Author: EclecticMusicLover

dwi – Album Review: “Zoo Life”

On By EclecticMusicLoverIn Reviews18 Comments

Many singer-songwriters tend to write from their own personal experiences, and oftentimes, some of the best and most compelling songs are born of pain and trauma. Such is the case with Canadian artist dwi and his new album Zoo Life. About the album, he states “This is the first time in my life where the story of the songs came first before the music. Some of the songs break my heart, and I’m not just poetically saying that. I went to very uncomfortable, dark and painful places to find these themes. And now a year later, I realize that I’ve learned so much about myself and why I’ve done the things I have, and why I have prevented myself from healing. You can survive trauma. But you always have to live with it. So you might as well turn it into art.”

Based in the suburbs of Vancouver, British Columbia, dwi is the music project of singer-songwriter and instrumentalist Dwight Abell, who’s also the longtime bassist for Canadian alternative/power pop band The Zolas. He’s an immensely creative, talented and imaginative guy, with a totally original sound and an endearingly quirky vocal style that make his music so uniquely distinctive. I think he’s one of the brightest stars today in the Canadian music scene, or anywhere really, and I’ve grown quite fond of him.

In October 2021, dwi released his brilliant debut album Mild Fantasy Violence (which I reviewed). Written during the Covid lockdowns, the album explored feelings of disconnect from the everyday normalities of relationships and society, touching on such topics as childhood, friendships, addiction, politics and environmentalism. One of the album’s tracks, “Good Friend”, spent four months on my Weekly Top 30 chart, going all the way to #1 and ending up ranking #16 on my Top 100 Best Songs of 2022 list. He followed in August 2022 with a marvelous single “Party4One“, accompanied by a delightfully zany video. That song also went to #1 on my Top 30 chart, and ranks #24 on my Top 100 Best Songs of 2022.

Since then, he’s dropped a number of singles, several of which, including “Party4One”, are featured on Zoo Life, which dropped today. Many of the songs address Dwight’s childhood experiences in foster care, which he equates with being “taken away to a zoo”. He explains “I actually did research about my time in foster care for this album and requested all the documentation of it (900 pages) from the ministry. I discovered that I was abused in one of the homes I was in, and there were photos taken of me. That’s where the album cover came from. I’ve also realized that I’ll probably go back to the old way of conceptualizing songs, because this process emotionally wiped me out. But I’m glad I touched on it as much as I did.”

For the recording of Zoo Life, dwi sang all vocals and played all instruments, except for drums, which were played by his childhood friend and fellow Zolas band member Cody Hiles. The album was produced by Ryan Worsley, and released via the label Light Organ Records.

The album opens with the title track “Zoo Life“, on which dwi addresses the lingering trauma from his foster care experiences: “Standing on the edge of my life. On a perfect Friday night. I don’t know if I can take this. Zoo life, zoo life I’m breathin‘”. Fueled by an emphatic beat overlain with wobbly psychedelic synths, a deep bass groove and stabbing guitar notes, the song has a melodic but rather ominous vibe, ending with a lovely instrumental fade-out. The song’s video, showing scenes of dwi lying backwards on a stairway in front of a church and singing on what appears to be a city street, conveys a strong claustrophobic feel.

“Get Me” opens with a blast of drum fills and bass, then settles down somewhat in the melancholy verses, Cody Hiles’ aggressive drums still dominant throughout. I really like the melodic piano-driven interlude in the bridge before everything ramps back up to a dramatic crescendo as dwi remembers past traumas he’s long tried to suppress: “Pool of blood on the bathroom floor. Wait, who is that on the bathroom floor? From the other side, wake up. On the other hand, shake it off. Don’t look at that void, it’ll crush you.”

The wonderfully wacky “Party4One“ is the one moment of levity on the album. In dwi’s own words, the song is “about falling in love with yourself during an intense state of cabin fever. Love yourself, make out with yourself, and for the love of gawd, scare yourself. The weirdos are in charge now!” It’s a riotous blast from start to finish, and dwi’s quirky vocals are relentlessly endearing as he sings “Hey reflection, I really like you. Don’t want your friends. Hey man, I think it’s pretty funny given who I am. Nothing can stop me, I’m living in a single player game. You can’t stop me, it’s a party for one.“ The hilarious video shows dwi dressed in goth-punk black leather and a plaid skirt, with his hair styled to feature two devil-like horns. He enters an old house and proceeds to indulge in all sorts of childish antics, including playing video games with a giant stuffed teddy bear, overdosing on bowlfuls of Froot Loops, covering his face with lipstick in front of a bathroom mirror, and engaging in S&M pretend with the aforementioned teddy bear.

On the darkly beautiful and cinematic “Fear Of Forever” – which would make a terrific James Bond movie theme – dwi passionately laments of his lingering bitterness and feelings of abandonment to those who hurt him: “Don’t ever trust a god who leaves you all alone / And don’t ever send a boy to do a man’s job / I’ve got the fear of forever“. The song includes sweet vocals from what I’m guessing are one of his little son’s. And on “Phony“, with its glorious Britpop-inspired soundscapes and soaring choruses, he sings the poignant lyrics that seem to be about how we try to hide our pain and aching need for love and acceptance by being other than who we really are: “I never wanted purpose. I only wanted you. And all good things must end here.”

One of my favorite songs on Zoo Life is “Overrated“, as I can’t get enough of its powerful, foot-stomping groove, gnarly bass, spacey synths and dwi’s wonderfully-crazed vocals as he ticks off a number of popular things in culture (VR, licorice, Top Gun, 69, as well as passion, anger and temper) he feels are overrated. A lifelong lover of video games, dwi’s shown as a kind of gaming character in the surreal video.

