANDERPUTTEN (drums) indeed
deliver a high quality album here. Their instrumental music is an interesting
combination of classical music, cinematic themes and progressive/post-rock, and
from start to finish it’s an enjoyable journey through the eyes of WE STOOD
LIKE KINGS. Sometimes rocking, at other times sounding calm and collected, then
suddenly bombastic, so it’s a diverse energetic instrumental album that live
will probably take you into a trance. Definitely a must-have for fans of exciting
modern day instrumental music played by real musicians and not programmed on a
computer! More info at: www.westoodlikekings.com
(Points: 8.3 out of 10)
GAYE SU AKYOL ‘ANADOLU EIDERI’ (GLITTERBEAT
RECORDS/XANGO MUSIC)
Out of Istanbul, Turkey comes GAYE SU AKYOL, who delivers her 4th album
with this Anadolu Ejderi (Anatolian Dragon), an album with beautiful artwork by
the way! Her music is an interesting mix of western pop and Turkish Psychedelic
Anatolian Pop/Rock, while this new album reveals many more influences (soul,
Middle Eastern, African, disco, rock) due to the fact that she had to sit at
home for a long time during the corona pandemic. This enabled her to come up
with a very diverse strong album in the shape of Anadolu Ejderi. Of course some
similarities to ALTIN GUN or TAMIKREST are quite obvious, but thanks to Gaye’s
unique way of singing and mixture of other music cultures, this is an album
with an own identity. A song like the calmer soulful Bu Izdırabın Panzehiri for
example has got a really great smooth vibe that could make her a big superstar
in the western world, while the modern Yaram Derin Derin Kanar (even a bit
DALBELLO) and heavy desert blues rocker Sen Benim Mağaramsın (fantastic song!)
show a complete different side. In Turkey she is already a well-known singer,
but after listening to her new album it should be possible for her to gain a
breakthrough everywhere. Check out more info on this talented Turkish singer
at: https://gayesuakyol.bandcamp.com/album/anadolu-ejderi
(Points: 8.5 out of 10)
TAU & THE DRONES OF PRAISE ‘MISNEACH’
(GLITTERBEAT RECORDS/XANGO MUSIC)
Although settled in Berlin, Germany, TAU AND THE DRONES OF PRAISE is
based around the Irishman SEAN MULROONEY who is also using a lot of Irish
elements in his music. The title of the 3rd album is coming from the Old Irish
“meisnech” which means courage or spirit. The included music is an interesting
groovy mix of world music, celtic, kraut and SLOWER britpop/post-punk, and it
is really an unique mixture of styles here with quite strong typical Irish
vocals and a catchy vibe, such as can be heard right from the start with the
lovely midtempo opener It Is Right To Give Drones & Praise that combines
elements and melodies of THE SMITHS and R.E.M. with a certain World Music
touch, while the chorus even reveals a touch of TEARS FOR FEARS meets TALKING
HEADS! I think you’ll get the picture where this is going to, although on the
other hand the 8 songs are very diverse and original sounding, and eventually
the Irish/Celtic seem to go upfront during the album, especially during the
catchy folky Ceol On Chre (which is a definite festival hit guarantee!). I am
somewhat surprised I haven’t seen other magazines raving about this CD, because
TAU AND THE DRONES OF PRAISE is definitely a band you don’t want to miss, and
the bring something original and new while still capturing an Irish identity.
Check them out at: https://tauandthedronesofpraise.bandcamp.com/album/misneach
(Points: 8.1 out of 10)
LIRAZ ‘ROYA’ (GLITTERBEAT RECORDS/XANGO MUSIC)
As soon as opener and titletrack Roya of Liraz' 3rd
album Roya starts, you know you're into something really good, and that is what
this basically is all about... the new sensational album of LIRAZ. LIRAZ CHARHI
was born in Ramla, Israel, to an Iranian Jewish family. She is an actress,
singer and dancer who is very popular in the Arabic world, where she is also
fighting for the rights and freedom for all (especially Iranian) woman. Her new
album Roya was recorded secretly with musicians from Israel and Iran in
Istanbul, Turkey, and released as an album through World Music label
GLITTERBEAT RECORDS. I can inform you that if there's one World Music album you
need to check out in 2022 it's this new LIRAZ album, because it is one of the finest
album to come out of the Arabic world in the past 10 years. If you're familiar
with her earlier work and ALTIN GUN, you will more or less understand what this
album sounds like, because it is a perfect mixture of traditional Arabic music,
Psychedelic Rock of the 1970s with a modern synth/keyboard pop approach,
although there are a lot of clear 80s references in a way you would think she's
the Arabic version of 80s MADONNA. The melodies of each and every song are
stunning and memorable, and it's impossible to mention just one song, because
they are all very sensational, such as the aforementioned Roya, Azizam, Doone
Doone, and Bishtar Behand. LIRAZ sings and writes most of the songs, while she
is helped by a list of musicians (such as URI BARAUNER KINROT on Baglama, Bass,
Keyboards, Guitar, DANIEL EVER HADANI on keyboards and piano, LIA SHERMAN on
violin, drummer ROY CHEN, guitarist GILAD LEVIN and several anonymous Iranian
musicians) to come up with this rather catchy sound that just feels very
natural and organic. Without a doubt, this album could deliver her hits across
the world, because the music is extremely catchy. Do not miss one of the best
albums of 2022! More info at: https://www.instagram.com/liraz_naz/
and https://lirazzan.bandcamp.com/album/roya
(Points: 9.0 out of 10)
MATT O REE BAND ‘HAND IN GLOVE’
(INDEPENDENT/HEMIFRAN/SWEDEN IMPORT)
I was not familiar at all with this talented
guitarist/vocalist until I received a copy of his new album Hand In Glove. MATT
O REE from New Jersey has been performing and recording since 1994, and Hand In
Glove is his 8th album so far. He met DAVID BRYAN of BON JOVI about 10 years
ago, and this friendship led to him joining the touring band of BON JOVI for a
short period. Thankfully he also continues to release solo albums, because Hand
In Glove is a lovely melodic bluesy rock affair with strong vocals of Matt
himself and he is also a gifted guitarplayer. His music is leaning towards the
melodic hardrock meets southern rock side here and there, and it sounds a whole
lot better than anything BON JOVI has released the past 30 years (!). I have
not that much information, but if you have had BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN appearing on
one of your albums you can bet this is good stuff for sure. In his band is also
a female soulful singer who sings quite a few songs (and does it quite well,
reminding of LARKIN POE and YOLA), but when Matt sings his own songs then it is
definitely of interest for fans of KRIS BARRAS, WALTER TROUT, ROBIN TROWER,
SIMON MCBRIDE, DAVY KNOWLES, BERNARD ALLISON, etc. etc.… Without a doubt, a highly recommended album
to fans of southern friend heavy melodic blues rock! More info at: https://www.mattoreeband.com/band.php
(Points: 8.4 out of 10)
SUZIE VINNICK ‘FALL BACK HOME’ (FACTOR
CANADA/HEMIFRAN/SWEDEN IMPORT)
And here we have another talented singer/songwriter
from Canada with a strong new album that was funded by the Canadian Government
as part of FACTOR. It’s nice there is such a foundation to support the
independent artists, and Suzie truly deserves it when listening to Fall Back
Home, which is a lovely calmer album that mixes influences of Americana,
Country and a bit of Blues, and all of the 11 included songs are written and
beautifully sung by Suzie. She has a very pleasant voice and the melodies in
her songs are a joy to listen to, with as highlights the country poprock crossover
Talk To Me, the bluesy Salt & Pepper (which reminds me a little bit of
ALANNAH MYLES), the lovely catchy midtempo Secret and the slow jazzy Let Me
Make It Up To You Tonight (in an old school laid-back style of the 1930s-1950s
area). This album is quite diverse actually and it is really nice to listen to,
so without a doubt also definitely recommended to check out! More info at: www.suzievinnick.com
(Points: 8.2 out of 10)
DON ANTONIO & THE GRACES ‘COLORAMA’
(SANTERIA/HEMIFRAN/SWEDEN IMPORT)
Colorama is the 2022 album from Italian guitar DON
ANTONIO, and it features music from the Netflix series Wanna. Wanna is the true
story of a TV seller who became a star and then the center of a scam that
lasted for years and ended with him in jail. Don composed the original music
for the series, which is a mixture of all kinds of styles, perfectly suitable
for a TV serie. The theme song Cinque Minuti di Te features Italian singer
DANIELA PERONI, while most of the other 13 songs are instrumental and a mix of
classic 70s soul, funk, psychedelica and world music. It’s a joy to listen to
the beautiful music Don creates with the help of THE GRACES. There are some
memories of an act like KHRUANGBIN, with a bit of TARANTINO and some bluesy
touches as well, so a real melting pot that is a pleasure to listen to from
start to finish! More info at: https://www.facebook.com/donantoniogramentieri
(Points: 8.6 out of 10)
TIP JAR ‘ SONGS ABOUT LOVE AND LIFE ON THE
HIPPIE SIDE OF COUNTRY’ (INDEPENDENT/HEMIFRAN/SWEDEN IMPORT)
TIP JAR is a 3-piece Dutch blues/Americana band whom
recorded their new album Songs About Love And Life On The Hippie Side Of
Country in both The Netherlands and the USA. The band consists of vocalist
ARIANNE KNEGT, pianist/organplayer/vocalist BART DE WIN and guitarist HARRY
HENDRIKS, while several other musicians joined them on bass, drums, guitar and
additional vocals. The resulting album is a nice bluesy country/folk rock
affair with a clear spirit of the American countryside where this kind of music
was and still is extremely popular. 12 songs are included, and from the
beginning on, we can enjoy the raw bluesy voice of Arianne, and until the end
this is how original real music sounds like. It's a touch of blues, Americana,
country and even a bit of jazz, so the real American way of music, and TIP JAR
are doing it perfectly on this new album. The band has been active for a while
now, so let’s hope they will have a much deserved break someday soon. More info
at: https://tipjar.nl
(Points: 7.8 out of 10)
STEVE KILBEY & MARTIN KENNEDY ‘THE STRANGE
LIFE OF PERSEPHONE RIMBUS’ (FOGHORN RECORDS/AUSTRALIA IMPORT)
All the way from down under comes a new album by
Australian musicians STEVE KILBEY & MARTIN KENNEDY. Recorded in Tasmania,
Australia, it is a delightful epic progressive rock concept album that takes
you into the strange life of Persephone Rimbus. Besides a lot of PINK FLOYDish
prog, there are also some influences of 70s atmospheric krautrock (the synth
orientated Galaxy) and a portion of early 80s new wave as well (such as the
superb catchy uptempo Persephone), which makes it a diverse and very
interesting album. Steve and Martin already released an album together
(Intriguing Objects in 2020), but this one is definitely sounding much more
organic than the previous album, which was a collection of songs recorded
between 2009 and 2020. This new album brings quite a few guest musicians and
female singers, although the main portion of the music is sung and played by
the duo, who are also responsible for writing the complete story of this album.
