Tag: Alternative Pop

BURN THE LOUVRE – Album Review: “Silhouettes”

On By EclecticMusicLoverIn Reviews9 Comments

Burn The Louvre are a Canadian indie rock duo based in Hamilton, Ontario, and consisting of Jordan Speare (vocals, guitar, ukulele, drums & percussion) and Sean Cooper (guitar/vocals). I first featured them on this blog this past April, when I included one of their songs “Driving in the Rain” in a Fresh New Tracks post. I provided some background about how the act began as a duo consisting of Jordan and his brother Dylan, and released two EPs in 2014 and 2017, But by 2018, Burn the Louvre became Jordan’s solo project, at which time he began work on a full-length album Silhouettes with the help of his friend Andrew Billone, of indie rock band Silvertone Hills, on lead guitar and bass. The album was recorded, mixed & mastered by engineer/producer Mickey Ellsworth, who also played synthesizers and additional percussion, and sang backing vocals.

Rather serendipitously, after he and Mickey finished recording Silhouettes in late 2018, Jordan received an email from guitarist Sean Cooper, in response to an old “musicians wanted” ad he’d forgotten to take down. The two immediately hit it off, and began jamming together on the already-recorded songs. Jordan recalls “The way he was able to come up with his own unique leads to songs that were already recorded, giving them different nuances while maintaining the vibe of each song…I mean, I don’t think we’ve ever had a bad practice. I felt this was a perfect opportunity to re-imagine Burn The Louvre as a duo and I am very happy he wanted to be a part of this.”

Photo of Jordan and Sean by iamnenkan

In early 2022, they decided to finally release Silhouettes, initially as 11 separate singles at the rate of one song per month over a period of 11 months, beginning in January with “Wish We Were”. They ended with “Honolulu”, which dropped simultaneously with the full album on November 29th. The songs, all of which were written by Jordan, explore the emotional minefield of young romantic love and relationships with extensive, relatable lyrics, delivered in his laid-back conversational singing style, and accompanied by catchy melodies and fine guitar work. Burn the Louvre’s music style is hard to classify, but can best be described as a pleasing and eclectic blend of punk, pop, rock’n’roll, singer-songwriter and folk.

The title track “Silhouettes” is one of more melodically interesting, starting off with an energetically-strummed folk guitar that’s soon joined by a tasty bass groove. The song seems to end at around 1:46 minutes, then starts up again and continues for 30 seconds until it seems to end yet again, only to start back up at a slightly slower pace. Jordan has an interesting sing-song vocal style, with an offbeat sensual drawl that’s quite endearing. Here he emphatically croons the lyrics about a doomed love affair: “Silhouettes in the yellow moon. Fell a little too hard and they split in two. Raw, a little out of tune. Beautiful and broken, but try not to swoon. Oh you…was disinterested until I heard her say ‘So nice to finally meet you’. Autumn eyes and sweet perfume. My heart might’ve skipped just a beat or two. That little black dress and those ruby shoes. Okay…was all that I could say. I sense there’s heartache on the way.“

On “Wish We Were“, Jordan wistfully sings of a simpler, more innocent time when he was younger and things didn’t seem so heavy and problematic: “Well sometimes, I wish that we were younger. Turn nineteen in the early summer, with nothing but blue skies and moonshine spilling outside on a Wednesday night. Alone in the dark, such a beautiful sight. If only sometimes. But if we’d met before. Would you still be knocking on my door if you lived down the street? Would you just want to be friends with me? I’m wishing I could have the time back that I borrowed. Yesterdays are overrated, show me the tomorrows.” I love the song’s upbeat bouncy groove and jangly guitars.

On the lovely ballad “Driving In The Rain”, Jordan sings of driving through a rainstorm to see his girlfriend, with whom he has a troubled relationship: “I’m 15 minutes out, the sky is darker than her hair. And all Beck’s “Modern Guilt” has got me way too self-aware. The weather’s getting worse, man it’s really coming down. It’s just the second verse, but I think I’m gunna drown. Conventional conversation is ringing in my ears. I want to kiss her in the rain, so I can’t see the tears.” And “Lost With You” has a retro early 60s “malt shop” vibe, with a fun rockabilly quality in the guitars.

