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:

CD Review: Daniel Coloprisco “Winter’s Song”

Sometimes an untapped potential needs time to mature. That was the situation with singer-songwriter Daniel Coloprisco who started writing songs in his early years and then turned to more pressing things like making a living. But after spending time in the Information Technology field for years, Coloprisco decided that it was time to see about returning to the music field where many songs he had composed were just waiting for the right time to be unleashed. So now, he is turning to his music and is beginning to allow the world to hear what was never available. Until now, that is.

Just recently, Daniel Coloprisco released a two-song EP entitled Winter Song. That new EP from the songwriter consists of two very different songs with very different musical approaches.

The new two-song EP from Daniel Coloprisco begins with the title track of the release. The track “Winter Song” finds Coloprisco creating a song that feels very much like a song that would have come from New Age artist Jim Brickman. The song has the same Classical/Jazz approach that Brickman features in his music. The song also features the vocal styling of singer Jes Hudak, a singer whose own music can be found under the moniker of Ponymane. She can also be found adding her voice to the musical project known as Neon Void. On this track, Jes Hudak’s vocals come clear and strong, which give the song a generous amount of additional beauty. This goes along with the beauty that was already there in Daniel Coloprisco’s piano playing. The two musicians combine to create a track that would fit alongside songs from the likes of Barbra Streisand, Harry Connick, Jr or anyone else that falls into the “pop” category of music. “Winter Song” would also easily find a place on any Smooth Jazz radio format, although the track has a slightly limited lifespan given the subject matter of winter.    

Daniel Coloprisco’s two-song EP of Winter Song also includes the track “A Touch of Feeling”. With this track, it is strictly just Coloprisco and his piano. And much like with the title track, the music on “A Touch of Feeling” finds Daniel Coloprisco creating a song that contains a certain amount of both Jazz and Classical feeling to the music. As a matter of fact, the feeling of the music, mixed with the simplistic and rather slow tempo with which Coloprisco chose to compose and perform the track creates a track that should easily remind the listener of something that would be playing through a music box. While the listener may not be familiar with Coloprisco and/or his music, the familiar feeling of listening to a music box does seem to add a bit of magic to the track.

The two-song EP of Winter Song from Daniel Coloprisco is short but sweet. The EP gives the listener just a taste of what may be coming in the near future. And if what is in store from Coloprisco is a sweet as the two tracks found on the Winter Song EP, it will be worth the wait. Hopefully, we won’t have to wait as long as the next time for new music from the songwriter.  

Click HERE to hear Daniel Coloprisco’s two-song EP of Winter Song

For more information, check out Daniel Coloprisco’s PR Firm, Whiplash Marketing & Whizkid Management. Click HERE to visit their site.

CD Review: Mark Rogers “Rearranged”

Virginia/DC-based singer-songwriter Mark Rogers finds himself in a situation that many others have experienced. Years ago, he has spent time creating music. The style of music that he created incorporated Folk, Folk-Rock, and even a little Bluegrass influence. Needless to say, the style of the music created by Rogers would have fit quite nicely with music from the sixties.

But then Mark Rogers found himself creating a family. Music would have to wait. And wait it has. Then, after an extended time away, Rogers has resumed his pursuit of music. In fact, Rogers has made it official as he just created a new EP of original music. The new EP from Mark Rogers is entitled Rearranged.

Rearranged from Mark Rogers begins with the “Right Here”. The track features a sound that would have been right at home during the seventies. In fact, the track’s Folk-Rock feel brings to mind the sound and feel of a band like The Eagles. That sound comes courtesy of guitars that bring to mind the various musicians from the band. The easy pace of the track and the rather familiar Eagles-inspired sound would have felt right at home on AM radio. Right from the start, the track “Right Here” makes Rearranged from Mark Rogers feel like a musical release that fans of Pop-Rock music would truly enjoy.

While the previous track brought to mind the styles of The Eagles, Mark Rogers changes his musical approach on the song “Slow Parade”. The second track of the release features a style that incorporates just a little Beatles flavor into the music. Although it is not overwhelming, the listener can hear just a little Lennon/McCartney influence in the lyrical content of the song. That Beatles-esque lyrical content and melody contained in the words of the song brings to mind that band’s style from back in the sixties when they were just making a name for themselves. Along with the Beatles influence in the lyrics, “Slow Parade” contains a musical approach that once again contains a definite Folk-Rock sound.

