What happens when a semi-retired scientist makes an album. I can actually tell you what happens most of the time when someone retires and decides to make music because I’ve been working at Divide and Conquer for a long time. I found that for the most part they go back to the music they grew up on while they were younger. I’m talking late teens and 20’s. It’s actually scientifically proven that our brains make certain types of connections to the music we hear during that time and never really leave.
For Andy Miles aka Dr Andy and the Clones his music is reminiscent of the rock that was happening in the late ’60’s and ’70s. The influence isn’t hidden on his release Low Carbon Operator. I don’t know much about his musical background but I thought these songs were very well written and delivered. The production sounded great especially for DIY. He opens with “Lines on the Map” which is very rock ‘n roll. There is a good amount of cowbell and the band Blue Oyster Cult came to mind. On top of that though I could hear some Pink Floyd in the vocal delivery although this music isn’t cosmic and ethereal sounding as Pink Floyd is. The melodies are catchy, especially the vocal melodies. He has more success with “Schadenfreude” which reminded me of “While My Guitar Gently Weeps” and “Dear Prudence” by The Beatles. It’s psychedelic enough and Miles does a great job on the vocals. “Dead Man in the Pool” is a great song period. It’s a little more upbeat and infectious. This is a single worthy song in my opinion. “Don't Tweet Rubbish” is catchy but also pretty funny if you pay attention to the lyrics. He sings, “Sixty years have past / That’s over half a million hours /Thought I would be dressed in lycra /Drinking beer on Mars / Instead of that I’m getting fat / My life is on a screen.” As the album progresses there are a number of great tracks including “Low Carbon Operator” and the “Gigolo” which is another humorous track. The closing track “Landslide” is pretty epic in a Pink Floyd type of way. This is a really well done album from beginning to end. Recommended
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Upward Over is the latest from Lanterns of Hope. It’s also his best release yet which hones in on emotive acoustic based songs that blend Americana, Celtic and indie overtones. The music on this album does what it has done before but perhaps more cohesively. It combines melancholy with an uplifting solace that comes in waves of hope and even motivation.
You can hear this on the opening title track “Upward Over.” The music on this song is fairly subdued and consisted of picked acoustic guitar and strategically placed piano. The dynamics come from his vocals and you can hear the Celtic influence when you listen to the chorus. Up next is “Sea Song” which is one of the best songs he has written. This song has a warm melancholy not unlike an artist like Bon Iver. There are warm pads that reinforce nostalgia and solace. Similar to the first song the music is fairly subdued and doesn’t attempt to get too epic sounding. Drums are introduced on “There was this Girl” which add another dimension to his music and is another highlight. The tom drums are like waves in the ocean that give the song energy and urgency. I was familiar with the song “Compass” because it was one of my favorite tracks off his EP. The song definitely gets into epic territory. He keeps that energy going with “The River” which is a fast paced song. I was somewhat reminded of Rusted Root on this track. There are some very intense moments here and percussive elements which crackle. As the album progresses, there were a number of highlights to my ears. The stripped back and very traditional sounding “Narrow Road” was beautifully delivered. It actually reminded me of one of my favorite artists Donovan. “Concrete Heart” was memorable. The vocal melody stuck with me the first time I heard it. I'd also mention that the production sounded at its best on this song. He closes strong with “St. Peter.” Upward Over has a flow to it and one of the reasons I prefer to listen to an album from beginning to end. As an album unfolds I prefer an arc similar to a story where it takes you to different shades of emotion and varying degrees of energy. If you are looking for experience like that then you just found it.
Voodoo Logic is a band from Texas comprised of Adam "Prophet" Stern (guitar/vocals), George "Juke box Hero" Woods III (guitar/vocals), Lori "heartbreak" Ragsdale (vocals), James "Boom-Boom" Gongora (drums/vocals) and John "D-Day" Perez (bass/vocals). They recently released For Tonight which is about as straightforward rock as you can get. The band really plays into a lot of moves the genre defined in the late ’60s, ’70s and ‘80s.