One of my favorites is “Nice Guy“, a lively post-punk rocker that has Jordan lamenting about how his good manners seem to go unappreciated by a girl he likes: “Really think that you don’t like me. Well, I’m sorry if I’m just too polite. Really wish that I could be an asshole. Blame my Mum, she’s the one who raised me right. But I’m sick of being the nice guy. I’ll give you my coat when it’s cold outside. Yeah, I’m so sick of always being the nice guy. It’s a phase I still haven’t got over, I’ll try, yeah I’ll try.”

His clever songwriting is strongly evident on “Easy“, a song about how love and relationships could be easy and stress-free, but we often have a way of over-complicating things: “Well, it could all just be so easy. Uncomplicated, apparent, simple too. It could all just be so easy. I’m so easy, yeah but so are you. Open my mouth, make a fool of myself. Could almost hear her falling back in love with someone else. You’re my last cigarette, it’s too bad for my health. Your love is cancerous and I’m just trying to kill myself.” The jangly and shimmery guitar work is terrific, accompanied by nice bass groove and subtle keyboards and percussion.

“Dumb” is a rousing rock’n’roll gem, with twangy guitars and a catchy, toe-tapping beat. The tongue-in-cheek lyrics speak of wishing his ex-girlfriend ill: “I’d rather see you under the sea than see those big green eyes staring back at me. I’ll give your best to your new boyfriend, and let him know that he won’t ever see your face again“, but then admitting his threats were meant in jest: “I’d never hurt you, honestly. I’d never hurt you purposely, You’re lucky I’m not as dumb as I thought I was.” And on the sweet jangle pop song “Hey Stacey“, he sings of how he loves and misses her: “Hey Stacey, is there something wrong? You know I’d do my very best to make it right. I really thought that you might like this song. It’s kinda dumb, but it’s the best I’ve got tonight./ Trying so hard not to blow it. But has anybody ever told you you’re beautiful, but you don’t even know it?“

“Alison” is another sweet tune, this time with a bit of a doo wop vibe and featuring added vocals by Stephanie Deshane. The poignant lyrics speak of two wounded souls, seeking a bit of love and solace in each other’s arms, even if only for a night: “And Alison, you know I’ve been struggling trying to put my life together. She laughs and says, ‘mine’s not much better’. But Alison, I want to thank you for listening. Now, she’s not likely to stay, but I know I won’t soon forget her.”

The final track “Honolulu” is a deeply personal one for Jordan. He explains: “‘Honolulu” is a song I wrote for my first girlfriend Gillian for her birthday. We’d always joked about running away to Honolulu one day, so I wrote this song about the idea of doing just that. To be honest, I really wasn’t the best boyfriend, but I did some things right and this song is definitely one of them. After opening the album with ‘Silhouettes’, which is a song about the aftermath of our relationship from my perspective, I felt it was fitting to close the album with ‘Honolulu’, a song about when times were great.” Appropriately, the song opens with a Hawaiian ukulele riff, accompanied by subtle bass notes. Halfway into the track, the tempo ramps up to a jaunty, head-bopping groove, with a strummed guitar joining the ukulele and bass while Jordan croons “Well I can’t say, I’ve felt this way before. My heart is on fire, yeah. It’s not a holiday, this is a getaway. Gill, hop on the plane and we’ll leave right now for Honolulu… feels so far away.”

Silhouettes is an enjoyable album from start to finish, filled with charming songs dealing with the ins and outs of love in a lighthearted, realistic way. Jordan and Andrew’s guitar work is terrific throughout, and the songs are all expertly-crafted and engineered, giving the album an outstanding quality of sound. Nice work guys!

Connect with Burn the Louvre:  Facebook / Twitter / Instagram

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

Purchase on Bandcamp

VULTURE PARTY – Album Review: “Archipelago”

On By EclecticMusicLoverIn Reviews8 Comments

Vulture Party is a creative Scottish three-piece who, in their own words, make “disquieting Alt Pop for the socially conscious“. Based in Falkirk, a large town located roughly halfway between Glasgow and Edinburgh, the band consists of Louise Ward on vocals and piano, David King on vocals, guitar and synths, and Dickson Telfer on bass and backing vocals. Their pleasing sound is delivered with an array of styles ranging from infectious, new-wave infused dance-pop to moody, introspective piano compositions, and featuring lovely piano keys, bewitching synths and sublime vocal harmonies. Having both male and female vocalists gives their music even greater richness and depth.

