Christian music can get a bad wrap. The first thing I usually think about when people mention Christian music is bad rock music. I immediately think about four guys trying to rock in epic ways but who just end up sounding overly pretentious and way over the top. Flight_Mode is a six-piece band from the UK comprised of Lara Adams (vocals, acoustic guitar and piano), Taylor Adams (vocals and acoustic guitar), Jordan Lowe (drums and percussion), Ryan Lowe (lead guitar), Chris Malone (keyboards) and Ben Scott (guitar, banjo, vocals and egg shakers). From the picture on their website they look as if they might not even be out of high school yet. Fortunately, they make music that sounds well beyond their years. I think the hardest aspect of liking Christian music when you're not a Christian is that it can be preachy. Artists like Sufjan Stevens have succeeded in reaching a diverse audience because he is a great storyteller. Lyrically Flight_Mode feels anything but preachy and in fact a lot of the lyrics on their EP Fireflies have nothing to do with Jesus. Take for example the first song “Fireflies.” Adams sings “We'll dance a foreign dance / We'll sing of a lost romance / The night sky fills with light / We are broken, but we will ignite/ Burning bright.” Musically, the songs sounds soft and omits warm shades of nostalgic and melancholy. Adams certainly has an attractive voice that will sound good no matter what type of song she is singing. “Made To Fall” is a bit more upbeat than the first track and contains a rich variety of instrumentation including banjo, guitars and piano. It is a fine song that was well written and feels easy going down. Towards the end there is some impressive string work you won’t want to miss. There is a slight chance “Dance” might make you shed a tear while the closer “King” is only a little over a minute long piano ballad Overall, the EP goes by quick but has some emotional weight. Take a listen and if you enjoy the music support it because the money is going to a good cause (More info at their website).
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The shortcoming of many singer-songwriters is that they put feeling before content; that is to say they focus so much on the feelings they're trying to convey that they forget to give the music itself life. This results in the dreadful acoustic guitar-playing mopester who ruins every open mic he can, an image I'm sure we all carry around in our heads. Marissa Lauren is an interesting case. If you're the sort of person who gives a great amount of attention on lyrical content, you'll quickly see that the five tracks of Coming Undone are built around struggle. Lauren puts herself in a continuous battle, at times stuck herself, other times fighting for someone else, always needing to rescue or be rescued. And there's nothing wrong with that: I'm sure anyone reading this can name three acts off the top of their head who have defined their careers with such themes and motifs. However, Lauren is smart enough to remember that the package is just as important as what is inside and has constructed colorful backdrops for her songs. “Hold Over Me” is a prime example of how she does this. She times her vocal harmonies strategically (at the chorus, naturally, but also during brief phases throughout, reinforcing key moments for emphasis). A recurring “whoa-oh-oh” gives what sounds like a Latin-influenced tune (thanks in part to use of a cajón for rhythm) a strong pop foundation. So while Lauren finds herself “like a puppet,” back-and-forth as someone pulls on her heartstrings, you find yourself infected by the hooks of the music, if not singing along. Lauren's voice falls pretty close to that of Regina Spektor and this comparison will inevitably be strengthened by “One Day.” One of the EP's more minimal pieces, Lauren sings what is essentially a torch song against a bouncing, playful melody comprised of keys and synth. Lauren's writing is pretty direct, based more on concrete imagery than the abstract. So it would only make sense that she's at her strongest when building an entire scene. “Worth Fighting For” puts us in the final fleeting moments before some sort of separation. Senses come into play a lot here: eyes lose focus, a tight, suffocating embrace and a silence that brings “sweet serenity.” The song is almost naked with the only instrument being an ukulele and while that may sound like a strange choice of instrument for the EP's downbeat ending the sparseness of it builds pressure as those last minutes wind down to the conclusion, becoming the most honest and meaningful song of the bunch. I can't pick a particularly weak track from Coming Undone. There are instances where the writing could be tightened up, lines I can't make heads of tails no matter how many times I listen (“Car comes to a stop but I can't let you go/you make me feel chills/though there's no monster to show”—what monster would we expect here, exactly?). But this is ultimately a strong collection. Though described as demos by Lauren Coming Undone features top-notch mixing and mastering, and the usual rough edges of demos are nowhere to be found. Every week we mention a couple of artists that are worth your time to check out that were not featured in our weekly reviews. Artist Album Rating The Wood Burning Savages Boom 3.8 Alluvium Amethyst 3.8 Piranha Pond Piranha Pond 3.7 Silences Sister Snow 3.9 Tenenbaums Tenenbaums 3.6 The Original Sinbad A Collection Of Songs... 