Single Review: White Owl Red “Working Class Heroes”

Based outside of San Francisco, singer/songwriter Josef McManus creates a style of music that uses plenty of Folk influence to flavor his songs. Of course, with San Francisco’s history with that music, it comes as no surprise that McManus would end up picking up that influence in his writing. And because of that, some of the songs that McManus creates are rather deeply steeped in political meaning. To bring his music to life, Josef McManus performs and records under the moniker of White Owl Red. Having already created quite a bit of noise with the success of his previous albums, especially 2019’s Existential Frontiers which is still making noise in the music industry, McManus is currently working on the follow-up to that release. And to give his audience (both new and established alike) a taste of the upcoming album, McManus (as White Owl Red) has released the track “Working Class Heroes” as a way to promote the new release. With “Working Class Heroes,” a title that refers to the title of John Lennon’s song called “Working Class Hero,” McManus’ political side comes through loud and strong. And although “Working Class Heroes” from White Owl Red finds Josef McManus creating a song around the idea of the men and women who help keep America strong and moving, the song is more about the facts of the situation and not so much about preaching. While there have been plenty of positive moments in the history of the American worker, there have been moments that proved to be challenges to those workers. The lyrics of “Working Class Heroes” speak of the pride and determination of those men and women trying to work around those challenges to try and make a living for themselves. The music to the track itself blends together Folk music and some Rock and Roll influence to create a track that contains a driving feel to the music while still being laidback. What results is a track that brings to mind a combination of Bob Dylan-like lyrics with music inspired by the likes of John Mellencamp or Bruce Springsteen, an artist himself who has written songs with rather strong messages within their lyrics. “Working Class Heroes” keeps the momentum of White Owl Red’s last release Existential Frontiers going and gives the listener just a glimpse of what it to come. Stay tuned for more Josef McManus and his band called White Owl Red in the near future.

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

Check out the song of “Working Class Heroes” from White Owl Red.

You can also find the “Working Class Heroes” single from White Owl Red on spotify.

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.

Single Review: Sam Levin “Dairy Queen Queen”

Sam Levin is a New York City-based singer-songwriter. And what separates him from most of the music industry is his age: Levin is barely old enough to drive. And while he is rather young, that hasn’t stopped him from already making a name for himself as a singer and musician. The singer/guitarist started young as a guitarist and then began writing his own music when he was only ten years old. Now, Sam Levin has used his limited time in the music industry and has put it to good use. To this point, Levin has released three albums: 2017’s Frame of Mind, 2018’s I Am, and the most recent album, 2019’s A General Air of Regret. And although A General Air of Regret was only released half a year ago, Sam Levin has wasted no time as he continues to write and release new music. The most recent single from Sam Levin was released this month in early September. The new single from Sam Levin being “Dairy Queen Queen”. “Dairy Queen Queen” from Sam Levin begins with the sound of the guitar. It is right from the very beginning of the track that the listener gets to experience the talents of this musician as the guitar playing on the track is reminiscent of a studio musician many times older than Levin at this point in his life. The blending of the guitars at the beginning of the track creates a style of Folk music that brings to mind the style of the now-defunct Contemporary Instrumental band Wind Machine as the track from Levin blends together Jazz and Folk in a manner that is reminiscent of that talented band.  The Jazz/Folk blend performed on the guitar by Sam Levin is mixed with the other instrumentation from Levin to complete the musical feel of the track. With lyrics about admiring a woman from afar but not approaching her, the song “Dairy Queen Queen”  finds multi-instrumentalist Levin creating music that sounds as good as anything that easily could have been made by studio musicians. Although Sam Levin just released a full album of music called A General Air of Regret earlier this year, “Dairy Queen Queen” would be the perfect starting point for the next album from the singer-songwriter.

Check out the new single from Sam Levin being “Dairy Queen Queen”.

