(Ball in the House) Five very talented vocalists belt out a cappella soul music. While I can appreciate their talent, I can’t really get into their chosen style of music. While I liked bands like the now defunct Moxy Fruvous and Da Vinci’s Notebook, I can’t really relate to these oh so smooth, yet rough songs. If you like music such as Boyz II Men then this will probably be right up your alley.
-- Grog Mutant (2008)
Thursday, March 27, 2008
Sam Cubbage - Dare to Dream - CD
(Sam Cubbage) Average sounding, bar band, blues rock with “makes me cringe” background vocals. This will never get beyond the stage it is at and that seems to suit Sam just fine.
-- Grog Mutant (2008)
-- Grog Mutant (2008)
Brian Molnar - Feelin Out of Time - CD
(Avenue A Records) Brian Molnar plays country music that borders on folk so it is more palatable to me than straight country. The songs have a basic country feel with a nice female background vocal harmony that adds a special element to the music. A few of the tracks get a bit to “down home” for my personal tastes, but they are very well done regardless. If you’re a fan of basic country or even folk you should do yourself a favor and check out Brian Molnar.
-- Grog Mutant (2008)
-- Grog Mutant (2008)
The Wake Effect - Step One - CD
(Effected Music) The band in reality consists of one man, with a second person helping out on drums for a few tracks. Overall the Wake Effect owes a lot to late 80s metal rock. The songs seem to focus on a different instrument with each track and I assume that is the one he wrote the song on. The second track, “Faith & Fire”, is driven by the bass, track three “Dusted” is driven by the guitar etc. Overall he writes decent metal, but his voice is weak and mixed way down which makes it sound even more diminutive. I like him better as a bassist than a guitarist primarily due to his guitar style sounding like so many other people. His bass playing is fairly unique though and would sound excellent in the right band. While this release has its moments I think he would be better suited joining a band as a bassist / songwriter.
-- Grog Mutant (2008)
-- Grog Mutant (2008)
The Cherry Poppin' Daddies - Susquehanna - CD
(Space Age Bachelor Pad) The Daddies are back and doing what they are known for…rocking out several genres on the same disc. Yeah, many people only associate the Daddies with swing, but people who heard them before the Zoot Suit Riot compilation know that swing is just a small slice of their pie. They take a wild ride through rockabilly, latin influenced rock, punk, ska, flamenco and yes even swing. Some songs are about ruined by the turn of a single phrase, such as “Wingtips”, but others are new classics like “Blood Orange Sun”. Overall Susquehana is one of the best albums put out this year and will most likely be overlooked by the mainstream due to its diversity. If you love to hear a band of extremely talented musicians playing a whole lot of different styles then the Cherry Poppin’ Daddies will fill that void and get you on your feet.
-- Grog Mutant (2008)
-- Grog Mutant (2008)
Bayard Russell - Selftitled -CD
(Bayard Russell) Slightly geeky musician boy meets girl. Girl and boy date for a while. Girl breaks up with boy and he is shattered. Boy records CD using girl as inspiration. CD starts off with a charmingly geeky attitude. Nice song writing and vocals that really match the feel of the songs shine through for the first few tracks. Then the boy starts singing a bit more about how the girl should come back to him and how much better her life would be. Boy carries on in that vein and it all gets creepy and obsessive. I think the boy is very talented and has something special, he just needs to let the girl go and write songs about something else. Trust me, there are plenty of other girls out there and some will be amazed by you.
-- Grog Mutant (2008)
-- Grog Mutant (2008)
Sky Cries Mary - Small Town - CD
(HooDooh Music)
Whenever I think of Sky Cries Mary, the band Cocteau Twins comes to mind as well. I think this is due to the atmospheric female vocals and that they both hit the college radio airwaves around the same time. Sky Cries Mary has a bit more of an edge to their music and the combo
of the male and female vocals help give the songs more depth.
-- Mite Mutant (2008)
Truckeebrothers - Doublehappiness - CD
(Populuxe Records)
The Truckeebrothers have a very strong guitar driven rock sound with most of the songs being sung with harmonized male vocals. I did find the music to be strong throughout this release; however I felt that the overuse of the harmonized vocals just took away from the overall disc. I preferred the songs where the vocals seem to play off each other a bit more like "Formula
O" or "Royal Finale". Still, not a bad CD overall.
-- Mite Mutant (2008)
The Truckeebrothers have a very strong guitar driven rock sound with most of the songs being sung with harmonized male vocals. I did find the music to be strong throughout this release; however I felt that the overuse of the harmonized vocals just took away from the overall disc. I preferred the songs where the vocals seem to play off each other a bit more like "Formula
O" or "Royal Finale". Still, not a bad CD overall.
-- Mite Mutant (2008)
Catman Cohen - How I Want to Die (Vol. I) - CD
Catman Cohen - How I Want to Live (Vol. II) - CD
(Catman Cohen)
I know that Catman Cohen meant this release to be serious, but while listening to the opening tune "How I Want to Die" I couldn't help thinking of the scene from Annie Hall where her artsy boyfriend tells a college aged Annie that the way he wants to die is to be torn apart by wild dogs.
The songs on this conceptual CD sound like they were written for a musical that takes itself too seriously. The male vocals aren't much better, and almost have a religious slant to them. The only bright spot on this release was the vocals of Ronee Martin on "Wishin' on a Star". Other than that I have to say I didn't really like this release too much.
