Located in Southern California, but originally from the Twin Cities area of Minnesota, singer/songwriter Joe Summers has spent the last 15 years honing his craft. Sometime in between he left it to pursue a career in the circus, but recently decided to get back to music and teach himself the ins and outs of home recording. Summers has a history of playing small ambient sets of melancholy solo music but this time around, he’s taken on the task of recording a first proper album with a full band. A Fracture in The Light was recorded, engineered and produce all by Summers and it’s a journey through a dreamy world of trauma and recovery. After losing his father to suicide about ten years ago, Summers set out to try and describe his journey of grief, loss and finding joy.
The music is set in a dreamy tone, to set an audio depiction of strange and ambiguous emotions that come with trauma, recovery and a violent restructuring of the world around. Lyrically, the songs range from straightforward to nonsensical and depict more emotion than description. Themes cover many areas – from darkness to peace and joy. Summers states that as he’s gotten older, the music “has become less desolate and more reflective, always asking a question but not always looking to finding answers.” To begin, “Standing in the Light” offers a dreamscape sound with elements of ambient and indie pop. The melodies are soft and wispy, and the bass line carries you through, weaving in and out of the synths, guitar and electronic beats. “Shift” has a light acoustic rhythm and some added flourishes of piano and backup vocals. Summers’ tenor and/or falsetto is high and cool – flawless and beautiful I’d say – and his words are quite moving and filled with deep emotion. With the next song “New” you’ll hear a steady, low drum beat and synths taking center stage on the melody. The mood here seems darker, but there’s a chill soulful groove to the song as well. Summers’ words read like he is taking a journey from deep, unimaginable grief, to a place where his heartache is shaken by the wind and washed by the rain. On “Nothing or Divine” Summers bares his deep-seated emotions with his words – “What am I but a thousand faces / encased in layered skins? / What a way to envision meaning! / Oh, what brings me here again?” This tune is perhaps Summers’ most stripped down with only him on vocal and playing keys. I could really sense his pain, just in the way he wrote this number and sang it. “A Moment Measured” begins with a full, a dreamy acoustic rhythm and later, additions of ambient/ethereal sound effects on keys come in making this tune sound very hypnotic. His lines – “The wickeds worth knowing / When love is a wound” – are words I couldn’t possibly relate to, nor have any remote chance of deciphering, but they stuck out to me, so I thought I should mention them. Next up is “Awake” and it was written from the perspective of Summers’ father, like a letter so to speak. As far as tempo, the song is perhaps the fastest one on the entire album, which makes for a nice contrast alongside the previous songs. To end the album is “Prophesized” and it begins with a light sounding electric and a great sounding snare rim shot. And then, the strings. Man, do I melt over strings, whether they are played on those funny looking wooden boxes called violins, or on keys. Then came the smooth sounds of the sax – this tune was well worth the wait. The melody, the rhythm, the vocals, just the overall production and arrangement of everything came together so well. Finally, I get a sense from Summers’ words that he has come to a place of resolution with his father’s suicide. A deep realization of what happened in the past, and maybe a place of accepting a “new” kind of relationship he has ten years on with the memory of his father. But as with every song on this album, there is more emotion than literal descriptive words. No doubt, A Fracture in the Light is a deeply personal journey of overwhelming loss and grief. But it also offers moments of joy and peace, too.
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The solo project for Gnar Wail was formed by Daniel Rainwater in 2020. Rainwater apparently has a full-length album coming down the pipe but so far has released some music including a three-song self-titled EP Gnar Wail.
The first song is entitled “Forget-Me-Not” and is more or less an intimate sounding folk song with some additional elements. I would say the tone here is a warm melancholy, perhaps not too far from a band like Radiohead. The song seems to be reaching for some kind of salvation. I thought the lead guitar did a nice job creating a haunting quality. The opening guitar on “1988” has a similar pattern of energy and mood. It’s moody, pensive and melancholy. There are drums on this song and it drives a lot more because of it. This song felt more alternative and even post-rock inspired. I was surprised this song was instrumental. It did sort of feel like vocals were coming because the lead instrument isn’t obvious. “Willing’n Dying” immediately starts with whispering vocals. The lyrics which were a little hard to make out seemed dark and asked for answers to existential questions. His vocal delivery is borderline monotone which works well in the song. Although towards the end of the song he does belt it out. There are some warm swells which combine with hypnotic guitar. The EP is only about thirteen minutes long but he does form enough of a signature sound so that you can imagine what a future release might sound like. I thought the production was top notch. The artist utilized tools like reverb and compression effectively making for a very polished and professional sounding release. This short EP felt like an appetizer but is also a very solid indication of the future music we can expect from him. Recommended.
