Category: Reviews
Artist to Watch: Idiot Grins
Recent trends in music have revolved around synth pop and overproduced albums, so it is rare to find a big band sound in the mix. Idiot Grins, a five man soul rock band from Oakland, California, has managed the impossible. By getting musical help from Johnnie Bamont, the saxophone player from Huey Lewis and the…
Artist to Watch: The Boy From The Crowd
From London, UK, The Boy From The Crowd is made up of Vinny Placa and Vegas Ivy. With Placa on vocals and guitar while Ivy manages drums and percussion, The Boy From The Crowd creates a blues-infused rock sound that walks the line between cult favorite and top 40s, resulting in songs that are…
Artist to Watch: Bad Reed
With only one official musical release, Bad Reed is transcending genres. The four piece jack-of-all-trades band from Brantford, Ontario shows their versatile chops on the Bad Reed EP. Over the course of three songs, Bad Reed manages to capture elements of psychedelic funk metal, rhythmic southern blues and synth rock in a way that is…
PALMAS: ‘To The Valley’
If there is a point where future meets past, and east meets west, it’s the new PALMAS album, To The Valley. Coming to headphones near you Friday, November 13, the Philly band has gathered all the metallic sounds of East Coast rock, shipped them across the country to the sandy beaches of California, and time…
Penny Lame: ‘Penny Lame’
Girl-pop is getting a makeover. Athens singer and songwriter Jianna Justice is cultivating a sound that stands entirely on its own, starting with her act Penny Lame. With only two EPs and eleven songs total, Justice hits all the right notes with a sweet voice, minimalistic and upbeat. Penny Lame, released on Nov. 4,…
Foxing: ‘Dealer’
Calling the St. Louis band Foxing an indie band doesn’t even begin to do them justice. Starting from humble beginnings in 2010, Foxing released their first album The Albatross in 2013 and was immediately put on artist radar. The Albatross was a success, with notable favorites from the album being “The Medic” and “Rory”. Their…
JR JR and the Teragram Ballroom
“I bet those blink,” my lady-friend and I muttered to one another, pointing at the giant JR JR letters that provided the backdrop to an otherwise barren stage. This was just the second in a string of underestimations about the Detroit-hailing, genre-defying (Dale Earnhardt) JR JR. My first misconception came long before I arrived at…
ACL Weekend 2 – Reviewed by a Hustling Square
[tps_header] There was something for everyone at Zilker Park last weekend for Austin City Limits, and I don’t just mean musically. It was it’s own small city. In addition to the seven stages of music, there was a massive Beer Hall with sports playing on big screens, a shopping area with booths selling everything…
Vanessa Carlton: ‘Liberman’
After the reigning success of “A Thousand Miles” from her debut Be Not Nobody in 2003, Vanessa Carlton released the not-so-popular Harmonium (2004) and Heroes & Thieves (2007). Despite the commercial failures of the two albums, Carlton moved on to release Rabbits on the Run through label Razor & Tie in 2011. Critics viewed the…
Review: Looking Back at Porches: ‘Slow Dance in the Cosmos’
Sometimes I hear an album I genuinely enjoy, yet for some reason, it slips my mind until months later when I rediscover it with renewed enthusiasm. Porches’ Slow Dance in the Cosmos is one of these albums. I first heard of Porches back in February. I didn’t find the album particularly appealing at first. Aaron…