3.6 Genevieve Wolff Ready To Go 3.4 Captiva Basement Creations 3.6 David Costanza and Anne Speroni, together with a revolving cast of musicians under the banner Art Of Flying, deal in oppositions: pop/folk + experimentation, archaic and entirely of the moment. Art Of Flying doesn't bother labeling themselves, getting down to the business of writing songs, leaving the naming to the journalistic punters, which keeps them below the musical radar. As the era of genre-identification surpasses its zenith, the time is rife for a new appreciation of Art Of Flying, which the excellent Italian music magazine called "the best-kept secret in American music of the new century." Their album I'm Already Crying fluctuates between song-based pop psychedelia, which brings to mind Syd Barrett-era Pink Floyd, in all its Wind In The Willows-swept pastoral oddity, and atmospheric interludes, utterly gorgeous moments of sparkling guitars and piano minimalism. The mixture prevents the record from being too one-note, preventing the psychedelia from becoming cloying and saccharine but the "songs" make I'm Already Crying tangible, relatable and memorable. I'm Already Crying bears the tag "home recording;” don't let this mislead you! If I had a studio like this in my home, I would leave less often than I already do. The album was recorded in Art Of Flying's The Barn Recorder in Questa, NM, where they were formerly based. The album was recorded onto 2" tape (which is really thick and detailed, in case you didn't know), and mixed through a classic analog pre-amps and a mixing desk that was originally built for Abbey Road! The harmonic distortion of the analog tape rounds off the edges, making them as soft, glowing, and lovely as a Monet landscape. Sentimentality is not the only mood in attendance, however - there's something sinister in the otherworldly metaphors of their lyrics like in the case of "The Jaguar Song" where Costanza sings about a jaguar licking the smile off of his face. I'm sure he means something by that but the imagery is strange and unsettling, inherently plunging the listener into a place of dream logic. Art Of Flying gets major flower points for managing to convey a sense of Southwestern/South American mysticism without being exploitative or cheesy. For the most part, I have no time or patience for white people singing about rain forests. All right, we get it - you had a moving experience of dimethyltryptamine. Tell someone at Burning Man. Instead Art Of Flying manages to capture the burnished bronze atmosphere of the American desert with bits of trumpet and mandolin, such as the case of the previously mentioned "The Jaguar Song.” These elements bring to mind the under-appreciated desert rock of bands like Calexico or Howe Gelb's Giant Sand. So you want labels? How about shamanic madrigal psychedelia? What about Christina Rossetti rock? I'll settle with a one-word descriptor: essential. There is not a bad moment on I'm Already Crying, a shot in the arm for the failing health of modern psychedelia. These guys need to be more well known than they are, so consider yourself informed. Mulholland's Stop & Start Again starts with a cosmic disco and ends with a flurry of violins. The journey from soulful proggery to classicism will take you across nearly every aspect of music from the ‘70s: blurry, bleary synths; Bee Gees vocals; symphonic art rock and working class worn denim rock. Jolyon Mulholland is an accomplished songwriter and sound engineer, born in Christchurch, NZ and recently relocated to Auckland, after a two year stint in NYC playing with famed New Zealand export Liam Finn of Crowded House fame, who speaks glowingly of Mulholland's abilities. Mulholland's production experience is put to good use on Stop & Start Again. Minus the drums, he plays every note of the album's orchestral toy chest himself and his recording chops make sure that every nuance is lovingly captured and placed, creating an incandescent travelogue of a song collection. Much of Stop & Start Again is concerned with transit: the songs are loaded with references to coming and going, and various modes of transport, such as "Loneliness For Free" (an album highlight) and album closer "I Took A Train.” The feeling you are left with is being transplanted behind the eyes of an itinerant musician, watching the world pass by through gritty, bug-stained windshields. While this could be a grim, disaffecting experience, it's actually quite the opposite. Mulholland's rootlessness makes you see your own home through a fresh pair of eyes, as a wanderer might. Much of the material on Stop & Start Again leans towards the '70s AM gold sound quality of Steely Dan or the warped plastic sensation of disco. This sound has resurfaced in the past few years due to the archive dipping of the "hauntological pop" trend in the United States via sonic wackjobs like Ariel Pink or R. Stevie Moore. In case you need a dose of flared trousers and feathered bangs or if you would like some soul on your dance floor but don't care to endure battery acid marching band parades or to wade through 150 records to find those moments of sublimity, Mulholland's your guy. Mulholland's voice is one of the highlights of this record, which varies from the falsetto-like blue-eyed soul of disco's illuminated dance floor and John Lennon's warm and worn world-weary vocals. It really is as if Mulholland has managed to condense the experience of an entire decade into an hour. Stop & Start Again gets better as it goes along, although it's all good, so make sure you don't quit until the miracle happens in the culmination of "Before It All Falls Apart" and "I Took A Train," which are my personal faves. In Jolyon Mulholland, we clearly have a man who's dedicated his life to art and music. Speaking from personal experience, it takes A LONG TIME to get proficient on one instrument let alone 12 of them and recording them expertly to boot. Here, we have an example of excellent song craft with the technical knowhow to give it gull's wings.