I was in college about twenty years ago studying music. Back then it was difficult to record the songs I had written without spending time in a professional studio. Times have changed. If you invest the time into learning about engineering and production you can create some very professional sounding recordings with the tools available. Brendan Raimann aka Alright, Good has done just this with his release Bend. The five-song EP is a complete DIY effort.
The first song entitled “Foggy Morning” is an intimate song with light acoustic guitar, emotive vocals, drums and some additional elements which create atmosphere. I was getting Elliott Smith vibes on this song at first but it does feel more hopeful and warm as the song progresses. It is a highlight. “Mammoth” is definitely a little more loose and upbeat. This is a fun song that will make you bob your head to the beat. My favorite part of the song was the tail end with the delayed lead guitar. “Strange” starts with an oscillating sine wave that feels unsteady which shifts in between notes. The drums enter and the song gets infectious. I loved the dynamics between the vocals on the subtler parts and the vocals when the drums come in. Last up is “I’m a Narcissist, Ada (Voice Memo).” On this song Raimann starts with strummed guitar and vocals. There’s a late ’60s folk vibe here that felt novel. The song is a bit melancholy and tells the tale of a romantic relationship from a third party perspective. I liked the message and lyrics which felt unique. I enjoyed every single one of the songs. There’s a good amount of variety here in terms of the palette he uses. I think because of that the EP is one that improves if you just play on the first song and let it ride. Overall, I thought this was a great EP that was accessible and well written. Take a listen.
Test SIlence is a Chapel Hill, NC solo artist who has released his debut EP A Matter of Perspective. It’s a true solo effort: he wrote, recorded, mixed and mastered the disc entirely by himself. He channeled the emotional energy from the loss of his father and 2020’s pandemic lockdown to create the six tracks.
He admits that “tonally, this record is a little all over the place,” as it reflected his life at the time. True: four of the tracks fit solidly under the “rock” category, while the other two are more synth-pop. Despite these differing styles, the album holds together very well. Each cut features a varied collection of synth sounds with plenty of tasty guitar work to satisfy the six-string riff hunger. The songs here are well-constructed. Each song has a few different sections with several moving from minor to major tonalities, giving the listener a destination. This is all backed up with solid production work and mixing. There’s nice use of dynamics and thoughtful highlighting of various parts as they support the arc of the track. The opening three songs are rock tracks with guitar riffs you can chew on. The title track opener recalls Fall Out Boy with the outro guitar solo reminiscent of late-‘80s solo Ozzy Osbourne. A smooth middle section offers a nice counterpoint. “538” switches between lighter acoustic and heavier electric guitar sections. During the heavy sections, Test Silence takes a lighter vocal approach, reaching for falsetto notes and offering a nice contrast. The piano-driven ending felt like a good Kings Of Leon track. Test Silence tunes down for the gritty “Other Side” with the light vocal touch again offering good contrast versus the crunch of the guitar riffs. The dark mood lifts a bit towards the end with a tonal shift towards major chords. The two synth-based tracks, “Let’s Get Away for a While” and “Drift Away” are next. “Get Away” is delightful new wave pop with sixteenth notes on the hi-hat, swooping synths and distorted guitar leads over the top. The occasional vocal harmonies add extra zip. “Drift Away'' starts with a clubby, trance-y feel with the synths playing a guitar-style riff. Actual guitars come back in earnest for the middle section with a killer riff that harkens back to Joe Perry’s glory days. Again, Test Silence lifts us with a major-chord ending, this time with some finger-tapping fretboard heroics. The closer “To Love Myself and Life Again” is moodier rock, a little more operatic and orchestrated, and features some moving string parts. The lyric may be his most personal, and he uses some purposefully out-of-tune patches to help bring his emotion to life. It’s a fine set closer. Test Silence says that he doesn’t know what his future projects will sound like, because he has wide musical influences. He’s done a terrific job integrating them on A Matter of Perspective, and producing an enjoyable listen. He’s excited for his future and so are we.
