Dave Martin holds two degrees in music education. He is a vocalist, multi-instrumentalist and a music educator from the Detroit area. Being so involved with music he has released a surplus of music. On his recent release One That Got Away Martin experiments with various genres such as rock, funk and jazz. Some of it works well; other times not so much.
The first song “Shake It Out” is a blues based rock song and is one of the highlights of the album. Martin’s vocals sound good covered in some distortion and the lead guitar solo was pretty impressive. “Shake It Out” is a good opener and I’m sure a crowd favorite if he plays it live. It's one heck of a catchy tune and a testament to the songwriting ability of Martin. “One That Got Away” doesn't fare as well. The mix sounded narrow in general, the drums were weak and I didn’t think the distortion from the guitar sounded good against the distortion of Martin’s voice. On top of that the vocal melody felt a bit cheesy and generic. Martin gets back on track with “Karma’s Cure.” The mix sounds open and clear and I thoroughly enjoyed the guitar and bass work here. He definitely flexes his muscles a bit and it was quite a treat to listen to. “Victimless Crime” was a solid tune although it’s pretty safe non-offensive John Cougar Mellencamp type rock. Really enjoyed the horns in this song but I thought the vocals sounded too raw. I have to say “Arise and Awake” didn’t feel like it fit into the context of the rest of the album. It has religious overtones, which are fine but seemed out of place compared to the other songs. One That Got Away is a very mixed bag. There were a couple tunes that were quite enjoyable and some that didn't resonate with me. Overall, an enjoyable if somewhat uneven listen.
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Janis Joplin, Patti Smith, and Ann Wilson. These are some of the most prolific, soulful female singers who got backed by an often-undervalued band that would provide the sweet progressions they would sing over. While not currently on the same level as the formerly mentioned artists Phlecia Sullivan certainly has a lot of promise. On the recent release Golden Days by Year Of October she sings confidently in a blues - a bit country-inspired way - that exudes power and control. Josh Sullivan (bass, guitars) and Greg Diamanti (drums) provide the music, which is a mix of blues, country and rock. This music could have been played fifty years ago and people would have dug it. The basic sound, chord progressions and overall feels rather timeless in 2014. The analog crunchy guitar tone Jack White brought to the mainstream again is present as is a basic bare bones approach to music. Golden Days is a pretty solid effort from top to bottom. Not every song hit me in a visceral way but for the most part the quality of the songwriting is consistent. The opener “Golden Days” is a certified blues- inspired rock song that showcases Sullivan’s vocal range. I especially enjoyed the subtle moments where it was just bass, drums and vocals. “You Were Mine” is written somewhere along the Appalachian hills and prairies in the flatlands. The music combines elements of The Animals and Johnny Cash, Not bad my friend, not bad. One of the finest songs on the album was the acoustic based “Kentucky.” Sullivan sounds especially good on this. Her voice sounded warm against the acoustic and she sings with heartfelt conviction that contains moments of beauty. Overall, there was some very notable material here. I wish the quality was a bit better at times such as when they introduce heavily distorted guitars but it’s not a huge gripe. Golden Days delivers so give it a spin. Potomac, MD band Wabbit consists of the trio Severn Henry, David Ludwig and Craig Messenger. Henry plays the guitar and sings vocals, Ludwig plays the bass and also sings and Messenger plays the drums. Wabbit formed in 2006; since forming they've performed at such venues as 9:30 club. Wabbit's instrumental playing and catchy lyrics create a force of energy that's hard to forget. Wabbit follows a definite pop rock path, with songs that sound similar to bands such as Simple Plan, Yellowcard, Green Day, The Pixies and Blink 182. Some themes on Wabbit's album Chasing Tail are revenge, love, regret and letting go. Chasing Tail may be full of angst but it isn't a cookie cutter album about teen lust, sung to rainbow pop beats, but one that explores the deepest human struggles. The album's complex lyrics, challenging instrumental arrangements and creative concepts gives it loads of character and charm. All the tracks on Chasing Tail are highly calculated with their poetic lyrics and layers-upon-layers of instrumental depth. "Gun" opens the album with a bang. The fast beats and emotionally driven lyrics show the elaborate ideologies infused into Chasing Tail. "No Reservations" continues to show the band’s wise perspective by playing off the double meaning of reservation: formal reservation (such as a hotel reservation) and reservations about choices. Somehow "No Reservations" seems free and tightly sewed at the same time. "Without a Trace" is the