It is emotionally evocative when an artist finds their musical roots, and the first Spanish song Michellar created, entitled “Aunque por sea una noche,” is as touching as watching somebody discovering their home. San Francisco-based artist has been able to do something that takes no language to understand, she has written an acoustic ballad that appeals directly to the soul […]
METAL/Review Brian Hunsaker– Haunted
There is something truly cathartic about heavy metal in its finest form- when it can turn personal demons into sonic catharsis- and that is exactly what is done in Brian Hunsaker and his song, Haunted. The metal veteran out of the Seattle area has produced something that is cinematically epic yet also very personal, making a song that sticks with […]
METAL/Review Nordstahl– Mjölnir
There are moments when a song doesn’t just play—it erupts. Nordstahl’s “Mjölnir” is one of those rare tracks that grabs you by the collar and refuses to let go, demanding your complete attention from the first crushing note. The industrial metal outfit has crafted something truly special here. The vocals hit like a sledgehammer to the chest, carrying a weight […]
METAL/Review Nordstahl – Ragnarök in Berlin
Occasionally an album comes along that is more of a needed corrective than a form of entertainment, and Nordstahl with Ragnarok in Berlin is just such a no holds barred artistic statement. Conceived of in frustration at the general apathy and intellectual dishonesty, this industrial metal project uses the weapon of Norse mythology to deal some of the most pressing […]
ROCK/Review Blindness & Light – Your Solitude
It is somehow paradoxical in the most beautiful way that a band that is spread across continents writes songs about loneliness and isolation and Blindness & Light is no exception, with their song Your Solitude being a perfect example. This rag-tag ensemble of post-punkers, spanning Anglesey to Yorkshire and beyond to Japan and Argentina, have created something both personal and […]
EDM/Review Jodie Vinall – Ice Cream Buns
Other times music is just to make you smile and Deltiimo and Jodie Vinall with Ice Cream Buns is just that unabashed moment of joy. The team-up between the UK electronic artist and Portsmouth vocalist produces something that simply cannot be overlooked; a technicolor explosion of EDM energy enveloping an absolutely entrancing performance by Vinall. The vocals of Jodie Vinall […]
ROCK/Review VaterSon – These city streets
There is something kind of special about seeing a father-son musical collaboration and VaterSon with the track These City Streets shows that blood can indeed be thicker than water in terms of rock and roll chemistry. This Malmö-based Swedish duo have created a sound that is simply massive considering the fact that there are only two of them, and they […]
METAL/Review WizardX – Monster Mind
It feels so freeing to experience an artist who does not feel like they needs to make excuses to take up space, and WizardXs Monster Mind is a rallying cry to all of those who have ever been told they are too much. It is not merely another genre-bending exercise, it is a highly choreographed sonic revolution that turns individual […]
Pop/Review Noah Zayden – Ya no me doy
Then there are songs that talk to you, and then there are songs that talk through you-that express the truths you have been carrying but could not quite put into words. Noah Zayden with his Ya no me doy falls into that more unusual genre, a confession and an independence manifesto rolled into a carefully constructed pop-rap song that does […]
Hip-Hop/Review Malak Shalom aka Shavirus – Heeler Rope
Occasionally a song comes along that strikes you like lightning, and it is unexpected, electric, and impossible to resist. It is not merely another genre-bending experiment, but a daring declaration of an artist who obviously does not have the desire to remain in comfortable little boxes. It starts with a funky guitar riff that gets your attention right away and […]
Pop/Review Sundrift Sky – Home in my heart
It is so wonderfully human to seek comfort and comfort in the presence of another person, and Sundrift Sky does so with such beautiful sensitivity on the track, Home in My Heart. It is not just another electronic pop ballad, but rather a sonic hug that envelopes you in the same feeling you get when you are surrounded by someone […]
Folk/Review Ophelia Moon – Memory Fades
The pain of forgetting is so acute and Ophelia Moon is able to capture it with such devastating accuracy on the song, Memory fades. It is not only another reflective ballad, but a pensive discourse on the merciless gentleness of time, with soundscapes that sound like a confession in an empty room. The vocal technique used by Darren O. Moon […]
Electronic/Review Ophelia Moon – Banter of Wolves
It is somehow mystical to come across a song that is like a dim memory of a dream, and Banter of Wolves by Ophelia Moon is all in that sense of being in between worlds. The project, based in Philadelphia, conceived by Darren O. Moon with the luminous contributions of Maya Mikity, produces sonic landscapes that are simultaneously archaic, and […]
Hip-Hop/Review Rich Bout-It – In Da Air
There is something electric about listening to real Bay Area energy popping out of your speakers and Rich Bout-It In Da Air has got the voltage to spare. This is not a typical West Coast song, it is a statement song that spans generations but remains solidly rooted in the streets of San Francisco. The joint work with Keak Da […]
ROCK/Review Joe Hodgson – Fields Of Redemption
It is a certain kind of cathartic to see an artist returning to himself, and Joe Hodgson and his album Fields Of Redemption is precisely that: the musical homecoming of an artist that is felt way beyond the Northern Irish borders. It is not just another guitar album; it is a soul searching journey with some of the most touching […]
ROCK/Review Blunt Blade – Forgiveness
It is something truly disconcerting about hearing Blunt Blade in the dark with the album Forgiveness. The seven-track adventure of the Minnesota multi-instrumentalist does not only cross boundaries, but destroys them, leaving a sonic terrain that is at once intimate and universal, haunting. By the first few bars of “Justified,” where the singer delivers the incantatory lines in a baritone, […]
Pop/Review Larry Karpenko – Believe the Promise
It is somehow deeply touching when a song can take you back several thousand years with the first notes. This is precisely what Larry Karpenko does in his song, Believe the Promise, and he succeeds in connecting the ancient account of the desire of the Israelites to be free with the modern challenges that we all have to deal with. […]
Pop/Review Mick J. Clark – Anuther Sunny Hulliday
It is so refreshing to have an artist who is not afraid to go out and have pure unadulterated fun and Mick J. Clark gives us all that and more with his song, Anuther Sunny Hulliday. It is not a song, it is a party in the song, a four-minute break of the complications of the modern world. The first […]
EDM/Review PSYCOTRONIKA – FAKE LOVE
It feels strangely therapeutic to have music turn the agony to action, and PSYCOTRONIKA with their song FAKE LOVE, manage to do it with extreme accuracy. The duo of Pagliarini Massimo and Stefano Vaccari based in Parma have created something that is both very personal and universally relatable, a dance-pop anthem that makes you want to move and makes you […]
ROCK/Review The Radio Addicts – Scroll My Life Away
It is always something truly exciting when you see raw talent coming out of the blue, and The Radio Addicts can bring just that kind of excitement with their song called Scroll My Life Away. The thing is that this song is quite impressive not only because of its contagious vibe but also the fact that it was created by […]
METAL/Review Max Chaos – Ride The Wave
There are cases when a artist appears out of nowhere, and right away captures the attention because of the power of will and raw talent. Max Chaos does just that with his debut, Ride The Wave, a rip-roaring dispatch of unabashed bad-assery that knocks a person in the nose with adrenaline and leaves them wanting more. The first thing that […]