CD Review: snarls “Burst”

snarls is a band that describes itself as being “glitter emo alt rock”. This group calls the city of Columbus, Ohio home and it is there that the quartet that consists of Chlo White (Vocals, Guitar), Riley Hall (Bass, Vocals), Mick Martinez (Guitar) and Max Martinez (Drums) creates a style they refer to as Emo Alternative Rock. The band mentions Wolf Alice, Snail Mail, Citizen, Bully as bands that they like who most likely have influenced the band’s sound and style. And while the band’s style does indeed include both Emo and Alternative Rock influences, they could easily include New Wave as an influence in there as well.

The Columbus-based band has just released their 2020 debut album release entitled Burst. But before that album hit the street, the band spent time promoting their EP entitled What’s It Take, a three-song EP from 2019 that had given the listener a good indication of what was to come by releasing three tracks from album. But now that the release entitled Burst has finally been released, the band can now focus on promoting that.

For the first track off of the band’s debut release entitled Burst, snarls performs the song “Walk in the Woods”. With this track, the band creates a song that falls somewhere in the middle of the late eighties, early nineties. On this song, the band incorporates as much New Wave feel as it does Alternative Rock. The resulting track features music that feels as much influence from the aforementioned Scottish band Altered Images as it contains influence from the American band Sixpence None the Richer. The two different influences blend together rather well to create a style that falls solidly into the Alternative Rock genre. Much like with the second half of the title track of the release, “Walk in the Woods” features a softer energy level to the song’s musical approach. What results is a track that could feel right at home on any modern-day Pop-Rock radio format.

snarls continues their new album with the song entitled “Marbles”. With the slow-paced track, the band of snarls combines some modern-day Pop-Punk influences with some older Glam Rock influence to create a track that feels as if it would be right at home on any Alternative Rock radio format. To go along with that musical blend, the band throws in some Emo attitude into the lyrics of the track. On the song, singer/guitarist Chlo White sings about things in a relationship that drive her crazy, making her feel as if she’s “lost my mind,” as White sings in the song. The track also features lyrics about walking down the street, shopping at Walgreen’s and other everyday things most people do during their day-to-day lives. While the track features a slow pace to the music, the instrumentation on the track is far from laidback, keeping the song energetic despite the slow pace.   

The track “What’s It Take” features two separate musical directions which split the song in half. The first half of the track contains an upbeat, driving pace and features a delivery that is very influenced by New Wave music bringing to mind the style of the Atlanta, Georgia band The B-52s. In fact, the feel of the song is very reminiscent of that band’s track called “Roam” from 1990, putting this track from snarls just outside of the true era for New Wave. On the second half, snarls slows things down and changes directions. This half of “What’s It Take” seems to channel the spirit of the Scottish New Wave band called Altered Images. With this half of the track, the sound of the track recalls Altered Images’ songs like “I Could Be Happy” or “Happy Birthday” from back in 1981. One half of “What’s It Take” feels as if it belongs in the early part of the New Wave era. The other part feels as if it belongs at the other end of the era. Together, both halves create one track that firmly falls into New Wave. And while the band as a whole does a good job of channeling the two different styles to bring the song together, it is vocalist Chlo White who is the most important part to the mix, drawing out the vocal styles of both Clare Grogan of Altered Images one moment and the female vocal stylings of the B-52s the next.

With the track entitled “Hair,” the song begins with the sound of the electric guitar creating a riff that is rather reminiscent of something from Kurt Cobain. This brings to mind the music of Cobain’s band Nirvana. In fact, once the track finally begins about forty seconds in, the band follows all the way through with that direction and creates a track fully inspired by Nirvana. And while the laidback pace to the song creates a low-key track rather than a more intense Alternative Rock sound, the song still takes the listener back into the nineties, especially when the band finally brings the energy of the music up for the last minute or so of the track.

On the track “Falling,” snarls takes the sound of their music back into the late eighties. On this track, the band takes on a more pop-rock approach creating a track with a definite Indie Rock feel to it. The track of “Falling” from snarls begins with an easy pace to the music but that pace soon slightly increases only a few moments into the track. The music of the song seems to draw some inspiration from the eighties band Dream Academy who had several hits including the song “Life in a Northern Town”. Despite the fact that it does have a slight retro feel to it because of being slightly reminiscent of The Dream academy, “Falling” ends up being one of the most commercial sounding tracks on the album entitled Burst from snarls.

Burst comes to a close with the title track off the release. The track begins with just the sound of the drums, which are quickly joined by the sound of the bass. Together, the two instruments create the song an early Alternative Rock feel. Specifically, the sound of the music at the beginning of “Burst” feels like early music from The Cure. Musically, you could imagine “Burst” existing on that band’s Kiss Me, Kiss Me, Kiss Me release. Soon, however, the track blends some influence from The Cure with some influence from Altered Images, creating a track with a sound that could have come from the band Hole, especially one of that band’s lighter tracks. With this final song, snarls brings their debut album to a close with a strong Indie Rock feel to it.

These and other tracks help to shape the debut release entitled Burst from Columbus-based snarls. The album comes with many different influences and styles throughout the length of the album. While the album has much to offer any listener, the release is ultimately for those music listeners who a lot of different styles of music. And with the fact that the album goes from New Wave to Alternative Rock to College Rock and many other styles, there’s plenty to enjoy from this debut album from this talented group of musicians.

For More information, check out the band’s record label, Take This to Heart Records.

For a taste of the debut release from snarls, check out the video to the song “Walk in the Woods”.

To check out the entire Burst release from snarls, click on the album cover below:

CD Review: Steve D. Wilson “Ad Astra Per Aspera”

Steve D. Wilson is an ex-soldier-turned-singer-songwriter from Dallas, Texas who is currently creating his own music as a solo artist. But that wasn’t always the case as he once had been the frontman of the Texas-based Alternative Rock band called The Black Doves. That band would create one album entitled Moments of Clarity, an album that made waves back in 2008.