As mentioned, the music is mainly progrock, with touches of kraut, new wave and
such here and there. It would surprise me if this is not picked up by the
European press someday soon, because without a doubt it’s a strong impressive
and original sounding album that screams to be heard by the real music fans out
there. Check it out for yourself at: https://stevekilbey.bandcamp.com/album/the-strange-life-of-persephone-nimbus
(Points: 8.5 out of 10)
SLIDE MILLIGAN ‘BLOOD RED RIVER’ (FOGHORN
RECORDS/AUSTRALIA IMPORT)
Australian guitarist/vocalist SLIDE MILLIGAN makes his
debut with Blood Red River. He got help from drummer ANDY KELLY (and other
instruments), GARETH KOCH (bass) and LANI HAMNETT MILLIGAN (backing vocals),
and together they recorded a great diverse album that sounds alternative in a
way it reminds me of a cross between 90s alt rock, LOU REED, IGGY POP and a
band like FATAL FLOWERS or CLAW BOYS CLAW, with also a folky and a bluesy touch
here and there. Slide is a great guitarplayer and vocally he has this unique
raw tone in his voice that could make him a superstar in the near future. The
album starts calm with the folky singer-songwriter piece Comin’ Round, while
following Need rocks in the style as described earlier in the review. A song
like Feelin’ Fine sounds actually quite relaxed and melodic, with a sorta
westcoast touch, yet due to Slide’s raw vocals giving it an almost THE WAR ON
DRUGS ish vibe. There is lots to hear and discover on this original sounding
album that rocks definitely (especially during the uptempo Gasoline), but also
has calmer moments and a mix of both, such as the bluesy rocking After Glow
that even reveals progrock influences. Slide is someone to watch out for in the
future, because if he’s lucky he will have a much deserved breakthrough! More
info at: https://www.slidemilligan.com/
(Points: 8.3 out of 10)
STEVE WILLIAMS ‘DEJA VU’ (FOGHORN
RECORDS/AUSTRALIA IMPORT)
Out of Melbourne, Australia comes guitarist/singer,
songwriter, producer STEVE WILLIAMS, who was a member of the 80s pop/rock band
WA WA NEE. He now has a solo record out entitled Déjà vu. 10 songs are
included, and it all starts with Stormy, a strong 90s influenced pop/rocker
with really great impressive female vocals. I have no further into sadly, but I
think this is a guest singer, because on the following songs Steve himself
sings. The music is a mix of 80s/90s pop/rock and modern day pop/rock,
sometimes a bit more commercial than on other tracks when it has an alternative
kinda feeling. As the CD develops there is also a bluesy and funky touch to be
heard on songs like People and the catchy Ronnie, which also somehow reminds me
a bit of ROBERT PALMER and DAVID BOWIE, and it also features towards the end a
lovely soaring guitarsolo by Steve. Concluded, a really nice album to check
out, and for more info please go to: https://stevewilliams3.bandcamp.com/album/deja-vu
(Points: 7.8 out of 10)
FIONA JOY HAWKINS & REBECCA DANIEL ‘HEAVENLY
VOICES’ (BLUE COAST RECORDS/FOGHORN RECORDS/AUSTRALIA IMPORT)
Now this is a beautiful instrumental classical music
based album that features 2 Australian musicians, namely pianist FIONA JOY
HAWKINS and violinist REBECCA DANIEL. Together they recorded 9 songs that are
situated around the piano and violin of these 2 beautiful musicians. Clearly
firmed in the classical music genre, they should do well worldwide with their
gifted talents. More info can be found at: https://fionajoy.com/heavenly-voices.html
(Points: 8.0 out of 10)
CHERI LYN 'SAVIOURS' (INDEPENDENT/GERMAN IMPORT)
CHERI LYN is a German based singer/songwriter who started
her career in 2017, and so far she has performed as support act for WALTER
TROUT, ERJA LYTINNEN and several others, while she recorded alongside DORO,
JEFF SCOTT SOTO and ROBIN BECK as part of the CIRCLE OF FRIENDS project. Now
she has released her very first solo-CD titled Saviours, which musically is a
cross between heavy blues/rock and catchy modern epic bombastic symphonic
melodic rock. Together with producer KEVIN NIETSCH and a list of guest
musicians, such as guitarist STEVE MORRIS (EXPORT, LONERIDER, HEARTLAND...),
she recorded a great strong and impressive album that sounds very professional.
10 songs are included, of which the highlights are the midtempo epic semi
melodic rockballad Cold Red Rain, the superb midtempo retro heavy blues rocker Rules
Are Meant To Be Broken (a la BETH HART, LARKIN POE...) and the slow bluesy
ballad No more Lovesongs (her best vocal performance on the album!). Concluded,
this is another nice female fronted rockalbum, which ends a bit on the calm
side, but has enough to keep you entertained from start to finish, and you can
check out more info on this talented singer at: https://cherilyn-music.com and https://cherilyn.bandcamp.com/album/saviours
(Points: 8.0 out of 10)
OSLO 'DON'T TURN YOUR BACK' (METALLIC BLUE
RECORDS/REWIND/SONG HAUS MUSIC/USA IMPORT)
A trip down memory lane I would call this OSLO,
because that is basically what this for me personally is all about. About 20-25
years ago I traded a lot of rare AOR/Melodic Hardrock (with my American friend
Delbert), and one of those bands was this OSLO. They released their one and
only album in 1991, which has now been re-released as Don't Turn Your Back.
This new CD has been released by METALLIC BLUE RECORDS, whom are always
delivering the goods with extensive liner notes, lovely packaging and in this
case also featuring 4 additional unreleased bonustracks. Back to the history of
OSLO, because it all started when multi-instrumentalist LARS KOLSHUS moved from
Oslo, Norway to the USA in the summer of 1986. He attended the famous Berklee
College Of Music in Boston, and eventually formed the band OSLO along with
guitarist/songwriter MIKE MCMANUS. During the following years they had more
musicians on board, some from Norway and others from California where they
would eventually settle and built up a name during the early 1990s. The songs
on their original 1991 album were sung by PAUL GREGORY, while Lars and Mike
played all the instruments, so it was more or less a project/duo kinda release.
The 4 additional bonustracks were recorded in 1993 and saw a different lead
singer (BRIAN NUSS), Norwegian PER TVEDT playing keys, and drummer MAT DIAZ
completing the line up, which gave OSLO a real band kinda approach eventually.
Sadly they more or less split up due to a changing music climate in the USA
around the mid 1990s, but Lars continued making music, in both Norway and the
USA, where he lived again permanently since 2014. In 2021 they were contacted
by METALLIC BLUE RECORDS, whom released this CD filled with the original
material Lars recorded as OSLO some 30 years ago.
In total 13 songs are included, and opener Don't Turn
Your Back is the kind of fluffy uptempo 80s AOR/Melodic Rock like we all love
to hear it, including a damn catchy chorus, great vocalwork, a soaring guitar
and a straight-forward professional rocking sound. Following Stranger's Eyes is
a bit heavier, perhaps uptempo Melodic Hardrock orientated with a DOKKEN/VYPER
(Prepared To Strike) kinda approach, yet again featuring a brilliant catchy 80s
AOR chorus. Every Time She Cries goes into the 80s Power Ballad direction,
reminding of SLYBOYZ and FIREHOUSE, so with an early 1990s Hair Metal/American
Mainstream Melodic Hardrock sound like we know it from the 1990s MTV days. Crossfire
shows a slight change in style to a more early 90s groovy meets proggy style,
yet still melodic, actually reminding a lot of WINGER. The keys go upfront on
the following song Running Out Of Time, which is basically pure 80s uptempo
fluffy AOR as catchy as you want it to be, kinda like WHITE SISTER, FM,
AVIATOR, SHY, SAVAGE GRACE (the Detroit band) and you name it further. Same can
be said about the lovely Take Your Time, which also has that pure 80s catchy
sound. With Every Beat Of Your Heart is another uptempo tune, a nice melodic
rocking piece, although not as sensational as the previous tracks. Why Can't
This Night Last Forever is an 80s piano-keyboard friendly AOR ballad with a
powerful sound, like SHY meets JOURNEY meets early WINTER'S REIGN, including
high pitched vocals and a fantastic classic guitarsolo. Kiss me is the final
track from 1991, and this is a QUEEN influenced opera/1930s jazz ish tune,
which show a complete different and rather interesting side of OSLO.
