New Zealand band Rebel Sound Radio recently followed me on Twitter, and it was my lucky day, as I loved their single “Liberation” at first listen. They play some pretty formidable hard-driving rock that kicks ass! Formed in 2015, the band hails from Hamilton, “a sleepy riverside city that has given birth to some of New Zealand’s biggest artists,” according to the band’s bio on their Facebook page. Singer/songwriter/guitarist Jesse James Hanright and bassist Craig Turner had each been in previous bands that went bust, and joined forces to create a new band with a fresh rock and roll sound called Rebel Sound Radio. They added drummer Ashley Goodare to complete their three-man lineup.
“Liberation” starts with a pummeling bass riff, then shredded guitar and hammering drums break the song open and keep the energy high, with the pummeling bass moving it all forward. Hanright sings with abandon and coaxes some merciless riffs from his guitar. Take a listen to this thunderous gem:
“End of Everything” provides further evidence of the band’s hyperkinetic hard rock sound and awesome guitar prowess.
New Rebel Radio will be heading to the studio in the coming weeks to record new music and, as a new fan, I can’t wait to hear more from them. Show some support for these guys and follow on Twitter and Facebook, and look for their music on Soundcloud.
Well, here I am, once again reviewing another band from Europe, a wellspring of so much great music. The latest is Sherpa, a unique indie hip-hop/rock band from Bergen, Norway. As with many international bands, Sherpa’s sound is a fusion of music influences from multiple cultures and genres: hip hop, indie rock, 70’s Persian, funk and jazz. As the band states, their infectious, high-energy music style is “a conglomeration of music from the seven mountains, hovering in a place between Gorillaz and The Roots.”
I spoke by e-mail with band frontman Babak Ziai, who was born in Tehran, Iran after the 1979 revolution. He stated that his parents were very liberal and didn’t want to live under the theocratic government, so they emigrated to Norway. Being an aspiring musician and lover of hip hop, he joined forces with Norwegian guitarist Johannes Vaage to form Sherpa in 2012. They subsequently added two musicians from the Bergen indie rock and jazz music scene – bassist Nils Henrik Sagvåg and drummer Tore Ljøkelsøy – to complete the band lineup.
Ziai explained that they wanted to create music that wasn’t bound by one specific genre, but rather fusing different genres to create an original eclectic sound that is raw and beautiful, using live musical instruments, and anchored in hip hop, indie and jazz. When I asked Ziai how they chose the name “Sherpa” he explained that “Bergen is surrounded by seven mountains [it’s known as the city of seven mountains] and sherpas go places where the average man does not go. Sherpa literally means ‘man from the East’ and has a mystical esoteric aspect to it.”
Though Sherpa has released only a handful of songs, they’re all awesome. One of their first hits was “Rabbit,” an incredibly catchy tune with funky bass and jazzy hip hop beats, plus a bit of reggae vibe thrown in. Would not have expected such a funky song to come from a Norwegian/Persian band but I love it! Wishing it was longer, I kept hitting replay. It’s the kind of song they could jam with for 15 minutes at a concert.
Their new single “The Mind,” released in May 2016, is a hyperkinetic gem of danceable hip hop that examines the chaos of the mind. “It’s an interaction, a fracture in alignment between cultures like the Pharoahs and the Mayans. A place in our thoughts like Zion. Pure like the crystals in your tears when your cryin’. Gravity is holding you down, but you’re flyin’ and definin’. Chains will bring you back like a lion. Time is changing like the state of your mind.”
The song opens with a brief funky bass guitar riff, then explodes into crushing hip hop beats, heavy bass and jazzy brass. Ziai raps at a rapid-fire pace and, halfway through, Persian music influences are introduced, creating a rich, complex sound that is quite exhilarating. The video, filmed in London’s busy Camden Market, has Ziai singing the song while walking through the crowded market, further emphasizing the song’s frenetic intensity.
Another fine new track “Mantra” features exuberant synth-pop interspersed with segments of rapid-fire rapping in the style of the virtual band Gorillaz.
Sherpa is working on new music and plans to release their debut studio album in Spring 2017, and I can’t wait! Support these guys by following on Facebook and Twitter, and listening to their music on Soundcloud.
I seem to be writing about a lot of international music artists recently, and Australian rock band New Nobility is the latest. Formed in 2005 by Sead Trnka (who plays bass guitar), the three-member band is originally from Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina, but relocated to Sydney in 2008. The other two members are Josh Maekowsky (vocals and guitar) and Zoran Krga (keyboard). Their sound is rather eclectic, ranging from metal rock to catchy dance-pop to sweeping ballads with a message of hope and peace. Whatever type of music they’re playing, one thing’s for certain: it’s always exhilarating, with shredded guitars, strong percussion and dynamic, soaring vocals.