-- Mite Mutant (2008)
(Catman Cohen)
I know that Catman Cohen meant this release to be serious, but while listening to the opening tune "How I Want to Die" I couldn't help thinking of the scene from Annie Hall where her artsy boyfriend tells a college aged Annie that the way he wants to die is to be torn apart by wild dogs.
The songs on this conceptual CD sound like they were written for a musical that takes itself too seriously. The male vocals aren't much better, and almost have a religious slant to them. The only bright spot on this release was the vocals of Ronee Martin on "Wishin' on a Star". Other than that I have to say I didn't really like this release too much.
-- Mite Mutant (2008)
Mezklah - SpiderMonkey - CD
(Escuchalo Records)
When I picked up this disc and looked at the cover, I had no idea of what I was in for. I'm still surprised after listening to the disc. There's a heavy influence of what I believe is a South American musical groove going on throughout this release, with a helping of reggae and rock thrown in. It's as if Mezklah is the Latin music version of Sublime. So while I don't understand the words on many of the songs, the music is great and each song gets multiple plays. This is one release that deserves
your attention.
-- Mite Mutant (2008)
When I picked up this disc and looked at the cover, I had no idea of what I was in for. I'm still surprised after listening to the disc. There's a heavy influence of what I believe is a South American musical groove going on throughout this release, with a helping of reggae and rock thrown in. It's as if Mezklah is the Latin music version of Sublime. So while I don't understand the words on many of the songs, the music is great and each song gets multiple plays. This is one release that deserves
your attention.
-- Mite Mutant (2008)
V/A - Parx-C - A Compilation of Independent Music - CD
(Clear Springs Entertainment) When it comes to independent music compilations it's always hit and miss, with a majority of the releases just plain sucking. No so with this release. I have to say I was pleasantly surprised. While most of the songs have a mellow acoustical singer/songwriter feel to them, there are a few rocking tunes on this release as well like Agent with the tune "Crave".
I've listened to this release many times now and just about every tune is a winner. There are a few standouts that caught my ear with each listen. Things get started off right with the catchy tune "Pushover" by The Long Winters. However, I was a bit confused in the middle of the release and then realized it was because two songs somehow ended up on the same track. So while you're listening to track 9 know that halfway through you will have a nice little surprise when Jenny Dalton starts singing "Lily and the Stranger" which reminded me a bit of Tori Amos. The you will have to pay close attention to the liner notes and lyrics to make sure the artist you're listening to is actually who you think they are. Anyway, Amanda Rogers "Drive" is another lovely tune as is the Todd Weidner sounding "Pair of Horses." But my favorite track on the release by far is "The Devil Came Back for You", by Katie Brianna. It reminded me of another Australian singer which I love, Kasey Chambers. This is one of the most enjoyable comps that I have heard in a long time.-- Mite Mutant (2008)
Bayadera - Rotation of the Earth - CD
(Bitemark Records) I guess you could call this Latin influenced pop-rock. They are a very talented and tight band with flowing rhythms, especially on the Latin influenced songs such as “Fantasy”. The drummer puts down a great steady beat with a bit of mixing it up and the bassist does some great fills without overpowering the primary melody. The guitarists play well off of each other and the vocalist to form well crafted pop songs. The absolutely stunning singer (prominently featured in all the photos) has a voice to match her looks. The only thing I can say that is wrong with this band is the lyrics. They are overly repetitive and simplistic, many with a standard A-B rhyming pattern. If they can just break out of the basic lyric mode and get creative then Bayadera will be a force to reckoned with.
-- Grog Mutant (2008)
-- Grog Mutant (2008)
Rachel Taylor Brown - Half Hours with the Lower Creatures - CD
(Cut Throat Pop Records) This CD starts off with haunting bells which seem to morph into the twinkle of a toy piano and atmospheric female vocals with a hint of scratchy spoken word, very different but very cool. I knew right then that I would like this release. Overall, Rachel Taylor Brown has a sound that reminds me of Dresden Dolls and Paula Cole. "You're Alright Sorla One" and "Stagg Field" both have an aggressive piano rhythm that sounds very much like the Dresden Dolls. While the song "Mette in Madagascar" and "Passion" have, well, the subtle passion that Paula Cole has at times. This is a CD that is very unique in a good way. So give it a listen.
-- Mite Mutant (2008)
Alternate Sound of Life - She Whispers Loud - CD
(ASL Music) This is one of those bands that proves that technically proficient musicians don't always make the best music. ASOL are amazing musicians and play very intricate melodies fronted by just average vocals. However, most of the songs seem a bit too clinical and not very emotional. It's like what happened with the prog-rock movement when it entered the early 80s. If you are into a lot of precise playing and music that sounds something like Coheed and Cambria then maybe ASOL is for you.
-- Grog Mutant (2008)
-- Grog Mutant (2008)
Alternate Sound of Life - She Whispers Loud - CD
(ASL Music) This is one of those bands that proves that technically proficient musicians don't always make the best music. ASOL are amazing musicians and play very intricate melodies fronted by just average vocals. However, most of the songs seem a bit too clinical and not very emotional. It's like what happened with the prog-rock movement when it entered the early 80s. If you are into a lot of precise playing and music that sounds something like Coheed and Cambria then maybe ASOL is for you.
-- Grog Mutant (2008)
-- Grog Mutant (2008)
The ChickenFish Now Blogs!
Yes, it's true the ChickenFish is now blogging as you can see. We will be posting all of our new reviews and possibly our archives depending on how we like it here. So sit back and enjoy the latest reviews from the week of March 21-27, 2008
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