George St. Normal the Dunedin, New Zealand heavy rock outfit is composed of vocalist Ross McKenzie, Robin Murphy who holds down bass, synths, harmonium and percussion, Brad Martin who plays guitar, synths and melodica, and drummer and percussionist Patrick Frame. All the band members have had success over the years in a variety of other bands and projects. It really shows that these guys are seasoned musicians, evidence which can be found on their debut record Are You Normal?
Are You Normal? takes its cues from several different genres of music, from the blues to punk-styled alt country, and even skirts that doldrumatic ether that so many English dark rock bands of the '80s and ‘90s such as Joy Division and the Cure, as well as hints at the slow-ripening darkness found in so many Nick Cave songs. This variety of influences gives George St. Normal a sound that can’t really be pinned down as one certain thing, something I was really enthused by. The band takes their time, letting their songs unfold naturally. Nothing here sounds forced and there are no notes wasted in odd jam sessions that many bands think can help to make a song sound like it is doing something when really its just making noise. Are You Normal? opens with the punky blues jam, “Fateful Day.” It’s slow and punchy wrought with McKenzie’s polished blues-rock sneer. It drifts along in a dirty and funky haze, lets out an awesome little dirty guitar solo and the bass and drums keep a dirty beat behind it that gives it a head-bobbing coolness. Next comes the slow and dreary story-song “Just Walk Away” that has a bit of jazzy guitar elements to it and also a feeling of a late night lounge act. This sound comes through even more on the excellent “Hollow Man” on which the band definitely hits that high water mark of the sound they’ve been carefully shaping up to this point. It’s dark and dirty and builds to a dingy yet lustrous rock. Later we hear, “She Might Not be Beautiful” and George St. Normal shows a bit of a softer side, one that still hints at the darkness behind it but in a much eerier tone. It’s as close to a ballad as these guys seem to wanna get but they pull it off with extreme precision and show that they are not afraid to chart into heartstring territory, which I chalked up to be the fact that these guys have been around making music for a long time, together and separately. They know how to fill out a record, just like a good novelist knows when to take the reader up, as they do later on the pop-frantic “Lucky Ones” and then bring them down. It has been some time since I’ve listened to an album that flowed so effortlessly. The songs here run the gamut of loud to quiet, hard rock to more upbeat pop rock. It shows the mastery of its creators. Highly recommended.
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The Vancouver, British Columbia singer/songwriter Nick Mintenko graduated with a diploma in Jazz Studies from the Victoria Conservatory of Music back in 2013. Since then he has toured extensively with many other bands and released the record What I Thought I Knew back in March of 2013. That record received positive reviews and brought some early success to its creator. The songs on his latest record Still I Remain have an acoustic pop rock style to them but one can hear the tempoed jazz influences running throughout nearly every track on this record.
It’s bit of a breath of fresh air as far as singer/songwriter records go and reminded me of a bit of Paul Simon at his funkiest. Along with Mintenko who provides lead vocals and also plays acoustic guitar, and electric guitar and bass, the other players are Marc Atkinson who also plays acoustic and electric guitar, as well as drums, keys, and percussion, Jeff Poynter who plays the saxophone, and last but not least the two beautiful backup singers Eryn Sharpe and Kim June Johnson who help to round out these songs in a way that keeps Still I Remain from sounding like just another singer/songwriter record. The record’s ten tracks are slow and very melodic, and it seems like Mintenko really took the time to measure out each song and decide what roles everyone and every instrument would play. The songs seem very structured which I liked because so often I find that musicians let things just come together through a jam session and then they track it and call it a day. This works sometimes, but not always and one hears the well carved difference on these songs. Still I Remain opens with the slow and soft folky ballad “If Nothing Else” which rolls and unfolds its melody slowly but surely. By the end of the song you feel ready to hear what’s next and “She Talked While Singing” flows along beautifully. A soft drum beat and a hint of synths that bounce along sweetly give this song such a beautiful fervor, as do the sweetly harmonized vocals. He takes it up a notch to that Paul Simon funkiness I spoke of earlier on “Still I Remain” a syncopated pop tune and one of the catchiest songs on the record. Why isn’t there more stuff like this on the radio? I thought to myself as I replayed it over and over. It’s just that catchy and wonderful, every component working masterfully. With each subsequent track on Still I Remain Mintenko deepens the feeling tweaking things here and there just a bit so that the songs sound as though they could only be played in this order. The record gently expands like a balloon slowly taking on air. Later tracks like the brilliant “Tender Eyes” and simple yet poetically perfect closer “Home” really help to wind it down so that afterwards the listener is left with a sense of closure and peacefulness. Still I Remain is a record full of talent and heart, and it proves that it’s really all it takes to make a great record.