While the band of The Black Doves has been rather quiet over the years (although they are currently in the middle of creating their long-awaited sophomore release), Steve D. Wilson has kept himself rather busy on his own with his own music. Wilson’s personal collection of original music includes the 2012 EP entitled Discovering Gravity and several other singles that have been released much more recently. In fact, Steve D. Wilson created his latest EP of music only last year. That 2019 EP from Steve D. Wilson is entitled Ad Astra Per Aspera, a Latin phrase that translates to “From Hardships to the Stars”.

Ad Astra Per Aspera from Steve D. Wilson begins with the track entitled “Cheyenne”. Like with both the music of The Black Doves and with his previous EP of Discovering Gravity, “Cheyenne” is a track that features a strong Alternative Rock approach. This track instantly brings to mind the music from the album entitled Moments of Clarity but also some of Wilson’s solo release of Discovering Gravity. In fact, “Cheyenne” finds Wilson taking what had been created musically with his band and shaping it so that there is a familiarity to the music while still feeling different than what had come before. And with the energetic pace of the music, “Cheyenne” gives Wilson’s new release a strong start.

The new release from Steve D. Wilson continues with one of the older songs on the release, “Coming Back to Texas,” a song that was first released back in 2018. With this track, Wilson adds a bit of twang to his music with the use of the slide on the electric guitar. But as the singer-songwriter hails from the state of Texas himself, the addition of the twang to his music seems rather natural. “Coming Back to Texas” is a slow-paced track that finds Wilson singing about returning to where he began. The lyrical content of the track is somewhat bittersweet as he seems to suggest returning but for one last trip.

Steve D. Wilson new EP continues with the track “To Be Honest Juliet”. Wilson continues the slow pace of the music with this song but also brings the energy level up a little at the same time. With this track, the singer-songwriter finds himself in a battle with his own mind as thoughts of a love long gone come back to haunt him. The song’s emotional lyrics are matched up with a slow pace and easy feel to the music, while also including a little energy to the music so that the emotional side of the track is not so prominent.

The next song on the Ad Astra Per Aspera release is the track “Worth It”. And yet again, Steve D. Wilson and the rest of the musicians who brought the release to life create a track with a slow pace to the music. But with this song, the feel of the music changes as this track features the piano as the musical focal point instead of the guitar that has been present on every track up to this point. The easy pace to the music and the use of the piano as the main instrument gives the track the most unique feel of any of the five songs on the release. “Worth It” features lyrics that seem to follow in line with those that were included on the previous track of “To Be Honest Juliet”. Where that song finds Wilson singing of a love long gone, “Worth It” features lyrics about a steamy relationship that seems to fall apart. But things may not be what they seem. The keys and the strings on the track combine to create the most emotional track on the track.  

The latest release from Steve D. Wilson comes to a close with “This Journey Never Ends,” the second of two tracks that had existed before the EP was finished. The final track of the five-song EP brings back the sound of the guitar…in a big way. This track features the electric guitar in a much more prominent manner. On this track, the instrument is played with a lot more energy than on any of the previous tracks that featured the guitar. The result is more of a Power Rock approach to the music rather than an Alternative Rock approach. The track features Wilson creating a song with a slightly Christian feel to lyrics about how tough the journey in life always seems to be.

Ad Astra Per Aspera from Steve D. Wilson is an EP that features several different musical styles throughout the five tracks that make up this release. Throughout the EP, Wilson creates tracks with Rock and Roll, Alternative Rock, even some Power Rock included in the music. That mixture along with the alternating between strong Rock and Roll and lighter musical approaches blend together to make a release that definitely keeps the attention of the listener as they make their way through this short but sweet release.

For a taste of the music from Steve D. Wilson, check out the video to the song “This Journey Never Ends”.

(For more reading about Operation: Encore, check out the review for the first album, the second release of Monuments, the first review for Rachel Harvey Hill, the review for Andrew Wiscombe, the review of Steve D. Wilson, the review for The Real Doug Lane, the review for Stephen Covell, the review for Unknown Rider, the review for Jerry Maniscalco and the review of Logan Vath by clicking on the links that are highlighted.)  

CD Review: snarls “What’s It Take”

The band called snarls calls the city of Columbus, Ohio home. There, the quartet of Chlo White (Vocals, Guitar), Riley Hall (Bass, Vocals), Mick Martinez (Guitar) and Max Martinez (Drums) create a style they refer to as Emo Alternative Rock. The band mentions Wolf Alice, Snail Mail, Citizen, Bully as Bleached bands that they like who most likely have influenced the band’s sound and style. And while the band’s style does indeed include both Emo and Alternative Rock influences, they could easily include New Wave as an influence in there as well. The band is currently in the middle of creating their 2020 release entitled Burst. But before that album hits the street, the band is in the middle of promoting their EP entitled What’s It Take, a three-song EP that gives the listener a good indication of what is to come.

snarls begins their What’s It Take EP with the title track of said release. The track “What’s It Take” features two separate musical directions which split the song in half. The first half of the track contains an upbeat, driving pace to the music. This portion of the track features a delivery that is very influenced by New Wave music. The music itself brings to mind the style of the Atlanta, Georgia band The B-52s. In fact, the feel of the song is very reminiscent of that band’s track called “Roam” that they released back in 1990, putting the track just outside of the true era for New Wave. With the second half of the song, the band slows things down and changes directions. This half of the track “What’s It Take” takes the band’s music back to near the middle of the New Wave era as the band seems to channel the spirit of the Scottish New Wave band called Altered Images. With this half of the track, snarls creates a sound that easily brings to mind the feel of Altered Images songs like “I Could Be Happy” or “Happy Birthday” from back in 1981. While one half of the song “What’s It Take” feels as if it belongs in the early part of the New Wave era, and the other part feels as if it belongs at the other end of the era, both halves create one track that firmly falls into New Wave. And while the band members of the group do a good job of channeling the two different styles to bring the song together, it’s vocalist Chlo White who truly brings the two styles together as she is most important part to the mix, drawing out the vocal styles of both Clare Grogan of Altered Images and the female vocal stylings of the B-52s.