They open with “Party Rock & Roll’ which is just old school rock in the flavor of bands like AC/DC and Kiss. The topic itself (loving rock) is a trope that has been repackaged countless times and for good reason. Up next is “Yesterday, Here to Stay” and sounds like a mix between ’70s and ’80s rock. The tone and the way the vocals are delivered bring to mind a band like Fleetwood Mac. “A New Way Home” is a bit more subdued and veered into ballad territory at times. I really liked the guitar work and thought the vocals were really well delivered here. They go a little bluesy on “Fallen Angel.” One of the highlights is “Best Days” which is a fun rock song. They get funky with “Blind” which you can argue sounded a bit like Talking Heads. As an engineer myself the quality here seemed to be raw and lo-fi. Perhaps that was the sound they were going for but this seemed more like a live recording you might get at a concert than a studio recording. On that note the sound quality varied. Some songs had more clarity than others. This is a no frills rock band that embraces and pays homage to rock that spans from the late ’60s, ’70s and ’80s. After that decade it gets a little more dicey but I didn’t notice any clear examples of genres like grunge. If you are looking for a rock band with original songs which stays faithful to the aesthetics, structure and attitude that made people love this genre in the first place then there is a good chance you will appreciate what Voodoo Logic brings to the table.
Tom Caley is a songwriter/producer who is a native of the UK but has resided in Melbourne, Australia for the past 15 years. After years of playing in the live music scene, Caley came to the realization that recording music was much more fun than playing in bands and so, he began to experiment with home recordings. Early on, he recorded three albums, entirely on an iPad, before a crisis of confidence led him to delete his early attempts to take a detour into “electronic music space” under the name of GarageMan. In early 2019, Caley was pleased with the better quality he had achieved on the GarageMan album, so from there he revisited his first two attempts, selected his favorite songs from each and set to record a new album,\ which became Revisionism. Nicely stated, Revisionism is a “a heady mix of rock, electronica, unbridled pop and, at times introspective melancholia.” Caley plans to release an EP of further songs from his early sessions later this year before embarking on a new project in early 2020. All the songs on the album were written, recorded, played and mixed by Caley, with assistance from Pete Caley (Tom’s father) on guitar – tracks 2, 3, 4, 5 and 11 and Matt Brunsdon on tenor sax, soprano sax and trumpet on track 2.
“Moon Man” starts off as you might expect with “other-worldly” space synth electronic rock. Along with a driving rhythm and a catchy, harmonious melody it makes for a great opener. “Beginning and Ending” features a snappy beginning but then jumps right into an explosive beat with a fast and furious guitar riff and drum rhythm. A lot of interesting vocal layering on the trumpet adds another fantastic dimension as well. “I Am King” has more of a progressive, dark edge. I thought the highlight to this tune was the almost harpsicord sounding synth and the play between that part and other keyboard effects. Caley gets really creative on his vocal effects, too. “Without a Sound” reminds me of a cross between something off of Coldplay’s A Rush of Blood to the Head, and perhaps the lighter pop styles of Tom Petty or R.E.M. A very likable tune overall. “For the Pigs” rocks out really good with a rumbling drum rhythm, awesome bass lines, a great alternative pop-rock sound and a nice guitar solo break which adds a dynamic edge. “Minotaur” finds Caley switching over to the synths once again with an even more futuristic sound to the song’s beginning. He then drops in driving rock rhythm that’s filled with a full sound and smooth vocal harmonies on top. This had a lot of good parts to it. “Ever After” reaches into Caley’s bag of lighter, melancholic melodies and pulls back on the extra bells and whistles. Caley’s voice comes through nice and clear here, in this tenderly played, dreamy tune. “Afterburner” is just the opposite – edgy, punkish in a way with a progressive/alt-rock sound. Lots of great splashy cymbals and crazy good guitar and keyboard solos, too! This one is definitely one of my favorites and it really gives the listener a taste of Caley’s more extreme musical repertoire. “Tomorrow” has an interesting mix of styles – somewhere between reggae-fusion, electronica progressive and alternative rock. Caley’s synth playing is really good on this one, too. “Bruises and Stings” starts off quietly with keys sounding like church bells on Christmas day. Caley adds a nice, clean acoustic on top of that, a slow drum rhythm and a bright electric guitar. Another one of Caley’s softer pop-ish tunes, reminding me of something between Radiohead or Coldplay with just little old school blues and soul in there – nicely executed! The last number is “Our Sons” and it begins with a rather inspirational tone, but Caley also mixes in an edgy sounding guitar riffs and a fantastic melody. This one reminds me of some of the bands from the ‘90s that mixed up styles of dream pop and alternative – something along the lines of The Verve or Oasis. Caley – this time I think it’s Tom’s father – puts in awesome guitar solo towards the end. For those who like a little bit of everything and enjoy songs that are not the usual three minutes, give Revisionism a try.