Astronomique is a band comprised of Logan Andra Fongemie (vocals/synth), Sean Hogan (guitar/vocals), Mitch Billings (drums/vocals) and Preston Saari (bass). They released Sharp Divide. The thirty-six-minute album is jam packed with memorable melodies, danceable beats and fantastic delivery.
Their music mixes elements of ’80s new wave, some funk and rock to say the least. This type of music which often goes by the name of synth pop had a bit of a resurgence with movies like Drive, record labels like Italians Do It Better and bands like The Chromatics. Things get shaking with “Forefathers” which combines atmospheric pads, a steady beat and a driving bass. The song sparkles and explodes when the chorus comes. I was hooked and loved the vocal qualities that Fongemie had to offer. The band borrows some French disco and ’70s funk in the spirit of Daft Punk on “Side of Your Mind.” I loved the groove and slight transition in time periods. There is another shift with “We Disappear” which embraces a number of staple moves from ’80s rock bands. “Losing Control” is the arguable highlight. The groove and hook is just so slick. I have to give kudos to the bassist Saari on this one who holds down the funk. They mellow out in a Joy Division post-punk type of way on the title track and perhaps get closest to dream pop a la Beach House on “Smoke.” The very well done flow of the album continues with “Unspoken” which is both funky and atmospheric. Blondie came to mind more so than ever on the glam rock inspired “Bleed Me” while “Hardly Deliberate” felt a little more aggressive than anything else on the album. They close with “Heading Nowhere” which is a little dark and misty while also embracing catchy hooks. I loved this album. There is zero fat in its thirty-six-minutes and it is packed with great songs from front to back. The ’80s nostalgia this album brings on made me want to watch Stranger Things. I think I’m going to do that and then throw a mini dance party with this album pumping thru my speakers.
By musical standards Remayn would be considered a late bloomer. He began writing music at age 26. No high school garage phase, no childhood calling. I find this very interesting as it somehow compliments his latest album Pressure. He hails from Eastbourne, England and I can taste a bit of his environment within his very low fi indie rock style. Everything is saturated. I can hear the rain and see the fog. The album is very dense with atmosphere.
Remayn's song setup is a low key setup of acoustic guitar combined with electronic ambiance. The vocals are electronically engineered to settle almost into the background as a distant, haunting call. When he does get a littler more intimate with his vocal work you're allowed to hear what a truly great vocalist he is. One thing on my wish list is for him to showcase those vocals a bit more. He really has a talent. He also has a great ear for ambient sounds. His other gift is keeping his electronic elements from sounding like they are out of the box. Having musicianship in electronic sounds and samples is a whole other ball game from traditional instruments. Considering he also has notable guitar skills I would say Remayn is somewhat double jointed in his musical and composing skills that suits today's modern aesthetic. I want to take a moment to talk about theme. If this album were a substance, it would not be an upper, but that doesn't mean I didn't feel great listening to it. This album deals with somber honesty and self reflection, it is very cleansing to listen to. Everything is built up very slowly and methodically, it takes its time and makes no apologies for it. The lyrics are what pulled me back for a second listen without even thinking about it. These are true, heartfelt words and they had a very soothing effect on me, Again, the theme is not necessarily a happy one, but I felt lighter after I was done listening. This album was deeply personal for the artist. It is essentially him rifling through his own experiences and issues and making notes of the lessons and things he learned and experienced. It's sort of like someone doing the hard work of introspection for you AND making it into something that is enjoyable. It's almost as though he did me a favor. I appreciate that. This is one of those albums that can have a great effect on anyone looking to enhance their time to themselves. Remayn's passion for communicating his life so openly and intensely is what makes this album so noteworthy for me. I need a soundtrack when I'm doing anything, from showering, to driving, to folding laundry. When it comes to having a lot on your plate and trying to work something out or just refocusing your life plan, this album will be high on my list for that particular task. Give it a listen. Let it grow on you. I think you'll come to love it as I did.
Dan Israel is up to his fourteenth album. I wasn’t familiar with music until I listened to his latest entitled You’re Free. His music at least on this album is fairly varied with a foundation that felt like it was coming from ’60s and ’70s folk and rock artists.