I first featured Vulture Party this past June when I reviewed their marvelous dance-pop single “Blood Wolf Moon”. Now they return with their second album Archipelago, released on October 14th via the Scottish not-for-profit independent record label Last Night From Glasgow. The album features nine tracks, including “Blood Wolf Moon” and their previously-released singles “Afterlife” and “Iso Disco”.

About the album, the band explains: “Archipelago is our second album as it was never intended. Back in 2020, we were ready to hit the studio to lay down a fully written, good-to-go second album, but . . . enter pandemic, and thus a re-think. What transpired was a change of direction and a new set of songs, written and put together from a distance. Each of us (David, Louise and Dickson) our own little island, we were forced – like many others – to collaborate in a new and government-rule-approved way. Sending files back and forth using a variety of pieces of kit, and software, we created Archipelago, an album about fear, isolation and hope. Using driving electronic beats, pulsing grooves and big hooks, the album reflects on love, family and friendship being all that counts when the rest of the world seems so bleak and far away.”

All nine tracks on Archipelago are solid, but I’ll touch on my favorites and those I feel are standouts. Opening track “Better Days Will Come” kind of sets the album’s overall theme of hope and resilience in these trying times – that no matter how bleak things may seem at the moment, we need to hold onto the things that matter most: “In the darkness, in the darkness, in the darkness we find our friend. In the sadness, in the sadness, in the sadness, we don’t pretend. Better days will come, better days will come, if you want them to.” The languid trip hop groove, delicate piano keys and fuzzy synths create a soothing backdrop for Louise and David’s comforting vocal harmonies, all of which wrap us in a warm blanket of sound.

My favorite song on the album is “Blood Wolf Moon“, a flawlessly-crafted and addictive dance-pop gem. Essentially a love song with simple lyrics like “Give me your love. It’s all I need“, Vulture Party decided to bring the song to life with a charming video, created under the direction of Neil McKenzie of Keep it Creative. It tells the story of a female werewolf, played by Louise, searching for human contact and finding love through music and dance.

Another favorite is “Ride That Feeling“, a beautiful song about freeing oneself of negative thoughts and obsessions, and instead allowing positive influences and experiences to flourish, in the hopes of living a better life: “You are free if you want to be. No more hiding in the dark. Let it all go. Ride that feeling again.” Musically, the song starts off slowly, with a serene, almost atmospheric vibe, but eventually becomes more intense, with gritty synths and harsh, jangly guitar notes before calming back down.

“Afterlife” is a delightfully upbeat track which David describes as “a light-hearted and playful contemplation of a life after death.” And though not a dance song per se, its infectious beat will most definitely have your toes tapping and hips swaying. In sharp contrast, “Leave Your Parables” is a dark, rather unsettling track, with somber piano keys, eerie synths and a spooky droning male vocal, all set to a funereal melody. I’m not sure, but the lyrics seem to speak of connecting with a ghostly spirit, and possibly letting go of fears of the unknown: “Lay down your parables at the doorway. Cause when I’m through, you’ll be done. Maybe if you’re ready, look at me. Now here comes the light. Take in the moment, hold it, let in your delight. I’m slow in my movements. Don’t scare him away. He’s slow in his movements. He scares me away.”

Archipelago ends on a highly satisfying note with the gospel-like “Let Love Shine (On Your Misery Now)“, which brings the album’s theme of the power of love and friendship full circle. I love the soaring melody, warm sweeping synths, twangy guitar and arresting vocal harmonies. At 6:19 minutes, it’s a rather long song, and when first hearing it, I thought it went on a bit too long. But after repeated listens, I’ve come to the conclusion it’s length is just right. It’s the perfect ending to a lovely, uplifting album.

Connect with Vulture Party:  Facebook / Twitter / Instagram

Stream their music:  Spotify / Apple Music / Soundcloud / YouTube

Purchase the digital album on Bandcamp or on pink vinyl through the Last Night From Glasgow website.

VULTURE PARTY – Single Review: “Blood Wolf Moon”

On By EclecticMusicLoverIn Reviews8 Comments

Vulture Party is a Scottish three-piece who, in their own words, play “disquieting Alt Pop for the socially conscious“. Based in Falkirk, a smallish city located roughly halfway between Glasgow and Edinburgh, the band consists of Louise Ward, David King and Dickson Telfer. Having both a male and female vocalist deliver their thought-provoking lyrics also gives their already fascinating sound even greater nuance and depth.

