Tom Faia & Kate Miller are a duo from Monterey, California who released Stay Away From the Flame. They mention “This is a recording that captures so many of life’s ups and downs, wrapped up beautifully in ten memorable well produced songs. Fans of Gordon Lightfoot, Cat Stevens and the soft side of The Eagles will enjoy this collection.” The music to my ears is organic and captures the sound of talented musicians coming together. There’s a mix of Americana, folk and other like-minded genres on this album. Up first is the title track “Stay Away From the Flame” which has a…
Author: Heather Savage
Maladaptive Daydreams is the second EP released by Flynn aka Lamond Sutherland. Flynn mentions “It aims to reflect the anxiety and the stress caused by working in the catering industry during the summer months, especially in a tourist city such as Edinburgh. Much of the compositions are inspired by my day job as a cook, and the dread and exhaustion I felt during the summer, but also how beautiful my home city is during that period as well. I guess as a whole the EP sets out to convey a feeling of beautiful anxiety.” “If We Survive The Summer” is…
Sheyna Gee has always been the life of the party, so it only made sense that she would grow up to be an entertainer. Picking up a guitar at age 5 and fronting her first gig at age 6, Sheyna grew up on the stage. Shey played the Venice boardwalk as a teen and the LA club scene right out of high school, while living in Hollywood and Hermosa Beach. Culminating with being honored by the LA Music Awards with “Best Country Single” and “Best Singer/Songwriter” wins – this is when she made the move to Nashville. Sheyna loves to…
If it’s possible to be both uplifting and cerebral in a song without coming off cerebral in style, Chris McCooey has figured it out for “Well Well,” one of the star tracks in his new album Missing Pieces. Although accompanied by six other songs that speak volumes about his skillset, “Well Well” is an identity piece that reps what its parent LP is all about aesthetically and sonically. Big guitars, simple concepts, and unexplored emotional outlets find a place to call home here, and alternative aficionados are rewarded for their curiosity with one killer record from top to bottom. FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/chrismccooeymusic/…
Coloured Clocks aka James Wallace is back with a new album entitled Castle. It’s a big one at thirteen songs. Wallace mentions some of his influences, like Van Morrison, Tame Impala, Blood Orange, Toro Y Moi, Van She and Queen, some of which I certainly heard in the music. The album begins with “In the Castle” which starts with a somber sentiment. Wallace sings “there’s an emptiness you get from living in the world alone.” It’s quite a statement to start with but hits you right in the heart. A beat emerges along with piano and bass. It’s a great sounding groove…
WHAT’S YOUR GO-TO GAS STATION ORDER? 87 Octane Regular Gasoline TELL US MORE ABOUT YOUR LATEST SINGLE, AND HOW IT DESCRIBES WHERE YOU ARE AS AN ARTIST WITH YOUR CURRENT ARTISTIC DIRECTION. My latest single ‘Perfect’ is about a relationship where you ignored the red flags to believe that the person you were with was perfect. This song is indicative of a shift towards introducing pop elements into my future bass productions. DO YOU HAVE A SPECIFIC STATE OR CITY THAT REALLY STICKS OUT TO YOU AS A FAVORITE WHEN YOU HAVE TOURED? I haven’t toured yet, WHAT HAS BEEN THE BIGGEST LESSON YOU HAVE LEARNED IN THE INDUSTRY SO FAR? If you don’t believe that…
Americana, Country-Blues combination Suzanne’s Band is the official vehicle driven by Texas based singer/songwriter Mia Suzanne Walker. Suzanne’s career highlights include her recent acceptance into the Recording Academy (Grammy’s) and her rapid development as an established You Tube artist. Suzanne’s live shows are a blend of music covering the last seven decades, and are usually a mix of classic rock, pop and country. Booking is available as a solo, duo, trio or full band act. Suzanne’s original songs are also woven into the set list. The non-genre specific approach to Suzanne’s songwriting creates an entirely different basis to build on…
I confess having never heard Hannah until her new single “Home In Your Arms”. The Australian born singer/songwriter is new with one past single to her credit, “Unlikely Two”, and the exponential growth from that outstanding track to this one serves notice that Hannah will be with us for a long time to come. I began listening to the track expecting yet another love song pop confection that’s enjoyable with little depth and my ears perked up with surprise when the acoustic guitar begins the song. Hannah adds a dollop of electric to go along with the acoustic and, when…