He opens with “Gets You Through It” which reminded me of Cat Stevens in a number of ways —from the lyrics, to his vocal inflection and the optimistic mood that contains a hint of melancholy and solace. It’s also a pretty fun song that was easy to appreciate. The title track is a more rock based with a forward moving momentum somewhere between British classic rock and Americana. “Back To You” continues in that spirit with perhaps a little more of the warm Americana glow. The album starts to take some unexpected twists which loosen the foundation that Israel was forming. “Long Gone Dream” has a hard blues Mississippi swamp type vibe while “Make This Life Mine” was a worldly type feel to it that embraces synths and vocal harmonies. The album gets a little more straightened out with “Feeling Better,” “Someday You’ll Say” and “If I Didn’t Have You” which I felt build upon a warm, emotionally resonant rock. “Stay on Run” is a stripped back acoustic song while “Soul Will Be Found” has some inspired moments. He closes with “Porch Song” which sounds like someone playing slide guitar on the back porch while it’s raining. The songwriting was consistently good but I definitely felt there were some highlights amongst the batch. I thought the album could have had a little more direction that unified the songs if you prefer to listen to the album sequentially. Overall, this is enjoyable, well produced and delivered effort. I will make sure to check out some of his back catalogue.
Sometimes things don’t go as you planned. Well most times maybe. The grand vision in one's head, no matter if the vision is artistic or otherwise, never fully lives up to what we can imagine. It’s a sobering shame most of the time and one has to move on or perish. Although sometimes from the wreckage, and after enough time has elapsed you can go back to those old pieces with a new and hopefully more mature perspective and begin again. This is exactly what the Madrid two-piece rock outfit The Storms Ahead did in order to release their three-song EP Smoking Gun. Steeped in a hyperreal blues rock reminiscent of the poppier side of The Black Keys, but delivering, thankfully, less child friendly hooks.
The pair, guitarist and vocalist Alex Ollero and drummer Pedro Vinuesa had set a goal of making an album of a minimum of ten tracks, and to start playing shows again. They worked tirelessly for eight months until the project got stalled indefinitely. Then in December last year they decided with a little elbow grease and a lot of nostalgia to focus on three songs and record them to make an EP. This became the three songs on Smoking Gun. The opening track “My Cold Broken Heart” is an onslaught of poppy blues-tinted pop rock that has some catchy riffs and vocal harmonies which help it to break the mold of many bands that perform in this style. The fact that the song is also five-plus-minutes long and goes uphill and downhill on its whim was also something that I found to be very much a good way to add dynamics. Next we have “Smoking Gun” which has that same dirty blues feel to it, but also enough pop hooks to keep it from sounding too much like a re-write of the previous song, something which bands seem to have a habit of doing. Then we get the closer “Kill Me Again” which is perhaps the most technically manipulated song and also the most engrossing song on the record. One can hear the blood sweat and tears on this little EP. One can smell the talent that these songs, though not perfect, seem to be the base architecture for future work that will stand even taller and last even longer. I really hope these guys find a way to record more songs. I’ll be waiting patiently.
Every week we mention a couple of artists that are worth your time to check out that were not featured in our weekly reviews.
Artist Album Rating The Pinkerton Raid Where the Wildest Spirits Fly 4.0 Golden Taro Handwavy Talks 3.4 Treasurer Treasurer 3.9 Alaskan Running Team A Woman Is America Dreaming Of Inflation 3.5 Eyebawl Gutterbawl 3.8 Wall Sun Sun Oranges 3.9 In The Company Of Souls When Society Falls 3.5 Withouts Withouts 3.4
Andrea Salini is an artist hailing from Italy from who has been playing music since his brother got him interested. Salini taught himself guitar, went to school for music and released a number of albums. His latest is entitled Lampo Gamma.
Salini explains Lampo Gamma is a concept album of space rock inspired by bands like Pearl Jam, R.E.M., Red Hot Chili Peppers, Joe Satriani, Pink Floyd, Jimi Hendrix and Smashing Pumpkins. That's a fairly large spectrum of extremely poplar artists and you can certainly hear some of that influence scattered throughout the album. As someone who has lived almost his entire life in the States I could clearly hear the European accent Salini has. The accent was in fact so noticeable it took me a couple of spins to have it sink in. The album opens with “Strange Day” which had a summer season Joe Satriani type of feel to this music. It’s a solid opener, free of pretension and sticks a straightforward pop/rock structure including a lead guitar solo. “Distant Planets” has a distinctly different approach. The song is a ballad which to my ears and sounded somewhere between The Scorpions and Pink Floyd. It’s the type of ballad you really don’t hear getting released anymore by popular artists. “Hendrix Funk” is an appropriate title. The song is funky with an alternative rock foundation. “Space Anthem” is an ambient instrumental piece focusing on guitar. Salini then decides to cover “Bad Moon Rising.” The space oriented themes continue with “The Moon” which contained some of the most unique music on the album. I was reminded of the band Air at times and thought the vocal melodies were memorable. The album closes with “The Martian” which is a hard rock instrumental guitar piece. The songs felt distinct amongst themselves. I think I wanted a little more cohesion and a concrete foundation which unified the songs. One thing that needs to be said is how professional and well recorded the songs were. It sounds radio ready. Salini released a solid album which I think should appeal to a large demographic. Recommended.
