Hozier’s Take Me To Church is about love and hate. About societal influences that define what love is and is not, whether those influences are correct or not. We could define gay love as a civil right, but it is much more complex than that. We that are heterosexual never had it so good, because we cannot fully understand what it is like to suffer through the hate and injustice that those who love another of the same sex suffer every day….
Read MoreThe Lift is a collaboration between singer/songwriter Amber Ojeda and pianist/musical director Davy Nathan. Lost In The Middle is a slightly bluesy, jangling pop gem about the complexity of a relationship between two women and their more traditional relationship with the men in their lives that leaves them feeling lost. It’s a bit sad, and speaks volumes about relationships in general, and how they can be much more complex than they appear on the outside. Beyond that, the music is dreamy and…
Read MoreNew Zealand singer Jan Hellriegel’s brand of alternative pop rock can foster her low alto growl, heard here at times on 2 X 2 from a 2010 video that was eventually released on her July 2012 long-player All Grown Up. Hellriegel’s tunes have a soaring, anthemic quality, with very catchy melodies. Her voice can be nearly bass at times but rises to much higher tones throughout the music to add a real richness in vocal texture; And 2 X 2 is no accident…
Read MoreTouches of vocal jazz and blues echo throughout iSeo Pompaelo’s I Lost Count from her August 2013 EP, Red Garden. iSeo’s voice is somewhat reminiscent of Sade, though truly iSeo is decidedly immersed in her own unique sound. The video from 2012 (seen here) is sparse and simple, highlighting iSeo’s guitar and vocal, while the EP version is a bit richer, adding in tasteful keyboards, xylophone, a bit of echo to the early and late vocals, and just a touch of percussion…
Read MoreUpdate: The original video is gone. There are some live performance videos out there, but I always prefer studio quality. Here is an audio-only version: Adrian Bourgeois makes happy feeling pop music for mass appeal. He has been releasing videos off and on for a few years, including Everybody Knows It Was Me (seen here) from 2011, which is also included on his new 24 track double-CD, Pop/Art, scheduled for release in February 2014. (For the thirsty, a pre-order of the physical…
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