They released their debut single “New Humans” in 2019, followed a few months later with “Sun Dance”, then dropped their eponymous debut album Vulture Party in April 2020, just as the pandemic turned the world upside down and brought everything to a crashing halt. Undeterred, they began writing and recording songs for their second album Archipelago, and in July 2021, they released “Afterlife”, the first of a series of singles to be included on Archipelago. They followed up with “Iso Disco” this past January, and now return with “Blood Wolf Moon“, the third single off the forthcoming album, to be released later this summer on the not-for-profit independent record label Last Night From Glasgow.

About the song, the band explains “‘Blood Wolf Moon’ is a contemporary take on European werewolf folklore where, through isolation and lack of human connection, people were labelled as outcasts, leading to their basic need for love not being met. Our theme for the song and music video is a werewolf searching for human contact and finding love through music and dance. Despite the subject matter, the tune is upbeat and buoyant, influenced in part by European dance and pop.”

Musically, the song calls to mind some of the great European dance-pop songs of the 80s, with its deep, pulsating bass and drum-fueled beat, overlain with sweeping, almost psychedelic synths, sparkling keyboards, edgy guitar notes and crisp percussion. Louise and David’s intertwining vocal harmonies are really marvelous too. I love this type of synth-heavy dance music, and “Blood Wolf Moon” fills the bill quite nicely.

The delightfully silly video, filmed, directed and edited by Neil McKenzie of Keep it Creative, shows Louise as a campy werewolf who’s also a big Dolly Parton fan, sneaking around and trying to take part in a line dancing society event where David and Dickson are participating. She finally succeeds in the end, fitting in with the other dancers.

Connect with Vulture Party:  Facebook / Twitter / Instagram

Stream their music:  Spotify / Apple Music / Soundcloud / YouTube

Purchase on Bandcamp

JEEN – Single Review: “On and On”

On By EclecticMusicLoverIn Reviews10 Comments

JEEN (Jeen O’Brien) is a talented, successful and established singer-songwriter and musician from Toronto, Canada with quite an impressive resume. According to her bio, her songs have been used in commercials for such companies as Google, Panasonic, Estée Lauder, Kraft, BlackBerry, KIA, Rogers, MasterCard and Molson, as well as various movies and television programs, including Cook Off, Republic of Doyle, Instant Star, Ruby Gloom, Degrassi, Killjoys, Hockey Wives, Workin’ Moms, MTV Catfish, and MTV Are You the One. Though we’ve followed each other on Twitter for a while, she somehow slipped under my radar until a few days ago, when she reached out to me about her latest single “On and On“. I liked it at first listen, and agreed to feature it on this blog.

Before I’m able to properly review music by an artist I’ve not written about before, I check out their website and various social media accounts to learn as much as I can about them (alas, I’ll never be able to shake the research methods I learned in grad school), and try to listen to at least some of their music catalog to better familiarize myself with their sound. In searching through JEEN’s, I was amazed by her tremendous music output over the past eight years. After starting out as a member of Toronto alternative pop-rock band Cookie Duster (who released a fine album When Flying Was Easy in 2012), she went solo and released her debut album Tourist in 2014. Since then, she’s put out scores of singles and four more albums, most recently Dog Bite last October (2021). Her music is so good, I found myself going down a rabbit hole of binge-listening to her back catalog. Her alternative pop-rock music style and sound are somewhat similar to a few other female artists I’ve heard, yet also distinctly her own.

Photo by Laura Hermiston

“On and On” is the first single off JEEN’s forthcoming sixth album Tracer, due for release in October. For the recording of the single and album, which were co-produced by JEEN and her frequent collaborator Ian Blurton, JEEN played rhythm guitar, bass and synths, Ian played lead guitar and Stephan Szczesniak played drums. The song was also engineered and mixed by Ian, and mastered by Brad Boatright. JEEN says the song is “about breaking points and falling down more times than you’re willing to get back up. I wrote this song last year when everything was grinding me down and nothing seemed worth it.”

The song is a lively banger with a hint of punk undercurrent, driven by Stephan’s urgent thumping drumbeats and JEEN’s throbbing bass. Ian and JEEN lay down a colorful mix of grungy and chiming guitars, accompanied by exuberant sparkling synths, creating a rousing backdrop for her echoed, somewhat mumbled vocals, which are backed by her own soaring harmonies as she laments “Everything got so complicated. Every day’s so intoxicating. Anyway I tried a hundred times (and on and on and on). And I think you must be blind, when you say everything’s fine (and on and on and on). Hey I’m sorry that I lost my place, started running but I fell on my face.” I like the gnarly instrumental fade out at the end, as if to signify someone becoming emotionally deflated like a tire losing air.

