Tuesday, August 26, 2014

Anie- Lovekill EP review

Anie
Lovekill

I wish I could tell you more about Anie. Who or what is Anie, you ask? From the information given, Anie is the name of the group but is also the name of a person. Whatever the case may be, Anie has released an EP entitled Lovekill. As described on their Bandcamp page, each song on this EP “reflects the natural imbalance of a relationship.” With only four tracks to offer, Lovekill is an interesting EP.

            The title track opens up the EP, with the sounds of a female’s voice. Right from the start, you know this is something different. The title track has elements of indie rock but also elements of electronic pop. The male and female vocals harmonize in this catchy track. “Honey” is more of a conventional sounding pop song while it still maintains its indie rock sound. The male vocals suite the track just fine and give add more to the pop sound. The group slows things down on the dark acoustic sounds of “Only Ever This.” Compared to the first two tracks, this song is surprisingly dark. In fact, it’s wonderfully dark and melodic. The EP ends with the lyrically wonderful “Fear Losing,” which is another darker track with a glimmer of pop.


            Lovekill is a good EP from a strange but fascinating band. The band’s choice to stay anonymous just makes them even more intriguing. It’s definitely worth your time.  

You can stream AND download the album for free on their Bandcamp page by clicking here.

Saturday, August 23, 2014

Arkos- Reflected EP review

Arkos
Reflected


Arkos are a hard rock band coming out of Sumrall, MS. The band, who formed in July 2013, have released an EP entitled Reflected. Even with four songs, Arkos have managed to create a great sounding product.

            “Night” is a dark and brooding way to open up the album. It’s certainly a heavy track, with Sabbath/doom metal guitar riffs from guitarist Dillion Douglas and Chase Eaton and surprisingly melodic vocals from Zach Chambliss. While I’m sure dozens of other bands have done it before, this is an interesting approach in that the band are taking something melodic and putting it to music that’s heavy. This is followed by “In Your Eyes,” which starts off with a killer guitar riff. Chambliss’ melodic vocals once again stand up on the track, especially during the chorus. “Without Me” greets listeners with a rude awakening of screams while the EP ends with “Make Believe.” The former is perhaps the heaviest and most extreme track off the EP while the latter sees the band at it again with their melodic hard rock/heavy metal approach. In fact, “Make Believe” has a little bit of progressive metal going on here.


            Arkos are a very talented band. If I were to recommend this to anybody, I would say fans of modern rock bands would enjoy this but fans of other sub genres of rock music might get something out of it too. 

Font- Budmo Jiggler album review

Font
Budmo Jiggler

At first glance, a band with a name as simple as Font doesn’t seem all that exciting. After listening to their debut album Budmo Jiggler, the listener might find themselves interested and wanting more. Font, formed and fronted by musician Chuck Fresh, describe their debut as “Coldplay meets Snow Patrol on an island with Jack Johnson while listening to some really cool 90s alternative rock.” Budmo Jiggler is an eclectic sounding album, spanning through several genres of music. With a name like Font, the album title gets its name from a font of the same name. This is indeed a strange album, but this just makes Font and their debut album even more interesting.

            The album opens with the acoustic mellow sounds of “Backwards.” The band certainly lives up to their Coldplay-Snow Patrol-Johnson comparison, as the track is mellow but also has this burst of 90s alternative rock (especially in the chorus). Fresh’s southern rock/country vocals also stand out on the track, as they may sound out of place but at the same time sound in place with the music. This is followed by the questioning piano-based “Believe,” in which Fresh questions religion, politics and society. There’s also a touch of humor, as Fresh tells listeners we can “live without a god” but “can we live without love.” Fresh then warns if you “ask any conservative and they’ll tell you that you’re nuts.”

            Throughout the album, Font balance between conventional sounding pop songs and humorous songs. When it comes to pop tracks, Font certainly delivers. There’s the 90s pop sounds of “Chance,” the power pop glory of “Silence,” the country rock “One More Night,” and the brilliantly written “Mr. Valentine.” While Font can make great pop songs, they can be pretty funny too. Take the Jimmy Buffet-esque “El Captain,” which tells the story of a man who’s too drunk to remember what happened the night before while on a trip to Mexico. The ukulele driven “High on Molokai” celebrates life in Hawaii while “Legend” takes a poke at hip hop music.