One of the band’s earliest hit songs is the high-energy metal-rock anthem “Galactic Love.” The song’s video begins with the lighting of a match, perfect imagery to convey the way the song ignites into an inferno of thunderous scratchy guitars and pulse-pounding drums. Maekowsky’s assertive vocals on this and their other hard rock songs remind me a bit of Rise Against lead singer Tim McIlrath. All in all, a thoroughly satisfying track.
The band’s lighter side shows up in the infectious dance-pop tune “Paradise.” The song opens with plucky guitar and a catchy hook that quickly grab hold and take you on a fun ride. Maekowsky’s vocals alternately smolder and soar to falsetto heights as he sings with abandon, making for a really exciting number that will have you dancing around the room.
A recent track, the lovely anthemic ballad “Fly Over (United We Are),” is an emotional plea for peace, love and world harmony. The piano takes the starring role here, accompanied by some fine guitar and Maekowsky’s impassioned vocals. At nearly seven minutes, the song is a long one, gradually building to a climax, with Maekowsky singing in his native language.
I love alternative rock music and am always pleased to discover new artists who play it, especially when their music is really good. Such is the feeling I experienced when I stumbled across the Irish band Fiction Peaks. They play melodic alt-rock/pop that runs the gamut from high-energy to achingly beautiful. Their music has a rich, lush sound achieved through the use of synthesizers and multiple instruments, including horns and strings. The five band members include Joey Doyle (lead vocals, guitar and sampler), Cillian Kenny (bass guitar & trumpet), Barry Lyons (backing vocals, synth), Joáo Francisco (drums) and Brian Giles (guitar).
Formed in 2013, Fiction Peaks got their start playing shows around their hometown of Dublin, gradually sharpening their sound and building a fan base. They released their self-titled debut EP Fiction Peaks in January 2015, featuring four stellar tracks. I’d like to include them all for this review, but have chosen two that showcase the band’s diverse sound. The first, “Dye Is Cast,” is a catchy, upbeat tune that charges out of the gate with shredded guitars and a driving beat. To my ears, the song has an Oasis vibe, and Doyle’s vocals even sound a bit like Liam Gallagher. Take a listen:
“Document Dissent” is beguiling, with gentle guitar and percussion, and poignant lyrics beautifully sung by Doyle. “Tonight all fears are on the outside looking in. The scrambled litany, a purchased forgery. You document dissent with all your hours spent. A tale of disbelief, was reaching from beneath.” The song builds to a emotionally-charged crescendo that raises goosebumps. I love this gorgeous song!
They followed up with a “double A-side” single Spring’s In Bloom/All I Got in February 2016. “All I Got” is another joyously upbeat song featuring great hooks and some pretty awesome guitar riffs, set to a pulse-pounding beat.
Their latest single “In For A Penny” dropped in May of 2016, providing further evidence of this band’s incredible talent. The beautiful opening guitar riffs, Doyle’s heartfelt vocals, and soaring orchestration at the end make this an exceptional song.
Show Fiction Peaks some love by following them on Facebook and Twitter, subscribing to their YouTube channel, and listening to more of their music on Soundcloud.
I love Twitter, if for no other reason than the fact I’ve had the pleasure of discovering so many talented independent singer/songwriters and bands who are making some really good, unique music. One such artist is Romeo Crow, a Renaissance man who hails from London. He not only writes and sings songs, plays some pretty awesome guitar, writes both fiction and a blog and makes films, he’s also an entrepreneur/teacher working to help other musicians. And if all that weren’t enough, he’s an amazing photographer too!
With his striking looks, ready smile and warm, generous personality, Romeo has a growing legion of devoted fans. His music style is pretty eclectic, melding rock, pop, blues and funk into an enjoyable stew of sounds. He writes all his own music and lyrics and performs, mixes and produces the music in his home studio.
One of my favorites of his songs is “Living Like You Do,” from the EP Sketches Vol. 1. The scratchy guitar riff gives the track a bit of an old-school rock vibe. On his website, Romeo explains the meaning of the song’s lyrics: “It is about someone with an addiction problem not facing up to their situation, not yet making the changes they need to make until they eventually realize that they MUST make changes…because their life is now, literally, at stake.”
Another favorite is the playful “Hots For You.” Romeo’s vocals are accompanied only by guitar, yet musically, the track seems fuller, and the video’s a pure delight to watch. If you’re not smitten by his self-deprecating charm and humor, then I don’t know what. Take a look:
A more recent track “Shoes” has funky guitar riffs and more drum than many of his older songs, and will appear on his upcoming EP Grip the Sky. The fast-paced video for the song is a film montage of Romeo traveling from his home in London to Ischia in Italy.
On a lark, Romeo wrote the song “Around the Bend” as a fantasy soundtrack for the trailer of the film Desperado, starring Antonio Banderas and Salma Hayek. It works pretty well, I think.