After Mark Rogers spent two songs creating music with a throwback feel, the next track of “I Can’t Say Why” features a timeless sound. The Folk-Rock style on the track contains a strong musical approach that could have been played in the seventies, eighties, nineties, or even on today’s Pop-Rock radio formats. Throughout the song, the acoustic approach of the music helps to create a track with a gentle feel to the music. With the inclusion of the electric guitar, Rogers adds a nice amount of energy to the song.

With the track “Waiting,” Mark Rogers once again conjures up the sound of the seventies. The slow pace and easy feel to the music brings to mind a song like “Harvest Moon” from Neil Young. Much like Young’s song that contains a throwback feel to the music, the feel of “Waiting” from Mark Rogers would fit in with older tracks but would also fit on modern-day Adult Contemporary radio formats. “Waiting” is one of the strongest tracks on the Rearranged release from Mark Rogers.

The new release from Mark Rogers continues with the track “Takes Me Back Again”. On this track, Rogers continues to create music with a strong Folk background, but changes things up a little as he incorporates a strong Jazz influence to the music. That Jazz influence comes in the form of the guitar on the track and the light vocal delivery from Rogers. The rather short track shows off Mark Roger’s playing ability.

Mark Rogers brings his new EP to a close with the track “The Blue of December”. As the song revolves around the sound of the piano and the acoustic guitar, the two instruments combine to create a track that contains a very laidback feel. The low-key track brings the Rearranged release from Mark Rogers to a close on a gentle note.

Rearranged from Mark Rogers is a short six-song EP that gives the listener a very strong Folk-inspired . But this is just a taste of what is to come!
For a taste of Mark Rogers’ new EP, check out the track “The Blue of December“.   

Check out Rearranged from Mark Rogers. The album is available on Bandcamp.  You can also find the album on GooglePlay and iTunes. 

For more information, check out Mark Rogers’ PR firm, Whiplash PR. 

CD Review: Micah Olsan “Open Space”

Milwaukee-based singer-songwriter Micah Olsan has gone through several stages in his musical career. And with those stages came different musical influences that helped flavor his music. Throughout his career, Olsan has performed with a band called The Many and he has performed on his own as a solo artist. But with each stage comes a different style and sound to Olsan’s music. And currently, Micah Olsan is in the middle of promoting a new EP of music that features a solo sound and style largely influenced by Folk music. The new 4-song EP from Micah Olsan is entitled Open Space.

Where the previous releases from Micah Olsan featured the singer-songwriter performing with an entire band as was the case with the All Around release featuring Micah Olsan and The Many, the new EP features a much simpler style to the music. The Open Space EP features Olsan in a solo setting as he writes music that contains a solid Folk influence created around an acoustic feel.

Open Space from Micah Olsan begins with the title track to the EP. “Open Space” is a track that takes Olsan’s music back a few decades as the style of the track feels like it would fit in perfectly with songs from the late sixties, early seventies on AM radio. The music for the track brings to mind artists such as John Prine and/or Tom Paxton. The simple guitar approach on the track is amplified when the steel guitar is added to the track. The guitar/steel guitar combination creates a song that is instantly listener friendly. “Open Space” is a great track to start off the new EP from Olsan.

Micah Olsan’s Open Space EP continues with the track “To the Moon”.  While the previous track features a throwback feel to the music, the track “To the Moon” has a very modern feel with the influences to the song including Jack Johnson and/or Ray Lamontagne. “To the Moon” contains a soothing, almost jazzy feel to the music which is helped along with the inclusion of the flute on the track. “To the Moon” finds Olsan in a rather romantic mood on the track as he creates lyrics with very poetic appeal to them. The combination of the jazz/folk music and the poetic lyrics help to create a track that comes across as “poetry set to music”.

With the next track on the EP, Micah Olsan changes the direction of his music. While the previous songs were created around an acoustic guitar, the track called “Dollar” is centered on a lightly played electric guitar that is accompanied by an acoustic guitar. While the acoustic guitar on the track creates the rhythm for the track, the electric guitar is what truly makes the track. The combination of the electric and acoustic guitar ends up creating a track that takes on a slightly exotic island-like feel to the music. The inclusion of the saxophone on the track also gives the track a little ambiance that matches up well with the aforementioned island feel. The “Dollar” track ultimately feels like something from brothers Santo and Johnny Farina of “Sleepwalk” fame if they had become known for songs that featured lyrics.

