The Los Angeles folk pop/Americana band The Furious Seasons released its fourth album last month, entitled My Love Is Strong. The broad emotional reach of its 13 tracks is built on catchy melodies, thoughtfully built harmonies, and storyline lyrics that engage listeners from the get-go. While certain influences come through clearly—the most obvious one being… Read More Music Review: The Furious Seasons – ‘My Love Is Strong’
There are a lot of 16-year-old singers who go down the pop music path. But there are also a number of them that go somewhere completely different. I am reminded of Montreal’s Nikki Yanofsky a few seconds into listening to Juliette Jules’ EP Black Crow, in which she displays a vocal know-how well beyond her… Read More Music Review: Juliette Jules – ‘Black Crow’
Currently from New York City but originally from Toronto, Eric Frisch wrote, performed (vocals, piano, guitar, bass, and percussion), produced, and released his first full-length album, Goodbye Birdcage, on 14 April of this year, in which he brings back to life 1950s and 1960s pop music. Frisch says that he wanted to create an album… Read More Music Review: Eric Frisch – ‘Goodbye Birdcage’
Los Angeles’ Dust on the Radio is releasing its newest EP, Halfway to the Stars, on January 20. It’s a critique of Hollywood vanity built on sounds of new wave and post-punk. The five-member band seems to have a bit of a bone to pick not with Hollywood per se, but rather with the current… Read More Music Review: Dust on the Radio – ‘Halfway to the Stars’
Montreal’s Alden Penner released last June his latest musical offering, the five-track EP Canada in Space. Penner explains that “there are more Canadians than any other nationality represented in the planned Mars colony. [This] EP is an imagining of the dreams, reveries, phantasms, hallucinations, psycho-spiritual projections, naïve mythologies, actions, visions and experiences of an abandoned… Read More Music Review: Alden Penner – ‘Canada in Space’ EP
Alternative electronic pop rock trio Ships Have Sailed are releasing this month Moodswings, their new full-length album. All tracks, even the most somber ones, would find a natural place on the soundtrack of a feel-good summer blockbuster featuring wide-eyed, hopeful teenagers. And yet, the album is nuanced in that the darker sides of life are… Read More Music Review: Ships Have Sailed – ‘Moodswings’
Long Island’s Sir Cadian Rhythm, a rock, jazz, pop quintet, released earlier this month a self-titled EP of five tracks. The band consists of musical theater performers, Juilliard graduates, music teachers, award-winning jazz band performers, and prolific poets, each having different musical backgrounds and styles that range from progressive rock, funk and metal to pop,… Read More Music Review: Sir Cadian Rhythm – ‘Sir Cadian Rhythm’
The United Kingdom is now offering us Mark Maze, who pours his London attitude in this full album of pop, electric, pop rock, and R&B hybrids that speak mostly of heartbreak and individualism. This makes for particularly insightful lyrics in most of the songs in Uncomfortable Truths that could make for very interesting individuals musings… Read More Music Review: Mark Maze – ‘Uncomfortable Truths’
Long-time singer Liz Graham released last month her new single, “Charcoal on a Canvas”, a song about wanting to know a person on a deeper level. The metaphor is an interesting one, as charcoal is literally a hands-on drawing method the use of which gets the artist’s hands quite dirty. For the artist to be… Read More Music Review: Liz Graham – ‘Charcoal on a Canvas’ Single
There are many reasons for giving new artists a try. Anne Simone piqued my interest because of the following words she wrote: “I am a citizen of the world./I tread gently on this earth./My glass is always half full./I celebrate differences./I believe music soothes the soul./I aspire to be the change I want to see.”… Read More Music Review: Anne Simone – ‘Bittersweet’