To learn more about Romeo, check out his Website, where you can follow his blog and download his music, some of it for free. Also, watch his videos and subscribe to his YouTube channel.
I stumbled upon the Canadian band The Autumn Stones a while back on Twitter, so had to check out their music. I was immediately struck by their amazingly compelling sound that’s retro, yet fresh, with an 80’s vibe. Perhaps it’s the lively sax that’s heavily featured in their songs, or the fact that they seem to channel The Smiths or Blow Monkeys a bit in their style, but their music is definitely current.
Formed in 2009, The Autumn Stones have been though several personnel changes – not uncommon with bands – and are now comprised of Ciaran Megahey (vocals, lead guitar), Gary Butler (saxophones, guitar) and Marcus Tamm (bass). Their sophomore album Escapists dropped in July 2015, four years after their excellent debut album Companions of the Flame. (Michael Newton played bass and Matthew McLaughlin hit the drums on Escapists, but have since left the band.)
According to Megahey in an interview for the website Pop Matters, “Lyrically, Escapists is a celebration of life, love and liberty. It’s also a flick to the nose of naughty faith-based ideologies. Although that may sound super-heavy and serious, we aren’t delivering sermons—just trying to give people a compelling listening experience.” He added that the addition of saxophonist Butler gives their songs on Escapists more character and nuance.
Regarding that amazing sax, Butler explained to The Quietus, “Our sound is the sum of many parts. We’re very early-alt rock influenced but at the same time we keep our feet firmly planted in modern subgenres, especially dream pop.”
Three singles included on the album were released in 2014, prior to the album’s launch a year later. The first, “End of Faith,” is brilliant. The subtle yet topically relevant lyrics – “This is the end of faith/the poisonous talk enslaved/freedom at last/chains of the past/what took so long to write this song,” – are expressed through Megahey’s smoldering vocals, and empowered by gorgeous, throbbing guitars reminiscent of Johnny Marr’s jangly riffs in “How Soon is Now?”, plus Butler’s assertive, wailing saxophone.
Their most recently-released single “Endless War” has a catchy, uptempo melody. The combination of both shredded and gentle guitars, punctuated by rapid-paced sax, contrast with the song’s darker lyrics “Gotta endless war on our hands.”
One of my favorite tracks on the album, “Time Is a River,” has a mellower, jazzy vibe, with nimble guitar riffs and funky sax that still manage to keep the energy level high.
“In With the Out Crowd” and “Dark Age” keep the jazzy energy flowing, while the track “Sweet Libertine” slows things down to a languid pace with acoustic guitar and mellow sax. The beguiling “Ooh La La,” another of my favorites, seems to channel early 80’s Smokey Robinson, as does “Creatures,” with their gentle, jangly guitar and wobbly sax.
You can learn more about the Autumn Stones on their website. Follow them on Twitter and listen to their music on Soundcloud or Spotify, or purchase on itunes.
A special thanks to Alison Waddell for the use of her photo.
Tall Poppies are a delightfully eccentric indie-pop band fronted by identical twin sisters Susan and Catherine Hay, who originally hail from Perth, Australia. As the sisters note on their website, Perth is the most isolated (big) city in the world, and they dreamed of moving to London to have a music career. They followed that dream by emigrating to London in 2006, and named their band Tall Poppies. In their matching knee socks and bob hairstyles, both sisters provide melodic, harmonizing vocals for all their songs, with Susan playing bass, and Catherine on lead guitar. They later added violinist Diarmuid Nugent and drummer Doug Fink (formerly of Noah and the Whale) to complete their distinctive Tall Poppies sound.
The band is fiercely independent, handling all aspects of recording and production of their own material, as well as the quirky video clips that accompany the songs. Their latest EP High Time, a collection of old and new songs, was released in Autumn 2015 and they’ve been touring throughout the UK to promote their music. They plan on recording new material for an entire album to be released later in 2016.
“Heart Palpitations,” from High Time, is a cheerfully upbeat piece of pop confection. The twins’ intertwining harmonic vocals are perfectly complemented by deft guitar and soothing violin. The song’s fun, whimsical video of the two cavorting around the countryside was filmed over one weekend. Catherine, who’s currently studying at the London College of Fashion, designed the clever palpitating heart costume out of extra red fabric she had lying around.
Their latest single, “Cat Got Your Tongue?” is a deliriously catchy indie pop tune with a retro vibe. Its masterful guitar riffs, plucky violin and hammering drums that will have you dancing even if you’re a certified wallflower! The stylish, colorful video is so entertaining that I found myself hitting repeat so I could watch it over and over again.
An older song, “In Your Dreams,” is a lovely, gentle ballad that really showcases Susan and Catherine’s beautiful harmonizing vocals.
