I've said it before and I'll say it again, the Portland, Oregon music scene has its own signature flavor. Palace White has released Amplify which is an epic romp through organic sounds and soulful, alternative rock. When I say epic, I mean infinite layers of orchestral instruments like flute, contrabass, trumpet, viola, piano, violin and even trombone. You are given the undeniably charming vocals of Scott Deans which are complemented by the lovely pipes of harmony vocalist Aliina Champion. The album is a lush forest with a carefully balanced ecosystem where everything feeds off of everything in perfect harmony.
There are certain key characteristics that every one of the tracks possess. To start, I cannot stress enough how gorgeous Deans' voice is; it is diverse, full bodied and so distinctive that I feel I could pick him out of a crowd despite just being introduced to him. Every track has exquisite guitar work, every, single, one. Guitar is provided by three different talents which are Scott Deans, Patrick Curtain and Wil Koehnke. They utilize several different types of guitars but there is a consistent level of quality and understanding that ties all the songs together. I would like to give a special mention to Christopher Worth who provided the acoustic guitar work for "Stolen" because that song happens to be my favorite song and his contribution was fantastic. Another element that makes this album so successful for me is the lyrics. There is a lot of raw, unashamed emotion showcased in the songs. Deans leads the way writing most of the songs, however there are a slew of other contributors from the group who assisted with several tracks. Each song has a rich narrative and expertly defined mood. Some songs rely heavily on abstract concepts, and some get very literal, but my favorite is when they manage to blend the two. There is a moment where they experiment with a traditional Americana sound, a good example would be "Hard on a Man." I was not wild about this experimentation. I felt it deviated too far from the funky and cool aesthetic. However there was still no doubt that the lyrics were impressive and held a lot of weight. When you have so many contributors and layers, it is so easy to lose key elements, and unintentionally bury certain talents. Luckily Palace White is backed by a sensational production team. The entire recording and mastering process was kept local in Portland. The album was recorded at Hallowed Halls Studio and mastered by Cloud City Sound. There is so much to digest in the music, but thanks to the high level quality of production, it is never overwhelming. You get to enjoy the slow building crescendos without a care in the world. Everything comes easily to the listener and that has a lot to do with audio finishes applied. Amplify is an absolutely wonderful musical experience and a commendable collaboration involving so many contributors. This group has the potential to cast a wide net as far as who their audience could be. I want to congratulate Palace White on what they were able to achieve with this album and I hope to get more in the future.
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Blank Agenda is a rock band out of Louisville, KY, debuting with See the People EP. Drawing on the tradition of southern rock as well as the indie garage revival, the group is fortunately able to capture the good qualities of both— the brutish playing styles and in-the-room production of the latter, along with the loose compositional feel and attitude of the former. Across four tracks, See the People has a wide spread of moods, but doesn’t much offer an obvious blueprint for the band’s songwriting or stylistic inclination. Still, the record demonstrates the group’s complementary inspirations through tightly performed tunes. “Twisted Mannequin” opens the record with a somewhat political bent, taking a few shots at the universally reviled POTUS in a dissonant classic-rook cooker. The fat guitar chords and crossover drum grooves have a propulsive quality that elevates the track, though there are points at which the band seems thin. The disaffected lead vocal, in particular, has a very dry production sound that struggles against the overdriven guitars, though the occasional echo is tastefully done. The overall effect is there, however, and the punchy vibe is no doubt why the group chose this track as the project’s opening statement. “The Ballad of Johnny Bryce Quinn” swings the group in a more country-like direction, telling a drifter’s tale with a slow beat. The layered vocals on here could once again use a touch more reverb, but they sit nicely on the dynamic country groove. As the longest song on See the People at nearly six minutes, the track variously moves from dreamy to murderous, but is most successful when looser—the chugging conclusion doesn’t suit the group as well as the jammier elements. That said, the inclination to shake things up helps keep a long one from getting stale, and the band has a knack for that in the songwriting. “Fly” introduces some shimmering guitar to the mix, and upends the stylistic template for something that almost sounds like revivalist emo. Though it’s an abrupt change, the sound works, and the more effected vocals and guitars give the production a better sense of space. The solo is a bit anticlimactic, but on a track like this it’s probably a better decision to keep things tasteful. “Fly” made me wonder exactly what the ‘target’ genre for Blank Agenda is, as it’s further afield than the other tracks. The direction was worth pursuing here. “Working Man” has a mordant sound, putting an anxious vocal atop a burly minor-key shuffle. It’s a good note to end on after quite a bit of slower material, and caps off the impression I get of the band—a bundle of good sensibilities looking for the right outlet. The group’s not quite gotten the whole picture painted with See the People, but Blank Agenda has a few promising paths to follow.
