Pitou – Big Tear

     Pitou’s Big Tear (seen/heard here), and the title track for her upcoming LP, is a perfect example of Vodka’s title byline:  “Music that isn’t the same old thing…mostly.” It is an example of vocals as both rhythm and instrument. It took only two listens for me to be blown away. The first listen was a “well, this is interesting” moment, and the second was “this is amazing!”  Born and raised in Amsterdam, Pitou’s journey to her current style of music started out…

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The Faves – Here Comes The Rain

     As far as Vodka is concerned, every summer needs a rock and roll anthem that signals it’s time to party. For the summer of 2022, that is going to be provided by The Faves, with the dance-party rocker Here Comes The Rain. Yes, these guys are old-at least as old as Vodka-but they can still rock, and the lead vocals from the long-time drummer of The Greg Kihn Band, Larry Lynch, are solid and tuneful. My old voice is…

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Mike Rogers – Can’t Stop

     The indie dance trio from Amsterdam, Mike Rogers, makes fun, hook-laden, indie-rock. A case in point is Can’t Stop (seen/heard here) that I can’t stop listening to. It’s made the playlist while writing this review multiple times. Take a listen and you will see why. The band’s name is a combination of the two DJ/producers names Mike and Roger who recruited Kita Menari’s Micha to provide vocals. The result is phenomenal! Lyrically, Can’t Stop looks at life from a lonely…

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Parker Gispert – Golden Years

     Parker Gispert, frontman for The Whigs, will be releasing his latest solo LP, on September 2nd. Golden Years (seen/heard here) is the title track for that new LP and it is full of jangly rock goodness, circa the 60s, 70s, and 90s, by way of present-day rock. It’s upbeat, fun, and actually pretty lyrically poignant.  Golden Years (the single) is nothing like David Bowie’s song from 1975-except for the title and the fact that it is upbeat and contains…

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Noori & His Dorpa Band – Saagama

     Hailing from Port Sudan on the Red Sea coast of Sudan, Noori & His Dorpa Band perform music reflected in the current state of the revolution there. Through their musical successes, the band tries to draw attention to the plight of the people, whose government over many iterations has denied the people the profits of one of the country’s natural resources, gold. The results for the listener are…

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