Adam Kime is the creative force behind Ash Radio. He recently released a complete DIY effort entitled Fiction In Blue, which showcases an eclectic mix of music. Some of it works, some of doesn’t but what it does do is establish a decent foundation in which he can build off of. One of the issues that is seldom talked about with DIY production is the mixing of recorded instruments and programmed instrumentation and the dichotomy it creates. There is a surplus of artists who record their vocals and guitars at home with consumer gear and then insert virtual instruments such as drums, etc. Kime does this and the recorded instrumentation at times (like the guitars) sounds juxtaposed against the perfectly clean programmed drums. There are ways around this such as using Tape saturation plugin over the whole mix, which abate these kinds of issues. In Kime’s case the usual suspects such as untreated vocals and thin sounding guitars, which offend DIY are the most obvious. Despite these issues Kime’s songs occasionally shine through. Kime’s biggest strength is his ability to fit in a good amount of engaging music into a two or three minute time span. He doesn’t dwell and strikes fast. That being said some of the music is quite scattered and doesn’t feel related. The instrumental song “Less Parallel” sound worlds away from the piano ballad “Once A Snake.” At this point Kime’s best songs are the ones with a lot of elements such as “Twisting Roads.” He combines bells, percussive elements and arpeggiated synths with guitars, which in this case meshed well. The mix is strong here and so is the music. Another decent track is “Candle Cove” except his vocals sit on top of the mix rather than in it, which is noticeable even to the untrained ear. I thought the highlight of the album was “All Blue,” which not only contains solid guitar parts but is mixed better then a number of the other songs. As the album progresses there are some songs that are decent and others that seem to miss completely. Kime has some talent but still has a ways to go to compete with the best indie music around today. At some point he want to befriend an engineer or learn a bit more about production if he is going to stick to DIY. Overall, a good start but it is a work in progress Become A Fan
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Hailing from Sweden, Black Umbra (who I only know as Kim) and his recent self-titled three-song EP Black Umbra contains thematic, ambient soundscapes that sound otherworldly and dark. It sounds a bit like Boards of Canada minus the percussion. It isn’t reinventing the wheel of the genre but thought the compositions were well written and fluid. The first song “AtaraxXx” starts off sounding like primordial ooze, which is a combination of reverb-laced clean guitars and drones. It fluctuates back and forth before slowly becoming thicker with substance. The transitions are seamless and subtle as they should be. It’s kind of like watching someone age. There were fills of percussion that I thought would turn into a full on beat but it never happened and I also didn’t have any problem with that. “AtaraxXx” showcases some skill as well as some restraint, which I think is integral in creating this type of music. “The intermediate state” has more of a groove than the first track if only for the steady distorted bass synth. Kim colors the song with multiple pads. A mysterious veil of smoke resides over the song that almost feels like an ominous tranquility. The most experimental track is “Plunge into the depths of melancholy.” It opens with a grating white noise that eventually mutates into repetitive a synth line and whispered vocals. The song reminded of Pharmakon at points but not quite as cathartic and visceral. Black Umbra seems like he is just getting his beak wet. There are other artists within this genre who have torn apart wormholes and are able to immerse you with atmosphere. That being said he may be onto something if he can implement some more production tricks and establish a signature sound. The recent album by Rooftops of London entitled Broken Sunshine was recorded through an iPad. After listening to the album I have to say I was impressed by the audio quality but I don’t think professional recording studios are going to be a relic of the past anytime soon. Rooftops of London is actually a solo project but I don’t know the name of that person so we will have to improvise. The album contains eight acoustic based pop songs which, fall in line with bands like the Goo Goo Dolls and about a dozen and half other bands that sound similar. Overall, there isn’t anything wrong with the songs but also nothing that yells originality. The lyrics are straightforward, rarely deviating from a basic narrative and often relying on stories we have heard before about heartache, loss and more loss. Whoever is singing isn’t bad but did nothing in post-production to cover up some of his sour notes and failed deliveries. The most glaring example is surprisingly