The intelligence burning in the heart of Tom Tikka and the Missing Hubcaps’ “Working Class Voodoo” is in its lyrics and Tikka’s vocal delivery. There’s other equivalent moments in the track, like the development of the song’s melodies, but the track gets over with listeners largely on the back of its lyrical acumen, never overwrought
Jodi Marxbury
“Tell me what you’re gonna say / When you turn around and you walk, walk away” sings Walker’s Cay frontman Gary LaBarr in the theatrical chorus of the all-new single “Tell Me,” released last April to a warm reception from fans and critics alike. As potent as any of the grooves in this song are,
“Starting Over”, the title track of Mark Conklin’s EP, is a stunning beginning to a special six song release. It is special for many reasons. The first and primary reason is that the half dozen tracks he’s written for this release are, in my opinion, among the finest examples of traditional country music in a
Connecticut native Jason Young’s fifth album with his project Heartour entitled R u in illustrates his ongoing progression as a songwriter and performer. The album’s ten songs vary in mood and presentation though there are abiding stylistic elements each cut shares; Young, if nothing else, writes and records albums that always hang together. This latest foray for
If given the opportunity would you listen to music that gives you joy and love, or would you listen to music that makes you dance? We all have different reasons for what we choose in our tastes of music, but every once in a while my world gets shook and I get swept away by
With a thrusting stomp, an acoustic guitar sparks “Little Bit of Texas” to life. The lead single and title track of Carlos Washington’s Steel Horse Swing’s new album doesn’t start us off with a lot of pomp and predictable country intro stuff – from the moment we press play on this track-forward, the rip-roar rhythm
Something happens in the streets of a large city. It’s its own ecosystem of sounds and assembly lines of people, day-in, day-out. It’s one thing to capture that sound, it’s another thing to infuse the listener into its world. Rapper extraordinaire Shemie Rozay’s “City Drop” takes the listener deep into an atmosphere of persistence and
“Hold me close when the hour nears / Close the curtain before you fade / Tonight… It’s Alright…” croons a cryptic voice from behind a haze of string play in “South of Yesterday,” one of the four songs on Izzie’s Caravan’s new EP Zephyrs. A follow-up to 2019’s Leo’s Guitar, Zephyrs is by far the more melodic and poetic
Despite coming up through one of the most competitive ages in the history of popular music, the New England-based Ilyah has a lot to be proud of at this stage of his career. He’s dropped marvelous singles in “Come Get It,” awesome videos in “The Only One,” “Miscommunication” and “Girls Like You,” all in addition
Project Grand Slam have been making headlines in both the independent and mainstream music press for years now, and when listening to their latest album, East Side Sessions, it’s easy to understand why. Led by the one and only Robert Miller on bass, Project Grand Slam are a band that doesn’t play by the rules, and
Buoyant and startlingly seductive in the song’s most powerful moments, the beat in “SignOut66” is at the heart and soul of the epic new hybrid from Funkmata. “SignOut66” blends together elements of funk, R&B, jazz and old school rock n’ roll to push out a plethora of textured harmonies inside of a three and a
“Theme from Kiss of the Spider Woman” begins Houston based Ricky Comeaux’s first solo album If I Ruled the World and I knew, a minute in, I would likely enjoy the entirety of this eleven song release. Comeaux first came to prominence as one half of the Atwood//Comeaux duo with multi-instrumentalist Jerry Atwood and retains the vocal
Toox’s new single “Own the Night”, produced by the threesome of Michael DeBarge, Juicegotkeys, and Chey de Los, is a memorable release made all the more so by the contributions of featured guests such as Daimen Carter and Rose Culture. The additional vocal firepower makes a fine track even better and the producers have a
“Smile” is the latest single from Wisconsin’s AV Super Sunshine, the latest entry in a discography that began in 2015 and has accumulated many fine moments and powerful recordings during his nearly five year musical journey under this moniker. We often laud artists in reviews as being “unique” or “like no one else today” and
When we personalize our efforts to engage the world, the positive impact we create is powerful. Anyone can hold up a sign, march shoulder to shoulder with others in the name of a particular cause, or reel off a bevy of slogans and adages we believe illustrate solidarity with an issue. This observation does not
