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: Shane Palko “Pick Me Up”

Shane Palko is a singer-songwriter who is also a world traveler. The reason for that is because of the time he has spent on the road traveling from one country to the next performing music from the many albums he has recorded over the years. With how many miles he has amassed while traveling on his own and with the band that helps back him up, it comes as no surprise that Palko’s music contains a great deal of songs that have to do with the idea of traveling.

For his new album entitled Pick Me Up, Shane Palko’s latest release comes complete with cover art (courtesy of artist Hannah Kelleher) that represents various modes of transportation used to get from one location to the next. The newest album from Palko even begins with a track that deals with that very topic.

Along with the ever-present idea of travel that exists within the lyrical content of many of Shane Palko’s songs, another thing that exists within much of Palko’s songs is the Folk/Folk-Rock approach to the music. This inclusion of a lighter approach to the music gives the songs from Shane Palko a rather strong laidback feel. That laidback feeling to the music gives Pick Me Up, the latest album from Shane Palko, a solid direction that lasts for the entire release.

Pick Me Up, the new album from Shane Palko, begins with the track “Traveling/Wandering”. The track contains a light, easy feel to the music. As a result of the light approach, the track would easily desacribe as being Indie Rock. The easy feel of the music on the track also seems to be perfect for using the song itself as a track in a roadtrip soundtrack. The easy musical approach of the Indie Rock music in “Traveling/Wandering” brings to mind the lighter music that had been produced back in the seventies. In fact, “Traveling/Wandering” would have been right at home being included in AM radio pop/rock formats in the seventies.

Shane Palko continues the traveling concept with the next track of “Circus Dog”. While the lyrics of the track deal with walking over to a neighbor’s hose instead of traveling halfway around the world, there is still the idea of moving. And much like with the previous track, “Circus Dog” also contains a light, easy quality to the music of the track. While the previous track would have felt at home in AM pop radio formats from the seventies, “Circus Dog” feels as if it would be right at home in a current radio format within the Pop/Rock genre.

As the listener makes their way through the tracks that make up the Pick Me Up album from Shane Palko, it becomes rather apparent that the album contains a certain theme of movement threading its way throughout the songs. And right along with the feeling of travel that winds its way through the lyrical content of Palko’s songs, the continuing feeling of Easy Listening music also winds its way through the tracks.

While many of the songs on Shane Palko’s release deal with travel, no matter how far that trip is, there is one track on Pick Me Up album that deals with a slightly different takes on travel.

With the track “Starship,” Palko gives the idea of travel a different spin. “Starship” is a track that features lyrics that deal with a person being seemingly all alone in the world and trying to survive as the rest of the universe goes on around you, whether you’re in a starship or you just think you are. The music of the track features a Light Rock feel that brings to mind the lighter fare created by the likes of Seals & Crofts.

While the vast majority of the tracks on Shane Palko’s latest album are songs that deal with some sort of travel, the album does contain a few tracks that do not deal with travel. One of those tracks is the third track of the release entitled “Better”. The track’s lyrics deal with the singer talking to a friend he has not seen for a while. Palko sings about being glad to catch up. The music of the track contains one of the strongest deliveries. The music even contains a driving feel to it; however much of a driving feel a Light Rock song can have, that is. “Better” ends up being perhaps the best track on the new album from Palko.

Shane Palko’s latest album contains one other track that does not deal with travel. In fact, the song “For Juniper” is a track that contains no lyrical content at all. Taking the Light Rock music that has filled up the rest of the album, Palko created one track that strictly dealt with the sound of the acoustic guitar and the rest of the instruments that were used to bring Palko’s Acoustic Rock to life. Like the rest of the album, the music “For Juniper” contains a smooth, easy feeling to the music. But without words to get in the way, what results is a track that comes across as a Jazz-like track with a laidback approach. The song of “For Juniper” would easily fit on any Smooth Jazz radio format.

With Shane Palko’s choice of subject matter on the album being traveling, the tracks blend together to create a release that feels more unified than most other albums. And for those who like their music on the softer side of things, the Pick Me Up album from Shane Palko is just what you’re looking for.

 

For the music of  Shane Palko, check out the track “Better” HERE. 

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

 

Single Review: Barbott “Cream”

The Barcelona, Spain-based band Barbott got their start as a band and has been creating music ever since 2012. Although the band has changed a few members over the years, the current lineup of the group consists of: Singer/Guitarist Guillem Sala, Bassist Marc Bertran, Guitarist Martí Rosselló, Drummer Josep Méndez and Keyboard player Albert Iribarne. Since coming together, this quintet has created two EPs of music as well as the 2016 full-length album entitled Curves. From this release, Barbott recently released the track “Cream” as a single. The song begins with both the keyboard and the guitar creating strong musical riffs that are both rather infectious. Together, the two riffs blend together to form the basis of the song. The combination of the two musical mindsets help to create a definite Indie Rock feel to the band’s sound. This creates an almost pop-like feel to the song. On this track, the vocals from singer/guitarist Guillem Sala contain a rather gentle quality to them. That gentle quality in the vocals mixes well with the instrumentation on the track. As the song progresses, the bass from Marc Bertran adds a rather strong bottom to the track adding a lot of energy to the song. Soon, the rest of the band joins in to create an upbeat track that features a strong guitar presence as well as a strong keyboard presence. Together, the pop approach of the song and the heavy bass line combine to create the band’s Indie Rock sound. “Cream” from Barbott is a strong track that contains pop, rock and even some psychedelic elements to the music. The track of “Cream” is only one song from Barbott’s full-length Curves release, but it is a great track to draw people over to the band’s music.