in the very first song. His vocals sit on top of the mix so that every nuance can be heard. Not a good thing when some of the notes you try to hit are flat. Luckily, some of the songs later in the album are improved. The first one that caught my attention was “Crocodile Tears.” His vocals sound good here and I thought the digital orchestral strings were a nice touch. If the audio quality was improved I could see this one getting radio play on FM radio. “Scratches & Fireworks” is another well-written song although the theme felt too similar and familiar to a thousand other songs about heartbreak. The lyrics were marginal but he occasionally delivered something that caught my attention. As the album progresses the songs are hit and miss. I know better production value would have made some of these songs more impactful but sometimes you just have to work with what you have. Whoever made this album certainly put some heart into it and that is one thing that is obvious and I can respect that. Escape Sequence is a band from Jacksonville, Florida comprised of Ryan Williams (vocals/guitar), Scott Williams (drums) and Jason Keller (bass). Their recent self-titled titled EP Escape Sequence is a combination of ubiquitous metal/singer/songwriter pop and a vocalist who sounds like he should be in a pop punk band. The music is hard contemporary sounding metal that you have heard on the radio since the late ‘90s. Williams sounds unapologetically young throughout and also oddly out of place at times. This music should appeal to a younger audience who need a steady stream of mainstream sounding music. One thing that needs to be pointed out is that one of the tracks “Takedown” sounds much better from an aesthetic perspective. On closer inspection the reason for this was they worked with a professional mixing engineer who knew what he was doing. It’s a shame because none of the other tracks have the energy of that song. The band opens up with an intro named “The Beginning,” which has nothing to do with the other four songs other than it’s clearly supposed to be an intro. It is a combination of digital virtual instruments such as fake violins and bell drops. The band gets into their ubiquitous metal with “To The End.” Williams’ nasally voice is backed up by predictable guitar riffs and drum patterns. The cookie cutter presentation will suffice for those who want more of the same. “Takedown” is far and away the best the band sounds. You could make a case for this song being radio ready and to be consumed by teenagers around the world. They follow the template to a tee including slight delays on the vocal and demon growl. The fourth song “”I’ll Be There” might even turn off the most liberal of metal fans. It reminded me of something you would hear from a boy band as they sing cliché motivational lyrics atop an acoustic guitar. If they want to be even a mainstream metal band this is not the way to do it. If you enjoy metal like Mastodon and Baroness you can skip this altogether but if you prefer bands like Avenged Sevenfold and Bullet for My Valentine this might be your cup of tea. Jeffrey Nordstrom is a Canadian singer-songwriter based out of Chilliwack, British Columbia who recently released his debut album entitled Once and Over Again. For the last decade or so Nordstrom has dedicated what time he has away from his full-time job and responsibilities he has to his family to his music. Nordstrom claims that “None of the songs have any connection to one another as I wrote most of them between 1999 and 2006” but after taking a listen the songs aren’t nearly as disparate as he claims. Nordstrom mixes electronic and organic elements into original compositions that at their most naked are pop. It took a little bit of time for me to warm up to Nordstrom but once I did I found inventive tonal palettes that were backed up by solid songwriting. Once and Over Again opens up with “The Republic Theme” which has engaging music but is one of the weaker vocal performances. The music goes in unexpected places. It starts off upbeat with a funky bass line and electronic drums, which are covered in delayed guitar. At about two-minute mark guitars and what I believe are synths create alien-like white noise. It somehow works before going back into the dance-y verse. I enjoyed Nordstrom’s unique lyrics. He sings, “Yes, you belong to the people / To the eyes of every voyeur / You belong to our collective soul.” I preferred his singing style on “Strangers.” He sounds a bit like David Bowie to my ears. The song is atmospheric and lush but also contained a tinge of ‘70s swag. As the album progresses it gets better. “Two Mirrors” is arguably the best vocal performance while “Breathe” is a soft sounding yet percussive heavy track. Nordstrom has a great lead guitar sound on “How It Came To Be.” It’s fuzzy, crunchy and combines very well with his vocals. Nordstrom closes with an epic ten-minute track entitled “Five Highway Junction.” I thought Nordstrom would go all out reaching for epic