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: Hometown Marie “Wild Side”

The very definition of the musical genre called Americana is: “a genre of American music having roots in early folk and country music”. But every so often, someone from outside of America comes along who adds their flavor to the music. That outside influence from the likes of someone like New Zealander Keith Urban helps to keep the music fresh as that artist helps to push the boundaries of the music. You can now add yet another outsider influence to the Americana music genre as the band Hometown Marie is currently ripping up the Country charts over in their country of Sweden.

Sweden’s Hometown Marie takes the Americana genre and makes it their own. In fact, if you were not aware of just where the band comes from, you would swear they were just your average American Country band. The Swedish band consists of: Oskar Östman, Singer, songwriter, guitarist; Gabriel Carlsson, Bass, vocals; Simon Peterson, Drummer; and Accel  Ramberg, Lead guitarist. Together, the quartet has released one four-song EP in 2016 entitled Wild Side and two new singles that were added to the band’s musical output in 2018. 

Hometown Marie’s Wild Side EP begins with the track “Like We Used To”. Right from the very beginning, the track screams Top 40 Country radio as the track features a strong current Country music feeling. In fact, the song feels as if it was recorded down in Nashville with some of the best professionals in that town. “Like We Used To” features strong mandolin playing and plenty of Country twang. The mid-tempo pace of the track gives it an easy feeling as the song plays out. That tempo works well for the song as the lyrics describe a couple in the middle of a dance that takes them back in time to when they met each other. Being the first track off of the Wild Side EP, “Like We Used To” lets the listener know that the band is serious about creating music in the Country vein. 

The band picks things up a bit with the track “Yours Tonight”. With“Yours Tonight,” the band ventures into a sound where the band combines elements of Folk music with Country. The result is a slightly lighter feel to the music. But that lighter feel comes with a quicker tempo to the music and a slightly heavier groove than what was present on “Like We Used To”. The inclusion of the mandolin at the very beginning of the track helps to set the song in motion. It is that mandolin that truly brings the Folk influence in the song to the forefront. The quicker pace and stronger groove to the song creates a moment on the EP that would fit right in with anything on today’s Country music radio formats.

Just as fast as Hometown Marie changed the pace of the music with a faster tempo on “Yours Tonight,” the band tones things down again on the next track of“Run to You”. The tempo for that song is much slower but the track also comes with a very steady, yet strong beat provided by drummer Simon Peterson. The slow pace and steady beat of the song carry the track throughout its four-minute playtime with no changing of the pace or delivery of that beat. Along with the slow, steady beat from Simon Peterson that is present on the track,the rest of Hometown Marie adds to the track with instrumental deliveries that are rather sparse in nature. The limited amount of playing from the band members on the song help to create a track that rather simple in nature yet somehow also seems full-bodied at the same time.

The Wild Side EP from Hometown Marie comes to an end with the album’s title track. “Wild Side” is easily the hardest rockin’ track of the four songs that make up the 2016 release. The harder guitars and stronger beat on the track blend together to create a track that is perfect for fans of today’s Country music. And the mention of a “Hollywood Smile”in the lyrics adds even more of an “American” feel to the music, which just helps to put the band further into the Americana music genre. For those fans of today’s Country music, “Wild Side” is one track that will fill your need for Contemporary Country music.

While the four tracks that make up the Wild Side EP from Hometown Marie are solid, there is more to the band than just that EP. The band has just recently added two more tracks to their musical library. Those new tracks are “Stay The Night” and “Take Me Back”.

Right from the beginning of the track, “Stay the Night” from Hometown Marie hits the listener with a sound that places the Rock and Roll influence of the band atop the band’s Country influence. While both genres are solidly present in the song, the track contains more of a Rock and Roll influence than Country twang. The track also seems to also contain other influences to the music as well. For instance, the entire track is rather reminiscent of a song from the Scottish rock band Big Country from 1988 called “King of Emotion”. Whether there is a connection between that song and Hometown Marie remains to be seen. However, the resulting track by Hometown Marie would have fit on American radio airwaves back in the eighties just as easily as it would on today’s radio.