For the music of Barbott, check out the band’s BANDCAMP profile.

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

 

CD Review: Frank Migliorelli & The Dirt Nappers “Bass, Drums, Guitars and Organs”

New York-based singer-songwriter Frank Migliorelli is currently enjoying time as a full-fledged musician as he is creating his own songs. But this time in his life came after Migliorelli had done his time as a jingle and song writer for ad agencies, children and others. Having had his share of the more commercial side of music, Frank Migliorelli is now doing his own music. Having already created one album of original music that draws from rock, pop, and other styles that helped to create roots rock, Migliorelli and his band called The Dirt Nappers have returned with a brand new release. The brand new album from Frank Migliorelli & The Dirt Nappers is called Bass, Drums, Guitars and Organs.

Bass, Drums, Guitars and Organs from Frank Migliorelli & The Dirt Nappers begins with the track “When She’s Walking by Your Side”. While the track contains a sound that is largely based on bands that had made up the British Invasion era of Rock and Roll, this version of the style feels more like something that would have been produced by a band like The Raspberries, an American band who ended up being largely influenced by the British Invasion sound. “When She’s Walking by Your Side” would have fit well with music from the sixties but could also have found a place on the airwaves during the early seventies.

With the track of “I’ve Been on My Knees,” Migliorelli and the band create a track that feels strangely familiar as the track’s music seems to drift between early Roots Rock and current Indie Rock. The music created by the band consists of a relatively simple Rock and Roll feel with a little banjo thrown in to the mix. The resulting track would have fit well with artists like Buddy Holly or Bill Hailey but at the same time, would fit just as easily on Americana radio formats today.

The feel of the music changes on the track “It All Falls Down On Me”. The track shows off the true talent of Frank Migliorelli & The Dirt Nappers as the band creates a Country/Rock style that seems very reminiscent to songs that had been written by the band The Eagles. All of the guitar parts contained within the track all blend together to create a musical feel that would have felt right at home on that band’s various albums. “It All Falls Down On Me” could fit in with today’s Alt-Rock/Americana bands but would also fit with the older sounds of bands from the seventies.

With the track of “Rafferty Train,” Frank Migliorelli & The Dirt Nappers create a track with a light Rock and Roll feel. The easy feel of the music produces a musical feel that would have felt right at home on AM radio formats back in the seventies. As the track plays out, so does a storyline of two people on a train. The guitars that help make up the music of the track produce one of the more interesting tracks on the album.

Frank Migliorelli & The Dirt Nappers change the feel of the music once again for the song “Baby Put a Dress One”. While the band stays in the same musical era as “It All Falls Down On Me” as far as the overall influence of the music, the track of “Baby Put a Dress On” contains a slightly retro feel to the music as if the band had added a few psychedelic vibes to the track. Because of that psychedelic vibe, the music to song has a bit of groove to it.

Taking the music back quite a bit on the song “Wound up Woman,” Frank Migliorelli & The Dirt Nappers create a song that brings back the feel of the early Rock and Rollers like Elvis Presley or Bill Haley. “Wound up Woman” features the sound of an electric guitar and a piano as the two instruments combine to forge a sound that feels very authentic, as if the track had actually been recorded back in the mid 1950’s.

The pace of the music changes once again on the song “Someone Else’s Dream”. The band slows things down as the track takes on a folk-rock feel that also seems rather dream-like. The lyrics of the song help add to that dream-like quality as Migliorelli sings of feeling lost in a world that doesn’t seem quite real to him. When listening to this song, the listener may come to realize that there are indeed times when you do, in fact, feel as if you are lost in “Someone Else’s Dream”.

Bass, Drums, Guitars and Organs, the new release Frank Migliorelli & The Dirt Nappers comes to an end with the track “Former Femme Fatales and Romeos”. The track features a light musical approach with a story-like lyrical content that feels very reminiscent of something Tom Waits. The sadness contained in the lyrics is matched up well with the easy feel of the music. That light feel of the music makes for a perfect way to quietly bring the album to a close.

Frank Migliorelli & The Dirt Nappers’ new release of Bass, Drums, Guitars and Organs takes the listener on a musical ride that includes several different styles of Rock and Roll. The different styles on the album combine together to create a release that feels almost timeless.

To hear some of the music from Frank Migliorelli & The Dirt Nappers, check out the song “Rafferty Train“.

