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HOT NEW REVIEWS
DEATH MACHINE
‘DAWNING EYES’ (CELEBRATION RECORDS/RILLBAR/BELIEVE/CREATIVE ECLIPSE PR/GERMAN
IMPORT)
Out of Copenhagen, Denmark comes the interesting band
DEATH MACHINE. Their 4th album is called Dawning Eyes, and musically
speaking they are leaning towards a calmer slightly experimental melancholic
indie/folk pop/rock sound that sounds quite catchy when going for an uptempo
rockier sound, such as can be heard during the lovely Beat The Drum. The band
is formed around Jesper Mogensen - vocal & guitar, Sven Busck Andersen –
drums, Morten Vinther
Ørberg – bass and Simon Christensen –
keys, and most of the 19 (!) included songs are as mentioned calmer, with a
focus on darker melancholic folk/harmonyvocal driven choruses. They do remind
of FLEET FOXES, MIDLAKE and FAMILY OF THE YEAR, yet with a sorta sinister dark
touch here and there. Other highlights include the midtempo cheerful Found A
House, the groovy Modern Man, the proggy Dawning Eyes and Fences. Concluded,
this is quite a nice record to check out. It has a long playing time and
overall it’s actually quite diverse, although the aforementioned acts are clearly
good comparisons to draw while listening to the new album of DEATH MACHINE. Check
them out at: https://deathmachine.bandcamp.com/album/beat-the-drum
(Points: 8.2 out
of 10)
SLUNG ‘IN WAYS’
(FAT DRACULA/REPUBLIC OF MUSIC/CREATIVE ECLIPSE PR/GERMAN IMPORT)
Now here we have a sensational debut album of a new
British female fronted heavy rockband from Brighton/Hove. They are called
SLUNG, and their music is a mix of sludge/doom/stoner rock/metal with some
pop/rock melodies here and there. The resulting album In Ways is definitely one
to check out, because it offers a lot of interesting material that is heavy,
groovy and melodic. Opener Laughter is stoner rock at it’s finest, but when
hearing the following melodic rocking Class A Cherry, you can clearly hear that
this is a band that could easily become the next big thing in and outside the
rock/metal scene. There’s a 90s alternative rock touch also to be heard in a
song like Come Apart (THE CRANBERRIES meets THE GATHERING), which once again
shows what an incredible lead singer we have here! KATIE OLDHAM is her name,
and the rest of the band consists of guitarist Ali Johnson, bassist Vlad
Matveikov and drummer Ravi Martin. Influences pass by that range from QUEENS OF
THE STONE AGE to FLEETWOOD MAC to MASTEDON to CHAPPELL ROAN. The album
continues with 8 more diverse songs that blend a progressive rocking groovy 90s
alternative rock rhythm section with post-rock/stoner guitar riffs and
beautiful vocal pop melodies, as if all of the aforementioned bands created a
new project/band together. I am safe to say that SLUNG is a band that has the potential
to become really big in the future, which is thanks to an amazing female
singer, a strong rocking band and a handful of damn catchy ‘diverse’ rocking
tunes. Do not miss this band! They have delivered one of the finest female
fronted heavy rock albums in recent years! Check them out at: https://artascatharsis.bandcamp.com/album/in-ways
(Points: 8.7 out
of 10)
CIAO KENNEDY
‘SOLARIUM LP VINYL RECORD EDITION’ (SDBAN/N.E.W.S./BELGIUM IMPORT)
Out of Brussels, Belgium comes a very strong exciting
new band called CIAO KENNEDY, and Solarium is their debut album. I received a
lovely looking vinyl edition of the release, and without a doubt, it sounds
picture perfect while playing it on the turntable. The instrumental modern
retro sounding music of CIAO KENNEDY takes you into a fascinating journey this
young Belgian band creates on their first full-length album. It’s a spacey
adventure that challenges sounds that could have been produced way back in the
1970s by a German Krautrockband, because that is where CIAO KENNEDY reminds me
of mostly, although 80s sci-fi movie/synthwave is also clearly hearable (when
listening to superb songs like Annexe and 3Stuck. Of course you can also hear
Fusion, Jazz and Symphonic/progressive rock elements, but overall the band
sounds like a classic Krautrockband meets 80s synthwave, with a focus on
beautiful melodies played on the keyboard (TANGERINE DREAM, GROBSCHNITT,
KRAFTWERK, etc). The band’s line up consists of Samuel du Fontbaré – guitar, Leopold
de San – guitar, Simon Boonen – drums, Geronimo de Halleux – keys and Gaspard
de Bellefroid – bass. The combination of a keyboardplayer upfront most of the
time, and 2 guitarists as well as the rhythm section gives the band a full rich
sound that should easily find it’s way to the fans of 70s/80s synth driven
kraut/wave. Side-B offers slightly more diversity, as we’re seeing here some
lounge, fusion and even psychedelic rock influences pass by, such as can be
heard during the excellent closing track Hush Hush. Altogether, this is a great
debut album that is definitely recommended to check out! More info can be found
at: https://ciaokennedy.bandcamp.com/album/solarium
(Points: 8.4 out
of 10)
ERIC JOHANSON
‘LIVE IN MISSISSIPPI’ (RUF RECORDS/GERMAN IMPORT)
ERIC JOHANSON is one of the finest new hotshots in the
world of blues/rock. This American blues rock singer, guitarist, and songwriter
has been making music since he was very young, but it took some time to release
original studio albums. In 2023 he released his finest effort so far, his 4th
album The Deep and the Dirty, which musically speaking gained him a position
close to similar guitarists such as JOE BONAMASSA, KENNY WAYNE SHEPHARD and
PHILIP SAYCE. In 2024 a live concert of him was recorded and is now released as
Live In Mississippi on RUF RECORDS. Right from the start with the uptempo
rockers Nowhere To Go and Undertow, it is clear that not only his studio
material, but also live on stage Eric is a phenomenal guitarist and singer.
During covid he started to make a name for himself, but performing in Europe
started just recently (2024), so let’s hope he will come over soon again to
perform, because this live CD shows that he is definitely the absolute future
in heavy blues rock. His band further consists of bassist Will Repholz and
drummer Terry Scott Jr. whom provide a solid rhythm section for Eric. As
already mentioned, he is both a phenomenal guitarist, but also his soulful
voice is very enjoyable, such as can be heard during the calmer pieces like for
example Just Like New and the superb songs Yellow Moon and Changes The Universe
(INCREDIBLE!). The set has a nice mixture of calmer bluesy pieces and
straight-ahead uptempo hard rocking tunes, and from start to finish Eric sounds
picture perfect both vocally speaking and on the guitar. This is quite unique
and especially JOE BONAMASSA fans should really check out Eric from the newer
generation of blues rock musicians, because he delivers the same high level of
music, both in the studio and live on stage. Perhaps it’s best to start with
this live CD and fingers crossed he will come over for a new European tour
someday soon, because he is definitely on my must-see list! More info at: www.rufrecords.de and www.ericjohanson.com
(Points: 8.9 out
of 10)
BERNARD ALLISON
‘CHILLS & THRILLS’ (RUF RECORDS/GERMAN IMPORT)
BERNARD ALLISON is a legendary Blues
guitarist/singer/songwriter based in Paris, France, but originally from
Chicago, USA. He is the son of the legendary LUTHER ALLISON, another blues
guitarist/singer/songwriter who was active since the 1950s, but he sadly died
way too young of lung cancer in 1997. Anyway, Bernard has built quite a career
since the 1980s, resulting in many albums, of which his new release Chills
& Thrills was originally released in 2007. It has now been re-released and
in addition now includes the song Serious (After Hours) (which was not included
on the original CD), a cover of his father’s song from the 1980s. The album is
said to be Bernard’s most diverse record and I have to admit that there is a
lot to discover here besides blues. Soulful bluesy rock is hearable during the
lovely opening titletrack Chills & Thrills, while the boogie slightly takes
over during Boogie Man. So Devine slows things down and is a beautiful bluesy
ballad with soaring guitarsolo a la GARY MOORE. Hard heavy hitting bluesy
rocking is the name of the game here during the excellent midtempo groovy raw
rocking When I’m Gone, which also has some incredible guitarsolo’s in the
classic JIMI HENDRIX style. The mixture
of styles within the blues and rock genres can be heard throughout the rest of
the CD, with as other highlights Just My
Guitar And Me, the beautiful new version of Serious of course (which is
stripped with just the piano, guitar and voice), the funky soulful Heart Of St.
Paul and the groovy funky rocker Groove With Me. Bernard is a strong soulful
singer, while his guitarwork is phenomenal, and he is joined by bassist JASSEN
WILBER, organ/pianoplayer RUSTY HALL, drummer MARIO DAWSON, guitarist ERIC
GALES and several more musicians on this album, which might be already 18 years
old by now, but it still sounds very fresh. More info on this re-release can be
found at: www.rufrecords.de
(Points: 8.5 out
of 10)
ALLY VENABLE
’MONEY & POWER’ (RUF RECORDS/GERMAN IMPORT)
Money & Power is the 6th album of the
Texas, USA based vocalist/guitarist ALLY VENABLE. It follows up her 2023 album
Real Gone, and musically speaking it is not too far removed from the sound of
her previous album. There are this time however guest appearances by the
amazing guitarist CHRISTONE “KINGFISH” INGRAM and singer SHEMEKIA COPELAND.
Ally herself is besides a reasonable rock singer also a very strong guitarist
who loves to shred (just listen to the wonderful heavy blues rocking titletrack
that reminds me of LARKIN POE), so that’s definitely something to admire. The
rest of the line-up of musicians featured on the CD are drummers TOM HAMBRIDGE
and ISAAC PULIDO, bassist/keyboardplayer EJ BEDFORD, guitarist KENNY GREENBERG,
bassist ROB CORETON, keyboardplayer LUKE MOSELY and several more. The music is mostly
a mix of soulful slow bluesy rocksongs and heavy blues rockers, kinda like ERJA
LYYTINNEN here and there, yet we also are surprised a few times musically
speaking. I absolutely need to mention that Ally’s guitarwork is quite
phenomenal here and there, such as the lovely soaring guitar solo of the
soulful bluesy rockballad Do You Cry. Other highlights include the groovy funky
Stopper Back Papa (a little bit like ANA POPOVIC), the superb catchy poppy
uptempo melodic poprocker Legends (somewhere between ELLES BAILEY and JOANNE
SHAW TAYLOR, could easily become a huge radiohit!), the sensational uptempo
classic rocker Feel That Sting (with a ZZ TOP kinda vibe) and the JANET JACKSON
cover Black Cat. After a few spins of the album it is clear that this is Ally’s
most diverse record that offers something for everyone. There are a lot of
great tunes here, and so it could perhaps even be her finest release so far! Check
out this fantastic American blues/rock singer/songwriter/guitarist at: https://allyvenableband.com/
(Points: 8.4 out
of 10)
GARY KEMP ‘THIS
DESTINATION’ (EAST WEST/WARNER MUSIC GROUP UK/UK IMPORT)
I would have never thought that the SPANDAU BALLET
guitarist GARY KEMP would release a solo-album that beats all of the material
of his main band, and musically speaking shows him somewhere in an
AOR/Prog/Westcoast kinda direction. It has happened on his 3rd solo
CD This Destination, which has been released on EAST WEST/WARNER MUSIC UK. Back
in 2018 the PINK FLOYD founding drummer NICK MASON started a rather successful
project called NICK MASON’s SAUCERFUL OF SECRETS, with whom he plays the early
PINK FLOYD music, and Gary is part of his band. Meanwhile, Gary’s band SPANDAU
BALLET has been put on hold since 2019, so to keep making new music Gary
continued to record solo albums, of which This Destination is his latest. The
album is quite exciting, although laid-back for the most part, but that’s not
bad at all!