The second track that the band just recently released is called “Take Me Back”. The introduction to the track finds the band slowly leading into the track as the track builds. As the song builds, what is revealed is a song that contains a strong influence from eighties-era Rock and Roll with just a little Country twang. The lyrical content about a man asking for forgiveness has a universal appeal to it and the musical approach of the track combine to create a track that fans of Rock and Roll of the eighties and fans of today’s Country music will both enjoy.

Swedish band Hometown Marie may not have an album of music available, but the Wild Side EP and the band’s two newest singles of “Take Me Back” and “Stay the Night” provide the listener with six tracks of strong music with plenty of crossover appeal for those who enjoy Rock and Roll from the eighties and/or fans of Country music. Whichever side of the aisle you find yourself on, Hometown Marie creates music that appeals to a lot of people. 

To hear the music of Hometown Marie, check out the music video to the band’s newest single, “Stay the Night“.

You can find Hometown Marie and their music over on the band’s Spotify account.

  

CD Review: The Good Morning Nags “No Damn Good”

The Good Morning Nags is a six-piece NYC based ensemble. The band 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 put out a self-titled release not that long ago, they have returned with a new two-song release they have called No Damn Good.

 
No Damn Good from The Good Morning Nags begins with the first of two tracks called “Birmingham”. The track begins with the sound of a vehicle turning over and coming to life. The sound of starting a motor 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. The track would fit right in on any radio format that features modern-day Country music and/or Folk-based music. While the energy level for the music of the track would be great for today’s Pop-Rock radio, there is just a little too much of a Country flavor to the song. That being said, 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.

 
After the first of two songs comes to an end, the No Damn Good EP from The Good Morning Nags continues with the title track “No Damn Good”. While the first track on the two-song EP blends together Bluegrass with a blend of Country, Rock and Folk, the title track of the EP features a sound that is rather different in sound 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”.

 
Having experienced the sound and style of The Good Morning Nags from their earlier self-titled album, it’s nice to see that the band doesn’t seem to be slowing down. The two tracks on the band’s No Damn Good EP add to the music The Good Morning Nags had already produced and let the listener know that there’s more to come from this talented musical ensemble.

 

To hear some of the music from The Good Morning Nags, check out the title track from the band’s No Damn Good EP. 

Find the band’s No Damn Good EP  on SPOTIFY.  

For more information, check out The Good Morning Nags’ PR firm of Whiplash PR & Management by clicking on the logo for the company.

 

CD Review: The Good Morning Nags S/T

Six-piece NYC based ensemble The Good Morning Nags is currently in the middle of making a name for themselves. The band consists of founding members Tim Hassler (fiddle, vocals), Ben Quinn (mandolin, guitar, harmonium, 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). As a group, the band comes together to create music that bridges the gap between the sound of classic Bluegrass music and more recent music that falls into the category of Americana because of the blending of styles to create a new sound and feel to the music. The Americana style from The Good Morning Nags blends Bluegrass, Folk and some Country together to create a sound that will find its place among fans of early forms of music. Throw in a little Old Timey influence to the music and you have a recipe for musical success.

Having originally formed back in 2010, The Good Morning Nags spent some of their time busking in the subways in New York. Since that time, hundreds of performances were logged before the band even recorded their first EP. But now, the band is celebrating the release of their new self-titled EP. The new self-titled EP from The Good Morning Nags begins with the track “Sugar Baby”. The track features a strong Folk/Bluegrass blend with a slight hint of something more to it. The blend suggests that this version of the track is not quite what lovers of Folk or Bluegrass may come to expect. That firmly puts the track into the Americana genre. The vocals on the track find the vocalists blending their voices in harmony just like you’d find on many Bluegrass tracks. Blending everything together into one song, The Good Morning Nags have a strong track that leads off their self-titled release.

With the next track on their self-titled release, the band does what most Bluegrass bands do: They take a shot at performing a well-known tune to make it their own, just like they did with “Sugar Baby”. It is with the standard tune “Blackberry Bush” that the band truly shows off their roots. While the standard is usually a spotlight tune for the fiddle, The Good Morning Nags have created a version that revolves around the fiddle from Tim Hassler while still incorporating the entire band in on the tune. The ensemble feel of the track creates a completely different take on the tune while still allowing the original tune to shine through.

