Artists such as Radhika Vekaria are scant in the modern landscape. She isn’t a song and dance performer exhorting listeners to shake their collective backsides. Vekaria isn’t hungry for fame and fortune. Her talents have landed her several high-profile media appearances, but Vekaria hungers for different sustenance. Her intelligent and searching artistic vision leaps out
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The holidays just wouldn’t be the holidays without the music that we’ve all come to associate with that very first snow of the season, and this year Dianña delivers a landmark performance in her new classic “Missing You Underneath the Mistletoe.” The spirit of Christmas music can be found in virtually every corner of pop
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The Dwarves’ long and often raucous history as one of America’s greatest punk bands really only tells half of the story. Blag Dahlia has led the band through an assortment of incarnations. Without question, there are assorted scandals along the way that have further defined the band as one of the most idiosyncratic units to
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With righteous riffs, thoughtful lyricism, and inspired bass and drum chaos that spills out of our speakers and into the air around us with ease, Blueburst executes a brilliant introduction to their sound in Significance, a nine-song effort out this October. Though it isn’t devoid of chest-beating rock anthems rooted in punk brawn and indie brute
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SILENT SKIES, the cinematic project of EVERGREY’s Tom S. Englund and acclaimed US-based pianist/composer Vikram Shankar (Redemption, Lux Terminus), are releasing their dream-like third studio album, Dormant, on September 1, 2023 via Napalm Records. Continuing on the atmospheric path of Scandinavian melancholy charted on their previous full-lengths, Nectar (2022) and Satellites (2020), Dormant features stunning
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Long Beach, CA based Rockers OF LIMBO have released their controversial and provocative new single “California Demon”. The heavy and sinister groove-laden track explores the concept of making a Mephistophelian bargain for diabolical favors to achieve your Hollywood dreams. The song was recorded at Fab Factory Studios and produced by Mike Pepe (Taking Back Sunday,
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Seattle Alt.Pop band PRETTY AWKWARD sings about Friends With Benefits in their new single “Woozy”, available now — listen HERE. The groovy, funky track tells a story of the irresistible pull of reconnecting with an ex to fulfill a mutual need when under the influence – even though the relationship can be toxic. The band’s Austin Held says “Lyrically, ‘Woozy’ was inspired by
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Instrumentally, to say that the new single “Five Lights” from Ron Brunk is an intriguing number really wouldn’t be doing it justice; although primarily drawn from indie rock influences, this is a track that takes a little more from pop and retro garage rock than it initially suggests on the surface level. The cosmetics here are subtle,
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In the tradition of self-aware songwriting as pioneered by the likes of Bob and Woody, sans the acoustic guitars in this instance, a new generation of poetic aesthetics has penetrated the pop sphere like nothing else has in 2023, and it doesn’t take much more than a single sit down with a spoken word piece
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In the brand new single “Tub of Love,” the latest from songwriter Ron Brunk, the astute singer submits a piano-riddled, rollicking lightning bolt of a song fashioned into three minutes of pure, unparalleled commentary that will spellbind all who hunger for a hype-worthy listen this summer. Effervescent in tone and efficient in construction, the keys help
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There’s been tons of interesting hybrid content coming out in 2023, but on the pop end of the spectrum, few singles have grabbed my attention the way rapper Donae’o’s “Swaggy” has. A collaborative track with O.G. Relli, “Swaggy” could be the most-buzzed release that Donae’o has attached his name to thus far, but it doesn’t
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Ultra-colorful melodies marry grooves the size of small tidal waves. Keys studded with texture straddle an unspoken beat as powerfully emotional as any strand of lyrics ever could be. Vocals become one with vibrant harmonies without ever losing their artistic license. Designed for the slow jam lover but playable most anywhere a good melody would
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Pop music is defined by those special artists who come around every so often and introduce us to excitement meshed with a melody that doesn’t just get stuck in our heads – it makes us want to move, such as “Boom Boom Baby (Country Slide),” the new single from Alicia G, does. “Boom Boom Baby
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In a haze of dissonance and decadent melodicism soon to become a little steadier, we’re given our first glimpse into the world of Slick Naim’s “Scary Slope,” the new single from the noted New York-stationed rapper, but as evocative as the original strands of harmony are, they represent only a drop in the bucket of
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Hip-hop has come a long way in the last five decades, and you could support the notion that the current generation of rappers is the most ambitious we’ve collectively seen so far. Among the budding stars to come to the surface in 2023 is Slick Naim, whose new single “In the Vault” has been described
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Aggressively pushing out of the abysmal silence with growling bass tones and a seething synthetic beat that will be pushed to the very brink of destruction, Joe West’s “Him” wastes no time in wrapping around us as tightly as possible to force all of its physicality and boisterous brawn upon us in one fell swoop.