The other singer on the 4 bonustracks (Brian) brings a
different approach to the AOR/Melodic Hardrocksound of OSLO, less high-pitched,
and perhaps sounding better, because I absolutely love his vibe during the
sensational uptempo melodic rocker No Way Out (RED DAWN ish). Perhaps the best
comparison can be heard during the superb alternate SURVIVOR meets WHITESNAKE
ish version of Why Can't This Night Last Forever. The other 2 songs are uptempo
melodic hardrockers Play With Fire and Night After Night. Concluded, this
change of lead singer and additional musicians joining Lars and Mike marked a
very interesting turning point in the history of OSLO, but sadly they were not
able to record more in the following years (except an ALICE IN CHAINS ish demo
tape in 1993), and eventually they split up. Brian went on to become a pilot,
and OSLO evolved into EGODOG with a different line-up, recording material under
that moniker, but towards the early 2000s each member went their own way. As
already mentioned, Lars returned to Norway, but moved back again to the USA in
2014 and now there is this OSLO CD thanks to him and Mike, and without a doubt,
it is a great piece of classic 80s AOR/Melodic Hardrock. This CD is definitely
recommended if you're into any of the aforementioned bands. More info at: https://www.metallicbluerecords.com/
(Points: 8.5 out of 10)
D.F.M. 'STREETS OF RAGE' (METALLIC BLUE
RECORDS/REWIND/SONG HAUS MUSIC/USA IMPORT)
Around 1993-1994 I started a little fanzine called
STRUTTER´ZINE, which was focused on mostly independent North American
Hardrock/AOR/Glamrockbands, and during those early years I received countless
beautiful press maps/info and cassette tapes/CDs in order to review those small
town bands. Somehow I must have missed a lot, because back then there was a
huge scene in the USA, and it was in those pre-internet days hard to keep up. A
lot of bands were sorta mixing the 80s hard rock riffs and melodies with the
newly American modern rocksound from Seattle (ALICE IN CHAINS being the most
important influence), and that resulted in the 90s independent American
Hardrocksound that so many bands adopted during the mid 90s. D.F.M. was one of
those bands that recorded material those days, but never released anything
official and eventually they broke up in 1994. The band mixed late 80s/early
90s American melodic hair metal melodies (SKID ROW/WARRANT) with some groovy
and funky rhythms (EXTREME, EVERY MOTHER'S NIGHTMARE) and also added ALICE IN
CHAINS influences to match the sound that was popular around those days in
America. The result was a great sound with strong vocals and melodies, and now
almost 30 years later 10 of their songs have finally made it onto an official
CD release called Streets Of Rage on the METALLIC BLUE RECORDS label. D.F.M.
was originally formed in the early 90's, and had several songs featured in movies
like Showdown and Double Dragon. The band was formed around Tracy Swider on
Lead Guitars, Dana Freebairn on vocals, Adam Shore on bass and backing vocals,
Todd Lane on drums, and Jamie Christensen on guitar. Although I mentioned 10
songs are included, 4 of them are actually new tunes, because they were
recorded in 2022, while the first 6 songs were recorded in 1993. Musically
speaking actually there's no real big changes, and from start to finish this is
prime time high quality groovy heavy melodic hardrock with a proggy and
alternative metal influence here and there. Songs like Passion, Trash King, Sea
Of Faith and especially the superb semi-ballad Starting Over are a joy to
listen to and show that D.F.M. could have easily been signed to a major label
if they had come around the corner just a few years earlier when SKID ROW,
WARRANT, TESLA and such had their records out on major labels. More info at: https://www.metallicbluerecords.com/
(Points: 8.4 out of 10)
A.Z.R.O. 'ROCK IN A HARD PLACE' (METALLIC BLUE
RECORDS/REWIND/SONG HAUS MUSIC/USA IMPORT)
Formed all the way back in 1978, the Salt Lake City,
Utah, USA based band A.Z.R.O. would break up and reform during the following 15
years several times, and eventually record material in 1992, which has now been
released on CD as Rock In A Hard Place by METALLIC BLUE RECORDS. The band had
several songs placed in the movie Bikini Carwash 2, while several members would
also be part of bands like NEWHAVEN and the somewhere else reviewed D.F.M..
Anyway, the band consisted of lead singer RICK MARTIN, drummer TODD LANE,
bassist STEVE GILES and guitarist TRACE SWIDER. 12 songs originally recorded in
1992 can be found on this rather strong and impressive album, which basically
is pure late 80s/early 90s groovy American Melodic Hardrock/Hair Metal in the style
of WARRANT, SKID ROW, EVERY MOTHER'S NIGHTMARE, etc. etc. It might not sound
modern and really original, the band's sound was definitely of a very high
level, and close to many other bands at the time. A.Z.R.O. could have been one
of the major label bands if there weren't so many other bands out there that
were just a bit more lucky than them. Anyway, songs like 99 Miles, Down Home
and Loaded Gun are the kind of groovy sing-a-long hardrocksongs that will make
the fans of SLAUGHTER, WARRANT and early SKID ROW very happy. Of course the
classic Power Ballad is also included, such as Tell Me Forever and Lay Your
Hands On Me that immediately remind you of the WARRANT, FIREHOUSE, MR. BIG and
EXTREME ballads that were on top of the charts in the early 90s. It helps that
the band featured a superb lead singer and also instrumentally and production
wise A.Z.R.O.'s CD should be in the hands of every fan of the genre that
dominated the US of A 30+ years ago! More info at: https://www.metallicbluerecords.com/
(Points: 8.5 out of 10)
ESSEXX 'WE MAKE IT ROCK' / STRYDER 'NOTHING AT
ALL' (METALLIC BLUE RECORDS/REWIND/SONG HAUS MUSIC/USA IMPORT)
When looking at the frontcover of the CD of ESSEXX,
it's like we stepped in a timemachine and went back to 1984! Well, I can inform
you the photo was indeed taken almost 40 years ago when rock was king and
hairdo was loud and proud presented on most album covers. ESSEXX were from the
US state of Utah, and they were active during the late 70s and greater part of
the 1980s, also under a different name called STRYDER for a while. Their
material has now been released onto CD by METALLIC BLUE RECORDS, the label that
is focused to bring us all the rare 80s rock/hardrock from Utah that up until
now not many people are familiar with. The band was formed around a sensational
female lead singer called LAURIE WELKER, who totally blew me away with her
voice when I heard it the first time around. Imagine PAT BENATAR meets ANN
WILSON, so with a real tough rock image look and tone in her voice. The music
is typical 80s American Hardrock, and despite it might not sound original, they
did a great job between 1978 and 1985, releasing a lot of quality songs, which
have now been put together on this lovely 2-CD set. 26 songs in total, which
are taken from various recordings the band did between the aforementioned
period. The band was a six-piece band that also featured guitarists GILBERT
RODRIQUEZ and CHRIS CLARY, bassist RON JENSEN and drummers STEVE LEATHAM and
KEVIN FREEBAIRN. If we have a walk through the material, songs like We Make It
Rock, Rasin' Hell and such might not sound spectacular, you can hear a high
quality band performing here, and especially during uptempo melodic hardrock
pieces such as Hungry, Got To Be More (even a bit SCORPIONS style), It's Rock
& Roll and Jury's Out, and the semi-melodic rockballads Love's The Answer and
CD 1 Hidden track Nobody Knows (VIXEN/HEAT/LAOS/IF ONLY/ENVY style) we can hear
a superb band that will definitely please all the fans of female fronted
melodic hardrock! They even managed to get RONNIE MONTROSE on board to produce
several songs, so you can bet this band should have become much bigger than the
local independent status they eventually kept after their split in the mid
1980s. The musicians went their own way or worked together in different bands
(BAD BOYS), while singer Laurie quit the music business, which is a huge pity,
because this girl could really sing like very few are able to do! The STRYDER
material was slightly more AOR/Melodic Rock orientated than ESSEXX, with as
absolute highlights Nothing At All, Solo and Casualty that remind me so much of
that other rare 80s female fronted band called MEGHAN, if anyone remembers
them? Anyway, check out this strong compilation CD of all the material these
musicians recorded as both ESSEXX and STRYDER. More info at: https://www.metallicbluerecords.com/
(Points: 8.7 out of 10)
BENNIE AND THE JETS 'LIPSTICK AND LEATHER'
(METALLIC BLUE RECORDS/REWIND/SONG HAUS MUSIC/USA IMPORT)
Lipstick And Leather is a well-known song from Y &
T of course, but the original song was written and recorded by the obscure act
BENNIE AND THE JETS. This band was primarily active during the 1970s and early
1980s in the Californian area, where they had a clear close friendship with
YESTERDAY & TODAY, playing multiple times alongside that band which later
became Y & T. The band was formed around lead singer BENJAMIN (BENNIE) LABARGE
and played a mix of typical American rockstyles. They recorded several songs
between 1978 and 1981, which have now been collected onto CD as a compilation
album titled Lipstick And Leather that is released through METALLIC BLUE
RECORDS. As with every release, also this album contains extensive liner notes
and excellent rare pictures of the original band. It is weird that during their
short years of existence, they did not reach superstardom, because they
competed with Y & T and MOTLEY CRUE, whom both were directly influenced by
BENNIE AND THE JETS. I guess it was all a matter of luck and timing, but
thankfully eventually Bennie had a few songs on a later Y & T album, and
now there is a CD released that contains most of the material of the band. Besides
Y & T also ERIC MARTIN BAND has a connection to BENNIE AND THE JETS (more
about that can be read in the liner notes story), but anyway, Bennie himself
was a gifted singer who sadly died a few years ago. In tribute to his passing,
this CD is a nice memory of his music from 4 decades ago.
In total 18 songs are included, of which opener
Lipstick And Leather is likewise the classic tune, but somehow it sounds more
authentic than the Y & T version, because this original version is a real
strong late 70s uptempo Hardrock tune like VAN HALEN. Next track Say It Again
is a sensational classic early 80s AOR/Powerpop influenced uptempo melodic
rocker like a mix between early LOVERBOY, STRANGER (1982 same titled release),
late STARZ. USA and such. New York - L.A. is the typical early 80s American
Hardrock like MAYDAY, NEW YORK FLYERS and countless other underground rockbands
from all over the American local radio movement of 40 years ago did create back
then. Do You Know later emerged as I'll Keep On Believin' by Y & T again,
but this was the original version without the big anthemic chorus of the Y
& T version. I absolutely loved this superb AOR tune by Y & T, and
always thought it was BERNIE LABARGE from Canada who wrote it, but it was
BENNIE LABARGE from California who was responsible writing it! The soaring
guitarsolo in this original version is stunning, and so is the song in general,
which is a real powerful classic AOR tune. Me And My Car is totally different
musically speaking, because this is a punchy uptempo punk influenced rocker
that almost sounds like THE RAMONES, and it is really a very catchy tune that
also has a slight CHEAP TRICKish Powerpop feeling. Boys With Bangs is a simple
but effective catchy uptempo Powerpop influened MOD melodic rocker, while Moi
Emmoretta is a lovely catchy early 80s uptempo melodic rocker with a STARZ /
PRISM kinda touch. Midnight Rendezvous is another typical early 80s American
local rock and roll radio tune. Baby's On The Run is a rather catchy uptempo
pomping melodic rocker in the RIGGS style, and Jet Aged Baby is a nice Y &
T ish hardrocker.
