MUSIC REVIEWS

A pulsating bassline ushers us into Xuan’s new album Have Some Fun shortly after we enter “Not the Man,” a groove-laden, bittersweet pop tune with a suffocating polish that makes its melody effervescent. Xuan wanders through the lyrics with supreme attentiveness; the words chase after the harmonies in the bassline while the …

A hollow groove is filled with colorful harmonious guitar play as we sink into the plush melodies of Crossing Willow Creek’s opening track “Can’t Go Back.” Bill Abernathy’s latest record doesn’t waste any time laying out a gentle jam before our ears and captivating us with its complex beat, which struts …

URL: http://www.skyfactormusic.com/ Music doesn’t have to be overdriven with indulgent distortion to rock hard, and rarely has that statement been more applicable to an album than it is in Skyfactor’s A Thousand Sounds. Acoustic guitars take on hard rock rhythms in the eleven song masterpiece, which boasts a sharply refined mix …

YOU TUBE: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9GPSP5N2XRk The muscular riff that introduces us to the eponymous first track of Friends and the Fakers doesn’t waste a second before nudging all who press play on indie rockers LowRay’s debut album into the searing heat of the pair’s decadent sound. Mechanically stretching our palates out right alongside its …

FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/elbuenlaban Labán’s “Dueños de Aquí” is just the first single from his forthcoming album Todos Somos Dueños de Aquí, but it could be the Mexican R&B artist’s best choice to establish a name for himself in the explosive North American urban pop scene. “Dueños de Aquí” fuses together a diverse …

URL: https://sarahparkermusic.com/ Sarah Parker’s album Strawberry Moon rates as a family affair of the best sort. Produced by husband and respected singer/songwriter/musician Robert Parker, Sarah Parker proves her mettle as a singer and songwriter alike with this release but goes a step further with her wholehearted embrace of traditional country sounds. The …

FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/kazyaking/ Describing their music as essentially folk songs with modern influences seeping into work, Kazyak is led by singer/songwriter Peter Frey and their first full length studio release Reflection solidifies their standing as one of the most promising acts in recent memory. They are based in Minnesota’s Twin Cities area and …

Emma DeCorsey releases The Dream (EP) BANDCAMP: https://iamthepolisharmy.bandcamp.com/album/the-dream A colorful, echoing guitar lick segues into a throttling, bottom-heavy march in “Gold,” the introductory track in Emma DeCorsey’s solo EP The Dream. Studded with a fiery groove that is tempered under DeCorsey’s melodic growl, “Gold” pendulously struts through a mess of distortion …

FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/TheBlackmailSeduction/ This is confident, strutting music not afraid to pursue its own ends and blissfully dismissive of any modern tradition. The Blackmail Seduction’s new release The Blackmail Seduction II doesn’t treat rock music like a butterfly pinned under glass however; instead, the songs discussed here are among the most stunning re-inventions …

URL: https://www.jimclementsmusic.com/ Life is an unpredictable rollercoaster ride, but amidst all of the discord that it renders one consistent element that’s always there for us is music. When we’ve had a hard day, there’s a song to make us feel better. When we’re faced with an important decision that we …