What’s It Take continues with the song entitled “Marbles”. With the slow-paced track, the band of snarls combines some modern-day Pop-Punk influences with some older Glam Rock influence to create a track that feels as if it would be right at home on any Alternative Rock radio format. To go along with that musical blend, the band throws in some Emo attitude into the lyrics of the track. On the song, singer/guitarist Chlo White sings about things in a relationship that drive her crazy, making her feel as if she’s “lost my mind,” as White sings in the song. The track also features lyrics about walking down the street, shopping at Walgreen’s and other everyday things most people do during their day-to-day lives. While the track features a slow pace to the music, the instrumentation on the track is far from laidback, keeping the song energetic despite the slow pace.    

For the final track of the three songs found on the What’s It Take EP, snarls performs the song “Walk in the Woods”. With this track, the band takes the sound of their music to the late eighties, early nineties as they incorporate as much New Wave feel as Alternative Rock. The resulting track features music that feels as much influence from the aforementioned Scottish band Altered Images as it contains influence from the American band Sixpence None the Richer. The two different influences blend together rather well to create a style that falls solidly into the Alternative Rock genre. Much like with the second half of the title track of the release, “Walk in the Woods” features a softer energy level to the song’s musical approach. What results is a track that could feel right at home on any modern-day Pop-Rock radio format.

Although only three tracks, the What’s It Take EP from snarls finds the band creating a short release that shows off the band’s various musical influences. And while the release contains only three songs, those three songs are strong enough to grab hold of the listener and make them want to hear more. But since the album entitled Burst will be released in only a matter of days, the listener does not have to wait long for more from this young but talented band. Start with the three tracks found here on the What’s It Take EP from snarls and then stay tuned to the band’s Facebook page for the announcement from snarls of the release of Burst.

Before the Burst album from snarls is released, check out the What’s It Take EP on the band’s record label, Take This to Heart Records.

CD Review: The Good Morning Nags “Hard Hope”

Six-piece NYC based ensemble The Good Morning Nags dates back almost a decade as they formed back in 2010. Today’s version of the band consists of Tim Hassler (fiddle, vocals), Ben Quinn (mandolin, guitar, harmonium, and vocals), Titus Tompkins (percussion, mandolin, vocals) and Britt Reagan (guitar, dulcimer, vocals) as well as Mark Spitznagel (banjo, vocals) and Pete O’Neill (bass, vocals). This ensemble of musicians takes their various musical influences and creates a style that revolves around a Folk-Rock/Country-Rock style of music. Having already released a seven-song self-titled EP back in 2017, the band recently returned with a new album of music. That 2019 album is entitled Hard Hope.

The Good Morning Nags begin their new album of Hard Hope with the song called “Heels and Dynamite”. The song begins with the acoustic guitar creating what can only be described as a Folk-Rock style before the rest of the instrumentation joins in. The Bluegrass influence on the track comes from the inclusion of the banjo and mandolin. As the track progresses, a fiddle, bass and light percussion is added. Before long, the Bluegrass/ Folk-Rock approach on the track is complete. “Heels and Dynamite” from The Good Morning Nags takes the feel of Bluegrass music and gives it a more modern feel to it.

Hard Hope continues with the song “Birmingham”. The track begins with the sound of a vehicle turning over and coming to life. That approach actually works as the song is about traveling as the lyrics deal with getting behind the wheel and going on a road trip. In this instance, the song is about going down to Birmingham, just as the song title suggests. “Birmingham” from The Good Morning Nags is a track that does a fine job of blending together the Old Timey feel of Bluegrass music with a driving feel to the tempo that comes from a more Rock and Roll-type musical approach. Fans of modern-day Folk-Rock/Country-Rock musical blends will instantly fall in love with the feel of the song. And with the inclusion of the clapping near the middle of the track and the rather funky feel to the ending, “Birmingham” has a lot of different elements to combine for a song that is fun to listen to.

The Good Morning Nags continue the new album of Hard Hope with “No Damn Good”. While the track “Birmingham” blends together Bluegrass with a blend of Country, Rock and Folk, “No Damn Good” features a sound that is rather different in sound than the other track but is just as varied in its musical makeup. The Bluegrass base that was found on “Birmingham” is joined on “No Damn Good” by a Creole style of music. The result is a track that contains a strong accordion presence to go along with a Country-style approach. The track brings to mind the style of someone like the “Louisiana Man” himself, Doug Kershaw. “No Damn Good” features a lyrical content that is rather self-deprecating but the strong, driving feel of the track’s pace allows the listener to enjoy the song without truly feeling sorry for the singer. The more Creole approach on this track is a nice contrast to the Folk-Rock/Country-Rock style of music found on “Birmingham”.

It is with the title track that the release continues. “Hard Hope” is a track that features a stronger Folk approach to the music. But with the inclusion of a strong beat at the beginning of the song adding a touch of Rock and Roll vibe to the track, the song brings to mind the same type of musical approach that one might find with bands like Mumford and Sons or the group Edward Sharpe & the Magnetic Zeroes. With its Folk/Rock blend, “Hard Hope” could easily qualify as Indie Folk. The gang-style vocals of the entire band in the background of the refrain on the track adds a rather interesting element to the song, which seems to draw the listener further into the music. The title track off of the Hard Hope album ends up being one of the strongest moments on the album.

“Little Taste of Home” is a track that blends together an Old-Timey feel to Country music with a taste of Folk music. The inclusion of the banjo, fiddle and other Country music instruments on this track place the song squarely within the Country genre. What results is a track that would feel right at home among songs of the sixties but could also have possibly been found within earlier eras of music. “Little Taste of Home” is one of the songs on the release that would satisfy fans of almost any era of Country music, no matter how old those music fans are.