The remaining 8 songs are rougher sounding demo and
live cuts, which once again show that BENNIE AND THE JETS could have easily
become a much bigger band in the classic 70s/80s Hardrock dominated era. This
CD is recommended to fans of the sound of the late 70s/early 80s hardrock of
any of the aforementioned bands. More info can be found at: https://www.metallicbluerecords.com/
(Points: 8.4 out of 10)
POIL 'POIL UEDA' (DUR ET DOUX/BROKEN
SILENCE/CREATIVE ECLIPSE PR/GERMAN IMPORT)
This is something very original that doesn’t sound
like anything else, kinda in a way like we have seen from acts like WARDRUNA
and THE HU in recent years, who combined western music elements with
traditional world music from another part of the world, which in this case is
Japan. POIL is a French experimental band that could be labelled as a
progressive rock act, yet for this new release Poil, Ueda the band is helped by
Japanese vocalist and satsuma-biwa player JUNKO UEDA. The band itself consists
of keyboardplayer/vocalist ANTOINE ARNERA, guitarist BORIS CASSONE, bassist
BENOIT LECOMTE and drummer GUILHEM MEIER. There are 5 songs on the CD, which
starts with a very unique intro that is entirely based around the Japanese
vocals of Junko. Once the band starts to do their progressive rock thing it all
makes sense and comes together very naturally, and the 5 songs are actually
spread over 2 concept epic parts that make up the full CD. These epic journeys
are called Kujo Shakujo and Dan No Ura, and it really takes some time before
you will understand what they are trying to achieve here, because there is so
much to discover on this CD. There’s (extreme) prog, world music, some jazzy
parts, distorted industrial techno and a lot of Japanese melodies both vocally
and instrumentally, which combined makes POIL sound really unique, especially
during part 1 of Dan No Ua that sounds completely out of control in a way you might
have never heard before! If you’re interested in something totally different
than anything else out there, then please make sure to check out this album!
More info at: https://poil.bandcamp.com
(Points: 8.0 out of 10)
FRANK POPP ENSEMBLE 'SHIFTING' (UNIQUE
RECORDS/SCHUBERT MUSIC EUROPE/THE ORCHARD/MEMBRAN/CREATIVE ECLIPSE PR/GERMAN
IMPORT)
Now here we have one of the first great new albums of
the year 2023. FRANK POPP ENSEMBLE was started as one-man concept by Frank Popp
in 2000, but along the way others joined him, and on his new album Shifting we
can hear several guest singers such as JESPER MUNK, ANNA GLAHN, LUCY KRUGER,
SAM LEIGH-BROWN and AYDO ABAY. The included is high quality retro 60S/70s soul
with a vintage psychedelic garage rock edge, and especially the vocalwork is
very impressive, no matter who sings. These are all gifted singers and I could
compare the album to BLACK PUMAS, YOLA, DAWN BROTHERS, DE WOLFF, VINTAGE
TROUBLE, MONOPHONICS etc. etc., although you can of course also easily trace
influences of the absolute classics from the past (TINA TURNER, OTIS REDDING,
SAM COOKE, etc), so I think you’ll get the picture what this more or less
sounds like. Songs like See It Coming, Torn Up, Save Me Saturday, Born To Lose
and the cover of the classic Ain’t No Love In The Heart Of The City are instant
winners and hitsingles if you’re a fan of the aforementioned acts. Frank sings
a few songs himself as well, but due to the use of various sensational singers
we have a classic in the future to come! There is even a touch of
westcoast/melodic 70s singer-songwriter pop/rock to be heard during the songs
Frank sings and the sensational Dragonaut (super song, kinda like YOUNG GUN
SILVER FOX), so enough variety going on here. Do not miss this masterpiece!
More info at: https://thefrankpoppensemble.bandcamp.com
(Points: 8.8 out of 10)
WALKING TALL 'LIFE HAPPENS HERE - REMIXED /
REMASTERED' (INDEPENDENT/USA IMPORT)
Out of Roseville, California, USA comes WALKING TALL,
a band formed around JAMES TUTTLE (vocals, guitars, bass) and BRET SANTTI
(vocals, guitars, bass, piano, Hammond), with as guest drummer on their latest
album Life Happens Here JIM RILEY. The album was originally released in 2019,
but recently remixed and remastered and therefore re-released on CD. The band’s
music is pure 80s inspired American Melodic Rock, not far removed from 90s
independent acts like INNUENDO, SURE CONVICTION, 91 SUITE and BLUE RAIN if
anyone can remember them! Anyhow, it’s not the big budget major sound of the
80s acts, because it has this nice typical independent melodic rocksound I
referred to, but we have a nice selection of songs here, 15 in total. It all starts with the catchy
uptempo melodic rocker These Are The Good Times that is totally 80s BON JOVI
style, but what follows are a lot of power ballads. Vocally it’s not as strong
as I hoped it would be, but the shared lead vocals of Brett and James sound
nice for this kind of melodic rock. Next time some more uptempo pieces would be
interesting, because most of the songs are slow to midtempo/power ballad
orientated and dangerously close to BON JOVI of MICHAEL BORMANN/JADED HEART and
PAUL LAINE (yet then less massive production wise), with as highlights the
aforementioned opening rocker, the power ballads Life Happens Here and Bleed
Your Name (MR. BIG meets NELSON), and the uptempo melodic rockers Is That All
There Is and I Wouldn’t Change A Thing. The band also sent a few additional
CDRs that contain an earlier album titled Volume 1 and a new Christmas song
titled A Time For Love (Merry Christmas), which both are musically speaking a
similar mix of melodic rockers and mostly (semi) ballads in the BON JOVI style.
Check out WALKING TALL at: https://walkingtallband.com
(Points: 8.0 out of 10)
DEATH AND VANILLA 'FLICKER' (FIRE
RECORDS/KONKURRENT)
Absolutely beautiful is the music of the Swedish band
DEATH AND VANILLA. They hail from Sweden and they have already released 5
albums so far. Flicker is their 6th album, and I have to say it is a
sensational and original sounding record that balances somewhere between
dreampop, psychedelic 60s folk, westcoast and a bit of synthwave. The melodies
are slightly coming out of the book of FIRST AID KIT and TAME IMPALE, although
even FLEETWOOD MAC passes by (Looking Glass), but DEATH AND VANILLA do have an
own sound. They are a Swedish trio around female singer Marleen Nilsson, and
multi-instrumentalists Anders Hansson and Magnus Bodin. The melodies are
stunning and very pleasant to listen to, sometimes even a bit like CLANNAD in
their heydays, yet instrumentally there are some nice tricks added thanks to
the use of such instruments like the vibraphone, the organ and the mellotron,
tremolo guitar and Moog synthesisers. All together the 9 wonderful songs that
are included on Flicker truly deliver, and if only the playing length would be
a little bit longer, then we could have enjoyed much more music of this
sensational band. Highlight for me personally is the amazing Find Another
Illusion, although each song sounds picture perfect! More info at: https://deathandvanillamusic.bandcamp.com/album/flicker
(Points: 8.5 out of 10)
AMBER ARCADES 'BAREFOOT ON DIAMOND ROAD' (FIRE
RECORDS/KONKURRENT)
AMBER ARCADES is the stage name of Annelotte de Graaf,
a Dutch singer-songwriter from Utrecht. Barefoot On Diamond Road is her 3rd
album so far, and I have to say it sounds very professional. Indie-Pop,
Dreampop, Synthwave and Pop/Rock are melted very nicely throughout 10 songs,
and Amber has a really strong voice. The music is not that far removed from
acts like WEYES BLOOD, ANGEL OLSEN, LORDE, ST. VINCENT, LORDE and such, yet
perhaps a bit more experimental here and there, such as during the synth
krautrock influenced Life Is Coming Home. Job well done, and definitely an
album to check if you like the current modern sound of female singers that melt
lush calm vocals with a lot of synths, although a beautiful song like True Love
also is a throwback to mid 90s female fronted pop/rock. Check out more at: http://www.amberarcades.net/
(Points: 8.1 out of 10)
BLACK LIPS 'APOCALYPSE LOVE' (FIRE
RECORDS/KONKURRENT)
The American band BLACK LIPS have already released 11
albums since 2000, and their latest Apocalypse Love is a very diverse mixture
of all kinds of styles that range from soul, hip-hop, indie, funk, rock to pop,
and much more. 13 songs are included, and they all sound different musically speaking.
A song like Lost Angel is almost reminding of JEFFERSON AIRPLANE, while
Apocalypse Love is melting THE BEATLES and ROLLING STONES. On the other hand
Sharing My Cream takes us into a completely different direction, kinda 90s
indie British Pop a la WORLD PARTY, and there's even some rapping going on here
and there. Not much Garage Rock left anymore since their early days, while the
diversity not always helps to impress, because there are definitely a lot of
weak moments on this CD. A song like Among The Dunes has a nice early 90s
TEENAGE FANCLUB touch, but Crying On A Plane is quite average, while THE
KINKSish The Concurine and also Operation Angela fail I'm afraid. Tongue Tied
then again is a nice REM going Country/JOHNNY CASH/NEIL YOUNG meets TARANTINO
ish direction, but as you can see I think it's best to check this out for
yourself, because there is a lot happening on this album, perhaps too much...