Opener Borrowed Town is a lovely laid-back AORish
Neo-Progressive Rock semi-ballad that feels like a healthy mix between 90s
JOURNEY/STEVE PERRY, IT BITES and PETER GABRIEL. Gary has a fantastic tone in
his voice, which settles somewhere between PETER GABRIEL and STEVE PERRY (in
his later years), while as you could already read, the music is poppy but in
the Neo-Prog meets AOR song orientated direction. The titletrack This
Destination follows, and this is a bit more upbeat, with a superb classic
laid-back late 70s/early 80s Westcoast-AOR vibe that even brings back memories
of JOHN O’BANION, DAVID ROBERTS and the STEVE PERRY solo album Street Talk
during the amazing summer friendly chorus (!), although if you’re into YOUNG
GUN SILVER FOX, you might also like this a lot. So far this album sounds like a
true winner for the fans of softer side of AOR/Westcoast who also don’t mind a
touch of neo-prog and pop. The album continues with 13 more tracks, which were
all written by Gary himself, while he plays guitar and sings on each and every
song. There is however a long list of guest musicians whom are helping out on
all the other instruments, such as keyboardplayer TOBY CHAPMAN, bassist GUY
PRATT, drummer IAN THOMAS and countless more, including an orchestra with
strings, violas, violins and strings, which can be heard on especially the FISH
meets PETER GABRIEL alike sounding progpop piece Take The Wheel. Other
highlights include the beautiful midtempo Windswept Street (1978), the proggy
Johnny’s Coming Home, the late 70s Westcoast piece At The Chateau (pure STEELY
DAN), bonustrack Boy (catchy mid 80s AOR/Poprock) and Giving It Up (a song
STEVE PERRY could have recorded!). Concluded, this is quite a surprising
release from the SPANDAU BALLET guitarist/songwriter. Gary is a great
singer/songwriter/musician and I dare the fans of classic late 70s
AOR/Westcoast to check out this release. It mixes elements of PETER GABRIEL,
STEVE PERRY, STEELY DAN, FISH and a bit of soft neo-progressive pop/rock during
the instrumental parts (PINK FLOYD influences can be heard here and there). I
can definitely highly recommended this wonderful album! More info at: https://www.garykemp.com/
(Points: 8.7 out
of 10)
DREW CAGLE &
THE REPUTATION ‘BAD ATTITUDE’ (COMPASS RECORDS/USA IMPORT)
Bad Attitude is the official full-length debut CD of
DREW CAGLE & THE REPUTATION. This (one-man) band is settled in Central
Illinois, USA, and is based around likewise singer/songwriter/guitarist DREW
CAGLE. He was joined by well-known session musicians called THE REPUTATION
(consisting of musicians whom played with TOTO, ELTON JOHN, TAYLOR SWIFT,
KENNEY CHESNEY, POST MALONE, etc. etc.) and producer MATT COLES (THE EAGLES) in
a studio in Nashville, USA. Together they recorded a great 80s hard rock
orientated album that is a must-have if you miss the glorious days of bands
like FIREHOUSE, WHITE LION, L.A. GUNS, GUNS’N’ROSES, BLACK’N’BLUE, KIX, VAIN, MOTLEY
CRUE… 8 songs are included in total, and thanks to the assistance of
aforementioned producer and the musicians, Drew was able to record a very
strong impressive record. He has a strong voice and delivers on the guitar as
well.
Opener All Figured Out shows right away that this is
cool straight-ahead uptempo ballsy melodic hardrock in the best 80s American
Hardrock style, so with a hair/sleaze metal touch and actually it reminds me of
L.A. GUNS. Not a strange comparison, because following song is the titletrack
Bad Attitude, which features none other than TRACII GUNS, and also this song is
a killer 80s uptempo sleazy hardrock piece. The other 6 songs continue this
kick ass hardrock style, with as further highlights If It’s Not Too Late, So
Cold and the closing semi-melodic rockballad Wine Talkin’. Without a doubt,
this is a highly recommended CD if you miss the days of the classic American
80s Hardrocksound! Especially recommended to fans of VAIN, BLACK’N’BLUE and
L.A. GUNS! More info at: https://drewcagle.com/
(Points: 8.5 out
of 10)
MAURICE ‘BULLDOG’
(TENACITY/UK IMPORT)
Originally from Windham, Maine, USA, the American
singer/songwriter/multi-instrumentalist AMY KELLY moved to France in 2014, and
eventually founded a band called MAURICE. Other members in the band are
guitarist GUILLAUME PERRIN, bassist SLIM ABIDA and drummer LAURENT SERIES.
Their debut album is titled Bulldog, which musically is cheerful calmer
pop/rock with influences from soul, latin, jazz and folk. They remind me
slightly of THE DELINES, and their finest songs on this first album are the
uptempo pieces, such as the lovely sweet radio-ready poprocker San Francisco.
35-40 years ago this kind of music was quite popular for a small period in
music history and bands like THE BEAUTIFUL SOUTH had huge hits, but nowadays it
will be harder, while on the other hand within the pure music dedicated community,
this will go down very well. Just listen to the calmer jazzy Rainbow Soul (a la
NINA SIMONE/LADY BLACKBIRD), and you will understand what I mean. This is high
quality original pop/rock music with a lot of other music influences spread on
their album Bulldog. Check them out at: https://www.facebook.com/Mauricemusictrio
(Points: 8.0 out
of 10)
BJORN RIIS
‘FIMBULVINTER’ (KARISMA RECORDS/PLASTIC HEAD/CREATIVE ECLIPSE PR/GERMAN IMPORT)
In the Progressive Rockworld there are a couple of
genius multi-instrumentalists/musicians/singer/songwriters whom keep on
delivering high quality albums under their own name and in their regular band
or (even) a side-project. STEVEN WILSON and PORCUPINE TREE, KALLE WALLNER and
RPWL/BLIND EGO are perfect examples, but you might as well as also put
Norwegian’s BJORN RIIS name to this list, because he delivers superb material
with his band AIRBAG, but also solo he does some interesting things, such as
can be heard on his new solo album Fimbulvinter. Bjorn sings, plays guitars,
bass, keys and percussion, while he also produced the 6 included songs. He does
get some help on the drums by HENRIK BERGAN FOSSUM (AIRBAG), ARLID BROTER
(PYMLICO) and KAI CHRISTOFFERSON, while VEGARD KLEFTAS SLEIPNES also plays keys
here.
After the short instrumental intro Illhug, the song
Gone really opens the new album of Bjorn, and this is a superb exciting catchy
uptempo rocker that blends modern progressive rock with melodic rock/AOR
influences. It has a superb catchy chorus (a la 80s RUSS BALLARD) and some
serious 80s ish guitarwork straight out of the classic rockbook from the decade
that brought soaring guitars in each and every song. It is definitely different
than AIRBAG, but for yours truly perhaps the best song Bjorn has ever recorded!
The songs are quite lengthy, with an average playing time of 9 minutes. Panic
Attack is a slow somewhat dark song with a heavy BLACK SABBATH ish doom/stoner
rock guitar sound when it rocks, while it nevertheless is a very melodic tune
as well during the chorus and there are several calmer breaks during the song
that will please the progfans. It’s also the longest song on the album, almost
11 minutes in length, and without a doubt, a lovely song that has a lot to
offer.
So far so good, Bjorn is definitely showing his
diverse influences and skills on this CD, which continues with She, a beautiful
calmer prog/pop masterpiece that is slow and haunting, with a sorta STEVEN
WILSON kinda vibe. Following song is the title track Fimbulvinter, an
instrumental proggy rock piece. Closing track of the CD is Fear Of Abandonment,
another beautiful melancholic progressive rock masterpiece in the PORCUPINE
TREE/PINK FLOYD style.
Concluded, this solo album of BJORN RIIS is as good as
any AIRBAG album, and the fact that it introduces other influences makes it
even more challenging to listen to the record over and over again. Without a
doubt, it can still be filed under progressive rock, and perhaps at the end of
the year this album will still be the finest prog album of 2025, because so far
it’s one of the best albums released this year! More info can be found at: https://www.bjornriis.com/
(Points: 8.8 out
of 10)
MICHEL FERNANDEZ
QUINTET ‘LIVE AU HOT CLUB DE LYON’ (ATYPEEK MUSIC/THE ORCHARD/CREATIVE ECLIPSE
PR/GERMAN IMPORT)
Out of Lyon, France comes the saxophonist/composer
MICHEL FERNANDEZ, who played a gig in his hometown, and releases it as a CD
now. He was accompanied that night by drummer Nicolas Serret, contrabassist
François Gallix, pianist Benoit Thévenot and 2nd sax player Julien
Chignier. As a result this is an interesting experimental jazz style release
that is dominated by the 2 sax players who are doing some very nice duets, and
so it is a good thing that this exceptional live gig was recorded and released
on CD. Usually Michel works as a quintet without the 2nd sax player,
but now he is challenged by Julien, which results in an experimental improvised
journey through the minds of these talented French musicians. Although the
music is freestyle jazz, there are some lovely melodies also to be heard when
the 2 sax players play melodies at the same time, so a twin-sax duet.
Recommended to the fans of freestyle jazz for sure. More info at: https://michel-fernandez.com/ and https://michelfernandez.bandcamp.com/
(Points: 8.1 out
of 10)
LARS FREDRIK
FROISLIE ‘GAMLE MESTER’ (KARISMA RECORDS/PLASTIC HEAD/CREATIVE ECLIPSE
PR/GERMAN IMPORT)
Gamle Mester is the 2nd solo album of
multi-instrumentalist/singer/songwriter LARS FREDRIK FROISLIE, who is best
known for being the keyboardplayer in the progrockband WOBBLER. He did almost
everything himself, but got some help on the bass and flute. Musically speaking
it is a mix of classic 70s sympho/progrock in the YES/KAYAK/GENESIS style of 50
years ago with elements of art, literature, and mythology in the lyrical and
artwork output of the album. Lars has a good voice, although most of the time
it’s instrumental classic sympho/prog rock driven. 6 songs are included in
total, and it’s a very enjoyable adventure to experience, because Lars really
takes you back in time with his original self-written tunes in classic
prog/sympho rock style. Check it out for yourself at: https://larsfredrikfroislie.bandcamp.com/album/gamle-mester
(Points: 8.3 out
of 10)
OAK ‘THE THIRD
SLEEP’ (KARISMA RECORDS/PLASTIC HEAD/CREATIVE ECLIPSE PR/GERMAN IMPORT)
The Third Sleep is the 4th album of the
Norwegian progressive rockband OAK. I remember a band from the USA that was
also called OAK, but they were a poppy Westcoast/AOR band back in the 1970s,
while there even was a British folk band called OAK in the very early 70s. This
OAK from Norway has been slowly making a name for themselves, and with every
new album they improve, and The Third Sleep is perhaps their finest album so
far. The band started as a folk ish duo, but have developed into a full rocking
band that combines elements of various genres. Especially this new album sounds
very fresh, combining 80s pop elements, progressive rock with a modern
(electronic) twist and even some jazz influences here and there. The band
consists of Simen Valldal Johannessen – Vocals, piano, keys & lyrics, Sigbjørn
Reiakvam – Bass, acoustic / electric guitars, banjo, keys & programming, Øystein
Sootholtet – Drums, percussion, programming & keys, Stephan Hvinden –
guitars and Steinar Refsdal – Saxophones.
There are 7 songs on the new CD, and opener No Such
Place is at first sight a progressive rocksong, yet it also has a catchy pop
melody and beautiful jazzy moments when the sax dominates towards the end of
the song. Following song London is quite a sensational song that blends the
perfect worlds of progressive rock and 80s pop/rock, reminding me of a mix
between TALK TALK, TEARS FOR FEARS and MARILLION, FOR ABSENT FRIENDS, IT BITES.