For the rather trippy video, JEEN’s chosen a fascinating way to show her lyrics, including written in lipstick on a bathroom mirror, in ink on her hand and arm, crumpled scraps of paper, mylar balloons, an old sneaker and concrete walls, and typed out on a computer screen.

Connect with JEEN:  Facebook / Twitter / Instagram

Stream her music:  Spotify / Apple Music / Soundcloud / YouTube

Purchase on Bandcamp 

almost sex – Single Review: “Lucille”

On By EclecticMusicLoverIn Reviews9 Comments

Hailing from Brooklyn, New York, the exceptionally talented and undeniably attractive couple who call their music project almost sex have been on a creative tear since the release of their debut single “Knockoff” in September 2020. In the 16 months since, they’ve dropped nine more singles at the rate of one every 6-7 weeks, the latest of which is “Lucille“. I first learned about them a year ago when I read a great review of their beautiful second single “Charmer” by fellow blogger The Alternative Mixtapes, who posited that “their name is meant to imply that their music is almost as good as sex.” As smitten with them as I now am, he subsequently wrote about them two more times. The duo followed me on Instagram a few months ago, and I’ve decided it’s high time I featured them on my own blog. 

How can you not be smitten with such a stunning couple!

Consisting of singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Nick Louis and architect, multi-media artist and musician Warren LaSota, almost sex met online through a dating app during the first Covid lockdown in early Spring 2020. Little did they realize at the time that they were forming not only a romantic relationship, but also an artistic one too. Nick and Warren began sharing poetry, song lyrics and music demos back and forth over the internet, and two months later they finally met in person, whereupon they recorded and subsequently released “Knockoff.”

Drawing from elements of folk, post punk, alternative rock, electronica and indie bedroom pop, their sound is richly varied and eclectic. Consequently, none of their songs sound alike, and I love every single one of them. Nick has a distinctive and endearing vocal style that reminds me somewhat of Passenger on songs like “Charmer”, “Swallow”, “Part of You” and “Lucille”, grandson on “Collapse”, and like no one else on the rest. Warren’s bewitching ethereal harmonies nicely complement Nick’s vocals on several tracks.

Their latest offering “Lucille” is the lead single from their forthcoming debut EP We’re Okay, due out on April 1st. Co-written, produced, mixed and mastered by Ken Helmlinger, the song has a rather melancholy vibe, with a languid melody driven by Nick’s strummed acoustic guitar, and accompanied by a subtle but resonant bassline and nice drum fills. Little instrumental touches like the gentle finger-plucked guitar notes and enchanting sounds from what I’m guessing is a mellotron add some interesting textures to the song.

Nick’s warm, vulnerable-sounding vocals convey a sad resignation as he softly croons the lyrics addressing the end of a relationship with a woman named Lucille that wasn’t meant to be, and relieved it’s finally over: “And after all these complications, I really should be grateful it’s the end. / Cause time was never on our side. Lucille, goodbye.” Warren’s backing harmonies in the choruses are sublime, making for a really lovely track.

Follow almost sex:  Facebook / Twitter / Instagram

Stream their music:  Spotify / Apple Music / Soundcloud / YouTube

Purchase on Bandcamp

SKY DIVING PENGUINS – Album Review: “Sky Diving Penguins”

On By EclecticMusicLoverIn Reviews16 Comments

Who would ever expect to find an act with a music style and sound similar to the Beatles in the tiny nation of Georgia? Well, such an act exists in the form of Sky Diving Penguins, the brainchild of singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Gia Iashvili, who on December 1st released his debut self-titled album Sky Diving Penguins. Based in the Georgian capital of Tbilisi, Gia is an interesting guy with a fascinating life story, some of which I learned about in a great review by Iain Key for webzine Louder Than War. 

He grew up in a time when Georgia was part of the Soviet Union, and though Western music was frowned upon and even illegal, he managed to get his hands on some Beatles albums, which had a life-changing impact on the impressionable young teen. After the collapse of the Soviet Union in the early 1990s, he was able to openly revel in the music of Nirvana, Beck and Elliott Smith, among others, all of which have had a major influence on his sound.