More info at: https://blacklips.bandcamp.com/album/apocalypse-love
(Points: 7.5 out of 10)
MEMPHIS SLIM 'ROCKS' (BEAR FAMILY RECORDS/GERMAN
IMPORT)
Now this is an extremely interesting selection of
songs recorded by the legendary MEMPHIS SLIM. MEMPHIS SLIM was a
pianist/singer/songwriter from Memphis who gained popularity in the 1930s as a
blues/boogiewoogie pianist in the southern states of the USA, and when he
setlled in Chicago in 1937, he started recording his music. 29 songs are on the
CD released by BEAR FAMILY RECORDS, and basically what we have here is some of
the earliest rock and roll recorded in music history. The included songs on
this wonderful new compilation CD were recorded in the 1940s and 1950s, and
upon hearing the 1940s uptempo tunes Old Taylor and Rockin' The House, you can
hear where THE BEATLES, STONES and ELVIS PRESLEY got their inspiration from. His
later material is somewhat slower blues orientated like BB KING and RAY
CHARLES. The wonderful booklet and selection of songs on this CD release is
unique and highly recommended to people who want to hear the absolute beginning
of rock and roll. More info at: https://www.bear-family.com/
(Points: 8.5 out of 10)
DRECKIG 'DIGITAL EXPERIENCE VINYL' (BROKEN
CLOVER RECORDS/USA IMPORT)
DRECKIG comes out of Portland, Oregon, USA, and is a longtime
husband and wife duo consisting of Papi Fimbres and Shana Lindbeck whom have
come up with a very interesting and original sounding vinyl record in the shape
of Digital Experience. The music is clearly influenced by the European
dance/Eurodance/Krautrock/Acid/Synthwave movement that existed roughly between
1978 and 1992. With the use of drum machines, synthesizers, percussion and
keyboards, they create a very original synth driven big bombastic 80s (and a
bit of late 70s) sound that also feature vocals sometimes, which gives it a
sorta Latin meets World Music kinda feeling. There is a great vibe going on
while listening to the record, as DRECKIG is keen on melodies, and if you like
for example ZENOBIA, MAGIC SWORD, HENGE or even ALTIN GUN, you will appreciate
this DRECKIG as well. KRAFTWERK is obviously also a close-call to mention as
well, and that's when the Krautrock of the 70s influences come around in a song
like the fantastic closing track Qo'noS. They sound retro and modern at the
same time, with a focus most of the time on that big heavy 80s synth sound that
makes them sound really cool (STRANGER THINGS fans be aware!). It's like we
have gone back to 1985, yet it still has this refreshing modern vibe and as
already mentioned, the vocals capture a World Music kinda approach. All
together this DRECKIG's vinyl album Digital Experience is a really great
experience that sounds extremely huge on vinyl! The album is available through https://brokencloverrecords.bandcamp.com/
and more information can be found at: https://dreckig.bandcamp.com/album/digital-exposure
(Points: 8.4 out of 10)
YOUR LEADER 'THE STARS ARE A LIE VINYL' (BROKEN
CLOVER RECORDS/USA IMPORT)
Out of Oakland, California, USA comes the instrumental
act YOUR LEADER. This band's latest vinyl album The Stars Are A Lie opens with
a great instrumental guitar solo orientated piece titled Use The Hours Don't
Count Them, while the synthwave influences come upfront during the following
song Bonding Over Pizza. As I am a sucker for anything 80s synth/wave
orientated or influenced, this YOUR LEADER is right up my alley. Imagine a
healthy mix of MAGIC SWORD, HENGE and a bit of KRAFTWERK, then you're quite
close to YOUR LEADER, although there's much more to discover here. 9 songs are
included in total on the band's 2nd album, with as absolute highlight the
amazing 15 minutes counting closing track AKA that reveals a lot of lovely 70s
Symphonic/Progressive Rock influences of the RICK WAKEMAN/MIKE OLDFIELD era
crossed with Synth-Wave dominated Nu-Disco that might even appeal to the
STRANGER THINGS fans from outer space. However, I must also not forget to
mention the massive bass synth and distorted guitar sound during the amazing Projectnnn,
a song that on vinyl will blow up your mancave in a sec! I couldn't believe
what I heard, as it simply is sounding unique and from out of this world! I
also love the guitar dominated 80s piece of Thereshopeintheharmonies that makes
STEVE VAI sound boring! On the experimental side we find the hip-hop influenced
Motherfucking Hill. YOUR LEADER is by the way formed around 2 musicians (I
think, as there's not much info on them) called JAKE PALLADINO and ULLOA
VICENTE, and this album is just as original as any other BROKEN CLOVER RECORDS
release, but I do hope it gets more exposure, because the fans of obscure
kraut/synth/wave will absolutely love this YOUR LEADER for sure! The album is
available through https://brokencloverrecords.bandcamp.com/
and more information can be found at: https://yourleaderisyourleader.bandcamp.com/album/the-stars-are-a-li
(Points: 8.6 out of 10)
EYE O 'CONTINUA VINYL' (BROKEN CLOVER
RECORDS/USA IMPORT)
Out of San Francisco, California comes EYE O, an
instrumental duo formed around JASON SCHWARTZ (guitar/synth/sound design) and
KEVIN WOODRUFF (drums, sound design), whom together released the vinyl album
Continua back in 2020. It was their 2nd effort, and on vinyl it sounds superb,
picture perfect I would almost say, because the fresh modern approach of EYE O
is a pleasure to listen to. It combines post-rock, progressive rock and
krautrock with a sorta sci-fi movie touch, which can be heard throughout the 6
songs that are included on the album. It is an exciting record where you can
experience and discover a lot of new stuff everytime you re-listen to songs
like Disembarkment or Ensnared. The past 10 years have been an extremely
vibrant period for this kind of instrumental modern post-progressive rock, and
I am safe to say that if you're a fan of LONG DISTANCE CALLING, OAK,
SLEEPMAKESWAVES, TIDES FROM NEBULA or even PORCUPINE TREE, then this EYE 0
should also be checked out. The album is available through https://brokencloverrecords.bandcamp.com/
and more information can be found at: https://eyeo.bandcamp.com/album/continua
(Points: 8.4 out of 10
TRIP SHOW 'THE FAR EAST IS THE NEAR WEST AND THE
WILD WEST IS THE NEAR EAST VINYL' (BROKEN CLOVER RECORDS/USA IMPORT)
When you have an album title that says The Far East Is
The Near West And The Wild West Is The Near East, then there must be something
original going on, and basically like every vinyl release of BROKEN CLOVER
RECORDS, also this album of the Honolulu, Hawaii, USA based TRIP SHOW is unique
musically speaking. TRIP SHOW is formed around producer John Keaka Friend who
is AKA TRIP SHOW, and he has 25 years of electronic music creation under his
belt via remixes and releases through Cytrax, Losonofono Records, Select Cuts,
Nude Photo Music, BSI, etc. His music is described as being influenced by “1984
Waikiki teen clubs to DJing the San Francisco barscapes, techno happy hours and
afterhours”. Basically this means the 8 included songs on this vinyl album are
a trip down memory lane, also for yours truly, because it is 80s synth
influenced obviously. There's some acid and early 80s disco melted here, but
perhaps early Chicago Techno House can also be traced. However, for me
personally it mostly feels like a nostalgic classic late 80s/early 90s European
trance house club night (the Amsterdam based Roxy was the kind of place where
this kind of laid-back lounge house trip was played every night). I also must
then do a special mention of the Dutch DJ JAYDEE who had a radio show in those
early 90s called For those who like to groove, and in that show TRIP SHOW would
definitely have been on the playlist. Anyway, it sounds rather good, and I
think you will more or less understand what TRIP SHOW is all about. Highly
recommended to the fans of especially late 80s/early 90s Techno/Acid-House of
the European kind, yet with a tiny bit of early 80s Chicago House also included.
If this record would be played on any club night right now, then the crowd will
definitely go wild, because in Europe there has always been a huge market for
this of music. Especially in The Netherlands TRIP SHOW could experience major
success if played and discovered by the major DJ's over here (TIESTO, ARMIN VAN
BUREN, etc.). The album is available through https://brokencloverrecords.bandcamp.com/
and more information can be found at: https://tripshow.bandcamp.com/album/the-far-east-is-the-near-west-and-the-wild-west-is-the-near-east
(Points: 8.3 out of 10)
SAGAN 'ANTI-ARK VINYL' (BROKEN CLOVER
RECORDS/USA IMPORT)
SAGAN is a band consisting of musicians Blevin
Blectum, Jason Doerck (Lesser), and Jon Leidecker and video artist Ryan Junell,
and they hail from the San Francisco Bay Area. SAGAN released an album in 2004,
and this 2 LP set was released in 2021, so it took them sometime to record a
new record, although in-between they were all active in other bands and
projects. The included music on this vinyl album is an exciting unique weird
instrumental cocktail of all kinds of spacey sounds. You might call it 21st
century spacey krautrock, but actually it is almost impossible to describe, as
there is so much going on here. It does feel like a space adventure that takes
you into a different direction everytime. Synthesizers, computers and keyboards
dominate here, and just when you think it is indeed CAN, TANGERINE DREAM or
KRAFTWERK ish, the sound drastically change into deep house/ambient and then
taking a huge dive into something experimental in a way we could also hear on a
FROST album, so the absolute open-minded progfans might also want to check this
out. On vinyl the sound is massive, and just like any other BROKEN CLOVER
RECORDS release, also this album is unique and has a top-notch production,
which is really important to make an impact with such underground hi-tech music.
On the oither hand, here and there it also could fit a modern day experimental
sci-fi movie, so maybe you know get an idea what this more or less could sound
like. The album is available through https://brokencloverrecords.bandcamp.com/
and more information can be found at: https://saganmusic.bandcamp.com/album/anti-ark
(Points: 8.2 out of 10)
SECRET EMCHY SOCIETY 'GOLD COUNTRY/COUNTRY GOLD VINYL'
(BROKEN CLOVER RECORDS/USA IMPORT)
SECRET EMCHY SOCIETY is formed around American
singer/songwriter/guitarist CINDY EMCHY, and under this moniker she has already
released a couple of records. Gold Country/Country Gold is the 4th album as
SECRET EMCHY SOCIETY, which musically speaking is described as acoustic gypsy
punk, Americana, ghost town country, murder ballads, and drinking songs.
