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HOT NEW REVIEWS
THE BUTTSHAKERS 'ARCADIA' (UNDERDOG RECORDS/FRANCE
IMPORT)
THE
BUTTSHAKERS are a sensational soul/funk/Motown influenced pop/rock band from
Lyon/France. The band was founded in 2007 and they were joined shortly after by
the superb Saint-Louis/USA born front woman CIARA THOMPSON. It’s quite
unbelievable that this band has not yet had their big breakthrough, because
their 5th album Arcadia from 2021 is a superb piece of soul-funk that should
definitely earn a place at the North Sea Jazz festival. Imagine a mix between
THE BLACK PUMAS, SHARON JONES AND THE DAP KINGS, YOLA and VINTAGE TROUBLE, yet
of course they are clearly influenced by the legends of the 60s/70s such as
JAMES BROWN, MARVIN GAYE and CURTIS MAYFIELD, while the band has of course
developed an own style by now. Besides Ciara on vocals, the other members of
the band are bassist Jean Joly, guitarist Sylvain Lorens, drummer Josselin
Soutrenon, trombone player Simon Girard and Baritone Sax player Léo Ouillon.
There are 10 strong songs on their latest album Arcadia, and opener Back In
America is a superb piece of midtempo funkiness that has so much soul, you
would think this is a classic from the 60s! Same goes for Not In My Name that
is even funkier and could be lifted from the 70s, and how about the amazing
Hear Me! It just goes on and on, because each and every song on this album is a
highlight, and reflecting all that we love about the 60s and 70s with its
groovy funkiness and soulful vocals. Ciara is absolutely one of the most
underrated singers at the moment! At times she even reminds me of the late
great TINA TURNER! Concluded, this is a wonderful band you don’t want to miss.
The other absolute highlights are Night Crawl, Daddy Issues and Go On. Do not
miss this gem, especially since it is already 2 years old you might have
overlooked it already, so go check them out at: https://the-buttshakers.bandcamp.com/album/arcadia and http://www.thebuttshakers.com
(Points: 8.9 out of 10)
SAM MILLAR 'MORE CHEESE PLEASE' (INDEPENDENT/UK
IMPORT)
SAM
MILLAR is a musician/songwriter/producer from the Greater Manchester, England
area, and after a couple of EP releases, he now releases his full-length debut
CD More Cheese Please. He used to be in the FRONTIERS RECORDS signed band
BIGFOOT, but eventually went solo and now handles all the guitars, songwriting,
vocals and production on his own, so he is a true all-round musician. Live on
stage he is joined by other musicians, such as Lucy Shevchuck (Guitar/Backing
Vocals), James Thorley (Keyboards), Benji Faith (Bass) and Alex Lacy
(Drums/Backing Vocals), but on this CD he did everything on his own. Anyway,
despite Sam is a young musician who was not alive in the 80s, his music is
obviously close to the 80s pop/rock sound. The humor of cheese in the title of
his first album might distract you from the fact that this is actually a high
quality polished radio pop/rock album.
The
Killing Floor opens the album, and right from the start you know you’re onto
something special and really good. This is basically picture-perfect hookladen
uptempo catchy melodic poprock/AOR like it was done 40 years ago! All the
aspects and ingredients are available here, and thanks to the wonderful
mastering of the legendary JON ASTLEY (ABBA, COREY HART, TEARS FOR FEARS, TOTO,
etc. etc.), the sound is superb and classic purest AOR/Melodic Rock/80s poprock
orientated. The chorus of this opening cut is deadly catchy, the keys are
nicely upfront when they need to be upfront, and the soaring guitarsolo and sax
at the back make this a true winner for fans of that catchy classic mid-80s
AOR/Poprocksound of let’s say THE OUTFIELD, HONEYMOON SUITE, HAYWIRE, RICK
SPRINGFIELD, LOVERBOY, etc. etc. It’s incredible to hear someone so young doing
it exactly right, because that is what Sam is doing all throughout the album.
Fooling Yourself is big-time mid-80s uptempo AOR all the way, even reminding of
AVIATOR and URGENT! Although it might sound a bit polished, keyboardfriendly
and lighter than the usual FRONTIERS RECORDS releases, this is definitely the
real deal, kinda reminding me of the first time when I heard MAGIC DANCE about
10 years ago (before they went through the Frontiers production-line and became
just another standard AOR/Melodic Rock act).
Anyway,
Something I’ll Regret is a poppy midtempo radiofriendly somewhat modern
sounding pop/rocker that should go down well on the radio if played regularly.
The song actually reminds me of new Dutch acts like THE VICES and SON MIEUX, so
it should guarantee them a hit over here if it is picked up by either Radio
Veronica or NPO Radio 2! When The Summer Ends slows things a bit further down
into a poppy modern direction (with still an 80s touch) that even recalls a bit
of HARRY STYLES! Chardonnay sets things straight again, although this is still
quite poppy, yet it has that 80s uptempo Poprock sound we all love so much.
CHESNEY HAWKES meets RICK SPRINGFIELD could be a description here, so the
cheese is definitely present here! Showbiz follows a similar direction, while
Forget You has a sorta 70s THE SWEET glamrock touch.
Dancing
On My Own is as close to the 80s as you can get, in a sorta tempo that reminds
me of ELTON JOHN’s I’m Still Standing, POINTER SISTERS’ I’m So Excited or HALL
& OATES, so it’s in the radio pop 1983 direction. Perhaps a bit too poppy
for the AOR fans, it is definitely a catchy little tune that would do well on
the radio. Déjà Vu has a Synthpop/Wave approach, yet still with the 80s AOR/Pop
sound, kinda like KYLE VINCENT if anyone remembers him! Neanderthal Man picks
up the 80s uptempo keyboardriven Melodic AOR/Poprock sound of RICK SPRINGFIELD
again, and closing track Meet Me Halfway is a very nice 80s
uptempo melodic AOR/Poprocker in the KENNY LOGGINS‘ Danger Zone style (yet with
a bombastic modern
radio-pop chorus). Sam
is besides a good singer also quite a great guitarplayer who plays a lot of
excellent soaring guitarsolo’s on the album, something you might not notice
when you have a quick listen, but after several times playing this great album
you can hear that Sam is truly a gifted musician. I would
personally have loved to see some more songs like those first 2 songs, and
perhaps a bit more rocking down the line, because Sam is definitely a rocker,
but I do appreciate he follows an own poppier style that could commercially
give him a boost for sure, because some of his songs have huge potential to
become radio hits.
Concluded,
it might all sound too good to be true, because the 80s are never closer than
on this new CD, so Sam definitely nails it, but I understand that people might
find it sound a bit too poppy, yet nobody can deny that More Cheese Please
might become one of 2023’s catchiest album of the year! If you appreciate 80s
acts like THE OUTFIELD, COREY HART, RICK SPRINGFIELD, URGENT (USA) and
countless others, and do not mind a modern retro touch as
well, then you will surely enjoy this lovely first album
of Sam! More info at: https://sammillarmusic.bandcamp.com/album/more-cheese-please and https://www.sammillar.co.uk/
(Points: 8.5 out of 10)
CARMEN SOUZA 'INTERCONNECTEDNESS' (GALILEO
MUSIC/GERMAN IMPORT)
Interconnectedness
is the name of CARMEN SOUZA's 10th album. She is a Portuguese singer/songwriter
with a Latin/Brazilian salsa kinda jazz style that sounds very smooth and is
quite relaxed to listen to, making it perfect for a sunday afternoon listen.
She writes her own songs and is helped by various musicians. Her voice is
unique and shows she has an own identity, while in combination with her own
self-written material is making her a highly recommended artist to check out.
She has been active for a long time now, and is settled in both Lisbon,
Portugal and London, UK, and meanwhile she has already built up a name for
herself. There is a lot of great material on her new album, but the absolute
highlights are definitely opener Kuadru Pintadu, the NINA SIMONE cover My Baby
Just Cares For Me, Mamam and the French Chanson influenced Sous le ciel de
Paris. Find more info on this talented singer/songwriter at: https://carmensouza.bandcamp.com/album/interconnectedness
(Points: 8.0 out of 10)
NOGA RITTER 'IMA' (GALILEO MUSIC/GERMAN IMPORT)
Here
we have a very interesting solo debut album of the London based
singer/songwriter NOGA RITTER, who combines Hebrew Jazz, World Music with a
modern melodic pop chorus. She could easily become a big star, because her
material is rather catchy actually, yet without losing her authencity.
