MUSIC REVIEWS

Musical artists with true distinctions are as rare as ever in our modern world, but there are still standout talents hitting the scene that remind us of music’s inexhaustible potential. Elz Bentley first left an impression on hip-hop audiences under the name Jay Ella with the 2018 release Take No Elz. Several …

Coming to us fully-loaded with a righteous riff that set off a hurricane if given the right set of speakers to be filtered through, Lavendine’s “Rapture” doesn’t waste our time with a long, drawn out introduction to its fireworks – it gets right into the business of dispensing pure color. …

Rising out of the silence with a warm growl of the guitar, there isn’t any doubt that Gary Burk III means business upon listening to the opening instrumental salvo that gets his new single “Two Lane Airplane” stated with a bang. The melodic fireworks are pretty potent, and even though …

There’s no understating how important a part guitars have played in the development of blues music, and in the new record Live At the Bluesberry Café, singer and songwriter Johnny Riley reminds us of how vital that part remains in the genre to this day. Though best described as an instrumentally …

With an alluring but rather mild swing and Thin Lizzy-reminiscent overdrive over the guitar, the beat that starts off Insane in “Good Ol’ Stupid Me” is definitely the kind of scene-stealer that would normally make it impossible for us to focus on anything else, but under Tom Tikka’s command, it’s but one …

Rising from the darkness like a new day’s sun breaking the horizon, Austin English’s “Willie Nelson T-Shirt” gets rolling with a pulsating, palm-muted strum that immediately lets us know what kind of excitement is waiting around the bend. English starts to sing, and while his vocal is wildly melodic, it …

Skulking into focus with a pendulous swagger, we find the opening cut in Daniel Tortoledo’s Through out These Years, “Dark Times (Brothers and Sisters),” ready to crush us with its sonic presence just as it would the grim-shaded imagery of its music video. Tortoledo’s voice meshes with the melody of the …

Casually strutting into focus from beneath a layer of ominous silence, “See Me See Me” welcomes us with open arms into the new album Live from Lockdown by Streaking in Tongues, and though its initial demeanor is icy, it warms at the first appearance of a vocal harmony. From this track on, …

In The Garden by The Collect Pond is an EP to watch for, and it is the brainchild of pacific northwest artist, Danny Moffat. But the travels of Moffat reach from Bellingham, WA, to the east coast and ultimately as far as New Zealand. Moffat also did session for hip-hop/EDM …

Some bands don’t mind using the same formula over and over again, and while 308 Ghost Train haven’t been in the business of making rock music for very long, they’re already proving that they’re not a part of the aforementioned group of artists in their new single “Bleed Over Me.” …