Purple Corporation is a duo from Chicago that has been prolific for the last couple of years. Their most recent release is entitled Memos From Space. The band stated that the album is broken into three parts. These sets of three are “triptychs.” They go into further details about these sections. In all honesty this information didn’t affect the way I experienced the album and even when I was consciously aware of it I didn’t notice anything that drastic that would make me think they were treated in a way that felt fundamentally different .
The band builds on their synth heavy sound on Memos From Space which we have heard from them on previous albums. They start with “Builder” which focuses on sine waves and simple synth sounds to create what sounds like chiptune. The video game vibe here is strong. The band starts to spread their wings with “Drippy Sunshine” which is the band at their best. It’s a sort of dissonant and fuzzy psychedelic sound. It kind of bleeds melancholy at points and I loved the hazy vocals. I thought the mix was great. The song does have a major transition when the lead synths appear and the tempo speeds up which was a nice bonus. “From Space” is a short one at two minutes but also a great track. There are some Fleet Foxes type vocals at one point that mixed with primitive synth sounds and are arguably some of the most beautiful moments on the album. Up next is the slightly Beatles-esque “A Tune About The Pace Of Time.” I loved the horns and the vocal melody. Although I do wish I could make out the lyrics. “Questions, Answers” might be the highlight. It’s off-kilter weird but in great ways. The vocal melodies are infectious here and the anchor to why the song works so well. “Rising Up” is fairly low energy but one of the more emotionally charged songs. There are multiple vocal harmonies at points. The main vocal made this song feel a little less alien and more human than some of the other songs. I love the sad, distant horns. The transition to “We Can No Longer Take It” was unexpected. This song is definitely more zany and cartoon like. I almost thought I was listening to a different band on “Odelayed.” There doesn't seem to be any synths here and an acoustic guitar even makes an appearance. This is more a soundscape and perhaps an homage to the Beck album Odelay. They close with their classic sound on “Nobody Said It Would Be Easy” which very well might be the best song on the album. It’s synth pop catchy which is the area I think they thrive the most. This is another really good release from Purple Corporation. Take a listen.
The Tortured Sky is a one-man music project who recently released Melancholia. Well my first thought after reading the album title and band name was that this music was going to be pretty somber. That’s definitely the case. In fact on the Bandcamp page it says the music is for broken people.
The EP starts with “Season of the Leaves” which is the highlight. It revolves around a pretty straightforward 4/4 beat, a couple of guitar chords and atmosphere like pads that all seem to be created with guitar. I was reminded of The Cure on this song at least at points. The song felt like a proper introduction to his sound. There are also pads towards the end of the song which really create this ephemeral feel. It’s sort of like a gray cloud was floating above the guitar. The next song “Different Lives” took me by surprise because he sounds pretty hopeful at points. He actually reminded me of Jarvis Cocker on this song and I really liked his dynamic performance. The instrumentation was a mixed bag for me.I thought the guitars were well done but the programmed drums really don’t change throughout the whole song. Up next is “Until I Die” which is very dramatic and lush. There is also some dissonance which I have no problem with when it’s done effectively like it is here. The synths he implements meld with the guitars. He goes into spoken word type of singing on this song where he says, “I am your hopes / I am your fears / I am your doubts / I am your tears.” I liked his singing voice as well but there are times that he strains and struggles to stay in pitch. “My Little One” is a melancholy love ballad while “Forever” is actually a more lush love ballad. As an engineer and producer myself, I think he did a solid job with the mixes. There were times when certain elements were too loud or I thought the reverb was masking some of the other elements but for the most part this was a good DIY production. Overall, I thought the artist created a solid foundation here. The songs were well written and heartfelt. Suffice it say I hope to hear more soon and I think there is a lot more potential here.