Musicians plying on her album include guitarist Phil Dawson, bassist Liran Donin,
piano/keyboardplayer Tomer Eldor, trombone player Patrick Kenny, backing
vocalists Lis Murphy, Victor Oliveira, drummer Giuliano Osella, percussionist Maurizio
Ravalico, bassist Nim Sadot, percussionist Dembis Thioung, tenor saxophone
player Tony Koifi, trumpetplayer Byron Wallen, kora player Seckou Keita and a
few others. Highlights are the catchy Ofek, Departure, Ima (with lovely kora
playing), the superb Encounter (with a bluesy laid-back guitar sounding
incredible!) and Waiting For Change. Concluded, this is an original and quite
impressive first solo record of this talented singer/songwriter NOGA RITTER.
More info can be found at: https://www.nogaritter.com/
(Points: 8.6 out of 10)
ANNA
SETTON 'O FUTURO E MAIS BONITO' (GALILEO MUSIC/GERMAN IMPORT)
ANNA SETTON is a
Brazilian singer/songwriter who currently lives in Portugal. She has worked
with a lot of famous Brazilian Bossanova/Jazz musicians, but started a solo
career back in 2018, and her new album O Futuro E Mais Bonito contains mostly
self-written material. She has a lovely voice and her music immediately sets
you in the right summer ish Portuguese/Mediterranean mood or Brazilian tropical
heat feeling. The music is laid-back Brazilian jazz-pop light with a Bossanova
touch and it all sounds very cheerful and relaxed. I mean that this is really
good high quality stuff, with as highlights Sigo Dizendo Sim, Aproximar (huge
hit potential) and Canto de Aruanda (with guest singer ZE MANOEL. Concluded, this
is an enjoyable fun summer ish record. More info can be found at: https://annasetton.bandcamp.com/
(Points:
8.2 out of 10)
JOANNA
WALLFISCH 'ALL IN TIME' (GALILEO MUSIC/GERMAN IMPORT)
JOANNA WALLFISCH is a
London born vocalist-composer, multi-instrumentalist, author and painter, who
currently lives in NY/LA, USA, and I am somewhat surprised that she isn’t
a household name yet, because when listening to the first couple of songs on
her 6th album All In Time, the particular tunes Praying Mantis
and Killer Whale are definitely high quality material, and also sounding very
original. The music combines several influences, a bit of classical music,
jazz, chamber pop, atmospheric celtic folk-pop melodies and much more, and
thanks to the beautiful vocals of Joanna a joy to listen to from start to
finish. Joanna sings with an unique voice and that makes her music really
attractive to listen to. Hard to compare, but perhaps BARBRA STREISAND meets SHARON
CORR meets TORI AMOS could be a description. Other highlights besides the
strong first 2 songs are Desert Wind (a little bit reminding of KATIE MELUA),
Uprise Skyward and the French Chanson influenced Pont Louis Philipe. The music
is calm, atmospheric and very relaxed to listen to, and there is no single weak
moment to be found, so definitely a recommended album! Check out more info
at: https://www.joannawallfisch.com/
(Points:
8.2 out of 10)
MALASANERS
'VENCEREMOS' (GALILEO MUSIC/GERMAN IMPORT)
The German band
MALASANERS return with their 3rd album Venceremos, and
musically speaking the 4-piece band sound quite interesting, melting
celtic-punk, folk and a touch of hardrock/metal. The band coinsists of Appun,
Cornelius: Lead Vocals, Guitars, Del Pino, Carlos: Lead Vocals, Banjo, Guitar,
Randy, Andy: Back Vocals, Upright Bass and Schödel, Dominik: Drums. Their new
album is a very interesting adventure, because there is quite some diversity
going on, because during the best song on the album, Final Song, we get to hear
pure melodic hardrock, uptempo and very catchy, with some lovely guitarwork.
However, most of the time the band is playing pure Celtic-punk a la DROPKICK
MURPHYS, which can be heard right from the start during Rise And Fall. Other
highlights are the fast melodic hardcore punkrocker Motherfucker Kill Them All
(a la IGNITE), Put A Light In Your Window (sing-a-long ballad with a folk
touch, like DROPKICK MURPHYS of course) and Troubles (a calmer sing-a-long
pop/rock in 70s style SLADE/SMOKIE). Concluded, there is a lot to discover
here, although the band is mostly doing celtic-folk-punk-rock and roll. The
band mixes elements of punk, folk, celtic, rock and metal, and it’s always
catchy, featuring raw dirty mean vocals. It’s all done at a very high level, so
go check them out if you’re becoming interested at: https://malasaners.bandcamp.com/album/venceremos
(Points:
8.0 out of 10)
MARCUS
COLL 'NOMADE' (GALILEO MUSIC/GERMAN IMPORT)
The Spanish musician
MARCUS COLL is a successful blues musician. For over 30 years he has been
active, and on his new CD Nomade he goes back to his early days. On his harmonica
he plays from Galician muñeiras to coplas castellanas to boleros or norteñas
Mexicanas, with a dash of blues of course. He is assisted by JAIRO ZAVALA
(DEPREDO), who produced the album and he can also be heard as a musician with
his two colleagues Hector Rojo and Martin Bruhn. Musically speaking not really
blues orientated, but if you like for example TOOTS THIELEMANS, then this
harmonica based album is a highly recommended piece to check out. More info
at: https://marcoscoll.com/
(Points:
7.1 out of 10)
SCOTT
WEIS BAND ‘RAISE YOUR HANDS’ (INDEPENDENT/MICHELLE CASTIGLIA PROMOTION/USA
IMPORT)
Raise Your Hands is
already the 8th album of the American band SCOTT WEIS BAND. Guitarist/vocalist
SCOTT WEIS is joined by drummer ROGER VOSS, bassist ROBERT KOPEC, vocalist
CINDY MIZELLE, keyboardplayer JOHN GINTY and percussionist BASHARI JOHNSON,
while there is also a guest vocalist called SARAH SMITH. The included music is
overall high quality Blues Rock, yet with also influences from other (hard)
rock styles. 11 songs are included, and from start to finish this is an
enjoyable and very diverse CD. I particularly love the ZZ TOP ish uptempo
rocker Judgment Day and the groovy guitar driven hard southern rocking Raise
Your Hands. Scott is a great singer with a perfect raw vibrato in his voice,
while his guitarwork is phenomenal and breathes an old school RORY GALLAGHER
approach. Even the BEATLES/JOE COCKER cover With A Little Help From My Friends
sounds sensational, so basically this CD is of a very high level from start to
finish. A perfect birthday present this album! More info can be found at: https://scottweisband.com/
(Points:
8.3 out of 10)
IVANOVIC 'XENOS' (RUE DES
BALKANS/ABSILONE/SOCADISC/VEEV.COM/FRANCE IMPORT)
A
very interesting adventure, progressive rock riffs with Arabian melodies, kinda
like ALTIN GUN meets PORCUPINE TREE and Balkan jazz influences as well, so this
is unique for sure! Opener the best and the English song Heartbeat is a very
relaxing tune , melodic progrock a bit, while other songs also reflect other
World Music influences, such as the great Ici-la Bas and original cover of Rung
Of Fire JIHNY cash, BEST AT THE BEGGINIHG LATER a bit stabdard
(Points: 8.1 out of 10)
DUSTIN DOUGLAS & THE ELECTRIC GENTLEMEN 'BLACK
LEATHER BLUES' (MOMOJO RECORDS/USA IMPORT)
Out
of Pennsylvania, USA comes the heavy blues/southern rockband DUSTIN DOUGLAS
& THE ELECTRIC GENTLEMEN. They are an old-school Power Blues Rock trio
formed around vocalist/guitarist DUSTIN DOUGLAS, bassist MATT GABRIEL and
drummer TOMMY SMALLCOMB. Black Leather Blues is their 3rd album, and musically
speaking they are clearly influenced by CREAM, JIMI HENDRIX, JACK WHITE and
anything in-between. Dustin is an amazing vocalist/guitarist who has the voice
of a Rock God and plays the guitar as being the next big Guitar Hero. The
rhythm section is also very tight and gives Dustin the groove he needs, which
you can hear especially during songs like Burnin' Down, Good Love, What You See
and Do Watcha Gotta Do. Without a doubt, this is a highly recommended album you
absolutely need to check out if you call yourself a dedicated rocker! More info
at: https://dustindouglasmusic.bandcamp.com/album/black-leather-blues
and http://www.dustindouglasmusic.com/
(Points: 8.3 out of 10)
CECILE BROCHE '3D@PARIS' (DISCUS MUSIC/UK IMPORT)
CECILE
BROCHE is a French musician who plays electric violin, and along with RUSS
LOSSING (piano, fender rhodes, hammond) and drummer SATOSHI TAKEISHI she
created a great piece about Paris, which musically speaking is instrumental
complex avant-garde/freestyle jazz, yet with also influences from other music
influences and the Paris street sounds. Cecile plays sometimes really beautiful
on her violin, but at times she experiments, and basically that is what she is
telling us on this CD. It is the soundtrack to the city of Paris, which can be
very noisy, dirty and mean, but also has a romantic side. I think she captured
both moments very well here on this album. It's an enjoyable adventure that
takes you straight into the city life of Paris. Actually it's not even jazz,
because it is the soundtrack of one of the greatest cities on this planet.
