Harrison Miles (vocals/guitar/drums/bass), Nathaniel Essma (guitar), Ben Lohrding (drums) Sean Latter (bass) and Ben Engen (keyboard/percussion) are Atomic Cafe. The band is back with their best effort yet entitled Further. The EP contains five songs and is a killer mix of various styles. You can pick up on elements of surf, ’50s pop, contemporary indie rock and more.
The effort is a complete DIY effort and it’s one of the better home recordings I have heard in recent memory. I could clearly hear the different elements in the mix and thought the dynamics were well handled. On that note I still think a band should be handing off their mixes to a professional mastering engineer which I think is well worth the cost. “Killing An Afternoon” is the opener and certified highlight. The song has clear '50s pop and soul feel to it. Miles delivers a very soulful and heartfelt vocal performance. The whole band deserves kudos. I appreciate the understated bass work and slick guitar picking. Lohrding was stopping and coming back in at appropriate times to really emphasize certain sections. The lyrics were on point as well. They were interpretative, avoiding cliches and occasionally tongue-in-cheek. Miles sings, “Soft vines down to your hazel eyes / Topped off with a secret smile / We’ve got plans to devise / Souls red baby don't lose your breath / Because I'll love you to death / Jungle cats in our heads.” “Apollo” sounded like a cleaner version of The Strokes that implemented a little more surf into their music. The hook is catchy, infectious and does everything you hope from a good melody. The boys have some fun on “Couscous.” It seemed like a energy filled song that would translate really well live. “Rickshaw” is the most joyful and upbeat song. They sound like a more jam band version of Local Natives. They close with “Further” which is the smoothest and most lounge-worthy song in the batch until it isn’t. It starts off so subdued but eventually feels pretty epic. The double lead guitar part is just bad ass and contains some great vocals as well. Great way to end. Atomic Cafe is case of a band starting to really find their groove. I love hearing when a band or musician finds that X-factor that defines their music. I hope this is just the beginning. Recommended.
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Daniel Levene is an artist who apparently recorded his album Drown Out in a sound booth. The young artist brings mostly a guitar and his voice to the table.
He opens with “Skyline” where you are greeted to solo guitar and vocals that spew with melancholy, The first observation is that he sounds a lot like Matt Berninger from The National. In fact the structure of the song felt similar to The National. As a producer and engineer I recommend staying away from drum sounds that just sound like loops from a DAW that I heard on “About You. I personally would rather have that replaced by a real shaker, handclaps or something which sounds less artificial. “King” was a solid song. It is just guitar and vocals but has a memorable melody. It’s like Levene switches to his Matt Berninger type voice on “Architect” He goes into a baritone and mimics the inflection which at times sound almost identical. “Final Choir” is a piano led song while “Maple” felt like a vocal style that seemed to feel a little more natural. “Driftwood” is another acoustic track while “A Shot in the Dark” was fleshed out with more instrumentation. “Getting By,” “Row” and “Open Arms” have a similar feel to them. “Relief” has its moments as does the reflective “Famed” and ”I'll Be Fine.” About twenty years ago I was a senior in high school and really got into Smashing Pumpkins. Although I had been studying music for five years already they were such an influence that the songs I would write would sound like Smashing Pumpkins B-sides. The truth is Levene seems to be experiencing something very similar with The National at times. There is simply no denying the influence of the band across this release. My advice here is to not listen to music in general (or keep it minimal)l when songwriting and keep experimenting and digging through your emotions until you find a strain that can’t so easily be conflated with another artist. At this point I encourage him to explore more advanced chord structure, guitar picking and other technical exercises while chipping away at his songwriting. I promise that this is just the embryonic stage for him considering his age and he will slowly evolve. It took me years of education and dedication to playing every day to get a point where I felt like I could call myself a musician. Despite all that Levene has some chops in the songwriting department. There were some memorable melodies throughout the album and I really appreciated his ability to cut the fat off of a song. This is a solid display of talent and I wish Levene all the best in his evolution as an artist.