Run Into The Sun continues this vibe, sounding both poppy and accessible for
radio airplay, but with a slight proggy twist as well. Vocalist Simen reminds
me a lot of the late MARK HOLLIS (TALK TALK) by the way, which is quite a
compliment actually!
Other highlights on the album include Shimmer and Borders/Sensory
Overload. Concluded, this new OAK album is highly recommended to the fans of
song orientated neo-prog and a bit of 80s pop/wave. Check them out at: https://oakinoslo.bandcamp.com/album/the-third-sleep
(Points: 8.4 out
of 10)
ELLIS MANO BAND
‘MORPH’ (SPV MUSIC/GERMAN IMPORT)
During the late 70s and 80s KROKUS became the most
important (hard) classic rockband out of Switzerland, but GOTTHARD took it over
during the 1990s and the 2000s before sadly STEVE LEE died in a motorcycle
accident. Around 2015 the ELLIS MANO BAND was formed around Chris Ellis –
Vocals, Edis Mano – Guitars, Severin Graf – Bass, Nico Looser – Drums and Lukas
Bosshardt – Keys, and it seems that with every new album they are getting
better and better. The new album Morph shows that they are probably the finest
Swiss classic rockband at the moment. It already starts with the artwork of
their 5th album, which is a beautiful piece of art created by Canadian album design legend HUGH
SYME (RUSH, AEROSMITH, BON JOVI…), and also musically speaking they are taking
to a very high level.
The songs are slightly more catchy radio-orientated
and melodic rock ish than their previous albums, while still having that rootsy
blues rock touch, yet with a clear American heartland/classic rock approach,
which can already be heard during the uptempo opener Virtually Love. Other
highlights are the midtempo Count Me In, the DEEP PURPLEish For All I Care, Madness
And Tears, and the beautiful soulful ballad Stray (like KRAVITZ meets SOTO in a
smooth bar). Vocally Chris has an own identity, although he does remind me a
bit of DAVID BOWIE somehow in the lower register (which can be heard very
clearly during Countdown To Nothing), while the instrumental part is as already
mentioned lighter than their bluesy rock roots, but on the other hand you have
here an internation sounding album that should easily gain them radio airplay
all over the world. If you like for example KING KING, then you might like this
as well! More info can be found at: https://ellismanoband.bandcamp.com/album/morph
(Points: 8.5 out
of 10)
ANCIENT BARDS
‘ARTIFEX’ (LIMB MUSIC/SUBURBAN)
6 years ago the Italian band ANCIENT BARDS released
it’s previous album, but they now return with a rock opera ish new album, which
is their 5th album so far. It’s titled Artifex, and their current
line-up consists of Sara Squadrani (AYREON) – Vocals, Daniele Mazza – Piano
& Orchestrations, Claudio Pietronik – Lead Guitars, Simone Bertozzi – Rythm
Guitars & Growls, Federico Gatti – Drums and Martino Garattoni – Bass,
while the guests appearing on this massive sounding epic album included members
of bands like EPICA, WIND ROSE, WINTERAGE and DGM. The resulting album is a bombastic
symphonic melodic (power) metal release in typical Northern European/Italian
direction of bands like EPICA, AFTER FOREVER, NIGHTWISH, RHAPSODY, LABYRINTH,
etc. etc. It might not sound that original, it is all done at a very high level
and especially lead singer Sara has a fantastic voice to keep up with the
speed, melodies and opera alike choirs throughout the album. In fact, she has an
amazing tone in her voice that reminds me of BATTLE BEAST. Simone does the
growling here and there, as to give it a beauty and the beast kinda symphonic
metal opera feeling. Highlights include the lovely EPICA/RHAPSODY alike opener
My Prima Nox, the calmer epic ballad Unending, Ministers Of Light (quite superb
magnificent massive epic chorus!) and the sensational faster bombastic catchy
KAMELOT/EPICA ish Soulbound Symphony. Inside the opera towards the end of the
album there is a little mini rock-opera called Suite Of Requiem And Solace,
which contains all the music influences from the previous 9 songs, but then
performed within 4 parts of this epic mini opera. The musicianship is of an
incredible high level on this new ANCIENT BARDS album that starts fast forward,
but develops into an exciting diverse rock opera that has a lot to offer! You
can check more info on this band at: https://ancientbards.bandcamp.com/album/artifex
(Points: 8.5 out
of 10)
COTOBA ‘SIN SWIMS’
(INDEPENDENT/CREATIVE ECLIPSE PR/GERMAN IMPORT)
Now this is a very interesting band out of Seoul,
South Korea, and their new EP CD Sin Swims contains an original sound that
features various music influences. I believe they are an all-female band formed
around Dafne / guitar, producer, electric piano, DyoN Joo / vocal, guitar,
electric piano, Hyerim / bass and Minsuh / drums. Their music is a mix of
math-rock and post-rock. 5 songs are included, and roughly these are
experimental during the first and last song, while halfway there is a calmer
song. The best songs are the uptempo melancholic and very melodic rocking tunes
Ice Sea and Away Home, both featuring Japanese alike melodies. COTOBA is a
rockband, yet not straight-forward or groovy, but with a typical Asian
structure of writing songs that are nevertheless still quite catchy. I am safe
to say that they might become popular in the near future. Check them out for
yourself at: http://cotoba.bandcamp.com/track/ice-sea
(Points: 8.2 out
of 10)
KIM FIELD AND THE
PERFECT GENTLEMEN ‘DON’T NEED BUT ONE’ (INDEPENDENT/FRANK ROSZAK PROMOTIONS/USA
IMPORT)
The legendary American singer/songwriter KIM FIELD
started his career a long time ago, in the late 60s/early 70s in New York City,
and he has since then worked and played with all the big names in the blues
rock scene, while also doing his own projects, and the latest one is the
original debut CD Don’t Need But One, which he recorded with THE PERFECT
GENTLEMEN. This backing band includes Vyasa Dodson—guitar, vocals, Whit Draper—guitar,
vocals, Denny Bixby, bass and vocals, and Jimi Bott, drums. The resulting first
album is a very interesting diverse album that is not just a blues rock album,
but it also has a lot more to offer, such as old school 50s/60s soul r&b
during the beautiful I Give In, which is sung by the talented guitarist Vyasa.
There’s even a jazz piece and some other bits and pieces that go through all
kinds of blues. You have the Chicago Blues, Swamp Louisiana Delts Blues, Texan
boogie rocking blues and much more. Lee still sounds great as a singer,
reminding me a bit of HUEY LEWIS, who also went the same bluesy direction on
his last couple of albums. Kim is one of those talented singer/songwriters who
exactly knows how to write a classic new blues tune. Make sure to check out
this new album with originals he released! More info at: https://www.kimfield.com/the-perfect-gentlemen
(Points: 8.2 out
of 10)
YOO DOO RIGHT
‘MOTHLAND’ (INDEPENDENT/CREATIVE ECLIPSE PR/THE ORCHARD/GERMAN IMPORT)
YOO DOO RIGHT is a Canadian post-rock band from
Montreal, Quebec. They were named after the CAN song "Yoo Doo Right”, and
musically speaking you should also look into that direction. YOO DOO RIGHT does
it with a modern twist, yet experimental post-progrock and krautrock are
clearly the main ingredients on the band’s new album Mothland, which is their 3rd
so far. The band consists of Justin Cober on guitar, synthesizers and vocals,
Charles Masson on bass and John Talbot on drums and percussion. 6 long songs
are included, and it’s mostly instrumental orientated, yet here and there
vocals are also hearable. The band’s songs capture a sorta suspense or tension
in a way that they built up to a climax during the song. I can easily recommend
this band to the fans of the classic Krautrocksound, although they are as
already mentioned also adding modern post-prog/doom influences, and even a part
post-punk is notable. This can best be heard during the 2 parts of the opening
song Spirit’s Heavy, But Not Overthrown, which goes from krautrock straight
into post-progrock before picking up a post-punk sound after 7 minutes. I think
it’s best to say that this band delivers a really interesting sound on their
new album. More info can be found at: https://www.yoodoowrong.com/
(Points: 8.3 out
of 10)
SONS OF RA ‘STANDARD
DEVIATION’ (FREE ELECTRIC SOUND/THE LASER’S EDGE/SONIC RENDZVOUS)
Standard Deviation is the debut album of the Chicago,
USA based trio SONS OF RA. The band consists of Erik Oldman: Guitar/Bass/Synth,
Keith Wakefield: Bass Guitar/Tenor Saxophone/Synth and Michael Rataj: Drums,
and musically speaking they are playing instrumental music that sits nicely between
jazz-fusion and progrock/progmetal as it SOFT MACHINE did a project with
members of DREAM THEATER! 9 songs are included in total, and it really goes
quite rapidly from progressive metal straight into jazz fusion, which you don’t
hear that often. This makes SONS OF RA a rather interesting band to check out.
The included music is of a very high level, and they would certainly make a
huge impression if they can play this live on stage as good as on this record.
