I’m not a gamer, so the second thing I had to do when I decided to review Still Alive (seen/heard here) from The 8-Bit Big Band’s latest sophomore long-player, Choose Your Character! (June 2019), was to look up what the game, Portal, is. For non-gamer types like myself, here is how Wikipedia describes Portal’s gameplay: “Portal consists primarily of a series of puzzles that must be solved by teleporting the player’s character and simple objects using “the Aperture Science Handheld Portal Device”, a device that can create inter-spatial…
Read MoreLike the feel of a rose petal, Bedouine’s (a.k.a, Azniv Korkejian) music is smooth, gentle, and like the flower itself, beautiful. The intricate weaving of the music and the lyric, posing a perfect balance to both, is no accident, for Korkejian has a degree in sound design. Her moniker reflects her nomadic existence to date, for the one constant in her life has been mobility and change of venue. Born in Aleppo, Syria, she spent her childhood in Saudi, Arabia, moved to Boston, then Houston, on to Los Angeles, then…
Read MoreA quirky mixture of styles has always been King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard’s claim to fame, and they have done alright for themselves doing just that. Fishing For Fishies (seen/heard here) is the title track to the band’s latest (April 2019) long-player, and as always, the band does not disappoint. If you are looking for a group that takes themselves seriously, then you would be off the mark here, but the group is very accessible and fun and that’s the best part…
Read MoreThe recently released (May 2019) video for Before I Do from Barbra Lica’s latest long-player, You’re Fine (November 2018), is the type of vocal jazz that plays beautifully as a background for any warm afternoons contemplation of relationship commitment. Barbra’s voice is, as always, warm, clear, soothing like a gentle touch. She massages the message into a lullaby that is irresistible. A Toronto-based songwriter, her latest long-player explores the intertwining of American country music and jazz in a way that is very accessible on both counts. On the…
Read MoreThe Liar (seen/heard here) is from Denver-based Alright Alright, the creative moniker for Seth and China Kent, and their most recent long-player, Nearby (October 2018). Positioned firmly in the indie-folk category, the sum essence of these nine beautifully executed tracks is the stories they tell. If you can’t get that from The Liar, then take a listen to all of the tracks as a cohesive unit and you will feel the force that the stories create. The Kent’s music is power-driven, both instrumentally and lyrically, and I don’t mean…
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