They decided to call themselves King Bartlett & The Royal Band and No Greater Sound is their first album written, engineered, produced and mixed by themselves without any help from the outside.
With an ear tuned to rock music from the ‘50s to present day, the band is also heavily influenced by ‘90s shoegaze with a sound that recalls Death Cab for Cutie, The Smashing Pumpkins and Beach House. When recording their album, the brother and sister duo was trying to get across something new and extra, something with that undeniable X-factor that will turn heads. I think they were successful in creating that unique variable that will appeal to audiences of the aforementioned genres. Tons of reverberation on bass and guitars build an expansively warm sound that followers of shoegaze and psychedelia who crave the sounds of yesteryears will find a place within King Bartlett & The Royal Band’s retro-styled sounds to feel nostalgic and sentimental over those good old days of rock. No Greater Sound wastes no time in getting going with “Find Your Home.” The reverberating bass are behind the echo-y vocal harmonies. Gradually, the band enlists the guitars, drums and percussions to create an expanse of warm and nostalgia-tinged sounds. The combined vocal harmonies were very dynamic. The layers of lush instrumentals really produce a space for listeners to relax or reminisce in. The dream-like grooves and harmonies really spoke to me. Hazy instrumentals support the airy vocals on “It’s Okay.” The sounds that come across are charismatic and compelling. Intermittently, background vocals give an additional punk rock kick to the recording. I thought the music had a nice sonic flow to it. The band changes things up toward the outro with an acoustic rendition of the track filled with impassioned delivery that felt akin to something Glen Hansard would make. Moody and ambient synths create an ethereal effect in the intro of “Hold On.” The vocals come across as celestial. Eventually, the sounds of guitars add a pulling groove to the wave of instrumentals. Guitars and piano pave the way embracing an intimate acoustic performance on “Take Me Away.” The vocals are equally warm and seethe with emotions. The track felt very romantic and had qualities that made it a ballad. The airy notes felt very refreshing and accessible at the same time. I greatly enjoyed the piano solo. I thought this addition really gave the song new life. Awash in warm tones coming from the layers of vocal harmonies, the track starts out in full melodic force on “Trying.” The drumming beat was sauntering and the grooves harkened to a rock sound similar to the ‘50s or ‘60s. The indie rock sensibilities also offered a very familiar sense to the music. I could feel myself being carried away by the sounds. On “Don’t You Worry,” colorful indie rock notes meet the intro of this song. The shouted-out vocals were bursting with verve and enthusiasm. The catchy hooks and melodic flow felt very pop-oriented. This also felt like the most energetic out of the batch and is a real welcome change of pace from the slow burners before it. On “Cancer,” sparse guitar riffs zero into a minimalistic approach. Interwoven sounds of guitar and bass produce a hazy effect once the sound of drums comes in. Similar in a vein to the previous tracks, this song is dreamy with lush vibes. The sole sound of the piano meets the wake of “Just One More Night.” Dynamic vocals combine to create a chilling performance. The sounds were sheer and shine with reverberating emotional power. The band bids farewell with this captivating closer that is one complete package. During the course of the album, the band does sound lo fi in parts, but the rawness did not detach from the sound they were going for making the band sound more personable as if they were playing live right across from you. This intimate interaction plays across all the tracks in the album. While shoegaze, alternative and psychedelic are the main ingredients, I could also hear a good amount of garage rock, lo fi and indie rock in the mixture. I think the band was going for a diverse sound that a broad array of audiences can enjoy. With a naturalness that is impossible to imitate, King Bartlett & The Royal Band really hits it out of the ballpark with No Greater Sound.
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The sheer amount of albums made under quarantine is pretty mind blowing. If this pandemic happened twenty years ago this wouldn’t have happened on this scale and thirty years ago there simply would be almost zero output besides very successful bands. Times have changed and many, many artists are going the lo-fi home recording route these days and often work with engineers by sending files.
