Combining sounds that reminded me of a diverse group of bands, from Oasis to The Beatles and including Nirvana, Dog Society’s Bruce Erik Brauer (guitar, backup vocals), Rich Guerzon (bass, backup vocals), Brian Schnaak (lead vocals) and Joe Ranieri (drums) from New York have put together a catchy rock album. While the sounds and the… Read More Music Review: Dog Society – ‘In the Shade’
Hailing from Austin, Texas, band members Taylor Eichenseer, Danny Ferraro, and Alex Margolin have put together an alternative, pop rock, piano-driven album in High Street Barton Blues, a collection of 14 songs ranging from a little over a minute to almost five minutes. The shorter songs seem to act almost as bridges between the album’s… Read More Music Review: Just Walden – ‘High Street Barton Blues’
Porto, Portugal is the birthplace of progressive rock/alternative band Heylel, whose full-length album Nebulae, released on June 30 of this year, seeks to take listeners on a journey. As a self-described alternative progressive band with a twist, the band includes the classically trained Ana Batista and orchestral instrumentation; the combination creates a relationship similar to… Read More Music Review: Heylel – ‘Nebulae’
The Healing is a four-piece band hailing from England – London, to be more precise. In their debut EP, Childhood Home, set for release near the end of the month, members Jim Moreton (vocals, guitar), Nicolas Py (drums, percussion), Sam Thiery (bass, guitar), and Ariel Moreton (harmony vocals) have put together a collection of five… Read More Music Review: The Healing – ‘Childhood Home’ EP
In my current efforts to find more meaningful music, it was only a matter of time before I looked into bands whose religious beliefs permeate their work. It is a tentative and exploratory affair, one not only focused on the music, but also on the beliefs that create the context within which the bands created… Read More Music Review: The Grand Undoing – ‘White Space Flavors and Parties on TV’
From beautiful Stockholm, Sweden, the duo that forms The Lost Poets brings to life their own interpretation of rock and swamp blues on their new EP Insubordia. Released on 17 April, band members David Rosengren (vocals and guitar) and Petter Ossian Strömberg (drums and bass) have put together five heavy and dark songs enhanced by… Read More Music Review: The Lost Poets – ‘Insubordia’ EP
Quirky intros, rhythm-led songs, high energy, and a sound that seems to come straight from the 1990s define Lovesick Saints’ Dia de los Muertos (2013), the last of four EPs, following The Punk Rock Honky Tonk, Resurwreckshun, and Outside Looking In. Since they formed in 2007 in Scottsdale (Arizona), the alternative/punk rock band produced original,… Read More Music Review: Lovesick Saints – ‘Dia de los Muertos’ EP
Hailing from Meadowlands, New Jersey, the band AUG’s second album, Be Careful What You Wish For… brings together sounds reminiscent of Guns N’ Roses, Ozzy Osbourne, AC/DC, and Kiss. AUG – the name of which reminds me of a Viking war cry – is a hard rock group with “a metal edge” made up of… Read More Music Review: AUG – ‘Be Careful What You Wish For…’
The steel towns of America bring to mind a sad image of abandoned, decaying homes. It comes as no surprise then that a band coming from such a town themselves – New Castle, Pennsylvania, to be precise – sound as raw as When Summer’s Gone does in its album Knockout Mechanism. Strong instrumental talent comes… Read More Music Review: When Summer’s Gone – ‘Knockout Mechanism’