Music 47 results

Yagull – Kai Album Review

Taking away the often times bombastic soundscape that heavy use of outboard gear allows gives band mainstays Sasha Markovic and Kana Kamitsubo the opportunity to create a world of both introspection and intimate appeal. These are songs that invite you to get inside them, like the feeling of wrapping yourself up in a warm blanket on a cold winter’s night. The band’s duo core is supplemented by a plethora of guests that further expand the scope of the proceedings. Dewa Budjana and ...

Moraine – Groundswell Album Review

Dennis Rea and the mob that make up the group Moraine have such an overabundance of music skills, it is more of a matter of taking ideas out of the mix than showcasing all the prodigious amounts of musical proficiency present. This approach gives the music at hand a razor sharp focus. The instrumental pallet this time includes bass, drums, guitars, sax, flute, violin and that old standby the Mellotron. The moods on Groundswell are forever changing and the band dips into some very ...

Tohpati Ethnomission – Save The Planet Album Review

With a deep understanding of both his local musical roots as well as the global pool of exploration and utilizing a collection of exotic instrumentation, the 11 songs here constantly surprise and captivate the listener. Calling it jazz-rock-fusion severely understates the synthesis of styles here. The guitar is often the lead instrument and its effect on the overall sound is great but it’s the percussive elements underpinning the songs that give the tracks so much impact. With the ...

Bob Dylan: The 30th Anniversary Concert Celebration Album Review

Helping to celebrate Dylan’s then 30 years in the recording business was a collection of powerhouse friends as well as a few artists somewhat new to the scene. The line-up was also not so genre specific, so Country legends Johnny and June Carter Cash, Kris Kristofferson and Willie Nelson shared the stage with newbie’s (at the time) like Eddie Vedder, Sinead O’Connor and Tracy Chapman. The common denominator was the songs by Bob Dylan. Well-known tracks are everywhere but along side ...

Xavi Reija – Resolution Album Review

In what other world would a drummer’s album be completely void of percussive grandstanding? This isn’t to say Catalan drummer Xavi Reija doesn’t show off some impressive chops, it’s just that pocket groove in the outstanding feature here. Reija has pared back his band to a power trio format this time out and they live up to that lofty name, not by overstatement but by a process of subtraction. By removing as many superfluous notes as possible, the end effect puts sharper focus on ...

Elvis – Recorded Live On Stage In Memphis (40th Anniversary Edition) Album Review

Now marking forty years from its initial release on July 7 in 1974 comes an expanded version of Recorded Live On Stage In Memphis with both extra tracks and a complete second version of the show from a test run through that was recorded. Drop into any Elvis live recording from this period and you get a real mixed bag. First it must be stated that Elvis always surrounded himself with kick ass musicians and this period was no exception with a powerhouse band that included guitar legend James ...

Pharrell Williams – Girl Album Review

Williams is an incredibly busy individual and with all his forays into both music production and fashion, it has taken him over seven years to release solo album number two, Girl. All his recognizable flourishes are intact and there are hooks everywhere (of both music composition and sound effects nature). The most obvious starting point is the Oscar nominated song Happy. Happy pulls out all the stops with a great handclap hook and background harmonies that help the song float right out ...

Broken Bells – After The Disco Album Review

Your acceptance of this new third party is mostly predicated on your expectations. Burton’s previous partners have been a diverse lot and there is a major variance between, say the introspective downer rock of the late great Mark Linkous (AKA Sparklehorse) on Dark Night of the Soul and the sublime cinematic feel of his work with Italian composer Daniele Luppi on Rome (an album that refuses to go away from my current play list). The only parallel of these two works being the featuring of a ...

Bruce Springsteen – High Hopes Album Review

For lovers of underground music, it’s a virtue but for fans of the main stream, it leaves a gap in your record collection to play requests. The artist is question this time is Bruce Springsteen. He has never been a featured artist in this abode as his voice has always underwhelmed. His song writing chops are of course admirable but that voice. He’s also just too American, too accessible. When word developed of him releasing an album featuring ex-Rage Against The Machine guitarist Tom ...

The Wrong Object – After The Exhibition Album Review

Your senses will be assaulted and your musical boundaries will be challenged by an onslaught of almost overwhelming proportions. But it will be good and you will come out the other side a better man. The sonic spectrum will be filled by devices that make sounds, bold sounds. Musical notes from vibrating steel and fibrous material. Notes from zeroes and ones and tangible forces being applied to all manner of receptive surfaces. It will redefine the term elasticity and the physical ...