The self-titled EP Planet Parlor from Planet Parlor (Liza Lynehan and Ben LeBeau) is one of these albums. All of the engineering was done DIY in the comfort of their own homes. The music fits nicely into the dream pop category along with the “lo-fi bedroom” type aesthetics that have been popular ever since Youth Lagoon got noticed. The first song is “Vivons Sur la Lune” and revolves around electric piano, bass, guitar, drums and vocals. I enjoyed the mix of subdued relaxing and meditative vibes with a side of psychedelia. There are fairly obvious comparisons to Beach House for a number of reasons but I would say the music sounds in a similar wheelhouse to Mac Demarco. Up next is “Colors” and has a similar aesthetic to the first. There are airy synths that do sort of soar and glide against the rhythm section. The vocals are lush and sort of whispered. It’s definitely got a shoegaze type quality. “Statues” felt a little more grounded. I loved the melodies from the vocals and chord progressions. The Mac Demarco vibe felt most overt on “Ghost.” There are some really cool things happening with timing and transitions. “Lemon Skies” is the first song where the vocals really take center stage. Lynehan displays her range a little more here. The music was also fairly different. It’s very ambient and ethereal sounding. I would say it’s the most experimental as well. There are shades of Julianna Barwick and Sigur Rós. My only critique is the lo-fi aesthetics can’t quite handle the epic rocking out. I loved the vertigo inducing psychedelic end. Overall this is a great EP from top to bottom. Releases on this quality are one of the few things to come out of this pandemic. Recommended.
Wartime Dogs is a band from Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. The band recently released Civilian. This release seems like more an introduction to their sounds from what I’ve read. They explain, “Simple three track album giving listeners a small taste of the album we're working on. Influenced by the likes of previous acts like Tears for Fears and Duran Duran, Civilian is a short introduction statement of the band’s vision onto the future of itself.”
The band gets going with “Perfidy” and you are greeted with very synth sounds. And I did feel like these are sounds from an older ’80s synth like a Roland. Their mention of Tears for Fears and Duran Duran certainly holds true. The song also contains a drum machine and either a real bass or synth bass. There is a catchy chorus that comes into picture and sort of has this karaoke like quality to it. Up next is “Regicide” which really goes hard in the pain with the ’8’s sounds. I thought the production recording quality sounded really good on this song and a couple notches above the opener. That being said they were creating a signature sound which I really was starting to absorb. There are also some guitar parts I enjoyed which come in around the one-minute mark. They close strong with the highlight “Heavenscape” which has hypnotic grooves. There is also some whispering happening at the beginning of the song which was always a very ’80s thing. The vocals were the best yet and climaxed with overlapping harmonies and melodies. I thought the band had an original sound and their retro qualities felt authentic. I’m looking forward to their full length.
Black Hoodie Ensemble is the recording moniker for Austin, TX-based Jet Jobob Rodel. The group’s 2020 issue Captain runs seven tracks, and is inspired by “the hostile monotony of the beating sun” in late-August Texas. Rodel describes the record--aptly--as “a dark and beautiful fever dream.” He incorporates elements of psychedelia, blues, symphonic rock and even some danceable, disco-infused beats to press his dream into wax. Rodel wrote the music and performed most of the instruments with Taylor Barham helping on drums.
“The Taker” starts the EP, and it’s ominous right from the start, as Rodel sings “trouble’s on the way” over sparse, arpeggiated guitar notes. He gently pulls us in with the first verse, and then boom, the rest of the instruments kick and it gets darker and heavier. There’s fuzz guitar mixed low and left, piano mixed high and right, and layered vocals dead-center. In an interesting twist, the quieter middle section features horns--letting us know that we will be hearing quite a variety of tones and textures on Captain. Up next, “Murder House (Ode to Summer)” sets a brooding, creepy guitar riff against smooth horns. Again there’s fuzz guitar low on our left with piano high on the right. Rodel quotes Seals and Crofts here (yes, yes, he does) and channels the sun beating us down into a groggy stupor. About halfway through, we get an ominous bass figure that picks us up into a rocking outro jam. Barham’s drums in particular shine here. Black Hoodie Ensemble heads to the disco for “Red Lights.” The arpeggiated piano is in our right ear again, and Rodel layers in some mellotron with his on-point guitar. The lyrics work the metaphor well, and give us a plot twist complete with police sirens. “Bathroom Fight Song” is a cool track. It’s mostly bass-and-drum (with some guitar worked in), with a one-sided conversation voice over. We’ve all been there--and then it gets grisly. The Texas heat is getting to us, so we leave the bathroom for the heavy, riff-y, bluesy “Gnaw Job.” The piano picks up the riff here, too, which is a nice change-of-pace. The song feels like it will be an instrumental; Rodel throws in a little chant section near the end to keep us on our toes. “What Goes There,” which is next, is an instrumental. There’s a long, atmospheric build, which reminded me of some of my favorite Pink Floyd tracks. The intensity increases throughout with ripping guitars solos provided by Justin Cox. “May Queen” caps the album. Completing the song cycle, it starts off with a guitar-and-vocal feel similar to the lead track. Rodel sings, “I need relief from my nightmares” and delivers some lovely slide-guitar leads over an atmospheric track. Is there resolution here? I don’t know, but Black Hoodie Ensemble succeeds in letting us feel the heat of a Texas summer--and the mental derangement that can come with it. It’s a terrific spin.
