The Mavericks – In Time album review
In Time, the latest release from Miami based country group The Mavericks follows the pattern of their earlier works where diversity is the name of the game. Mariachi horns, country melodies, and Roy Orbison-esque vocals are found throughout the record but songs are diverse and almost all bring a new theme to the table whether it is the slinky surf guitar of “Come Unto Me”, which is also recorded in Spanish as the closing track “Ven Hacia Mi” or the [...]
Read more →CHVRCHES – Recover EP review
CHVRCHES are here to remind everyone that eighties synth-pop is not dead, it simply renamed itself electro-pop and crawled back out of whatever space it was hiding in. A three-person band from Glasgow, CHVRCHES spell their name with a v to differentiate themselves in internet searches. Their lead vocalist (Lauren Mayberry) is a young woman with a crystal clear tone and an ethereal style of singing. In photos she appears to be a wispy, waif of a girl who obviously [...]
Read more →Kotki Dwa – Staycations album review
It’s not a very arguable statement that the British band Kotki Dwa have a lot of good things going for them. They’ve got a rapidly growing fan-base, critical acclaim, and they’ve even got the National Trust of England to essentially act as a record label to their new album. However, even with all of these positives leaning their way, their band name is definitely not one of them. “Kotki Dwa” might be one of the most elusive band names on [...]
Read more →The Virginmarys – King of Conflict album review
Over six year in the making since the band formed in 2006, The Virginmarys have finally released their debut album “King of Conflict” (Wind Up Records, U.S.). Don’t let their name fool you, they are definitely not opening for the preacher every Sunday morning, but they might still be up that early after partying all Saturday night. Sometimes you hear a band and have a difficult time placing them within a genre, well not The Virginmarys, these guys sing, play, [...]
Read more →OneRepublic – Native album review
To say that there is no longer good music being made is both naive and false, perhaps more a reflection of the speaker than of the modern music scene itself. Just as in any other time period, there exists a plethora of exciting, engaging, intelligent new musicians and song crafters. What is true about today, however, is that it does seem to be more difficult to find said artists. Record companies are in shambles, independent radio, while making a comeback, [...]
Read more →Sally Shapiro – Somewhere Else album review
I like to think of myself as a pretty open listener when it comes to music. Even when I’m exposed to a niche or genre that is completely foreign and not necessarily appealing to me, I can usually find something about it that excites me on some level. Unfortunately, that was really hard for me to do when I heard Sally Shapiro’s latest album, Somewhere Else. Maybe I just don’t “get it.” Maybe Italo disco synthpop isn’t my bag. Either way, [...]
Read more →Wavves – Afraid of Heights album review
Afraid of Heights definitely meshes all the elements of alternative music and teen pop cheeriness. The sunny melodies a juxtaposition for the ghoulish lyrics. The release is fitting, just in time for beaches and bodies to ride the surf. With summer around the corner, all fourteen tracks of Afraid of Heights should be getting radio-play as it is the perfect anthem to celebrate the sun. The album cover of Afraid of Heights is strange, to say the least. Without going [...]
Read more →Crystal Shipsss – Crystal Shipsss EP review
Jacob Faurholt inhabits a self-created musical universe. Crystal Shipsss, the one-musician vehicle created as the vessel to navigate the cosmos of this universe, is the focal point of Faurholt’s musical output. The current Crystal Shipsss release is testament to the amount of music running through this man’s head. Though brief in playtime even by e.p. standards, the amount of music that pours forth in 15 minutes or so, is staggering. Though the approach to creation was deliberately casual, the end [...]
Read more →Nataly Dawn – How I Knew Her album review
Listening to Nataly Dawn’s first release How I Knew Her, I couldn’t shake the feeling like I’d heard her before. To an extent, all pretty, young “indie” female singer-songwriters with floaty vocals and softly plucked guitars sound somewhat the same, and it was tough to pinpoint just of whom I was reminded, but even the face on the album cover looked like someone I’d seen before. Then it hit me – she was the female half of the Youtube darlings [...]
Read more →The Wonder Stuff – Oh No…It’s The Wonder Stuff! album review
Two things Bowie’s first album in 13 years has confirmed: first, that the category of aged British rock acts trying to make albums for today’s music scene has apparently become a thing; second, that the ability to pull it off successfully is a distinction pretty much reserved for him. Good news for enthusiasts of the man behind hits like “Space Oddity,” but perhaps a rather unfortunate revelation for bands like The Wonder Stuff whose 9th album, Oh No…It’s The Wonder [...]
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