“Marker“, recorded with his band The Zolas, has a bit of a Psychedelic Furs feel to my ears. The lyrics seem to speak of coping mechanisms children of trauma engage in to survive: “I imagine you as a child tempted to steal a marker. You’ll get caught red-handed when you get creative.” Here’s a live performance of the song by dwi and The Zolas:

“Uncle Uncle” touches on dwi’s ongoing PTSD from witnessing his young son getting hit by a car (thankfully he survived and is doing well): “Take me to a shrink and change my medication / Hypnotize me till I turn blue / I hear a car crash in my mind, kids crying all the time / There is a demon in my mind, throwing parties all the time. I say ‘I’m cool, I’m cool’. But there’s one problem, it never quits.” In addition to the great lyrics, I love the song’s driving beat and that wonderful jangly guitar riff between the verses.

“Day By Day” is a jaunty punkish tune with more of those terrific head-bopping rhythms, psychedelic synths and exuberant jangly guitars. As the title suggests, the lyrics speak to the ongoing work required to keep one’s sanity and deal with adult problems on a daily basis. “Where’s the spark that I had as a kid back in the day. All those dreams sure felt like they would stay. Now it seems that simple stuff ‘s getting in, in my way. Guess I’ll have to take it day by day.“

dwi taps into his inner beast on the bombastic tour de force “Hypocrite?!“, unleashing a torrent of jagged buzzsaw riffs bathed in feedback and fearsome impassioned screams, nicely accompanied by Cody’s explosive drums. The furious instrumentals gradually fade and are replaced with lovely contemplative piano keys and dwi’s haunting vocals for the final minute of the song.

The heart-wrenching and powerful album closer “Holes In My Story” deals with dwi’s coming to terms with having been abandoned by his birth parents and the abuse that followed as a foster child: “I guess I’m staying at someone else’s house again; wait out the storm. / The strangest part I don’t recall you leaving me at all./ I guess I’m putting on a brave face again. These masks are worn. I’m sitting in a cage with my family. What did we do wrong? The hardest part, I don’t recall you needing me at all. Well that was fun, and thank you for creating me, but it’s time to go. / Don’t you dare go feed those animals; they’ll never get trained. Holes in my story, holes in my story. I shine a light on it, but still feel misplaced.”

By song’s end, I’m left emotionally drained and nearly in tears, not only from the lyrical content, but also from dwi’s truly breathtaking creativity, talent and musicianship. Despite it’s dark, often disturbing subject matter, Zoo Life is a magnificent and gorgeous work nevertheless. He’s outdone himself yet again with this album, and I remain a loyal and devoted fan.

Connect with dwi:  Twitter / Instagram / Facebook

Find his music on Spotify / Apple Music / YouTube / Amazon Music

MISSIO – Single Review: “Good Vibrations”

On By EclecticMusicLoverIn Reviews13 Comments

Austin, Texas-based duo MISSIO, made up of singer-songwriter and producer Matthew Brue and songwriter/producer and instrumentalist David Butler, have been one of my favorite music acts for the past five years. Not only do I love their great songwriting, edgy, thoroughly original sound that’s an eclectic mash-up of gritty alternative electronic rock, hip hop and dreamy emo vibes, and Matthew’s beautiful emotive vocals, I also have mad respect for them. With an openness and honesty shown to their fans they’ve affectionately dubbed the ‘MISSIO Mafia’ (of which I proudly consider myself a member), they exude a genuine coolness, yet aren’t afraid to share their anxieties and vulnerabilities.

I’ve written about them numerous times on this blog, and in fact, featured their hauntingly beautiful “Bottom of the Deep Blue Sea” exactly one year ago today, as one of my entries of a 30-day song challenge I did last July. Today, I’m thrilled to share their latest single “Good Vibrations“, along with a terrific video that dropped last Friday, June 29th.

MISSIO has consistently produced an exceptional catalog of music, beginning with their brilliant debut album Loner in 2017. They’ve since followed with three more studio albums, The Darker the Weather // The Better the Man in 2019 (my review of that album has garnered over 3,100 views, making it my most-viewed album review ever), Can You Feel The Sun in 2020, and VILLAIN last September (which I also reviewed). In 2020, they also dropped a gorgeous soundtrack album for their film Love Me Whole. Several of their songs have charted on my Weekly Top 30, three of which – “I See You”, “Underground” and “Can You Feel the Sun” – reached #1. This past February, the guys released an EP I Am Sad, featuring six deeply impactful songs touching on anxiety and emotional pain, then followed in early June with their mellow trip hop single “Easy”, which along with “Good Vibrations”, will be included on their forthcoming fifth album.

According to the guys’ discussion of the song on their first episode of #MissioMonday, livestreamed this morning on YouTube, “Good Vibrations” started out as a demo written by Matthew a few years ago. He wasn’t sure what to do with it, and also had misgivings about releasing it, given the fact it shares the same title as the iconic Beach Boys song. But he thought that, given all the bullshit and negativity bombarding us these days, we could use a little more love and positivity. Besides, their drummer Jaydon really loved it, exclaiming “That’s a hit!”, so they decided to record and release it as a single. David also noted that he’d be honored to have their song even mentioned in the same sentence as the Beach Boys’ classic.