Relive your memories by listening to this CD. More info at: https://discusmusic.bandcamp.com/album/3d-paris-156cd-2023
(Points: 7.8 out of 10)
STEVE TROMANS & MARK SANDERS 'MOUNTAINS,
MEDITATIONS, MURMURATIONS' (DISCUS MUSIC/UK IMPORT)
STEVE
TROMANS (piano) and MARK SANDERS (drums) joined forces to record an improvised
album together in Birmingham, UK. The result is an interesting adventurous record that clearly has an own style.
It is an instrumental CD consisting of 8 parts that are situated around two
mountains, three meditations, and three murmurations, interwoven in a dynamic
duo performance, presented in order of emergence at the time of the music’s
making. It feels like the soundtrack to an exciting documentary about a natural
landscape. It really has that kinda feeling, with calmer and more exciting
parts all throughout the CD. It keeps you impressed and interested all
throughout the album. It is such a joy to hear these 2 gifted musicians only
play the piano and the drums, and still create something so unique and
enjoyable, it will surely impress each and everyone that will hear it.
Experimental Classical Music, freestyle jazz and documentary music are blended
perfectly here, This is definitely another recommended CD on DISCUS MUSIC. More
info at: https://discusmusic.bandcamp.com/album/mountains-meditations-murmurations-157cd-2023
(Points: 8.2 out of 10)
JOHNNY HUNTER, MARK HANSLIP, OLIE BRICE 'DIVISIONS'
(DISCUS MUSIC/UK IMPORT)
4
improvised pieces can be found on the CD Divisions by the trio HUNTER, HANSLIP,
BRICE, whom consists of Johnny Hunter - drums, composer, Mark Hanslip - tenor
saxophone and Olie Brice - double bass. The included music is somewhat
experimental freestyle jazz. It is actually an epic concept album, because Divisions
is divided in 4 parts that are around 8-10 minutes long each. It starts as a
freestlye jazz sax dominated album, but as the CD continues it becomes more
experimental and gets really exciting during an almost krautrock kinda piece
such as part 2. It's basically all about improvisation, and that is what these
3 musicians are doing at a very high level. More info at: https://discusmusic.bandcamp.com/album/divisions-153cd-2023
(Points: 8.0 out of 10)
FORMOSA
‘BITTERSWEET’ (INITIATIVE MUSIK GMBH/GERMAN IMPORT)
The German band
FORMOSA was founded back in 2015, and Bittersweet is their 4th album
so far. Their previous album Danger Zone was released on METALVILLE RECORDS,
but this new one is an independent release. The band is a threesome formed
around Nik Bird – vocals/bass, Nik Beer – guitar and Paris Jay – drums. 10
songs are on this new CD, and the album starts with a very catchy uptempo
melodic hardrock tune called Burning Desire, which has a superstrong chorus
that you will be singing along quite easily. The vocalwork is quite good
(reminding me of the KINGDOM COME singer crossed with a bit of high pitched
AXXIS/ANGEL HEART kinda vocals), the guitarwork is mostly classic 80s German
Hardrock/Metal orientated (SINNER, ACCEPT, VICTORY) and the songs are all very
melodic and reminding of bands like JADED HEART, BONFIRE, PINK CREAM 69, BLACK
PAISLEY and such Northern European Melodic Hardrockbands. Horns Up follows, and
this is a pretty good catchy old-school late 80s midtempo melodic hardrocksong
that has a bit memories of VICTORY. The band is doing a great job actually, and
I might add here that Bittersweet is their finest album so far. Other
highlights are the uptempo melodic hardrock pieces Melinda, Crawling Through
The Night and Living On A Blade. Job done well for sure, so make sure to check
it out in case you call yourself a dedicated Melodic Hardrockfan! More info
at: www.formosaband.com
(Points:
8.2 out of 10)
SPIRIT TOMB ‘SPIRITUS LACRIMARUM’ (APOLLON RECORDS/GYMNOCAL/NORWAY IMPORT)
SPIRIT TOMB is the
solo project of Norwegian artist LEON KRISTOFFER. Based on poems by EDGAR ALLAN
POE, Leon recorded a full-length CD on which he played the instruments by
himself (cello, piano), and he sings as well. The music is dark, slow, calm,
but it’s also very haunting and exciting, with a classical music approach that
works really well with Leon’s theatrical kinda voice. It is almost impossible
to compare this CD musically speaking, although here and there JOHN GRANT comes
to mind, yet it is definitely different, and I think Leon did a great job in
sounding original, although I understand that this might not appeal to each and
everyone out there. Check for yourself at: https://spirittombaandegrav.bandcamp.com/album/spiritus-lacrimarum-dolorem-in-lacrimas-efundere
(Points:
7.7 out of 10)
MATJE
‘SUR MON DOS’ (d'À Côté/INOUIE DISTRIBUTION/VEEV.COM/FRANCE IMPORT)
MATJE is a French
singer/songwriter/guitarist/musician who combines the French chanson with World
Music and Afro-Latin influences, and on his new album Sur Mon Dos he is joined
by several other musicians such as drummer FRANCOIS CAUSSE, saxophone player
ALAIN DEBIOSSAT and quite a few more, but also a few guest vocalists to sing
duets with Matje. The music is cheerful and sounds like the summer, especially
due to the combination of latin groove rhythms and the French Chanson choruses.
11 songs are included, and a lot of them could easily become big hits, such as
the catchy titletrack Sur Mon Dos (featuring Isla on additional vocals). Check
more info on Matje at: https://matjebandcamp.bandcamp.com/album/sur-mon-dos
(Points:
7.7 out of 10)
MARYANN
STEFANIK ‘TIME’ (INDEPENDENT/USA IMPORT)
Here we have an
independent mini CD release by singer/songwriter MARYANN STEFANIK from the city
of Newton, New Jersey. Along with the help of BRYAN LAMAR and JEFF COULTER, she
recorded 5 songs that musically speaking have a clear IGGY POP meets PATTI
SMITH kinda post-punk approach that sounds rather good and quite professional.
It rocks for sure and Maryann could easily be the child of Iggy and Patti,
although there’s also some similarities to JANIS JOPLIN. The previous album
that was also sent to me was sadly missing the actual CD in the package, so I
could only listen to this new mini-CD. More info at: https://maryannsmusic.com/about
(Points:
7.7 out of 10)
SUBSIGNAL 'A POETRY OF RAIN' (GENTLE ART OF
MUSIC/SOULFOOD/UK IMPORT)
A
Poetry Of Rain is the 6th album of one of the best progressive rock/metal band
around nowadays, SUBSIGNAL. The band was founded in 2008 by former SIEGES EVEN
members Arno Menses (vocals) and Markus Steffen (guitars), and along the way
other bandmembers came and were replaced, leading to a 2023 line up that
further consists of drummer Dirk Brand, keyboardplayer Markus Maichel and
bassist Martijn Horsten. Their previous studio album La Muerta was one of the
best albums released in 2018, so after 5 years of waiting we have high hopes
for another sensational album.