It was my lucky day when the alternative indie rock band The Ninetyten followed me on Twitter, because I had the pleasure of discovering their phenomenal music. It makes me happy when I hear music from a newly-discovered artist and love it at first listen. Their formidable guitar-driven sound is authentic and raw, yet richly melodic with arrangements that can only be described as perfection.
The four-member band hails from Britain’s West Midlands, and consists of James Graham (vocals, guitar, keyboards), Robert Skett (lead guitar), Bob Timmins (bass) and Darren Hanson (drums). This band has only released a few songs, but all of them are superb.
The band’s awesome guitar prowess is on full display in the song “Home.” The song starts out with a simple riff and James Graham’s tentative vocals, then gradually erupts with furious, swirling guitar and pulse-pounding drums. Graham’s vocals take on a passionate urgency that match the music’s power, leaving your hair standing on end. The lyrics are compelling too: “A million miles from home, million miles from everything/Got what I wanted…Only love can save me now.” Take a listen:
“Dust” offers more mind-blowing guitar and assertive percussion that only cemented my feeling that The Ninetyten are highly-accomplished musicians deserving of star status. This is some of the best guitar playing I’ve heard in a while.
In “Missing Person” the band unleashes its sonic weaponry with a barrage of heavy bass and unrelenting drums. Graham’s vocals once again soar to meet the merciless guitar riffs.
Support this amazing band by following them on Twitter and Facebook. Listen to their music on Soundcloud and TONEDEN, and subscribe to their YouTube channel.
How can a cellist be bad, you might ask? “Bad Cellist” is the name of the debut album from CelloVein, the alter ego of Halley Feaster, a gifted cellist who really wanted to be a badass rocker. She started playing the cello at the age of nine, but deep down just couldn’t imagine herself becoming a classical cellist – “much to the dismay and confusion of some of her teachers” she notes on her website. By bucking convention, Feaster was being “bad.” This album is the culmination of nearly 10 years of hard work and dedication to her passion: making music steeped in rock, metal and blues, all with her acoustic cello and 6-string electric cello. Who knew there were electric cellos?
While working at other jobs to make a living, Feaster wrote songs and perfected her craft by playing cello with cover bands, pit orchestras and local symphonies, and recording as backup to several artists. But realizing her music style was not the radio-friendly stuff that most music studios seem to demand, she founded her own music production company, Rock Solid Productions. She and her husband Michael built their own recording studio and, with her father’s assistance, produced this work of musical art.
Other than the two rock classics she covers on the album – “White Rabbit” and “Stairway to Heaven” – Feaster wrote the music and lyrics for all songs, which range from mellow, folksy tunes to heavy metal. The song “Isle of Apollo,” a bombastic barrage of screaming cello and wobbly bass, is metalcore confection and one of my favorites on the album.
“Bleus” is a superb instrumental that weaves back and forth between languid bluesy interludes and sensual, scratchy jazz riffs demanding your attention.
The beautiful cover of the Led Zeppelin epic “Stairway to Heaven” does justice to my all-time favorite song. Other than the acoustic guitar of Jon Finn, the rest of the strings are cello, which sound amazing!
Support CelloVein by following on Twitter or facebook. Check out more of her music on Spotify or purchase on itunes.
I was recently turned on to Rubber Clown Car, a three-man band hailing from Illinois. Undeniably, one of the best band names ever! Making the music are Dirk Prysby (guitar, lead vocals), Fred Beasley (drums, backing vocals, guitar) and Tony Pantalones (bass, keyboards and everything else).
Their quirky sound is an entertaining mashup of punk, grunge and 60s pop/rock, sort of a Guided By Voices meets The Kinks meets Barenaked Ladies. But don’t let the fun, catchy melodies and deft guitar riffs fool you into thinking their music is as whimsical as their name. Many of their songs have deeper meanings, laying bare the sometimes harsh realities of life, love and relationships.
One of the first songs the band wrote was “Home in the Suburbs,” featured on their debut album Make the Noise. Band frontman Dirk Prysby stated the song was “about my parent’s dream of the suburbs and how it would solve all our problems (it didn’t).” The song’s powerful, thought-provoking lyrics are incredibly honest from beginning to end: “Darling, look at the flowers. Just 30 more years, and all of this will be ours. Worked so hard to build our future, you spend so much time all alone. But now we spend so much time together, when the kids put us away in a retirement home.”
Rubber Clown Car’s latest album Let’s Pretend is a collection of 14 songs that really showcase the band’s wide stylistic range, from the introspective acoustic track “Vampire Polo Hats,” the hard-hitting “Send the Kids to War,” to the funky, danceable “Go, Go Girl.” I love the lyrics “Daddy’s little princess never does nothing wrong. Behind the wheel she’s everything she’s not.”
ECLECTIC MUSIC LOVER 