The guitars charge at us subtly but with plenty of menace in their melody in the background of LBM’s single and music video “Sinner” this summer, and as metallic a presence as they have, they somehow only add to the hardened hip-hop atmosphere that suddenly cuts through the silence in …
Read More »Single Review: “Never Leave the Basement” Nadia Vaeh
Down in the basement but still up in her head, Nadia Vaeh takes us on a visual daydream in the music video for her single “Never Leave the Basement” this summer, and as painfully relatable as the narrative of this song is, it’s ironically one of the brighter pandemic pop …
Read More »Single Review: “Sparkle & Shine” Kailee Spark
Earlier this year, Kailee Spark released a song called “Passageways” that captured the attention of critics around the country, and for good reason. Although undeniably facing more competition as a singer/songwriter than she would in a band, Spark has a phenomenally melodic vocal that draws us closer when it’s put …
Read More »Single Review – “Wake Up (ft. Sean Kingston)” Nolo Grace
Nolo Grace is fresh on the scene this year, and in her debut single “Wake Up (ft. Sean Kingston),” she makes it pretty obvious to anyone listening that fitting in with the status quo in contemporary pop music is not something she’s even slightly interested in doing. While her verses …
Read More »Single Review – Amanda Holley “Run Away”
Amanda Holley has been running around the American underground for a while now, and if you’ve heard any of her work before – such as “Thunder Knows Your Name,” “Whisper,” or “My World Revolves Around You” – you know that she’s not into shortchanging her audience when it comes to …
Read More »Single Review: “Hold Up My Blue Sky” Slammin’ Gladys
A guitar that can roar with the rhythm. A bassline to back it up. Drums that skew decadence with consistency. A voice that ties everything together with the right melodic ribbonry. It can be said that Slammin’ Gladys have all the essential ingredients it takes to make a rock n’ …
Read More »Single Review: Spider Rockets “Rip Your Heart Out”
Hard rock doesn’t have to be riff-centric, and I get the idea that Spider Rockets want to get this point across to the listeners in their song “Rip Your Heart Out” and its four-time prize-winning video. Instead of giving us one fat riff to follow and a lot of basic …
Read More »Single Review: Jojo Engelbert “Grown Up”
You can tell just by her voice that she’s a tenacious teenager, but there’s nothing immature about the substance of Jojo Engelbert’s lyricism in the new single and music video “Grown Up” this July. Engelbert is angst-ridden and unashamed to vent behind the microphone here, and although she steers clear …
Read More »Single Review: Omar Veluz “Do You Really Wanna” (ft. Ivan Mendez)”
Soundtracks can make or break a feature film, but with someone as talented as Omar Veluz at the helm of a score, my gut tells me that audiences are going to be pleased with the final product they get on screen. He might not have written every note of music …
Read More »Single Review: “Mad About You” Kari Wahlgren (feat. Nikki Stringfield)
There’s not as much guitar-driven hard rock as there should be in the mainstream these days, but if critically acclaimed actress-singer-songwriter Kari Wahlgren has her way, this isn’t going to remain the case for very long. In her cover of “Mad About You,” she teams up with the iconic Nikki …
Read More »Single Review: Pennan Brae “Weed & Whisky Women – Distilled Mix”
There’s a relaxed vibe to Pennan Brae’s vocal in the single “Weed & Whisky Women – Distilled Mix” that doesn’t feel like that of a man about to kick a member of the devil’s harem to the curb. He’s cutting loose in this song, freeing himself of a burden and …
Read More »Single Review: Papi Shiitake “Do What You Say”
You don’t have to know Papi Shiitake’s muse to appreciate the grandiosity of her beauty in the single “Do What You Say;” if you’ve got decent speakers, it’s going to translate in the majestic melodicism this song contains. The flow of this track is almost as subtle as its guitar …
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