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: snarls “What’s It Take”

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

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

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

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

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

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

Single Review: Madyx “Girl Boy”

Madyx is the stage name that singer-songwriter Michelle Blanchard performs under. While she does have other musicians to help bring her music to life, Blanchard is the focal point of the outfit. The resulting musical ensemble (which also includes Pablo Martins on Guitar and Dakota Issacson on Drums to go along with the vocals and keyboards from Blanchard) brings together a pop-rock base with other musical influences to create a sound that would fit on any current Top 40 radio format.  Michelle Blanchard is one of many songwriters who have been influenced by the likes of songwriters such as Pink, Katy Perry and other performers who aren’t afraid to speak their minds and/or go in their own direction instead of being followers. “Girl Boy” from Madyx is a modern-day rallying song for those who fit into the LGBT+ community. The track begins with a musical approach that brings to mind music from the eighties and, more specifically, New Wave music. In fact, the track’s feel brings to mind the eighties version of the track “Tainted Love” which was made famous by British band Soft Cell. “Girl Boy” from Madyx contains a strong synthesizer feel that adds to the New Wave feel of the music. And while there is a strong New Wave feel to the track, there is also a strong Punk undertone that brings to mind songs from Pink. The combination of New Wave and Punk in the track’s music creates a musical feel with a driving beat with an energy level that seems to help emphasize the emotional feel of the lyrics to the track. While Michelle Blanchard and the rest of Madyx released their Worth the Risk album back in 2015, they have been releasing singles every-so-often since then. “Girl Boy” shows off the different mindsets of Michelle Blanchard as a singer-songwriter and is also a good indication of what the band can do.

To hear “Girl Boy” from Michelle Blanchard and the rest of Madyx click HERE. 

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

 

CD Review: Welsh Avenue “The Great Exchange”

Austin, Texas-based singer-songwriter Mark DiLillo was once on his way to having a degree as a biology major. That was before his college roommate showed him the ways of Ableton computer software. With the help of that software, DiLillo’s path changed. Soon, instead of helping animals in need, DiLillo was creating music on the computer.

Earlier in life, Mark DiLillo had taken music lessons that helped to instill a love for Classical music. When he started creating his own music with the help of the Ableton computer software, it was only natural that he began creating music with that Classical influence to it. Soon, however, a shift in his musical direction meant incorporating more pop-based influences. The resulting musical style created by DiLillo finds him creating a hybrid style that is part Classical and part Electronica.

Mark DiLillo’s part Classical/part Electronica music is matched up with lyrics that have a realistic feel to them as DiLillo incorporates elements from life into them. The “natural” side of life is included on songs like “Germ Theory” and “Time to Fly”. These and other tracks have been assembled to create Mark DiLillo’s debut release entitled The Great Exchange, and album released under the moniker of Welsh Avenue, the name of the street where DiLillo grew up.

The Great Exchange from Welsh Avenue begins with the aforementioned track “Germ Theory”. The track begins the unmistakable sounds of a scratchy record that helps to add to the ambiance of the music. The song itself features a sound that is part Indie Rock, part New Age because of the easy nature of the music. The light, easy pace of the song matches up well with the very infectious sound of the piano. With the piano comes a gentle quality that makes up the majority of the music. The lyrics about a man who claims to know what’s best for someone else feel very familiar as most of us know that type of person. “Germ Theory” is an easy track that helps get the listener in the mood for the rest of the release.

The second track off of The Great Exchange from Welsh Avenue is called “Blue Eyes”. The first verse to the song consists of just DiLillo and a piano as he sings about being in love. The music of the track then segues to a much fuller sound as the track takes on a more Indie Rock feel. Like the first track of “Germ Theory,” “Blue Eyes” has a gentle feel to the music but contains a slightly heavier feel to the music as DiLillo adds many levels of complexity to the music. Those musical levels create a track that features a strong pop/rock beat while still remaining rather light in nature. Of the first two tracks from the EP, “Blue Eyes” seems to be the more commercial track.