Swathed between two flutes and a mesmerizing piano, the new instrumental song “Liama” is a lovely reminder to slow things down and listen to the music. Ensconced in an imaginative song for the listener’s taking, the duo behind “Liama” are New Jersey’s Steve Markoff and Patricia Lazzara, with Allison Brewster Franzetti helming the piano. As
Slow-churning but slicker than most anything else I’ve heard out of the underground lately, the beats that define the mood of the music in “The Coronavirus,” Darrell Kelley’s latest single, are by far the most evocative component to behold in this white-hot track from the acclaimed indie R&B crooner (which is saying a lot considering
Artists, particularly in pop music, use a lot of different weapons when they get into a battle for their audience’s affections, and for Giadora, vocal harmonies are the bread and butter of her war chest. Songs like her latest single “Naïve” require a lot of moxie from behind the microphone, but she doesn’t back down from
Though rather barebones by design, the strings that produce the foundational melody in Captain Dane-O’s single “A Long Time Ago” are strangely hypnotic right out of the box, and despite their jagged arrangement, they arguably serve as a more entrancing element than any other in the whole of the song. In a “A Long Time
A piano’s keys issue a painful melody that Mike Rickard picks up and turns into a pointed harmony with little more than his soft, entrancing voice as we listen in on the opening bars of “Surrender,” the closing track of his album Out Loud, but despite the heady dose of emotionality that we receive in
Diane Patterson’s “Somewhere There’s a Song Still Singing” is a more than worthy addition to her extensive catalog of music reaching back to the early 1990’s. Patterson has maintained a high level of songwriting quality for nearly three decades and has appeared on impressive live bills along the way with luminaries such as Ani Difranco
Staggering out of the silence with a firmly toned melodicism, the piano that guides us through Luis Mojica’s “Shaman Food,” one of my favorite songs from his new record How a Stranger Is Made, is undeniably the most attractive element within the instrumentation, but make no mistake about it – it’s far from the only reason
Slithering out of the silence like a python, the first few strands of melodic ribbonry that we encounter in “Fanning the Flame,” the new single from Chloe Tang, are easily enough to evoke a moody sense of seduction in anyone listening to this latest release from the acclaimed pop singer, but it isn’t until our
Searing its melody into our minds one plodding note at a time, the piano keys that adorn the backdrop behind Kellie-Anne’s evocative lead vocal in “Legacy,” her latest single and music video, bring as much passion to the table as our star’s singing does, and if you’re at all familiar with her discography, you’ll understand
Mixing together elements of retro pop and neo-soul isn’t exactly a new concept in 2020, but it couldn’t feel any fresher than it does in Dynamyte’s “Show Me You,” the debut solo single from the Marisa half of Michael & Marisa. As Dynamyte, this singer/songwriter doesn’t forgo any of the lessons she learned alongside her
In “Life As We Know It,” the third official single from his latest album Being Myself, Rob Alexander changes things up and goes after the crowd that occupies the dancefloor in what could be described as his most rhythmic effort yet. Alexander applies his signature brand of singing to a previously untried framework in this
Electropop beats adorn a reggae rhythm with a little bit of extra color in “More Than You Know” much as they sneak their way into the backdrop of a righteous rap-style grind in “Savanna.” “Liberation” is slinky in its delivery of supple grooves where “Moses” is much more deliberate, although stoic, in the same department.
Even though it runs a little over six minutes in total length, the progressive electronica tune “Spores in My Dermis” is actually the shortest song on Earthadelik, the new album from Silvermouse released late last year, and let me tell you – it uses every second of time it occupies our speakers to crater the listener
Executive producer and actress Linda Collins recently accepted an award for Best International Film award at the Brightside Tavern Shorts Film Festival for the short film Perception, an Andres Irias written and directed film approaching the subject of race and immigration from two perspectives. Collins plays Lauren, the mother of an American teen taught to hate immigrants
Whether he’s searching through the haze of a distant harmony in “Through Is Through” or the dark “Wake Up,” indulging in self-aware exposure as a lyricist in “Hold On,” “Afterglow” or “The Way I Feel Now,” or simply digging into a swinging beat in “Tip Top Bobs,” the swaggering “Working Class Heroes” or Johnny Cash-inspired
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