A spot on a stage at the North Sea Jazz festival would definitely suit them! I
think we can call this genre Instrumental Progressive Jazz Metal, so if this
sounds interesting to you, then do check out SONS OF RA at: https://sonsofra.bandcamp.com/album/standard-deviation
(Points: 8.1 out
of 10)
TRAGIK ‘CRESCENDO’
(ROCK COMPANY)
The unstoppable American
multi-instrumentalist/singer/songwriter PHIL VINCENT returns with his TRAGIK
project. Here he co-operates with drummer DIRK PHILIPS, bassist DAMIAN D’ERCOLE
and guitarist VINCE O’REGAN. Phil himself sings, plays guitar, keys and also
bass and drums besides writing, producing, mixing and engineering all of the 12
included tracks, so basically he still does almost everything on his own. The album
starts slightly heavier than his solo recordings, especially during the first
couple of songs, which are rougher 80s hardrock meets 90s melodic hard/heavy
rock, but during the best songs he delivers pure 80s AOR/Melodic Rock, such as
can be heard during Ungrateful, the wonderful Beyond The Moonlight, the DOKKENish
It All Comes Down To This, the superb Scoop (including lovely guitarwork in
classic 80s style) and Living. The fans of PHIL VINCENT know what to do and
expect, because Crescendo is another high quality album in the familiar PHIL
VINCENT Melodic Rockstyle! More info at: www.philvincent.com
(Points: 8.2 out
of 10)
STILL DUSK ‘CHRONICLES
OF DYSTOPIA’ (ROCK COMPANY)
STILL DUSK is a new band from Athens, Greece, and
Chronicles Of Dystopia is their debut album. They have a sound that reminds me
a bit of the 90s underground melodic hardrock/prog metal sound, so with a sorta
raw modern edge, yet still featuring melodic vocals and choruses in a DOKKEN/SCORPIONS
kinda direction. Opener 0.003 is the perfect example how this sounds like, and
actually it is a rather catchy tune. The band consists of Konstantina
Damianidou – vocals, Yannis Kemenidis – guitars, backing vocals, Constantine
Stavrou – bass, backing vocals and Yannis Tarasis – drums, and it’s good to see
a new talented young quality band from Greece making old school hardrock. As I
already mentioned it doesn’t sound dated at all, because there are enough
modern elements (progressive metal ish drumwork for example) included in the
music of STILL DUSK, but the songs do capture the 80s melodic rock hook/choruses
upfront during most of the songs. Konstantina has a good characteristic voice that
fits somewhere between KLAUS MEINE and a progressive metal singer, while Yannis
is a superb guitarplayer who shreds here and there quite amazingly, and as
already mentioned the rhythm section has a prog metal kinda feeling. Other
highlights on the debut CD Chronicles Of Dystopia are Born To Believe, Eigengrau
(best song, featuring a lovely earworm catchy chorus!), the melodic rockballad Midnight
Run and closing track Sugar. Check them out for yourself at: https://stilldusk.bandcamp.com/album/chronicles-of-dystopia
and https://stilldusk.eu/
(Points: 8.1 out
of 10)
WINTERLAND ‘LIFE’S
WHAT YOU MAKE IT’ (ROCK COMPANY)
Way back in the mid-1990s I got in touch with the
German guitarist MARKUS PFEFFER, who back then sent me 3 demo tapes of his
fantastic female fronted AOR/Melodic Rockband SCARLETT. He also sent me tapes
in the following years of his new band WINTERLAND, and eventually he released a
CD with this band in 1998. Fast forward 27 years later, WINTERLAND released a
couple more albums, Markus did a lot more projects and now in 2025 a new
WINTERLAND CD is in the mailbox! It sounds exciting and very strong actually,
thanks to a super production and a steady line-up who knows what they are doing
musically speaking. This is high quality German Melodic Hardrock in the style
of SARGANT FURY, and there’s no weak song on the CD, because right from the
start with the catchy tunes I Want Out and I Don’t Know, all the way until the
end with 5 (!) covers of classic 80s Pop/New Wave tunes of DURAN DURAN, SPANDAU
BALLET, DEPECHE MODE, FRANKIE GOES TO HOLLYWOOD and COREY HART, this is the way
Melodic Hardrock needs to be played. Fear not, as the band has 10 original
songs to offer, and 4 of those covers are CD bonus tracks! Besides Markus on
guitar, the other members in the band are vocalist Stephan Hugo and bassist
Bernd Schreiber, while also a several guests appear on the album, such as drummer
Thomas Rieder. Other highlights include Reach For The Sky, Follow Me,
Personality and Runaway. Without a doubt, this is a highly recommended album to
fans of classic German Melodic Hardrock a la BONFIRE, VICTORY, SARGANT FURY,
etc. et. More info is available at: https://www.facebook.com/winterlandband
(Points: 8.4 out
of 10)
DANNY VERAS ‘CAN’T
STOP THE ROCK’ (ROCK COMPANY)
The Brazilian melodic rocker DANNY VERAS has been in
the music business for quite a while now, but if you mention his name in The
Netherlands it will be hard to explain that he is really called DANNY VERAS and
not DANNY VERA, who happens to be a famous Dutch rocker! Anyway, this DANNY
VERAS is doing a great 80s melodic (hard) rock style on his new album Can’t
Stop The Rock. He is helped here by the legendary American guitarist/singer/songwriter
PAUL SABU, who co-wrote, produced and played guitar on all the songs. Other
involved musicians are guitarist LINKAN ANDERSSON, bassist BARRY SPARKS,
drummer KENT BLANKENSHIP and keyboardplayer J.C. VAZZ. Although opener Rock Or
Die is actually the only weaker song on the album, what follows is a nice portion
of 80s inspired AOR meets Melodic Hardrock. Vocally Danny reminds me of 80s GARY
MOORE meets the SLYBOYZ singer, and also musically speaking you have to look
into 80s American AOR/Melodic Rock territory like DANGER DANGER, BILOXI,
STRYPER, KNOW ILLUSION, SLYBOYZ… Highlights are the uptempo melodic rockers
Playin’ With Fire (catchy big 80s Arena sound, Y&T ish guitarwork, a lovely
tune!), It’s Crazy (very close to the aforementioned acts), Darlin’ (80s AORish)
and Misery. There’s also the VAN HALEN/SABU groovy touch here and there, so
basically you have a really nice typical late 80s/early 90s sounding American
radio ready melodic rockalbum that should definitely be in the hands of people
who are familiar with the mentioned rather obscure acts. More info can be found
at: www.dannyveras.com
(Points: 8.3 out
of 10)
THE DEADNOTES ‘ROCK’N’ROLL
SAVIOUR’ (22LIVES RECORDS/GRAND HOTEN VAN CLEEF RECORDS/GERMAN IMPORT)
THE DEADNOTES are a German band, and they were founded
back in 2011. Their line up consists of Jakob Walheim (bassist), Darius
Lohmüller (vocalist/guitarist) and drummer Yannic Arrens. Rock 'n' Roll Saviour
is their 3rd album so far, and it was recorded mostly in the UK. 10
songs are included in total, of which opener Jesus Christ! (I’m Sick And Tired
Of Falling In Love) is a rather catchy midtempo rocker with a strong chorus and
various influences, both from classic rock and current modern indie Arena rock,
kinda like a mix between QUEEN and FRANZ FERDINAND if that makes sense. American
Sightseer is a lovely catchy uptempo melodic powerpop piece with once again
that modern retro approach like we know it from bands such as THE KILLERS,
KINGS OF LEON and THE WAR ON DRUGS. Other highlights are Jolene (I’m In Love
With A Superstar), the catchy punkpoprocker Dumb Style and Marlboro Man (a
definite radio hit poprocker a la THE CATCH FIVE). The music is a mix of retro
and modern pop and rock, with a focus on catchy memorable choruses ready for
radio consumption. It might not be really original, the job is well done by
these 2 guys and the inclusion of a (session) saxophone, strings and trumpets
here and there gives the sound a rich 80s touch, which in this age and time is
surely enjoyed by a lot of people. More info on THE DEADNOTES can be found at: https://thedeadnotesofficial.bandcamp.com/
and https://www.thedeadnotesofficial.com/
(Points: 8.2 out
of 10)
WORLDS BEYOND ‘RHAPSODY
OF LIFE’ (INDEPENDENT/BELGIUM IMPORT)
Out of Ghent, Belgium comes the talented new band WORLDS
BEYOND, and their 2nd album Rhapsody Of Life is quite an impressive
album that basically contains your typical modern day European female fronted symphonic
melodic bombastic metal in the NIGHTWISH, EPICA and AFTER FOREVER direction. It
might not be that original, it’s all done at a very high level, so therefore
definitely highly recommended to check out. The band consists of singer Valerie
De Kempe, guitarist Tijmen Matthys, violinplayer Jakob Declercq, keyboardplayer
Robbe Adriaens, bassist Ewoud Dekoninck and drummer Wout Debacker, and 11 songs
are included in total. Valerie’s vocals are very strong, and do reflect a FLOOR
JANSEN soprano vibrato. The album has a nice variation of (faster) uptempo symphonic
power metal orientated pieces, of which the highlights are Unwind Our Story (catchy
chorus a la NIGHTWISH), Breaking Free (quite lovely, a la AFTER FOREVER) and
Beyond Reality, but also calmer Power AOR ish symphonic rockballads like Sleepless
Dreams, The Calling (featuring a part that is close to classic HEART’s Alone),
The Moment and One With The Stars, while the CD closes nicely with the epic 10
minutes counting titletrack Rhapsody Of Life (which has an amazing solo by the
way!). There’s something for everyone here, and I really like the fact that
despite this CD is not far removed from the sound of the aforementioned bands,
WORLDS BEYOND certainly has an own kinda identity on their 2nd
album. In case you’re interested check them out at: https://worldsbeyondofficial.bandcamp.com/album/rhapsody-of-life
(Points: 8.4 out of 10)
SOUL SELLER ‘FIGHT
AGAINST TIME’ (ART OF MELODY MUSIC/BURNING MINDS/ITALY IMPORT)
Fight Against Time has one of the most beautiful
frontcovers I have seen lately. It was designed by HUGH SYME (who also did the
artwork for RUSH, BON JOVI, WARRANT, WHITESNAKE and countless others). It’s
their 3rd release of the Italian band SOUL SELLER, and musically
speaking they offer nice catchy 80s inspired melodic (hard) rock. The band
consists of Eric Concas - Lead & backing vocals, Dale Sanders - Lead,
rhythm & acoustic guitars, backing vocals, Dave Zublena - Rhythm Guitars,
backing vocals, Stefania Sarre - Bass, backing vocals, Alessandro “Wallino”
Rimoldi - Keyboards, backing vocals and Italo Graziana - Drums, percussion,
backing vocals. 13 songs are included in total, of which the highlights are the
catchy HAREM SCAREM meets SCORPIONS meets GOTTHARD alike uptempo melodic rockers
Fight Against Time, I Can't Stand This Heartbeat Anymore, Feel Alive Again and City
Of Dragons, the midtempo AORish Autumn Call, and the acoustic Fallen Kingdom. A
nice return from this Italian melodic rockband. More info at: https://www.facebook.com/soulsellerofficial
(Points: 8.1 out
of 10)
VARIOUS ARTISTS ‘WE
STILL ROCK…THE WORLD’ (ART OF MELODY MUSIC/BURNING MINDS/ITALY IMPORT)
The Italian label ART OF MELODY MUSIC releases a new
compilation CD entitled We Still Rock . . . The World, which features new Italian
only AOR acts. 17 songs are included, and some of them sound really promising. Opening
band NO LIMITS with the song Ride Or Die is the kinda pure 80s picture perfect American
Soundtrack Radio AOR with superb vocals, catchy hooks and smooth keyboards, all
thanks to the involvement of the legendary AOR singer ROBBIE LABLANC and
co-songwriter LENNY MACALUSO. Following band KASTADIAN features TOBY HITCHCOCK
on vocals, but despite this is nice 80s by-the-numbers AOR, Toby is not
sounding as good as the first time I heard him sing with PRIDE OF LIONS 20-25
years ago. SOUL SELLER is less AOR based, but their song Diamonds Rain is a
very nice midtempo melodic rocker with a sorta KINGDOM COME meets FAIR WARNING
sound. SHINING LINE features a female singer called LEXYIA, and their song I’m
Alive is a strong upempo 80s AOR/Melodic Rocker a VIXEN, WITNESS, LAOS and
DANTE FOX, and in particular I like the catchy hook here. FUEL FOR TUNES has a
fantastic early 90s ish FIREHOUSE big anthem Melodic Rocker on offer, while MARYAN
is another nice female fronted 80s AOR/Melodic Rock act that sounds very
Swedish, reminding me of the late 90s/early 2000s acts ALYSON AVENUE, SHIVA,
COASTLINE… She shines on 2 songs here, and without a doubt an interesting act
to watch out for if you’re into female fronted AOR in it’s purest form.
FIRESKY offers nice melodic rock, but it’s NIGHT
PLEASURE HOTEL whom are clearly showing they are one of the better new Italian
AOR acts out there, because their fantastic song Sick Love has a pure 1983
American AOR sound with hooks a la PREVIEW/SHELTER/LIONHEART/AIRRACE… MINDFEELS
is another very good melodic rockband, with a slightly calmer semi-prog touch
in their 90s sound 9a la MARA and MATTADOR, if anyone remembers them! ROOM
EXPERIENCE’s A Thousand Lies has a nice 80s New Jersey PHANTOM’S OPERA meets
very early BON JOVI feeling all over, and it does sound quite well actually.
Before That Night by BROKEN CARILLON is another strong
female fronted 80s AOR/Melodic Rock arena anthem a la VIXEN, WITNESS, LAOS,
HEAT and such. The remaining 5 songs on this CD are by the AOR/melodic rockbands
STREETLORE and the sensational LANESLIDE. This last mentioned band features
legendary American singer FRANK VESTRY and several other well-known musicians such
as MICHAEL BORMANN, ALESSANDRO DEL VECCHIO, ERIK MARTENSSON and BRUCE GAITSCH
(!!!), and their 3 songs are basically a wet-dream for anyone looking for high
quality catchy 80s AOR/Melodic Rock! STREETLORE is a nice calmer AOR/Melodic Rockband
that has a certain early JADED HEART vibe during the acoustic version of Aeglos.