Dianña, also known as DianñaCountry, will make a big impact over the holiday season with her seasonal song “Missing You Underneath the Mistletoe”. It’s a personal song for the performer rather than just an attempt to cash in on the ever-present hunger for such songs during this time of the year. She began writing the song ten years ago during a period of personal distress but failed to finish it. It is when she made the decision that she wanted to attempt recording and releasing a Christmas track this year that she decided to pull the song back out and…
Houston, TX native Laura Beale, creates original music under the name Bad Science. Her debut album Spacewalking was released in May, and it’s the first music of any kind she has officially released. The album was written, recorded, mixed and mastered in her bedroom, with some help from Beale’s close friend Hailey Ivey. Ivey helped co-write and provided vocals for a couple of songs on the album. Spacewalking is the culmination of years of bits and pieces of writings and hundreds of crappy demos recorded on the artist’s phone mic, which she had accumulated throughout her teen years. These “bits and pieces” eventually formed…
When it comes to crafting the perfect love song, there’s no exact formula that musicians have been able to follow to immediate success. For some, the traditional love ballad route got the job done, and across history, the simple love ballad seems to generally work best — there would be flourishes on the blueprint, such as Elton John’s record-breaking “Your Song” that functioned as the most meta love song of all time, but the love ballad as a concept was a surefire hit in most regards. Now decades into popular music finding its way through radio waves and, more recently,…
Mike Bodulow started creating cinematic loops after leaving San Francisco, CA, where he played bass for post-metal, post-punk and instrumental projects like The Wolf & I, At All Times, Snakemonster and Luning. After his move to Tulsa, OK, he became a one-man band and recently released Foretold and Forgotten. In a live setting Bodulow uses a loop station to create all the parts. I’ve seen similar acts and it’s really cool to see live if done properly. Although I have not seen a live performance from this artist but I did spend some time with his album which is instrumental and…
Most of us who enjoy a night out at the club never knew we would run into this kind of a dry spell worldwide, and not even for lack of a talented soundtrack, but that hasn’t stopped Wreckless Strangers from dropping one of their first remixes thus far in “Sun State (Michael Herrick Remix)” this season. Wreckless Strangers have been making a name for themselves in in the San Francisco music scene for a while now, and though their sound is primarily described as “American Country Soul” there’s no debating the authenticity of the current foray into dance-pop with a…
Migrant Motel combines modern Alt.Pop sounds with contemporary production techniques into a blend that is unique yet familiar. They have been making music and developing their sound since 2017 and the band has built their fan base in Mexico and throughout Latin America. They are now aiming their sites on the growing Bi-Lingual and Bi-Cultural youth movement in the United States. With the release of the new song ‘Shame’, the band is expanding its reach in the evolving culture. In talking about ‘Shame’, the band says “This is by far the most real, personal song we’ve ever put out. We wanted to express the frustration of…
Devin Farney is a freelance recording artist working out of San Francisco, CA. He coyly states that he has “a wide variety of releases, tv-film syncs, etc. under my belt.” However, just a short visit to his website will have your head exploding with his breadth of experience and Pro accolades. I’ll quickly add that within seconds of playing him, his music boasted the complexity and melodicism of Van Dyke Parks or Brian Wilson. His previous release was called Is/Was andhe is back with this brand new EP titled Gone Is The River. Farney’s biography and credits are simply too lengthy to summarize.…