“Love Like No Other,” an original track on the release, ventures slightly away from the Bluegrass style of the group and takes on the styling of the Country Rock band of The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band. In fact, the tune recalls the early days of that band when they were creating music with a rather Old Timey feel to it. Specifically, “Love Like No Other” feels as if it would fit right alongside tracks from The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band’s self-titled debut where several of the tracks were arrangements of older songs. While there is a definite Old Timey feel to “Love Like No Other,” that sound is perfect for lovers of the style.

The Good Morning Nags return to a standard mindset on the next track. “Cripple Creek” finds the band in full Bluegrass mode as they perform the tune. The version of the song that the band chose dates back over one hundred years to 1905. The track features the mandolin of Ben Quinn as the focal point in the song and the band creates a version of the song that lives up to that old standard while adding a nice energetic delivery to the music. “Cripple Creek” as performed by The Good Morning Nags finds the band in fine form as they bring a rather old tune into the modern era.

The Good Morning Nags bring their new self-titled album to a close with a track that could easily be described as the band’s theme song. “Good Morning Girl” finds the band creating a track that takes the genre of Bluegrass and turns it on its head. The resulting track contains the feel of Bluegrass but with a very modern take on it. The music has a bit of an edge to it while the lyrics have a slightly wry feel to them while being upbeat at the same time. The lyrics find the singer (a Good Morning Nag) singing an ode to his girlfriend (a Good Morning Girl). And then, when he has his say, the girl in question sings her response. The duet-style track is basically a love song being sung by two much worn people looking for their perfect matches. While it has a rather modern feel to the lyrics and music, underneath it all, the track has a timeless appeal to it.

The new self-titled release from The Good Morning Nags is a release that has a lot going for it: There are the elements of classic Bluegrass, classic Folk music and fresh arrangements of classic Bluegrass tunes all mixed together. While the album may be a tad unusual for those looking for a straight-out classic Bluegrass release, those with an open mind and an appreciation for Bluegrass music, Folk music and even Country music will much to enjoy on this album.

To check out the music of The Good Morning Nags, check out the band’s tune called “Love Like No Other”.

To purchase a copy of the new self-titled EP from The Good Morning Nags, click HERE.  

For more information, check out the band’s PR firm, WHIPLASH PR.

CD Review: Shane Martin “Til the Wheels Fall Off”

Shane Martin is a singer-songwriter who has been creating his style of Country music for several years. Throughout his time as a musician, Martin has worked on his own and as part of the band Faith Nation. Having once been a One Man Band where he would play guitar, bass and drums on stage all at the same time to create a live sound, Shane Martin has taken steps to expand his musical presence live in concert by adding actual musicians to complete his sound in the studio and live on stage. To help back him up, Martin calls upon lead guitarist Brad Nelson, bassist Mike May and drummer Shawn Kolles to complete the sound. Together, the four men perform under the name the Shane Martin Band.

During his musical history, Shane Martin has released several CDs, which includes his last release entitled Light It Up, which was released in 2012. Recently, Martin created a new release to add to his musical library. The newest release from Shane Martin is entitled Til the Wheels Fall Off.

Til the Wheels Fall Off from Shane Martin begins with the track “I Am What I Am”. The track features a fast-paced feel to the music and feels like it would be perfect for today’s Country music playlists. The song consists of lyrics about how Martin began his love of music when his grandfather offered to buy him a guitar and where the inspiration for creating his music comes from. The autobiographical track gives a nice insight into the background of Shane Martin while also kicking the release off with a lot of energy.

The new release from Shane Martin continues with the song “She’s Got Me Right Where I Want Me”. Instead of containing a strong Country influence, the track features a pop-rock feel to the music. That pop-rock feel will make the track perfect for a crossover hit, making the track feel right at home on either Country stations or Top 40 stations. The slight humor contained in the track will also grab the listener’s attention.

Shane Martin continues the release with the track “Whatever Floats Your Boat”. The track contains a modern-day Country music feel with just a little Blues flavor to it. The track’s lyrics contain the message that you should do whatever feels good to you. The positive message of the song mixed with the solid groove contained in the music makes the song feel fun.