Few Miles South is a country southern rock group created by south GA raised Blake English and Los Angeles native Tori Lund. The band wrangled up local musicians such as Bob “Boo” Bernstein, Scarlet Rivera and Bruce. They recently released Might Could which is a mix of country, pop and rock.
I liked Lund’s vocals which have an undeniable pop appeal in a Shania Twain type of way. She is a great singer backed by great performances. That being said I definitely had some preferences when it came to individual songs. I preferred the country over the pop aspects of the music. Up first is the title track and it certainly felt like a radio worthy song. The hook is there and banjo and lap steel guitar seem like necessities to give the song its country flavor. “Jojo” was a another successful effort and perhaps even more single worthy than the first song. The chorus is more explosive and sing-along worthy. “Walking to the Moon” however was my kind of tune. The song is darker and melancholy with understated performances. Lund just sounds fantastic on this track and her country inflection works very well off the instrumentation. The energy surges to its highest point on “Oh Down the Road” but actually it felt a little more bluegrass inspired. It has the knee slapping, dance worthy energy that is infectious. The handclaps were the icing on the cake. Last up is “What’s Yours Is Mine” which is the emotionally resonant slower ballad. Few Miles South is a band spewing with talent and the professional production on the EP brings out the performances. The EP was an eclectic mix of their sound and they really hit on different flavors on each song. This is a really good EP from beginning to end. Recommended.
Joe Astle (guitar/vocals) and Amber McCall (drums/vocals) are Fur Curtains. The band writes quirky, frivolous pop songs on their release Petite Disquette. I was checking out their Bandcamp page and the juxtaposition of salt and pepper shrimp with furry, unshaven genitals of cartoon humans kind of grossed me out. I love shrimp and really love salt but apparently I don’t like the sight of it right next to naked cartoon humans.
The songs definitely felt silly from the lyrics to the instrumentation. This alone doesn’t add up to something I might appreciate. However, that on top of catchy melodies and solid musicianship and I’m in. Up first is “Salt N' Pepper Shrimp” which has McCall on vocals. It comes close to ’50s pop at times which I love and a mix of lo-fi indie rock. She apparently loves salt n pepper shrimp so much she doesn't’ mind getting paid with it! I like it too but you gotta draw a line somewhere. If American Apparel tried that crap on me when I was sixteen I would tell them to suck a lemon. I couldn’t make all the lyrics to “Jungle Man” but it seemed overly violent. They were singing about ripping off heads so they could see neck holes. Good luck trying to rip the head off a cheetah. I mean no chance. No chance. “Louie In Hawaii” is a little gross. I mean the song is catchy and the way they present the material seems totally innocuous and fun but yeah it’s kind of gross. The band continues with “Big Old Balls” which doesn't’ need any further explanation. They end with “Game Show” which revolves around winning a lot of money and then being kind of shitty about it and buying a person you care about some hair, pants and a single shoe. I've never been in stitches over comedic songs. At best I get subtle smirks because of wit. I had enough smirks to enjoy myself. Fur Curtains could totally diversify as well. They could do a kids album about daddy having two mommies, an album about how pants seem totally unnecessary in 2018 and the ramifications of Canadian tariffs on the global economy. I await more comedic genius from these two.
Andrew Hughes is a young musician from Muncie, Indiana who released Andrew's Demo Tape. The album is a collection of lo-fi songs that have a typical bedroom recorded on a laptop type feel. It's hard to categorize the album because the songs don't have too much in common. This group of songs felt like a loose collection of ideas rather than an artist creating a foundation.