The newest release from Micah Olsan comes to a close with the track “Palace of the Setting Sun”. Olsan brings his new EP to a close with the song that contains the most production quality of any track on the release. “Palace of the Setting Sun” begins with an extended instrumental break featuring the guitar work of Olsan. The fingerpicking from Micah Olsan creates an acoustic track with a jazzy approach thanks to the acoustic guitar. The inclusion of a little reverb on the track adds a little texture to the otherwise laidback music. The track feels rather expansive through its six-minute playtime. The extended time allows for the singer-songwriter to show off his picking style on the track. While the track contains the longest playtime on the EP, Olsan’s playing keeps the listener enthralled during the longer-than-usual track.

During his time as a singer-songwriter, Micah Olsan keeps evolving and changing his style. With his latest folk-based EP called Open Space, Olsan takes his music in a much different direction than it’s ever been in before. And the softer, gentler side of Olsan shows off a very different side of the artist. The five tracks on the album are nicely varied while keeping that lighter approach on the music.

To get a taste of Micah Olsan’s new EP called Open Space, check out the EP’s title track HERE. 

For more information, check out Micah Olsan’s PR firm, NoVo Management and Publicity. 

CD Review: C.K. Flach “Empty Mansions”

When listening to the music of New York State-based singer-songwriter C.K. Flach’s music, you can definitely hear the inner poet in him come out in his songs. The songs he writes have a very strong poetic feel to them as if they were simply poems set to music. As a matter of fact, to prove just how much of a poetic feel his writing style truly has, the artist even recorded one actual spoken piece and included it on his newly released album.

Along with the poetic style of C.K. Flach’s lyrics, he also creates his songs performing the majority of the musical parts himself, with only a few instances where friends and family help to flesh out the sound of the songs. The resulting poetic Americana musical style of C.K. Flach’s songs has made its way onto the musician’s 2017 album entitled Empty Mansions.

Empty Mansions from C.K. Flach begins with the track “Lazarus”. Proving that Flach’s poetic lyrical style can encompass any subject matter, “Lazarus” finds Flach making reference to a biblical character. The song about the character Lazarus being called forward in a church setting is set to a musical style that mixes some Folk elements with a few Rock and Roll ones. These elements create a track that features a slow, yet steady pace to match up with the somber lyrics. The acoustic guitar-driven track shows off some of Flach’s ability as a guitar player. The song’s slightly laidback approach allows the listener to ease their way into the new release from Flach.

The new release from C.K. Flach continues with the song “Boxcar Dreaming”. While the previous track was guitar-based, C.K. Flach creates this track with keyboards. With this track, Flach slows things down as he lightens the feel of the music. While “Lazarus” was an equal amount of Rock and Roll as well as Folk, “Boxcar Dreaming” features a lot more Folk influence. The resulting track would be perfect for a Soft Rock radio format.

One of the strongest tracks on the Empty Mansions album from C.K. Flach is the song “Tranquilized”. Ironically, with this song, Flach increases the energy level of the music ever so slightly instead of bringing it down as you would expect with a title like that. Although the track is still pretty laidback to the music, “Tranquilized” contains a driving feel to the guitar on the track. About halfway through, the track picks up the energy of the music.

The poetic side of C.K. Flach comes out on the track “The Officer”. In a nation where those who are hired to protect are sometimes just as dangerous as the ones we want to be protected from, some people have an unfavorable opinion of the police. The song of “The Officer” is a track that deals with a scenario of a person being pulled over and not treated well by the officer doing the pulling over. The sing-song delivery of the lyrics and the slightly bluesy music make the song feel like a beatnik poem.

The album continues with the title track. Throughout the release, C.K. Flach creates tracks that have a definite spiritual overtones to them. Along with the earlier track of “Lazarus,” “Empty Mansions” is one that features that approach. “Empty Mansions” finds Flach contemplating many things in life that make him question which direction to take in life. The piano and the strings in the background of the track combine to create a beautiful melody. As he sings, C.K. Flach sings about some of the sadder things that are happening in the world today. With this track, the lyrics contain one of the most somber moments on the albums.