While the track “Little Taste of Home” has a timeless feel to its music, the song “Crazy” is a much different story. Having nothing to do with the classic Patsy Cline track of the same title, “Crazy” from The Good Morning Nags is a blend of Country music and Folk with a touch of Acoustic Rock thrown in. The light approach of the music creates a song that could be classified as “Indie Folk”, placing it within the same category as Mumford and Sons or The Lumineers. Although there already are the tracks from Patsy Cline and Gnarls Barkley that make use of the title, “Crazy” from The Good Morning Nags creates yet another track with that title that could easily find its way onto radio, whether on Public Radio formats or within Adult Contemporary radio.

Although most of the tracks that make up this album fall into the Folk/Country category, songs like the aforementioned title track of “Hard Hope” offer something more for the listener that helps push the music of The Good Morning Nags out of being considered strictly Country or Folk. The same thing can be said for the song “Rumble Road”. This track finds the band once again drawing from the Folk/Rock category. But this track seems to have a bit of influence from the British Rock band Gomez, who incorporate instruments like the banjo into their Alternative Rock music. Like Gomez, The Good Morning Nags incorporate a little Alternative Rock influence into the song “Rumble Road” to give the track a bit of an edge to the music. This makes “Rumble Road” a track that stands out among the dozen tracks that make up the Hard Hope release.

Having released their self-titled EP in 2017, the 2019 Hard Hope album from The Good Morning Nags finds the band building upon that earlier release. This is a solid album of music that actually outshines the earlier release, which indicates that the band is growing as a unit.

To hear the music of The Good Morning Nags, check out the band’s video to the song “Birmingham”. 

CD Review: Logan Vath “Lost on Leaving”

Like every ex-military personnel, Nebraska native (and current resident of Norfolk, Virginia) Logan Vath is now living the second part of his life. Vath is a singer-songwriter who has changed to that path in life after spending time in the military where he did four years serving as an Aerographer’s Mate, preparing soldiers for whatever weather conditions they may encounter. And now, not that long ago, Logan Vath joined up with the group known as Operation: Encore, an organization that helps former military personnel realize their full potential through training. Operation: Encore then helps those individuals (which includes people such as Vath) with many different opportunities which includes networking to truly begin living their dreams as real musicians.

After leaving the military, it was the musical heritage of Logan Vath’s family that reached out to him (his grandfather having been a gig musician who died before Vath was even born). The guitar left to Vath by his grandfather would inspire him to explore the world of music. And as a singer-songwriter, Logan Vath has put that musical background and inherited guitar to good use. Vath’s discography includes 2013’s Better Man or Ghost and 2016’s In the Presence of the Kingdom. Vath’s music has also been featured on the second compilation album of Operation: Encore artists called Monuments, where you can find track entitled “Once Was”.

Logan Vath is currently promoting his newest release, a five-song EP called Lost on Leaving. For this new EP, singer and guitarist Logan Vath is joined by Matt Hoffman & Andrew Montgomery on Keys and Organ, Nolan Thies on Bass, and Daniel Mendez on Percussion & Guitar. Together as a group, the musicians help to bring Vath’s latest release to life. The various songs included on this five-song release feature a good amount of Rock and Roll, some Folk-Rock and other influences. The songs contained within this release also contain a very intimate feel as Vath takes the listener on a very personal journey through the thoughts running through his head. Nowhere is that more evident than on the very first track.    

The 2018 release of Lost on Leaving from Logan Vath begins with the track “Enough Good”. The beginning track of the release features a strong Rock and Roll approach to the music with a driving feel to the drums as well as strong guitars. That musical approach gives the song a rather timeless feel as it could have come from the eighties, nineties, even today. With the lyrics to the song, Vath seems to be exploring the concept of trying to survive while living with your inner demons. The final words of the chorus seem to say it all: “Pretend I’m better now than I have ever been”. 

On the very next track, Vath slows the pace of the music down as the release continues with the song “Guard”. With that slower pace, the song’s lyrical content appears to continue the same train of thought that was present in the previous track as Vath explains that he wants to throw his cares away and try to regain a little freedom from the worry that consumes him. The listener experiences some of the emotional side of the lyrics on the track as those words are matched up well with a gentleness in the music that creates a Soft Rock/Adult Contemporary approach.

Lost on Leaving continues with the track “Winter”. Much like the previous two tracks, “Winter” once again finds Logan Vath turning inward for self-examination of his feelings and thoughts. The lyrics of the song find Vath feeling out of place even in the places where he belongs. The sadness and lonely feeling of Vath truly comes through in this track as he sings of being okay once the winter season comes to an end. The sadness contained within this track is only intensified by a slow pace as well as a light, easy feel to the music.

Logan Vath’s latest release continues with the song “Dover”. While it contains a similarly easy feel to the music, the music on this track ends up being closer to Indie Rock rather than Soft Rock and/or Adult Contemporary. The lyrical content about experiencing life in the city as the rain falls down feels as if it had been influenced by the likes of Bob Dylan and/or Tom Waits. Vath’s words seem to tell a story, very much like poetry set to music as he sings of awaiting the inevitable, as if he knows something bad is about to take place. While “Dover” contains a slightly dark feel to it, it also contains one of the most commercial musical approaches on the five-song EP.  

The Lost on Leaving EP from Logan Vath comes to a close with the song called “I’ve Been Told”. And like much of the EP, the final track of the release contains a slow pace to the music as well as a laidback feel to that music. That laidback feel to the music once again seems to add even more sadness to the track’s already somber lyrics about trying to find some sort of feeling of home when you are constantly on the move. The laidback feel to the track courtesy of the slow pace in the music helps to gently bring the Lost on Leaving EP to a close.   

Logan Vath’s Lost on Leaving EP is a very personal release. The five songs on it find the singer-songwriter looking at the world that surrounds him and questioning what it is all about while also doing a lot of reflecting on his inner feelings. The five songs on Lost on Leaving may not add up to an overly energetic release, but they do end up creating a solid grouping of tracks that feel truly interwoven because of their common theme of personal reflection.  

(For more reading about Operation Encore, check out the review for the first album, the second release of Monuments, the first review for Rachel Harvey Hill, the review for Andrew Wiscombe, the review of Steve D. Wilson, the review for The Real Doug Lane, the review for Stephen Covell, the review for Unknown Rider, and the review for Jerry Maniscalco by clicking on the links that are highlighted.)  