With the track “Georgia Peach,” Shane Martin creates a track that seems slightly retro in its nature as the song feels like it would been right at home on radio stations back in the eighties. The track contains several guitar parts that bring to mind artists like Bryan Adams that would have been played on commercial rock stations back then. “Georgia Peach” is one of the strongest and most infectious tracks on the newest release from Martin and seems to set itself apart from the rest of the release.

Til the Wheels Fall Off continues with the song “Pour the Hurt On”. The soft feel of the music on the track brings to mind the countrified feel of the Eagles with just a little more of a twang to it. The addition of the mandolin on the track also gives the track a slight folk flavor. “Pour the Hurt On” is another track on the new release from Shane Martin that seems to have been written to be played on the radio and could become a favorite among today’s Country music fans. The track is easily one of the best tracks on the release.

Shane Martin picks up the pace and the energy of the music with the track “Beer on the Brain”. The track will instantly feel very familiar to Country music listeners as the song brings a lot of the feel of “Friends in Low Places” from Garth Brooks and mixes it with some of “It’s Five O’Clock Somewhere” from Alan Jackson and Jimmy Buffet with just a little of “Margaritaville” thrown in for good measure. Needless-to-say, the track has a very strong fun vibe to it.

The new release from Shane Martin comes to a close with the album’s title track. “Til the Wheels Fall Off” is a track about living like every day matters. While it kind of takes away some of the energy from the previous track, the positive message is a good way of bringing the release to a close.

The seven tracks that make up Til the Wheels Fall Off will keep the listener entertained. The new release from Shane Martin showcases the writing ability of Martin while allowing him to prove he is someone to watch out for in the future.

Currently, Shane Martin is offering free shipping for the new release. Click HERE to take advantage of the offer.

Click HERE to check out the track “Til the Wheels Fall Off”.  

Check out Shane Martin’s PR firm, RMG Artist Development.

CD Review: Kally O’Mally “Wild West Medicine Show”

Kally O’Mally is a California-based singer-songwriter who creates a style of music that is most easily categorized as Americana as she incorporates many different styles into her music. While she would probably be called “Pop,” she also has a generous amount of Country influence in her style as well. Having already created one release titled Easy Money, O’Mally has returned with yet another album entitled The Wild West Medicine Show.

The Wild West Medicine Show from Kally O’Mally begins with the track called “Fly”. The track is a moderately-paced song with a Pop-rock flavor that also contains just a touch of Country sound to it. While the song contains lyrics that bring to mind a slightly old-fashioned Country track, the song features plenty of pop-rock feel and the addition of the banjo on the track adds that Country flavor to the track. The Country/Pop-rock combination in the music creates a track that would fit as much on today’s Country formats as it would fit on any current Top 40 format; thus, creating the perfect crossover song for almost any format on today’s radio dial.

O’Mally’s most recent release continues with the song “Sweet Delta Breeze”. While the track still contains the same easy feel from the previous track, O’Mally eliminates the Country influence on this track while increasing the Pop-rock influence. The song allows the guitars to create an easy Rock feel that may fit with songs from back in the seventies. And while the track does feel slightly retro in its sound, it would be right at home on today’s radio as well.

The title track on The Wild West Medicine Show finds Kally O’Mally creating a track that is equal parts Folk-rock and Country. The combination of all of the genres creates music that seems very appropriate for the subject matter of the travelling medicine show. The Country setting almost makes you imagine being part of the crowd that is being drawn in by the not-so-honest band of misfits that make up the medicine show.

For the track “Kisses,” the feel of the music changes from everything that came before it. The song brings to mind songs from the early days of Rock and Roll. In fact, the listener can almost hear the influence of the Everly Brothers in the music and the melody of the lyrics sung by O’Mally. The music of the track brings out the Americana sound of Kally O’Mally on this track.

Kally O’Mally once again changes musical directions on the song “Miss Understood”. While the tracks that came before “Miss Understood” contain combinations of music styles, O’Mally decided to compose this track using one musical approach. “Miss Understood” feels much like a Country song that would have been played back in the seventies. The Lyrics even bring to mind that era of Country music. Had it been written back a few decades, “Miss Understood” feels like something that Loretta Lynn or Dolly Parton might have sung. The track feels like it should be included on playlists on radio formats that focus on Classic Country.