Although a few bands already released albums on their
own, mostly on the same label (ART OF MELODY MUSIC) as this compilation CD has
been released, the included songs on this CD are all unreleased, and therefore
this is a highly recommended CD to anyone who wants to hear new Italian AOR
songs at a very high level! More info at: https://www.burningmindsgroup.com/art-of-melody-music/releases/209
(Points: 8.7 out
of 10)
WHEELS OF FIRE ‘ALL
IN’ (ART OF MELODY MUSIC/BURNING MINDS/ITALY IMPORT)
The Italian band WHEELS OF FIRE has been around for a
while now, and All In is their 4th album so far. The band consists
of Davide "Dave Rox" Barbieri: Vocals, keyboards, Stefano Zeni:
Guitars, Simon Dredo: Bass and Fabrizio Uccellini: Drums, and their music is
pure Melodic Hardrock. Right from the start with the superb catchy uptempo
melodic rocker Fool’s Paradise and the midtempo melodic rocker Under Your Spell,
you know you’re onto something really good. Imagine a mix between HEAVEN’S EDGE
and CASANOVA/MAD MAX, then you hit the right spot with the catchy massive late
80s Arena Melodic Hardrocksound of WHEELS OF FIRE. Throw in some FIREHOUSE and
your cocktail is ready to be approached for a good hour of enjoyable high
quality old fashioned American hardrock! Other highlights are End Of Time, Neverland,
and Staring Out The Window. Without a doubt, this band’s new album is a must if
you like the sounds of WHITE LION, FIREHOUSE, DOKKEN, ICON, CASANOVA, SARGANT FURY,
HEAVEN’S EDGE, etc. etc. More info at: www.facebook.com/wheelsoffireband
(Points: 8.4 out
of 10)
ANDY SUSEMIHL ‘MIHLSTONES’
(SM NOISE RECORDS/USA IMPORT)
German producer/guitarist/singer ANDY SUSEMIHL’s new album
Mihlstones is already his 11th solo album since he started a solo
career back in the mid-1990s. He started his career in the mid-80s in the legendary
band SINNER, switched to UDO in the late 80s and was part of several other
bands and projects besides his solo career. His new album Mihlstones is very sensational
actually, a close call masterpiece. It’s mature clever AOR/melodic rock, so
with progressive rock and blues elements here and there. Andy has a lovely
smooth voice and his guitarwork is melodic precision in a GARY MOORE/WALTER TROUT
style. It’s amazing Andy is still rather unknown, because he did everything on
his own! He did such a wonderful job on this highly recommended CD! Highlights
are King For A Day, End Of The Road, Breaking The Silence and Going Home, but
the whole album is an enjoyable 52 minutes counting melodic rocking journey. Everything
sounds picture perfect here and I can only highly recommend this CD to any fans
of “real” music. More info can be found at: https://andysusemihl.com
(Points: 8.7 out
of 10)
THE BRAINS BEHIND
PA ’BEGGARS BELIEF‘ (GRASS MAGOOPS RECORDS/HEMIFRAN/USA IMPORT)
Multi-instrumentalist BILL PRICE from Indianapolis,
USA has a solo career, but is also part of the band THE BRAINS BEHIND PA. With
them he released 2 albums more than 20 years ago, and now returns with a new album
titled Beggars Belief. The other musicians in the band are guitarist Gordon
Bonham, keyboard/Hammond player Garry Bole and bassist Jeff Stone. The included
music is Americana/Folk Indie rock orientated that sounds at best during
uptempo pieces like Strike The Rock, Blue Riders Approaching and Apples To Oranges.
Bill’s voice is somewhat comparable to NEIL YOUNG and BOB DYLAN, so he has not
the greatest voice in the world, sounding quite raw and limited in range, but
on the other hand it sounds good enough for the music on this rather nice CD
that also has a slight THE DOORS and THE BAND kinda vibe here and there, such
as can be heard during the calmer Whistling Liars. Definitely a nice album to
check out if you’re a fan of 70s indie folk rock with a
country/singer-songwriter/Americana touch. More info at: www.billprice.info
(Points: 8.1 out
of 10)
BARRY ORECK AND
FRIENDS ‘WE WERE WOOD’ (INDEPENDENT/HEMIFRAN/USA IMPORT)
Brooklyn, New York based singer/songwriter BARRY ORECK
has released his 5th CD with We Were Wood. Besides Barry on guitar,
the other musicians in the band are Rima Fand — violin, marimba, vocals, Jesse
Miller — guitar, mandolin, vocals, Adam Armstrong — bass, Bob Harris —
mandolin, dobro, percussion, Kevin Garcia — percussion and Ben Farmer — accordion,
and musically speaking it is a calmer singer/songwriter folk Americana affair,
but also with country and blues influences. Barry is a storyteller, and you can
hear that on the 10 included songs on the CD. It’s an acoustic affair and as
mentioned very calm, but well played by Barry and his friends. More info at: https://barryoreckmusic.com/ and https://barryoreck.bandcamp.com/album/we-were-wood
(Points: 7.6 out
of 10)
NELSON WRIGHT ‘GHOSTS
ON THE WATER’ (INDEPENDENT/HEMIFRAN/USA IMPORT)
The Seattle, USA based musician offers storytelling
calmer singer/songwriter Americana Country with a strong Folk touch, which is
not far removed from JOHNNY CASH and BOB DYLAN crossed with vocals a la WILLIE
NELSON. Done quite nicely, there are 9 songs on the CD, and not sure who sings
co-lead vocals on the song Stony Ground, but her voice gives the sound of Nelson
a rather interesting twist. It’s his 3rd album I believe, and fans
of aforementioned artists need to check him out at: https://www.nelsonwright.org/
(Points: 7.5 out
of 10)
MIKE FARRIS ‘THE
SOUND OF MUSCLE SHOALS’ (MALACO MUSIC GROUP/FAME RECORDS/HEMIFRAN/USA IMPORT)
American singer/songwriter/guitarist MIKE FARRIS used
to be in the southern rockband THE SCREAMIN’ CHEETAH WHEELIES, with whom he
released several albums during the 90s. Eventually Mike started a solo career
about 25 years ago, and now releases his 5th album entitled The
Sound Of Muscle Shoals, which was likewise recorded at the legendary The Muscle
Shoals Sound Studio. Of course recently DEWOLFF did also record an album over
there, and now we have the new record of Mike. 11 songs are included in total, and
Mike is joined by several guest musicians such as Clayton Ivey – piano,
Hammond, Wurlitzer, Will McFarlane, Kevin Holly (AMAZING RHYTHM ACES), Wes
Sheffield – guitars, Jimbo Hart – bass, Justin Holder – drums and several
others. Together they recorded a wonderful classic American Gospel injected
soulful bluesy rockalbum that is quite diverse actually, but always has an old
soul. Mike rocks, but is also shining as a soul singer during several songs,
while a groovy and funky R&B in touch is easily melted with bluesy rock.
Songs like Heavy On The Humble, I’ll Come Runnin’ and Slow Train are future-to-come
classics that have that legendary soulful bluesy rocksound that’s only possible
to create in the USA. This is definitely a highly recommended album, especially
if you’re into DEWOLFF, DAWN BROTHERS and such. More info at: https://mikefarrismerch.com/
(Points: 8.4 out
of 10)
JIM STANARD ‘MAGICAL’
(MANATEE RECORDS/HEMIFRAN/USA IMPORT)
The American singer/songwriter JIM STANARD has started
his music career at a late stage, after a successful business career, and
Magical is now his 3rd solo album. The music is folky country orientated,
and he gets help from a lot of well-known musicians, such as Steve Postel (PURE
PRAIRIE LEAGUE), Wanda Vick, Bobby Terry
(KENNY CHESNEY), Jon Skibic (THE AFGHAN WHINGS), and the legendary rocker KIP
WINGER (known for his classic rockband WINGER). Kip also produced the album, and
overall it has a pure JOHNNY CASH meets KRIS KRISTOFFERSON kinda vibe. Hard Of
Hearing Heart is one of the rockiest songs on offer here, with a sorta country
rock feeling a la BILLY RAY CYRUS meets NEIL YOUNG, because most of the songs
are calmer and quite beautiful during a song like Kansas. Check out more info
on this singer/songwriter at: https://www.jimstanardmusic.com/music/magical
(Points: 7.7 out
of 10)
PATRICK RYDMAN AND
MARK DAVIS ‘YOU PLUS ONE’ (MOONSCAPE MUSIC/INKLING MUSIC/HEMIFRAN/ SWEDEN
IMPORT)
Now here we have a beautiful westcoast pop music
record with an old spirit and a lot of melodies and harmonyvocals by 2 talented
Swedish singer/songwriters whom combined sound like a mix between CROWDED HOUSE
and SIMON & GARFUNKEL, yet also with THE BEATLES influences here and there.
Most important is that their songs are catchy and melodic, with a focus on
memorable melodies. It’s a pity only 6 tracks are included, because they offer
really good self-written poptunes. More info at: https://markdavisinklings.bandcamp.com/track/ghosts
(Points: 8.0 out
of 10)
5 IN THE SKY/LUPINARE
‘NOTHING LASTS FOREVER/INVOLUNTARY EXPOSURE VINYL LPS’ (BRAND X RECORDS/USA
IMPORT)
PAUL KNEEVERS is a musician who has been in the music
business since 1970, and he is now settled in Milwaukee, although he started in
San Francisco. Paul worked with many bands in the area the past 40 years, even
including an album I reviewed in the 1990s, which is a CD by a musician called
JIM BEST, but I can’t remember that well what it sounded like. Anyway, he was
kind enough to sent me 2 of his recent project albums on vinyl. 5 IN THE SKY is
a sorta THE SMITHS’ ish poppy new age shoegaze dreampop/poprock affair, while
the chaotic psychedelic rock of LUPINARE is much heavier and very groovy
actually. Paul plays guitar and sings on both albums, but as already mentioned
they are quite the opposite musically speaking. 5 IN THE SKY is influenced by
the 70s and then in particular EMERSON, LAKE & PALMER, KING CRIMSON, PINK
FLOYD, STEVIE WONDER and JIMMY SMITH, although somehow I feel a sorta different
vibe when listening to the music on the album Nothing Lasts Forever. It has a
sorta early 80s meets early 90s feeling, alternative new wave with a poppy
chorus approach, yet instrumentally here and there you can pick up the
aforementioned influences, with even some pure progressive rock moments like if
it was still 1973!
