Album Reviews

Magnifier is a project formed in 2005 by Palmdale, California-based musician Jonathan Rhoten. Rhoten took up guitar in his mid-teens, and as an adult, was inspired by then-emerging bands of England’s early 1990s music scene, such as Radiohead, Oasis, The Happy Mondays, and The Charlatans. He would first work alongside …

The Los Angeles music scene is in a strange place culturally in 2021. Ravaged by COVID’s effect on the concert scene but oddly inspired by a new wave of insular songcraft much as we’ve seen in New York, Miami, Houston and Seattle, L.A.’s emerging generation of players are both a …

There’s arguably never been as big a demand for inspirational jams as there is this year, and answering that call is none other than rapper Leph Louie in his new single “Motivated.” Much as the title implies, “Motivated” is uplifting and geared towards getting the audience into a place of …

Jeremy Parsons Torn Between Nostalgia And The Future In “Things To Come” Album Jeremy Parsons is a man driven by passion and guided by his love for a craft that has enabled him to connect to the hearts and to speak to the minds of many, sharing his life’s truths …

To elicit comparisons to music legends such as Harry Chapin and Elton John is no mean feat. It can only mean that an artist has surpassed the regular benchmarks of who a good musician is and that they have achieved artistic mastery in their genre of competence. This is the …

Decadence is on LBM’s mind in the new music video for his single “Bad Habits,” but don’t like the title of this track deceive you; here, excess is channeled into a tonal and lyrical charm synonymous with up and coming greatness. LBM doesn’t have to string together a lot of …

2020 was a shockingly good year for hip-hop all things considered, and this is definitely evident when looking at some of the superior indie talent making big waves to kick off 2021. In the case of young upstart Kayne Dynell, a melodic take on cloud-style rapping is forming the basis …

Mara x Mini have an incredible task set before them in the new single “We Matter,” and while taking up the cause of using their music to support the fight for equality worldwide isn’t easy, they don’t show even the slightest hesitation in their performance here. Building a melodic hip-hop …

It takes real passion for someone with a flourishing career as an engineer to quit and leave behind the promise of a secure future for an uncharted musical journey to fulfill and satisfy their soul. This is exactly what the prolific country musician and actor Matt Westin did after the …

Last year’s seemingly endless quarantine hurt live music regardless of the genre, but to say it fostered tremendous creativity among the hip-hop scene in the United States just wouldn’t be doing what actually took place justice. While rappers have been steadily taking the place of rockstars atop the highest tier …

Cutting through the tension created by Rob Alexander’s well-woven lyrical structure in “Nothing to Be Afraid of Now,” we discover the sizzle of an electric guitar lead as powerful and searing as they come. There’s already something seriously contagious about the beat in the background, but topped with this bit …

Tennessee trio Middle of Maddness came together as a result of frontman/bassist Zak Gardiner initially familiarizing himself with the layout of a friend’s studio, which ignited his passion for writing and producing music. While working for drummer Eli Jones on his farm in Memphis to pay for college, the two …