The
album starts with a short intro called A Poetry Of Rain before it transforms
into high class uptempo melodic progressive rock during the song The Art Of
Giving In that sounds like what we are used to hear from SUBSIGNAL. This song
has all the SUBSIGNAL ingredients needed to make it a great song, and sometimes
it also reminds me a bit of THRESHOLD. The AOR influences shine through nicely
during the following superb semi ballad Marigold, which is an abslute winner
and sensational song that has some beautiful harmonyvocals in a TOTO/CHICAGO
style, while also a prog version of JOURNEY could be mentioned here.
Progressive Heaven is basically what we can hear during the wonderful Silver
(The Sheltered Garden), which once again has the lovely SUBSIGNAL melodies
during the brilliant chorus. The album continues with Impasse, which is another
sensational song, this time a bit epic and more prog rock based, with a
distinctive 1970s approach, in a way reminding of classic KANSAS and STYX, also
while listening to all these beautiful melodies. Next track Embers Part 2:
Water Wings is a fantastic uptempo progressive AOR rocker with a brilliant
catchy AOR chorus that reminds me of 3 (the 80s band formed around ROBERT
BERRY) or YES circa Owner Of A Lonely Heart. The sensational high level just
keeps going and going on this new SUBSIGNAL, so there's no holding back here.
Also following song Melancolia One is a great uptempo melodic progressive
rocker, while A Wound Is A Place To Let The Light In is a beautiful semi ballad
that once again combines the best of neo-prog and TOTOish AOR. The Last Of Its
Kind is a great epic progressive rocker with a sorta SPOCK'S BEARD touch, and
closing CD bonustrack A Room On The Edge Of Forever is a beautiful calmer
acoustic based ballad with very strong harmonyvocals, and here the band sounds
dangerously close to CHICAGO.
Concluded,
SUBSIGNAL have done it again, releasing one of the finest albums of the year. A
Poetry Of Rain is another masterpiece, and all I can say is that you better
make sure to check out this superb band a.s.a.p. at: www.subsignalband.com because they are
together with THRESHOLD belonging to the best prog bands in the past 20-25
years!
(Points: 8.9 out of 10)
NICK
PERRI & THE UNDERGROUND THIEVES ‘TERRA FIRMA’ (INDEPENDENT/USA IMPORT)
Multi-instrumentalist
NICK PERRI comes out of Philadelphia, USA, and his music career started about
20 years ago. He played in the hardrockband SILVERTIDE in the beginning, but
also with some other bands along the way, while he also played for SHINEDOWN,
MATT SORUM and a lot more. He released a solo record somewhere along the way,
and since 2018 he has the band THE UNDERGROUND THIEVES (consisting of Justin
DiFebbo - Hammond organ, piano, wurlitzer, moog + other assorted synthesizers,
background vocals, Brian Weaver – Bass, Zil Fessler – Drums and Mark Melchiorre
Jr – Wisdom) helping him out, although Nick does a lot on his own, also on the
new album Terra Firma. It’s a double CD set that contains 14 long songs in
total, so there’s a lot to enjoy here.
Opener Waiting For You
shows right away that we are dealing here with an incredible high level of
uptempo indie/Americana melodic pop/rock style that reminds a bit of BEAR’S
DEN, RYAN ADAMS and THE WAR ON DRUGS. Everything sounds fresh and crystal clear
here, Nick has a great smooth voice and the songs are super melodic, with a
slight 80s touch (TOM PETTY/JOHN COUGAR) and even a little bit BLUE OYSTER CULT
here and there, yet sounding modern in a way like aforementioned bands. The
great thing about this 2-CD set is that it is at a very high level right from
the start until the very end, so it keeps you pleased and entertained all the
way. Other highlights are the midtempo pieces I Won’t Change and Kiss The World
Goodbye, the lovely lengthy semi-ballad Modern Man (including an AORish chorus,
some really great 70s ish Hammond work and a superb mind-blowing soaring 80s
metal guitarsolo), the uptempo BLUE OYSTER CULTish AOR/Melodic Rocker Exist, I
Want To Be Free and the groovy rocking Last Flame. There’s so single weak
moment to be found here!
Without a doubt, Nick
delivers here his little masterpiece that should easily get him attention from
both the music press and music fans worldwide. There are definitely a lot of
songs that could gain him radio airplay. More info can be found at: https://nickperrimusic.com/
(Points:
8.9 out of 10)
TOMMY
LEE COOK & THE BUCKINGHAM BLUES BAND ‘TOMMY LEE’S JONESIN’ (MICHELE
CASTIGLIA/USA IMPORT)
Here we have a pure
Blues record, which sounds dirty, mean and raw, with a mostly slow smokin’ vibe
in a way that does reflect a sorta MUDDY WATERS / BB KING approach in the
instrumental department, yet Tommy has an own vibrato in his voice that reminds
me a bit of TOM WAITS. Anyway, TOMMY LEE COOK is a very diverse person, because
he is not only a musician, but also an author, studies history and raises
mules. However, this CD is reflecting his first true love, which is the blues
that he performs during 12 songs. He plays guitar and sings, while he is joined
by THE BUCKINGHAM BLUES BAND. This band consists of guitarist REX BONGO,
keyboardplayer HARRY CASSANO, guitarist SCOTT KAMENER, guitarist ARNE ENGLAND
and drummers TBONE FRANK and ANDREI KORIBANICS, while there are also a few more
guests such as guitarist DANNY SHEPARD and JUSTIN RICHEY. Anyway, this is blues
the way it needs to sound, just listen to the slow Tommy Lee’s Jonesin, and
then you will get the picture of what they are trying to achieve here! Job well
done and definitely a must for fans of TOM WAITS, TONY JOE WHITE, etc. etc.