hotplug is a four-piece indie pop band based in Sacramento, California. They’re a group of young guys who are living the dream: lifelong friends who live in the same house, write songs together and record in the garage. They see this EP as an experiment to see how much they’ve grown since moving in together a year ago, the motivation being to “create some higher quality music, and seeing how far we can push ourselves with our own abilities.” Aside from indie pop, they also identify as traditional rock, funk and electronic. “We like to think of this EP as a sampler of the creative ideas we have.”
The band members are Anthony Juarez, Jamey Shidler, Luke McClain and Metteo Delucchi. All recording took place in their home garage using a Focusrite Scarlett interface into the Studio One DAW. Mixing and mastering was by Alex Kaplow. “Krystal Beth” (great pun!) seems to start already in progress. It’s a funky pop rock tune with lots of vocal tracks that don’t necessarily follow the background, resulting in a cool ’60s psychedelic sound. The chunky rhythm guitars about halfway through really move the song forward. “Show Me (CT)” continues the same type of arrangement but feels more like an actual folk rock single with tender acoustic guitars and engaging vocals which feel unprocessed and realistic. The hard rock chorus nails the tune right when it’s needed. What I like about these guys is that they push themselves just to the edge of dissonance but never seem to go over. “Cool With What She Does” is a struttin’ rock tune that reminded me of Joe Jackson, both lyrically and musically. “If I get a body close to me / I hope I don’t pretend, don’t pretend that it is she / how I’ve come to know what loneliness can be / I hope I don’t pretend, don’t pretend that she’s with me.” hotplug always writes lots of lyrics and many of them are sung without any discernible pauses for breath! “Bad Midnight” appears to start with a demo, then kicks in with the real song (I love that trick!) This is a short tune with dropped beats between verses and cheesy synth sounds. It’s fun but not quite as developed as the others. “Please Hold” presents the next song as tinny telephone “hold music.” It’s a very funny idea but might have been better as a short intro to a “real” song, like the previous track. “How Does It Feel” ends the collection with a more traditional hotplug song with lush vocals, chiming indie pop guitars and spacey synths. Going forward, I might suggest that the hotplug guys spend a little more time sequencing their tracks for greater listener enjoyment; but as a first “official” release, they not only show tons of promise, but have delivered an album they can stand behind proudly right now.
Joe Schike was born in Memphis, TN. It’s not much of a surprise that he got involved with music considering how music heavy Memphis is. Schike has played in a number of groups and has shared the stage with notable musicians. He currently leads his band West Side Joe & The Men of Soul with Steve Amedee and Taylor Tesler. They recently released their debut entitled Keep on Climbin’.
The music contains twelve songs and a number of different genres. I found the music to be very soulful no matter if they are playing a more subdued song like “Found You” or making you dance with the title track “Keep on Climbin’.” The music feels live and like something you would want to see on a Saturday night if you’re looking for a good time. This is the sound of talented musicians playing together in a room. This is great music you think would be on top of the Billboard charts but nowadays there’s a lot of computer based music that just doesn’t do it for me like this does. There’s a lot to appreciate on this album no matter how you’re feeling but there were some standouts. In addition to the songs I already mentioned I loved the blues on the late night groove “Come Thru” and the late ’60s type revival on “Man Down” which has a crazy good hook. The positive and warm “Give Love For Free” hits all the right notes especially the ones coming out of the horns. There’a a bit of vibe here that reminded me of The Velvet Underground but again very soulful with some blues influence. I also really enjoyed “When You Get the Chance” and “I Can’t Lose.” My only critique was I did have a little hard time finding a signature sound. The band really plays into genres that if you are familiar with will sound instantly recognizable almost as if you have heard the song before. As beautifully delivered and written these songs are, I think finding an X-factor that defines their sound would be food or thought. Overall, I would say this is a great album which I think has a lot of mass appeal. I look forward to hearing where they go from here.
Everything But The Everything has a lot of strengths as a songwriter but one thing I love about this artist is his ability to collaborate with people. One of his latest songs is called “Denials featuring Tobias Hawkins.”