For more information, check out Sam Levin’s PR firm, Whiplash Management by clicking on the logo below:

Single Review: C. Wired “Baby Prime Became Baby Blue”

Chuck Whyard is a singer-songwriter is currently creating his own music. And to do so, he is using the stage name of C. Wired. For the most part, C. Wired’s music features Progressive Rock and/or Album Oriented Rock, straight-out Rock and Roll influences while he also incorporates musical styles such as Jazz, Blues, and Country. Under that name of C. Wired, the singer-songwriter has already released one album of original music. The first release from C. Wired is entitled Angel Circuit Engaged. Now, the singer-songwriter returns. This time, he has created a single track of original music. That new song from C. Wired is entitled “Baby Prime Became Baby Blue”. And to bring this new track to life, Chuck Whyard once again called upon Angel Circuit Engaged producer Addison Smith to help bring out the best of the song. Having already created songs that switched between many different genres of music, this new track of “Baby Prime Became Baby Blue” is a track with a rather laidback and low-key approach. The first fifty seconds of music on the track focuses on the pairing up of the acoustic guitar and the keyboards; the guitar containing a definite folk feel while the keyboards contain an ambient quality to them. The result is a Folk/New Age musical combination. Soon enough, Chuck Whyard himself adds his vocals to the song. His vocals continue the same low-key feel as the music of the song. The lyrics of the song “Baby Prime Became Baby Blue” also contain a somber feel as they describe a woman who lives in her own personal view of reality. But it’s all a lie as she believed everything she had been told. The new track from C. Wired ultimately comes across as a storyline set to music. With the track “Baby Prime Became Baby Blue,” C. Wired gives the listener just a taste of his music and proves that he could be the next singing storyteller, in much the same vein as songs from the likes of artists such as Tom Waits, Marty Robbins or even C. W. McCall.   

For more information, check out C. Wired’s PR firm, Whiplash Management by clicking on the logo 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.

Single Review: Reina Mora “If I Were a Stranger”

It was back in late 2007 that alt-country singer-songwriter Ryan Adams released his album entitled Follow the Lights. On that album, Adams created a song called “If I Were a Stranger,” a track that came rather late in the seven-track release. The tracks contained on that album had a sound that fell directly in the middle of the alt-country genre with “If I Were a Stranger” being equal parts Country and Rock and Roll. Now, more than a decade later, Puerto Rico native Leeane Melendez (here on out to be referred to by her stage name of Reina Mora) has released her version of the track as a follow-up to her last single of “Trouble”. For her version of the track, Reina Mora has stripped the track down to a bare minimum as the track contains the sound of an acoustic guitar, bass and cajon, all played live in the studio. “If I Were a Stranger” features the sound of the acoustic guitar and the cajon helping to form the basis for the track with the addition of the cello as the instrument helps to add texture and some bottom to the body of the song. The track feels as much like the acoustic version of “If I Were a Stranger” from Adams’ one performance on David Letterman he where performed solo as it does like one of Reina Mora’s own tracks, which proves she wanted to stay close to the original material but also wanted to add her touch to the song. The track blends together the two styles of both Reina Mora and Ryan Adams as the song contains both a strong Folk approach and a strong Pop feel to the music. The five-minute playtime on the track shows that Reina Mora and the musicians backing her up on the track simply allowed the track to play out in its own way. Like the single of “Trouble” before it, “If I Were a Stranger” shows off only one side of the talent from Reina Mora. With this and the previous single, the upcoming album release from the singer-songwriter is shaping up to be a rather strong album.    

To hear Reina Mora’s version of the song “If I Were a Stranger,” click HERE.

CD Review: Caroline Ferrante “Beyond”

Singer-songwriter Caroline Ferrante started out on the South Side of Chicago where she gained her knowledge of theater and voice. With this added knowledge, she ended up in the Washington, D.C. music scene where she has been making music ever since.

As a solo musician, Caroline Ferrante is constantly adding to her collection of songs. She has several releases under her name at the moment. Having already released Live from the Belfry, and Sky, Ferrante returns with yet another release called Beyond.