Bentframe is the moniker for Christopher Lovelace from Winchester, VA. Lovelace got his start with music in the late ’90s singing in punk bands. His taste for different types of music evolved and he found himself listening to a catalogue of mountain/roots music.
His recent release RECAP mixes bedroom type production with some influence from roots music. The songs aren’t as off kilter as that might sound. I found the structure and dynamics of the songs relatively straightforward songs. The vocals really felt like the strength and backbone of the album to me. Lovelace’s singing often comes off as hyperbolic with a noticeable affectation. That might not always sound like a positive thing but in this case I felt like it worked. He really leans into the words and sort of dances this line but never crosses it. Lovelace plays a chameleon in this way. His vocals adapt to the song and he fits the emotional frequency. Take for instance the opener “The Mythic Sea” which is upbeat and sort of loose and playful. If Lovelace put any more intensity on the words it would come off as some maniac you might hear on some children's programs like Barney the Purple Dinosaur. I think that show has been cancelled but I’m getting old so give me a break. I feel like another example but the other end of the spectrum of this is a highlight entitled “The Slate Is Divide” where there is a more expensive and heartfelt quality to the vocals which reflects the music. Some of the songs towards the middle of the album felt like vignettes rather than fully explored ideas. These tunes come in under two minutes. The album ends strong with the upbeat and off-kilter knee slapper “The Healing Song” which might be the best song on the album. He sounds like a mix of Les Claypool and a country singer on this track. Overall, I thought this was a fun album with some heartfelt moments. Take a listen.
Dominick Campana is a one-man-band, producer, studio AND record label based in Albany, New York. He has tons of music history under his belt, enabling him to make this soft rock album that sparkles with expertise and professionalism. Campana recorded and toured with the band Dirty Face in the 1980’s, then switched to music studio production, live production and finally design and installation of music systems. His dizzying list of the guitars, mics and equipment used for this album includes only the best gear available.
The album title Back Pocket seems to refer to songs that Campana’s been keeping “in his back pocket” for years, but it can also indicate that his playing is totally “in the pocket.” Campana’s singing voice is a little rangy and sometimes skirts the edges of the notes, but feels lived-in and trustworthy. In that way he’s similar to the great ’70s songwriters his work recalls: John Hartford, Jimmy Webb, even Gerry Rafferty. Though all these songs have merit and are flawlessly produced, I’m going to concentrate on my favorites. The opener “Still Here” starts us off with a Jagger-esque vocal and Mark Knopfler-like lead guitar. This is a moving song about a romance in danger of being lost, and I love his chorus lyrics: “I’m the same boy that you crushed on / the same heart / A different year… and I’ve got to let you know I’m still here.” We also have the first appearance of guest Jorja Chalmers’ 1980’s-infused saxophone. The catchy “Enzo,” a song about the neighborhood oddball everybody trusts but nobody really knows, feels like an easy-listening hit with prominent bass and Steve Miller-ish synth arpeggios. “Today” is a similarly confident tune with ringing acoustic guitars and tasty leads. “Will Not Change” is Campana in Beatles “Sexy Sadie” mode, a rollicking piano-based ditty with some of his wittiest lyrics: “You think you’re a historian because you’ve read all those books / Sweat equity’s not required when an App is all it took.” Then it’s a detour into rockabilly for “Until I Die” with guest appearances by Graham Tichy on steel guitar and Mike Kelly on piano. Unsurprisingly, one of the best cuts here is the finale: a remake of the Dirty Face single “Carousel,” and a tribute to Campana’s late partner Greg Haymes. In this fine song the Gerry Rafferty antecedents feel the strongest, especially with a last, triumphant appearance by sax player Chalmers. There’s no denying Campana’s songwriting chops and his excellent playing, and most listeners should find these songs quite engaging and winning.
Acid Vampire is a solo artist from Regina, Saskatchewan who recently released Love's Labours Lost. The music is mostly electronic sounding to my ears in the spirit of solo music from Thom Yorke and to a lesser extent an artist like Four Tet.