This song felt a little darker than most of the other songs I have heard from the artist. I was picking up on more of a post-punk type of vibe. The song opens with a jazzy beat, reverb laced guitar and nuanced elements which add to the atmosphere. The lyrics fit the song almost perfectly. It essentially feels like someone yearning for some type of escape. On that note the song is dynamic as you hear a little after the one-minute mark where there are cascading vocal harmonies which combine into a catchy hook. As the song progresses, the message starts to feel embedded into your memory and I was picturing someone dancing in the darkness. The song is nicely balanced and by the time the hook is revisited around the three-minute mark the mood sinks. The structure for this song is fairly straightforward going back between a verse and chorus but one thing it does is drive. It feels like it is heading towards something or somewhere that’s undefined. The main thing I was thinking about was that this song was about salvation. Everything But The Everything is on a roll. The artist has been prolific for the last couple of years and this is another song that adds to his eclectic sound.
During the height of the pandemic in 2020, two friends based in Nashville traveled to a childhood home and created music; the result was Paperboat and the fantastic ten-track album Big Tent. The duo, Jacob Milstein and Mick Khoury, come from differing musical backgrounds (folk-groove songwriter and performer, and a musical improviser, respectively). But their worlds collide and even triumphantly complement each other. The home in question is Milstein's childhood home in Norman, Oklahoma. The album is rather poignantly and endearingly dedicated to their moms, such a refreshing message in a largely pretentious industry.
Big Tent is a grandiose affair akin to a theatre troupe with folk, indie, pop and jazz influences. Think the theatrical nature of Queen, merged with Simon and Garfunkel's musical kinship and Billy Joel’s Tin Pan Alley and Broadway melodies. Quite the deadly mixture!! The album is about a grand show happening inside a tent, a world inside the rest of the world, filled with enthusiasm, fear, and love, and such a unique concept really allows you to enter the unique world of Milstein and Khoury. You can straight away sense the pride and dominion the two have over the record, as they played every instrument (mostly, Milstein played the guitar, bass, and vocals. And Khoury played the piano, drums, horns and vocals on “Mom," "Cradle" and" Sorry In Advance” with the two dueting on "Do You Have The Same Thoughts As Me?"), as well as mixing the album almost entirely on their own. Such blood, sweat and tears into an artistic project, is conveyed in the synchronous and even telepathic connection the duo have with the project. Album highlights come in the form of tracks, "Me & My Girl,” "Downtown" and “If She Could See Me Now,” which see the duo at the apex of chemistry and confidence in their craft. But every track has a hidden beauty to it with the heavy ethos of vulnerability, melancholy and optimism, even in the darkest of places prevalent throughout. Such honest, idealistic and equitable qualities are strikingly beautiful in any artistic feat, and in Big Tent is screaming out and empowers the record with its warm and relatable character from start to finish. I can't wait to hear more of Paperboat as their notable connection grows and develops with time.
The Hot Squeezers is an indie rock band based in Nashville, Tennessee. Band leader Craig Labor wrote these songs during the quarantine and then “…managed to find a handful of degenerates to take this music to the stage; Fall east coast tour is being booked.” It’s unclear whether Labor (who goes by the stage name Glitteris) recorded all these tracks by himself or with the band, as almost nobody else is credited, but he says the songs were recorded in the order they were written.