Beyond from Caroline Ferrante sets itself apart from her earlier releases as Ferrante shifted her style to take on a religious feel to the music on the four-song EP. While Ferrante stays true to her Folk music background, the addition of religious themes and words gives the tracks a much different feel than what had come before from the singer-songwriter.

Caroline Ferrante begins her Beyond release with the track “River Flow”. The track begins with a strong beat that is the result of several people clapping their hands and stomping their feet to create a rhythm for the rest of the instrumentation to go on top of. The rather strong beat in the song is met with the sound of an acoustic guitar that helps to create the actual music for the song. What is created is a sound that is Folk-Rock at its best. The lyrical content of the spirit being a river that washes the singer clean helps to bring the religious meaning of the song to life. The inclusion of other female voices blending together with Ferrante’s voice helps to create a strong chorus in the track. “River Flow” contains a strong musical approach to start the EP off strong.

The Beyond release slows down a little on the track “Peace Be Still”. Where the previous track of “River Flow”contained a strong beat providing a powerful backdrop to the rest of the music on that song, “Peace Be Still” is much more relaxed in nature. And while the previous song also contained a strong, religious message, the EP’s second track is much more relaxing to listen to. The laid-back feel of the music once again comes from the acoustic guitar; but this time, the instrument is played with a gentler approach. The soft, laid-back approach on the music works well with the lyrics about seeking the chance to find inner peace when everything around you is not the way you want it. As Caroline Ferrante sings the lyrics, she produces a crescendo in his delivery near the end of the track that is very reminiscent of the same type of build up one would expect from the late entertainer Kate Smith who was known for her pinnacle version of the song “God Bless America”. While the previous song on the release may be a stronger track because of its energetic feeling, “Peace Be Still” has its own strength in its musical beauty.

The energy level goes way up on the next track of the four-song Beyond EP. The track “A Little More Faith” finds Caroline Ferrante joining forces with a Gospel choir to bring the song to life. And with the combination of Ferrante and the chorus, there is definitely a lot of life in the song. The music of the song contains a Folk-Rock approach with a stressing on the word Rock. The entire musical ensemble blends their various musical and vocal talents together to create a track that is one of the strongest points within the four songs included in the release. The music and the vocals come together to create a track that is sure to fill up your ears as you listen to the song.

Beyond from Carolina Ferrante comes to a close with the track “Hear Your Name”. This track is one of the more spiritual tracks of the EP as Ferrante sings to and about the one above. The guitar and piano found on the track blend together to create a musical sound that is beautiful and easy on the ears. The feel of the music, the lyrical content and the vocals delivery from Ferrante all combine to create a track that feels very reminiscent of a rather well-known singer within Gospel music circles- Amy Grant.

If you had to come up with a one-word description for Beyond, the latest release from Carolina Ferrante, “Energetic” is probably the word to use. Right from the start, the listener experiences the Folk-Rock of “River Flow”. Then, the pace decreases as it slows down on the song “Peace Be Still” but the intensity on the track does not decrease. As the release continues, the other tracks help to finish out the EP with both beauty and strength.

To check out the music of  Carolina Ferrante, check out her song “Peace Be Still“. 

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: Quiles and Cloud “Seminole Star”

Folk duo of Maria Quiles and Rory Cloud are two singer/songwriters that create a folk music sound in the songs they create.Those songs are rather simplistic in nature as they draw upon only the guitars and vocals from Quiles and Cloud. That simplistic writing approach is more than apparent on the duo’s 2012 release entitled Long Time Coming.

Having already released Long Time Coming, Maria Quiles and Rory Cloud (now known simply as Quiles and Cloud) went about adding other musical components to their music to expand their sound. To bring their current musical vision to life, the duo called upon upright bassist Oscar Westesson, vocalist/pianist Julian Muller and Irene Sazer on violin. While the duo’s current sound is richer and fuller, it still has a simplistic approach and still makes use of their folk background. That expanded sound is found on the recently released 2014 Quiles and Cloud album called Seminole Star.

To help bring Seminole Star to life, the participating musicians gathered in the OTR Studios. That “live” feeling is definitely present as you listen to the release.

