Park Hills Circle – All of a Sudden While not exactly Enya, this has a little more flex. Melodies are ethereal & atmospheric, but not as eccentric & intense as Kate Bush. This is Chicago singer Maris O’Tierney’s (guitar/synths/piano) debut album, which has a gentle, airy tone that’s all spirit & polish on her 10-cut […]
Ryan “Bluwrath” Newman – Wrath of Blues The problem with many electrifying blues guitarists is the eventual sameness. The skills & performance are there, but the approach is basically the same. Some artists have a distinctive style that develops & manages to keep their finely tuned ability from interfering with the tradition of the blues. […]
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C. Gibbs – Against Frail Beats on a Teetering Limb Opening with “What The Doctor Says,” it suggests a new Prince track with the Purple One singing with San Diego’s C. Gibbs while Gibbs adds his brand of rock & determined vocals to a vibrant piece of work. Clever. It works nicely. Gibbs is a […]
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Effie Zilch – Higher Calling Though thoroughly modern in their musical endeavors, Effie Zilch on their first two tracks (“Easy,” “Lover Boy”) has a jazzy, electrifying manner that is mindful of Etta James, Sarah Vaughn & Mavis Staples. However, on track 3, “The Argo,” Effie cruises through the Americana stylings of The Band like “Ophelia” […]
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The Silverteens – TV On Fire – EP This is a Minneapolis-based pop-rock band with slivers of new wave flavors in its garage-rock 4-song, guitar-searing, hip-swinging melodic assault. The vocals have a Stranglers edge, though this music isn’t as “dangerous.” I was going to include the word “punk” in my description, but the music is […]
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Low Cut Connie – Livin In the USA Basically, this is old school rock (& roll) with aggressive vocals, driving melodies, strong backup voices, a gnarly lead guitar above the brick & mortar chords of heavy rhythm guitars on the title track reminiscent of Passifist’s “Christ In the Nuclear Age” (1994). This Low Cut Connie […]
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RW Hampton – My Country This is old-fashioned country & western, but RW Hampton is too accomplished an artist to render these hokey-pokey & campy. Instead, he displays high-quality storytelling & while Hampton doesn’t have a heavy twang, he does have a rich, sturdy voice. RW mixes up the showcase with originals & covers themes […]
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Rob Hill – Love & Salt Water This is a pleasantly recorded collection of songs by an exceptional troubadour singer-songwriter who explores the age-old tradition of storytelling through song. Rob Hill (lead & harmony vocals/bgv/acoustic guitars) has some wonderful songs in his repertoire. “London” is catchy, percussive & threaded with the clarity of acoustic guitars, […]
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Gabriel Mas – Hav3 A Good Trip This is a difficult call. I was a big aficionado of progressive rock 100 years ago. This unit rises from the ashes of Chicago’s Gabriel Bondage from the ’70s. There are still bits & pieces of ideas scattered around this new effort, an evolution – with sonic special […]
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David G Smith – Hero Street This set gets off to a dark start with the serious ballad “Hero Street,” sung in a near-narrative style of Ramblin’ Jack Elliott with a sharp storytelling approach. Smith has a strong folky voice on his 12th album. Acoustic folk-blues that explore heavy themes. Smith includes veterans & their […]
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