The other vinyl album is by his band/project LUPINARE,
which is a mix of psychedelic hardrock of the early 90s movement, late 60s
psychedelic rock and a touch of experimental post-rock. On this album Paul
sounds rather mean and aggressive in his singing, sometimes a bit chaotic,
while instrumental especially the guitarist of the band, DAVE STAX, he is
delivering some great shredding guitarwork. Together with 5 IN THE SKY, these
are 2 honest real musician’s albums you need to listen to a few times in a row
to understand what they are trying to achieve here. More info can be found at: https://www.5intheskymusic.com/
(Points: 7.5 out
of 10)
DAVID MASSEY ‘MAN
IN THE MIRROR’ (INDEPENDENT/HEMIFRAN/USA IMPORT)
Man In The Mirror is the 7th album of American
singer/songwriter DAVID MASSEY. Musically speaking it is a nice calm 70s
orientated singer-songwriter album like JAMES TAYLOR, PAUL SIMON and JIMI
GROCE. David is helped by bassist and co-producer Jim Robeson, guitarist Jay
Bird and drummer Miles Lieder, while there are guest appearances by Bill Starks
on piano, Fred Travers on dobro, Shamus McRobie on accordion and organ, Bill
Starks on piano and organ, Zan McLeod on mandolin and bouzouki, Kristen Jones on
cello and Casey O’Neil on pedal steel guitar. This album is recommended if you
like the old school singer/songwriter music. More info at: https://www.davemasseymusic.com/
(Points: 7.5 out
of 10)
EVA HILLERED ‘TAKE
ME HOME’ (INDEPENDENT/HEMIFRAN/SWEDEN IMPORT)
Out of Stockholm, Sweden comes singer/songwriter EVA
HILLERED, who already released 10 albums in the past. Take Me Home is her new
EP, which consists of 7 songs in total. Her music is calmer 70s orientated
singer/songwriter Americana roots with clear influences of PATTY GRIFFIN, JUDY
COLLINS and JONI MITCHELL. She even covered a PATTY GRIFFIN tune, and did a
great job! Fans of such music really need to check out this talented
singer/songwriter at: https://www.evahillered.se/
(Points: 7.5 out
of 10)
LEAF RAPIDS ‘VELVET
PAINTINGS’ (MANITOBA FILM & MUSIC RECORDS/MILE 33 RECORDS/HEMIFRAN/USA
IMPORT)
Out of Winnipeg, Canada comes LEAF RAPIDS, a wonderful
female fronted band that has a beautiful melodic sound that blends Americana,
folk and pop/rock. They remind me a little bit of THE DELINES crossed with the
melodies of THE CARPENTERS. The band consists of Keri Latimer - Vocals,
acoustic guitar, Joanna Miller - drums and vocals, Devin Latimer – bass and Chris
Dunn - electric guitar, and Velvet Paintings is their 3rd album so
far. Keri has a beautiful voice and the melodies are exceptionally lovely to
listen to. These are all well-crafted songs that should get airplay for sure, because
that is what LEAF RAPIDS deserves. There is a market for this kind of music in
Europe, so people will definitely like this, yet they are at the moment hardly
known outside Canada. Highlights on their new album are Velvet Painting, Starling
To A Starling, Trepidations Celebrations and the country ish closing track Insomniac,
but any song will do here, as they all sound beautiful. More info on LEAF RAPIDS
can be found at: https://leafrapids.org
and
(Points: 8.4 out of 10)
THE PARIS ROGUES ‘LIVE
AND LEARN’ (MELT SHOP RECORDS/HEMIFRAN/USA IMPORT)
Here we have a American duo called THE PARIS ROGUES,
consisting of Michael C. Parris (guitar/vocals) and producer Peter Rogan
(guitars/bass/vocals/mandolin/ harmonica/synth/bgv). The other musicians whom
helped them on their CD Live And Learn are Josh Kanusky & David Torchia
(drums/percussion), Steve Varner (bass), Phil Madeira
(piano/organ/Wurlitzer/lap steel/accordion), Ron Stabinsky (piano/synth), Cliff
Starkey (piano/organ/synth/Rhodes) and Will Kimbrough (lead slide guitar).
Their music is smooth early-mid 70s orientated countrysoul flavored Westcoast, with
that typical southern US laid-back approach, kinda like AMAZING RHYTHM ACES, MARSHALL
TUCKER BAND, a softer LYNYRD SKYNYRD, a less groovier LITTLE FEAT and STEELY
DAN. What they are doing sounds very natural and relaxing, sometimes also
reminding me of DAWN BROTHERS, yet as 2 Americans they are doing it with a soul
like only possible if you’re coming out of the USA. Michael comes out of Millboro,
North Carolina, while Peter is from Reading, Pennsylvania, and their CD Live And
Learn is a lovely album that you can easily put on during the long hot summer
days. It’s albums like these that should gain a lot more attention, because
such clever high quality albums are rare these days! More info at: https://parisrogues.com/home
(Points: 8.3 out
of 10)
DAVE DESMELIK ‘AMONG
FRIENDS’ (INDEPENDENT/HEMIFRAN/USA IMPORT)
Out of Northern Carolina comes DAVE DESMELIK, a
vocalist with a calmer 70s inspired singer/songwriter Americana style on his
new album Among Friends. He sings and plays all the instruments, but almost all
of the songs on the CD are covers of songs written by his friends. Nicely done,
an album much recommended to fans of old school 70s singer/songwriter Americana.
More info at: https://davedesmelik.bandcamp.com/album/among-friends
and https://davedesmelikmusic.com/
(Points: 7.3 out
of 10)
MICHAEL HENCHMAN ‘IF
THE SKY FELL’ (INDEPENDENT/HEMIFRAN/USA IMPORT)
Out of Portland, Oregon, USA comes singer songwriter multi-instrumentalist
MICHAEL HENCHMAN, and he recently released his 3rd album If The Sky
Fell, on which he almost plays all instruments by himself. However, he did get
some help from session musicians Jean-Pierre Garau on piano, organ and
synthesizer, Dale Jones on bass, Christian McKee on mandolin, ‘Gee’ Rabe on accordion,
David Jacob-Strain on acoustic guitar, Don Shultz on drums, Bryan Daste on
contrabass and pedal steel, Jeffrey Koch on electric guitar, Greg Garrett on trumpet
and Debbie Stewart on cello. The resulting album is a nice old school 70s orientated
singer songwriter/Americana affair with a folk touch a la JIM GROCE and JAMES TAYLOR.
Check out more on Michael at: https://michaelhenchman.com/
(Points: 7.4 out
of 10)
ED HAAKER PROJECT FEATURING
KEITH LYNCH ‘BORN TO ROCK’ (ED HAAKER RECORDS/HEMIFRAN/USA IMPORT)
ED HAAKER comes out of California, USA, and his ED
HAAKER PROJECT features a few very well-known singers/musicians, such as Keith
Lynch, Keith Carlock, Jimmy Johnson, Michael Ruff, Allan Thomas and Jim ’Kimo’
West. Ed is a great guitarist, shredding here and there quite well, while the
included music has a 70s classic rock feeling, reminding of CREEDENCE CLEARWATER
REVIVAL, ALLMAN BROTHERS BAND, BLUE OYSTER CULT and such legendary bands during
the rockers, while on the slower songs it has a THE EAGLES kinda memory. He
doesn’t sing himself, because most of the songs are sung by Keith Lynch. Ed did
a very fine job here, because the album has an authentic nostalgic 70s rock
feeling, and that’s exactly what he wanted to achieve on his 2nd album
Born To Rock. More info at: https://edhaaker.bandcamp.com/album/born-to-rock
(Points: 8.2 out
of 10)
RACHEL GOODRICH ‘ONCE
BEFORE’ (SOUL SELECT RECORDS/HEMIFRAN/USA IMPORT)
Out of Miami, USA comes singer/songwriter/guitarist
RACHEL GOODRICH. Since 2008 she is active in the music business, and her new
album is titled Once Before. Her music is calm jazzy pop, not far removed from
LAUFEY and perhaps a bit NORAH JONES. Her voice sounds very smooth, while the
music has an old fashioned jazzy mood. Other musicians helping out here are
drummer JOE RUSSO, bassist JON SHAW, pianist ROSE DROLL, trumpet player JOE
GULLACE and Vibraphone player KEVIN KENDRICK. Quite a lovely relaxing album
actually, much recommended to fans of LAUFEY! More information can be found at:
https://linktr.ee/rachelgoodrich
(Points: 8.0 out
of 10)
ALICE HOWE &
FREEBO ‘LIVE’ (KNOW HOWE MUSIC/HEMIFRAN/USA IMPORT)
ALICE HOWE and FREEBO have been recording and performing
together since 2017. They are both musicians and singer/songwriters, and Live
is their latest CD release. It was recorded at one show in front of a small
audience in Port Towsend, WA in June 2024, and they performed that night along
with guitarist Jeff Fielder. Their music is melodic Americana pop/rock with
elements of blues, roots music, soul and Folk. 14 songs are included in total,
and without a doubt, it’s a beautiful concert they performed 1 year ago, and it’s
nice to have it on CD now. More information at: https://www.alicehowe.com/
(Points: 8.0 out
of 10)
SACRED VAGABONDS ‘ALL
THAT MATTERS’ (SWEET CITY SOUNDS/HEMIFRAN/USA IMPORT)
All That Matters is an EP by the band SACRED VAGABONDS.
The main members of the band are Ken Marvin (vocals/guitars/bass/percussion)
& Brian Gentry (vocals/6 & 12 string acoustic guitars/electric
guitars/harmonica), whom performed with the legendary late DAN PEEK of AMERICA for
quite some time, and also in the band is CHRISTOPER CROSS back-up singer Kim
Parent. The other 3 members are Paul Eckberg (drums/percussion), Alison
Prestwood (bass) and Ray Braun (keys). Musically speaking the 6 included songs
are a late 60s psychedelic Westcoast pop/rock affair that blends THE BYRDS,
AMERICA, BUFFALO SPRINGFIELD and CROSBY, STILLS, NASH & YOUNG. It’s smooth,
harmonyvocal driven music that feels summer ish. Played very well by a bunch of
top notch musicians, this album is highly recommended if you’re a fan of this
kind of music! More info at: https://thesacredvagabonds.com/
(Points: 8.0 out
of 10)
RYAN HOLWEGER ‘THE
GOLDEN PAPER FLOWER’ (BLOOD PONIES MUSIC/HEMIFRAN/USA IMPORT)
Originally from Minneapolis, Minnesota, but now
settled in Syracuse, New York, the American singer/songwriter RYAN HOLWEGER recently
released a follow-up entitled The Golden Paper Flower to his debut album
Gunmetal Sky, which was released in 2018. He gets help from Frank Alexander on
piano, Seth Owen Becker on electric guitar and banjo, Aaron Bobis on acoustic guitar,
Blake Propst on bass and Mike Fishman on drums. Together they created a
beautiful melodic sound around Ryan’s lovely voice. Americana is the best description,
but we can also identify influences of Alternative Country, Folk and even a bit
Indie Pop. Sometimes Ryan reminds me of DYLAN LEBLANC, also musically speaking,
and without a doubt, he would not be out of place on a festival like Ramblin’
Roots, which is held each year in the city of Utrecht. Highlights on his new CD
are the uptempo Bleed All Over, the duet with REAGAN HELEN on Settle In Easy
and the catchy country rockers Some Lives and The Country Route. Don’t miss
this talented American singer/songwriter and check him out at: https://www.ryanholweger.com/ and https://ryanholweger.bandcamp.com/album/the-golden-paper-flower
(Points: 8.3 out
of 10)
SUNNIVA BRYNNEL ‘BOHUSLAN’
(SJUMIT RECORDS/HEMIFRAN/SWEDEN IMPORT)
SUNNIVA BRYNNEL is a Swedish accordionist and singer
who spent her whole life in the music business, because her mother Rosa was a
singer as well, and with her she travelled all around the world. Eventually she
started music on her own, and her new album is titled Bohuslan. It’s a
traditional folk music album with a mixture of instrumentals and vocal songs.
She is helped by Finnish pianist and composer Timo Alakotila and Swedish
fiddlers Hans Kennemark and Jenny Gustafsson. 14 songs are included, and it’s
recommended to fans of old folk music. Bohuslän is a Swedish province in
Götaland by the way, on the northernmost part of the country's west coast.