Kam Singh’s follow-up to his debut White Noise sounds more polished in a number of ways. The quality on Chasing Shadows sounds a bit better, his vocal delivery has improved and the overall ebb and flow feels more focused. There is no denying that Singh writes simple songs that revolve around basic chord structures and straightforward lyrics but for me it’s all about the delivery. Singh has an aesthetically pleasing voice that is covered in a winning combination of melancholy, nostalgia and hope.
This is evident in the first song and highlight on the album entitled “Chasing Shadows.” The verse revolves around vocals, bass and an acoustic guitar but the hook comes relatively fast when he sings, “I didn’t know you back then cause I was chasing shadows. A sparse piano follows the chords on the guitar introducing an additional layer of melancholy while the light drum work provides some energy to the song. The second song “Stay With Me” while not as poignant as the first is a decent track. Singh’s vocals save the music from sounding too much like a song from Hootie and the Blowfish. It’s that guitar riff. I’m a sucker for teary-eyed love songs and “Long Distance Call” delivers. The song contains a couple of clichés but is hard to resist the melancholy when he delivers the lines “cause I’ll save you again.” “I Love You” is a well-written song but I noticed it sounded boxy and muddy compared to some of the other songs. The bass drum and bass seemed to be occupying the same frequencies, which end up masking his vocals. Singh gets back on track with the closer “4 Letters Long,” which is a sparse song that combines a piano and his vocals. He pours on the melancholy and ends on a rather somber note. Overall, this is a solid release in my book. You won’t encounter a barrage of unconventional jazz chords or a 15/4 time signature but you may enjoy the feelings the songs impose. The first few seconds of the first song off The Lonely Ones by Chris Benton had me worried. You hear a lone guitar that sounds like it was recorded on consumer radio from 1986. It’s evident that the guitar tone is a bit of a farce when it gets trampled by a meaty electric guitar, thick bass and drums. Chris Benton’s debut album The Lonely Ones is a polished, pretty straightforward rock album. The songs have a ubiquitous, commercial appeal that will resonate with fans of top 40 hard rock. Whether you dig the songs on this album or not it’s obvious Benton is a talent when looking at a couple of different factors. You could have told me that a four-piece band was playing on this album and I would have no reason to doubt you. It’s sounds like a live band but the reality is Benton played the guitars, bass, drums and vocals. Benton also sings with conviction. The emotion that runs through his voice isn’t subtle and is one of the most appealing aspects of the album. It's an aesthetically appealing tone that meshes well with the music he plays. The songs were hit and miss for me. Benton’s lyrics sometimes feel simplistic, lacking poetic gymnastics and some of the hooks are predictable and sound too familiar to something you may have heard before. That being said the good outweighs the bad and there were a couple of songs that were notable. “The Golden Rule” was a highlight and I especially enjoyed the verse. The guitar riff had an inventive, jagged stop and start type rhythm that was an enjoyable riff to latch on to. On top of that Benton delivers a solid vocal melody that is quite catchy. Another notable song was “Some Call It Conforming.” Benton loses the distorted guitar and creates an open canvas of instruments letting his vocals breathe. “Running On Fumes” has a bit of sludge metal vibe that contains unique palm muted guitar playing during the verse. Overall, The Lonely Ones isn’t without its flaws but the honest, heartfelt emotion that went into these songs will not go unnoticed. Check it out for yourself and see if it’s your cup of tea. Accidents happen. Some good, some bad. According to Twin Coves their recent four-song EP Tired of Trying was an accident. I’m still not sure how recorded music happens by accident but apparently they were playing songs after a night out at the bar and got inspired. They wanted to write music that symbolized life at the shore (in this case the New Jersey Shore). The EP contains well-constructed indie/rock songs that are carried by the vocals of Christine Dixon. She has a good voice, sounds unapologetically young and with that comes all the feeling of being young when listening to her sing. I have no complaints about the music but ultimately it is there to support her vocals. They start with a catchy, feel good summer song entitled “Tired of Trying.” During the chorus Dixon sounds like an alternate version of Avril Lavigne. Interestingly enough she avoids that vocal range during the remainder of the EP. Overall, it is an energetic song that is infectious anyway you look at it. “You Were Born A Loser, Baby” sounded a more open when it came to production. It starts with a clean electric guitar with vocals. It doesn't take long for a strong drum beat to enter and it adds some girth to the track. The song doesn’t have the same type of instant hook that the first song has but makes up for it in other ways including a respectable guitar solo. They close with “Greased Kiss,” which is a song that sounds like the end of summer for a bunch of kids who had wild nights. No percussion this time around just vocals, guitar and some organ. The song brings a decent dose of reflection and nostalgia. Tired of Trying may be an accident but it is also