To say it’s been an experimental year for the pop underground at home and abroad might not be doing it enough justice, and in few tracks is this theme captured as well as it is in the new single “Buttercup” from Little Hurt. Featuring The Ready Set in a credible …
Read More »Album Review: Preston Rowley – Oh, Okay
To call Preston Rowley an enigma is likely an oversimplification, but it will have to do under these circumstances. At only 19 years old, the TX native is both a critic’s dream and a daunting task. What he has achieved with little more than a keyboard, an acoustic guitar, a …
Read More »Album Review: Essa Rowena – Untelling
Essa Rowena’s sophomore release Untelling is a seven-track collection following up her 2021 self-titled debut EP. The Melbourne, Australia native is an artistic veteran, however, and a former member of Melbourne shoegaze band Snowblind during the 1990s, a forerunner of the later band Motor Ace who scored an Australian number 1 album. …
Read More »Single Review: John McDonough – “We’ll Answer the Call”
Known for his emotional vocal delivery, his inspiring acoustic melodies and his moving lyrics, John McDonough enjoyed breakout success in 2021, with the release of his “Second Chances” album. Tracks from the acoustic collection received over 50K Spotify streams, earning him multiple industry awards nominations. His follow-up release, the 2022 concept EP, …
Read More »Single Review: “Work” – Christian Rich
Christian Rich is the collective name for Berlin-based American twins Kehinde Hassan and Taiwo Hassan, who have worked with some of the biggest names in the industry, from Childish Gambino to Lil Kim. As often found producing name artists as they are building their beats and making their music, with …
Read More »EP Review: The Real J Israel “Glass Half Full”
Playful, slightly restless, and instantly infectious in every way that a thoughtful extended play of any genre should be, The Real J Israel’s latest dispatch – Glass Half Full – doesn’t waste a second getting our attention with an especially bold melodicism as it’s presented in “A Better Me” and “I Am …
Read More »Album Review: “Thrills” – Emsee
Rap has come a long way since its late seventies birth on the street corners and in the community centres of the South Bronx. But one thing that unites music being made in that genre today with those early pioneers: is the music’s reliance on deft world play and innovative …
Read More »Single Review: Maffmatix and Atiya “Wake Up”
On the instrumental end, there’s really nothing out of the ordinary about the new single “Wake Up” from Maffmatix and Atiya. What’s most intriguing about this performance has little to do with the cosmetic features within the music and everything to do with the way they’re put to use, specifically …
Read More »Album Review: Mumex Duo “Heat The Silent”
From passive melodies ala “Variations on Estate” to a quaint harmony around every bend in some of the more rigidly constructed works in this tracklist, Mumex Duo manage to cover all the bases with their new album Heat the Silent, all while promoting a rather minimalistic attitude when it comes to …
Read More »Single Review: Sick Puppies “Ready Steady Go”
When you think of the sport of hockey, you generally think of nitty, gritty, hardcore aggression. There are maybe thoughts of figure skating or Disney On Ice sprinkled in, but for a majority of the folks out there, it’s all about that blood on the ice. Hockey is a pretty …
Read More »Album Review: Daphne Parker Powell – The Starter Wife
Breaking up is hard to do, according to Neil Sedaka. This is a song that Daphne Parker Powell probably felt all too deeply, as she composed her 6th studio offering; The Starter Wife (Pleasure Loves Company.) Having reached the finality of what she now sees as something of a doomed …
Read More »Single Review: Eduardo — “Time Machine”
The area of music taken up by the rock genre these days is alarmingly small, at least compared to how it used to be. Instead of leading the charge and selling the most records, pushing the most boundaries, rock music has almost fallen by the wayside entirely. Indie rock has …
Read More »