With the track “2 Days Gone,” Kally O’Mally adds a little more Blues feel to her new release. The track about being down on your luck has a feel that many can get behind as we can all relate to having experienced something that makes us depressed. The Blues feel of the music on the track sets the song apart from most of the album.

With the track of “I’m Gonna Run,” Kally O’Mally makes a statement about abuse. While the song makes a very serious point about a very serious subject matter, the four minutes of the song is well-played while also being entertaining. O’Mally wrote the song to help get some information out there for those who are actually going through an abusive situation.

The Wild West Medicine Show from Kally O’Mally comes to a close with the track “Bourbon On My Deathbed”. The bluegrass-inspired track brings back the simpler feel of Omally’s music. That simpler feel makes for a great way to bring her newest release to a close.

The newest release from Kally O’Mally brings out the Country flavor within the Americana genre that O’Mally calls home. The music on The Wild West Medicine Show changes directions from one track to another and Kally O’Mally is able to keep the music interesting from track-to-track. If you are a fan of Americana music, The Wild West Medicine Show from Kally O’Mally is a strong new release.

CD Review: Antigone Rising “Whiskey and Wine Vol. 2”

Antigone Rising is a Country Rock band from New York. Having been founded by sisters Cathy Henderson and Kristen Ellis-Henderson, the band has had their share of time in the spotlight for their music and other causes that are close to their hearts. The band is known mainly for their 2005 release From the Ground Up. Having had other members come and go through the band, Antigone Rising now consists of: Nini Camps – lead vocals, rhythm guitar; Kristen Ellis-Henderson – bass guitar, vocals; Cathy Henderson – lead guitar, vocals and Dena Tauriello-drums. With an ever-increasing library of musical releases, the band is currently promoting their newest release; a five-song EP entitled Whiskey and Wine Vol. II.

Whiskey and Wine Vol. II from Antigone Rising begins with the hard-rocking track called “Game Changer”. The track begins with a beat that will instantly draw you into the band’s music. The call-and-respond vocals from Nini Camps and the rest of the band at the beginning of the track will remind the listener of something from the Girl Groups like The Supremes or The Ronettes before Antigone Rising takes the track in a more rock and roll-inspired direction that makes the song feel like a true anthem for today’s people who want something more in the world.

The newest release from Antigone Rising continues with the track “I See You”. The track features a folk-rock feel as the band takes their music in a slightly more gentle direction. While “Game Changer’s” energy draws the listener in, “I See You” has its own brand of beauty in both the romantic lyrics and the easy feel of the music. Like “Game Changer” before it, “I See You” feels like it could easily become a single off of the release.

With the track “Weed & Wine,” the quartet brings the energy of the music up as they incorporate a little Rock and Roll into their style. The inclusion of the banjo on the track and the twang in the electric guitar makes the song feel as much like Country music as much as Rock and Roll. The track finds the singer invited her special someone to a special night. The track’s lighthearted lyrics and the fun musical approach on the track keeps the energy level up and makes “Weed & Wine” a song to listen to if you’re in the mood to have fun.

Perhaps the most listener-friendly track on Whiskey and Wine Vol. II from Antigone Rising is the song “My Town”. Right from the very beginning of the song, the band creates a track that pulls upon the emotional feeling of the listener as the lyrics of the song bring to mind everything that makes your hometown so special. The Country feeling blended with the light Rock feeling in the music makes the track perfect for a crossover hit as fan of both genres of music will be drawn to the track. The inclusion of the strings helps to add a lot of emotional feeling to both the lyrics and music of the song. “My Town” is easily the most additive of the songs on the newest release from Antigone Rising.

The newest release from Antigone Rising comes to an end with the track “The Last Time”. The song features one of the strongest energy levels of the songs on Whiskey and Wine Vol. II. Like the track “Game Changer” that began the release, “The Last Time” features lyrics that seem to make a statement. And since “Game Changer” started the album off with a bang, “The Last Time” seems to be the perfect track to bring to an end as it features the same type of energy in the music.