 

 

 

 

 

The Only Ocean “Daydreams”

 The Only Ocean is a Rock and Roll band based in Lompoc, California. The band consists of Wesley Hill on Vocals, Guitar; Dustin Whalen on Guitar; Alex Burdess on Bass and Shae Kakos on Drums. The band draws their musical influences from many different styles of Rock And Roll such as Alternative, Shoegaze, Indie Rock and even Psychedelic Rock. With that blend of styles in one sound, the band creates music that moves from one influence to the next. That style of music is present in the band’s newly released track called “Daydreams”. “Daydreams” is a track that definitely has a large amount of Indie Rock influence within the music. The track begins with a with a light, yet very infectious guitar riff before the song launches into a harder and much more rocking feel. That infectious guitar riff returns again and again throughout the track. As the song progresses, the track alternates a between a very rocking Alternative Rock style and the Indie feel that begins the track. The song features guitar work from both Wesley Hill and Dustin Whalen and their interaction within the song creates many different elements within the music. The rhythm section of bassist Alex Burdess and drummer Shae Kakos helps to keep the song together as each of the band members alternates between the two musical feels in the music.  The vocals from Wesley Hill contain a gentle quality to them throughout the track. The supporting vocals on the track seem to complement the lead vocals and the use of the harmony within certain parts helps to add a nice texture to the lyrics. The final minute of the track feature the band really rocking out before the song ends in the same manner that it began with the band alternating between the easier and harder styles. With the way the song alternates between the two musical approaches, “Daydreams” from The Only Ocean is entertaining and leaves the listener wanting for more.

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

CD Review: Dad Rocks “Mount Modern”

Today’s best releases seem to be the ones that contain many layers. In fact, the many layers contained with the album Mount Modern from Dad Rocks are what make the release so good. The different elements help to create an album that differs from many of today’s albums from other artists who continue to stay within the normal boundaries and make the same old tired music that is continuously pushed on today’s audiences.

Dad Rocks is the moniker of multi-instrumentalist Snævar Njáll Albertsson. Albertsson is a Danish/Icelandic singer-songwriter who seems to have decided to follow his own path and create music that may not be what most music lovers would consider “commercial”. And while most of the stuff that Albertsson has created may not find its way onto American radio airwaves, that fact should not take away from the talent of this creative musician.

Snævar Njáll Albertsson has taken his unique approach to music and created his debut album entitled Mount Modern. In fact, it is the music part of Albertsson’s songs that really shine on the release. The album has many moments during which the listener could easily fall in love with the songs on the release simply because of the music that was composed by Albertsson.

It is on the first song and title track from Mount Modern from Dad Rocks that you get a real sense of the talent from Snævar Njáll Albertsson. For the most part, “Mount Modern” should be considered an instrumental track; even though the song DOES contain some vocalizing from Albertsson, there are no lyrics to the track. The song contains a “New Age” feel to the music. The guitar, trumpet and piano from Albertsson work well together with the strings from Asger Christensen and Iris Marie Jakobsen as well as with the playing of upright bass player Peter Skibsted. These elements help to create this first track of the album, which has a certain amount of beauty that most will find appealing.

While the title track of the release will definitely draw the listener in, the rest of the release may requires several listening from the listener before they accept the unusual quality in Albertsson’s voice and in the style of composition Albertsson uses for the lyrics to his songs. Nowhere is that fact more evident than on the song “Weapons”.

On “Weapons” as well as on the rest of the release, Snævar Njáll Albertsson takes a folk music approach when writing the lyrics to the song. The lyrics help convey the point that Albertsson wants to get across. “Weapons” is a song about today’s youth using today’s technology as a way of separating themselves from the older generations. The song contains Albertsson’s unusual writing style that incorporates a free-verse style of rhyming along with using unusual phrasing in his lyrics. Albertsson’s use of phrases like “vampire-time,” “ghost call” and “drunk-dial time” can be very unnerving the first few times you listen to the song and other songs on the release. However, once you get used to this style of writing and visual expression in Albertsson’s lyrics, his music becomes fun to listen to.

Another song on the release about technology also has a message. On the song “Major Labels,” Albertsson speaks his mind about the state of today’s music industry. Albertsson points out that today’s kids are more creative than ever with what they can accomplish. “They have the tools” to do what they want without the need for the major labels and the problems that come with signing with them.

One of the most unusual tracks on the Mount Modern release is the song “Farmscapers”. As the population increases even more, more land will be needed to accommodate the building of housing for the people, leaving less and less land for farming and producing food on. Albertsson’s unusual idea for a solution? Building vertical farms, or “farmscapers”.

All-in-all, Snævar Njáll Albertsson has created an album that incorporates many different elements into one enjoyable release: Whether it’s the unusual nature of Albertsson’s writing style, the subject matters Albertsson chose to write about, the approach to the all-around feel of the music which includes folk, indie, and even some Americana elements, or how beautiful the music can be from time to time on the release, the bottom line is that Mount Modern from Dad Rocks is a solid release from start to finish.

For more information on Dad Rocks and other artists, check out Paper Garden Records.