Spidersweave is a hard rock band from South Africa. After knowing each other for over ten years, they formed a band and recorded their first self-titled EP Spidersweave. It was recorded garage band style, with all the instrumentals being done together and the vocals recorded separately. There’s definitely a raw quality about it because of that method, but it also sounds deliberate and complete. Their sound reminded me a little of Queens of the Stoneage with a lot of intense in-your-face rock n’ roll mixed with stylistic layers and dimension.
The first track “Scorch the Stars” instantly struck me with its cool old-school electric guitar and intense vibes. The lead vocals are piercing and smooth with a nice rasp to them. I enjoyed the heavy drums and bass giving the sound a textured feel. The second track “Proxy” was my favorite of the EP with a full-bodied sound and lots of stylistic twists and turns. There were parts that even had a little funk to them which was a nice little surprise. The third track “Sorcery” was probably my least favorite. The constant guitar strumming in the background had a clang-y sound to it that I found distracting. The melodies and transitions just sounded off. The EP redeemed itself with the last title track “Spidersweave” which was slow and building with dramatic drums and base. The name of the track, and the band name for that matter, is so fitting. Spiderweave slowly weaves layer and layer of vibrant sound to create an intricate tapestry of sound that definitely stands out. Spidersweave was a well-done EP. Every track has a dark edge and originality that makes the band stand out from the rest. I love the details in each track; nothing sounded incomplete or unfinished. I didn’t love every track, but I enjoyed them all together. Spidersweave is definitely a group of talented musicians that have a lot to give musically. I definitely look forward to future work.
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Chris Grant is a musician out of Wisbech in Cambridgeshire, England, making his debut with the nine-track album Lost Soul. Self-recorded in Reaper, the record manages to come across with a fairly live feel, due in no small part to Grant’s history as a cover musician. Though he describes it as “post-folk,” which doesn’t mean all that much to me, Lost Soul has definite elements of ‘80s alternative, particularly in the interplay between the rich live instrument sound and the rather sterile computer-generated drums.
“Poison Ivy” starts off the record with a Nick Cave-like spoken verse over a snappy instrumental. It’s an intense way to start things off, and Grant never really matches the force of it on the rest of the album, making it seem an odd choice to place first. Despite its atmospheric distinction, the track does introduce most of the common elements on Lost Soul—tightly-produced and performed guitars, layers of falsetto backing vocals and a rich lower-pitched lead vocal. Things settle down a bit on “Roll the Dice,” a bouncier pop song clearly drawing on Lou Reed’s “Walk on the Wild Side.” This is one spot where the precision of the performances might actually detract from the effect of the song— a little looseness may have helped the track groove and avoid some library-music moments. That said, the song works pretty well, and the vocal really sells it—it’s hard to approach Reed’s style without seeming like a terrible imitator, but Grant rises to the challenge. The lead vocals are perhaps the most important factor in Lost Soul’s success. Though he’s not without the occasional misstep, Grant’s voice manages to seem both singular and chameleonic. There’s shades of Damon Albarn and Pete Doherty on “Don’t Repeat the Past,” a bit of Chris Martin on “Into Pieces,” and even a Joe Strummer grit on the louder sections of “Eternal Life.” This versatility keeps the relatively static instrumental production from becoming too evident across the record, and emphasizes Grant’s strengths as a solo musician. Some moments don’t quite land with the same impact. “Louis Cypher” uses a dirty electric guitar under a somber, occasionally sneering vocal, but the washes of reverb keep the pieces from fitting together easily. It immediately precedes “Papillon,” a pleasant but severely repetitive folk ballad, making Lost Soul slip at the three-quarter mark. The title track rounds out the album. “Lost Soul” is a somewhat brief instrumental of ethereal guitar. Here the effects are crisp, with a deep reverb and sprightly echo on an overdriven guitar sound, somewhat muted by the fingerpicking style. It’s a nice way to let the album down gently, and Lost Soul works best when it stays understated, as it does here. Ultimately, Grant has delivered an enjoyable, if imperfect, record, doing so largely by playing to his own strengths as a writer and performer.