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This summer, country has been making a big comeback with fans of all stripes because of the incredible work of indie acts like Boys Club for Girls, and in the pair’s all-new single “5 O’Clock Shadow,” listeners get a picture window into the reason why they’ve been drawing so much attention towards their local scene
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Drums seemingly hidden beneath a blanket are igniting a blaze that won’t burn out in “Stepping into Eternity,” the new single from Sp8ce Owl, but they’re not the only agent of evocation lining the sonic walls of this stately exhibition in eccentric musicality. “Stepping into Eternity” has the framework that ambient disciples require in a
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Almost out of nowhere, we’re smacked in the gut by the first in a tizzy of boldly arranged beats. The keys, guitar, and percussion are fused in “It’s All About Me,” the new single from MattO, and they’re likely to leave anyone and anything that gets in their path stunned by their muted thunder. “It’s
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Stunning in tone but naturally seductive as if to extend the duality of the composition itself, Sharon Hendrix’s lead vocal is reason enough to take a look at the new single “It Takes Two” and its accompanying music video this July, but hardly the only feature worth writing home about. Hendrix straddles a definitively soul-laden
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Columbia, MO based Heavy Rockers Dark Below have delivered their powerful new single “Make Believe”. What began as a humble trio making music for their friends in the Midwest has grown into a promising force on the national scene. The song features a massive, wall of sound vibe – Thanks to award-winning producer Malcolm Springer (Matchbox 20, Collective Soul, Fear Factory,
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Spider Rockets’ latest single, “Monster of Your Dreams,” emerges as a sonic juggernaut that exemplifies the untamed spirit and creative verve of modern alternative and rock music. In a genre that constantly reinvents itself, the band’s electrifying sound and unyielding energy signify a potent force driving the state of alternative and rock music forward. With
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As far as bands coming out of Phoenix, Arizona go, there’s nobody out there quite doing it like Jane N’ The Jungle. Still relatively new to the scene overall with one album, 2019’s Concrete Jungle, to their name along with a handful of singles and an EP, JNTJ is a band that has spent their
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INZO seems to have been on quite the odyssey in recent years. He’s had a lot of attention from the press and his peers the same just in 2023 alone, and now this summer he’s back in the headlines once more with a new single in “Earth Magic” that brings him together with Elohim for
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Rebelliousness has been everywhere in music in the last few years, but if there’s a true-blue rock and roll band around these days that could care less about avant-garde tones and experimental concepts, it’s The Refusers, who openly reject trends and those who would seek to set them in their forceful new single, “Propaganda.” “Propaganda”
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New York’s Waydown Wailers’ pending fourth album Miles of Roads promises to be their best release yet. It isn’t hard to imagine that’s the case based on their new single “Firefall”. This threatening ode to a famed upstate New York park where several odd occurrences have happened over many years, including missing travelers and compasses
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An exotic tone that is reminiscent of the sounds of a land far away ushers us into a chic bassline that seems intent on infecting us with its unhesitant march. The drums enter the fold, and while they’re not abrasive nor full of reckless abandon, they’re kept from running too close to the straight and
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There’s a mysteriousness to the dark that has attracted people towards it for the better part of existence, and in the music video for her new single “Killer,” pop singer/songwriter Cardamone constructs as surreal an account of darkness flanked with bittersweet light as one can produce within this sort of context. Without overstating a postmodern
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I am sure there’s many who, after a superficial rundown of the facts behind Daisy Briggs, will ask what makes her different from the multitude of other fetching young ladies who Nashville has pushed over the last 20+ years? In a word, individuality. Briggs enjoys a growing social media following through Instagram and is set
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If there’s one collection of applause that people on both sides of the music business take seriously, it’s the sort that comes from the grassroots element of a scene. Trying to break into the industry is hard enough on most artists that thinking about big things like winning over the approval of an entire genre’s
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Coming hot out of the indie-rock sphere, Isaac Watters’s newest single, “All I Need,” accompanied by a captivating music video, is a mesmerizing journey that leaves an indelible impression on the viewer. With an aesthetic reminiscent of the cinematic style associated with A24 productions, the video transports us into a world where visuals and storytelling
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A striking vocal coupled with a volley of riffs come crashing through the speakers with a vicious lust. The two entities are distinct but seamlessly mixed into a singular cocktail capable of getting anyone within earshot intoxicated on the spot. There’s nowhere to run. Nowhere to hide. This is “Devil In Your Crown,” the new
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I have not heard The Rocket Summer until playing their new single “M4U” for the first time. Consider me a believer from now on. Rocket Summer’s creative heart, Bryce Avary, successfully blends a cavalcade of musical strands into a heated rainbow of sound. His artistic fluency is astonishing; merging several stylistic languages into a single