One of the many things I love about MISSIO’s music is that no two songs sound alike, and that’s especially true with “Good Vibrations”. The song hits hard, fueled by a powerful synth bass groove and Jaydon’s muscular drumbeats. It’s not a dance song per se, but I defy anyone to sit still when hearing it. My entire body is bopping to the beat as I write this review! To my ears, the song has a few echoes of 80s songs by Depeche Mode and Thompson Twins, but still sounds exciting and fresh. The combination of those heavy, pulsating beats, explosive percussion and colorful spacey synths create a bold, cinematic backdrop for Matthew’s sultry, impassioned vocals as he sings “What you need, What you need is my love. And some good vibrations.”

Jaydon is correct in his assessment of “Good Vibrations”, as MISSIO has another hit on their hands.

For the wonderful music video, they wanted to have a good time, so gathered a few skater friends together and shot the video at a skate park in San Marcos, Texas. The video features Matthew and David, along with skaters Kat Frances, Mason Lapena and Abel Rodriguez, and was directed by Matthew, filmed and produced by Ima Leupp, and edited by Joe Hassage.

Follow MISSIO:  Facebook / Twitter / Instagram
Find their music on Spotify / Soundcloud / Apple Music / YouTube / Amazon

Top 30 Songs for July 2-8, 2023

On By EclecticMusicLoverIn Weekly Top 30's8 Comments

Not a lot of changes from last week’s Top 30. Foo Fighters‘ “Rescued” remains at #1 for a second week, while boygenius‘ “Not Strong Enough” holds at #2 again after having spent two weeks at #1. The mesmerizing “Essence”, by Danish electronic artist Refeci and Canadian-American singer-songwriter Shimmer Johnson, climbs four spots to #3, and the beautiful “Those Eyes” by Toronto collective New West enters the top 10. Debuting this week are “Say Yes To Heaven” by the always captivating Lana Del Rey, at #29, and the bluesy “Orbit” by the exceptionally-talented Brooklyn trio Gooseberry, which enters at #30.

  1. RESCUED – Foo Fighters (1)
  2. NOT STRONG ENOUGH – boygenius (2)
  3. ESSENCE – Refeci & Shimmer Johnson (7)
  4. GO DOWN RIVER – The Heavy Heavy (3)
  5. RESCUE ME – Dirty Heads (8)
  6. LEAVING – Au Gres (9)
  7. EAT YOUR YOUNG – Hozier (4)
  8. KID – The Revivalists (5)
  9. DUMMY – Portugal. The Man (6)
  10. THOSE EYES – New West (11)
  11. WHY – Future Theory (12)
  12. 1982 – Morgendust (10)
  13. PINEAPPLE SUNRISE – Beach Weather (15)
  14. IN MY HEAD – Mike Shinoda & Kailee Morgue (13)
  15. HELLO – GROUPLOVE (14)
  16. MARRY ANOTHER MAN – Wise John (16)
  17. EMPTY NEST – Silversun Pickups (18)
  18. WE’RE ALL GONNA DIE – Joy Oladokun & Noah Kahan (19)
  19. STUCK – 30 Seconds to Mars (21)
  20. PUPPET SHOW – Beck Black (24)
  21. PSYCHOS – Jenny Lewis (26)
  22. THE NARCISSIST – Blur (27)
  23. CHEMICAL – Post Malone (20)
  24. SPELLBINDING – The Smashing Pumpkins (28)
  25. PAID OFF – Oli Barton & the Movement (17)
  26. BONES – HEALER (29)
  27. WALK THROUGH THE FIRE – The Frontier (30)
  28. SUPERGLUE – Michigander (23)
  29. SAY YES TO HEAVEN – Lana Del Rey (N)
  30. ORBIT – Gooseberry (N)

HARDWICKE CIRCUS – Album Review: “Fly the Flag”

On By EclecticMusicLoverIn Reviews21 Comments
Album artwork created by Humphrey Ocean

I’ve previously commented many times on this blog about the enormous amount of musical talent coming out of the UK, and today I have yet another shining example of this in the form of Hardwicke Circus, an insanely good five-piece from Carlisle, England. Though they’ve been around since 2015, I only learned about them last week when their PR rep reached out to me about them and their recently-released album Fly the Flag. I liked it at first listen, and as I customarily do for all artists and bands I’m writing about for the first time, I listened to as much of their back music catalog as I could get my hands on. I love all of it, and am now a committed fan! Hardwicke Circus is a brilliant band, and I strongly urge my readers to take the time to check out at least some of their music.

They’re also clever and funny, and their bio so colorful and amusing, I’m just going to quote from it rather than try and paraphrase. “Just in case you’re wondering, Hardwicke Circus is from Carlisle, and “Where the fuck is Carlisle!” greets us gig after gig. You only end up in Carlisle by accident. It’s on the boundary of England but not Scotland, on the edge of the Lake District but not the countryside: we don’t fit. This storm centre of English drunkenness is home to an arms depot and an economy reliant on biscuits & the Blues, with a business icon in Eddie Stobart whose sole purpose is to take things away from Carlisle via the city’s best known roundabout, allegedly named after this gang of travelling brothers. Carlisle does not suffer fools; we export them.

