Strix Vega - Drunken Sky - CD

(Strix Vega) Decent sounding lo-fi college rock that sounds like something out of the late 80’s. I liked their music for the most part and even the vocalist’s voice, which was odd, had a certain charm to it. The only thing that bugged me where how the drums seemed to be getting off beat at times. I don’t think it was intentional, but every so often he’d drop a beat and try to catch up. This would be better if they hooked their drummer up to a metronome.
-- Grog Mutant (2008)

Stilo - Lisboa Avenue - CD

(Stilo) This is a mostly instrumental CD with a lean towards a world music feel. The songs are a bit light for my liking and after hearing great world music instrumentals by the likes of Dudley & Coleman, AfroCelt Sound System, Lights in a Fat City, etc. this release just failed to capture my interest.
-- Mite Mutant (2008)

Raz Mesinai's Badawi - Unit of Resistance CD

(ROIR) In 2004 Raz Mesinai booked a recording studio a few blocks from the National Republican convention in New York City. He brought together musicians and recorded 10 hours of spontaneous burst of sounds, music, distorted electronics, etc. He then took those recordings and manipulated them, separated parts, made loops and other such funkiness. He then handed the results to various other artists whose creations can be heard on this release.

Most of the cuts on this CD have a very percussive feel to them, with a world music vibe going on as well. Badawi Quintet's "Market Place" reminded me of the CD "Songs from a Victorious City". DJ Spooky put political sound clips into his mix giving the song "Jihad Remix" a Consolidated feel. That is if Consolidated were a world music band. Seth Ayyaz's "Bahr El Dumu Part 1" is a sonic aura piece, while "Den of Drums" by Kode 9 can be best described as a Dance/Trance song.

Overall this is a very interesting piece of experimental work that is as much a study in collaborative art as a bona fide musical release. It took me a couple listens to get into it, but it grew on me very quickly. So go ahead and give it a few spins.
-- Mite Mutant (2008)

Keram - Box - CD

(Keram Songs) This starts off with a nice acoustic dual harmony folk song. The next song gets a bit slower and mellower, but picks up a bit on the third track. The rest of the disc flows like this with a progression of slow to medium tempo folk songs with only guitar or piano accompaniment. Through the vocals and musicianship are fine I’m struck by the demo-like quality of this release. It isn’t the recording, this just sounds like a song writer who had recorded his ideas and given them to his band to flesh out. I’ve heard enough demos before to have a sense of this. My advice would be to find some like-minded musicians to help make your musical ideas become full songs.
-- Grog Mutant (2008)

Leiana - No Going Back - CD

(Page Records) I was going to start this review off by saying how awesome this rockin' female band is, but then I looked at the liner notes and saw that not only was it not a chick band, but the band consisted of only two people, vocalist Leiana (female) and writer, arranger, producer and multi-talented musician Chuck Treece (male). Reading that only made me appreciate and love this release even more.

Every song on this release has an in-your-face catchiness that you just can't ignore. Chuck Treece's playing is tight and production is top notch. Leiana's vocals are powerful and melodic. There's not one bad track on this release, and as far as standouts go I loved them all. Don't let this band get away. You will kick yourself for not picking up this release. One of the most solid CDs through and through that I have heard in quite a while.
-- Mite Mutant (2008)

Fanny Grace - Rise & Shine - CD

(Fanny Grace) I wasn't sure how I would like this release when the first song kicked in. This is very much a country CD and the first tune started out with a more modern country feel to it, which I'm not a big fan of. However, I quickly grew to love the song and liked the little wink to the Meat Loaf classic "Paradise by the Dashboard Light." The wonderful slightly twangy vocals of Carmen Mejia combined with strong lyrics and great playing help to make this CD solid throughout. I feel the songs that shine brightest are the ones with the more traditional country feel to them, with a few of my favorites being "Rise & Shine", "My Cowboy's Last Ride" and "Till the Wheels Fall Off" with its Doobie Brothers "Black Water" lick helping to drive it along. But by far my favorite tune on the release is "The Storms are on the Ocean", which reminded me a lot of June Carter and got me researching. That's when I found out that the producer of the CD is John Carter Cash, the son of Johnny Cash and June Carter, and that "The Storms are on the Ocean" was actually a June Carter song. Great CD.
-- Mite Mutant (2008)

Leah-Carla Gordone - Phoenix from the Ashes: Rise - CD

(Leah Carla Gordone) I was very intrigued when I first set eyes on the cover for this release, where the person looks like a cross between Bjork and Macy Gray. However, while listening to this CD Leah-Carla's vocals remind me at times of a cross between Ani DiFranco and Patti Smith but lacking the singing strength and depth of the two. The lyrics are actually really good and I believe that with better production I would have liked this CD more. But with the way it is most of the songs sound singer-songwriter generic.
-- Mite Mutant (2008)