You may remember self-proclaimed reformed lawyer Lucas Jack from clear back in 2013 and the video/review for Don’t Get Carried Away. Well, Lucas is back and adding more muscle to his great piano-rock with his new long-player, Make It Beautiful (August 2016), from which A Little More comes. It’s great stuff and rocks a little harder than the original LP. Before we continue, though, let’s talk just a bit about that earlier review. On December 12th, 2013, when the original review was posted, the long-player that we were reviewing was Sun…
Read MoreSongwriter, producer and composer, Roy Gurel, is Roiki, and if you have never heard of him, let’s hope that this changes with this latest long-player Trouble Came (August 2016)! Trouble Came is a collection of styles as much as it is a collection of songs. There is no style, seemingly, that is off-limits. The lead-off track, Begin Again, is typical modern pop-rock, while B My Girl is full of retro vibes. Little Bit Of Nothing (seen/heard here) is very alternative pop. Throughout there are touches of blues and…
Read MoreGet up and dance! Yep! That’s the feeling that the Italian band Be About invokes with the first listen of Home (May 2016) from the band’s freshman (as near as I can tell) effort of the same name. The instrumentation throughout the LP tends toward the acoustic and is much more in the pop-folk vein than the pop-rock of Home (seen/heard here). Home (the long-player) is a nice introduction to a band that has some obvious chops to carry it further and do more. Be About has a nice website,…
Read MoreIt is a tough process to balance musically on a line between danceable pop and full-on rock and roll, but UK band Some Velvet Morning (SVM) does it perfectly here with No Walls, from the band’s latest 4-song EP, Musical Chairs (April 2016). SVM has been making pop music on the edge of rock since 2006. It is amazing that a three-piece band can sound so much larger than their numbers! On No Walls, the band’s nearly discoesque beats give way to driving rock during the refrain. SVM…
Read MoreHayley Richman has released a long-players worth of haunting pop-rock singles since 2013, but to date, no long-player itself. Combining intriguing lyrics and haunting melodies, Ms. Richman produces music that is commanding and personal, sometimes deceptively simple and sometimes obviously complex, with an eye towards rockier refrains and bridges. The effect is very pleasing! I’ll Be Your Crime, seen here, was released in September 2015. There is not a lot of information on Hayley Richman out there, but she does have a Facebook page, YouTube channel, and a…
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