The third track off of the new EP from Welsh Avenue is the title track. Unlike the first two tracks, “The Great Exchange” finds Mark DiLillo creating a track with some real backbone to it. The track features a sound that combines New Wave elements with a few Techno elements to create a song that picks up the energy level quite a bit. The resulting track would easily have been welcome on college radio stations back in the late seventies/early eighties when New Wave was at its peak. At the same time, the track would also have been just as welcome on those same college radio stations about ten years later during the early days of Alternative Rock. “The Great Exchange” from Welsh Avenue is easily the strongest, and best, track on the EP.

Mark DiLillo brings his debut EP to a close with the track “Time to Fly”. As with the track “Germ Theory” from earlier in the release, DiLillo uses real life as a basis for the lyrics to this track about knowing when to let go and say goodbye. The heartbreaking lyrics contained within the song and the rather somber music that goes along with them add an element of sorrow to the otherwise upbeat EP.

While only four songs long, The Great Exchange EP features songs that are rather different from one song to the next. The variety in the tracks showcases the talents of a singer-songwriter Mark DiLillo. The EP also suggests that there is much more to the singer-songwriter than what is found on the release. Future releases should be just as interesting. Keep your eyes and ears open for Mark DiLillo and his musical project called Welsh Avenue.

To hear music from Mark DiLillo, check out The Great Exchange from Welsh Avenue HERE on Bandcamp.

Check out the video to the song “The Great Exchange” HERE.

 

CD Review: Kicklighter “The Fascinating Thinking Machine”

Everett Young found himself looking for a new direction in life over a decade ago. Wanting that new direction, he became motivated to learn to play the guitar, an instrument that he had picked up and put down several times before. However, this time was the charm and he added the ability to play the guitar to other talents including playing the keyboards. Now able to play the guitar, Everett Young turned his focus to being a musician full time. Both a music teacher and a musician in his own right now, Young took that talent and created a musical outfit called Kicklighter.

In Kicklighter, Everett Young has created music that has a truly timeless sound and feel. That timeless feel is mainly because the music created by Everett Young exists somewhere in the late seventies, early eighties between the Glam Rock and New Wave eras of music, an era where the music was still evolving before it started catching the ear of the music-buying people at the time. To help bring the music of Kicklighter alive, guitarist/keyboardist/singer Everett Young is joined by album producer/bassist Tim DeLaney, drummer Sam Owens and several others who add a few musical contributions to the album to help flesh out the music.

Because of their sound, if there was one person that you could compare Everett Young and Kicklighter to, it would probably be English New Wave musician John Foxx. The two musicians have much in common: Neither seem to follow the norm, both are multi-talented musicians, and their respective songs are written not for the everyday music buyer but for those who want something more substantial than the cookie cutter pop music that exists in the music industry.

Kicklighter’s music can be found on the album entitled The Fascinating Thinking Machine. The 2014 album begins with the track “Until You See the Sun”. The track features a strong guitar-based feel to the music that easily falls into the New Wave era of music. The gentle driving feel pace to the rock music and the background noise bring to mind the feel of the Thomas Dolby while the sound of the music also brings to mind John Foxx. The track truly brings back the sound of the early eighties.

While the first track had a guitar-driven feel, the second track of “Says a Tender Mind” finds Everett Young and the rest of the band creating a track that features a sound that is equal parts guitar and keyboards. This track is the perfect track to show off Young’s ability as a lyricist. Lyrics like “it is a world without any right angles” and “I think too much, drive myself mad” bring into focus the fact that Everett Young was, at one point, a political psychologist. While lyrics like those do seem a little unusual for today’s pop music; they are not so unusual that they would put the listener off. “Says a Tender Mind” is a good spot to enjoy Young’s playing on both the keyboard and the guitar. The track allows for both instruments to shine.

Tackling a subject like robotics and making it work as a song is very difficult. But somehow, Everett Young has managed to create lyrics about a robot and makes them work in the song “Making a Robot”. The lyrics about making a robot that thinks and behaves just like a human creates a moment on the release that will make people stop and think. Along with the thought provoking lyrics, the song has a much more commercial feel to it than the first two tracks on The Fascinating Thinking Machine. The guitar-driven song features Young creating the track with both electric and acoustic guitars. That combination helps to create the commercial sound featured on the track.