Jordan Hunt appears to be naturally wired to be a professional solo musician. He is classically trained and has made himself a renaissance man when it comes to all things regarding music and composition. He has a beautifully ranged voice, plays multiples instruments and is an exceptional composer. It does not come as a shock to me that he has worked successfully with several artists in the UK and has made a splash with his previous work on the radio. His latest album is Long Lost and contains four powerful tracks with deep, personal narratives. This a slow moving album full of emotion and mixture of dreamy and intense melodic ambiance. This is the kind of music that for me, unwinds the knots in my muscles and manages to quiet my inner monologue.
Track one is "Mother" and has already made the round on the radio receiving well deserved praise. As one might guess it speaks to the theme of his mother but also about certain kinds of love humans have for their family. This song is a bit quirky and curious, but not without genuine charm. "Don't Fly Too Far" is overwhelming with raw emotion. This song deals with the loss of Hunt's first love and the aftermath on his following relationship. While the subject is somber, there is so much hope and acceptance that it sounds absolutely stunning. My favorite track on the album is "I Once Cared." I think I loved it because it speaks to my constant predicament of indecision. It talks about contradictions and accepting that there are not answers for everything. The album closes beautifully with "Peter" which harkens back to the second song. Peter was Hunt's first love and his death had such an impact on Hunt I understand why Peter would be half of this album. Again, an incredible song with heavy handed emotion and somehow finding the light in what seems like impossible misery. The album took a few years to record and was done so in Hunt's home. Christoph Skirl of Echo Zoo Studios in Eastbourne mixed the album was mastered by Conor Dalton Calyx in Berlin. I feel the mixing process is a no brainer when it comes to Hunt. Let those lovely pipes drive the wheel. One thing that impressed me about the production is that this album sounded both intimate and far off in the distance at the same time. The vocals were kept very close to the listener but the instrumental elements built a very expansive universe swirling behind him. The production definite had its hand in what makes this album so special. I can't believe this album is only four songs long. There is so much to unpack and inspect. I want to congratulate Hunt on Long Lost which I think is amazing. I also can't help but feel that this album was a necessary and cathartic release. By allowing himself to be so vulnerable and open, the listener gets to experience that release as well. I strongly recommend this one for just about anyone.
Theresa Michelle Mohr is a musician from Northern British Columbia who recently released Porcupine. Porcupine is an album revolving around percussion, acoustic guitar and her vocals. There are certain things I love about her music. Mohr has a good singing voice and when she nails it she really nails it. At her best Janis Joplin came to mind.
The guitar work consisted mainly of strummed chords and the percussive elements consisted mostly of bongos. I have to admit I wanted a little more variety at times. This fact combined with the recording quality reminded me of the recordings I would hear at open mics. As a studio engineer myself I wanted a little more of the sheen, clarity and richness to tap into more of the potential of these songs that I hear at professional studios and less of the general distance I can hear on recordings such as these. The albums starts with “Find Your Kind” which contains a familiar start and stop rhythm that blues musicians have been using for a long time. The song is fun, catchy and I would say this was her best vocal performance. Mohr hits a nice balance in her vocal delivery between soul and blues. “Who Will Lead You Now” hits more onto a folk vibe. It’s a really well written song and feels like it contains the revolutionary sentiment of the ’60s. In fact the lyrics could easily be from a late ’60s protest song by the myriad groups who were against the Vietnam war and Nixon. “Watered Down Whiskey” is a rustic song that is about as close as you get to traditional music harking back to the ’40s at least while “High Time” and “Lies” were also solid songs with formidable vocal melodies. “Met You Actually” was a shorter song but I found the lead guitar was well executed and added a little extra substance to the song. Mohr closes with “Wild Horse” which is a sweet, nostalgic folk song. Mohr takes her influence from deep roots and even though she doesn't expand on them she does do them justice. I liked her songs and she can sing with the best of them. My personal thoughts are that the next step would be teaming with the right producer/engineer who can take her talent to the next level. As an engineer with years of experience I’m sure there is an intimacy that can be captured here if in the right hands. I encourage you to take a listen to this release and if she happens to be playing near you then I wouldn't miss it. |
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