Clear back in 2013, Vodka posted a single, Carolina Calling, from bluegrass-tinged folk-pop group Mipso. Since that time, Mipso has been busy, continuing to carefully craft folk-pop gems. Moonlight (seen/heard here) is from the band’s latest (April 2018) long-player, Edges Run, containing twelve thoughtful and fun tracks. At the time of the original review for Carolina Calling, the band had an earlier long-player, Long, Long Gone, which is apparently, um, long, long gone. No mention of that appears on their website. That said, there are two EP’s and another long-player, Coming Down The…
Read MoreEvery once in a while, Vodka discovers an unlit corner of the music industry that has been out there for a while pounding out some great music. Enter the latest addition to found greatness, Iceland’s Hafdis Huld, who has been making great music as a solo artist since 2006-going even further back (1995) as a collaborating artist. Take Me Dancing (seen/heard here) is from Hafdis’ 2017 long-player, Dare To Dream Small, and continues a theme of sorts that has developed over the last few months for me highlighting music…
Read MoreI appear to be on a positive bent lately, which is never bad. With Big Little Lions, Jenie Thai, We Are Leif, Lydian Collective, and now Me And My Friends. Each of those previously mentioned positive vibes in music are completely different styles, from indie-pop to rhythm and blues to the vocal and instrumental elements of modern jazz. Enter Me And My Friends which takes folk music and puts it in an afrobeat envelope and mails it directly to your ears. It’s a completely…
Read MoreHuDost makes uplifting rock music tinged with folk. Rise Together (seen/heard here) is from the forthcoming long-player, Of Water + Mercy, due out in just a couple of months. Rise Together is as pleasing as an anthem but suffers from everything being pushed to the ultimate limit (read loudness wars) and a subsequent loss of dynamics. What is masterful musically, becomes less so when your ears get tired just with the act of listening. That negative aside, there’s no denying the talent of the band or the great vocal chops…
Read MoreDave Kerzner’s new band (you may remember Dave Kerzner from an earlier post on Vodka), In Continuum, sports the kind of progressive rock you would expect from a man so obviously and positively influenced by the likes of Yes, Pink Floyd, Emerson, Lake & Palmer and more. In fact, guest appearances on the band’s debut long-player, include John Wesley of Porcupine Tree, drummer Nick D’Virgilio of Vodka favorite Big Big Train and Spocks Beard, and appearances from Jon Davison of Yes. That’s not to mention the actual band members,…
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