Much like “Empty Mansions” before it, the track “Machine Gun” finds Flach a very political track. The guitar and harmonica that appear on the track bring to mind the spirit of Bob Dylan, although the style of the music on the track is very much C.K. Flach. The track finds Flach speaking to those who carry guns and bring harm to men, women and children alike. Like many of the Folk songs from the sixties, “Machine Gun” is a song that speaks to those who want to bring an end to the senseless violence both here and abroad.

Like the track “The Officer” from earlier in the album, the track “Firmament” once again finds C.K. Flach bringing out the poet in him. But unlike “The Officer” that features both spoken poetry and music, “Firmament” is strictly Flach as he reads his written words. The simple “voice only” track finds Flach closing out his new release with a powerful poem with a very strong message against oppression.

Throughout the ten tracks that make up Empty Mansions from C.K. Flach, the listener gets to experience a poet at work as he creates song-length vignettes that deal with all sorts of things from religion to politics to everything in between. And since the album changes musical directions throughout those ten tracks, there is plenty of variety to help form a truly unique release that stands out against most of today’s commercial albums.

To hear a little bit of the music from C.K. Flach, check out the title track for Empty Mansions.

 

 

CD Review: Danny Everitt “Dream Big”

Houston-based singer-songwriter Danny Everitt has several decades of writing experience under his belt. In his time as a singer-songwriter, Everitt has developed a style of music that has since become known known as Americana. The music that he creates is heavy on the Country influence but also has plenty of other styles that help to influence the sound. The resulting music from Everitt has been released on a wide variety of releases, some of which were his own albums while others were released under Everitt’s own name. The latest solo album from Danny Everitt is 2017’s Dream Big.

On his newest release of Dream Big, Danny begins with the title track of the release. The track “Dream Big” contains a straight-out Rock and Roll approach while also containing upbeat vocals about going for the most you can get. The track features a strong electric guitar sound that helps add to the Rock and Roll sound. With the Rock and Roll approach it contains, the track sounds as if it would have been right at home on Rock and Roll radio formats back in the eighties.

The song “My Son” slows the pace of the music down. The song takes a Folk/Rock blend and adds a little Jazz to the music in the form of trumpet and strings. The Folk/Jazz sound creates a mellow and laidback to the track and that adds to the emotional feeling of the lyrics about a son who must carry on when his father passes on. The track adds a lot of feeling to the beginning of the Dream Big release.

The album continues with the song “Get the Hook,” a song about a man who wins the lottery and then finds out that money will change your life, but maybe not in the way you may want. The track’s Blues/Rock sound picks up the energy of the music on the release. “Get the Hook” is one track on the release that finds Everitt creating a song with a message.

One of the most beautiful moments on the new release from Danny Everitt belongs to the song “Rosalie”. The track features lyrics about a woman who lives her life as a lie. The slow pace of the song is matched up well with the laidback feel of the music and helps to add to the feeling of the words. The acoustic guitar and accordion help to add to the beauty of the music. While one of the most laidback songs on Dream Big, “Rosalie” ends up being one of shining moments of the album.

As the release continues, Danny Everitt and the rest of the musicians who helped to create the album once again turn out one of the strongest moments on the album with the track “The Tables Have Turned.” The song features a sound that would bring the listener back into the seventies. The music and lyrics for “The Tables Have Turned” both contain a quality that are reminiscent of the era when much of the music played on the radio during that time period was more than just a little laidback. Not only would “The Tables Have Turned” have fit well with other songs from that era, the track feels as if it would have climbed rather high up the music charts at that time.

As the Dream Big album continues, the listener gets to experience a track that seems a little out of place on today’s Country music formats. The song “One Good Chance” is the type of song that would surely have been a hit single in another time period. “One Good Chance” has an energetic quality in its music that would have been perfect for the late seventies, early eighties.

The song “Is There Anymore Gold” once again seems rather retro in its sound. As the track begins, the song contains a Country-Rock sound that seems almost familiar. That’s because the music and the lyrics of the tune incorporate a style that brings to mind the spirit of Rick Nelson; more specifically, Nelson while he was performing with the Shadow Canyon Band. “Is There Anymore Gold” is yet another moment on the Dream Big album from Danny Everitt that the listener will enjoy a radio-friendly track that seems almost destined to become a “hit” single.