Otobo is a bit of an odd music duo considering their unorthodox methods of producing sounds for their work. After all, most of this debut of theirs, also called Otobo, was recorded outside in a Kinderhook, NY field. Both members of the duo, Josh Thorsey and Justin Holden, live in New York state and play guitar. As for the rest of the instruments featured on Otobo, it’s kind of unclear as to who plays what, but with the amplifiers in that open field, sounds from the ground, and an oil tank all being utilized here, I guess that these guys are much more concerned…
State of Neptune is a band with real grit. I’ve heard my fair share of hard rock and metal bands over the years, and a lot of them blend into each other. So, when I was listening to “Watershed,” the first song on Pulp of Stones, I had my critical ear at the ready. I was listening for something that would separate these musicians from the sea of similar artists out there in this genre. The chugging guitar builds suspense, and I find myself waiting for that cathartic explosion of sound. What an intro. And the payoff doesn’t disappoint. The riff has…
The band/artist known as Sour Apples, started writing songs when they were 17. All the songs heard on The Warmth Out in This Sun, were first written on the acoustic guitar, and then recorded at the artist’s home using a laptop and a couple of microphones. After releasing this album, Sour Apples have been playing live shows. A new album is in the works at the moment. The genre on the album is largely indie alternative rock. Some of the biggest influences on the band are The Velvet Underground and The Beatles, but there are other influences too, like the Pixies, and…
Strange Cut started off with Jarrod Brown (lead vocals/lyrics) and Rob Dessimoz (bass) in 2015. Nathan Burns (guitar), Josh Schmidt (guitar/backing vocals) and Andrew Hylton (guitar/backing vocals) go on to round out the band’s sound. Their immediate music brings to mind such artists like Queen of the Stone Age and The Black Keys. The band says that they basically keep to an ‘anything goes’ process when making music but like to keep their sound ‘pop accessible’ on their latest album Strange As It Seems. Their sound can go from blues to grunge and indie rock at a drop of a hat.…
Glen MacLeod and Graham MacDonald are Crash World. The duo from Vancouver, British Columbia, recently released So The Story Goes. They mention “The name Crash World is a term that to us, describes our relationship to music styles and genres. For Crash World there are no limitations on bringing together elements from all around the musical spectrum. A crashing together of styles from different eras and traditions to create our own unique musical world.” So The Story Goes is a big album in multiple ways. First off there are a whopping fifteen songs and there’s no filler. It’s close to a double…
Bloodorama is a Switzerland-based indie rock band, that is bringing their unique sound straight to audiences everywhere with their debut album Who Loved Diana Bueller? The band is led by Archy Snuggle Thompson who is also accompanied by The Hearty Hobnobbers and together they form Bloodorama. Immediately, you get the sense that the band caters to the indie and pop rock genres with huge odes to such acts like Jack Johnson, Bruce Springsteen, Sugar Cult, Frank Zappa, Thomas Pynchon and more. From mellow acoustic to adrenaline-rushing anthems and some very dance-worthy tunes, the band will definitely rock your socks off with their…
Driven by a slightly countrified guitar, smoldering keys and a percussive thrust as powerful as they come, the instrumental foundation atop which Queeva will sing her lyrics is unquestionably reason enough to hear “Over Time” this November. That said, it’s far from the lone reason I’d say it leaves listeners captivated by its creator and her smooth delivery. URL: https://www.queevamusic.com/ Where others would have gone minimalist in a country/pop-oriented melody like the trademark piece in “Over Time,” Queeva daringly lets the band get a little indulgent and freely breaks her most searing lead vocal in the last three years. There’s…
The serpentine-centric Lamia by Clash Bowley is one of those works that defies genres and conventions. It has the insolent defiance and uncompromising energy of Punk. It also boasts an experimental touch and what many might consider the modus operandi of Avant-garde. Clash himself is as unfettered as they come, seeing little value in the tedious cliches that often come with being a musician. He writes songs and records them because that is what he does. Any questions? It doesn’t really matter because Clash isn’t eager to answer any. In some ways, Lamia is the love child of The Doors…