In 2001, Sky Diving Penguins released Outspoken EP to critical acclaim, and were on the verge of signing with a record label when Gia decided to relocate to Japan, where he began studying cinematography and Kyudo (archery). One day, while practicing Kyudo, an arrow accidentally struck his left ear, leaving him deaf in that ear. After a lengthy convalescence, he went off the grid in the Mount Fuji Five Lakes region, where he spent the next eight years in a kind of self-imposed exile. Once he emerged, he moved back to Georgia, where he had a serendipitous encounter in Tbilisi with Georgi Kinkladze, the Georgian former player for the Manchester City Football Club who’d become a cult hero.

After talking and reminiscing about their time in the Red Army together and living in Manchester, Gia felt reinvigorated. He began writing music again, including co-writing the 2016 Georgian Eurovision entry “Midnight Gold” for indie rock band Young Georgian Lolitaz, performing with the band Z for Zulu, and slowly rebuilding his fan base. He recorded the songs for Sky Diving Penguins over the past three years or so, with the help of his friend and producer Mark Tolle, who sadly passed away before the album was completed. Additional production was handled by sound engineer Kote Kalandadze, who also mixed the songs with Tolle. Mastering was done by acclaimed mastering engineer Pete Maher.

For the album’s recording, Gia played guitar, bass, mouth organ, electric piano and percussion, and sang lead vocals, and Dimitri Oganesian played drums. Additional musicians performing on individual songs included Kote Kalandadze on acoustic or electric guitar, Nika Kocharov on electric guitar, Tiko Kvaliashvili on flute, Vako Saatashvili on trumpet, Beka Berikishvili on French horn, and Evgenyi Inchagov on cello. Gia’s wife Maria Charkseliani sang backing vocals.

Sky Diving Penguins features ten tracks touching on the sadness and pain that’s an inevitable part of life, but softened with glimmers of optimism and the belief that things will usually be alright in the end. About the album and it’s quirky cover art, Gia explained: “I always wanted my first album to feature this artwork. It’s a picture of me from when I was a child, holding a toy machine gun; it’s kind of weird and cute at the same time. Every word and every note that I recorded on this album is honest. It took me three years to complete. This is also the last piece of work my producer and friend, Mark Tolle, was involved in. He died a couple of years ago. I wouldn’t change a bit of this album.”

The album opens with “I Don’t Want, I Don’t Care“, a melancholy but lovely song with a strong Beatles vibe. The piano and horns are marvelous, and Gia’s gentle vocals hover in a sweet spot between John Lennon and George Harrison. The lyrics speak to feelings of ennui that keep one from accomplishing anything or moving forward: “I’ve got many things to do, but I don’t do. I’ve got many things to share, but I don’t share. Indifference is everywhere. So I don’t want and I don’t care.”

On “Serotonin“, he successfully melds grungy Nirvana-esque vibes with more lighthearted and melodic Beatles elements, but most of the album’s tracks have a soothing Beatles sound. Case in point are “This Is Breaking Me Apart“, highlighted by enchanting flute and Gia’s delicate heartfelt vocals, and the hauntingly beautiful “Hating Waiting“, which sounds like a song John Lennon could have sung on Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band. Gia’s layered vocal harmonies are wonderful, and I love the horns, xylophone and glittery guitar notes.

The pleasing two-minute long “All Goes Back In The Box In The End” sounds a bit like a Bob Dylan song recorded by the Beatles, highlighted by a cheerful mouth organ and fluttery guitar notes. The lyrics advise us to not get caught up too heavily with material things, and to try to keep our perspective on the more important things in life: “You can build the biggest house by the water. You can deny all your friends. Big cars won’t make you feel better, no matter. All goes back in a box in the end.” “About One Hermit” has a quiet introspective feel, with gentle acoustic guitars, horns and strings creating a somewhat melancholy feel. Gia’s vocals sound more like George Harrison here as he sings words of encouragement to another: “This pain won’t last forever. Stupid self-destruction ends. All of us dig at our own pure holes.”

“Run Boy” is a bouncy, lighthearted song that continues on the theme introduced on “All Goes Back In the Box In The End”, that we should make the best of this life we’re given: “You dream of the place where ice-cream mountains and melon sun. There’s only weekends. Cops are playing with water guns. And there’s no trouble. Everyone’s a Beatles fan. You got no time boy. Find this place just live and Run boy, life’s not forever. Run boy, you got to get on a bus boy, take it, be clever. Run boy, find the place where you belong.”