heights but instead the track is rather subdued and loose. Nice twist on his part. Overall, Once and Over Again is very good album with a number of exceptional songs. Recommended. Grunge rock is a puddle of stagnant, rainwater right now. The storm is over but the water has yet to evaporate. The cycle is only half-complete. The ‘90s saw bands like Nirvana, Pearl Jam and Sound Garden showered grunge onto the mainstream, and now we are witnessing the aftermath: Seether, Shinedown, Breaking Benjamin, 3 Doors Down, Nickleback, etc. Soon the genre, like the puddle, will be gone. It could make a return; punk is experiencing a rebirth, and either grunge or hardcore (think: Minor Threat) could be next up. But a grunge revival—if it does happen—is at least a decade away. The teenagers that make up the Tennessee-based grunge band Sleeping Seasons will likely have widely different musical tastes by then. For now: the puddle. Heaven Shrink is an amalgamation of heavy guitar chording, occasional riffing and surface-level lyrical themes—familiar tropes of the past ten-year’s worth of alternative rock. There are areas where the band tries to pull from other resources but the results are a mixed bag. They tip their hand on the fifth track, “Lost in Space.” The six-minute burner borrows its opening from Blink-182 and Brand New (see: “Asthenia” and “Welcome to Bangkok”); the remainder of the song lacks restraint, a crescendo and a climax. And this exposes a larger concern plaguing the Heaven Shrink EP: Sleeping Seasons is not building upon any contemporary scene of music and that’s a dicey proposition given the current state of the music industry. Overall, Sleeping Seasons—like a puddle—is in a tough spot right now. Their debut EP has some fun moments that show potential for this young group: The drumming at the beginning of “Mercury” is a unique prelude to the up-tempo guitar riffing that follows, and the song, overall, stands out for its aggressive cadence. The same can be said of the bass line that introduces listeners to “New Old Friend:” it not only shows potential, but also is refreshing. These glimpses, though, are little more than drops in the puddle for anyone who isn’t a die-hard grunge enthusiast. Become A Fan I have very little information about Bone Serpent. They are a band from Melbourne, Australia that from their recent three-song EP entitled Hope seems to be at the beginning of their journey. The recording is extremely raw and might serve as a demo they can shop around until they get something of a better quality. By far the worst part of the recordings is the piercing digital distortion that will make your ears ring even at low volumes. The music revolves around stoner/slacker metal that contains loose and sloppy playing that is best served in person. At this stage I’m willing to bet that Bone Serpent’s music is better in a live environment, Their first song “The Pig” could have been wrapped up in about two minutes. Instead the band drags it out for almost five. It gets more intense but not in a good way. The high-end frequencies are ridiculously harsh and about every other word is “Pig.” I’m not exaggerating. The second track is the highlight out of the three. It showcases some decent talent from the guys and the riffs come fast and hard. The band plays in the pocket and the drummer is especially on point here. The track is surprisingly vacant of vocals but when the vocalist did sing it was covered in a chorus-like effect and it was basically impossible to understand the lyrics. The guitar solo about two minutes in is pretty solid. This was also the only track that didn’t contain digital distortion. Unfortunately, I can’t say the same for the last track, which is basically unlistenable. Hidden behind the wall of distortion is some decent sludge but I don’t think many people are going try that hard. There is nothing wrong with a lo-fi record but this is way beyond that. The culmination of high frequncies not only only completely mask the mids and lows but you can't turn this up loud unless you want to damage your ears. Bone Serpent might have some talent but it’s hard to tell with this EP. There are only three songs and they don’t give us much to work with. Hopefully, these guys can improve the quality of their recording a tad and come back with more material, which showcases why they are a unique band. The band When Two Towers Fall is giving us an idea of what their debut album will sound like by letting us nibble on a two-song EP entitled Social Media Heretic. The band comprised of Derrek Sammons (vocals), Tim Johnson (guitar), Jay Stoa (bass) and A.J. Brantley (drums) are a metal band and with these two songs sound somewhere between A Perfect Circle and Mindless Self Indulgence. I can’t say there was much on these two songs that separates their music from the countless of metal bands barking up the same tree. They implement tropes such as palm muting and demon-like growls that are effective yet predictable. The first song “Patterns