Hardwicke Circus was formed by brothers Jonny and Tommy Foster, who had a passion for making music from an early age. They developed a reputation on their street for making a racket but they were not to be deterred. Throughout their school years they surrounded themselves with the best musicians Carlisle had to offer, more than once poaching them from other school bands. When their friends began the university treadmill, Hardwicke Circus jumped in a van, hit the road and didn’t look back. They earned their stripes in Hells Angels pubs, clubs, theaters and prisons, soaking up long journeys to the rebel rousing music of Dylan, Springsteen, Philadelphia soul, Motown, the Stray Cats, The Clash and more.“

Their dynamic live shows and skillful songwriting so impressed renowned music veteran Dave Robinson, he came out of retirement to become their manager. Robinson’s professional resume is both extensive and impressive. He started out as road manager for Jimi Hendrix, also handling major tours in the U.S. for Eric Burden & The Animals, the Young Rascals and Vanilla Fudge. He then returned to London and managed Brinsley Schwarz, Graham Parker, Nick Lowe, Dave Edmunds, Ian Dury and Elvis Costello. He also built a recording studio above the legendary Hope & Anchor pub in Islington, and with Jake Riviera, started his label Stiff Records, signing such acts as The Damned, Motorhead, Elvis Costello, Nick Lowe, Tracey Ullman, the Plasmatics, Jona Lewie, Ian Dury and the Blockheads, Kirsty MacColl, The Box Tops, The Adverts, Lene Lovich, Shane MacGowan and the Pogues, Madness and more. Robinson was also installed by Chris Blackwell as president of Island Records where he oversaw the careers of U2, Robert Palmer, Steve Winwood, Grace Jones, Aswad and Frankie Goes To Hollywood. He personally compiled and marketed Bob Marley’s Legend, the biggest selling reggae album in the world. The list of his accomplishments goes on, but I’ll stop here, as this review is supposed to be about Hardwicke Circus!

The band became a six-piece early on, but now consists of five members: Jonny Foster (lead vocals, guitar), Tom Foster (drums, backing vocals), Joe Hurst (bass, backing vocals), Lewis Bewley-Taylor (keyboards) and Jack Pearce (saxophones). They released their debut single “Please Don’t Try This At Home” in 2017, then followed a month later with a four-song EP Hot Moves. After playing hundreds of gigs in pubs and parties throughout Britain and even some European countries, the band secured a coveted spot at the 2020 SXSW. We all know what happened next, and it was curtains for both SXSW and the 165 gigs they had scheduled after that festival.

Forced to regroup, Hardwicke Circus switched gears and focused their attention and energy on recording their first album. They rented a farmhouse in Yorkshire, where they wrote and recorded their debut album The Borderland, an outstanding work that pays homage to the land they love, as well as touching on then-current topics like the pandemic on the wonderful track “Lockdown”, and racial inequality and social injustice on “Hands Up Don’t Shoot”. One of the highlights on the album is their rousing anthem “Walking On Broken Glass”.

In November 2021, Hardwicke Circus played a series of gigs at 15 prisons throughout England. Inspired by Johnny Cash’s legendary 1968 album Johnny Cash at Folsom Prison, the guys decided to memorialize those gigs with their 13-track album At Her Majesty’s Pleasure, released in May 2022. (In the UK, prisons are known as HMPs, which stands for His or Her Majesty’s Prisons, depending on the gender of the reigning monarch, followed by the location or city in which they’re located.)

On June 9th, they dropped their third album Fly the Flag, a delightful romp featuring 12 head-bopping bangers fashioned from an eclectic mix of influences, including rock’n’roll, punk, Motown, Philadelphia soul, ska, blues and even Gypsy folk. The album opens strong with the buoyant “Every Day I Find the Luck“, an uplifting track with an exuberant, toe-tapping groove, colorful instrumentation and soaring choruses as Jonny and company sing of keeping positive and always aiming high: “Is this what I’m looking for? I can tell that I’m getting close, closer to the prize at the end of the rope. / Show me a sign, is it all I’ve got? I’ve given it my best shot. Every day I find the luck. If only I could reach it.”

The wonderful “Bang My Head (To the Rhythm of Life)” reminds me of some of the great 70s songs by Sound of Philadelphia acts like the O’Jays, Harold Melvin & the Blue Notes, T.S.O.P., McFadden & Whitehead and the Trammps, grabbing us by the hips and compelling us to move! And “True Love & Near Misses” is downright fabulous, with an infectious, fast-paced groove and achingly beautiful hook, highlighted by Lewis Bewley-Taylor’s gorgeous keyboards and Jack Pearce’s exuberant saxophone. And I cannot emphasize enough how much I adore Jonny Foster’s raspy but beautiful, heavily-accented vocals that occupy a sweet spot between Joe Strummer and Eddie Money here.

The anthemic “Can You Hear Me Now?” has an early Springsteen folk-rock vibe, with Jack’s soulful sax seemingly paying homage to the great Clarence Clemons. “Rejection Is Better Than Regret” – one of the my favorites on an album full of them – is a delightful take on the old adage ‘it’s better to have love and lost than to have never loved at all’: “Rejection is better than regret my love. I guess that’s why you’re my ex. You’re so sweet and lovely though, but I don’t like the way you look with him.” I love the fun, retro 70s vibe that calls to mind songs by ABBA, The Sweet and Bay City Rollers.

The guys slow things down on the introspective and melancholy “Battlefield“, a song about a love affair that now lies in ruins: “I live on a battlefield, where love has turned to rust./ You feel abandoned, who’s to blame. Courage is not what you keep, it’s what you give away.” Musical highlight for me are the expressive percussion, bold piano keys, moody sax, soulful organ, and what sounds like a vibraphone. With it’s lively, piano-driven groove, “A Johnny Come Lately” has a catchy ABBA vibe, nicely augmented with Jack’s rousing sax and Tom’s spirited drums. The album’s title comes from the lyrics “I’m flying the flag for you.”

