MUSIC REVIEWS

The last few years have been unpredictable on virtually every front, from politics to pandemics and everything in between, but the arts have always kept society moving at some pace or another. Music specifically has responded much as it always does – with a soundtrack worthy of the moment – …

Toy City’s self-titled debut features seven originals written by Paul Burke and Steve Shaheen along with two surprising covers. The covers bookend the album revealing the conscious intent behind the track listing and the remaining seven tracks hold up well in comparison. There’s an obvious aesthetic driving the creation of …

2023 has provided us with quite an interesting year for music fans on all fronts, and this is especially true in the world of singer/songwriters and their ongoing movement toward the mainstream. Diversity of style and aesthetical influence has transformed from a flash to an all-out explosion in recent times, …

Energy presents a diversely-appointed collection of hard rock rhythm and mighty melodic power balladry in their debut album after forty years of waiting, Rock Party, which is due out this upcoming June and already getting a warm reception from fans and critics alike. Featuring heavy groove tracks like “And I’m Doing …

The third full length release The Sun Left and Took the Moon With It from Portland’s Bees in a Bottle, comprising the duo of Christine and Chad McAllister, signals a turning point in an already promising run. The album’s eleven songs elevate their songwriting to higher levels than ever before as Christine …

The unique moniker Heistheartist leaves no doubt about LeeMann Bassey’s seriousness of intent. The Central Islip, New York native began his professional musical journey as a secular neo-soul singer before hearing an online TD Jakes sermon that spun his head around. Heistheartist felt inspired to redirect his artistic efforts and …

The act’s name, Sound Animal, could be reversed to Animal Sound and make just as much sense. Its four-track release, Death of Ages is a whole lot of sound. Some of this sound is discordant, some of it is musical. What it isn’t, for the most part, is rhythmic. Instead, …

Go Time’s new album, Anything Could Happen, is a raucous and wild ride through the vast expanse of the rock genre. The band, consisting of Scott Niekelski on Main Vocals, Guitar, Keyboards, Steve Grzenia on Percussion and Backing Vocals, Paul Schmidt on Guitar and Backing Vocals, and Mark Marketti on …

Critics can’t seem to stop talking about the experimental sounds of the burgeoning American pop underground lately – and for good reason. Beneath the surface of mainstream commerciality, indie artists like 87 and the Toys are creating a brand new strain of alternative music that is as indebted to the …

Like a raging wind tearing across the rustic countryside, the strings that adorn the best parts of Lisa Michelle Anderson’s “Joy Callin’” are powerful enough to leave a path of sheer emotive destruction in their wake, but thanks to the sublime production value of this latest single from the acclaimed …