“No Sleep On Christmas Morning” does sound lush and slowly moves along with a bass, atmospheric elements and more. It is quite enjoyable and unexpectedly dynamic at times. Up next is “Énouement” which sounded like it could have been a Fleet Foxes B-side. The vocals are covered in reverb and revolve around a couple of other elements with acoustic guitar being the main instrument. The song is short to a point where I wanted a couple of other changes. “Lafayette Acoustic” also felt Fleet Foxes inspired but plays more into the fantasy angle that conjure images of a fair maiden and castles. “Freezing Spring” changes direction into an experimental jazzy type of arena. “Question Mark Rock” is arguably the highlight. It’s a constant change of instrumentation and elements in what I might call a prog rock fashion. “Retroreflector” sounds like an airy, atmosphere pop song that really isn't much more than a couple of major and minor chords. “Untitled” is electronic and synth sounding so much so it reminded me of Aphex Twin. “You Later” sounds deflated and somewhere between sloppy and loose while “Later Still” is yet another deviation in style and aesthetics. “The Magical Solution To Life's Unpleasantries” is a spliced up collage of strings. One of the things I know I appreciate about when I first got involved with production and studio work was the limited tools you had available. In the ‘90s there weren’t a thousand options of virtual instruments of effects you could apply. If you did want an effect you would have to work for it. This is something I often see with artists like Hughes is that they don’t seem to restrict their palette of sounds, tones, textures and instrumentation. This can often result in a very piecemeal sounding release where the artist isn't able to create a signature sound. My point being Hughes has talent and skill in multiple areas but the next step would be for him to start to think about how his songs on a release could create cohesion that creates a artistic vision that seamlessly connects the dots. Whether it’s Untrue by Burial, Sun Giant by Fleet Foxes or the many other releases, they are able to create a deepening world that starts to encompass the listener. Overall, this is a solid demo. Hughes has his head in the right place and has skills as a songwriter and producer. I look forward to his next step.
Tyler Mann doesn’t have much experience under his belt. At only fifteen years of age he picked up a guitar about a year ago and already released an album entitled Music From The Metro. I remember being in a very similar situation to Mann about twenty-three years ago. I got obsessed with guitar and would just experiment. Back then you didn’t have the luxury of a DAW. I recorded to tape but still remember some of those tapes sounding like Music From The Metro. The songs on Music From The Metro were done in one take and more or less just a guitar with some rare exceptions.
On his Bandcamp page he states that “the post-apocalyptic metro is a cold, cruel place.” That I think is the environment he is trying to create with his guitar. On the opener “The Great Fall (Zergatik da hau)” you get a couple of dissonant, ominous two or three note repetition and a good amount of reverb. “Power Station” contains almost random fluctuations of sounds that seemed to be conjured from his guitar. At points it seems as if he is tuning his guitar. “The Acoustic Defense Against The Thinny” contains slightly distorted notes and chords while “Robots” is not much more than some fiddling around on the guitar. “Blunt Force Trauma” and “Metro Punk” utilize distortion to some degree while “Do Not Touch” seems to be the most ethereal sounding in the batch. “Before” is another ambient track while “A Last Moment” contains a couple of spoken words. If Mann has a passion for this type of music I encourage him to go back to the beginning. He is trying for immersion and Brian Eno was the original master. Ambient 1: Music for Airports is a good starting point but The Tired Sounds of Stars of the Lid by Stars of the Lid and Playthroughs by Keith Fullerton Whitman are also some of the most amazing work I have heard that surrounds you in an environment. Mann is just getting started and I like that he is thinking in an off-kilter way. He still has a long way to go but I encourage him to keep exploring the landscapes of sounds with a diverse palette of tones and textures.
The father daughter duo of Graham Crocker and Hannah Power have been playing acoustic guitar and mandolin together for many years now. They’ve backed up some bigger named acts such as Martin Carthy, Seth Lakeman, Al Stewart, Roy Harper, Julie Felix, Colin Blunstone and Roy Wood among others. But the pair’s first outing on their own is under the band name Meand'er and it is a much simpler affair. Their first record This Magic Path sees the pair doing what they had been hired to do before, but adding their own vocals and harmonies and striking out to make their names together as a family.