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A lot will be said about the lead vocal in Snypa’s new single “The 6ix,” but for me, without the element that we’re first greeted by in the intro to the song, I just can’t say for sure whether or not the chills factor would be as astronomical as it is when the singing does
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Right from the moment we press the play button forward, it’s hard to ignore the clubby atmosphere created by the anxious percussion and seething melody of the keys in the backdrop in Miss Kaniyah’s new single “I Look Good.” While it’s evident the song wasn’t created strictly for the dancefloor, the neon-stained harmonies that soon
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In their new single “How Do You Feel,” pop-rockers BlueNevada takes searing strings, blistering beats, and uncompromisingly heavy electric fretwork and combines them into a true melting pot of melodicism. Similar stylizations of songs like this one have been big lately, and although others in the underground have proven undeniably tough to beat, instead of
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From an instrumental point of view, there’s a lot to marvel at within the conservative construct of Sp8ce Owl’s “The Underside Of Yesterday,” his latest outing in the studio. Although pressurized in the master mix, the synth still glistens with a reflectiveness that, when placed next to Sp8ce Owl’s dynamic rhythm as it has been
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For the most part, Bruce Sudano’s new single with Valerie Simpson “Two Bleeding Hearts” has a softer sensibility than most pop music does. There’s not a lot of push in the rhythm, the guitar accentuates what feels like a naturally smooth, low-key tempo, and even Sudano himself sounds more comfortable in a relaxed position than
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There’s just enough of a pressurized swell from the bottom in the new single “El Rey del Timbal” for me to call the song the easiest-going of anything I’ve been listening to in the last few months, but you’re crazy if you think the performance Sheila E. is giving here is solely about turning in
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Crisply produced but not oversaturated with the typical pop varnish that separates instrumental emotional presence from a receptive audience, the sleekly appointed melodic pulsations we find dancing around Somesh Mathur in his single “Hallelujah” are truly an agent of evocation. Without uttering any of the poetic verses that Mathur is, the instrumental foundation here speaks
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Conceptually speaking, there’s nothing elaborate about what Ivan the Greatness is producing in the new single “Power 2030.” From top to bottom, this is the kind of rap song that speaks to formulaic standards in the genre today more than it does the rebelliousness of its critically acclaimed past, but within that decision to stick
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Coming together in pieces, strands of a melody and jagged layers of rhythm alike, we’re slowly but surely transported to a dreamscape as “Weekend” begins to play, and well before ADVM has started to rap the chorus over the striking beats, we’re already starting to understand the narrative he’ll soon vocally construct. Poetry is presented
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It’s 2023, and much as it was about 22 years ago, the crossover pop/rock pairing is once again king. Forget the pure, traditionalist styles that once dominated the charts – if you’re playing to what the audience wants in modern times, you’ve got to have a multidimensional musical profile, which is precisely what Rich Wyman
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It can be pretty difficult to gauge the potential of an artist just based on their studio work alone; in an ideal scenario, hearing what someone can do on the stage is more than preferable, but in the new single “TMH,” Echezona manages to successfully circumvent much of the negative backdrop that a studio performance
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Rocking the mic isn’t just about having some swagger – anyone can step in on the hip-hop scene and bring a lot of confidence into the arena with them, but if you want to see the kind of attention that Shaheed and DJ Supreme is bringing in right now, you’re going to need something that
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Battling the typical emotional strife that life has to offer can be one of the greatest challenges a human being can face in a single lifetime. It takes so much more than strength of character; it requires an almost omnipotent assist, and one that often comes solely through the connection one can rekindle with music,
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Tempo can say it all in the right setting, and from where I sit it’s the most important feature we can break down in the new single “Reasons” by Scoville Unit. The groove is the feature on this track, but make no mistake about it – its place in the arrangement is what puts the
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Although it’s initially a little understated in terms of texture, the bassline that we encounter in Shaheed and DJ Supreme’s “The Art of Throwing Darts” is indeed the agent of evocation it should be in an ambitious trap track, albeit one that plays second fiddle to the lead vocalist’s dark linguistic release. Shaheed and DJ
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Just a few bars into his new single “Save Me,” Stringz EMB generates a rough cut vibe that could be the most brooding of any he’s recorded in his career thus far, but this melodic climax is hardly the only high point in this track. From beginning to end, the layers of majestic audio that
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When considering that its contents are little more than stacked synth parts, a supple bass and drum component, and a lot of vocal moxie from Laforren himself, it’s rather surprising just how full and intense “Outsyder” feels from a sonic perspective. From the swell of the melody to the foundational bottom-end as it ascends into
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