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Bennett William is a musician from Syracuse, New York who recently released Time Unknown. The album is a complete DIY project and is a collection of songs that take place the summer after high school in Santa Monica, California.
The album starts with “New Love” which contains lyrics that seems like it's a coming of age movie. He sings, “It’s summertime now, I’m new in town we met and you’re showing me around taking me to the amusement park.” The song revolves around a pretty standard rock formation of instrumentation. “My First Time” is exactly what it sounds like. He goes into some detail about this experience. He goes on to sing about falling in love on songs like “Hand In Hand” It’s an upbeat tune that is all about an unpredictable future. He sings about checking his mailbox for a car package on “Car Package” and sings about missing his romantic interest on “Come Back Home.” One of the catchiest tunes is “You're The Lighter” which contains a ’50s pop feel. I thought some of the most memorable melodies were on this song. There are some songs which are not about his love interest such as “Neighbors Dying” which seems to be about violence and death. The last song “Christmas Essence” is indeed about Christmas and sounds like it’s a carol. As an engineer myself the one area that I thought could have used some tweaks was the production. His vocals often sat on top of the mix. There were some points where he got a tad off key which was more noticeable because of that. There are some solid songs on this album. It also acts a timestamp for the artist. I'm a musician myself and when I look back at music I made twenty years it brings up those memories. This very detailed account of his days will surely be something he will be able to listen to and bring a sense of nostalgia.
Baltimore, Maryland band, Velella Valhalla formed in 2014 after the three members from their former band Border State split up – Amanda Pippi Bayne on vocals, Tim Bayne on guitar and Vincent Martino on bass. A fourth member, Bethany Petr joined up later, on the drums. The quartet has a mixed bag of dreamy alternative rock, post punk and ‘90s-style tunes. In the Baltimore and surrounding regions, Velella Valhalls bring a lot of energy to their live performances.
They have played with local, national and international acts in places like Ottobar, Sidebar, Joe Squared and other Baltimore venues. The band’s goal is to deliver hard-hitting and dynamic songs that are enjoyable to listen to but have that extra something that requires repeated listening. The band quotes their latest release as being their, “phoenix of post-punk revival risen from the ashes of 90s indie pop.” Thematically, the album explores free will, fate, the afterlife, love, connections, growth and gratitude. “Fugit” begins things with plenty of fuzzy guitar riffs, awesome melodic bass lines and vocals from Bayne that are perfect for this style of music. “Love Zero” has a great arrangement with a lot of good changes between the verses and chorus – a very dynamic song overall. “Menagerie” shuffles along quickly with fast rhythm, and tricky change ups. Again, with great distortion on the guitars, fantastic bass lines and fluid drumming by Petr. A lot of bands come to mind as I listen to more of the album, so at this point it was hard to compare Velella Valhalla to any one band. But then I heard “Rosed Window” a softer ballad with just enough wiggle room of contemporary pop and harder edge alt-rock – somewhere between the college rock arrangements of 10,000 Maniacs and the manic, angst rock of the Cranberries. “King of the Cosmos” features a post-punk style and a crazy fast pace from everyone on the verse parts. This one by the way, is the longest song on the entire album, from a band that appears to enjoy shorter songs. Tim Bayne also does a fantastic guitar solo with equally great effects. “Fire” reminded me of the old school punkier side of Blondie. The band adds some awesome dreamy guitar effects between the verses, then after, Amanda Bayne talks the lyrics equaling the darker edge of the song’s break. “Stay” offers a lighter pop-rock style somewhat akin to the ‘80s bands that meshed classic pop styles with new wave. “Lay Low” features great drum fills from Petr, and a distorted, melodic guitar riff. “Shots” is another one of Velella Valhalla’s softer tunes. A pretty stripped-down sound to begin with, but things get a little louder once the other instruments chime in. What stood out for me were the backing vocals from the other members. Lastly there’s “Plane” – a quirky and catchy tune that mixes many styles and it’s also the band’s shortest. Overall, I thought Velella Valhalla had a solid sound throughout the album, consistent and likable. I think in some ways the mixing could have been better, in terms of Amanda Bayne’s voice being drowned out by the other instruments. But other than that, it was easy to see, and hear, why this Baltimore band would make for a good night out for live music.