            Budmo Jiggler is a bizarrely fascinating debut album. I personally think its worth a listen, no matter what your musical tastes might be. 


Listen to the album here on SoundCloud.

Thursday, August 21, 2014

Charlie Leavy- The Best Damn Ride EP review

Charlie Leavy
The Best Damn Ride

At only 17 years old, Charlie Leavy is an impressive musician. The Hook Norton-Leeds based singer/songwriter showcases her talents on her first release; an EP entitled The Best Damn Ride. While most pop music today is almost produced and manufactured in an assembly line, Leavy is unique in that she writes her own material and knows how to play an instrument or two.

            The EP opens with the catchy pop hooks of “The Way Life Is.” Leavy mentions in one of her promotional sites that she thinks of herself as a songwriter first and a singer second.  She shouldn’t have to worry about her voice: it fits perfectly into the music she is playing. As for her songwriting skills, they are quite strong. Leavy’s phrasing in the first track is also remarkable, as the song is quite wordy. “And if we keep on judging by our skin, our sex, our race/We are creating more problems we need to face” sings Leavy. “Because the wars and the hate are now our base.”

Leavy delivers in simple catchy pop songs with the melodic “Tongue Tied” and the bouncy “Falter Baby.” The latter is quite catchy as it utilizes in a swing feel accompanied by an acoustic guitar and hand claps. The chorus might be hard to get out of your head: “Cos I keep trying and trying to make you fall for me/There’s something about me that you just can’t see” sings Leavy. “Trying and trying to make you fall for me/Why won’t you falter baby?”  There’s also the semi-psychedelic “Summers Day Runaway” and the honest “Running My Mouth.” 


The Best Damn Ride is a great introduction to Charlie Leavy. With this being an EP, I will be interested in what Leavy has to offer when the time comes for her to make an album. 


Listen to the album on SoundCloud by clicking here

Wednesday, August 20, 2014

Catalina Shortwave- Repeater review

Catalina Shortwave
Repeater

Coming from Southwest Connecticut, Catalina Shortwave are a different kind up and coming band. While most bands prefer to crank it up, Catalina Shortwave decides to keep things as simple as possible with their lo-fi approach. Still, the band has a unique sound as they blend country, rock, folk, R&B and punk all together. Their debut album, Repeater, is an impressive first release.

  The album opens with the eclectic rocker “Don’t Never Take Your Love Away.” This rocker is led by a Stones-esque guitar riff, along with the soulful vocals of Dave Rizzo. The chorus has a southern rock twang but the song still has a hard rock edge at the same time. This is followed by the strange punk R&B number “Anne Boleyn.” It sounds like something that you’d see Phil Spector have one of his girl groups roll out, except it’s being done by a lo-fi band. The album continues with the psychedelic “Running on Vapor” and the distorted minimalism of “You Rained Hell On Me.”

There are 15 songs on the album, all ranging from a wide variety of genres. Listening to this album, Catalina Shortwave can get psychedelic. With each psychedelic track, the band takes a different approach. “Jennifer’s Paradise” is a distorted psychedelic hard rocker with some impressive fast-paced drumming from John Garvey while the eight minute “She Set Me Free” allows the band to jam freely. The band are also pretty good song writers. Listen to the lyrics on the biographic “Wintersong” and the poetic folk rocker “Set My Horses Free.” Lastly, the band has a sense of humor. You can tell just by the titles: there’s the short but sweet ditty “There Ain’t Much Goin’ On But The Bottle” and the strictly country closer “It Ain’t Cool to Say You’re From Seattle Anymore.”

Repeater is an impressive album from a new band. Catalina Shortwave definitely have a unique sound and this is the perfect introduction to that sound. 

Listen to the album streaming on their ReverbNation page by clicking here

Hey there...revamp time

Hey there...


There was a time when I thought I could make a second blog devoted to new and local groups. It has been four years and in that time, I was in college. This clearly didn't work out.

Now that I've graduated college and have been recently been writing reviews for groups through Fiverr, I thought I'd resurrect Some Talent and make it a place where I upload all of my reviews.

I didn't have any followers before so in a way, this blog is brand new.

Enjoy!