More info at: https://www.last.fm/music/Tommy+Lee+Cook/+wiki
(Points:
8.2 out of 10)
BIANCA JAMES ‘BIANCA JAMES’ (FACTOR/GYPSY
SOUL/WARNER/FUGA/IT’S ALL HAPPENING)
Out
of Canada comes the sensational singer/songwriter BIANCA JAMES who makes her
debut with this same titled CD. Her album was recorded in L.A., Toronto and in
the UK (in the iconic Konk studios of THE KINKS), it was produced by ROB
KLIENER (SIA, DAVID GUETTA) and multi-instrumentalist THOMAS MCKAY (who also
plays bass, strings, mellotron, guitar and percussion), while she is also
helped by a list of musicians that includes the saxophone player GENE HARDY of
MICHAEL BUBLE fame, drummer DAVIDE DIRENZO and several others. As soon as
opener Black & Blue blows through the speakers, it is clear that we are
dealing here with something special! Bianca’s voice is incredible and this
first song is a very catchy radio-ready well-produced midtempo tune that
combines retro pop, soul and Motown, yet it sounds crystal clear and up-to-date
for the modern generation. Of course similarities to ADELE and AMY WINEHOUSE
are very clear, but Bianca has her own identity that you will recognize after
multiple spins of her album. Following song Monaco is uptempo retro soul and
definitely another winner, reminding even a bit of CARO EMERALD, yet much
rockier, and for me personally an absolute highlight of 2023! This first album
of Bianca simply shows that she could easily become the next big star! Of
course I am not yet able to judge how she acts live on stage, but vocally and songwise
she has definitely a huge potential! There’s no weak moment to be found here,
and Bianca shines here big time and perhaps she has released one of the finest
albums of 2023 in the soul, jazz, Motown, pop genre (along with OLIVIA DEAN’s
debut album). Although a bit poppy and quite polished, a song like Inside Out
has got all the ingredients to become a huge hit in case you long back to the
days of pure catchy fun uptempo Soul/Motown, because this song is dangerously
close to DIANA ROSS, THE SUPREMES and even SHEENA EASTON’s Morning Train) and
mixing ADELE and AMY WINEHOUSE is perfectionated during the midtempo Last
Words. Concluded, this is an album you absolutely don’t want to miss! The only
regret is that it’s only about 30 minutes of playing time, which is rather
short of course, but thankfully from start to finish the music and performance
is at an incredible high level! Hopefully next year she will be able to
showcase her talent at the North Sea Jazz festival. Check out more info at: www.biancajamesmusic.com
(Points: 8.9 out of 10)
/SIN’DOGS/ ‘RENASCENCE’ (INDEPENDENT/TENACITY/DAVE
HILL/UK IMPORT)
/SIN’DOGS/
was formed about 6 years ago, and before the pandemic this Glasgow, Scotland,
UK band released their debut, but sadly they couldn’t do much during 2020 and
2021 due to covid. However, fast forward to 2023, the band underwent some
line-up changes, and currently consists of vocalist PETER SCALLAN (MORITZ,
SAMSON, LAURENCE ARCHER, CHASAR, etc), keyboardplayer DAVID COWAN (BAND OF
FRIENDS), guitarist ANDY MCLAUGHLAN (BBC, LARRY CARLTON), drummer TODD MACLEOD
(HARDLINE, JIMI ANDERSON GROUP) and bassist NELSON MCFARLANE (THE SENSATIONAL
ALEX HARVEY EXPERIENCE), and they make a comeback with a new 4 tracks counting
EP. Opener Day of Reckoning is a superb groovy classic hard rocker that has got
a lot of influences actually, because there is a cool keyboardsolo hidden
halfway the song and some serious guitar riffs are going on here, while the
song itself sounds like a mixture between TALISMAN (circa Humanimal),
WHITESNAKE, THUNDER, BADLANDS and BLUE MURDER (a lot!), so basically there’s a
sorta late 80s/early 90s kinda feeling, yet the keys and modern production
gives it an up-to-date fresh approach. It’s a pity only 4 songs are included,
because this band has a lot more to offer I think, and you definitely want to
explore them much further. A song like the superb uptempo modern sounding
Melodic Hardrocker Knock Em Dead sounds like a cross between HAREM SCAREM’s
Mood Swings and WINGER (like their new album) and actually all 4 songs are a
joy to listen to if you’re a fan of aforementioned bands! Hopefully a
full-length record will follow in the near future! Meanwhile check out this
strong band at: www.facebook.com/Sindogs
(Points: 8.4 out of 10)
COLLAPSE UNDER THE EMPIRE 'RECURRING' (FINALTUNE
RECORDS/BROKEN SILENCE/CREATIVE ECLIPSE PR/GERMAN IMPORT)
For
over 15 years the German instrumental post-progrockband COLLAPSE UNDER THE EMPIRE
has been creating absolutely wonderful instrumental music that eventually even
found it's way to Hollywood, because it was used in movie trailers and many
documentaries. Anyway, Recurring is their new album, and once again we are
spolied with high quality instrumental cinematic post-progressive rock in a way
that it does remind a bit of PORCUPINE TREE, yet less experimental and perhaps
a bit more bombastic with melodies and sounds that will appeal to a lot of
people. 9 songs are included in total on their 8th album, and the duo (MARTIN
GRIMM and CHRIS BURDA) did a truly wonderful job, because from start to finish
this is a sensational album. Many highlights can be mentioned here, such as the
proggy Revelation, the Synthwave ish Mercy and Genesis. The artwork is
phenomenal, and if I read it well, this album will only be available as part of
an 11-LP Vinyl Boxset that contains all their albums. That box set will
probably be the must-have for any fan of instrumental post-progrock, because
COLLAPSE UNDER THE EMPIRE are definitely one of the finest acts in this genre!
More info can be found at: http://collapseundertheempire.com/
(Points: 8.8 out of 10)
CLOSURE IN MOSCOW 'SOFT HELL' (BIRD'S ROBE
RECORDS/MGM/CREATIVE ECLIPSE PR/GERMAN IMPORT)
It
took them 9 years but the 4th album of the Australian band CLOSURE IN MOSCOW is
a very original sounding record that is clearly different than their first 3
albums. It's a funky melodic progressive rock record that sounds right from the
start very catchy with the strong Jeager Bomb. The band consists of guitarist/vocalist
Mansur Zennelli, guitarist Michael Barrett, drummer Salvatore Aidone, bassist
Duncan Millar and vocalist Christopher de Cinque, and they definitely have an
own style that combines progressive rock with some quirky pop melodies and a
touch of powerpop-postpunk here and there, ending up sounding like a cross
between THE HIVES, MUSE and RUSH! Without a doubt, this new album will
definitely appeal to the open-minded progfans and the regular modern rockfans
among us, because it is both catchy and melodic, while also being experimental
enough to keep up the interest. More info at: https://www.closureinmoscow.com/
(Points: 8.2 out of 10)
MANU LOUIS 'CLUB COPY' (IGLOO RECORDS/BROKEN
SILENCE/CREATIVE ECLIPSE PR/GERMAN IMPORT)
Club
Copy is the title of the new album by the Belgian musician MANU LOUIS. It is
filled with rather experimental hi-tech modern disco music with various guests
to give it a richer sound, although I am personally not that convinced about
the intentions. No saying the music is bad, because there is quite some stuff
to discover here, but I think it is mostly of interest for fans of the
disco/electronic music scene. More info at: http://www.louislouis.org/web/
(Points: 6.5 out of 10)
PAGEANT 'WALKIN' THE LINE' (INDEPENDENT/USA IMPORT)
I
don't receive many packages from the US state of North Carolina, but here we
have one from that state. The best band ever to emerge from North Carolina was and
still is SUGARCREEK, and despite it's hard to beat those legendary
AOR/pomprockers, PAGEANT delivers a high class piece of pure 80s Melodic
Hardrock/Hair Metal as if we turned back the clock to the year 1988! They were
formed during the covid period, and now they welcome us their first album
Walkin' The Line. The trio consists of Roxxi Dirt on bass and vocals, Dylan
Dynasty on drums, and Dezzy Foxx on lead guitar, and actually they are closer
to Sleazy Hardrock of the late 80s era than the more melodic polished
glamrocksound of bands like POISON, MOTLEY CRUE and PRETTY BOY FLOYD. PAGEANT
sounds tougher with a certain sound that reminds me a lot of bands like DOGS
D'AMOUR, CATS'N'BOOTS, BRITNY FOX, KIX, HORSE LONDON, TATTOOED LOVE BOYS, GUNS'N'ROSES,
ZODIAC MINDWARP and even a bit BLACK'N'BLUE. This is raw, dirty mean and
straight in your face ballsy classic sleazy hardrock with a focus on hard
hiting guitars and strong vocals, while the catchy choruses are easy to
sing-a-long to. A total of 8 tracks are included, and from start to finish this
is an enjoyable journey that has it's highlights during Voodoo Kiss, Walkin'
The Line (RATT meets DOKKEN) and Better Things Coming. Without a doubt, a
highly recommended band to fans of aforementioned bands. More info at: https://officialpageantband.com/
(Points: 8.3 out of 10)
BODYGUERRA 'INVICTUS' (FASTBALL MUSIC/GERMAN IMPORT)
BODYGUERRA
is a German band formed around vocalist ELA STURM, guitarist GUIDO STOECKER,
bassist ROBERT BRENNER and drummer JASON STEVE MAGENEY, and Invictus is their
new album. The female fronted band is playing typical German Melodic Hardrock
that does have a lot of similarities to legendary bands like VICTORY, VANIZE,
BONFIRE, V2, MALLET, etc. etc. Perhaps nothing new under the sun, the fans of
aforementioned bands might want to check out BODYGUERRA, whom are giving us a
nice mixture of melodic hard rock and some faster heavy rockers. Check out more
at: https://www.bodyguerra.com/
(Points: 8.1 out of 10)
THE GROOVE KREWE FEATURING JONATHON BOOGIE LONG 'BLUES
FROM THE BAYOU EP' (SOUND BUSINESS SERVICES/GERMAN IMPORT)
Here
we have a sensational new blues album, which sadly only contains 5 songs, but
the high quality of each and every song is definitely making it worth checking
out. The South Louisiana, USA based band THE GROOVE KREW is formed around Rex
Pearce (producer, guitarist), Nelson Blanchard (bassist, guitarist), and Dale
Murray (percussion), and along with key musicians from the New Orleans area,
they record music, and Blues From The Bayou is an EP they recorded with the
superb vocalist/guitarist JONATHAN BOOGIE LONG. Besides Nelson, also a lot of
guests played in the legendary AOR band LE ROUX, but on this EP it's all about
classic blues rock. From start to finish it's an enjoyable CD that should
easily appeal to fans of blues rock in the style of WALTER TROUT and JOE
BONAMASSA. More info can be found at: https://thegroovekrewe.hearnow.com/
(Points: 8.5 out of 10)
SCREAMING ANGELS 'HIGH CLASS ROCK'N'ROLL' (INDEPENDENT/UK
IMPORT)
Sometimes
in this hectic world you just need some simple basic but high class rock and
roll the old fashioned way like AC/DC, KROKUS, ROSE TATTOO, CHOIRBOYS and such
bands. Well, here is the band SCREAMING ANGELS from Northern Ireland, and right
from the start on their new CD we can hear uptempo classic hardrock at it's
very best, which is thanks to a biting rhythm section, a straight-ahead no-nonsene
guitarist and a fantastic picture-perfect singer for this kind of raw dirty
mean honest rock and roll. I was not familiar with them before, but I believe
High Class Rock'n'Roll is the band's 3rd CD so far. Their line-up consists of lead
vocalist Chris Fry, guitarist Adrian McAleenan, bassist Ryan Lilly and drummer
Kyle Cruikshank, and as already mentioned it is all about serious
Hardrock'n'roll that in the beginning is pure AC/DC and KROKUS alike during songs
like Thunder & Lightning and .45, but as the CD continues the band develops
an own identity with such great tunes like Rebel, Better Days, the melodic
hardrocking Heart Of Stone and Hot Stuff that even reveal a bit of GUN, THE
SCREAMING JETS and THE CULT of the late 80s semi sleazy hardrock movement.