The Hot Squeezers’ music is predominately influenced by ’60s girl pop and ’70s power pop, and Labor specifically cites Smile by The Beach Boys, Ween, The Kinks, Sweet, Buddy Holly, Stereolab, The Flaming Lips and T. Rex as avatars. Recording, mixing and mastering took place at Dum-Dum Studios in Nashville using Reaper. I was totally taken aback when I first opened the group’s Bandcamp page, as the cover shows a guy who looks just like Kurt Cobain (though a bit heavier) lying on a deflated blood-spattered raft, and the first song is titled “All Of Our Heroes Are Dead.” Based on this, I was expecting an album of songs that paid tribute to Nirvana, but thankfully they’re nothing of the sort. The opening song is a more general lament about the decline in musical quality over the years: “There ain't no punk rock music no more / There ain't no modern pop music that makes you wanna hit the floor / Even rock and roll doesn't rock and roll no more / All of our heroes are dead.” The sound is trebly, chunky roots rock with a vague country feel, not surprising when you consider this came out of Nashville. Labor’s vocals are untrained but full of spit and vinegar, exactly what these songs call for. “I Don’t Want to Die Young” immediately recalls “Vege-tables” from Brian Wilson’s Smile, and was written after a doctor told Labor that he was going to die if he didn’t change his diet. The lyrics, descending harmonies and offbeat percussion totally channels The Beach Boys, again with a bit of country flavoring. “Puppy Time” and “Harry” were both inspired by the dog Labor and his girlfriend got a week after Labor’s grim diagnosis. The Buddy Holly influence here is quite strong with bits of glam rockers Sweet thrown in for good measure. “Break The Rules” has a Strokes energy with especially fun, thump-y drums and killer guitar breaks. Love the ending, which sounds like we’re being ushered onto a UFO examination table. “I Hear A New World” is definitely a new sound for this collection: a swirling miasma of chiming guitars and spacey keyboards (synths are credited to Mike Brown and organ to Zach Driscoll). “Everything Will Be Alright” starts out very much like “New World” but kicks into joyous pop rock with garlands of harmony vocals and sweet guitar figures. “Make You Mine” has a Johnny Cash chugging train beat on the snare and country-sounding lead guitar figures, with yet more of Labor’s fine vocal tracks. I was expecting “It’s OK To Be Gay” to somewhat follow the footsteps of the Tom Robinson anthem “Glad To Be Gay” but this one starts out like Motown and resolves into a smart rock sing-along. The lyrics have the sincerity of a children’s book: “There's no need to run, no need to hide / So don't live your life in shame / There's no shame in wanting to be true to yourself at all… so come out of the closet now!” The next track “Love Ain’t Enough” deals with the travails of hetero relationships in the same straightforward manner. “Had a fiancé, we were getting married / but then I fucked it up / then a close friend caught her on the rebound / I wonder if they're happy now.” This one has an upbeat Kink’s vibe, despite the somewhat defeated sentiments. “I Don’t Like It Anymore” is a Knack-like rocker with simple and insistent riffing and a Robert Plant-inspired vocal. “I’ve Lost My Head Over You” is a weird closing collage with creepy sampled voices and a classical melody I can’t quite place. Based on the cover and Labor’s notes, I was expecting something more dark and depressing, but with a few exceptions these songs actually lifted my spirits and got me moving. I see great things ahead for Labor and his band!
Cody Lenhard is a young musician who just started making music in the last couple of years but it has been prolific. His latest release entitled Super! is a full-length ten-song album. There are a lot of different moods on this album, so let's get into it.
The first song “Super!” is a fun, upbeat and fairly joyous song. I would say it’s also pretty playful. The vocals are loose and the instrumentation revolves around bright tones and textures. Some of the lyrics are dark if you pay attention. I thought this was an opener that gets your attention. The mood changes quite drastically on “Finches.” I loved the swelling strings in the beginning but was not expecting such a melancholy song after the opener. The percussion sounds great on the song and the lamenting vocal style fits the mood very well. “At the Bottom of Everything I Know” is almost a mix of the emotions from the first two songs. There’s a playful childlike quality to the instrumentation but the song has more than a hint of melancholy. “Schizophrenia” is a bit neutral in comparison while the intimate “Juno” creates a bed of warm solace. “The End of the Universe” is a highlight. I loved the lush soundscapes here that combine with a steady beat. The vocals are emotive but also very catchy. I was thinking of Youth Lagoon on this song. “Her and the Devil” sounded a bit like Bright Eyes but more dreamy. The most sparse track “Brayden’s Track” is extremely haunting and also another highlight. There’s a combination of pads, white noise and vocals. There is some light on “Socks” while “Luna” is another intimate song but also has a tinge of hope. Lenhard is showcasing new sides to the production and songwriting compared to past releases. The palette of sounds he's utilizing on each song work off each in a symbiotic relationship. On top of that there weren't any song which seemed out of place. The ebb and flow of the songs was cohesive. This is the best release from Lenhard so far. His talent is blooming at this point. Recommended. |
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