The Dream Big album from Danny Everitt showcases the musician’s abilities as both a singer and a songwriter. Throughout the eleven songs that make up the release, the listener will discover many songs that will please their taste in music. And with songs that are strong enough to be singles, Dream Big is one album that not only deserves to be in your album collection, it deserves multiple plays on your favorite music device.

To check out the music of Danny Everitt, click HERE for the song “Dream Big”.

CD Review: Two Cities, One World “Let the Whole World Disappear”

Sometimes to find true love, one must do a little traveling. And sometimes, it takes going to a location half a world away.

This happened with Anna Yanova, a Bulgarian-born singer-songwriter. When she was attending the Musicians Institute in Hollywood to refine her talents, she met up with Jared Cattoor, a St. Louis-bred guitarist who, in his own way, was also there to refine his talents. Together, they met and fell in love, only to end up getting married.

With Anna Yanova already creating and releasing a solo release, her music caught the ear of Cattoor and the two soon started creating music together. Because of whom they were before they ended up meeting, and since they had a shared interest in music, the duo created one musical project with a very apropos moniker. Together, Cattoor and Yanova are known by the name of Two Cities, One World.

With Jared Cattoor being American and Anna Yanova being Bulgarian, the music of Two Cities, One World incorporates several different styles of music to create a very multi-faceted sound that is truly international. Having already released one EP entitled Together back in 2014, the duo is currently celebrating their new album of original material. The newest release from Two Cities, One World is entitled Let the Whole World Disappear.

Let the Whole World Disappear from Two Cities, One World begins with the track “I See the Sun”. The track features a lyrical content that seems to suggest a very biographical approach as the words reflect the view of two people from different worlds being connected by just looking at the same sun in the sky. The musical approach has a very “pop-like” approach with some pop-rock flavor and plenty of jazz influence. The vocals from Anna Yanova also add to the jazzy feel of the music. The gentle feel of the smooth jazz-like music will be very accessible to a lot of people whose musical tastes vary widely.

The new release from Two Cities, One World continues with the track “Suga Daddy”. Bringing back some of the jazzy influence from the last track, “Suga Daddy” takes that jazz style and blends it with plenty of Funk flavor. While the last track contains an easy feel to the music, this track has a lot more energy. One element that helps to differentiate the first two tracks from each other is the inclusion of the electric guitar in “Suga Daddy”. That guitar playing shows off the talent of Jared Cattoor who adds a Carlos Santana-like feel to the music.

With the inclusion of many styles of music, Two Cities, One World creates music that could easily be categorized as “World Music”. To prove that categorization, the duo of Yanova and Cattoor include a bit of Yanova’s ethnic background in the album. The track “Footprints (Sledi)” contains a somewhat Hispanic approach to the music as well as the use of the Bulgarian language for the lyrics. The combination of the two different nationalities creates a very unique track that contains a very strong danceable feel to the music. “Footprints (Sledi)” could easily be a crossover candidate that would feel right at home in dance clubs in the U.S. and all over the world.

The duo creates one of the strongest moments on the Let the Whole World Disappear album with the track “Love Blues”. Although the track contains a certain amount of Blues influence, the song is as upbeat as anything else that came before. And just like “I See the Sun” that helped kick the release off, “Love Blues” is yet another track that feels like a love letter set to music. With the inclusion of horns on the track, the song is one track with a very wide amount of influences to its music.

As the Let the Whole World Disappear album continues, Yanova and Cattoor and the rest of Two Cities, One World changes the feel of the music from track-to-track. And while the previous tracks contained many different styles, the “title track” “Disappear” takes the music in yet another completely different direction. Keeping with the jazz influence that has weaved its way through most of the beginning of the album, the song “Disappear” combines the jazz with some light R&B to create a track that would feel just as welcome on a Smooth Jazz radio format as it would on a “Hip Hop and R&B” radio format.

Throughout the twelve tracks that make up the Let the Whole World Disappear album from Two Cities, One World, the music changes many times. Just when you get used to one feel or approach to the music, the duo of Anna Yanova and Jared Cattoor switches things up. From one track to the next, the release sounds like an entire radio dial on one release. This is truly an album for anyone and everyone.

For a taste of Two Cities, One World and their music, check out the video for the song “Suga Daddy“.