Without a doubt, this SCREAMING ANGELS is a highly recommended band from
Northern Ireland! More info can be found at: https://screamingeaglesrock.com/
(Points: 8.8 out of 10)
LIPSTICK ‘DAILY GRIND ALWAYS ON MY MIND! SEATTLE GLAM
ROCK 1982-1984’ (NW METALWORX MUSIC/USA IMPORT)
LIPSTICK
was a short lived Seattle, USA based band that only managed to appear with a couple
of their songs on a compilation record, record a few unreleased studio demos
and a handful of live recordings that were caught on tape. All these songs have
recently been put together and released on CD by NW METALWORX MUSIC. The CD is titled
Daily Grind Always On My Mind and it seems to also serve as a tribute to their
late singer PAUL PASSARELLI, who sadly died in 2023. The 4-piece band played
typical early 80s US Glam Metal in the style of MOTLEY CRUE, QUIET RIOT, TKO
and a touch of classic 70s San Francisco Hardrock a la Y & T and MONTROSE
ft. SAMMY HAGAR. The CD has a fantastic extensive booklet that contains all the
information you need to know about LIPSTICK. Somewhere in the late 70s pre-LIPSTICK
bands featured future members of QUEENSRYCHE, and during those early years it
was unknown how this would all develop in the future, but sadly LIPSTICK nowhere
near reached the fame and fortune of QUEENSRYCHE. Anyway, the foursome consisted
of lead singer PAUL PASSARELLI, bassist BRETT MILLER, guitarist DAVID VAN LIEW
and drummer JIMMY PARSONS, and here we have a collection of 16 LIPSTICK tracks
that not always sounds crystal clear, as some of the recordings are quite raw,
but you will get a good idea of the sound of these guys. Tragedy would struck in
May 2023 when Paul suddenly passed away due to a heart attack. Paul was working
on this LIPSTICK CD compilation, but never managed to see the result.
Anyway,
thankfully the CD is now released and we can enjoy his vocal efforts here. Opener
Daily Grind shows that these guys surely knew how to rock hard back in the day.
This SAMMY HAGAR/MONTROSE/Y&T ish melodic heavy rocker sounded very promising,
and later on the CD we get to hear some more of that stuff, such as the awesome
Dog In The Sack (recorded during a live gig at a high school in 1983!), Talk Is
Cheap and . Besides originals, the band also did covers of songs of CHEAP
TRICK, KISS, MOTLEY CRUE and Y&T. Without a doubt, this is a great piece of
history of Seattle Hardrock/Metal music before it became known as the Grunge
capital of the world! The CD is available through https://nwmetalworxmusic.com/products/36568289-lipstick-daily-grind-seattle-glam-rock-1982-1984-new-cd
(Points: 8.0 out of 10)
DAVE KELLER ‘IT’S TIME TO SHINE’ (TASTEE TONE RECORDS/MICHELLE
CASTIGLIA PROMOTION/USA IMPORT)
I was
not familiar with the American singer/songwriter/guitarist DAVE KELLER, but
after hearing his new album It’s Time To Shine, I am definitely going to check
out this talented musician. Besides Dave on vocals, guitar and writing all of
the songs, he is joined by Ira Friedman (keyboards), Jay Gleason (drums,
percussion), and Alex Budney (bass), while horns are coming from Mark Earley
(tenor and baritone sax), Tom Palance (trumpet), and the backing vocals are
from Annika Chambers-DesLauriers. His music is rootsy blues/soul injected
R&B Rock and Roll in an old school direction while still having an up-to-date
sound. In The Netherlands we have acts like DAWN BROTHERS, SVEN HAMMOND SOUL
and DE WOLFF being very popular in doing the same thing that Dave is doing on
his 11th CD. It connects the worlds of soul, rock, blues, old school
R&B and lots more, and this all can be heard during the 12 songs that are
included on the CD. The material was recorded in November 2022 at a cabin in a
small town close to the Canadian border. The result is a superb collection of
songs that also here and there have that typical touch of American
Heartland/AOR due to Dave’s lovely voice that sounds like a cross between JIMI
JAMISON and GENN HUGHES, yet musically it is closer to the aforementioned Dutch
acts as well as JOE BONAMASSA, THUNDER, and FREE melted with SAM COOKE during
the slower songs. Absolute highlights are the midtempo bluesy rockers Waiting
For The Sunrise, The Truth Of The Blues and the AORish Full Measure Of Pleasure
and Hard To Believe. It’s also a very diverse CD that will appeal to a lot people.
Dave is an underrated singer/musician, and hopefully more people will discover
him soon. It would be even more interesting to get him over here to perform in
Europe, because there are lots of blues festivals where he can easily play and
convince many more people. Fingers crossed for now that will happen in 2024,
and make sure to check out this sensational album of him at: https://www.davekeller.com and https://davekeller.bandcamp.com/album/its-time-to-shine
(Points: 8.8 out of 10)
JIM KIRKPATRICK ‘DEAD MAN WALKING’ (US ONE
RECORDS/CENTRAL PRESS/UK IMPORT)
The
British singer/songwriter/guitarist JIM KIRKPATRICK is best known as the lead guitarist
in the legendary AOR/Hardrock/Bluesrock band FM, but during corona he surprised
everyone with a superb new solo album titled Ballad of a Prodigal Son. Now 3
years later he releases a follow-up entitled Dean Man Walking, and he once
again sings and plays guitar,bass, percussion and harmonica besides writing all
of the 10 included songs. He is assisted by Leon Cave – drums, Jem Davis –
keyboards, Chris Cliff – bass, Ollie Collins - bass, John ‘Rhino’ Edwards –
bass, Claire ‘Fluff’ Smith – Fiddle, Scott Ralph – Horn arrangement, Alex
McIlquham Jones, Sara Miller – Backing vocals and Charlie Olins- orchestration,
and without a doubt this new album is a lovely effort that should be checked by
everyone out there that wants to hear original high quality music.
Opener
Dead Man Walking (co-written by the late BERNIE MARSDEN – RIP) is a superb
midtempo bluesy AOR/Melodic Rocker with a light country/southern rock twist that
reminds me a lot of JOHNNY VAN ZANT (BAND) and LYNYRD SKYNYRD. It rocks for
sure and it sounds very melodic and soulful thanks to the superb vocals of Jim.