“Depressed or Bored” is a charming tune, despite its rather dour title. The humorous tongue-in-cheek lyrics speak of a general feeling of discontent with life and perhaps ourselves: “All the questions that I’ve come across, I’m the first in line to get the answer. Wish I was David Hasselhoff, brave, young with toned muscles. Ohhh, depressed or bored.” Once again, I must make note of the strong Beatles vibe, especially in the George Harrison-esque guitars and lilting vocal harmonies. “Headache Will Cause Migraines” is decidedly more downbeat, with lyrics that speak to our sometimes fragile emotional well-being: “Back to my emotions. Rituals of my childhood years. Still get pretty strange notions. But crying with sun-dried tears. Headaches will cause migraines.”

As its title suggests, album closer “Tripping #9” has a delicious psychedelic vibe, with spacey atmospheric synths and watery guitar notes layered over a droning melodic rhythm. The appropriately trippy lyrics are somewhat ambiguous and surreal, but seem to describe conflicting feelings of euphoria and fear: “Air is only distance between me and the stars, but It’s too far. Laughing at the treason. Crying for the sin, where have I been? Mind is the trigger, feeling is the gun. Ever since you’re gone, drink without permission. Glass of diet sky, with no ice.” It’s a haunting and beautiful song.

Sky Diving Penguins is marvelous, and such a delightful listen that made it a joy to review. Gia Iashvili and company have crafted a really brilliant album, and I for one am happy he came out of exile and gifted us with his wonderful music.

Connect with Sky Diving Penguins:  Facebook / Twitter / Instagram

Stream their music:  Spotify / Apple Music / Soundcloud / YouTube

Purchase on Bandcamp / Website

ISOLDA – Single Review: “Night Time”

On By EclecticMusicLoverIn Reviews3 Comments

Isolda is a London-based singer-songwriter and musician who recently dropped her debut single “Night Time” on November 13. It’s a captivating track, and an impressive debut for this promising young artist, who began writing songs as a child. Classically trained on the violin and piano, she spent her formative years playing in orchestras, then later performing her songs at the piano in and around London. Inspired by those classical influences, as well as her interest in EDM, synth pop, psychedelic pop and trip hop, she began experimenting with electronic and acoustic elements to create her own unique sound, even learning to produce her own music in her north London home.

Isolda2

With the assistance of Dave De Rose on drums and Ami Kirby on violin, Isolda recorded her first EP Night Time, from which the title track is the lead single. The EP was mixed by noted sound engineer Shuta Shinoda at Hackney Road Studio, and is scheduled for release in early 2020. About “Night Time”, Isolda explains “The song is a hypnotic electronic beat-driven piece, written on sleepless nights and dreamlike states of realisation as time pulls us further away from the persons we loved and the places we have been. [It’s] a contemplation on the identity lost, and the resulting wakeful alertness that persists when the psyche has been disturbed from such reflection during a dark night of the soul, inspired by the inability to sleep when the past haunts someone as they press on towards an unknown future.”

“Night Time” has a rather unusual opening, starting off with a muffled synth chorus that quickly fades out as if the power source has been cut. After a second of silence, a delicate synth riff begins, then the music swells into an enchanting, ethereal soundscape of lush atmospheric synths. Isolda skillfully chooses from a bold palette of sparkling orchestral and percussive sounds to create a dreamy backdrop for her spellbinding, breathy vocals. She gently croons “And on this long road, no turning back. No, there is no, no, no going back. I was in a lifetime, away. It wasn’t my time to find a way. / It’s the night time, but I can’t get back to sleep.”

The fascinating video shows footage of traveling through city streets at night, interspersed with surreal images of Isolda in different settings that one could imagine her experiencing in a dream. Have a look and listen:

Connect with Isolda:  Facebook / Twitter / Instagram
Stream “Night Time” on Spotify 
Purchase:  iTunes  

GEORGIA FEARN – Album Review: “Perfect on Paper”

On By EclecticMusicLoverIn Reviews4 Comments

Georgia Fearn pic

Having no musical talents whatsoever, I’m always impressed by people who do, and especially when they’re also quite young. Needless to say, I was blown away when I listened to the debut album Perfect on Paper by Welsh artist Georgia Fearn. Only 17 years old, the singer/songwriter from Carmarthen has a remarkable artistry and maturity far beyond her years. She writes all her own songs and plays guitar and piano, with session musicians playing the other instruments.