catchiest song on Chasing Tail. "Confession" displays a different side to Wabbit. It shows that they can do a slow ballad just as well as their hard rock songs. It has a dreamy quality to it. "Give it a Go" works as a goodbye song and a live life to the fullest anthem. It acts as a direct call to action to the listeners. "Intergalactic Disco" also has a similar anthem theme, but about letting go of reservations and going towards your deepest desires. The musical influences on Chasing Tail are easy to identify, but Wabbit has their own voice and passion that radiates in every track. Wabbit combines youthful freedom and skilled finesse in Chasing Tail. In 2012 Hydrogen Skyline, a Colorado Springs based band, formed. In their short band life, they've accomplished some major successes. In 2013 they won the "Best of the Springs" award. Hydrogen Skyline also has already played with such bands as Civil Twilight, Atlas Genius, and Abney Park. The band has been compared to Paramore, Metric and No Doubt, but their unique musical angles make them a hard band to box, which is a good thing. Hydrogen Skyline's sound is almost indefinable with roots in rock, pop, electronic, punk and indie. Their sound falls closest to the alternative rock genre. Hydrogen Skyline's musical arrangement blends soundscapes, instruments and vocals. Their recent EP Only Shy Deer King explores six tales of human complexities. It shows how relationships alter and define someone's soul, for better or worse. Three songs on the Only Shy Deer King really capture the essence of Hydrogen Skyline's sound, style and story. The band's mission statement comes across in their "They Say" track. Hydrogen Skyline is not about how you define them, but how they define themselves. Lyrically and instrumentally, it shows that the band refuses to fit into any tradition. It's a high energy, in your face track. This is mainly due to the guitar choices and vocals. "The Leaving" gives a softer side of Hydrogen Skyline. It's a tale of loss, longing and love with dark-nature imagery. It's the most theatrical song on Only Shy Deer King. The vocals on "The Leaving" really capture the lyric's passion and pain. It's chill inducing. "Paradise" takes on a mystic sound with its effects (e.g. soundscapes, layering, fast vocals, etc.). "Paradise" shows one of the continuous themes in the tracks on Only Shy Deer King: titles that have more complicated message and meaning than they seem. "Paradise" is about holding on to an idea of something perfect by fighting the reality of it. Hydrogen Skyline's Only Shy Deer King gives a majestic perspective on people's desires and fears. The band may be an indie-rock band, but they explore the deeper traditions of musical sounds and genres. Only Shy Deer King is a very engrossing album. It wasn’t too long ago that we reviewed Castles by Young Adult and they have already released a new four-song EP entitled Genevieve. If you aren’t familiar with their work the three-piece makes certifiable indie rock that lies somewhere in between Real Estate and Death Cab for Cutie. The guitars are clean with a decent amount of reverb while the bass and drum often feel removed. That’s a good thing in my opinion as the bass rarely just follows the root notes. Cody Gray is the vocalist/bassist and has an inoffensive almost comforting tone to his voice. It works great within the context of the music and is a pleasure to listen to. The EP kicks off with “Good Morning,” which is a great choice for an opener because of the overall feel and structure. You hear a bright guitar and what sounds like the sustain of an organ before a formidably fast bass line enters into the equation, which signifies a shift in momentum right before the drums kick in with a wonderful guitar line. They establish an upbeat energy that surges through your body. Gray paints a picture with a narrative. He sings, “When you left my bed / To get to work by 8am / I smelled your coffee breath / And breathed you in / When your shift is finally through I'll be coming home to you / With D-grade films and Chinese food.” It sucks that his girl has coffee breath and he breathed it in but hey we’re all human, right. “I Was A Tourist” has no build up and goes right into the three guys banging out a solid riff together. A solid song all around, although his vocals were a bit too low in the mix at times. The highlight for me was “Drag.” I thought Gray delivered his best vocal performance here and it definitely got stuck in my head. He almost sounded like Morrissey at points when he sings, “It took all that I had / To leave the best last week / And get out of my head.” They close with the most rocking song on the album entitled “Widow.” They blast through a couple of riffs where the guitars have a bit more crunch than we’re used to. This is another very solid effort from Young Adult. Fans of Wild Nothing, Real Estate and Death Cab For Cutie will thoroughly enjoy this. Youngbok Gomez is a solo artist located in Los Angeles. Before we go any further I want to point out that he was found by producers and chosen to compete in the singing competition show "The Voice." After listening to his album Love Was a Dream he does have that kind of commercially viable male voice you hear on the radio. You’ll know what I mean when you hear it. In the end “The Voice” only promotes one type of voice so Youngbok Gomez should be happy not to be further associated with it. I have to give kudos for making a slick sound album in terms of production. He recorded the album in his own apartment and said “it is not perfect and may not sound exactly like something on the radio.” I have to agree with him. I think it comes pretty close considering his minimal gear. His voice sounds great as does pretty much everything else. If he doesn’t become a musician who can pay his mortgage I suggest he consider a career in audio engineering. The music lies somewhere between overly enthusiastic, optimistic, commercial acoustic pop and slightly experimental folk music. There were a number of times I thought to myself this the type of music I would hear on a car commercial and other times was downright impressed. The first track “Breathless Winter” is an impressive one. He combines his acoustic guitar, electric percussion and what sounds like a wind instrument (could have been a synth). The singing style worked for me here and didn't have the ubiquitous male pop inflection you sometimes hear on this album. The highlight is hands down “The Black Mirror.” The song pops and his voice has some swagger this time. Gomez implements some dynamic percussive elements, which benefitted the song. Youngbok Gomez might have a little bit of thinking to do. His music at this time points toward commercial acoustic pop but I heard some moments where pitchfork approved hipsters might take notice. Most likely the man will not be able to catch both audiences so I suggest either going full on and sounding similar to an American Idol contestant winner or picking up Surfa Rosa by The Pixies. Become A Fan I for one enjoy stories, especially stories about dogs. The band Maybe Dynamite that mixes post-hardcore, math and punk rock formed in early 2014 and just came out with their first effort entitled The Bobby EP, which revolves around the story of a dog. In their own words it’s “the story of one dog's journey through love, loss, longing and a spiritual awakening.” There are a couple of minor issues with the EP so let’s talk about those first. First off if you are telling me a story about a dog I want to understand what you are saying. I strongly recommend that they add the lyrics on their Bandcamp page. In addition to that I noticed there were some issues with the dynamics of the vocals. I don’t think it’s always necessarily good to slam vocals with Chris Lord Alge style compression but with this type of music and a necessity to hear the lyrics I think it would have benefited. All this being said this is a DIY effort and overall sounds better than most. Musically, I really enjoyed the technically proficient and creative aspects of the instrumentation. The guitars have some crazy good moments that lie somewhere between Blood Brothers and Pretty Girls Make Graves. There were a number of times where I had to turn back the clock and listen to a five-second segment again. Take for example the opener “Charlie Daniels Is God.” The band creates a loose canvas of guitar scales, ambient noises and drums for the female vocalist to sing over. I was really appreciating the jazzy groove they introduce on “Amber Herd” as well as the hardcore breakdown they bust into not too much later. There is definitely some engaging, original aspects of the music I was beginning to hear. The centerpiece of the album is the seven-plus-minute “Bobby.” They implement some downright funky, vertical bass and guitar lines on this track. The band goes through a copious amount of changes eventually landing on their feet. Overall, The Bobby EP is a strong first effort that displays a couple of talented musicians. They still have some tweaking to do and I can tell they are still feeling things out. At this point they seem to be on the right track. Become A Fan Ethan Weitz is a twenty-one-year-old solo artist from Virginia who is currently studying music in college. One of the most obvious things someone who is studying music would want to do is record their own music and that is precisely what Weitz did. He released a five-song album entitled Carolina that he recorded, mixed and mastered himself. He recorded it in his basement with one mic and it sounds about how you would expect. There are numerous production issues I won’t get into but the songs do give a somewhat decent representation of his capabilities. After listening to Carolina it’s obvious that Weitz has some innate talent when it comes to technical ability on the piano. He also a decent voice and some songwriting chops. That being said Weitz is young man whom in my opinion probably hasn’t tapped into his potential yet. You can almost sense it in the songs and can tell by the inspired fleeting moments. The songs on Carolina are soft, light and covered in a good amount of melancholy. At his best Weitz has some slight comparisons to Sufjan Stevens. You hear this on the song “Lonely Eyes,†which are revolves a lightly picked acoustic guitar and strategically placed notes on piano. Weitz’s lyrics are poetic and thought provoking. He delivers them in a hushed tone as he sings, “Lonely eyes, and the trees are singing Gloria, and my ears are ringing So let's raise a glass to America Land of hope, where the lost look up.