 

CD Review: Hello, Dollface “Warrior of Light”

When you combine a multi-talented musician that has a very soulful voice of an R&B diva with other musicians who help to bring her musical vision to life, you end up with a band that blends jazz, R&B and even a little Indie Rock together. The result is a musical outfit by the name of Hello, Dollface. The ensemble consists of singer/guitarist/keyboard player and songwriter Ashley Edwards, bassist/keyboard player Jesse Ogle and keyboard player Easton Stuard. Together with drummer James A. Morrow, the band of Hello, Dollface created the 2016 release entitled Warrior of Light.

Warrior of Light from Hello, Dollface begins with “Movin’ Me”. The slow-tempoed track features a blend of Jazz and R&B. Along with the slow tempo, the song comes across as relatively relaxed as the band plays the music of the song with simplicity. The result is a track that allows the vocals from Ashley Edwards to shine. The style and feel of the music takes the listener back to the seventies where a lot of the music back then had a much lighter and more relaxed feel to it. And while there is a slightly dated feel to the music in the song, “Movin’ Me” would easily fit any modern-day Smooth Jazz radio format.

The 2016 release from Hello, Dollface continues with one of the definite standout tracks. The song “Intuition” hits you with a sound that immediately catches your attention. The song’s music combines a very strong R&B feel with a little Indie Rock style thrown in. Along with the vocals from Ashley Edwards, the track has a style that seems to have been influences, if only a little bit, by the Indie Rock band Zero 7. “Intuition” is one song on the release that will stay with you long after the album has come to an end.

Hello, Dollface’s new release continues with the album’s title track. “Warrior of Light’s” Smooth Jazz approach comes courtesy of the guitar, bass and drums from Ashley Edwards, Jesse Ogle and James A. Morrow. Together, the trio creates a track that has a solid classic jazz feel. The inclusion of the organ on the track helps to add some texture, but it is the guitar, bass and drums that truly bring the majority of the song to life. Edwards’ vocals also give “Warrior of Light” a very infectious sound while the vocal arrangement creates one of the most unique moments on the release.

On the song of “Test Crash,” Hello, Dollface takes their sound in a much different direction than any of the songs that had preceded it on the album. On the songs that led off the Warrior of Light album, the band focused on a style that incorporated a lot of Jazz and R&B influence. But with the track “Test Crash,” the ensemble fully embraces the Indie rock side of their personality. And even though “Test Crash” is still rather laidback, the Indie Rock influence incorporated into the song helps to create a totally different vibe than when compared to the previous songs.

Staying in the mindset of creating a track with a different feel to it, Hello, Dollface changes the feel of their release once again on “Face It”. Together, Edwards, Ogle, Stuard and Morrow create a song that brings out the Soul influence in the band’s sound. In fact, “Face It” is easily the most soulful track on the release. The quartet even incorporates some Reggae influence to add even more texture to the song’s music. The whole thing is brought together with the addition of guitarist Tim McLaughlin who adds a very strong solo to the track. “Face It” is another track on the release that stands out.

Just like “Intuition” from earlier in the album, the song “Carry Me” is another song that comes across as being very infectious. The song’s sound once again brings out the band’s Soul influence. But unlike the track “Face It” that contained mostly that Soul influence, “Carry Me” is equal parts Soul and R&B. The track contains a radio-friendly sound that will immediately jump out at the listener and beg to be heard. “Carry Me” is easily one of the best moments on the Warrior of Light release from Hello, Dollface.

The 2016 release of Warrior of Light from Hello, Dollface comes to a close with “In Your Light”. The song begins with keyboards that create a light Jazz feel. The rest of the instruments join in a little later to help fill out the sound of the track. And while the song is mostly Jazz-based, the music does contain a light influence from Indie Rock to give “In Your Light” a unique feel when compared to the rest of the album. The bass part from Jesse Ogle and the piano create a catchy musical phrasing within the piece that gets repeated, adding yet another infectious quality to part of the track. “In Your Light” brings the release to a close on a rather gentle tone, but the song still catches your ear as it fades the release out.

Throughout the ten tracks that make up the 2016 release from Hello, Dollface entitled Warrior of Light, the listener encounters songs that incorporate many different styles of music that help to create the laidback feel of the band’s sound. Warrior of Light is a strong release with plenty of musical moments that will please the type of listener who looks for strong songwriting and musicianship in the type of music that they add to their musical library. Each track on the release comes with its own style, but the ten tracks all combine to create one album of music that has a certain familiarity from beginning to end.