Colin Westerlund learned his songwriting art from influences as diverse as Jan and Dean, The Beach Boys, ELO, The Young Rascals, and The Beatles, among others. He likewise learned it through life experience that he brings to bear on the songs for his latest release entitled Beautiful World. I didn’t know anything about Westerlund going into review and felt astonished, as well as excited. This as audacious of a musical collection as I’ve heard from anyone, mainstream or indie, in many moons. TWITTER: https://mobile.twitter.com/collinwesterlu1 Westerlund follows his Muse wherever it takes him, and in his case, it is back to the…
Lacking indulgent bombast and yet rich with the kind of elegant tonality I normally expect out of something much more elaborate in structure, Drew Mills’ Emerge wastes no time bewitching us with its charming intro track in “Soul Lover” before gently segueing into “Another Color,” each of these songs teasing the magic before us in the LP. While Mills is working with a broad pallet of colors, sonically speaking, some moments feel strikingly minimalist in this album, starting with the presence of ego and self-importance. This is a record that puts personality behind cohesiveness, and although this does not work for every…
Missouri power trio Dark Below are continuing their Breakout year with new single ‘Hate Being Human’. The song was produced by Malcolm Springer (Matchbox 20, Collective Soul, Fear Factory) and Jason Schrick for JPS Productions at East Iris Studios in Nashville. Noted music manager Jeff Hanson (Creed, Alter Bridge, Paramore, Sevendust) has joined the team to help take the band to the next level. The song is a post-grunge anthem with a relentlessly heavy groove and thunderous backbeat, layered with Nirvana-esque vocals that lament the sturm and drang that is so pervasive in the world today. It is a cry of angst…
Makes My Blood Dance can not seem to sit still. Single after single, live show after killer live show, they’ve made a name splicing and mutating the genes of metal with disco, glam, and electropop. Interview with Lead singer Evan Russell Saffer You always level up when it comes to your career! Please tell us how you continue to do that with this upcoming tour! I always tell John that if you don’t keep creating, if you take a long enough break, the whole thing just comes to a stop. Touring inevitably makes you a better player, a better band…
Of Limbo/Big Panda Records. Long Beach, CA Rockers Of Limbo have released a raucous & fun new track and video, ‘Let’s Go’. Known for high energy, on the brink of out-of-control live shows, they create an electric atmosphere that is infectious – making it impossible not to have a good time. The band is racing forward and ready to move to another level with their career. Of Limbo says “The song started with the riff and everything just fell into place around that. “Let’s Go” just felt like the right sentiment for the energy of that riff. Then lyrically it’s, “What is a song called ‘Let’s Go’ about?” It’s about saying Fuck It and leaping before you look, rather than waiting around for this or that excuse you have created for your inaction. It’s also that the…
The solo endeavor of singer/songwriter Lear Mason, Some Days Are Darker illustrates a rich soundscape colored by hues of love, loss, and rebirth, an era-ambiguous amalgamation of goth-rock gloom and modern-day crooner. With your latest music, what has inspired you to innovate differently? With Some Days Are Darker I’m always focused on keeping things very authentic and real. Analog even. So I’d say the most innovative work probably happened in the mix and production of the new album. If you listen to Love+Truth, our first EP, things were more bleak. The new music is more colorful, even if those colors…
Big welcome to Bulat with NELA Records. We are so excited to talk with you. For those who dont know – what is NELA Records? NELA Records is a Digital Music Marketing agency and content creation space rolled in to one. We are based in North East Los Angeles (hence NELA) and focus on running social media campaigns on Facebook/IG/YouTube etc. as well as other various artist services. What do you think is the number one thing a new artist or any artist for that matter can do to stand out from others and make a difference in their career? A new…