He also knows how to play the guitar at an exceptional level, so if you’re a fan
of JOE BONAMASSA, LAURENCE JONES or KENNY WAYNE SHEPHERD, then also please make
sure to check out JIM KIRKPATRICK, because he belongs in the same league! Other
highlights on his new album are the semi-ballad The Journey Home, the country-rock
influenced Union Train, the slow bluesy Road Of Bones (with a WHITESNAKE touch)
and Hold On. The record is a melting pot of various influences, but if you’re
good with melodic bluesy rock/hardrock and a little bit of country-southern
rock fried AOR of all the aforementioned acts, then you will absolutely love Jim’s
new CD Dead Man Walking. More info at: https://www.jimkirkpatrick.com/
(Points: 8.8 out of 10)
DERDIAN ‘NEW ERA PART 4 RESURGENCE’ (INDEPENDENT/ITALY
IMPORT)
About
20-25 years ago I was a huge fan of Euro/Italo Power Metal, and back then that
genre was also very popular thanks to acts like LABYRINTH, RHAPSODY,
STRATOVARIUS, SONATA ARCTICA, KAMELOT, VISION DIVINE and many more. In the
slipstream countless new bands were formed and signed to the existing labels,
but now many years later not many of them survived, and the genre has also gone
underground meanwhile. DGM is one of the few that kept the flag going on a
rather high level, and also DERDIAN is an Italian band that mainted the high quality
of their earlier albums. I have lost count somewhere (8th album I think),
but New Era Part 4 Resurgence is the new album of DERDIAN that is currently
existing of vocalist IVAN GIANNINI (who also plays keys), guitarist HENRY
PISTOLESE, guitarist DARIO RADAELLI, bassist MARCO BANFI and drummer SALVATORE
GIORDANO. The music is as already mentioned typical melodic Italo Power Metal
with a focus on bombastic orchestral anthems that feature massive choruses to
sing-a-long, while the high pitched vocals and neo-classical guitar solos are
making it a very melodic affair that will mostly be loved by fans of LABYRINTH,
VISION DIVINE and RHAPSODY. Perhaps nothing new is happening here, the result
is still a catchy album that is done the way it needs to be done within this
genre, sounding bigger and more epic than all the other releases in the
Italo/Euro Power Metal genre. Highlights are The Grin Of Revenge, The Evil Messiah
and All Is Lost, and you can easily purchase this CD if you’re a fan of any of
the mentioned bands and of course if you’re familiar with DERDIAN’s earlier
albums. The artwork is excellent as well, so you get the whole package of
dungeons and dragons power metal here! More info at: https://www.derdian.com/site/ and https://derdianofficial.bandcamp.com/
(Points: 8.3 out of 10)
IDRISSA SOUMADURO ‘DIRE’ (MIERUBA RECORDS/XANGO MUSIC)
Diré
is a town in Mali where musician IDRISSA SOUMADURO grew up, and now in his 70s
he recorded an album that tells us about that time some 50 years ago. Idrissa
plays guitar, kamalen n’goni and sings, while he is assisted by Amadou Bagayogo
(Guitar), Yao Dembele (Keys, Bass), Yvo Adabi (Drums, Percussion), Bouramani
Kouyate (Guitar), Mahamoudou Drame (Djely N’goni, N’goni Ba), Cheick Diallo
(Flute), Soungallo Diarra (Balafon, percussions) and Yacouba Sissoko (Calabash).
His music combines all kinds of influences, which is a mix between country,
soul, African Blues Rock, World Music and much more. Although clearly African
sounding it has a strong 70s kinda vibe with some really accessible pop melodies,
and sometimes it even reminds me a bit of CYMANDE, yet with a modern African
Desert Rock kinda touch. From start to finish this is an enjoyable album that
has a very catchy groovy vibe, and it might belong to some of the best new African
music at the moment! More info at: https://idrissa-soumaoro.bandcamp.com/album/dir
(Points: 8.5 out of 10)
BIXIGA 70 ‘VAPOR’ (GLITTERBEAT RECORDS/XANGO MUSIC)
Out of São Paulo, Brazil comes BIXIGA 70, and this interesting band
offers the highest quality of music to have emerged from Brazil since AZYMUTH.
Without a doubt, their new album Vapor is a sensational piece of summer
friendly cheerful instrumental Brazilian Jazz with a Latin and Progressive Rock
touch, all done in a very authentic 70s kinda direction. Of course SANTANA is a
close comparison here, and AZYMUTH comes to mind as well, but BIXIGA 70 has an
own style that is also situated around the horn section with a subtle soaring
guitar here and there, but also some cool synths in a song like Na Quarta-Feira
that gives the band a huge sensational sound that will appeal to fans of (70s) jazz,
world music and even prog/sympho. Not a single weak moment can be found on the
new album of BIXIGA 77, so it is a highly recommended album to check out
a.s.a.p.! The band is by the way formed around Daniel Verano – Trumpet, Douglas
Antunes – Trombone, Daniel Nogueira - Tenor Saxophone, Cuca Ferreira - Baritone
Saxophone, Cristiano Scabello – Guitar, Pedro Regada – Keyboards, Marcelo
Dworecki – Bass, Valentina Facury – Percussion and Amanda Teles – Percussion,
while there are guest appearances by Vitor Cabral – Drums / Simone Sou – Drums,
Percussion / Rômulo Nardes –Percussion / Mayara Almeida – Tenor Saxophone and Marcelle
Barreto – Percussion. Vapor is their 6th album, and I can easily give
it a huge recommendation! Check out more info at: https://bixiga70.bandcamp.com/album/vapor
and https://www.facebook.com/bixiga70
(Points: 8.7 out of 10)
LAS LORONAS ‘OUT OF THE BLUE’ (MUZIEK PUBLIQUE RECORDS/XANGO
MUSIC)
Out
of Brussels, Belgium comes the all-female trio LAS LORONAS, and their latest
album is titled Out Of The Blue, a beautiful 2nd album of these girls that combine
folk, jazz, fado, flamenco, salsa, folk, world music and pop music perfectly,
and featuring lovely melodic harmonyvocals throughout the 11 included songs. Sura
Solomon (BE/USA, vocals, guitar), Amber in ’t Veld (ES/NL, vocals, accordeon
and ukelele) and Marieke Werner (DE, clarinet, vocals) started as buskers, but
eventually these musicians developed themselves into a strong musical trio that
sounds like a calmer version of let’s say THE CORRS and THE STAVES, yet with a
focus on more authentic Spanish/Latin/Jazz alike approaches in their mostly calmer
music. It feels like a mixture of latin, jazz, folk and pop, but done in a very
original way, so LAS LORONAS is definitely a band you need to check out! More
info at: https://laslloronasmusic.org/
(Points: 8.2 out of 10)
BEAUX GRIS GRIS ‘LIVE IN THE UNITED KINGDOM 2023’
(GROW VISION/CENTRAL PRESS PR/UK IMPORT)
The
Californian band BEAUX GRIS GRIS & THE APOCALYPSE consists of GRETA VALENTI
/ LEAD VOCALS, PERCUSSION (USA), ROBIN DAVEY / LEAD GUITAR, BACKGROUND VOCALS
(USA/UK), STEPHEN MILDWATER / BASS, PERCUSSION, BACKGROUND VOCALS (UK), EMMA
JONSON / PIANO, KEYTAR, BACKGROUND VOCALS (UK) and TOM RASULO / DRUMS,
PERCUSSION, BACKGROUND VOCALS (USA), and they have been playing their mix of
Lousiana blues, soul, folk and rock for over a long time now, so their recent
tour in the UK was recorded and released now as Live in the United Kingdom. Recorded
live on tour April & May 2023 across the UK, the 2 CD set gives you a
really good idea of this great female rocking band. CD 1 contains theatre shows
they did, while CD 2 is focused on the clubshows they did. Check out more info
on them at: https://beauxgrisgris.bandcamp.com/album/live-in-the-united-kingdom-2023
(Points: 8.0 out of 10)
VARGAS BLUES BAND ‘STONER KNIGHT DELUXE EDITION’ (INDEPENDENT/SPAIN
IMPORT)
JAVIER
VARGAS is a very talented guitarist from Madrid, and he has a band formed
around him. Javier has been releasing records for over 30 years now, and I lost
count somewhere, but a lot of albums have been released since 1991. Stoner
Knight is their latest CD release, and it is without a doubt a very strong album.
