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, […]

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 […]

ROCK/Review Allan Jamisen – Rock & Roll American

It is absolutely breathtaking how an artist can distill a half-century of cultural disappointment into one swaggering anthem. That is precisely what Allan Jamisen has done with his “Rock & Roll American”, a song that is nostalgic in its frenzy and desperately modern in its sentiment, a reflection on what it is to be an American rebel when the idea […]

ROCK/Review Mosh Pit – LCD

Songs just come and play in background and then there are songs that come and take you by the throat and ask you to listen to it. LCD by Mosh Pit is unquestionably in the latter camp, and offers a sonic battering that is cathartic yet confrontational in nature. With the initial sharp guitar chord it is easy to tell […]

ROCK/Review Haus of Sound – Mirage

It is a kind of pleasure to follow the development of a band in real-time and Haus of Sound may have found the breakthrough on their way with the song Mirage. This Seattle outfit has made a daring departure out of the ska-punk madness of Anxiety and the pop-punk power of Pain in My Eyes to venture into a darker […]

ROCK/Review Jeremy Ryan – SMILE & WAVE

It is cathartic in the very core of the being with the first notes of the song Smile & Wave by Jeremy Ryan. This is no run-of-the-mill rock anthem though; it is in fact a personal manifesto, a manifesto that is sheathed in a great instrumentation and presented with the raw authenticity that is becoming scarce in the current music […]

ROCK/Review Creative Vibrations – Sunday Bummer

It is so understandable to have that sinking feeling as the weekend is over and the real world knocks on the door. On their newest recording, Sunday Bummer, Creative Vibrations has perfectly captured this universal phenomenon and created a multi-dimensional masterpiece that turns the post-weekend blues into an interesting musical narrative. The first thing that will come to mind with […]

ROCK/Review Carlos Ucedda – OPEN POISON

The fact that Carlos Ucedda came back is something very disturbing and it captures your attention instantly. The single, titled “Open Poison,” is like entering a dark and beautiful cathedral where shadows play with the light and every note speaks of the classical training mixed with the modern electronic experimentation. The aspect that has impressed me most is how Carlos […]

ROCK/Review Andrea Pizzo and The Purple Mice – We Are All Bots

There is a disturbing yet fascinating sense of being about the new collection of Andrea Pizzo and The Purple Mice that smacks you in the face the moment you start listening. We Are All Bots is not only posing questions about our connection with technology, it is also making you face unpleasant realities of how deep we have embedded the […]

ROCK/Review Space Angel – Abyssinia Sometime

Space Angel has a wonderfully contradictory song, Abyssinia Sometime, which is simultaneously easy to access and elusively mysterious, like finding a secret door that leads to a place you have never been, but somehow know. The Brighton four-piece has made something that is simultaneously very English and out-of-this-world. The vocal performance of Christopher Rye has that distinctly English sound described […]

Pop-Rock/Review Tom Minor – The Manic Phase

It’s something magical about music that images a person, a place, a feeling so perfectly that it seems to be a world on its own. The new EP, *The Manic Phase, by Tom Minor does just that, it is a colourful, somewhat crazed postcard straight out of the centre of Soho and is devoted to a character as memorable as […]

ROCK/Review Delta of Venus – Intertwined b/w Intertwined (acoustic)

Listening to the same song exhales through two entirely separate skins is something quite magical about it. Exactly that is achieved by Delta of Venus with their stunning double single “Intertwined b/w Intertwined (acoustic)”. There’s not just a release; there’s an experience, it’s an invitation to feel the same emotional core run through contrasting sonic worlds and it’s mesmerising. “Intertwined”, […]

ROCK/Review RISE – Dreams

Liverpool’s RISE has always shone brightly with some sort of hopeful energy, but on their latest single ‘Dreams’ they’ve held onto pure, effervescent optimism and let it loose. Forget subtlety – this track drags you up to the sky with a hook laden euphoria over a synth driven field of dreams that sounds both nostalgic and brand new. It announces […]

ROCK/Review Rosetta West – Circle of Doubt

With ‘Circle of Doubt,’ Rosetta West proves solidifies their status as underground visionaries. In sync with ancient rites, released, the single puts listeners into a headspace exhausted but resolute. A cyclical, heavy riff conjures up soul crushing fatigue on existential battles and spectral solos soar upward like desperate prayers for transcendence; all anchored by Joseph Demagore’s guitar work. Co crafted […]

ROCK/Review Coolonaut – Dark Energy

After a lauded, debut album in the form of Displaced, Australian artist Coolonaut was lauded, born in Scotland and now rural Australia based returns and with Dark Energy, he stares unflinching at a world in crisis, with a potent follow up that crackles with raw, analogue urgency. Sounding recorded only on an 8 track tape machine, this isn’t a throwback […]

ROCK/Review Rare Seed – Ethereal Enclave

Rare Seed doesn’t make an album, they create an otherworldly sonic universe. Their debut, the 41 minute odyssey Ethereal Enclave, is a masterful, though not so easily categorizable suite of post punk intensity, psychedelic dreamscapes, jazz modal shifts and hip hop rhythms coalescing into a cohesive, utterly captivating whole. The album is vast and intimate, experimental and yet deeply accessible. […]

ROCK/Review The project – death of me

No sterile studio, no overproduction. The first Project single, Death Of Me, comes down the saloon doors of modern rock like a welcome kick. Created as a constantly shifting unit of current scene grizzled veterans by guitarist, songwriter James Davis (Shameless) this first offering isn’t one song, it’s a statement of intent, full throttle. It’s loud, it’s honest and it […]

ROCK/Review The7thGatekeeper – The Hoard

Hailing from Barry in South Wales, The one man force of The7thGatekeeper has a name fit for such a formidable one man force and ‘The Hoard’ is a truly immersive and unsettling experience. It isn’t just a hard rock song, this is a tightly constructed, darkly atmospheric journey that just won’t let you go, this is an artist writing and […]

ROCK/Review Deflecting Ghosts – Broken

Deflecting Ghosts don’t just release music. They exorcise demons. It’s with their latest single, “Broken,” that they’ve taken their first fullband shot as the solidified Hutchinson, Kansas trio of Luke Fitzgerald, his wife Rhema on bass and drummer Austin. It comes out as a masterclass in emotionally charged alternative rock/metal, that hits with visceral intensity and stays with haunting vulnerability. […]

ROCK/Review Para Lia – Neverland

Germany’s Para Lia returns with a powerful, critical statement in ‘Neverland’ which rocks and simultaneously resonates. This is no escapist fantasy; it’s a rich, guitar driven psychedelic rock tour into the sonic intensity and social commentary; the band has solidified its place as a major force in today’s German scene. As early as the first couple seconds, “Neverland” is powerful. […]

ROCK/Review Rosso Tierney – Set You Free

With his debut single, ‘Set You Free’, Rosso Tierney emerges as a potent force of emotional authenticity as well as a new voice. Unlike the classic heartbreak ballad, this track is a deeply resonant spirit filled anthem of freedom and resilience. Grounded in a sprawling soundscape of influences – ranging from Bowie’s theatrical flair, Queen’s grand melodic spirit, Benson Boone’s […]