Acoustic bluesy country might also be a good way to describe the music, and
thanks to the strong vocals of Cindy it is a pleasure to listen to the 13 songs
on the new album. Additional musicians are Terri Upton (Backing Vocals), Tolan
McNeil (Backing Vocals, Lead Guitar), Mya Byrne (Backing Vocals, Mandolin), Michele
Kappel (Backing Vocals, Percussion), Carolyn Mark (Backing Vocals, Piano), Hank
Pine (Cello), Dennis Siemens (Double Bass [Upright Bass]), Hans Winold ((Double
Bass [Upright Bass]), Marc Atkinson (Drums, Bass, Lead Guitar), Sean Malroy (Fiddle),
Andrew Waegel (Pedal Steel Guitar) and Dave Lang (Vocals, Guitar). Favorite
songs for me personally are Think I Do, Birch Bones Redux and Something About
The Moon. As soon as the album starts with the 1981 NED SUBLETTE cover Cowboys
Are Frequently Secretly Fond Of Each Other you can hear Cindy has a lot of
talent, both with her voice and playing the guitar. There is something unique
going down here on this album, so I will not make any comparisons, and it's
therefore best to check it out for yourself. The album is available through https://brokencloverrecords.bandcamp.com/
and more information can be found at: https://emchy.bandcamp.com/
(Points: 8.0 out of 10)
CARLTON MELTON 'MICROWAVELENTGHS VINYL' (BROKEN
CLOVER RECORDS/USA IMPORT)
BROKEN CLOVER RECORDS is a label that has no
boundaries, so every release is musically speaking a new adventure that brings
new directions not heard before. CARLTON MELTON is an American instrumental
psychedelic free-rock jam band that has already released about 15 albums since
the mid 2000s, and their 2022 release Microwavelengths is my introduction to
them. This is typically a product that needs further investigation and repeated
listen to discover what they are trying to achieve. CARLTON MELTON consists of
bassist Clinton Golden, guitarists Andy DuVall and Rich Millman (also synths),
while the drums are provided by Andy and Brian McDougall. The vinyl album
release of Microwavelengths looks and sounds wonderful. Side A consists of 4
songs, of which opener Lions Roar is a high class piece of modern
post-progressive rock, while the following Hazel Heat is a calmer melodic bluesy guitar orientated
piece, and Alien Argument is then suddenly a noisy metal distorted guitar
overdose. Now Boarding ends the first side of the vinyl album in a calmer
direction, but the real highlight of the album can be found entirely on side B
that contains the lengthy titletrack Microwavelengths. This epic song is
basically 70s Kraut/Psychedelic Progressive Rock at it's best, with a slight
bluesy prog change somewhere in the middle of the song. I can imagine fans of
HAWKWIND, GURU GURU, CAN, AMON DUUL, and such experimental 70s stuff will like
this a lot, although the fans of modern post-progrock will also be interested
to check out CARLTON MELTON. The album is available through https://brokencloverrecords.bandcamp.com/
and more information can be found at: https://www.carltonmeltonmusic.com
and https://meltoncarlton.bandcamp.com/
(Points: 8.3 out of 10)
FULU KOLEKTIV 'LULABA VINYL' (BROKEN CLOVER
RECORDS/USA IMPORT)
Based in the capital city of the Democratic Republic
of Congo, FULU KOLEKTIV is a sister initiative to Fulu Miziki, which is a group
of musicians that make eco-friendly music in the outdoors by using instruments
they made themselves from waste and garbage. Due to the covid-19 pandemic, Fulu
Miziki found themselves with very limited access to open spaces, so the whole
collective decided to look for alternative ways of making music, which
eventually led to them using computers. Lulaba is therefore a pure
computer/Techno based product with here and there the typical African rhythms
and tribal singing, which combined gives them an own identity. Although one
needs to get used hearing a mix of THE PRODIGY and African vocals, it is definitely
unique and recommended to people who want to hear something completely
different. The album is available through https://brokencloverrecords.bandcamp.com/
and more information can be found at: https://fulukolektiv.bandcamp.com/album/lualaba
(Points: 7.2 out of 10)
ENABLERS 'ZONE VINYL' (BROKEN CLOVER RECORDS/USA
IMPORT)
ENABLERS are a post-punk band from San Francisco, California,
and their 6th album Zone was released in 2019. The band is formed around poetry/spoken
word vocalist PETE SIMONELLI. The other members are Joe Goldring – Guitars,
Bass, Sam Ospovat – Drums, Electronics, Piano, Timpani and Kevin R Thomson –
Guitars, Lap Steel. In another review of a band called TORPEDO I already
mentioned the LEFT OF THE DIAL FESTIVAL in Rotterdam where these kind of Spoken
Word Post-Punk acts are presented very well, and ENABLERS could easily fit in.
They are not that far removed from acts like LIFE, FONTAINES D.C., THE MURDER
CAPITAL, TALKING HEADS, BLACK COUNTRY, NEW ROAD, etc. Perhaps a little less
Punk orientated, and really focused on the Spoken Word, ENABLERS are doing a
great job on this vinyl album Zone. If you're a fan of the genre that once was
made popular by the ex-DEAD KENNEDYS singer JELLO BIAFRA (correct me if I'm
wrong) and TALKING HEADS in the 1970s and 1980s, I can easily recommend this
band as well. The album is available through https://brokencloverrecords.bandcamp.com/
and more information can be found at: https://enablers.bandcamp.com/album/zones-
(Points: 8.2 out of 10)
TORPEDO 'ORPHEO_NEBULA VINYL' (BROKEN CLOVER
RECORDS/USA IMPORT)
Out of Lausanne, Switzerland comes TORPEDO, a band
formed in 2016 around Carole Obère, on vocals and guitar, Jérôme Diserens, on
bass and keyboard, and machines as only companions. In 2018 they released their
debut album, which was followed by a live album a couple years later after
Dutch drummer Andries Hannaart joined them. As a trio they recorded and
released Opheo_Nebula recently on Broken Clover Records. It concerns a
beautiful shiny red coloured vinyl edition I received, and the music of the
band is melodic alternative rock, kinda like a mix between WET LEG, SIOUXSIE
AND THE BANSHEES, SONIC YOUTH, HOLE and L7, yet with an own identity thanks to
the French lyrics. They completely surprised me, because most similar new acts
in this female fronted alternative rock genre follow a more or less routine
path that was originally created by acts like PATTI SMITH, THE SLITS and
JEFFERSON AIRPLANE during the 1960s and 1970s, but TORPEDO introduce different
sounds along the way, so they are quite experimental here and there, but on the
other hand they are also really melodic and catchy. Carole has a great
'speaking' voice and I think they would definitely earn a place at the LEFT OF
THE DIAL festival here in Rotterdam. I saw a similar French band called FILM
NOIR over there last year, but TORPEDO sounds more interesting as they are also
expanding their musical horizon with all kinds of other influences.
Post-Progrock, Post-Punk, Indie-Pop and even some Soul can be traced back in
their music. There is no single dull moment to be found here, and it surprises
me that this band has not been praised yet, because their album is much better
than the overrrated WET LEG of 2022. Let's hope 2023 will bring them more fame
and fortune, because they definitely deserve it! The album is available through
https://brokencloverrecords.bandcamp.com/
and more information can be found at: https://arakirecords.bandcamp.com/album/orpheo-nebula
(Points: 8.5 out of 10)
SCATTER SWEPT 'UNFOLDING VINYL' (BROKEN CLOVER
RECORDS/USA IMPORT)
Unfolding is the 2nd album of the band SCATTER SWEPT
from Oakland, California. They are formed around Ryohei Hinokuma, Matt Holt and
Patricia Kavanaugh, who all switch between guitar, bass and drums. Their music
is instrumental and of a very high level, and on vinyl it sounds really
perfect. They start like a sorta fusion jazzy proggy indie rockband, but slowly
develop into a pure melancholic post-progressive rockband during lovely songs such
as Minimal Mile and Illogical Philosophy. Although it all sounds minimal and
not too experimental, the music gives you a relaxing melodic feeling that just
feels very good while listening and everytime you want to listen to the album
again, because underneath there is a lot to discover here, especially due to
the fact that the bandmembers switch instruments and each individual plays the
particular instrument differently. Definitely a band to check out if you're
into the instrumental post-prog/indie side of life. The album is available
through https://brokencloverrecords.bandcamp.com/
and more information can be found at: https://scatterswept.bandcamp.com/album/unfolding
(Points: 8.3 out of 10)
+ OC 'PANDEMONIUM VINYL' (BROKEN CLOVER
RECORDS/USA IMPORT)
Now this is a really wicked album that is impossible
to describe, because the Spanish band +OC is as experimental as you can get,
starting as a Noise rockband, but on the next track diving into Doom Metal that
is completely outta control, so there is absolutely nothing standard about this
band. They sing in the Spanish language, and are as alternative and underground
as you possibly can get. They are originally a duo based in Madrid, Spain, but
are now operating as a trio. Their album Pandemonium is released on BROKEN CLOVER
RECORDS, and on vinyl it all sounds even more spooky. The band sounds like
you're somewhere in a hidden basement of an underground disco or rock club
(CBGB meets THE CAVERN CLUB meets NIGHTTOWN) somewhere in a dirty mean side
street of an old city. There is only one way to find out and that is listen to
them for yourself and you can do that through: https://tocmusicorum.bandcamp.com/album/pandem-nium,
while the album is available through https://brokencloverrecords.bandcamp.com/
(Points: 7.0 out of 10)
PINK MEXICO 'IDIOT PASS ILLITERATE VINYL'
(BROKEN CLOVER RECORDS/USA IMPORT)
PINK MEXICO hail from Brooklyn, New York, although I
believe they are now settled in Ridgewood, New York. Anyway, Idiot Pass
Illiterate is their 4th album, and musically speaking we are diving into some
serious classic rock and roll that does have a sorta both 70s and 90s approach.