The opening track on This Magic Path, “The Short and the Long” wastes no time in setting down the stones which the pair will step on throughout this folk-tinged father daughter journey. From the start one notices that Power takes on the role of vocals with her father chiming in from time to time in the back. Power’s vocals are powerful and sweet, crisp and beautiful, and her father's are hushed and seem to know just how to add that special accoutrement that only musicians who have a special working relationship can intone. This special association comes through again on the somber but powerful “Given” and later on “The Boat That Brought Me Home” a faster paced and heady jam session of twangy folk that shows off their chops for their chosen instruments as well, playing off one another like old pros. This power comes through again but in the way that only the English know how to do on the heavy-hearted and heart wrenching “Service and Bond” which only further illustrates the power of this father and daughter duo. Then, changing course on the song, “There Will Be A Spring” they demonstrate how restraint can be just as powerful with its limiting factors adding strength in the silences. The final song, “This Magic Path,” is done a cappella by Power and is at once a closing song that will leave the listener awed. To me there are songs that are meant for a stage, and I believe the songs on This Magic Path are just that. There is an intimacy here which recordings cannot capture, and that may be the only thing this brilliant record suffers from. Still, the price of the ticket to hear these two harmonize together is well worth it.
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If there is a formula to writing dream-pop songs, then the Saint Louis band Daytime Television has that formula down. The six-piece band is comprised of Ysabel on vocals, Seth on vocals and guitar, Africa on guitar, Kali on synths, Taylor on bass and Mark on drums.
The band’s latest EP offering is Technicolour and it offers up three songs that fit in that dream pop and shoegaze vein that often sounds a bit like a more poppy version of bands like Mazzy Star and My Bloody Valentine. Musically the stuff is pretty hazy and hard rock guitars are layered over with synths and pounding drums, but it’s the vocals that seem to lend the band their pop sensibility. Technicolour opens with the upbeat and fuzzy rocker “Sunkissed.” From the first it’s clear that the members of Daytime Television has done their homework on how dream pop is supposed to work. They know when to amp it up and when to take it down a notch and let the chords ring. They also know how grab a listener with a catchy chorus that has enough hard-hitting rock behind it to really appeal to a very wide audience. But the biggest thing here is that none of them try to steal the spotlight. And by this I mean to say that they each seem to know that a band is a sum of moving parts and that all parts must come in and go off if the song, especially in a genre so dominated by noise, is to sound like something more than just a bunch of people making noise. Speaking of noise Daytime Television know how to do this too, and they do so very well on “Sway” which has a great guitar and synth hooks that give the song a roundness and also a catchiness. It stays with you, rumbling around in your head long after the song is over. There is also the pop element, taken mainly from the vocals which are the perfect tonal accoutrement to the music. There is definitely an ‘80s synthpop leaning on the final track “Slow Motion” which doesn’t have the same absolute power of its predecessors, and comes off as a dreamy, sappy ballad that may work well for more sensitive ears but to me just fell a bit flat. Daytime Television is a relatively young band and they are all immensely talented musicians who know their craft rather well and play together like a band that has been together much longer. They have enjoyed a fair amount of critical success in their hometown and I’m willing to bet that this success will only continue to grow as the band matures over time.
After moving to Nashville at 17 from his home base of Phoenix, Arizona, Justin Nelson wanted to make it big as a touring drummer but later found out that playing for other people became “terribly lifeless and dull” – I feel his pain – so with that, he turned inward and starting creating music again for himself. Now at 22, Nelson has released this summer his debut The Sound of a Broken Heart. With his first recording he wanted to create an organic, real and live album but also, songs with “big builds, anticipation, deepest feelings and high soaring melodies.” On his Bandcamp site his bio reads: Lover / Seeker of big songs that make you feel big things. “ And indeed, his first song, which is also that album’s title, did just that.