a pleasure to listen to. Let’s hope we have another accident from the group. Toria Saint James aka Europa Sunset is an artist from Portland, Oregon who recently released an album entitled Messyanic Complex. According to Saint James the music she makes “speaks to her struggles as a transgender woman in modern America.” Saint James’ themes and topics may not be pervasive when looking at the mainstream music but she certainly isn’t the first to explore them. The topic has been explored by David Bowie, Culture Club and most recently Antony Hegarty who is arguably the most popular transgender musician performing today. Regardless of the topic or message music must be impactful in some way for it to penetrate. Fortunately Messyanic Complex succeeds in a number of ways that should capture your attention. Saint James mixes genres such as electronic and classic rock in a tasteful way. The singing is usually powerful, full of emotion and carries the songs. Saint James went complete DIY style when making this album, She recorded mixed and mastered it on her own. From a production standpoint there were a number of issues such as a muddy low end, too much reverb, etc. Overall, it sounded good but is worth noting that these songs will have probably been taken to a different level with better gear and a professional engineer behind the board. The album starts off upbeat with a highlight entitled “Millennial Me,” which contains an infectious melody from both the vocals and the instruments. It’s unapologetically optimistic sounding besides the subdued melancholy that exists in Saint James’ voice. The second track “Baby Don’t Cry” revolves around a hard hitting electronic drum beat, spacey synths and distorted synth bass line. She uses auto tune as effect during the verse and strategically removes it during the a cappella section. Another highlight was “Ill Wind,” which omits soft warm tones and is more restrained (in a good way) than the first two songs. The concoction sounds mighty good towards the end of the song. The cracks in the recording quality makes themselves known in “Simple Girl” while “Pronoun Police” pulls off a respectable punk rock vibe towards the end of the song. Overall, Messyanic Complex is a success but I have to say that the first half felt a lot stronger than the last half of the album. There were a number of good, even exceptional songs here that display her talent. I’m looking forward to seeing where she takes her music from here. William Wild's self-titled debut William Wild is not your average folk rock. That much is evident from the opening track "Veil" where ominous chopping acoustic guitar chords and plaintiff female vocals give way to a strobing, technical breakdown you'd be more likely to hear in a math rock or symphonic indie rock ensemble. William Wild is folkier and rockier than is generally found within folk rock. This is due to the background of the musician and the origin of this record. The songs that would come to make up William Wild's debut began as acoustic song sketches from Garrett Sale, while attending the University Of Nashville at Tennessee. Sale approached drummer Aaron Hill about fleshing out the songs. Hill comes from more of a rockist/progressive background causing Sale to play his acoustic harder and sing louder and the seeds of William Wild were planted. A few months later, electric guitar, keyboard, bass and string arrangements had been added, creating a unique musical vision. William Wild likes to rock out but appreciate the subtleties, as can be heard in the intricate fingerpicked acoustic guitars and chamber strings, like you'll find on "Townsend,” "The Rhythm" and "Evening Blues", which gives their heavy rockist bombast an orchestral chamber indie pop flavor recalling classic records like R.E.M.'s Automatic For The People, as well as more contemporary indie fare such as Sufjan Stevens, Iron & Wine, Andrew Bird, Owen Pallett and John Vanderslice. Basically, William Wild will enthrall listeners of recent doomed and blasted country rock, from bands like Chelsea Wolfe, Wye Oak, and The Handsome Family's "Far From Any Road," used as a theme song for the haunted southern gothic series True Detective. Andrew Bird's orchestral interpretation of that song, from this year's Handsome Family cover record Things Are Really Great Here (Sort Of) for an idea of what possibilities lie within this combination. While William Wild has prestigious influences and sonic similarities, they are very much their own creature. I predict that within a year, people will be comparing other bands to this record. It almost seems a shame to deconstruct this record, as it is complete and flawless. It's the kind of record you play again and again, moving the needle back to the outer groove when it reaches the epicenter and start the journey all over again. Every element is perfect and perfectly placed: from Garrett Sale's ethereal vocals, which blow like a breeze through a grove of cypress trees, and delicate acoustic arpeggios; to John Knight's chunking Telecaster rhythm guitar, delicious caked in shivering reverb; to Aaron Hill's primal and propulsive percussion. On top of this, the lyrics are poetic and moving, having an almost mythological feel but rooted in the language of the Earth and the seasons, and the spine chilling string section, that recalls when Amiina used to back up Sigur Rós. I cannot recommend this album highly enough! For anyone that likes acoustic music, or ambitious, orchestral indie rock, or anyone with a pulse, really, this is essential! |
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