For more on the band, check out Hello, Dollface’s video to the track “Intuition“. 

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

CD Review: S.J. Tucker “Stolen Season”

S.J. Tucker is a multi-talented Perry, Arkansas-based artist who lends her creativity to many different media. Sometimes poet, sometimes musician, Tucker has won praise for her work as a poet and songwriter. And that is only part of her personality. Over the years, S.J. Tucker has created many different songs and has put those songs out on many different releases, including contributing to the Original Motion Picture Soundtrack to the movie Ember Days. The latest release of original compositions from S. J. Tucker is called Stolen Season.

For the release of Stolen Season, S. J. Tucker blends several different genres of music to create her sound. For this album, Tucker creates a unique blend of what she calls “fairytale folk and jazz”.

Stolen Season from S.J. Tucker begins with the track “Black Swan Blues”. The crackling of the music at the beginning of the track suggests something older than it is as the music on the track consists of a blues/rock blend with a stronger hint of blues. The vocals from Tucker contain a nice amount of soul as she sings the lyrics with gentleness. The easy feel of the track in the first ninety seconds transitions to a harder feel as the musicians on the track create a groove to go along with the lyrics that repeat throughout the song.

The newest release from S.J. Tucker continues with the track “Dream of Mississippi”. While “Black Swan Blues” contains a bluesy feel to the music, “Dream of Mississippi” takes on a more folk-like feel. The track begins with music created by a bowed bass and an acoustic guitar that suggests a mystical feel to the atmosphere surrounding the subject matter of the song. The story revolves around a woman who is being drawn back into the world she left behind. The subject matter in the song makes use of some of Tucker’s spiritual background.

For the song “Sultry Summer Night,” the jazzy side of S.J. Tucker’s writing personality comes out. The piano and electric guitar on the track create an easy, light almost folk-like musical approach to the music. The lightness of the music matches up well with the jazzy vocals from Tucker as she sings about the night. The piano on the track takes the lead and creates the flow on the track without overwhelming the vocals from Tucker.

S.J. Tucker stays in the jazz side of her music with the song “Believe in Lullabies”. With this track, Tucker’s vocal delivery will remind many of jazz vocalists from days gone by. The clear, beautiful sound of Tucker’s voice is the focal point on this track. The lyrical content will also remind listeners of songs from yesterday as the track truly sounds like something that belongs in the Great American Songbook. The track “Believe in Lullabies” ends up being one of the strongest tracks on Stolen Season from S.J. Tucker.

With the track “Girl into Devil (I Belong to Me),” S.J. Tucker lets out her inner storyteller. The lyrics of the song revolve around a little girl who encounters someone who wants to know who she belongs to. Within the lyrics of the song come gems such as “It all comes down to choices, but you’ve only the hard ones left.” With passages like that, the song feels very much like a story set to music.

The album’s title track is one of the strongest moments on the release. “Stolen Season” is a folk-rock track that features acoustic guitar, cello and percussion. The song’s lyrics revolve around a relationship of not-so-perfect love set within a fairy tale setting. The music of the track creates the perfect background for the story that plays out in Tucker’s lyrics. The addition of the cello to the music gives the track a nice orchestral feeling, especially near the end of the track where the music builds. The final seconds of the track and the lyrics contained within will leave the listener smiling.

The newest release from S.J. Tucker comes to a close with the track “Little Bird”. The track comes with an acoustic rock approach with a very upbeat feel to it. The uplifting lyrics will give anyone hope. The track brings Stolen Season to a close on a very upbeat note. The CD finishes comes complete with another version of the track “Believe in Lullabies”. While the first version feels very jazzy, the second version of the song has a deeper, darker feel to it with electric guitar, electric bass and cello. The second version feels more like a blues song while the first version was closer to jazz.

With the inclusion of the fairy tales and other references in her writing, S.J. Tucker’s songs are unique in their style. Stolen Season from S.J. Tucker is a wonderful find as the release has many different influences in it and that makes the album fun.