CD Review: Brother Spellbinder “We Were Children Yesterday”

Some people say that music runs in the family. Since five of five members of my family have or had some sort of connection to music in some way, I can attest to that. And the same can be said for Alzara Getz, the woman behind the San Francisco-based Chamber Pop band known as Brother Spellbinder. Alzara’s music connection came by way of her father, Dave Getz, a drummer who played in the band Big Brother & The Holding Company, the same band that would back Janis Joplin up back when she was still alive. And while Dave Getz has been a drummer, his daughter Alzara Getz is the bandleader of the San Francisco ensemble known as Brother Spellbinder.

Brother Spellbinder is a musical collective made up of Alzara Getz on Uke, vocals, harmonica; Jamie Wilson on guitar, vocals; Steve La Porta on drums, percussion; Sean Griffin on Electric Guitar; Helena Tietze on Cello & Vocals; Steve Bollhoefer on violin, mandolin, vocals, tap dancing; Gabriel Beistline on Cello; and Dale Carlson on saxophone, flute, harmonica, pennywhistle. This band blends together so many different genres and musical influences that it’s slightly difficult to narrow down the band’s sound. However, you can find sounds such as Americana, Classical, Swing and some Eastern European influences. It is this musical blend that can be found on the band’s new seven-song EP can We Were Children Yesterday.  

We Were Children Yesterday from Brother Spellbinder begins with the track “Birds of a Feather”. The track begins with the sound of handclaps as they set up a beat for the track. It is the sound of Alzara Getz on Ukulele that begins the music. Soon, the song “Birds of a Feather” begins as it contains a slow, easy feel to the music with Folk influences, Rock influences and some Classical influences. The result is a track that mainly feels like a Folk-Rock track but with a dated feel to the music, taking it back in time to another time. The Classical feel from the strings truly brings out that Other-timely feel to the music. With the unique quality in the vocals from Getz, that Other-timely feel is even further reinforced.

As the next track of “Mandalay” begins, there is the sound of the mandolin and the aforementioned strings. With those instruments, the song feels very much orchestrated. The track is arranged in such a way to provoke a vision of a scene in a Hollywood movie. The vocals from Alzara Getz adds to that vision. The rather short track that lasts for less than two minutes could easily have found its way into a movie in the late forties/early fifties.

The first few moments of the track “Aching Eyes” once again provoke the vision of a movie soundtrack as the harmonica and acoustic guitar play out a tune very reminiscent of scores from Ennio Morricone of Spaghetti Western music fame. Soon, that music changes directions and what it is replaced with is a musical blend that features a strong Folk feel to the music with a light beat to it. The track features the violin from Steve Bollhoefer. That violin and Folk music mix creates a track with a strong Gypsy feel to the track. The track is also rather reminiscent of the Lounge music revival that took place back in the nineties where bands like Novelle Vague and Combustible Edison were creating music outside of the normal spectrum of Pop music at that time. “Aching Eyes” from Brother Spellbinder is a track that would have fit right in with music at that time.

With the next track, Brother Spellbinder creates a track that takes some of the flavor from “Aching Eyes” and mixes it with some influences from a band such as the Squirrel Nut Zippers. It is on the track called “Woman” that the music consists of a blend of Jazz, Folk and some Rock and Roll influence in the form of the electric guitar courtesy of Sean Griffin. The track features a strong Jazz backbone but also has a strong Rock and Roll feel to it at the same time. There even seems to be a slight hint of “Hell” from the Squirrel Nut Zippers in the track. The strong male and female vocals on the track add even more flavor to the track. “Woman” has perhaps the most unique feel to its music of any track on the We Were Children Yesterday release. The track changes directions many times during its playtime of less than three minutes.

While most of the We Were Children Yesterday release from Brother Spellbinder consists of original tunes, the band changes directions for one song. Brother Spellbinder slows thing down on the track “Red River Valley”. For those familiar with that title, this is the same song made popular by many different artists such as The Mills Brothers, Woody Guthrie, and many others. Brother Spellbinder takes their turn at the song. With the Old Timey feel that exists within the music of the band, “Red River Valley” seems ready-made for Brother Spellbinder. The band takes some Old-time Blues influence, adds some Swing influence and some Folk influence to create their version. The band’s version feels both dated and fresh at the same time. This version of the well-known song fits well with those versions that have already come before.

Brother Spellbinder brings their new EP of We Were Children Yesterday to a close with the track “20 Years Ago – The Full Version”. With this track, the band strips things down to just a simple guitar and Alzara Getz’s vocals. This creates a very personal moment on the EP as the listener gets rather up close because of the simplicity of the track. And while there is only the guitar and vocals on the track, the song does is far from dull. While Getz sings the verses of the track, the band joins in as they add just their vocals to the track. The addition of the band’s vocals adds depth to a track that would otherwise be rather sparse in nature. The easy feel and uncomplicated approach to the music makes “20 Years Ago – The Full Version” the perfect track to bring the album to a close.

As you make your way through the We Were Children Yesterday EP from Brother Spellbinder, you encounter many different musical approaches within the EP’s seven tracks. Some of the tracks have Folky approaches, some have stronger Rock-flavored approaches, and some are simply different. This is the type of release that is nice to find from time-to-time as it feels different from anything else out there. We Were Children Yesterday EP from Brother Spellbinder is strong from the very first song and needs to be heard straight through.   

For more information, check out Brother Spellbinder’s PR firm, Whiplash/ Whizkid Management by clicking on the logo.

To hear some of We Were Children Yesterday EP from Brother Spellbinder, check out the band’s current single of “Birds of a Feather“.

To check out the entire album, click on the link below.