†One of the highlights for me was â€Outlaw,†which is the most upbeat Weitz gets. The vibe is somber and festive at the same time if that makes sense. The bass line walks across the fret board as the drum provides a steady, even beat. Overall, the style fits Weitz and I could see him getting into more straight up bluegrass in the future. Not everything works on Carolina but at this point the good outweighs the bad. It is obvious music is an important aspect of his life and the trajectory he is on points at better things to come. Last year Miss Elm released Idle Away and it was a respectable offering from the band. Erin Harrington had an attractive lead vocal and the song worked well together. Idle Away was a solid intro but their recent release Hybrid is in every way a step up. The songs feel more open, the writing is better and there are more engaging arrangements. I could go on. The songs on Hybrid are ultimately pop songs that contain a lot of upbeat energy. The diverse and unique instrumentation is a very welcome aspect of the music. Take for example the first track “Bitter,” which combines a copious amount of tones and frequencies in a kinetic concoction of sounds. The track has a lot of energy regardless of the lead vocals but Harrington breaks it to the next level. Her delivery is like a shot of adrenaline. She sings with passion and emotion. You can tell she is excited to sing what she does. “Facebook Never Lies” the second song is another great track and again demonstrates a unique combination of instrumentation that works very well. Harrington belts it out when she sings the song. The energy is taken down and points to a hint of melancholy on “Invisible Line. Harrington sort of sounds like Fiona Apple on this track. That’s a good thing. Her voice is very soulful and full of emotion. “Puzzle Pieces” is pure bubblegum pop. The song bursts with undeniable energy that will bring you out of your chair. I especially enjoyed the background vocals and the bass line, which is wicked funky. The album closes with arguably the highlight on the album. It leaves a little more space than other songs to really hear the vocal front and center. A steady kick thumps as strings create a delicate, pretty melody for Harrington to sing against. As the song progress more instrumentation and intensity is added. It climaxes and releases ending the album. Miss Elm hit it out of the park with this album and are certainly on to something. Take a listen and spread this around. Become A Fan The upcoming release Latter Day Sinner by Matt McGinn is the type of album that hits you emotionally whether you want it to or not. As I was listening to the album in its entirety I won’t deny there were a couple of moments that the music made my eyes well up. McGinn makes wonderful open acoustic based songs that blend folk, Americana and pop music. The most obvious comparison to me is The Frames. McGinn and Glen Hansard both successfully blend melancholy in their music that feels heartfelt, warm and provides a sense a solace. Ultimately, that is why Latter Day Sinner is such enjoyable album. Albums with a fair amount of melancholy aren't supposed to leave you with a feeling of sadness. They should instill a sense of empathy and sense of comfort and that’s exactly what this album does. It doesn't hurt that the songs are beautifully captured. The recording quality is unequivocally top notch and only adds to the emotional weight of the songs. Latter Day Sinner is a great album that you can listen to from the start and not skip a track. There wasn’t a song that gave me the urge to get to the next. That being said there were a couple of songs that were noteworthy. “I'm not Looking Down Anymore (feat. Madeleine Slate)” is a gorgeous song that features commendable vocal performances by both McGinn and Slate. When they combine vocals it sounds fantastic. Musically, it feels so open; a piano, organ and acoustic dance together creating a great sounding combination of tones and nuances. Another highlight was “Darkest Before The Day,” which revolves around orchestral strings, piano and guitar. The song ends with a feeling of triumph and rebirth and leaves you feeling rejuvenated. One of the most melancholy but most beautiful songs is “You Have Dreams.” The song is sparse as the instrumentation only comes in when it needs to and leaving so much space for the poignant lyrics to come through. This is a certified tearjerker. There were a number of other songs that were highlights but I don’t have enough space on this page to go into detail. You should know all you need to. This is essential listening material. McGinn has created a beautiful sounding album that you won’t want to miss. |
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