SHARK-FIN AWARDS

Sharp and yet unintimidating, sterling but wholly accessible; the lead vocal in Barry Muir’s “Home In A New York Minute” has got to be one of the smartest of the new indie pop I’ve heard in 2023. Muir is no newcomer to his scene, and in his new single, he …

Live albums once carried commercial cachet they no longer enjoy. It doesn’t mean that such releases aren’t artistically viable, however. As a fan of live albums, I enjoyed The Price Brothers Band’s Live at the Yellow Cab Tavern immensely. The twelve song release presents us with a live appearance at the Dayton, …

From its first moments, “Out of the Dark” is clearly a special track. Its gentle piano melody beckons listeners closer, and it’s not long before the shared vocals of Trisha and Thara deliver one of the richest melodies of 2023. There’s a defined knack for what it means to be …

Produced by respected composer Alex Newport, known for similar work with acts as diverse as Death Cab for Cutie and At the Drive In, among others, Paul Jacks’ new collection Amphibious moves on from the past without foregoing what brought Jacks to the dance. The personal touch distinguishing prior albums such as Black …

As delicate as it is passionate in tone, the vocal track that Thomas Truax lays down in “Birds & Bees,” one of the key songs featured on his new album Dream Catching Songs (out this coming March everywhere indie music is available), is both surreally evocative and blunt, leaving us nowhere to …

Thrusting itself from the speakers like a wild animal that has just been uncaged, the deluge of guitar melodicism that we find in the first few important peaks of Johnnie Mikel’s “Vulnerability” is undeniably some of the most exciting of any found on his new LP Purgatory. In this strikingly strong …

Brian Shapiro follows the beat of his own drummer. The unique confluence of life experiences and musical talent always produces interesting, if nothing else, results. Los Angeles born Shapiro is no exception. His signature synthesis of punk, new wave, singer/songwriter, and a smattering of rock would be enough to set …

Thomas Howell is one of the most prominent young actors of the 1980’s, known for his generation-defining role in the classic The Outsiders, among other fine films. He continues working in film and television today, but his artistic interests broadened with time. He’s taken on the name Tommy Howell for his …

An earnest beat engages a melody at the start of “Ancient Cosmic Truth,” the title track of Louis Siciliano’s all-new experimental EP, and though the rhythm of the instrumentation is pendulous, there comes a quiet urgency in the distant vocal element that pushes anyone within earshot to the very edge …

The art of being a rock band in a modern music industry generally means conforming to an idea that the masses have of what you should be; as rock slowly grows away from being one of the undeniably biggest genres in the world, weaning in favor of hip-hop, pop, and …