Released in March through Grapefruit Records, Perfect on Paper sounds like the work of a seasoned artist, which is actually the case in a sense. Georgia began writing songs at the age of nine, and at 17 she’s an accomplished wordsmith, penning thoughtful and frank lyrics about the joy, pain and complications that arise when we enter into relationships. She’s already performed in many different venues, most notably the famous Cavern in Liverpool, and her songs have received airplay on BBC Wales, and other radio stations in the UK.

Georgia incorporates a myriad of music styles, including pop, rock, jazz, hip hop and even Celtic folk, to create songs that are surprising, unique and always compelling. The superb opening track “L’Amour” beautifully illustrates what I’m talking about. The song features all sorts of interesting sounds and instruments like accordion, banjo, horns and strings, and the result is delightfully saucy track with a sophisticated French vibe. As if all that weren’t enough, she injects a bit of a Celtic feel in the chorus interlude. Didn’t I say that she likes to surprise us?

The lyrics describe a relationship doomed from the start: “You told me you were leaving ’cause I smoked too many cigarettes. I broke the bad habit, and I drove straight to your address. I saw you pressing your lips to someone new. It’s time to break my other bad habit. You.” Bloody brilliant.

Perfect on Paper is an ambitious work with 12 tracks, all of them suberb. “Catch Me If You Can” is an infectiously catchy number that had me humming the melody long after hearing the song. “Misty Mae” was inspired by a character in the TV series American Horror Story. A beautiful mandolin riff and flute lend a bit of a gypsy flair to the rousing track, while distorted electric guitar adds an edgy feel. “Does It Make You Wonder” is a sweeping ballad featuring a haunting piano riff, mournful violins and a military drumbeat. Georgia’s heartfelt vocals are extraordinary as she croons: “I’m living in a glass house, where the person I used to be, she’s buried six feet under. She’s trying to scream. She’s blocked out by the thunder. Does it ever make you wonder, what could have been?”

“Sharp Objects” is a dark rock song about the proverbial town without pity. The track opens with what sounds like helicopter blades and men shouting in the distance. Georgia snarls the biting lyrics about hypocrisy and evil that lie beneath a rosy exterior: “Home is where the lies are. Pretty quiet village, that’s where all the scars are. Tiny little village, that’s where all the hate is. / Ooh I’m gonna drown. Something about this nuclear town. Toxic.”

And speaking of dark, one of my favorites is the dramatic, searing title track “Perfect on Paper,” about a woman serving prison time for killing the man that done her wrong: “I know he never loved me. He just loved the thought. He thought there was a girl out there who’d do what he wants. She’d smile in a loving manner to her man perfect on paper. Not knowing soon she’d see every awful heartbreaking, sickening, ugly thing he could be.” Wow, those are some of the best lyrics I’ve seen in a while!

Another great track is the bluesy “Master of Jazz.” The sensuous song speaks of the cool allure of a jazz musician who can sweep a girl off her feet: “Heart on his sleeve and mic in his hand. I heard he was a part of some out of town band. He liked to think he was the king of swing. And the king of swing would have you hanging by a string He’s a master of jazz, when he sings you come alive.” The melancholy “Emptiness” is a piano-driven track with mournful violin. The lyrics address the feelings of pain and loss when love has gone: “We judge people for judging, ’cause judging is wrong. The only way to stay OK is writing a song. Food has lost it’s taste. Get me out of this place. If you cut me open, I would bleed his name. It hurts so much.”

Georgia injects a hip hop beat and lots of distorted guitar into “No Need to Hide,” while “Always Be Yours” is a lovely, uplifting ballad about how she was saved by another’s love and devotion. The Latin-infused album closer “You Wouldn’t Do This if You Did” is a kiss-off to a lover with a chronic drinking problem: “How am I supposed to love you, when you only see me through bottled eyes. And every time I smell the liquor, a little part inside of me dies. You’re not who you were when I first met you. / I know you don’t love me. Cause you wouldn’t do this if you did.”

Perfect on Paper is a brilliant album, and an outstanding debut from this gifted and promising young artist. I expect – and hope – we’ll be hearing more great music from Georgia Fearn before long.

Connect with Georgia:  Facebook / Twitter
Stream her music:  Spotify / Apple Music
Purchase on iTunes / Amazon / Klicktrack