“Voyage Of The Wandering Eye” is the opener where we are greeted with a number of elements which sound very metallic and mechanical. The kick drum took up a lot of my attention and was really prominent in the mix. Vocally, there are some catchy melodies delivered in almost a nursery rhyme type of way - it’s catchy. There were some highlights. “Don't Lie To My Face” was one of my favorites in terms of the instrumental aspects. The song sounds like it is even in danger of falling apart and combines many disparate elements and has a very electronic vibe. “Antithesis” has growling synths that roll through the songs with percussion elements. The vocals are delivered in a serious unflinching tone and some of it felt like spoken words. I enjoyed “Astronomical Twilight” which has a driving yet haunting vibe that combines instruments such piano and saxophone. ‘You Never Finish Your Sentences” has some of the best vocal melodies. This song again has a very loose foundation and I again had the feeling the song could at any moment fall apart. The closer “Extinguished Flame” was also a highlight. My critique is more in regards to the production. There’s a term in engineering called “glue.” I thought some of the songs could have benefited from this concept. This is usually achieved these days with a stereo compressor or saturation/tape plugin that gives the music a singular type quality as if it is being held together with glue. The analog equivalent is better if you have access to that type of gear. There was also some noticeable digital distortion which I think in all cases is best avoided. I really enjoyed this album overall. The artist did a great job creating a cohesive experience. I picked up on a signature sound fairly quickly and the artist reinforces it as you get into the later tracks. The production and vocals were also solid. Recommended.
The Orcas is a band composed of Alex Wanaka and Angus Johnson that started playing music in third grade. At twenty years of age, they are still very young and while taking a break from school made an album entitled Anti-Bike Boys.
The album is thirteen songs and fifty-seven minutes long. The songs really seem to embrace an “indie rock” type of sound. I was reminded of a lot of different artists but in particular I compare them to Tame Impala, especially the earlier material. They are a number of gems on this album. The opener “Pooldrainer” was a killer track melding elements of surf and rock. It’s an accessible song and also one of the songs that reminded me specifically of Tame Impala. They also have success with “Banyan” which sounded like a more psychedelic version of The Strokes. The song is straightforward but well done and easy to appreciate. I think the highlight was “Hydration” which was a near perfect mix of synth pop and rock. I was getting some ‘80s vibes but more in the spirit of the resurgence we have heard from The Chromatics and Cut Copy. I would say the songwriting and tone was very consistent. They clearly have chemistry and I think the fact that they have been working on music since they were little kids creates an undeniable sort of understanding of where they are trying to get to with the music. As an engineer myself this is by all accounts a very lo-fi home recording. I know for a fact a professional mastering engineer would have helped with separation, compression and other technical issues. Suffice it to say I would love to hear a bump in fidelity next time around. The band is talented and I thought this was a solid and seamless album. I hope they continue to make music and I have a feeling they will. Recommended.
RIP Cassette is a collective that recently released Hello Good Morning. The project started in 2019 with a bunch of friends. There are four songs all of which felt straightforward but accessible.
The first song is entitled “A Simple Lie” and it revolves around a 4/4 beat, a couple of jangly minor and major chords, and vocals. I was getting a Tame Impala vibe. Up next is “Little League.” You are greeted with another similar beat and tempo. The mood here is more melancholy and reflective. There is a change in production on “Emily.” The song utilizes a drum machine which I think was a good thing for the song. It’s more mellow and subdued and by this point I was really digging the vocalist. Last up is an acoustic song called “Hello Good Morning” which is very different sounding. This is more or less a straightforward folk and country hybrid. It’s a heartfelt and sincere tune. There is a lot to appreciate here from the simple songwriting to the catchy melodies. I thought the vocals were the biggest strength. This EP has a lot of the typical things I notice from a band that recently formed. The band is testing out different styles. They didn't have much time to find a signature sound but I felt like the foundation was strong. My main critique is in regards to fidelity. I consider early Arcade Fire recordings and Mac Demarco lo-fi but these recordings have a home recording type of lo-fi. The drums for instance are missing some essential frequencies on the lower end and there isn’t much definition from the guitars. I’d encourage the band to do what they can to get a boost in this area whether it’s working with an engineer or learning more about engineering. Overall, I thought these were solid songs from talented musicians. I hope it’s just the beginning and wish them luck as they evolve with their sound.
Every week we mention a couple of artists that are worth your time to check out that were not featured in our weekly reviews.
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