Gareth Wood is a solo artist who recently released a nine-song album entitled Juvenilia. There are nine very eclectic songs. I had a lot of trouble getting a handle on what vibe Wood was going after because some of them felt very distinct from each other. I felt there was a mixed batch of tunes with some songs resonating with me a lot more than others.
He opens with “Bring Me Home (Homesick)” which is one of the songs that stuck out to me right away. It’s has an atmospheric feel to it and could draw some comparisons to a song like “Everything in Its Right Place” by Radiohead. The song felt fluid and didn’t drag. The atmospheric, warm vibe of the first track is almost completely obliterated by the second track “Easy Being Me” which revolves around mid-range-y guitar tones. His vocals sound natural here and he sounds great. Tame Impala came to mind. Two for two in my book. “Fuzzy Logic” is where I starting to doubt the production decisions. The auto-tune type effect on the vocals on the first run through sounded too distinct. I warmed up to it but still I would have preferred a more natural performance against the angelic background. He goes a more traditional route on the delightful “Sunday Morning” which has some of the best melodies on the album. The biggest misstep on the album felt like “All I Feel.” I didn't like the drum sound and felt the song was repetitive and didn't need the almost five-minute runtime. The next two songs “Talk On” and “Duende” sound like completely different artists. “Talk On” is sweet, heartfelt and a well delivered guitar tune while ““Duende” is an new age-y sounding electronic composition. Wood goes into slightly experimental territory with “Paper Planes.” He closes with my favorite song on the album entitled “No Ordinary You.” The thing Wood has to work on going forward is making an album sound cohesive. Tones, textures and aesthetics need to be sewn into the cloth of an album all the way through. That’s something a great album has whether it's Kid A by Radiohead or Discovery by Daft Punk. I preferred the guitar driven material with the more natural sounding vocals. If he is going to go the more electronic path he has a bit of work to do to be able to compete with similar sounding artists like Fennesz and Four Tet. I feel like he should consider working with a producer to help zero in on a sound and really harness his talent. He has a ton of it. Overall, Juvenilia has a hodgepodge of songs that are more enjoyable if you approach it as a mixtape. I’m looking forward to where he goes from here.
Phil J Parr is musician from the UK who recently released his third album entitled Tunnel Visions. It’s a complete DIY instrumental album that revolves around guitar and has overt influences from the ’70s and to a lesser extent the ’80s.
The album starts off with “Awakenings” which creates an ominous, haunting feel and is a distinct highlight. Perhaps a darker Pink Floyd vibe. The song has a unique structure compared to some of the other songs. I liked the chaotic eruption that happens. I can’t say I was a big fan of the programmed drum sound that opens “Barebone.” The song is a little more familiar in mood and style. There is a lot of distortion that rings out and plenty of guitar solos. This song felt more Joe Satriani than Pink Floyd as do other songs such as “Exhale” which embraces an ’80s lead guitar tone. Some of the standouts were the more subtle pieces such as the short and effective “Siempre” or the forward moving title track. A highlight was “Infinite” where he utilizes modulation effects like phase to create a psychedelic atmosphere. It’s a fact that this type of music rose in popularity in the early ’90s with Joe Satriani, Stevie Vai and many others. The genre isn’t very popular these days, in fact it never was. When was the last time you heard a twenty-two-year-old talk up Yngwie Malmsteen. It’s niche. My point is that this album is going to resonant with fans of the genre but won't convert anyone who wasn’t a fan of instrumental lead guitar to begin with.