It's the kind of Garage Rock you could hear about 30 years ago in a sorta
reaction to the alternative Seattle Grunge movement, yet it sounds quite
melodic and catchy with very strong vocals. The band somehow reminds me
slightly of BLUE OYSTER CULT, but with a clear 90s alternative touch that even
has some psychedelic hard rock influences like we once could hear from bands
like TEENAGE FANCLUB, ENUFF'Z'NUFF and KING'S X. On the other hand it is a bit
more alternative punky here and there, such as during the uptempo Backhanded Manly
Manaroni that also has a Powerpop touch, and Keep It Together sounds like IGGY
POP going for a melodic rocking approach. They remind me also of fellow New
York rockband BROWER a few times, so PINK MEXICO could easily fit the LEFT OF
THE DIAL festival line up here in Rotterdam. I also must not forget the BLACK
SABBATHish Not Feeling OK, which is a really cool simple rocking tune, and
perhaps the finest song on the album. This vinyl album really surprised me, and
I believe the band is able to deliver even more exciting records in the future
to come. The album is available through https://brokencloverrecords.bandcamp.com/
and more information can be found at: https://pinkmexico.bandcamp.com/track/pink-mexico-k-hole-lobotomy
(Points: 8.4 out of 10)
JUNE OF 44 'REVISIONIST: ADAPTATIONS AND FUTURE
HISTORIES IN THE TIME OF LOVE AND SURVIVAL VINYL' (BROKEN CLOVER RECORDS/USA IMPORT)
JUNE OF 44 is a band from Louisville, Kentucky, USA that
was active between 1994 and 2000, releasing 4 albums before quitting, but since
2018 they have started up again, with as result the new album Revisionist:
Adaptations And Future Histories In The Time Of Love And Survival, which has
been released on vinyl only by BROKEN CLOVER RECORDS. The band's music is very
original and a mix of all kinds of styles, but usually post-prog/indie math
rock is labelled to them. JUNE OF 44 consists of Fred Erskine – bass guitar, Sean
Meadows – vocals, guitar, Jeff Mueller – vocals, guitar and Doug Scharin –
drums, and Revisionist: Adaptations And Future Histories In The Time Of Love
And Survival was released 3 years ago. It starts very experimental (on both
sides of the record) with a noisy electronic 90s kinda underground (semi)
instrumental ambient rocksong (A Chance To Cure Is A Chance To Cut Your Face
and A Past to Face), but a song like Rerecorded Syntax is actuallly a beautiful
relaxing melodic song that has indie, shoegaze and post progressive rock parts
melted together quite nicely. Quite a few of the other songs have that same
kinda approach of mixing indierock and post-prog, and it makes this a pleasant
listening, especially if you like for example STEVEN WILSON. When the band goes
for a more uptempo rockier sound, such as during Post-Modern Hereditary Dance
Steps, they actually sound quite catchy and could almost be described as a
Post-Punkband from England! As you might have noticed, there is a lot to
discover here, because of the diversity of styles, so it is hard to just
mention math post prog rock. The album is available through https://brokencloverrecords.bandcamp.com/
and more information can be found at: https://juneof44.bandcamp.com/album/revisionist-adaptations-future-histories-in-the-time-of-love-and-survival
(Points: 8.3 out of 10)
DANIELLE DE PICCIOTTO 'THE ELEMENT OF LOVE VINYL'
(BROKEN CLOVER RECORDS/USA IMPORT)
Except for a little help of her
husband/guitarist/bassist ALEXANDER HACKE (of EINSTURZENDE NEUBAUTEN), American
multi-instrumentalist/singer/songwriter/producer DANIELLE DE PICCIOTTO did
almost everything on her own on the vinyl solo album The Element Of Love. She
has a rich music history that started in Berlin during the late 1980s, because
she founded the well-known Love Parade with her former partner DR. MOTTE and
eventually became an important person in the Berlin cultural scene. She
released several albums via collaborations, projects, bands and The Element Of
Love was her 2nd album, originally released in 2020. The music is a mix of spoken
word and experimental new age meets krautrock, and it is actually impossible to
describe or compare, so she does something unique for sure. It is an enjoyable
journey through the thoughts and landscape of Danielle, and you can hear it for
yourself at: https://hackedepicciotto.bandcamp.com/album/the-element-of-love.
The album is available through https://brokencloverrecords.bandcamp.com/
(Points: 8.0 out of 10)
AGRIO WITH PETE SIMONELLI 'THE THIN MAN EP VINYL'
(BROKEN CLOVER RECORDS/USA IMPORT)
AGRIO is the name of this Spanish duo that consists of
drummer JORGE FUENTES and multi-instrumentalist DAVID FLORES. In 2020 2 EP’s
were recorded and released as AGRIO. Sadly I missed the other, which featured
the late MARK LANEGAN (SCREAMING TREES, QUEENS OF THE STONE AGE) on vocals. The
other EP The Thin Man is recorded with guest singer PETE SIMONELLI. Out of the
3 songs included on this EP, I would like to point out The Scales Of Embrace,
which is basically pure progressive rock with an experimental twist and the
spoken word/screams of Pete. It is a fantastic and very interesting song that
puts you into a sorta trace due to the hypnotic synths by LEO MATEOS. I hope
that in the future more full-length albums will be released as AGRIO, because
these 3 songs already show that this duo can make some fabulous interesting
music. More info at: https://agrio.bandcamp.com/album/the-thin-man-ep.
The album is available through https://brokencloverrecords.bandcamp.com/
and more information can be found at:
(Points: 8.3 out of 10)
ELUSION 'THE FUNDAMENTAL PARADOX' (INDEPENDENT/BELGIAN
IMPORT)
There is so much quality music coming out of Belgium,
which if compared to the 1980s is a blessing, because back then only a handfull
of average bands was active. Nowadays there is an incredible scene of rock and
metalbands in Belgium. ELUSION is one of the bands that started in the mid
2010s, released an EP in 2016 and a first full-length CD in 2019, which is now
followed up by their 2nd album The Fundamental Paradox. The band is formed
around female singer EVY VERBRUGGEN, guitarist DOMINGO SMETS (who was once part
of the legendary Belgian black metal band ANCIENT RITES, which I heard the
first time on Studio Brussel more than 30 years ago!) and drummer FREDERIK VAN
MIEGHEM. Orchestrations are also done by Domingo, while JOERI HERREGAT fills
the bass duties on the album. The sound and production is massive and it is
easily a product of the modern age, combining melodic clean vocals and choruses
with growling from the classic underground black metal style (ANCIENT RITES),
while instrumentally it is a mix of AFTER FOREVER and EPICA, which means
melodic symphonic bombastic metal. Evy is an amazing lead singer, who has a
beautiful strong clean voice, but also grows like a black metal singer, and
that is something only a few are able to do. Songs like Acrimonious, In Balance
and Adversity sound really strong and will be right up your alley if you're
into any of the mentioned bands. There are countless bands doing this style,
and ELUSION is definitely one of the better newcomers. Especially for an
independent release it is an impressive album, so make sure to check them out
at: www.elusion.be
(Points: 8.2 out of 10)
DEZ DARE 'PERSEUS WAR' (CHIMP RECORDS/CREATIVE
ECLIPSE PR/GERMAN IMPORT)
DEZ DARE comes out of Australia, but is based in
Brighton, UK and Perseus War is his 3rd album so far. Musically speaking it’s a
mix of Garage Rock and Post-Punkrock, sounding quite raw and underground ish
most of the time. Dez has been in the music scene for over a few decades,
playing in several bands, but is now on a solo mission. 10 songs are included
on his new album, and if you like your music to sound noisy and raw to the bone
with that classic punk attitude, then look no further, because DEZ DARE fulfills all your wishes. This is
the way how real authentic rock and roll should sound like. Dez could easily
enter the line up of the yearly LEFT OF THE DIAL festival because that is
exactly the kind of music you hear most of the time over there each October in
Rotterdam. Make sure to check out Dez at: https://dezdare.bandcamp.com/
(Points: 8.1 out of 10)
ATSUKO CHIBA 'IT FEELS LIKE IT'S GROWING'
(MOTHLAND RECORDS/CREATIVE ECLIPSE PR/GERMAN IMPORT)
Out of Montreal, Canada comes ATSUKO CHIBA, a band
playing a mix of all kinds of music influences, but experimental
post-progressive/krautrock might be the best description here. Water, It Feels
Like It's Growing is their 3rd album so far, and besides the line-up of Anthony
Piazza - Drums, Projections, David Palumbo - Bass, Vocals, Eric Schafhauser -
Guitar, Synths, Karim Lakhdar - Vocals, Guitar, Synths and Kevin McDonald -
Guitar, Synths, there are a lot of guests on this new album (Vivianne Roy -
Vocals, Amélie Lamontagne - First violin, Edith Fitzgerald - Second Violin, Sarah
Martineau - Viola, Camille Paquette-Roy - Cello, Etienne
Lebel - Trombone, Nicolas Riverin - Trumpet and Philippe Brochu-Pelletier -
Saxophone). They give the album a rich diverse sound, and after a few repeated
listens I can guarantee you that ATSUDO CHIBA is a band to keep your eyes wide
open for. Opener Bozu starts atmospheric with this dark post-prog feeling,
kinda ambient, with even a touch of PORCUPINE TREE or OPETH, but next song
Perseus # 1985 is completely different as this is a funky groovy piece that is
based around the interesting drumwork of Anthony. What makes them still
accesible is the melodic clean vocals of Karim, which gives the band a nice
sorta catchy touch despite the experimental drift of the band. Myopic Tropic is
a brilliant piece of modern post-progrock with ambient trance/70s kraut alike
synths and beautiful atmospheric melodies that make this band as unique as for
example SOEN or KATATONIA or TOOL or MOTORPSYCHO. In total 10 songs are
included, and they do follow the melodic ambient post-prog direction most of
the time (Bloodbath-on-HI is another absolute highlight with it's 70s kraut
dreams approach), yet here and there also take a different rockier approach. Without
a doubt, this band is a must to check out if you care for original and unique
sounding prog. More info can be found at: https://atsukochiba.bandcamp.com/album/water-it-feels-like-its-growing
(Points: 8.8 out of 10
JAIME KYLE 'WILD ONE' (I WILL BE KING
RECORDS/CARGO RECORDS/UK IMPORT)
It must
have been in the mid 90s when I first heard
the talented JAIME KYLE. She is a gifted American
singer/songwriter/guitarist
who released her debut album The Passionate Kind back in 1992, but it's
following Back From Hollywood that landed on my desk as a young music
reviewer
in 1996. This fantastic AOR/Melodic Rock classic was an instant winner,
and she
was about to do a tour along with DANTE FOX, but sadly had to cancel as
her mother was dying of cancer. Anyway, she has built up a succesfull
songwriting career during the 90s,
00s and 10s, writing a lot of songs for big artists in the USA. Sadly
her solo
career was put on hold for over 20 years, but thankfully she now
returns with a
superb new album titled Wild One. WIth a little help of a lot of guest
musicians she recorded 12 new songs she produced herself. Her voice is
still
amazing, and I am very excited that she made this superb comeback
album!