The opening track starts off with a steady acoustic rhythm and Nelson’s deep, raspy voice. The instruments chime in together slowly on the second verse and from there, the song keeps getting better. The melody is big, spacious and inspirational – Nelson takes his vocal chops, and lungs, to the next level as the drums bash in loud. This tune truly blew me away and if I was a record executive, I would say to Justin, “sign here on the dotted line please, what’s your next record about?” “Don’t Break” has a newer alt-country beat with some help from fellow artist Chris Weber and lovely backup singing from Jess Nelson. “Blankets & Covers” sounds a little old school, a la Springsteen and/or Jackson Browne or Wilco maybe, and has an overall mellower tone, but still in keeping with that ‘big song’ feel that Nelson was looking for. Ethan Barrette, who helped Nelson with mixing, engineering and producing Broken Heart, did a fine job adding texture with warm tones from the keyboard. “Show Me” starts off with Nelson singing – “I think I hate myself…I feel I’m wasting time” but it’s not all gloomy – it’s a song about clinging onto a hope that one finds within oneself and within those you love. “Run Free” is another crooner Nelson belts out along with his baritone guitar, I believe that’s what he plays here, and again, this one has a refreshing, big sound with backup singing at the end, making for a happy sounding song. “Re; Revival” was co-written with bass and lead electric guitar player Ryne Norman. The words to this one go deep – drinking, cancer and prayer – I’m not going to lie, this one gets pretty heavy. The testament within the song feels like it comes from a songwriter who’s seen some crappy things in his life that he never wants to see again. The piano by Jess Nelson, keys by Barrette and added backing vocals sound fantastic and give the song a deeper, soulful dimension. “Hindsight” has a nice, warm live sound with bright guitars, more pop-rock style and tender words of love. “Goodbye” begins with a guitar rhythm and a swaying beat that feels a little ‘50s, but with a modern rock style. It sounds like it would be a good contender for a crooning crowd pleaser and the ending was absolutely beautiful. The closer “Bulletproof (ft. Jess Nelson)” has a great alt-country folk, big sky sound and Jess’ singing pairs with Justin’s voice so well, like spun gold, or dare I say – like a Graham Parsons and Emmylou Harris song – this one was worth waiting for. If Justin Nelson’s single goal was to make a moving, gorgeously layered, well written and executed debut, he has most certainly achieved that. Yes, he’s had a few bumps in the road to get to where he is now as he well describes on his Bandcamp site, but if you were to tell me The Sound of a Broken Heart was a debut, I would say you were lying. It’s one of the most honest, forthright and solid albums, from start to finish, I’ve heard in quite some time.
With a simple Logic rig, and a keen ear for textures, Divorced Dad funnels his meta-modernist aesthetic through house music’s rich history to produce Haha, a rewarding trip down his memory lane. Thematically, we find the artist directly addressing old friends and influences in a way that feels allegorical to any musician’s thankfulness to the scene for providing escape from turmoil.
Nowhere is this more apparent than “Meeting Jonas Borra” the autobiographical narrative of Divorced Dad’s introduction to the club business, told over an evolving four-on-the-floor that flexes voice modulation, keyboard chops and bluesy guitar leads. It succeeds in being longer than average but never feeling so, even after repeated listens. The auto-tuned outro is a silly but tasteful choice that rounds out the song’s personal message. Divorced Dad is a jazzy man with an ability to play Herbie Hancock inspired chords and fills at will. He showcases this talent on “For Theo/ For Pépé/ For Nikolai” which features percussive stabs and tangling, thorny acid leads before dissolving into a beautiful, grainy soundscape and a shoutout to a friend who listens to good music. The impression I gather is Divorced Dad lives for this music, breathes the rhythm Chicago first gave the world more than 30 years ago. He has an innate understanding of the voice’s role in dance music: singing, breathing syncopations, riffing through effects and experimenting with spoken word in ways that show a gift for songwriting that puts him on trajectory to be a name in this genre after some necessary growth in production and mixing.
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