You may have read our critique last July of Tangerine Screams by The Everett Interpretation. It’s a great album that I highly suggest you check out. One of the members Peter Campanelli released Are you ever even there? which seems to embrace the way people used to listen to records. There are two sides that combine into a little over thirty minutes of sound.
Now there is a major difference between Tangerine Screams and Are you ever even there? - the audio fidelity. Tangerine Screams sounds like it is professionally recorded and produced and unfortunately Are you ever even there? does not have the same standards which was the hardest thing for me to get past at points (mostly the drums). I found myself frustrated at times because there is some quality guitar playing and more but that recording quality was about on par with a rehearsal tape on certain sections that a band might record during a practice session. As far as the music goes there was a lot to be impressed by but most of it was the guitar playing. He has a unique jazzy style that I found very engaging. There is a lot of technical skill involved as well which was easy to appreciate. “"Goodness Knows, Peter Shows" (SIDE A)” is a little over sixteen-minutes long. There is a more mellow Tame Impala type vibe around the three-minute mark. The transitions are seamless as the extended piece moves forward. Around the ten-minute mark I was really diggin the elevator music jam sessions as well as the vocals. It’s start to get weird in a good way. "H2O2" (SIDE B) contains a lot of noodling for a lack of a better word. It feels improvised with a lot of space. Free jazz in the way of a group like The Chicago Art Ensemble comes to mind. Don’t expect any hooks. Despite some of my issues with the audio fidelity it works more to his advantage on the second half of the recording. I really like where Campanelli‘s head is at. He thinks outside of the box and latches on to some great ideas. The album grew on me with multiple listens. Campanelli has a good amount of talent. Take a listen to this and his other projects as well.
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Bright Fuschia is the project for eighteen-year-old Geoff Schmeizer. He released an EP entitled 3 songs. About twenty years ago I was in a very similar situation to Schmeizer. Like him I was living in the northern suburbs of Chicago and about to move to Urbana which is a great college town.
While I was in Urbana I was attending a lot of open mics and that’s was Schmeizer's EP reminded me of. The EP consists of just Schmeizer and his guitar and he sort of plays songs that sounded like some something you would hear at one on the these open mics. The production and recording quality is a fairly standard lo-fi in a bedroom with garageband and a hundred dollar interface type of sound. I can't say the recording sounds close to a professional recording but at the very least it is a good sounding demo that builds a foundation for him. Schmeizer opens with a straightforward singer/songwriter type tune. He strums basic chords and sings and that's really about it. There’s nothing wrong with that because a song can be all about the delivery. I’m not going to say Schmeizer had a voice that really got my attention. It also wasn't something I disliked either. It sort of reminded me of a dude I would appreciate at an open mic. Up next is “The Bird” which was the highlight mainly due to the jazzy guitar. He shows off his technical muscles a little more and I thought the vocal melody was engaging as well. I felt this was the style where he really shined and I would like to hear more of it in the future. He closes with “Inferior” which felt a little more standard and familiar. There was some interesting guitar playing but the vocals didn’t hit as strong for me. Schmeizer is a talented guy. I think guitar and songwriting were his strong points while the vocals felt like a distant third. Either way being as young as he is, he still has a lot of time to perfect his craft. I think Schmeizer is off to a solid start but it fits into a case of wait and see.
Bjorn Olaf is a Minneapolis-based singer/songwriter and electric guitarist. Mark Your Time is his sophomore album, trading his debut’s folksy approach for a full-band indie rock feel. Bringing his live band, Cole Benson and Tim Leick, into the studio with MN luminary Kris Johnson, Olaf puts his knotty arrangements against an unadorned guitar-rock backdrop.
