Year: 2023

The Guests – Who Is She (And What Is She To You)

     If the powerful bluesy vocals of Lucy Woodward accompanied by the playful jazz piano of Henry Hey don’t enthrall you, then I might need to seriously consider your sanity. The two artists have teamed up as The Guests for a cover of Bill Withers’ (with only a pronoun difference in the title) Who Is She (And What Is She To You) (seen/heard here) replacing Withers’ former “He” with…

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Eric Sleeper – Dragons

     There is something about minor key songs that really grabs Vodka. Perhaps it is their rarity, but I prefer to believe it has more to do with how they make me feel. They send me down an introspective track, and if they are really good like this one,  they are compelling multi-listens. Enter Eric Sleeper’s minor key and lovely Dragons (heard here).  Eric Sleeper is a New Jersey-based singer-songwriter that borrows from multiple genres. While containing all of the best elements of modern independent music, he…

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Ben Folds – Winslow Gardens

     Ben Folds is well known, so it may seem strange to see a review for an artist that is not in one of those dark corners that Vodka is always talking about. He hasn’t had an LP since 2015’s So There but has nonetheless been very busy, and it is this lack of an LP in 8 years that makes this a milestone moment for music lovers, particularly for Ben Folds lovers. Winslow Gardens (heard here) is the…

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Juliana Riccardi – Right On Time

     Juliana Riccardi is an American singer/songwriter with a flair for combining the best influences of pop, rock, Americana, blues, and more. She has a beautiful voice, and she uses it in top form on Right On Time (seen/heard here), keeping the lyrics up-front and personal.  The artist graduated from City College of New York with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Jazz Vocal Performance. From her New York roots, Juliana shifted gears, transplanting herself to sunny California, residing now in Los…

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Alma Mater – Mercy

     Mercy (seen/heard here) is from Alma Mater, a band made up of Dirk Sullivan and Andrew Paul Woodworth, and their upcoming long-player, The Beginning Of Everything (release date not set). It’s all about showing kindness, empathy, and compassion, to those around us that simply confound us. It is so easy to react with negativity to these sorts of people. We have seen that sort of negativity gather in the winds that have blown hate and division around the world…

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