It comes in 2 editions, and we focus on the deluxe edition that Javier kindly
sent me for a review. 12 songs are included in tota;, and opener Talking Loud
is a great heavy blues rocker in a style like we know it from JOE BONAMASSA, KENNY
WAYNE SHEPHERD, LAURENCE JONES, etc. Following Driving Through The Night however
is a classic early 80s melodic rock based tune in the style of WHITESNAKE,
BERNIE MARSEN, URIAH HEEP and RAINBOW, so with a real British Classic Rock
approach. This mixture makes VARGAS BLUES BAND a very interesting band for a
lot of music fans out there. Although the fantastic singer MERRICK WELLS sings
a lot of the songs, a few of the tracks included on this CD are sung by JON
BYRON JAGGER, who is the nephew of MICK JAGGER (ROLLING STONES), and those
songs do reflect a pure ROLLING STONES kinda bluesy rootsy rock and roll reflection.
Other involved musicians in the VARGAS BLUES BAND are drummers JOTA MARSAN and
QUINO GIMMENEZ and bassist LUIS MAYO, while saxophone player GAUTAMA DEL CAMPO
guests on several songs. Besides the earlier mentioned songs other highlights are
Looking For Rock, Savage Woman Blues and Karma Never Lies, and of course the instrumental
songs Blues The Healer and Blues The Power, on which Javier shows that he is a very talented
guitarist, but he is also able to write some great tunes as well, so make sure
to check out his music at: https://www.vargasbluesband.com
(Points: 8.3 out of 10)
KOSASA ‘FE LEVE LO MORT’ (CHANTE ET TAIS
TOI/VEEV.COM/INOUIIE DISTRIBUTION/FRANCE IMPORT)
KOSASA
(Exploring the World Through Music) is the latest project by French artist DAVID
SUISSA, and the album is titled “Fé lève lo mort“. David plays guitar and sings
besides composing all of the included songs, while he is assisted by Mélanie
Bourire (percussions, voice), Teddy Doris (trombone), David Doris (percussions,
congas), Lélin Gado (voice), Sébastien Joanniez (voice, lyrics), Luc Joly
(saxophone), Vincent Girard (bass, doublebass, compositions), Frédéric Madia «
GiliK » (percussions, voice), Anne Gaëlle Hoarau (voice), Marcel« Willy »
Phyleas (rouleur) and Eno Zangoun (percussions, voice). Together these
musicians from Saint-Denis, the capital city of Reunion island have recorded an
interesting album that took place between October 2019 to July 2022. Musically
speaking it is an interesting diverse affair that contains spoken word,
experimental world music, popmusic, latin and lots more influences. Check for
yourself at: https://www.suissamusic.com/
(Points: 8.2 out of 10)
AMIN AL AIEDY ‘SHAMS’ (MUSIQUES EN BALADE/VEEV.COM/INOUIE
DISTRIBUTION/FRANCE IMPORT)
Shams
is the new album of AMIN AL AIEDY, who composes and is an oud player who was born of an Iraqi father. He is helped by Vincent Forestier: piano, Matheo Cielsa: drums and Jean
Waché: doublebass, and musically speaking it is instrumental music based around
Amin’s playing on the oud, yet combining the best of the eastern and western music.
Although it feels like you’re close to the Arabic world most of the time, there
is this modern jazz and even light prog touch to be heard here and there, which
makes this a really impressive album to check out. Amin is an amazing oud
player who created all these beautiful melodies on the ancient instrument. Although
sometimes quite calm, there are also heavier parts where the jazz and prog influences
are very prominent. You can find more info at: https://www.aminalaiedy.com
(Points: 8.4 out of 10)
DATAROCK ’MEDIA CONSUMPTION PYRAMID’ (APOLLON RECORDS/YAP/CREATIVE
ECLIPSE PR/GERMAN IMPORT)
Out
of Bergen, Norway comes DATAROCK, a band that was formed in 2000, and since
then they have made quite an impact in the music industry. Their breakthrough
single “Computer Camp Love” placed at #88 on Rolling Stone’s “100 Best Songs of
2007” – and their debut ended up scoring the 36th Best Album of the Year in the
era’s preeminent music bible – NME. Anyway, we are now in the year 2023, and DATAROCK
has a new album out titled Media Consumption Pyramid. The album contains 11
songs and it is musically speaking a typical modern danceable cuber/nu-disco/wave
affair in a style I am not that familiar with, because it is compared to bands
like THE CHEMICAL BROTHERS, HOT CHIP, FOALS and such, although on the other
hand opener Aradillo Part 2 also reminds me a bit of TALKING HEADS and DAVID
BOWIE, while a song like Heart Shaped Circle has a lot of 80s new wave influences.
Along the way you can also pick up KRAFTWERK influences, but TALKING HEADS is
definitely the best comparison! Done very well, and as I was not familiar with
this interesting band before I am going to check out their back catalogue as
soon as possible. Meanwhile, check out their new album at: https://apollonrecords.8merch.com/product/datarock-media-consumption-pyramid-cd
(Points: 8.3 out of 10)
PIXIE NINJA ‘HYPNAGOGIA’ (APOLLON RECORDS/YAP/CREATIVE
ECLIPSE PR/GERMAN IMPORT)
PIXIE
NINJA is a Norwegian band that goes a bit further than the average
neo-progressive rockband, because their 3rd album Hypnagogia offers
a lot variety due to the fact it melts prog, kraut, electronic music and jazz
influences, with a clear focus on exciting and challenging instrumental
passages that stretches from 70s prog/sympho, jazz-fusion, 90s progrock,
krautrock, weird noises to experimental modern avant-garde jazz parts. This
makes it a pleasure to listen to the CD from start to finish, because everytime
you discover something new. PIXIE NINJA consists of guitarist Jostein Haugen,
multi-instrumentalist Marius Leirånes, Swedish drummer Mattias Olsson and
Musician, songwriter, producer Jørgen Munkeby (on opener Thanatosis). Together
they created 7 wonderful songs on this new album that should appeal to a lot of
people, especially those who are open-minded and interested in hearing original
instrumental music that blends several music genres. The production is
top-notch, and from the first note on it is a pleasure to listen to. Fans of
PORCUPINE TREE will definitely like this. More info at: https://pixieninja.bandcamp.com/album/hypnagogia
(Points: 8.7 out of 10)
THIERRY ARNAL ‘THE OCCULT SOURCES’ (ATYPEEK MUSIC/CREATIVE
ECLIPSE PR/GERMAN IMPORT)
This
album is actually a soundtrack to a web series and movie that is situated
around a project called The Occult Sources: Deep Inside The Abode Of Chaos,
which French musician THIERRY ARNAL started in 2019 with LAURENT COURAU, who is
a writer and movie maker. Thierry played in several bands (FRAGMENT, AMANTRA,
HAST…) and now with this solo album he is entering the instrumental movie/soundtrack
music world. It is quite experimental when listening to the CD, because you don’t
have the images in front of you, but it’s all well done and definitely of
interest for fans of darker sounding movie theme music, although the prog and
krautrock fans might also want to find out more on this release, which is
possible via: https://soundcloud.com/thierryarnal
(Points: 8.0 out of 10)
ANDERS BUAAS ‘THE WITCHES OF FINNMARK’ (APOLLON
RECORDS/CREATIVE ECLIPSE PR/GERMAN IMPORT)
ANDERS
BUAAS is best known as being a touring guitarist for PAUL DIANNO and TIM RIPPER
OWENS, but he was also involved in several other mainly Norwegian bands and
projects. He started a solo career in 2017 when releasing The Witches Of
Finnmark, and now in 2023 this album has been re-released. It’s an instrumental
journey based on stories about the prosecution of witches in Finnmark in the
16th and 17th century. Although it only has a playing time of about 30 minutes,
the included music is beautiful, with a focus on calmer melodic soaring
guitarsolo’s that will definitely be appreciated by the progfans out there,
although a few songs even reflect GARY MOORE. Anders is an amazing guitarist,
and this 2017 solo CD release showed that he could deliver beautiful
instrumental music. Check for yourself at: https://andersbuaas.bandcamp.com/album/the-witches-of-finnmark
(Points: 8.6 out of 10)
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