Olaf’s influences seem broad; his baritone most clearly evokes early ‘00s musicians with that vocal range, like Matt Berninger of the National or Paul Banks of Interpol, while the instrumentals drift between Incubus-style rock grooves and indie-pop chime. Despite this, the record leaves its core sound only rarely. Springy guitar lines lead into chugging choruses, often in a swaying 6/8 time signature. The emotional context is instead the source of the album’s variety from hopeful moments such as “Sky Grows Old” to the funerary vibe of “Hell or Highwater.” These distinctions in mood keep the record from getting too repetitive, and allow Olaf to showcase some of the more nuanced elements of his songwriting. The standout track here for me was “Labyrinth,” a drumless track led mostly by a tapped melodic guitar line. Alternating between the lead guitar and the vocal, and then opening up a cavernous reverb at its climax, “Labyrinth” is haunting with Benson’s bass line keeping the track from careening off into space. This is the spot where Olaf reaches furthest out of the comfort zone and the risk paid off. “Pen to Pad” is also a great track with urgent drums and bass underpinning a light guitar riff and droning vocals. The insistence of the rhythm and Olaf’s slowly rising vocal lines create lots of tension that pays off in a conclusion of heavier guitars. The slow burn suits Olaf’s tendency to write long vocal passages, and helps propel Mark Your Time past its opening. Other spots on the record were not as inspiring. A few tracks have vocal performances that seem haphazard; on “Stranger” and “Rain,” Olaf seems to wander aimlessly from the melody, detracting from the impact of the songs immensely. Some denser arrangements may have also helped fill out thinner parts of the record as well— opener “Keep It Clean,” for instance, is begging for some more textures, while “Sky Grows Old” is a good example of what he could be doing with more vocal harmonies and background parts. Ultimately, though, these quibbles don’t overwhelm Olaf’s ability to write pleasant, occasionally dreamy, tunes. Mark Your Time more than anything represents his development as a songwriter and his potential in a more rock-centric style. For fans of straightforward indie rock, there are enough moments of brilliance to keep them coming back.
I am completely struck by the curious experimental rock album finders:keepers from solo musician clearly. There is a revolutionary deconstructed sound to all of these grungy, unpredictable songs that conveys deep emotion. All the sensations and experiences communicated are broken down to basic elements and then built into fully structured pieces. It's as though the songs tear themselves open and do exploratory surgery. It's incredibly fascinating and makes for an engaging listen. You'll get a healthy dose of grunge, indie rock and it even gets a little dream poppish. It can go from laid back with sand between your toes to a hole in the wall music venue in the wee hours of the morning. It's hard to explain but I assure you this combination is solid.
According to clearly every song started as a guitar part and then the real experimentation begins. Everything from time signatures, to instruments and even audio speed and production are fair game. The production left a very rough polish on the album but it makes sense and works to the music's advantage. The album starts off on a strong note with "Ticks." This is such a fabulous introduction and it seduced me almost instantly with an innocent, indie rock sounding guitar riff that comes off as very existential. I had no idea what I was in for and it just kept delivering enjoyable sounds. Right at the end it kicks into a heavy rock pace that goes fast and gets dark. This twist on the end really sold the songs for me. It was a welcomed surprise. "Eli" is positively beautiful, like old dusty lace in an attic. The song is dank and somber and even a little seedy but there is also a sweetness tucked into the seams. The time signature is very cylindrical and sounds like a grunge waltz. Right behind this is "finder:keepers" and this one is mostly instrumental. However there is a complete story told in the sophisticated movements that really spoke to me. There was a great sense of sentimentality with the track "Enid." The lyrics are some of the most powerful for me on the whole album. To finish things off there's "Unseen," which is an understated tune that goes back to an indie rock sound that is bittersweet and hopeful. This album is such a surprise and I cannot stress enough how distinctly unique it is. While this is not a flashy album, it's very brazen with its lack of inhibition when it comes to exposing its vulnerability. I think if you're an open minded grunge fan or just someone who is afraid to explore the more experimental sections of the indie, alt-rock and grunge genres you should give it a go. The album is also an excellent find for anyone who enjoys music that activates an introspective nature in the listener. There is so much depth and exploration that I feel it would work wonders for anyone trying to get out of their own head.
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