CD Review: Jesh Yancey & The High Hopes “Maybe It’s The Drugs”

Jesh Yancey is a singer-songwriter who makes his home in Denver, Colorado. Yancey spent the early years of his adult life in the Navy and the former military man is now spending his time in the music industry as a musician and songwriter. As that musician and songwriter, Jesh Yancey already has one album under his belt and is now creating more music with his band. Upright bassist Lizz Hough, drummer Ryan Van Dyke and harmonica player Jef Funk join the singer-songwriter to create the band known as Jesh Yancey and The High Hopes, a moniker that lends itself rather well to some of the songs that are currently being performed by the band and which are now available on the band’s second and current release entitled Maybe It’s the Drugs an EP which contains some Country vibes, some Folk vibes, some Rock and Roll vibes, and even some Cajun influence. The songwriter and his band refer to this style as PsycheDeltaFolk.

Maybe It’s the Drugs begins with the song “When in Rome”. The listener gets an immediate glimpse at just what the band means by PsycheDeltaFolk. The band’s music on the track blends together a stronger Country vibe with some Folk influence and some Cajun influence by way of the accordion. The slow-paced, easy feel to the track creates a song that brings to mind some of the Country music of the seventies while mixing in some influence from a musician like Doug Kershaw who has been known for his Cajun-influenced music. The lyrics to the track deal find Yancey explaining that his actions were a result of simply trying to fit in, even if it wasn’t the best idea.

After the Cajun-flavored “When in Rome,” the feel of the music changes dramatically. With the song “Ridin’ High,” the band abandons the Cajun feel of the music for a much stronger Blues approach. The main Blues influence on the track of “Ridin’ High” is matched up with some Folk-Rock to help fill out the track’s sound. This gives the song a nice easy groove that allows the song to flow along smoothly. On the track, Jesh Yancey and The High Hopes create a track that features a jamband feel: each of the members of the group take turns giving small solos on their various instruments and that helps to show off the talents of each musicians in the group.

The feel of the music changes once again on the very next song entitled “In a Pinch”. While the first song of the release called “When In Rome” contained a Country/Folk/Cajun blend, “In a Pinch” contains a much simpler musical approach as the track contains a straight Country music sound. The track reminds the listener of what Country music used to feel like in the late seventies and/or early eighties, before the Rock and Roll influence seemed to overtake the heart of the music. For those looking for a song with a classic Country music feel, “In a Pinch” is the track for you.

Jesh Yancey and The High Hopes continue their new EP with the song “My Little Soul and Me”. And like with the tracks that came before it, this song changes the feel of the EP yet again. With this track, Yancey and the rest of the group create a track that seems to draw a large amount of inspiration from singer-songwriter and Rock Hall Member Tom Waits. Like with much of Tom Waits’ material, “My Little Soul and Me” contains a lyrical approach where the lyrics create a story. The story unfolding is a man explaining that he has given away his soul. Lyrics like “I Gave It to a Black Haired Girl, Her Name Was Destiny. Said It Wasn’t Worth Too Much So She Gave It Back to Me” truly bring to mind the writing style of Waits. While the song contains some of the darkest lyrics on the release, “My Little Soul and Me” is one of the strongest moments on the EP.

Maybe It’s the Drugs from Jesh Yancey and The High Hopes comes to a close with the title track of the release. While the entire EP features the four musicians of Yancey, Hough, Van Dyke and Funk, “Maybe It’s the Drugs” truly brings out the ensemble feel to the band. The track not only features all of the members, but all of the members join in on the vocals of this track. The lyrics of the track deal with the political state of the country at the present time. While it is a rather political track, many will likely agree with the sentiment shared within the lyrics.   

Although only five tracks, Maybe It’s the Drugs from Jesh Yancey and The High Hopes shows a band that has plenty of musical ability and talent. Each track has a different sound, a different feel. Because of this, the release flies by, leaving the listener wanting for more. 

Maybe It’s the Drugs from Jesh Yancey and The High Hopes will be available shortly. When the release is live, you can find it here. Until the entire EP is available, you can check out the first single off of the release, “When In Rome”.

For more information, check out Jesh Yancey’s PR firm of Whiplash PR & Management by clicking on the logo for the company.

CD Review: Initial Mass “Bending Light”

Initial Mass formed when high school friends Mark Baldwin and Kevin Robertson joined up with another longtime friend, Scott Smith. And when the Los Angeles-based band Initial Mass came together, the familiarity found within the trio helped solidify the band’s music. That familiarity with each other can truly be an added bonus. What resulted was a trio that shared a familiarity with each other and a love for the same type of music.

With Mark Baldwin on guitar, vocals as well as songwriting, Scott Smith on bass and Kevin Robertson on drums, the three musicians create a trio that draws from Heavy Metal and Punk Rock.  Together, the resulting music falls solidly into the Progressive Rock category. Add in a good amount of Pop feel to the length of each and every track created by the band has a very energetic feel to it but would be welcome on any Modern Rock and/or Classic Rock radio format. That rather commercial feel in the Progressive Rock music from Initial Mass can be found on the band’s newest album entitled Bending Light.

Bending Light from Initial Mass begins with the track “Killing Heroes”. The slow but steady beat from drummer Robertson gives a strong base for the bass from Smith and guitar from Baldwin as the trio creates a song that moves forward with plenty of energy, creating a track that features a musical influence from a band like Queens of the Stone Age. The slow and steady pace at the beginning gives the listener a lot of power and then the band picks up the pace. The quicker pace creates a tempo that draws the listener in closer to the music. The clear, strong vocals from Mark Baldwin would place him within any Classic Rock band. His vocals and the music from the entire band create a track that would be perfect for any Modern Rock format.

The new album from Initial Mass continues with the title track of the release. The track “Bending Light” features all three of the musicians as the track begins with the sound of the drums from Robertson and the bass from Smith. It is Smith’s bass that lays down the foundation of the music for this track as he plays the instrument in much the same way guitarist Mark Baldwin would if he was creating the basis for the track. The resulting music from Smith’s bass creates an almost Jazz-like approach to the track. Soon enough, guitarist Baldwin and drummer Robertson join in and the track takes on a much different feel to the music. The track combines a generous amount of Rock and Roll and some Jazz influence to create a sound that alternates between hard and easier passages. “Bending Light” is easily one of the standout tracks on the album.