“The Colour In Everything” has a strong Motown vibe, and in fact features a piano riff that sounds a bit like the one in the Four Tops’ classic “I Can’t Help Myself”. Also, what I’m guessing is Jack’s baritone sax gives the such a distinctive Motown sound. The colorful, synth-dominant “Our Town” is a brutally honest homage to the contradictions of the band’s home town, with cheeky lyrics like “Runny noses and ripped wedding gowns, that’s romance in our town. A compliment is a good putdown with a smile in our town.” The song starts off with a pleasing melody, but gradually transitions to a full-blown rocker with edgy guitars, heavy organ riff, aggressive percussion and bold sax, abruptly ending with rapped verses in the final 20 seconds.

The terrific songs just keep on coming. The rousing ska-infused gem “Night Train To London“, with its exuberant Gypsy folk vibe, fortified by Jack’s wailing sax, is pure delight. The guys let loose on the high-energy banger “It’s Not Over Till It’s Over“, unleashing a torrent of driving riffs, stomping rhythms, colorful keyboards, soaring choruses, and more of those great saxophone flourishes. Saving the best for last, the guys channel late 50s rock’n’roll with the wonderfully bluesy “No More Doggin’“. Holy shit, these guys can play just about anything! The combination of bluesy guitars and bass, sultry sax, and that phenomenal honky tonk piano create a dramatic and colorful backdrop for Jonny’s raw vocals oozing with unabashed swagger.

I’m not sure what more I can say about Fly the Flag, other than to keep gushing about how wonderful it is. Just about everything I can think of – the songwriting and lyrics, arrangements, instrumentation, vocals and production values – are perfection, and it’s easily one of the best albums of 2023 so far. Every song is first-rate, with no filler tracks or ones I would even consider skipping over. I love this album and love this band.

Here’s the album on YouTube:

Those fortunate enough to be in the UK can catch Hardwicke Circus at one of their upcoming shows:

Connect with Hardwicke Circus: Facebook / Twitter / Instagram

Find their music on Spotify / Apple Music / Soundcloud / YouTube

CHRIS MARDULA – Single Review: “Angels & Demons”

On By EclecticMusicLoverIn Reviews10 Comments

This past April, I featured British singer-songwriter Chris Mardula, an earnest and talented guy from Durham County in Northeast England, in an Artist Spotlight. To briefly summarize, his music style is strongly influenced by elements of folk, indie rock and blues. A seasoned musician, he’s played in several bands over the years, but often feeling frustrated by uneven levels of commitment by other members, he decided to go it alone as a solo artist. In November 2022, Chris began releasing singles at the rate of one per month, and has now dropped his 8th single “Angels & Demons“. 

A hauntingly beautiful piano ballad, “Angels & Demons” is a very personal song for Chris, and was inspired by the recent passing of his father. The song touches on memories from his childhood, when he was too young to understand his father’s struggles with depression and alcoholism brought on by his own tough upbringing. His father (Chris’s grandfather) was a Polish World War II veteran who’d escaped from a concentration camp and fled to England to start a new life. Witnessing unimaginable things, like having his family wiped out during the war, left him with emotional scars that were sadly passed down to Chris’s father. In the song, Chris uses angels and demons as metaphors to help him understand his father’s actions more clearly: “We need to understand why people are the way they are, as everyone is fighting battles we don’t know about or understand, unless we are in their shoes. Everyone has good and bad in them, and sometimes we need to face things head-on and try and deal with them to stop going down the wrong path. Everyone does things with good intentions and usually for self preservation.”

For the recording of the song, Chris played the somber piano riff and edgy, mournful guitar riff that arrives halfway through the track, while Ben Young, who produced the track, played the haunting string arrangements. Chris’s heartfelt vocals are filled with emotion as he wistfully sings “When you’re lost in the mayhem. When you’re lost in your mind. We’ve all got angels and demons. We’ve all got to face them sometimes.” It’s a lovely, deeply moving song.

The heartwarming video includes stock footage that helps convey the sentiments expressed in the lyrics, interspersed with old family photos featuring Chris’s dad in the second half.

Connect with Chris: Facebook / Twitter / Instagram

Find his music on Spotify / Apple Music / Amazon Music / Soundcloud / YouTube

Top 30 Songs for June 25-July 1, 2023

On By EclecticMusicLoverIn Weekly Top 30's13 Comments

Too many bands have faced the sudden and tragic loss of an integral member, and one of the more heartbreaking in recent memory was the death last year of Taylor Hawkins, the beloved longtime drummer of American rock band Foo Fighters. Picking up the pieces and soldiering on after such a loss is always difficult, and sometimes impossible, as Foo Fighters frontman Dave Grohl knows all too well from his Nirvana experience. He and Foo Fighters bandmates channeled their grief to create one of the best albums of their nearly 30-year career in the form of But Here We Are, which they describe as “10 songs that run the emotional gamut from rage and sorrow to serenity and acceptance, and myriad points in between.” The album’s blistering, heart-wrenching lead single “Rescued” takes over the #1 spot on my latest Weekly Top 30.

The song is about trying to cope with, then move on from, a sudden, unexpected event, expressed in the opening lyrics “It came in a flash, it came outta nowhere. It happened so fast, and then it was over.” Later in the song, Grohl acknowledges the overwhelming numbness and grief he and his bandmates experienced after Hawkins’ death, wondering if they’ll ever truly feel ‘alive’ again: “We’re all free to some degree to dance under the lights.I’m just waitin’ to be rescued, bring me back to life.” For the recording of “Rescued”, along with the entire album But Here We Are, Dave Grohl played drums, but a few months ago, legendary drummer Josh Freese officially joined Foo Fighters as their new drummer.