With the track “The Sultan of Brunei,” Kicklighter goes away from the rock music that came before and they take the music in a slightly jazzy feel. The music from Young, bassist Tim DeLaney and drummer Sam Owens creates a smooth groove. With the inclusion of Joe Gransden on horn, the combo sounds as good as if it were an actual jazz combo. The light vocal delivery from Young adds to the jazzy feel of the track. The jazzy track makes for a nice break from the rock music that came before.

Staying with a slower, lighter feel to the music, The Fascinating Thinking Machine continues with the song “After the Healing”. While “The Sultan of Brunei” has a jazzy feel to it, “After the Healing” finds Everett Young and the rest of Kicklighter moving towards a “lite rock” feel to the music. The lyrics of the song help add emotion to the song.

The Fascinating Thinking Machine from Kicklighter is an interesting album of music that features music that could be from almost any decade. The music on the release is nicely varied and that keeps the album interesting. And while some of the topics covered in the lyrics by Everett Young may seem a bit outside of the norm, the songs never stray too far. The result of that is an album that is listener friendly while still being unique.

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

CD Review: A is for Atom “Song for You”

 A is for Atom is a New York-based Alternative Rock outfit formed by New York transplant Mike Cykoski when he decided that he had had enough playing behind other people. Once Cykoski decided to go in his own direction as far as music was concerned, he started creating songs that featured an Alternative Rock sound with a lot of orchestral feeling to it. To help promote his music, Mike Cykoski released two EPs worth of music. The latest of those releases is called Song for You.
The new release from A is for Atom begins with the track “Load up on Guns”. The track has a fun, light feel to the music as it contains a rather unusual mix of both acoustic guitars that help to build the main body of the song and electronic keyboards that add a slightly spacey feel to the track. In fact, the keyboards come in near the middle of the song and the resulting keyboard solo feels like something that might have come from a New Wave song from the 1980s. The song then changes directions near the end of the track when an electric guitar comes in and adds a little depth to the music. While the song’s title might sound like some kind of statement, the track is just a fun listening experience that happens to be very catchy.
Song for You from A is for Atom continues with the title track of the release. While “Load up on Guns” has a fun, easy feel to it, “Song for You” changes the emotional feel of the EP. As the song title was inspired by something Cykoski’s ex-girlfriend once said to him, the lyrics of this song play on the statement “you never wrote a song for me”. The track features a slow-paced, yet steady feel to it while the music itself falls somewhere between pop-rock and smooth jazz in a style that might remind some of music from a band like Steely Dan. If Elton John’s “Your Song” is the ultimate statement on love, maybe “Song for You” by A is for Atom can be seen as its antithesis.
While the first two tracks of Song for You from A is for Atom contain a style that could easily fit into today’s musical formats, Mike Cykoski takes the song “Bombs Away” in a completely different direction. The keyboard-driven track brings to mind many of the songs from the New Wave era of music. The track brings the listener back to a time when musicians were not only unafraid to try something new with their music; they wanted to push music as far as they could. The resulting track of “Bombs Away” from A is for Atom is one of those tracks that may feel a bit dated because of the use of drum loops and the particular keyboard sound produced on the track, but it can also feel just as fresh because it really doesn’t make you think of anyone else in the music industry today.
Mike Cykoski describes A is for Atom as a “melodic driven alt band”. Nowhere is that more evident than on the track “The White Dress”. In a track that may instrumentally bring to mind “The Fool on the Hill” by The Beatles, the piano-driven track builds as many different elements come together in such a manner that the track feels almost orchestrated. The track also features fine vocals that create a nice harmony to the lyrics of the song. Once the horns appear, the listener experiences a beauty in the song’s music that rarely appears in today’s music industry.
Song for You from A is for Atom comes to an end with the track “India”. The track is a strong pop-rock track that features a very strong keyboard-driven feel. While the song has a relatively timeless feel, the keyboard solo at the end of the track once again brings the music back to a more New Wave feel.
The new release from A is for Atom called Song for You is a pop-rock fan’s dream as Mike Cykoski creates music that can be very appealing to people who like a lot of different styles of rock and roll. The five songs contained within the release are a nice mix of sounds and there’s not a bad track on the release.
Reviewer: Matheson Kamin
Rating: **** (four stars)