Check out her music at: https://www.sunnivabrynnel.com/sunniva-brynnel-group
(Points: 7.2 out
of 10)
HAT CHECK GIRL ’29
& GONE’ (GALLWAY BAY MUSIC/HEMIFRAN/USA IMPORT)
HAT CHECK GIRL is a duo from Maine, Portland, and
consists of PETTER GALLWAY and his wife ANNIE GALLUP. Together they have
recorded 8 albums since 2010, and now they unveil their new album 29 And Gone. The
music is calmer singer songwriter pop/rock and Americana, More info at: https://www.facebook.com/hatcheckgirlmusic/
(Points: 7.2 out
of 10)
PETER GALLWAY ‘LAURA’
(GALLWAY BAY MUSIC/HEMIFRAN/USA IMPORT)
LAURA NYRO is a legendary American singer/songwriter
who had a short career in New York back in the 1960s, and eventually she was
praised for her amazing concerts she gave in the 1960s, with self-written songs
that at a later stage were covered by such well-known acts like BLOOD, SWEAT
& TEARS and BARBRA STREISAND. She also met American musician PETER GALLWAY
back in 1969, and the 2 ever wrote songs together, and they had a close contact
through the years. Sadly Laura more or less quit the music business and lived a
peaceful life until she tragically died of cancer almost 30 years ago. Peter pays
tribute to her with the release of Laura, on which he covers songs by Laura. He
did a pretty good job, which is now released on CD. Check out more at: https://petergallway.com/
(Points: 7.7 out
of 10)
CRISTIANO
NASCIMENTO & WIM WELKER ‘PORTRAITS’ (NOA MUSIC/INOUIE DISTRIBUTION/VEEV.COM/FRANCE IMPORT)
Choro is an upcoming Brazilan musicstyle, which is
played on the electronic jazz guitar, mandolin and flute. It’s musically not that
far removed from classic guitar based jazz from the 1950s-1960s, yet with a Brazilian
touch to make it sound cheerful, summer ish and groovy. CRISTIANO NASCIMENTO from
Rio De Janeiro created a record together with WIM WELKER, and the included
material on their CD is of an exceptional high level. This is instrumental old
school guitar based jazz at it’s best. Somewhere between early GEORGE BENSON
and AL DIMEOLA, yet with a completely own style thanks to the Brazilian influences,
this is a highly recommended CD. More info can be found at: https://bfan.link/portraits-2
(Points: 8.0 out
of 10)
CLAIRE LUZI & CRISTIANO
NASCIMENTO ‘C’EST L’HEURE DU BOEUF’ (LA RODA/INOUIE DISTRIBUTION/VEEV.COM/FRANCE IMPORT)
C’est l’heure du boeuf is the title of the CD that was
recorded by French singer/musician CLAIRE LUZI and Brazilian guitarplayer CRISTIANO
NASCIMENTO. It’s a lovely laid-back jazzy Brazilian style album that consists
of 7 smooth songs that bring you in a happy summer mood while listening. In a
different world, this could easily turn out into big hits, because in the past
a Brazilian band like KAOMA scored major hits worldwide with the same kinda
music. Without a doubt, this is high quality music that should get a lot more
attention, since both Cristiano and Claire are delivering amazing performances
on this CD. More info at: https://www.laroda.fr/artiste/claire-luzi
(Points: 8.0 out
of 10)
MAD PARISH ‘THE
DUST OF FOREVER’ (INDEPENDENT/CANADA IMPORT)
Canada has profiled themselves in the past decades as
a country that keeps on delivering high quality bands, and MAD PARISH is yet
another one. They hail from Montreal and The Dust Of Forever is their 2nd
album, following up their 2014 release Procession. Their line up on this new CD
consists of Josh Mcconnell (guitar/ vocals), Bob Eaglesham (guitar/vocals), Aaron
Carbray (guitar), Patrick Latreille (bass) and Andre Bisson
(synth/organ/moog/vocals).
After a short intro, we get to hear a couple of great
uptempo pieces (Defecther and Possess The Child) that combine European classic
melodic NWOBHM with 80s US Melodic Metal. Their music is at first sight not
that far removed from European newcomers like AIR RAID, WYTCH HAZEL, STRIKER,
HIGH SPIRITS, CENTURY, FREE WAYS, NIGHT and such. However, a song like Ouen
Formation is a slower tempo paced epic and very melodic tune, like MAGNUM meets
STYX meets BLUE OYSTER CULT, with OZZY alike vocals. But there is much more to
hear, because they also throw in some proggy kraut space rock elements via
short synths/keyboards dominated songs here and there.
There are quite a lot of songs on the album, and a lot
to discover, because MAD PARISH is very diverse. The mixture of classic rock
and classic metal styles works really well on this Space Rock Opera concept album,
which comes along with a lovely comic book that tells the story you can hear on
the album. In case you’re not familiar with any of the aforementioned bands, I
could easily go for a description like IRON MAIDEN meets HAWKWIND, but that wouldn’t
be fair, because MAD PARISH has a sound on their own that mixes classic rock,
space rock and classic metal into an exciting long journey you need to
experience yourself if you’re able to get the vinyl edition of the album.
Check out this sensational band at: https://madparish1.bandcamp.com/album/the-dust-of-forever
(Points: 8.5 out
of 10)
EMMA WILSON ‘A SPOONFUL
OF WILLIE DIXON’ (INDEPENDENT/FRANK ROSZAK PROMOTION/UK IMPORT)
EMMA WILSON comes out of the UK, and she has released a
wonderful tribute CD to the legendary WILLIE DIXON, who of course was an influential
American blues musician. Willie’s songs were covered by LED ZEPPELIN, CREAM, TEN
YEARS AFTER, ROLLING STONES, ALLMAN BROTHERS BAND and may more. He was active
himself during the 1930s and 1940s, although during the following decades he
kept recording and performing, but the songs he wrote in his early days became
cult songs recorded by aforementioned acts after he had sold them for just a
few dollars…
Anyway, it’s the 3rd CD of the talented
EMMA WILSON, who is a fantastic lead singer, and on this CD she got help from guitarist
Nik Svarc; Bennett Holland -Hammond organ, piano, and backing vocals; bassist
Ian Leese and drummer Mark Barrett. The album was recorded live and mixed by
Tom Henthorn at the Crystalship Studios
in Sheffield, England. 6 lengthy bluesy covers of the WILLIE DIXON classics are
played here, and it all sounds wonderful, which is thanks to both the wonderful
singing of Emma and her backing band.
More info can be found at: https://www.emmawilson.net/
(Points: 8.3 out
of 10)
MAUVAIS SANG ‘LA FAUNE’
(DAAGANDA RECORDS/THE ORCHARD/CREATIVE ECLIPSE PR/GERMAN IMPORT)
Out of France comes a rather catchy French sung dark-cold
wave/noise/post-rock band called MAUVAIS SAING. The band consists of Mathis
Saunier (guitarist and composer), Léo Simond (singer and lyricist), Antoine
Vercellotti (drummer), Florent Rigot (bassist), Anouck Bizon (singer and
harpist), and Anastasia Egorova (singer and violinist), and La Faune is their 2nd
album so far. The band’s music is a mixture of slow post-rock, electro synth
wave, modern hi-tech dark industrial noise touch and still with a melodic pop
vocal. It’s a rather unique mixture actually, and MAUVAIS SANG is therefore a
recommended interesting band to check out for sure, because there is a lot to discover
while listening to the 12 included songs on their new CD La Faune. More info can
be found at: https://mauvaissangprojet.bandcamp.com/album/la-faune
(Points: 8.3 out
of 10)
THE SOUNDBYTE ‘STILL
QUIET’ (VOICES OF WONDER/PLASTIC HEAD/CREATIVE ECLIPSE PR/GERMAN IMPORT)
THE SOUNDBYTE was formed back in 1998 by guitarist
TROND ENGUM, who was a pioneer of the Norwegian Metal scene in the early 1990s
with his band THE 3RD AND THE MORTAL. Now he releases a new album as
THE SOUNDBYTE, and it’s titled Still Quiet. The other members in the band are Rune
Hoemsnes/drums, Kirsti Huke/vocals, Andreas Elvenes/vocals, Geir Nilssen/keys, Sigurd
Ekle/bass and Carl Haakon Waadeland/percussion. The music of THE SOUNDBYTE has
a typical Nordic melancholic, yet melodic dark post-progressive rock approach.
It’s different than for example of AIRBAG and SOEN, but for fans of such bands
still very interesting to check out. Andreas’ vocals have a sort of Gothic meets
DAVID BOWIE kinda feeling, yet the music is closer to slow melodic progrock
when the melodies kick in, such as can be heard during the wonderful opener
Floating At Distance and the darker Fall Of Illusions. There are however also
Folk influences to be traced and the lead vocals are shared, because the final
3 songs feature Kirsti on vocals, and here THE SOUNDBYTE sounds a bit Shoegaze
ish due to the lush female vocals. Personally I prefer the first part of the
album, but that second part of the album is not bad at all, but it just feels
slightly different, Concluded, this is nevertheless a highly recommended album,
which has a lot of interesting high quality music included. More info can be
found at: https://thesoundbyte.bandcamp.com/album/still-quiet
(Points: 8.4 out
of 10)
BILLY MARROWS ‘GRANDE
FAMILIA – THE PENELOPE ALBUM LIVE’ (DISCUS MUSIC/UK IMPORT)
In 2024 BILLY MARROWS (guitar/baritone guitar and
compositions) released a CD entitled Grande Familie – Penelope, which was a
tribute to his late mother who sadly died of pancreatic cancer in August 2023. After
the release, he played with a whole list of musicians (Teresa Macedo Ferreira –
viola; Dijan Mbanu – flute; Jonas Mbanu – electric bass; Angus Bayley – piano;
Gustavo Clayton Marucci – clarinet and bass clarinet; Chris Williams – alto
sax; Tom Ridout – soprano, tenor and clarinet; Mike Soper – trumpet; Olli Martin
– trombone; Anna Drysdale – French horn; Greg Sanders – shaker and producer),
the album in an extended version live at a club in London, and now this
recording has been released as Grande Familie – The Penelope Album Live. The
included music is very smooth relaxing old school calmer instrumental jazz, which
is mainly based around Billy’s guitarwork, and overall reminds me a bit of very
early GEORGE BENSON. It has a lovely guitar tone that feels very 1960s/1970s
style, and some of the highlights are Penelope Overture, Peneope Part 1 and A Grande
Familia, although you need to listen to the full CD, which consists of 16 tracks,
to really understand the feeling Billy wants to achieve with his music. Check
out more information at: https://www.billymarrows.com/grande-familia
(Points: 8.3 out
of 10)
STEPHEN GREW ‘FIRE’
(DISCUS MUSIC/UK IMPORT)
STEPHEN GREW is a piano player who has been recording
music for almost 30 years now, and his latest solo offering is Fire. It
features only him on piano, and included is the song Fire in 3 parts. Musically
speaking it is improvised somewhat experimental jazz, although you can also hear
some great melodies here and there. Stephen is a gifted pianoplayer and if you’re
interested, you can listen to it for yourself at: https://discusmusic.bandcamp.com/album/fire-192cd-2025
(Points: 7.7 out
of 10)
UROBURO ‘THE BASS
SPEAKS’ (DISCUS MUSIC/UK IMPORT)
The Bass Speaks is a 2-CD set by a band called UROBURO.