(Freese has an impressive resume, being a noted session drummer who’s appeared on over 400 records and worked with a literal who’s who of artists and bands. He’s been an active member of the Vandals since 1989 and Devo since 1996, also previously serving as a member of Guns N’ Roses from 1997-2000 and alt-rock band A Perfect Circle from 1999-2012. The very busy guy also served as touring drummer for Nine Inch Nails from 2005-2008, Weezer from 2009-2011, and Sublime with Rome from 2011-2017, as well as Sting in 2005 and 2016, Paramore in 2011, the Replacements in 2013 and The Offspring in 2021.) Wikipedia

And here’s their electrifying performance of “Rescued” at the Glastonbury Festival on June 23rd:

Other than for a new #1 song, the top 10 remains the same, with a bit of musical chairs among the top five tracks. Two new songs make their debut this week, both of which I featured in a recent Fresh New Tracks post: “Bones” by British indie rock band HEALER, entering at #29, and “Walk Through the Fire” by Virginia-based singer-songwriter The Frontier (aka Jake Mimikos), at #30. A long-time favorite act of mine, The Frontier has had several songs appear on my Top 30, three of them going all the way to #1.

  1. RESCUED – Foo Fighters (2)
  2. NOT STRONG ENOUGH – boygenius (1)
  3. GO DOWN RIVER – The Heavy Heavy (5)
  4. EAT YOUR YOUNG – Hozier (3)
  5. KID – The Revivalists (4)
  6. DUMMY – Portugal. The Man (6)
  7. ESSENCE – Refeci & Shimmer Johnson (7)
  8. RESCUE ME – Dirty Heads (8)
  9. LEAVING – Au Gres (9)
  10. 1982 – Morgendust (10)
  11. THOSE EYES – New West (12)
  12. WHY – Future Theory (13)
  13. IN MY HEAD – Mike Shinoda & Kailee Morgue (14)
  14. HELLO – GROUPLOVE (16)
  15. PINEAPPLE SUNRISE – Beach Weather (17)
  16. MARRY ANOTHER MAN – Wise John (19)
  17. PAID OFF – Oli Barton & the Movement (12)
  18. EMPTY NEST – Silversun Pickups (20)
  19. WE’RE ALL GONNA DIE – Joy Oladokun & Noah Kahan (22)
  20. CHEMICAL – Post Malone (23)
  21. STUCK – 30 Seconds to Mars (24)
  22. NEW GOLD – Gorillaz, Tame Impala & Bootie Brown (18)
  23. SUPERGLUE – Michigander (26)
  24. PUPPET SHOW – Beck Black (27)
  25. THE WAY – Manchester Orchestra (15)
  26. PSYCHOS – Jenny Lewis (28)
  27. THE NARCISSIST – Blur (30)
  28. SPELLBINDING – The Smashing Pumpkins (29)
  29. BONES – HEALER (N)
  30. WALK THROUGH THE FIRE – The Frontier (N)

BRIAN LAMBERT – Single Review: “I Don’t Believe In You”

On By EclecticMusicLoverIn Reviews13 Comments

One of the most prolific singer-songwriters around today is Brian Lambert, a thoughtful, engaging and funny guy based in Denton, Texas. He’s been writing and recording music for many years, and says he’s “reinvented himself more times than he can count.” He even tried his hand at country music for a while, but came to the realization that it just wasn’t for him. When Covid put a halt to playing gigs, Brian switched gears and began writing indie rock songs inspired by some of his favorite acts like Spoon, Gang of Youths, Soul Asylum and the Replacements.

In early 2021, he challenged himself to writing, recording and producing a new song every week for a year, an ambitious feat he went on to accomplish! Since then, he’s continued his prodigious output, writing and recording songs both as a solo artist and in collaboration with a host of other musicians he’s met on Twitter, including Marc Schuster, a singer-songwriter, musician and all-around renaissance man from the Philadelphia area, with whom he teamed up with to create a separate music act The Star Crumbles, who released a fantastic debut album The Ghost of Dancing Slow last September. (I previously reviewed that album, as well as two of Brian’s singles, “Kids” and “It’s Good”.)

Another pair of artists he’s worked with are Jr Moz Collective, the music project of singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Mike Mosley, and Paul Prater, another renaissance man who, in addition to being a musician, is also a magician, entertainer, mind reader, attorney and author. Earlier this year, Jr Moz Collective, Paul Prater and Brian collaborated on a song “I Don’t Believe In You“, which was released in April. Mike Mosley wrote the music and lyrics, played guitar, bass and synths and sang lead vocals, Paul played drums, and Brian played lead synths and sang backing vocals.

Brian loved the song so much – which he says brought him to tears – he decided to re-record it with him singing lead vocals, also re-dubbing his lead synth part. The result is a more impactful and dramatic track, in large part due to Brian’s emphatic vocals filled with unbridled passion. He calls it a “fiery garage rock anthem that pairs well with the heat of summer and discontent, perfectly capturing the dissatisfaction with the status quo. Earnest like Isbell, dirty guitars of QOTSA, quirkiness of Beck and swagger of Bowie.” After hearing the song, I have to concede that’s a pretty accurate description!

Opening with a strong thumping drumbeat, the song is soon joined by a gnarly guitar riff, deep bass groove and retro 80s-sounding synths as Brian begins to sing the biting lyrics. The edgy and colorful instrumentals create a powerful, almost cinematic backdrop for his raw, emotionally-charged vocals delivered with a forceful passion that leave me covered in goosebumps. It’s possibly Brian’s most dramatic single yet.

The lyrics call out those who spout religious dogma, lies and hate, urging us to question what we hear or read, and fight back against those wanting to poison and divide us: “Do you believe anything you hear if it comes from the mouth of hate? Do you believe anything they say if it allows you to feel that way? / And I don’t believe in you, you ought to know that I never did / And I’m not gonna sit back and keep my thoughts to my self/ There’s nothing stopping me from stopping you.”

