The biggest complaint that I hear from casual alternative EDM fans is that the genre has lost its authenticity in recent times, partly due to the streamlining of its best acts, but mostly because of its constant misapplication. One of the only artists that I’ve heard lately to sound like …
Read More »Single Review: “Tub of Love” Ron Brunk
A hook that is as subtle as it is charismatic. Harmonies that wrap around us like a tender hug from someone we’ve missed for far too long. Melodies that are as touching and meaningful as the lyrics they surround. This is all par for the course in “Tub of Love,” …
Read More »Single Review: “Him” Joe West
Young upstart rapper Joe West drops a colorful and abrasively up-tempo new single “Him,” which has been kicking up quite the buzz-storm among his scene and beyond this month (though not without just cause). In “Him,” West establishes himself as an alternative to the commercialized mainstream hip-hop sound not only …
Read More »Single Review: Boys Club for Girls – “5 O’Clock Shadow”
Most critics will agree with me when I say that country music is reshaping its identity right now, and it’s partly due to the influx of alternative, folk-influenced, and outsider talent entering an arena that has traditionally been dominated by artists who are anything but. Among the more interesting newcomers …
Read More »Single Review: Rich Wyman and Lisa Needham “Forgiveness”
Lyrically, Rich Wyman and Lisa Needham are all heart and soul in the new single “Forgiveness,” which features a dexterous arrangement supplying him with a backdrop fit for a king. Both players are belting out line after line in this track with the kind of passion that normally we’d hear …
Read More »EP Review: Helter Kelter Skelter “Chroma Crawl”
Heavy rock has become a really strange term in the past couple of decades, but that isn’t stopping Helen Kelter Skelter from reinventing the limits of the genre through music as profoundly interesting as it is easy to listen to. Chroma Crawl, the latest release from this act, has a futuristic …
Read More »Single Review: ADVM “Weekend”
The numbers speak for themselves – just in the brief time people have been talking about him, ADVM has brought in a lot of attention online through the release of his lead single “Weekend,” which is a track that borrows a little from pop and a whole lot from hip-hop …
Read More »Single Review: Echezona “TMH”
In pop music, and especially hip-hop, you’ve got to be a little more daring than the other folks to stand out in the crowd. With the destruction of traditional scenes and the regional professional politics that came with them, the internationalization of cloud rap and trap was inevitable, but no …
Read More »Single Review: “World of Water” by Shaheed and DJ Supreme
It’s hard to break into the music industry, but in terms of sheer difficulty on the professional level, I don’t know of another genre in the pop lexicon that is quite as difficult to penetrate as hip-hop is. From the beats to the fashion and the culture this music helps …
Read More »Single Review: “Vacations Matter” D3X
To say there’s been a lot of interest in classic rap concepts this year might be too great an understatement for a critic like myself; in all reality, the retro-rap trend has been hard to ignore on all fronts, and this is especially the case in indie circles. Rappers like …
Read More »Single Review: “Reasons” Scoville Unit
In the new single “Reasons,” pop-rockers Scoville Unit prove once and for all that in alternative music, and any structure-dominant genre of music, sometimes the notion that less is more isn’t just a concept to consider – it’s the straight-up recipe for success. Scoville Unit doesn’t try to get into …
Read More »Single Review: Shaheed and DJ Supreme “The Art of Throwing Darts”
Less than a few minutes; that’s essentially all it takes to go from underground sensation to international superstar, and up-and-coming rappers Shaheed and DJ Supreme have a juggernaut just that size in the new single “The Art of Throwing Darts” meant to set off as much this season. “The Art …
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