Belgium pop music troupe, Starkeeper, show their imagination with Elle, released late in 2011 and the first song on the bands May 2013 EP, Find Desire. The music is beautiful, too, full of delicate instrumentation that uses rim-shots, cello, guitar and drums in a way that simply provides the framework for a great pop song. There is sadness here: “What’s it like when you’re grown, What’s it like when you’re gone, What’s it like when you’re going where you’ll never belong” sings Ivy Smits. Starkeeper is…
Read MoreGood As New is from The Hillary Reynolds Band’s 2012 long-player, Since September, and is an anthem to breaking-and mending-of hearts. God knows we have all been down that road once or twice in our lives. It’s tough to be in love sometimes. Hillary Reynolds has a sweet, full voice that lends itself well to fronting this alt-pop band. The band is full of masterful instrumentation provided by Connor Reese (guitar), Trevor Jarvis (cello, backing vocals), Chris Mewhinney (bass) and Jeff Hale (drums). Generally, the…
Read MoreSoaked in a sort of middle-eastern blues, the duo that is Brown Bird is a melting pot of styles and genres. It is enough different to cause you to sit up and take notice and enough main stream to make it totally accessible. This live acoustic performance of Thunder And Lightning is from Brown Bird’s October 2011 long-player, Salt For Salt, but the band has a brand new LP (April 2013) Fits Of Reason. Both of these LP’s are striking collections…
Read MoreNia Andrews is a painter of music. Her palate is full of textures and time signatures, a rich bluesy voice, a penchant for story telling and smart melodies. Her canvas is the EP Colours (February 2013), four rich songs of rhythm, blues and soul excellence-the title track for which appears here. Colours (the song) is a nice change-up from the common 4/4 time signature (I’m not a music theory expert, but I believe this is 6/8 time) and is a smart visual landscape,…
Read MoreHalf Moon Run’s Dark Eyes has remained in the top slots of Bandcamp.com’s top selling alternative pop album listings for months now-and for good reason. If you’ve been following along, you may recall Full Circle, the lead off track being posted here about 3 months ago. There are very few long-players these days that have the staying power to remain popular, picking up new converts to their cause on a regular basis. Half Moon Run has managed it…
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