SHARK-FIN AWARDS

Blues music is quite literally at the foundation of all western pop and rock music, but when it’s being presented in its purest of forms, there’s no denying its charismatic tone as it exists independently from the genres it has influenced in the past century. A lot of singer/songwriters do …

Pop music doesn’t have to be complicated and, truth be told, it’s often a lot more fetching when it’s presented simply as opposed to with a lot of frills. There are plenty of singer/songwriters who might disagree with me on this point, but if there’s one who is sympatico with …

It is rare when you can write, without reservation, that a band is unlike anything else you’ve ever heard, Puffery is common. Every solo artist, band, performer, whatever, makes the claim that they bring a unique musical experience to listeners, and few can honestly say it. It’s one thing to …

Connecticut’s Laura Sumner channels the philosophical ways of a folk artist and meshes them together with rock and roll and Americana bliss in the moving EP Red Clay Blue Sky. Inviting the listener into her world, one that is filled with memories and delightful details, Sumner’s voice keeps the listener close …

Consider JD and the RetroRyders to be proverbial keepers of the flame. This unique seven piece band based out of Huntington Beach, California is led by front man Joe DeMeo with two supporting vocalists, a drummer, guitarist, bass player, and an additional percussionist. They have four well-received releases under their …

Noise-rockers Cinemartyr have a particular philosophy when it comes to making music – “the body dictates the note” – and it’s very much in this spirit that we find their new album  sounding like one of the more imposing releases of its kind out this summer. From the moment the …

Francesca Beghe Live presents the wildly talented veteran vocalist in fine fettle. The fourteen songs included on the release, drawn from Beghe’s first three live performances with a full band behind her in twenty-plus years, are an indistinguishable blend of originals and covers. I say indistinguishable because nothing Beghe does ever …

From the moment we press the play button on the warm, sunlit string play of “My Sunrise,” it’s obvious that we’re in for a special treat in the new Chris St. John album uncommon on the mainstream level of country music nowadays. While St. John isn’t reinventing the wheel with Fly …

Wreckless Strangers are like the carpetbaggers of jam and blues rock bands. Opening up a wide bag of sounds of lots of gems in the full-length debut When the Sun and a Blue Star Collide, at their core, this Bay Area group is bound together by a passion for a unique …

While one of the more deliberately paced numbers in the tracklist, the title song in David Sparrow’s new LP Beggars & Choosers is certainly one of the more urgent compositions included in the album. Sparrow has a restrained adrenaline here that is almost as brooding as his lyrics are, and although his …