SHEL is the sisters Holbrook as a mnemonic and SHEL is also a powerful alternative pop-folk band, alive with creativity! Members Sarah, Hannah, Eva, and Liza are positively fraught with talent, blending their cool harmonies with acoustic and electronic instruments that are fun and functional. The latest long-player, Just Crazy Enough (May 2016) is full of beauty and energy as highlighted by Rooftop (seen/heard here). Though all of the sisters share vocal duties, lead vocal falls to the pretty and sometimes plaintive pipes of Eva. Instrumentally, SHEL is well represented, with Sarah playing guitars…
Read MoreNote: The original video has disappeared. Here is an audio-only version: Stone’s Throw is about aspiring to achieve your dreams and it is from The National Parks sophomore effort entitled Until I Live (August 2015). The National Parks make sometimes bouncy, sometimes introspective, message-driven alt-pop and alt-folk tunes that inspire careful listening and yes, dancing. When the band released their first full-length, Young, back in September of 2013, they found an immediate following that grew by leaps and bounds. The release of the…
Read MoreJenn Wasner is probably best known as one-half of the whole that is Wye Oak, the band that she formed with co-conspirator Andy Stack. With a desire to explore the more atmospheric elements of music, Jenn formed Flock Of Dimes back in 2011, and If You See Me, Say Yes (September 2016) is the first long-player from the side project. Semaphore (seen/heard here) is from that LP. Flock Of Dimes musically plays with the limits of music within the constructs of alt-pop. Jenn Wasner’s voice is more prevalent here…
Read MoreCase/Lang/Veirs as in Neko Case, K.D. Lang and Laura Veirs are representative of something that sometimes works and sometimes fails: supergroups. Thankfully, this is an example of when chemistry really works! As good as these three women are by themselves, they are perhaps orders of magnitude better together. Their first album together is a testament to this on almost every level. Compositions are tight with understated harmonies and more than enough singable melodies to please. At Vodka, we generally keep to the unknown or little-known bands, because we feel they don’t…
Read MoreAt Vodka, we are always delighted to come across a band that truly embodies our moniker. So it was with great jubilation that we stumbled across The Collection, a community of musicians and singers fronted by the high tenor vocals of founder and lead David Wimbish. In true alternative fashion, no musical instrument is rejected as witnessed here on Old Wineskins which includes trombone, sax, and clarinet in the mix along with all of the usual pop-rock components. Musical influences are also truly alternative, with the…
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