Seminole Star from Quiles and Cloud begins with the track “All My Trouble Gone”. No place on the album is it more apparent that this release is a “live in the studio” release than on this track as the beginning of the track starts with a beat being established only to be quickly replaced by a faster beat once Maria Quiles begins to sing the lyrics to the song. While that beginning seems a tad awkward, the track soon becomes one of the strongest tracks on the release as the guitars; bass and violin all combine to create a track that is unmistakably folk-like. One of the fun elements of the track is violinist Irene Sazer’s use of her violin to create bird sounds to go along with the lyrics of being able to fly. While the track has a relatively slow tempo that tempo increases about halfway in and the resulting faster pace of the song gives the track a nice amount of energy and it is that fast pace that brings the song to its end.

The quick pace established during “All My Trouble Gone” helps to lead into the next track of “Fool to Run”. Like the song before, “Fool to Run” has a strong pace to it. Like the song before it, “Fool to Run” has a strong pace to it. The track features both Maria Quiles and Rory Cloud on vocals. While Maria handles the majority of the lyrics, Rory joins her on the refrains and the two create a duet-like feel to the lyrics. While “All My Troubles Gone” contained music from Maria, Rory, bassist Oscar Westesson and violin Irene Sazer, it was in an ensemble setting. With “Fool to Run,” the musicians get a little opportunity to show off as both Westesson and Sazer help to create some very strong moments on the track.

If any one song on Seminole Star could be released as a single, it would easily be “Pass”. The song features music that feels as much like the Blues as it does like Folk. The lyrics to the song incorporate such as “baby, it’s cold outside” and “stop and stay a while”. The vocals delivered by Maria Quiles bring to mind artists such as Shawn Colvin and Paula Cole. The track feels very commercial and ready-made for the radio.

On Seminole Star’s title track, Quiles and Cloud revert backto a simple folk approach to their music. The music on the track is createdmainly by the guitars from the two. In fact, while the song does containbassist Oscar Westesson and violinist Irene Sazer, the two are part of the songto more or less just add a little texture to the track. As you listen to MariaQuiles sing the lyrics, the melody in the part of the main body of the song hasa hauntingly-familiar sound to it (Neil Young’s “Ohio,” anyone?).

One of the prettiest moments on the Seminole Star release belongs to the song “Empty Handed”. The trio of Maria Quiles, Rory Cloud and bassist Oscar Westesson create a track with an easy feel to the music. One of the elements that give the track such a beautiful sound is Westesson’s bowing technique on the standup bass. That bowing technique adds both beauty and depth to the feeling of the song.

With Quiles and Cloud having released Seminole Star only mere days before the end of 2014, the album helped the year come to an end on a very strong note. But since many fans of the duo will actually discover the release in 2015, it can also be said that it will help start the year off with a bang.

Check out the full-band version of “Pass,” a track off of Seminole Star from Quiles and Cloud.

Also check out the duo’s YouTubeChannel for downloads of all of the tracks on the release.

(Post script: What you are reading is a re-post of a review that had originally been published back in 2015. Because of a few problems (which started with a simple trying to redo the album cover which had somehow disappeared from the review), the review needed to be redone. 
Since the original publication of this review, the project of Quiles & Cloud disbanded. But they left behind three good albums that are still worth checking out.) 

CD Review: Matt Kjeldsen “Last Days”

Austin-based singer-songwriter Matt Kjeldsen spent the year 2015 releasing two albums of original music. Released together at the same time, the albums Consequence and Renaissance plus Clouds and Cages contained a total of twenty-two tracks. But in reality, those twenty-two tracks were just a small sample of the songs that Kjeldsen had written at that time.

The reason why twenty-two songs is only a small amount for Kjeldsen is because he makes his living as a composer who works on supplying instrumental music for music libraries where those songs can and may well eventually be used for something or other. The resulting concept ended up being numerous song ideas that eventually lead him to create full-blown songs. And many of those ideas ended up being extended into songs that became the two albums entitled Consequence and Renaissance plus Clouds and Cages.