The beautiful lyric video was made with AI-created images, generated from the original watercolor painting by Brian’s father William Edward Lambert that was used for the single cover art.

Those purchasing the track on Bandcamp get a bonus song “Follow Me In”, which was written by fellow musician David Ray Thomas.

Connect with Brian:  Facebook / Twitter / Instagram

Find his music on Bandcamp / Spotify / Apple Music / Amazon Music / YouTube

CAITLIN LAVAGNA – Single Review: “We Lost Track”

On By EclecticMusicLoverIn Reviews11 Comments

My favorite Welsh songstress Caitlin Lavagna is back with a marvelous new single “We Lost Track“, and I couldn’t be happier! I adore her powerful, vibrant vocal style and honest, relatable lyrics drawn from personal struggles and heartache. Released today, “We Lost Track” is her third single, following last year’s “Night Bus” – a fantastic song that spent 20 weeks on my Top 30, peaking at #2 – and her 2021 debut single “How Not To Start A Fight”, which also spent several weeks on my Top 30. (You can read my reviews of both songs by clicking on the ‘Related’ links at the end of this post.) 

Born and raised in the picturesque South Wales Rhondda Valley, with strong Gibraltarian roots, the multi-talented and lovely singer-songwriter, musician and actress has had a life-long love for music and the arts, with a special passion for percussion and drums, as well as singing and dancing. Her music and vocal styles are heavily influenced by some of her favorite artists like Sting, Biffy Clyro, Stevie Nicks, Florence Welch, P!nk and Adele. In addition to writing and recording music as a solo artist, Caitlin has also performed in numerous stage musicals, and while in college, was part of the indie folk duo Only The Reign, who released two self-recorded albums.

About her latest single, Caitlin explains: “This is my first ballad and I’m so proud of it. I wanted the song to represent losing something “perfect”. It’s a reflective song about how I gave too much of myself to someone, not realising I was worth more than how I was treated. It’s about friendship, love and pain. I hope people connect to the song whilst enjoying its subtle but rhythmic shifts and euphoric string arrangements. I have challenged myself and I think the track is beautiful. I am so excited to see the work of myself and my friends (some of whom I met touring the UK with ‘Fisherman’s Friends the Musical’) come to life. They’re incredible musicians and close friends who have absolutely nailed it.”

For the recording of “We Lost Track”, Caitlin sang vocals and played drums, Hannah Cumming and Hazel Simmons played strings, Charlotte Ware played saxophone, Joseph Rodwell, who also produced and mixed the track, played keyboards, and Georgina White and Jennifer Glatzhofer sang backing vocals. The track was recorded at New Cut Studios in Bristol, and mastered by Nick at Old Cottage Audio.

It’s a beautiful, flawlessly-crafted song, with colorful piano keys and melancholy strings, accompanied by gentle bass and Caitlin’s restrained drums and percussion, all of which rise to a dramatic crescendo in the choruses. I particularly love the enchanting rhythmic downshift in the bridge when she sings “I didn’t want to believe it’s true. Now there’s no one left To say ‘I love you’ to“. But the real highlight for me are Caitlin’s heart-wrenching vocals that elicit chills when she passionately wails with raw, heart-wrenching emotion “Ooo – Ooo – Ooo I want you back Ooo – Ooo – Ooo It makes me look bad Ooo – Ooo – Ooo We lost track Ooo – Ooo – Ooo Don’t look at me like that“. 

Ooo - Ooo - Ooo
I want you back 
Ooo - Ooo - Ooo
It makes me look bad 
Ooo - Ooo - Ooo
We lost track 
Ooo - Ooo - Ooo
Don’t look at me like that 

I bought you those bed sheets 
I bought you that light 
I laid next to you almost every night 
I wore what you wanted 
I gave you my time 
You were so cruel at the end of the line
You were so cruel I thought you’d be kind 

I told you’re perfect 
I told you you’re cool 
You even let me redecorate your room 
You wrote songs with lyrics that made you look smart 
You weren’t that clever when it came to my heart 
You weren’t that clever when it came to my heart 

Ooo - Ooo - Ooo
I want you back 
Ooo - Ooo - Ooo
It makes me look bad 
Ooo - Ooo - Ooo
We lost track 
Ooo - Ooo - Ooo
Don’t look at me like that 

Gave you a piece of me 
I regret that
Gave so much more to you 
Than I got back
Told you secrets through panic attacks
My friends told me I could do better than you 
I didn’t want to believe it’s true 
Now there’s no one left 
To say ‘I love you’ to

Ooo - Ooo - Ooo
I want you back 
Ooo - Ooo - Ooo
We lost track 

I bought you that jumper
You gave it away 
Had tears in my eyes 
When you laughed in my face 
You changed your number 
So I changed my tone 
Thank you for nothing 
I’m fine on my own.

Here’s the song on Spotify:

Connect with Caitlin:  Facebook / Twitter / Instagram

Find her music on Spotify / Apple Music / YouTube

EclecticMusicLover named one of 100 Best Indie Music Blogs

On By EclecticMusicLoverIn Commentary44 Comments

I received an email today from Anuj Agarwal, the founder of the website FeedSpot – the internet’s largest curated database of bloggers and podcasts – informing me that my blog EclecticMusicLover has been named one of the 100 Best Indie Music Blogs on the site. I’m not only thrilled and honored that my little blog is included in their most recent list of indie music blogs from around the world, but that it also ranks #48.