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

(Click HERE to hear the track “Stolen Season” from S.J. Tucker)

CD Review: Maria Jacobs “Here Comes Winter”

Cleveland-based singer-songwriter Maria Jacobs has one of the most beautiful voices in the Greater Cleveland music scene. It is easy to tell why she has been able to work with many different people in the area including the Cleveland Orchestra and the MLK Celebration Chorus for the Martin Luther King Jr. Maria Jacobs’ clear, melodic vocal delivery is just perfect for orchestral and jazz settings. Because of that, it’s easy to see why the music of choice for Maria Jacobs is jazz.

Having already created several albums of music that have been widely well-received by the Greater Cleveland area, Maria Jacobs has just returned with her latest offering; the new album is entitled Here Comes Winter. The 2014 release is split between Maria Jacobs’ original compositions and jazzy arrangements of songs that were made famous by other singers.

To bring Here Comes Winter to life, Maria Jacobs teamed up with several well-known Cleveland musicians to help create the songs. Guitarist Bob Fraser, keyboardist Cliff Habian, bassist Bob Curry, standup bassist Brian Wildman and keyboardist/organ player David Strieter all contributed to the music that is contained on the album.

Here Comes Winter from Maria Jacobs begins with the album’s title track. “Here Comes Winter” features Jacobs as both singer and keyboardist, plus Bob Fraser on guitar and standup bassist Brian Wildman. The resulting trio feeling that fills the track creates a solid jazz sound in the music as Jacobs sings about the changing of the seasons to something a lot colder. While the lyrics of the song speak of that approaching coldness, the vocals from Jacobs contain a nice amount of warmth. The song ends up having a nice balance between the cold and the warmth.

While the track of “Here Comes Winter” ultimately became the title track of the new release from Maria Jacobs because of the underlying theme of winter that is also included on the later track of Joni Mitchell’s “River,” it is the song “Till Forever Comes” that is truly the standout track on the album. “Till Forever Comes” features Jacobs, guitarist Bob Fraser, electric bassist Bob Curry and also includes string patches from Cliff Habian. The tune contains a nice Smooth Jazz feel to the music and the inclusion of the strings from Habian gives the track a nice orchestral feel. Maria Jacobs’ vocals delivery on the track feels jazzy but will also remind the listener of something that might have been produced back in the 1970s. The resulting musical feel of “Till Forever Comes” is very timeless and instantly comes across as a newly-minted jazz standard.

“Art of Saying Goodbye,” another Maria Jacobs original on her new release, also makes use of that same orchestral feeling that is featured on “Till Forever Comes”. And just like that song, “Art of Saying Goodbye” contains almost the same musical lineup with the exception of standup bassist Brian Wildman who replaces electric bassist Bob Curry. With the subject matter of saying goodbye being very universal, the track feels like something that would appear in a theatrical production on Broadway. Because of that theatrical feeling, you could easily imagine someone like Barbra Streisand or another well-known singer of standards incorporating the song into their musical repertoire.  

As Here Comes Winter is split between Maria Jacobs originals and arrangements of songs from other people, there are plenty of moments within those cover songs that are worth mentioning. Here are just a few of the highlights:
The classic song of “Time After Time” that was written by Sammy Cahn gets a very simple treatment as Maria Jacobs is joined by only one other musician. The single guitar on the track and Jacobs’ vocals create a track with a very timeless feel to go along with that timeless composition.

Another highlight that occurs on the album is the arrangement of Joni Mitchell’s “Case of You”. Like “Time After Time,” the arrangement of the music on this track is rather simple with Bob Fraser once again backing Maria Jacobs up on guitar. The multiple-guitar sound creates a very nice texture to the music and also gives the song more body than “Time After Time”. Cliff Habian’s strings also help add a nice orchestral feel to the piece. The guitar and string arrangement gives new life to Joni Mitchell’s song while still keeping some of the folk flavor that Mitchell is known for.

The aforementioned song of “River” from Joni Mitchell once again finds Maria Jacobs and Bob Fraser teamed up to create yet another intimate track. The Christmas-inspired song begins with a simple guitar and vocalization arrangement of “Silent Night” before transitioning into Mitchell’s lyrics about the holiday season and longing to be where she can experience a White Christmas. The jazz/folk combination in the music helps to create one of the most beautiful moments on the new release from Maria Jacobs.

Maria Jacobs returns with a solid album with Here Comes Winter. If you’re a fan of jazz music or just want to listen to something a little more relaxing from time to time, this album is something that is definitely worth checking out.