Now that I've been with Divide and Conquer awhile, I have learned that there are few things that will almost always woe me. Near the top of that list is LORE and that is something Leonardo's Robot has in spades. There is pure, fun fiction surrounding the mysterious mechanical music maker. Apparently this particular bot can use toxic resources for fuel and hails from Australia. Perhaps I'm too much of a Mad Max fan but so far, all of this makes sense to me. The album is Ziggurat Vertigo and it delivers indie rock fun at an almost machine like level of quality. All sci-fi aside, this album has a lot of heart. It builds itself off of the less than ideal moments in life and manages to get a good amount of mileage out of them. Ziggurat Vertigo has me believing I may identify more with this robot than I do most people.
I will admit, as much as I try to hold back any expectations, me digging into this robot lore did have me painting a sound in my head. Luckily, the album sounded nothing like I expected. It lines are clean, the message is clear, the vocal work is lovely. A lot of clean sounding guitar driven indie rock jams that each stand on their own. There is an understated epic performance taking place. The thing I appreciate is that while there is all this lore and world building, it's not music theater. This is still for the sake of music over performance and I love it. Such a crisp and fresh sound that has multiple dimensions. This album is a home studio project and color me impressed. Armed with REAPER and an M-Track Eight, this bot managed to deliver a fully fleshed out idea of an album. The mixing and mastering is fantastic; the album genuinely pops. I was also impressed with the percussive elements which were all samples. A lot of the tracks feature a special recording treatment done with the guitar and I really enjoyed how it spoke to me. Despite all the electronic elements, there is a lot of organic love and care present in the album at all times. I don't know that I would consider this album a party album, however it does put me in a good mood. This album does a lot of things. It contemplates, it dances, it celebrates and it broods in the most delightful way. Indie rock fans looking for something fresh and a little off the beaten path should be buzzing around this album. I love that such a thick narrative was put into place and the musical end was even better. I feel like all pistons, or should I drives, were firing on this one. Ziggurat Vertigo has a solid "go ahead and give it a whirl" rating from me. Thoroughly enjoyed it.
Marcus Fields is an artist from Galway, Ireland who recently released Death & Magic. He calls music Dino Funk and yes he is referring to dinosaurs. I have to admit I’m still a little confused about this aspect. His EP however has to do with more than just dinosaurs. Fields says “Death & Magic is a celebration of all the pain and joy life has to offer. For every death the world is full of magic and for everything magical a death.”
His music is upbeat and energetic rock. There is definitely a joyous energy to his music. He opens with “Dino Funk : the adventures of Dr.Dino Funk vol:6” which begins with a couple chords strumming on acoustic, bass, a little bit of percussion and drums. T he song builds with energy and more instrumentation as it progresses. By the time we get to the handclaps the momentum really hits. There is no denying the song is infectious and contains a great hook that you might be humming along with by the second time you hear it. Up next is “Got A Penny.” This song starts with a simple picking pattern on guitar and the vocal melody. The mood is a little melancholy here but you can hear the build especially when the additional guitar and drums come in. By the time you get to the end of the song, it feels like a full revival. “Gentleman” was the arguable highlight. The song is as catchy as anything that came before it and similar to other songs and builds as it progresses. I felt like the song was an homage to the deceased when listening to the lyrics. Last up is “Close To Me.”This song is the most epic and grand sounding out of the four. My only critique is that I wanted a little more variety on how the songs unfold. The idea for each song was more or less to start with little instrumentation and then add more elements. On that note, these songs are really well written and a blast to listen to. Recommended. |
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