Many of the named blogs are located in the U.S. and UK, but multiple European countries, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Venezuela and South Africa are also represented. Here’s the link to the full list: https://blog.feedspot.com/indie_music_blogs/

It’s gratifying that all my time and efforts spent writing about little-known indie artists and bands over the past seven-plus years has finally earned me a bit of recognition!

Artist Spotlight on Florida’s Orange Creek Riders

On By EclecticMusicLoverIn Artist Spotlight7 Comments

Orange Creek Riders are a terrific indie rock band from central Florida I learned about several months ago when I heard one of their songs played on fellow blogger and musician Marc Schuster’s weekly Tweetcore Radio Hour. The band is also very supportive of other musicians and bands – something I find admirable in musicians – and since I really like both them and their music, I decided it was about time I featured them on my blog.

Formed in 2013 and based in and around Orlando, the band is comprised of singer-songwriter and guitarist Darren Soto, harmonica player Darren Vierday, bassist Jeff Jordan and drummer Jeff Sudbury. Their pleasing style of music is influenced by an eclectic mix of genres, including alternative rock, folk, Americana, new wave, punk and ska.

(Soto also happens to be a United States Congressman, representing Florida’s 9th district. Currently serving his third term in Congress, he previously served four years in the Florida Senate and five in the Florida House of Representatives. He’s also a progressive Democrat, a good thing in my book, as it’s encouraging to know there are still reasonable politicians left in Florida, not to mention that I abhor the monster the present-day GOP has become. Anyway, how he’s managed to juggle making music with the demands of his political career, not to mention his family, is mind-boggling to me!)

The first few years after forming, Orange Creek Riders played local venues and festivals, such as Orlando Fringe Festival, Planned Parenthood’s Rock and Roe Concert, Delandapalooza, as well as various political events. earning them the title of “Best Congressional Folk Band” by Orlando Weekly. In October 2018, they released their debut album Oranges and Grapefruit, a respectable work featuring lighthearted folk/Americana style songs inspired by Central Florida’s citrus grove and cattle ranch heritage. Some of the tracks include “Orange Kings”, “Sweet Clementine” and “Giddy Up My Love”.

They followed a year later with their second album Back to the Grove, offering up songs of a similar theme, once again sprinkled here and there with songs about the oft-covered minefield of love and relationships. Like Oranges and Grapefruit, it was also produced by Jason Woods. One of my favorites from this album is “Goldilocks”, a bouncy love song highlighted by Jordan’s gnarly bass groove and Vierday’s spirited harmonica. Soto has an earnest and pleasing vocal style that generally sits in the low tenor range.

Their third album. Rockin’ Horse, consisting of previously unreleased songs written by both the band and Soto, was released toward the end of the pandemic in late 2020. The self-produced album features a mix of musical styles, including the lovely folk/punk “Already Gone”, the moody, Americana-inspired “A Moment in Time”, the epic Neil Young-esque title track “Rockin’ Horse”, highlighted by some amazing guitar runs, and the introspective and haunting “Return of the Rider”.

Since 2021, Orange Creek Riders have released a series of singles arranged in groups, sort of like EPs, but released as individual singles. At this point in their career, they seemed to be expanding their sound beyond folk-Americana toward a more pop-oriented sound, though it was still steeped in folk, alt-rock and punk elements. One of my favorites among their next batch of five songs – “Guardian Angel”, “Bonfire on the Beach”, “Shadows in the Light”, “Overjoyed” and “Not My Girl” – is the latter tune, a languid and melancholy kiss-off song that still comes off as pleasing. Soto wistfully croons “If I should fall to pieces a thousand on the floor, know that you’re not my girl anymore.”

Their next batch of three songs, released between September 2021 and January 2022, included “Ferris Wheel”, “Daydreamer” and “Drifting On Away”. My personal favorite is “Ferris Wheel”, which reminds me of songs from the 2000s by such acts as Plain White T’s and Owl City.

In 2022, they dropped a series of three breezy singles celebrating Florida’s sunny environment (though “Sunnyside” speaks of trying to break free of the gloom of depression and finding joy again after the pandemic). The first of them, “Big Wave”, is probably my favorite of all their songs thus far. An exuberant tune extolling the joys of surfing, it has a delightful Beach Boys/Jan and Dean vibe, but with a definite punk sensibility. I love the song’s lively, head-bopping groove, terrific guitar noodling and Soto’s wonderful vocals. The song has become their most popular to date, garnering over 376,000 streams on Spotify.

More recently, they’ve been releasing what they’re calling the “Key Singles”, featuring a more retro, synth-heavy darkwave sound that’s a strong departure from their previous songs. The first in the series was “Oblivion”, a deeply impactful song released last December about the brutality of the war in Ukraine. Soto’s high-pitched vocals are quite arresting as he wails “When the sky has fallen, and the leaves they are never green. In a world that’s broken, and blown apart. We can wait for an oblivion. We must take or it’s hell to come.”

This was followed in March with “The Key”, a haunting but catchy synthpop song in the vein of some of the great songs by The Cure and New Order. I especially love the strong, driving beat, piercing synths and chiming guitars. Their latest single “On A Train”, released on June 14th, was inspired by the 2022 film Bullet Train, starring Brad Pitt as an assassin who battles fellow killers while riding a bullet train. The song is an exciting, synth and guitar-driven gem that evokes the drama and peril of the movie’s subject matter.

So there you have it, a nice selection of tracks that give my readers a decent taste of Orange Creek Rider’s impressive music catalog. I look forward to hearing what they have in store!

Connect with Orange Creek Riders:  Facebook / Twitter

Find their music on Spotify / Apple Music / Reverbnation / YouTube