Of Buttons” begins with guitar, some cymbal work and vocals. I immediately noticed a similarity in Sammons' vocals with that of Maynard James Keenan, which becomes even more obvious in the second song. It doesn’t take long for the band to step on their distortion pedals and rock out. The band can deliver the goods as they impress with a technically difficult guitar solo and screeching vocals. Sammons screams lines like “Feel it in your hands" and “You sacrifice yourself” where you can practically picture the veins in his neck about to burst. The song is a little over three-minutes and when it’s over if nothing else you feel that you have been adequately rocked. “Admittance” is the second track, which is a bit more dynamic than the first track. This track reminded me of A Perfect Circle but even more so of Keenan’s first band Tool. The track wasn’t very meaty. It’s under three- minutes but feels even shorter. The band gets in and out left me feeling unsatiated. There wasn’t quite enough meat on that drumstick. Social Media Heretic leaves a lot of open questions about how the band’s full length will turn out. There is no doubt that can deliver a good dose of metal but can they find a sound that will differentiate them from an over saturated surplus of bands out there. There is really only one way to know and that’s by taking a listen when it’s released in the not too distant future. Become A Fan Tom Birbeck is an artist from South East Kent in England but is currently attending university for popular music in Falmouth, Cornwall. I didn’t know you could even study popular music in the first place. He recently released Mistakes that Make Us, which is a five-song EP. The biggest issue we have with the EP is the quality of the recording. Birbeck isn’t a great singer as he often slurs his words together and is sometimes off key but there is nothing done to treat this problem in post-production. A major problem is the dynamics. He vocals go from being way too loud to being barely audible and both happen in the same song. Just take a listen to the last song “Mistakes That Make Us” to know what I’m talking about. Using a compressor in this situation is more than necessary. On that same track I barely even noticed the drumming, which is so low in the mix I was honestly baffled. That is just the beginning of the problems that come from the quality of the music. Birbeck is either going to have to get more experience an as engineer or work with someone who know what they are doing. Birbeck makes a variation of metal that feels like a mix between old Spinal Tap and ‘80s metal. It revolves around a distorted guitar that is usually playing power chords with marginal lead work. There is some talent that shines through on certain songs such as “Savior” and “World On Fire” but it was almost impossible for me to get past the bad production value. There really isn’t a whole lot that needs to be said about this release. If Birbeck hopes to have a career in playing music for a living there is going to have to be a number dramatic changes that need to happen. Hopefully he has some good teachers to lead him in the right direction and if you’re an engineer in the area you might want to reach out to him if you think he has potential. Become A Fan Zach Dyer is the perfect example of a musician who has decent ideas but doesn’t know how to implement them yet. His first attempt at making music comes in the form of a four-song EP entitled Temporary. The production and recording quality leaves more than a couple of things to be desired. He recorded, mixed and mastered the album himself, which I always appreciate but in this case he is going to want to either get some skills as an engineer or befriend one if he wants people to notice his music. The other thing is the songs are off time but not in a good way like US Maple. He tries to land a groove but half the time it’s nowhere near close syncing to a metronome. The songs are sloppy punk based tunes, which showcase some potential but Dyer has a long way to go before competing with experienced acts. Dyer songs revolve around little more than guitar, bass and drums. He thrashes away at power chords and spits punk-inspired lyrics that can hardly be felt because of the bad production. The first track “Figurines” sound like a skeleton of a song and for some reason he panned his guitar hard right when it’s the only one in the song. There is no energy within the song and that is the main issue. The guitar sounds thin and weak and when the vapid snare hits it doesn’t bring any kind of visceral reaction. The only minor success is the last track “Pulse,” which sounds like it has no pulse. Dyer omits the bass and drums. He sticks to lone guitar and dreary voice, which sound as if they are about to keel over and die. Hopefully, Dyer can take some of this advice and apply it to his next recording. I would strongly suggest he work with a producer or engineer on his next effort. |
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