With the track “Reason to Take,” the men of Initial Mass show off their musical abilities. This track contains a slightly stronger Progressive Rock feel to the music and the ever-changing rhythms give the song its Prog-Rock approach. The alternating between one rhythmic pattern and another also adds to the progressive feel to the music. The vocals from Mark Baldwin add a generous amount of Classic Rock flavor to the track. For those who are true fans of Prog-Rock, “Reason to Take” is one track from the band where you will find just what you’re looking for. However, the track also contains plenty for fans of straight-out Rock and Roll as well.   

Initial Mass picks up the pace of their music quite a bit on the song “Resolution”. The quicker pace to the music adds more energy to the album and much like with the track “Reason to Take,” the music of the song “Resolution” changes tempos several times throughout the four-minute playtime. But the changes in tempo come gradually during the song and seem near effortless. This is a sure sign of the talent of the trio. About halfway through the track, the band slows the pace of the track down while also lightening the intensity of the music. In short, the track now takes on the feel of a power ballad but without the emotional connection. After a minute or so, the energy level increases and it is that level that brings the song to a close.

“Silence No More” by Initial Mass is the type of track that feels as if it should have been a lot longer. The slow-paced track begins with a thirty second instrumental introduction. After that, the track takes on a musical approach that feels like a combination of Modern Rock and Classic Rock as the vocals from lead singer Mark Baldwin take on a slight resemblance to the vocals of legendary rocker Jim Morrison. In fact, with those vocals, the track itself feels like a mix between The Doors and Queens of the Stone Age. “Silence No More” is one of the tracks on the Bending Light album from Initial Mass that will grab the attention of the listener.

The Bending Light album from Initial Mass comes to a close with the track “Embers Within”. The track begins rather unassumingly as singer Mark Baldwin’s his guitar initially contain a laidback feel and his vocals add to that low-key approach. That is short-lived, however, as the rest of the band join in ten seconds later. Keeping a slow pace, the stronger musical approach finds the band creating a track that marches along slowly but with plenty of energy to the music. The hard, solid quality to the music brings to mind the Heavy Metal of the eighties. The slow pace, yet energetic feel to the music of the track allows for “Embers Within” to feel like the perfect track to bring the Bending Light from Initial Mass to a close.

On their latest album of Bending Light, Initial Mass keeps things interesting with a release that features songs that contain a good variety of music. While drawing mostly from Progressive Rock, the Bending Light release from the band is easily accessible as the band keeps the more progressive elements to a minimum. Because of that, the album appeals to both fans of Prog-Rock as well as those who want music that is a little more listener-friendly.

The Bending Light release from Initial Mass is being released on July 26th, 2019. Because of that, there are no singles to be promoted yet. Stay tuned to the band’s website for more information.

For more information, check out Initial Mass’ PR Firm, Whiplash Marketing & Whizkid Management. Click on the logo below to visit their site.

CD Review: The Teledynes S/T

Rockabilly is not one of those music genres you run into all the time. Aside from acts like Brian Setzer and/or the band he has been a part of for years, Stray Cats, you rarely run into Rockabilly. So when you find someone creating new music from the genre, it truly stands out in the music industry where Pop-Rock is mainly the norm. One band that has added to the Rockabilly genre with their music is the band The Teledynes.

The Teledynes is a three-piece ensemble much like the aforementioned Stray Cats who are creating their own Rockabilly music. The trio features the talents of Will Cooley, Eric Lepene and Mike Volatile, three men who have been performing for well over fifteen years. The difference between the two bands is that The Teledynes seem to draw from both the Stray Cats as well as the Brian Setzer Orchestra as the band combines elements of Rockabilly, Big Band and several similar styles together in order to create the music on the band’s new self-titled release.

“Crazy Train” is the first track of the self-titled release from The Teledynes. While the title of the track brings to mind the song from one Ozzy Osbourne, this is a much different song. The track begins with a musical passage that brings to mind the Jump Blues feel of the Brian Setzer Orchestra before the combination of the Rockabilly feel and the inclusion of the horns on the track come together. The bouncy feel to the music as well as the driving pace create a song that would easily have been right at home during the Big Band Revival during the nineties and early 2000s.

While the first track off of the self-titled release from The Teledynes brings to mind the Brian Setzer Orchestra, the second track takes the band’s music in a slightly different direction. The track “Callin’ On the Devil” calls up comparisons to a different band that had some success of their own during the nineties. “Callin’ On the Devil” is a track that draws upon the influences of Gangster Bop band Royal Crown Revue, a band who became known after its song “Hey Pachuco” was used in the movie The Mask with Jim Carey. The style and influence of Royal Crown Revue is very evident in several ways on the track, starting with the style of the music and the title of the track. Using some of the influence from Royal Crown Revue, the “Callin’ On the Devil” contains a fun feel to the music while still containing a bit of evilness to the lyrical content of the track.

Big band, Rockabilly and Gangster Bop are only three influences that help shape the music of The Teledynes. With the track called “Cohaagen,” the band calls upon the influence of Stratocaster king Dick Dale. The instrumental track contains a very similar style to the recently deceased musician who became known for songs including “Miserlou”. The Stratocaster-led track “Cohaagen” contains the same Surf Rock style that was around in the sixties. The Teledynes do a very good job of reviving the style while keeping the music fresh. For those who enjoy Surf Rock, this track is definitely for you.

Perhaps the most unique track on the self-titled release from The Teledynes is the song entitled “Way Out West”. Continuing to add more layers to their sound, the band combines the aforementioned influence of Brian Setzer and Stray Cats with a generous amount of Western influence. The result is a track that starts with a strong Rockabilly feel and the addition of the Western/Country flavor gives the track a different feel than any of the tracks that came before it. “Way Out West” with the twang in the guitar stands out as unusual when compared to the tracks that came before on the release. But that unusual delivery simply helps to keep the album moving along and staying fresh.