Now, three years later, Matt Kjeldsen returns with another release. This time, the singer-songwriter has produced a five-song EP called Last Days.

Matt Kjeldsen’s Last Days EP begins with the track called “Closer to Texas”. To start his new release off, Kjeldsen creates a track with a definite Americana feel to it. While the track features a strong Folk feel to the music in the form of a guitar and mandolin, there is also a Country background to the music if the form of the addition of the banjo that gives the track a feel that falls somewhere between the two styles. Because of the dual feel, “Closer to Texas” would fall firmly into the Americana genre. To go along with the feel of the music, the lyrical content finds Kjeldsen singing about finding his way back to the woman he once fell in love with.

With the song “I Should Know Me Better than That by Now,” Matt Kjeldsen creates a track that falls into the Folk-Rock category. The first thing the listener will notice is the lighter feel of the music. The more laidback feel to the music results in a track that feels as if it would have felt right at home back in the seventies. The acoustic guitar drives the feel of the music which contains a similarly easy feel that the previous track had. The difference between the two songs is that “I Should Know Me Better than That by Now” would have fit right in the middle of an MOR (Middle of the Road) radio format back in the seventies. While the track does have a laidback approach, the song feels as if it would have easily been a successful track at the time.

Last Days from Matt Kjeldsen continues with the title track of the EP. With this track, Kjeldsen creates another laidback tune with a Folk flavor to it. The title track of “Last Days” brings back some of the Americana feel that came from “Closer to Texas” as there is more to the feel of the music than just Folk influence. While the majority of the music falls into Folk, the addition of strings also gives the song a bit of Classical music influence. While the previous two tracks contain the aforementioned laidback feeling, the addition of the strings makes “Last Days” the most laidback of the tracks thus far. The track comes complete with a storytelling feel to the lyrics as Kjeldsen tells of a civilization that fell apart because of bad choices. It’s actually hard not to see some parallels between that time in history and what is currently going on. That may very well be what Kjeldsen is trying to get across with this track.

The first three tracks on Matt Kjeldsen’s newest release contain a certain amount of feeling that connects the tracks together in a similar fashion. But with the fourth song on the EP called “What Once Was,” Kjeldsen changes things up. Gone is the Folk feeling. What replaces it in this track is a much stronger Rock and Roll approach. And in particular, the feel of the music and the delivery of the lyrics on the track bring to mind the music of Tom Petty. As opposed to some tracks from Petty, the track of “What Once Was” has a very current feel to it, as if Petty himself would have recorded it not that long ago.

The latest EP from Matt Kjeldsen called Last Days comes to a close with the track “Ghosts and Shadows”. With this final track, Kjeldsen creates the strongest, hardest-rocking track of the five songs that appear on the EP. Gone away is the feeling of Folk…anything. Instead, what Kjeldsen creates is a Rock and Roll track that contains a strong, driving feel to the music. The track contains a feeling that feels like a combination of late sixties Psychedelic Rock and Rock and Roll from the late eighties. The track also contains lyrics that seem to suggest a time not unlike the days of Halloween. The track’s lyrical content also suggests something of a darker nature, like a haunting or something like that. With that combination, “Ghosts and Shadows” stands out as perhaps the most unusual of the five tracks that make up the Last Days release.

While only five songs long, Last Days from Matt Kjeldsen seems to present two different sides to the singer-songwriter. The first three tracks show off the more Folky side of his personality while the final two tracks help to bring out his more rocking’ side. That division creates an EP with a split feeling in its music. That isn’t a bad thing, however. It just means that there different influences that feed Kjeldsen’s writing. As it is, the five-song EP is a good place to start if you are unfamiliar with the music from Matt Kjeldsen.

For more on Matt Kjeldsen and his music, check out his website called Matt’s Music Box.

For a taste of Kjeldsen’s music, check out the title track off of the Last Days release. 

To hear the Last Days EP, click on the album cover below: