There are many things going on on “Doll Parts”, SaraEllen’s most recently released single, which touched down at the top of the year. All of them, as in every last one, are clear shot winners. The pace is set to perfection with the drums, which are a programmed wonder. The snare itself almost sounds flammed, but hits with a precision

“Fast Forward”, the latest single from the production team The R.E.S.E.A.R.C.H., is aptly named. The tune blazes in and out in barely three minutes. It also has a penchant for abruptly shifting volume, feel, and texture at a moment’s notice. Perhaps those characteristics can be attributed to the ‘fast’ half of the title. What one definitely doesn’t want to do

Just about the only thing conventional about “Angel”, the relatively recently released single from your man Optacure, on a track that also features Ean Aguila, is the title. Numerous odes, ditties, and pressing melodies have been dedicated to those supernal creatures and, perhaps, their earthly incarnations. Everything else about the tune is clearly refreshing. In fact, it makes for perfectly

According to Jim Morrison, the late, lamented front man of The Doors, the point of music, poetry, and even life, such as it is, is to tear down barriers and rebuild things, from an artistic perspective. Someone at The Beatroot Road, and it very well could be its front man Mark Russell, seems to have definitely taken this aesthetic to

The things Jess Wayne can do, when he puts his mind to them, are nothing short of remarkable. Any dissenters need only get a heavy, heady dose of his album Ancient Door. Chances are, they’ll soon become proselytizers. In fact, there are times when he seemingly can do no wrong. The proof is found in “Living Small”, one of those

There are a few things you should know about Jordan Seven, particularly as they apply to his latest album, 7. For starters, the dude’s not playing around. Just science the man’s name, the title of the release and, if you so dare, the symbolism in the material’s artwork (which boasts a five-headed dragon). Secondly, he’s the type of musician who

Say what you will about Older Future, the electronic music-you-can-dance-to purveyor. Talk about his unusual style of flipping vocals, for example, in which he routinely comes in under the beat, sometimes with so many discordant background voices seemingly talking gibberish that it’s hard to make out what the vocalist is saying. Or acknowledge his propensity for going off the Richter

If you happen to be checking for Sanjay Michael, to the point where you just had to cop his EP Wall Street Blues, do yourself a favor. Go straight to the final track, “Who’ll Be My Friend”, and before you do anything, go ahead and hit play. You won’t be sorry. Now mind you, there are two other tunes on

By Deuce You might not know anything about him, or have never heard of him before, but you definitely have to give it up to Mic Nickels on his latest release The Impressionist, which is technically credited to Mic Nickels and Kiza. Granted, since it’s eight tracks long, it’s a little equivocal as to whether this is an album or

So, you’ve got four minutes and seventeen seconds to spare, a track named “Dream Weaver” at your disposal, and the sumptuous songwriting skills of Talon Majors, crooner extraordinaire, riding out the entire affair. What could go wrong? A better question is what could go right. And the answer, as it turns out, is plenty. “Dream Weaver” is far from your

By Deuce By now, the tendency for singer, songwriter, guitarist, and harmonica player Bill Greenberg to consistently find—and maintain—perfection should be readily apparent to all. But, just for argument’s sake, let’s say it’s not. Let’s say you’ve never heard of the man, his body of work, or any of his charming coffee shop performances. Throw on “Swear to God”, his

Greg Strawn’s “Weaker Every Day” is a rousing, upper mid-tempo number. It’s tinged with country-infused guitars breezing about, his country-infused twang rippling through the verses and the hook, and a heaping helpful of accomplished drumming to ground it all. It certainly doesn’t hurt that the mix itself is extremely credible, if not more so than that found on most songs—especially

Cosmopolitan is likely the most appropriate descriptor for The Beatroot Road. And, that’s not just because its front man, Mark Russell, happened to grow up in parts of Africa and the United Kingdom. It’s because the approach The Road takes to making music is so different than that of other bands—and deliberately so. Additionally, the scope of the project is

“I’m sorry it took so long/ I didn’t mean to make yall wait/but good things take time to create” Streetlife, “Silent”, on GZA’s Legend of the Liquid Swords, 2002. The story of Pol Sembrano—singer, songwriter, producer, musician, classically trained piano player, and guitarist—and his forthcoming album, a self-titled joint, could start with the October release of his EP, Anywhere, and

By Deuce 30 years ago, The Far Cry might’ve had to worry about the legal rights to their name because of the efforts of The Pharcyde—whose band members likely chose this spelling to stay away from the lawyers of Gary Larson’s popular The Far Side comic strip. Today, with no legal wrangling in the way, the foursome in The Far

By Deuce The Beatroot Road comes incredibly close to landing a hit record on “Milte Hi Ankhen”, a reggae/dancehall-infused jam that works wonderfully well in most moments. The only thing that could’ve sealed the deal is more accessible song structure, i.e. an easily findable hook and clear distinction between it and the verses. Nonetheless, as things currently stand, the cut

By Deuce “There’s a madness in the air” on the latest single from Sawmoon entitled, as you likely guessed, “Madness”. But it’s also coming out the speakers, when these gents play. Hell, it’s roaring from their electric guitars, paneling that deceptively sleek bass line they ride on the verses and, if you don’t watch out, it may soon take over

By Derek Smith The truth is many a thing. It’s question-proof or, rather, able to flawlessly satiate any questions about it. It’s stark and overshadowing at times. At others, it’s deceptively simple. The truth contains horrors, images and instances of transcendent attractiveness and, at an atomic level, is inextricably related to the concepts of love and beauty (those shameless reflections

By Deuce Eldritch may be the most apt descriptor for Zabus’ Automatic Writhing, a 12-track affair of an album, if ever there was one. Indeed, it may be the only thing known about this symphony of songs that otherwise seemingly defies description itself. Imagine a style of singing in which there’s no melody. Or a cacophony of sound that fails

By Deuce Looking to test yourself? Trying to find the next challenge to conquer without going out and committing random acts of nonsense seen on television, film, computer, and phone screens everywhere? Then throw on “Magic Master”, the latest offering from your man Ty Wood, and see how long you can go without moving to the music or, just plain

By Deuce Some artists maintain a social conviction in their work, and an accompanying sense of urgency, that simply supersedes that of others. Dancing, partying, and falling in and out of love are timeless topics, of course. But they leave a realm of unexplored subject matter, pertaining to pressing social conditions that oftentimes go unspoken, lost from what becomes popular

By Deuce There is much going on Little Blue Dot, the 12-cut magnum opus from The New Students. Songwriting, lead and background singing, and elaborate arrangements? You can get that anywhere, though they’re certainly on full display on this inspired effort. No, what’s really going on here is mandolins, fiddles, and banjos. Played live, that is, none of this synthesizer

By Deuce Listening to Veil Lifter, the latest full-length release from Post Death Soundtrack, is quite an experience. Much of the music is hypnotic, as in ponderously slow tempos and a lyrical proficiency that creeps upon you after listening to the respective cuts for a couple minutes. This trait of the album is counterbalanced with some moments of sheer brilliant

By Deuce There’s a pretty basic formula at play on Leave Before Dark, Raudiver’s LP that initially began making its rounds near the end of the summer. The duo finds the most corpulent drums it can get, hooks up a winning drum pattern, then proceeds to drown it out in keyboards, synths, and a smattering of vocals. To their credit,

By Deuce On occasion, one runs into an album that, from the opening notes of the first song, it becomes perfectly apparent that the piece is so good, so moving, that it’s almost hard to listen to the song—or the next, or the next—because of the distinct possibility that the one after that will be even better than what’s playing