The self-titled release from The Teledynes continues with the track “47 Cadillac”. While the track easily contains a strong Stray Cats influence as that is the main influence that comes through, the track also brings to mind the sound and style of Commander Cody and His Lost Planet Airmen. Of course, that should be rather evident with the title of the track bringing to mind that band’s classic track “Hot Rod Lincoln”. The track from The Teledynes contains the same loose, fun feel as the music of the older band.  

For the next track called “Shot of Whiskey,” The Teledynes create a track with a solid Rockabilly flavor to it. The fun, bouncy beat contained with this track allows the band to create a track that sounds very familiar. But unlike other tracks on this album that feel influenced by the Stray Cats, “Shot of Whiskey” simply draws upon the overall genre of Rockabilly and not a specific influence.

Like the song “Cohaagen” from earlier in the release, the track entitled “September” features the band creating a strictly instrumental track. But instead of the influence from the likes of Dick Dale, “September” feels more like something from the instrumental duo of Santo and Johnny who were known for songs such as “Sleep Walk”. In fact, the track will undoubtedly take the listener back to the early fifties as the song contains that sort of feel to the music.

As the listener makes their way through the self-titled release from The Teledynes, they encounter many different styles of music that help add shape to the band’s sound. The inclusion of styles like Jump Blues, Rockabilly, Instrumental Rock and other sounds create an ever-changing patchwork of sound. The release never stays in one spot, musically, for more than one song before it changes directions. The three members of the band have a lot of talent and the various styles of music contained within the release make it truly evident. 

For more information, check out The Teledynes’ PR Firm, Whiplash Marketing & Whizkid Management. Click on the logo below to visit their site. 

To discover the music of The Teledynes, check out the video to the band’s song “Crazy Train”.

CD Review: Story Book Road S/T

The band Story Book Road is a Texas-based group that contains four musicians who have spent many years performing in the Texas area. The band consists of Mike Coker on lead guitar /vocals, Trevor Reifel guitar/lead vocals, Art Elder bass guitar/vocals and Bruce Randall drums/vocals. Having each gained plenty of experience on their own, the four members came together to play some straight-out Country music. Together, the band that was created draws from different eras of Country music and has started to create their own music. Just recently, the band created their first EP of music.

Story Book Road begins their self-titled release with the track “Cabin in the Woods”. The band’s influences come through as this track blends together some Rock and Roll flavor with some Country music. The track of “Cabin in the Woods” finds the band creating a track that brings to mind music from the likes of Chris LeDoux or early Garth Brooks. The track contains mainly a Country vibe, but the Rock and Roll feel of the electric guitars on the track is what makes the song. “Cabin in the Woods” from Story Book Road would fit well on today’s Country Music radio formats.

The self-titled release from Story Book Road continues with the track “Carmen Miranda”. With this track, the band takes their music back to the sixties or seventies as the song seems to have that sort of vibe to it. With the addition of the horns that are rather prevalent in the music, the track ends up having a nice Latin flavor to it. When combining the Latin influence with the retro feel of the music, what results is a track that sounds as if the band took equal parts of “El Paso” from Marty Robbins and “They Don’t Dance Like Carmen No More” from Jimmy Buffett and created a song around that mix. “Carmen Miranda” from Story Book Road would have felt right at home on AM radio back about forty years ago as the track’s musical blend is much closer to that era than today’s Contemporary Country music.

“Get Out Tonight” is the third track on the new self-titled release from Story Book Road. For this track, Mike Coker, Trevor Reifel, Art Elder and Bruce Randall create a song that contains a stronger Rock and Roll influence than the previous songs. In fact, the track is closer to Rock and Roll than Country. The music features a strong electric guitar approach and the organ in the background helps to add some Rock and Roll feeling. While the earlier songs on the release bring to mind nothing less than Country music, this track feels as if it would have been right at home on the radio being played alongside artists such as Bob Seger. In fact, you could easily imagine “Get Out Tonight” being played right after Seger’s “Old Time Rock and Roll”.

For the band’s next track, Story Book Road adds a little more Rock and Roll influence to their music. The track “It Don’t Mean Nothing” is a track that features a strong electric guitar presence. The presence of the electric guitar and the groove that is created by the band ends up making a sound that brings to mind the same type of musical delivery that came from the duo known as Loggins and Messina. The musical delivery on the track not only brings to mind that duo, it easily brings to mind the duo’s song called “Your Mama Don’t Dance” from back in 1972. To go along with the Rock and Roll approach on the track, the song contains lyrics about being in a relationship and knowing what you have. Just like the music of the track, the lyrics also feel like they would have come out of the seventies.

Story Book Road continues their new EP with the track “Sister Sally”. Just like the previous track, the band focuses more on the Rock and Roll side of their personality rather than the Country side. In fact, the track has a bit of an influence from The Beatles to it. While it doesn’t follow the song exactly, “Sister Sally” from Story Book Road has a sound that is rather reminiscent of the track “The Ballad of John and Yoko” from The Fab Four. Obviously, there are differences between the two tracks. However, the musical feel of the two tracks are very similar in nature.

For the final track of their six-track EP, Story Book Road brings back some of the Country flavor that was so prevalent in the first two tracks of the release. The track “Window of Your Soul” once again features a musical blend of Country and Rock and Roll to create a style like most modern-day Country music. With the dual vocal delivery on the track, the song brings to mind the feel of music from the likes of Brooks and Dunn. The more current feel of the track brings the new release from Story Book Road to a close on a more modern note.

As you listen to the tracks that make up the self-titled EP from Story Book Road, you get a very good indication of the various influences that flavor the band’s music. The inclusion of influences such as Garth Brooks, Bob Seger, Jimmy Buffett, Marty Robbins and makes Story Book Road’s music easily accessible. Whether you’re a fan of Country, Rock and Roll, classic sounds or more modern influences, this six-song release from this talented musical ensemble is truly worthy of being added to any musical library.

For a taste of the music from Story Book Road, check out the band’s video to the track “Carmen Miranda“.     
    

For more information, check out Story Book Road’s PR Firm, Whiplash Marketing & Whizkid Management. Click on the logo below to visit their site.

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