The featured musicians here are Faith Brackenbury - vocals & violin, Laura Cole
– piano, Anton Hunter - guitar & electronics, Johnny Hunter – drums, Keith Jafrate
- vocals & saxophones, John Pope – bass and Sylvie Rose - vocals &
flute. Their music is experimental jazz, and is a mixture of female vocals and
male spoken word besides the instrumental parts. Basically it’s a mixture of
every style within the jazz music, although most of the time it does have a calmer
approach. It’s best to check for yourself, because this is one of those albums
you need to listen to over and over again, and really investigate to find the
deeper meaning of UROBURO at: https://discusmusic.bandcamp.com/album/the-bass-speaks-193cd-2025
(Points: 7.8 out
of 10)
SMALL BLUE ‘FURROW’
(DISCUS MUSIC/UK IMPORT)
SMALL BLUE is a piano led trio with a relaxing smooth
jazz sound that sounds really good on their debut album Furrow. The trio
consists of David Beebee – piano, Marianne Windham – bass and Martin Pyne –
drums/composing. It’s modern, but not too experimental, and throughout 12
tracks in total, we get to hear some lovely melodic sounds. The music is
inspired by old movies, poems, novels, etc. , so it really captures an old
music kinda feeling, yet it still sounds modern, Captured very well, SMALL BLUE
is recommend to any jazz music fan. More info at: https://discusmusic.bandcamp.com/album/furrow-190cd-2025
(Points: 8.4 out
of 10)
LARRY STABBINS
& MARK SANDERS ‘CUP & RING’ (DISCUS MUSIC/UK IMPORT)
Larry Stabbins (alto saxophone, concert and alto
flutes, bass clarinet) and Mark Sanders (percussion) joined forces and recorded
an album titled Cup & Ring. Musically speaking it is an experimental light
jazz affair, except songs like Ring No.3 and Ring No. 5, which both have an
outta control sax combined with extreme drumming. Those 2 songs are
experimental freak jazz or freestyle jazz, which will whet the appetite of the
open-minded jazz fans out there. The rest of the CD is less experimental, and at
times quite melodic actually. You can check out all info at: https://discusmusic.bandcamp.com/album/cup-ring-191cd-2025
(Points: 7.7 out
of 10)
ADAM FAIRHALL
& JOHNNY HUNTER ‘PLAY MARY LOU WILLIAMS’ (DISCUS MUSIC/UK IMPORT)
Here we have a CD filled with lovely 1930s/1940s boogie
woogie instrumental jazz piano led music that reminds me of what JOOLS HOLLAND
is doing for a big audience, but there also other piano jazz styles here, and
basically it’s a great album! It concerns a tribute to the legendary late MARY
LOU WILLIAMS, who was a 1910 born jazz piano player/composer until her death in
1981, and she inspired Adam Fairhall – piano and Johnny Hunter - snare drum to
record this wonderful tribute album under the guidance of producer/DISCUS MUSIC
label owner MARTIN ARCHER. They did a great job and it is a nice introduction
(if you never heard of her) to this legendary lady from the past! More info at:
https://discusmusic.bandcamp.com/album/play-mary-lou-williams-187cd-2025
(Points: 8.1 out
of 10)
ECLECTIC MAYBE
BAND ‘COSMIC LIGHT CLUSTERS’ (DISCUS MUSIC/UK IMPORT)
Here we have a CD with an endless list of musicians (Guy
Segers / bass, samples, virtual instruments, Pierre Bernard / flute, Michel
Berckmans / oboe, Cécile Broché / violin, Jean-Pierre Soarez / trumpet, Franck
Cottret / trombone, Michel Delville / guitar, Catherine Smet / piano, keyboards,
Dirk Wachtelaer / drums, Andy Kirk / keyboards, Dirk Descheemaeker / clarinet,
bass clarinet, Fabrice Owerzarzak / drums, Joe Higham / keyboards, clarinet,
soprano saxophone, Eleni "Silena" Siozou / vocals, Mami Foujita /
vocals, Cathryn Robson / vocals, Rich O'Meara / marimba, vibes, Tatsuya Yoshida
/ drums, Stephan Köhr / bassoon, Sigrid Vandenbogaerden / cello, Ángel Ontalva
/ guitar, Mark Bogaerts / alto saxophone, baritone saxophone, Luc Mishalle /
tenor saxophone, Emmanuel Cremer / cello, Jimmy Ågren / guitar, Sean Rickman /
drums, Paul Everaert / bassoon, Luc Van Lieshout / flugelhorn and Marianne
Denoïa / violin), and together they recorded a beautiful relaxing album that
feels like a movie background music themed CD. It has some kraut jazz and the
vocals are experimental, and here and there it has a thriller movie sorta vibe.
This is something you need to experience live I think. More at: https://discusmusic.bandcamp.com/album/cosmic-light-clusters-188cd-2025
(Points: 8.0 out
of 10)
THE EXU ‘THE EXU’
(DISCUS MUSIC/UK IMPORT)
THE EXU is a trio consisting of James Mainwaring –
saxophones, Dave Kane – double bass and Emil Karlsen – drums, and their experimental
sax dominated avant garde jazz is actually sounding fresh and interesting to
check out, even if you’re usually not into experimental freestyle jazz. THE EXU
are doing things just a bit different on their same titled debut CD and are
therefore more attractive to check out for every jazz fan out there. More information
at: https://theexu.com/
(Points: 7.4 out
of 10)
HERONIMUS FIN ‘AND
SOON THE DARKNESS’ (GARDEN RECORDS/UK IMPORT)
HERONIMUS FIN is coming out of Birmingham, UK, and
they were formed back in 1994, so this band has been well alive for over 30
years now. And Soon The Darkness is their 6th studio album if I counted
correctly, and their current line up consists of Jon Buxton - Lead Vocals, Guitar,
Andy Cooke - Bass Guitar / Harmonica, Colin Edwards – Lead Guitar and Ashley
Buxton – Drums. Anyone into 70s classic hardrock need to read further, because HERONIMUS
FIN is perfectly fulfilling their wishes!
Opener The Edomite (Hate) is lovely Classic 70s Hardrock
style with a stoner rock touch. It has a high quality sound/production, strong
raw vocals by Jon, a kick ass guitar riff (a la SABBATH/KISS/LIZZY) and superb
soaring shredding guitarsolo’s at the end of the song. Overall here the band
reminds me a lot of SPIDERGAWD! Moving on we have a completely different song
up next called The Gentrification Of Charlie Blint & The Great Unwashed
(Self Control), which has female vocals (provided by guest singer Aurora
Felusia), and is a sort of haunting folk/world music inspired psychedelic
rocksong that mixes JEFFERSON AIRPLANE and BLUE OYSTER CULT with influences from
a band like ALTIN GUN! So basically we have here a very diverse band that is
best comparable to MOTORPSYCHO, whom are also mixing all kinds of sounds from the
past. Jon is back at vocals during the 70s epic progressive rock/classic rocker
Midnight Gardners (Crime), which is basically pure LUCIFER’S FRIEND, JETHRO
TULL, URIAH HEEP and WISHBONE ASH being put in a melting pot, including superb (twin)
guitarwork once again. And Soon The Darkness (War) follows in a straight ahead
uptempo classic 70s hardrocking style like BLACK SABBATH, WISHBONE ASH meets
BLUE OYSTER CULT, with some really beautiful melodies (a la GHOST) and of course
excellent guitarwork. The Nail That Sticks Out Must Be Hammered Down
(Rebellion) is a calmer epic progrock tune like JETHRO TULL created back in the
day, while Rain Beneath The Umbrella (Peace) is a sorta epic semi rock ballad.
The final 2 songs of this rather interesting album are Diamond Queen (Love) (if
this was released in 1975, it would have been a classic right now, because this
is excellent catchy 70s hard rock like a mix between THIN LIZZY and BLUE OYSTER
CULT) and Chelsea High (Hope) (a calmer acoustic ballad).
Concluded, this is an underground 70s sounding classic
rock/progrock kinda album that I would highly recommend if you’re into any of
the aforementioned bands. These guys have created their own sound throughout
the past 31 years, and they would have been huge if this was still the 1970s.
However, this band nevertheless needs much more attention, because basically musically
speaking they are that not far removed from the popular band GHOST (minus the
goofy image!) Check out HERONIMUS FIN at: https://www.heronimusfin.com/
(Points: 8.4 out of 10)
KIP MOORE + GARETH
WEDNESDAY MAY 28TH / 013 VENUE, TILBURG, THE NETHERLANDS
ARENA ROCK at it’s
very best!
It was a warm weekday evening
when I went to the city of Tilburg to catch a show of one of the greatest
American singer/songwriters at the moment. His name is KIP MOORE, he’s from
Georgia, and although he is labeled as a country musician, his music is very
diverse and is actually closely related to 80s Arena Rock during the rockier
songs, but still keeps things modern here and there, while during the intimate
moments it has a beautiful authentic warmness that shows his
Americana/Singer-Songwriter skills. Anyway, before Kip would do his 2+ hour
show, it was up to GARETH to serve as opening act. Besides Gareth (acoustic
guitar and vocals) on stage, there was also his electric guitarplayer to
assist, and he gave Gareth’s calmer melodic acoustic country/singer-songwriter
Americana a slight rocky touch. Gareth has a great voice, and he belts out some
really beautiful memorable melodies, so it was a nice set from beginning to the
end.
Then we had to wait for roughly
30 minutes before Kip would start his show, and meanwhile through the speakers
we could hear a mixture of classic rocksongs from the 70s, 80s and 90s. Kip has
recently released a great new album titled Solitary Tracks, which was quite a
personal album that featured 23 new tracks. Especially the first part of that
album contains some of his most authentic calmer singer-songwriter orientated
material so far, and surprisingly Kip started the set at 9 o’clock sharp with
the first song from that new record. It’s the song High Hopes, which was
followed by the final song of the new album, the lovely midtempo AORish Only
Me, and the intimate titletrack Solitary Tracks was up next. After this sorta
introduction to the new album, Kip and his fantastic band THE SLOWHEARTS began
to rock hard in a way that reminded me of the 80s Arena Rockbands, yet then
done in his own KIP MOORE style. The following bunch of songs were a mix of
songs from all of his previous records. Kip released his debut album back in
2012, and has ever since released 5 more records, so he is quite a busy
musician/singer/songwriter.
For a full hour Kip was
rocking, and he had no time to do any interaction with his audience or the
band, because he was delivering all these high class American rock pieces with
all of his energy during the first part of the set. Kip’s voice is a mixture of
the late STEVE LEE (of GOTTHARD), the late JIMI JAMISON (of SURVIVOR) and BENNY
MARDONES, so basically a man with a Golden raspy voice. His music is as already
mentioned this mixture of 70s/80s classic American Rock with a pop/rock touch
and also authentic singer/songwriter Americana influences. Basically if you
like to hear someone in the style of BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN, BRYAN ADAMS, TOM PETTY,
RICK SPRINGFIELD, JOHN COUGAR and HUEY LEWIS, and someone who actually writes
his own catchy songs in the style of these legendary singer/songwriter
musicians, then look no further, because KIP MOORE is your guy to check out
a.s.a.p.
Anyway, halfway the set Kip
started to talk between the songs, do some improvising here and there,
introduce the band, and it was like a complete facelift, because the rest of
the show was a wonderful mixture of sensational songs performed in perfection,
while still entertaining the audience via sing-a-long sessions, jumping up and
down by Kip and his bandmembers, walking to the crowd and do a speed-date
signing session, and much more. It’s also very enjoyable to watch Kip finish a
few rockier tunes with just him on acoustic guitar singing the same tunes, but
then stripped, but perhaps the absolute highlight was the song Sweet Virginia,
when we could hear each band member sing the chorus, and especially the 2nd
lead guitarist (HANK BORN) showed he has an amazing voice as well! Anyway, it
was Kip’s show, so perhaps in the future we might enjoy Hank’s solo adventures,
who knows…
I have to say that this was an
outstanding rock and roll show the way it needs to sound and look. Kip and his
band are amazing performers, and they made it look so easy, but delivering more
than 2 hours of high class music is definitely champions league! My favorite
songs of the show were Only Me, Damn Love, Crazy One More Time, Plead The
Fifth, Beer Money, Red White Blue Jean American Dream, She's Mine, Love And War,
Heart On Fire, Come and Get
It and Tough Enough, and most of these are
reflecting the aforementioned description of classic true American 80s Arena
Rock/Poprock/AOR with both a modern pop and country touch. Throw in JOHN
COUGAR, BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN, BRYAN ADAMS and BENNY MARDONES in a blender, then
you will have KIP MOORE, one of the greatest new upcoming stars in the arena
rockworld. If he continues touring like this in Europe, and deliver more great
new material, we might be looking at the future for real authentic melodic rock
music. Check out Kip’s music, both his albums and his shows, because it is
worth it 100%!
(Points: 9.3 out of 10)
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