Opener and titletrack Wild One is a wonderful start as
this is a lovely uptempo classic AOR/Melodic Rocker in the style of her
previous work, which is basically a must-hear to anyone with a heart for 80s
female fronted AOR/Melodic Rock. Following song Driving With The Brakes On
features punchy guitar riffs by KRIS BARRAS (known for his own KRIS BARRAS
BAND) and this is basically a great heavy bluesy hardrocksong in the style of
BLUES PILLS, WHEN RIVERS MEET and LARKIN POE. Change is a semi melodic rocker
with a 90s kinda female fronted pop/rock twist during the chorus. Blue Night is
a beautiful calm pop/rock ballad with a country crossover touch, basically
being a typical American(a) orientated piece that should do well on the US
radio stations, and here FAITH HILL, JEWEL or ILSE DE LANGE clearly come to
mind. Up next is the fantastic groovy bluesy vocal/guitar duet with the
legendary DAVE JENKINS (of PABLO CRUISE) on vocals and JERRY MCPHERSON (whom I saw once live in action in a small sold-out
club in Rotterdam when he had just released his sensational album Let The Good
Times Roll) on guitar. Lie follows, and this is a superb semi AOR ballad with incredible
vocals of Jaime. Her voice and music is quite close to ROBIN BECK and FIONA,
which can especially be heard during Kiss Dirt, a lovely uptempo AOR/Melodic
Rocker. The calmer bluesy/jazzy ballad Not About Love follows, and here we can
hear a lot of soul that almost touches ADELE! Body Of Gold is another nice
dirty mean groovy blues rocker in the style of LARKIN POE, while Dirty Goodbye
is a great uptempo melodic rocker. Broken is a nice slowtempo bluesy semi
rocker, and Happy Town closes the album in a smooth calmer fun uptempo soul
injected poprock style. Welcome back Jaime, and let's hope she will now keep
releasing new music, and perhaps come over for a tour, because everyone needs
to hear this incredible gifted singer/guitarist! More info at: https://www.jaimekyle.com/
(Points: 8.7 out of 10)
THE BLACK CAT'S EYE 'THE EMPTY SPACE BETWEEN A
SEAMOUNT AND SHOCK-HEADED JULIA' (TONZONEN RECORDS/CREATIVE ECLIPSE PR/GERMAN IMPORT)
Out of Frankfurt, Germany comes THE BLACK CAT'S EYE, a
band that was formed back in 2018, and they are now making their debut with the
full-length The Empty Space Between A Seamount And Shock-Headed Julia. Their
line-up consists of Christian Blaser - Electric and Acoustic Guitars, Vocals,
Keyboards, Wolfgang Schönecker - Electric and Acoustic Guitars, Steffen Ahrens
- Electric Guitars, Guitar Noises, Jens Cappel - Electric Bass and Stefan
Schulz-Anker - Drums and Percussion, and their music is mostly instrumental
based with a lot of prog and krautrock influences. Their album was mastered by
EROC, who did a lot of prog and krautrock albums in the past, and it all starts
with very calm smooth sounds as if you´re in a welness, but it slowly builds up
to a more kraut-progrock direction during the 20 minutes counting opener Kill
The Sun And The Moon And The Stars. Following song Katla takes you into pure progressive
rock territory, sounding quite experimental here and there, while the first
time we get to hear vocals is during Winter Song that takes you back to the
1970s when folky acoustic semi prog was made popular by countless bands,
although there's also a slight psychedelic rock touch to be heard. Although a
song like closing track Lostlostlostlostlostlost is a lovely modern melodic
psychedelic garage rocker with a sorta DAVID BOWIE meets SUEDE kinda feeling,
including strong melodic clean vocals (!), most of the album is definitely
instrumental post-progressive rock orientated, and it's all done at a very high
level, reaching the well-known LONG DISTANCE CALLING level. However there is
more to discover here as you could already read and thereforet his German band
is well worth checking out. More info can be found at: https://www.theblackcatseye.com and
https://theblackcatseye.bandcamp.com/album/the-empty-space-between-a-seamount-and-shock-headed-julia?from=hp
(Points: 8.3 out of 10)
DOBBELTGJENGER 'THE TWINS' (APOLLON
RECORDS/PLASTIC HEAD DISTRIBUTION/CREATIVE ECLIPSE PR/GERMAN IMPORT)
DOBBELTGJENER are not just another band from Bergen,
Norway, because they have quite a remarkable sound. The Twins is their 4th
album, and opener Rocket Shoes has a sorta late 80s/early 90s funky hi-tech
pop/rock approach in a way it reminds me of KING'S X doing a LIVING COLOUR
cover with the guys from RUSH while pretending to be PRINCE (!), so there's both
a prog and a catchy funky melody for the radio included, although the funk of
the 80s is clearly upfront here. Following Harakiri Witchcraft is perhaps even
stronger, while still following the same funky route, and actually the album
continues this way until the very end. I must also sometimes think of JETT
REBEL, yet DOBBELTGJENGER is more diverse perhaps, because there's also quite
some prog hidden in a lot of tracks, and a song like Purplegreenish is
extremely catchy and could easily become a huge radio hitsong! I guess by now
you will more or less understand what this is all about, although it will still
definitely surprise you! More info at: https://dobbeltgjenger.bandcamp.com/album/the-twins-2
(Points: 8.4 out of 10)
MOWGLI 'GUEULE DE BOA' (BMC RECORDS/CREATIVE
ECLIPSE PR/GERMAN IMPORT)
The French band MOWGLI consists of saxophonist/flutist
Ferdinand Doumerc (PULCINELLA), drummer Pierre Pollet and keyboard player
Bastien Andrieu, and their first album together is titled Gueulle de Boa.
Musically speaking we are drifting into the experimental world of jazz and
progressive rock, sometimes sounding rocky and at other times jazzy, but almost
always breaking the boundaries and challenging each other as a musician to come
up with interesting new melodies and complicated structures. From start to
finish the 8 songs provide you 50 interesting innovative minutes where you will
be surprised a lot of times. This is an album you need to listen to more than
once to discover something original everytime you revisit the album. The use of
70s ish sounding keyboards, complicated drumming and a sax that sometimes is
completely out of control, this makes the album a must to check out if you're
an open-minded jazz/prog fan. More info can be found at: https://bmcrecords.hu/en/albums/mowgli-gueule-de-bo
(Points: 8.3 out of 10)
LAUGHING STOCK 'SONGS FOR THE FUTURE' (APOLLON
RECORDS/PLASTIC HEAD DISTRIBUTION/CREATIVE ECLIPSE PR/GERMAN IMPORT)
LAUGHING STOCK is a Norwegian band, and Songs For The
Future is their 5th album so far. Their music is sorta 80s progressive/art-rock
orientated and this time they managed to have 3 special guest singers of the
legendary bands CAMEL (COLIN BASS), YES (BILLY SHERWOOD) and XTC (COLIN
MOULDING). They all sing each on 1 song of the 12 that are included in total. Although
the band is named after the TALK TALK song, and it all looks very 80s, the
music is not so much 80s uptempo pop/rock, but really calmer progrock
orientated in a way that it reminds of a cross between CAMEL and MARILLION/FISH,
yet with an own identity. The band does a great job to sound original and
forces you to listen to the album over and over again. Everytime you will
discover something new, and for the progfans among us this is definitely an
album that will end up high in the best albums of 2023 charts. One of the
absolute highlights is the superb The Other Side, but every song is a diamond
in the pearl. Check out more info at: https://www.laughingstock.no/
(Points: 8.2 out of 10)
ALLY VENABLE 'REAL GONE' (RUF RECORDS/GERMAN IMPORT)
When you manage to have both of the absolute blues
legends JOE BONAMASSA and BUDDY GUY appearing on your new album as guests when
you're only 23 years old, then you are definitely doing something in the right
direction. Texas, USA born ALLY VENABLE released her debut album in 2016, and
Real Gone is already her 5th album so far. She is signed to the well-known
blues label RUF RECORDS, and on her new album she comes up with 12 strong new
songs that she mostly wrote herself together with producer/drummer TOM
HAMBRIDGE and RICHARD FLEMING. Opener Real Gone is a strong uptempo bluesy
hardrocksong, but it's the following midtempo Going Home that nails it in being
this perfect big sounding midtempo bluesy southern rocker, while Broken And
Blue has one of the finest guitar solo's I have heard lately (although this was
done by Joe). Nevertheless, Ally is also a gifted guitarist who delivers some
excellent riffs and solo's throughout this lovely album, while vocally she has
a much sweeter (young soul-pop) tone in her voice that needs to age a bit I
think, just to give her music a rawer approach. BETH HART and especially JOANNE
SHAW TAYLOR also sound much stronger nowadays than in their early years. Without
a doubt the best song on the album is the superb midtempo Hold My Ground that
also shows Ally at her very best both vocally and instrumentally speaking,
while the melodic chorus is deadly catchy! She is clearly following the path of
all the other female guitar slingers in the heavy blues rock circuit of the
past 20 years, so better make sure to check out the new album of this talented
lady. More info can be found at: https://allyvenableband.com/
(Points: 8.3 out of 10)
VARIOUS ARTISTS ‘ECUATORIANA – EL UNIVERSO
PARALELO DE POLIBIO MAYORGA’ (ANALOG AFRICA/GERMAN IMPORT)
The German label ANALOG AFRICA returns with yet
another highly interesting compilation album of South American music from the
past. This time we are heading into Ecuador, and to be precise the Andean city
of Quito. This is the Ecuadorian capital and home to the music which makes up
this vital collection and which owes so much to the legendary musician POLIBIO
MAYORGA. He introduced the modern sounds of electronic equipment and a Moog
into the tropical psychedelic sound of the country, and this gave birth to an
unique sound that sounds at first sight very South American traditional, but
thanks to the electronic involvement, it somehow has a different approach. 16
songs are included, and the quality of the sound is really good, especially
when you learn that the music was recorded during the 1970s. Some of them are
very catchy and could easily turn into a massive radio hit or club hit, such as
the superb Mi Paisa by OLMEDO TORRES. On this particular song Polibio himself
also appears. I believe the album is also released on vinyl, so make sure to
grab a copy! More info at: https://analogafrica.bandcamp.com/album/ecuatoriana-el-universo-paralelo-de-polibio-mayorga-1969-1981-analog-africa-no-37
(Points: 8.2 out of 10)