Having already released Whiskey and Wine Vol. I in 2014, Antigone Rising released Whiskey and Wine Vol. II in 2015 to finish the concept. The 2015 five-song EP contains plenty of highs within the limited amount of tracks. Flowing from Country to Folk to Rock and Roll, the five songs in the EP contain plenty of variety and that variety makes the release a jot to listen to from start to finish.

Click HERE to check out the video to the Antigone Rising’s song “Game Changer”.

Click HERE to check out the entire Whiskey and Wine Vol. II release.

Click HERE to check out Antigone Rising’s PR firm Cyber PR.

CD Review: Annette Larsson “Leave Me Behind”

After spending time as a singer in several bands, Norway’s Annette Larsson decided she needed to express her own feelings in her own way and so went solo. She came to the United States and made her way to Nashville where she was able to find the ideal situation for the direction she wanted to be headed in.

Annette Larsson’s dream was to create an album of Country music, a genre of music she fell in love with while living in Norway. With the musicians she met in Nashville, Larsson began recording her debut album. Along with Larsson, the rest of the musicians who have brought her music to life include both American and Norwegian musicians who came together to create a unique musical blend that is unmistakably Country while still containing a slight international edge to the music that makes up Larsson’s debut release. That album, entitled Leave Me Behind, is now available.

Leave Me Behind by Annette Larsson begins with the track “Sucks to Be You”. In the song, Larsson sings of breaking free of a relationship that was very one-sided and now being happy to be able to breathe once again. The track begins with a mix of mandolin and violin that combine to create the basis of the music of the track. That musical basis has a very folk-like feel to it before the track transitions to a more modern-day Country feel. The unique musical approach mixed with the lyrics about being an independent woman should easily appeal to listeners of today’s Country music radio formats.

The album continues with the song “Mean As You”. The song features a large amount of modern Country-Rock sound with the electric guitar playing as big a part in the track as the fiddle while still containing an equal amount of classic Country flavor of songs from the late sixties/early seventies. The slight duet sound of Annette Larsson singing with Wes Hightower also gives the track that classic Country flavor familiar to fans of songs that feature duets between Tammy Wynette and George Jones and/or between Dolly Parton and Porter Waggoner.

The feel of the album changes slightly on the title track of the release. “Leave Me Behind” will remind many of music from Bonnie Raitt. The music of the track has a very Bluesy feel to it while still retaining the Country flavor that the listener has become accustomed to from the previous tracks. The Blues/Country combination comes courtesy of the electric guitar from Brent Mason and the steel guitar from Paul Franklin. The alternating of the two sounds from Mason and Franklin along with the addition of the keys from Asbjørn Nørgaard help to give the track a lot of depth to the music of the track and that helps make “Leave Me Behind” one of the highlights of the new release from Annette Larsson.

Annette Larsson’s Leave Me Behind continues with the song “Hot Headed Woman”. The song easily reminds you of something that would have been released by Dolly Parton several years ago. The music has a classic Country style that goes along with lyrics that have a timeless feel to them. This is one of the tracks that prove that Larsson can hold her own in today’s Country music scene.

While “Hot Headed Woman” takes Larsson’s music back to the time of classic Country music, the track “If That Ain’t Country” sounds like something that would definitely fit with today’s Country music radio formats. The song sounds like something that Martina McBride, Carrie Underwood or even Reba McEntire would have recorded for one of their releases.

Like many Country artists, Annette Larsson’s new release also comes complete with a track that could easily end up being a “crossover” track. The song “Leave Me Behind” has just the right sentiment that Country fans, and music fans in general, could get behind. The song could easily fit right beside Dolly Parton’s version of “I Will Always Love You” or Whitney Houston’s version, depending on format.

Throughout the ten tracks that make up Annette Larsson’s album Leave Me Behind, there is plenty of music that will satisfy fans of Country music. And just like Keith Urban before her, Larsson proves that you don’t have to be American to create Country music that sounds authentic.

Reviewer: Matheson Kamin Rating: **** (four stars)

To hear just a taste of Annette Larsson’s music click here.