// Category Archive for: Feminism

Music Review: Ella Squirrell, Loop EP

By Tyler Hodg

Soulful. Seductive. Satisfying. Sound appealing? If so, Ella Squirrell is the artist you’re looking for. In her first release, an EP titled Loop, Squirrell’s music embodies the aforementioned descriptions while feeling impressively progressive at the same time. There is a sense of folkiness in the tracks, most notably found in her lyrics, but the incorporated pop elements, like the polished production and vocal melodies, carry a heavier weight. When listening to it, Loop is over before you know it and does a successful job of convincing you that much more of it is exactly what you need.

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Music Review: Todd Grebe & Cold Country, Citizen

By Melissa Bratcher

Hailing from Alaska, Todd Grebe & Cold Country make good, old-fashioned country music. Their newest, Citizen, has the feeling of a classic, with witty lyrics, outstanding music, and Grebe’s unconventional voice. Produced by David Ferguson (known for working with Johnny Cash), Citizen has a crisp, brisk sound, in which every instrument sounds brilliant.

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Music Review: Doomsquad, Pageantry Suite EP

By Jeffery X Martin

“You review music! That must be a dream job,” everyone says to me, and that is how I know the person talking does not review music for a living. While I agree that reviewing music for a living is a sweet gig, and I do get to hear a lot of cool tunes before the general public does, there are times when it provides just as much frustration as any other job.

The latest Doomsquad release is one of those frustrations. Their last album, Kalaboogie, was a Tantric trip back to the cradle of civilization and beyond (review). That’s a pretty heavy description, but it was a great record, filled with thunder and mystery, giving us only hints about where the trio was going next.

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Music Review: Jamie Lin Wilson, Holidays & Wedding Rings

By Melissa Bratcher

Jamie Lin Wilson’s (The Trishas) solo debut, Holidays & Wedding Rings, has the trappings of a classic country album: women looking for love and taking it where they can find it, heartbreak, cheating, death, all with a hearty dose of mandolin and lap steel to anchor the songs. Wilson has a wonderful twang in her vocals, and indeed, a dusty road of Texas runs through the songs. The thing that sets Holidays & Wedding Rings apart is Wilson’s songwriting. There are unvarnished truths in her lyrics, and she doesn’t shy away from them.

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Music Review: The Grahams, Glory Bound

By Melissa Bratcher

There’s something amazing about The Grahams’ newest album, Glory Bound. It feels absolutely timeless. Alyssa Graham has an unaffected, incredibly powerful voice and the songs feel as if they could have been pulled from country radio in the ‘70s (the last truly excellent country era). There’s an ease to these songs, borne of a couple who have known each other since they were children, and now that they’re married, make the kind of music that feels as if it has always existed: rooted in the earth, clicking along train tracks through the countryside, forever.

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CMW 2015: Toronto Women In Music at The Garrison

By Less Lee Moore

Toronto, ON
May 5, 2015

Megan Bonnell

What a splendid idea for an evening! Whoever programmed this lineup did a fantastic job: the sonic palette of the musical offerings increased in intensity as the evening progressed.

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Music Review: Banditos, Banditos

By Melissa Bratcher

When was the last time you heard a kick-ass kazoo solo (or even a bad one)? On the Banditos’ self-titled debut you’ll find one, and realize that you don’t hear enough kazoo in your daily life. And while that’s an interesting moment on Banditos, there is so much more to dig. The band is tight, taking disparate influences and deftly weaving them into a sound that is completely their own. It’s an incredibly assured, fully formed debut featuring smart songwriting and three vocalists who each add their own flavor to the songs.

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Music Review: Them Are Us Too, Remain

By Less Lee Moore

In the press release for Remain, the debut album from southern California duo Them Are Us Too, the band is compared to both Cocteau Twins and The Sundays. It’s a description that is not an exaggeration.

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Music Review: Hannah Miller, Hannah Miller

By Tyler Hodg

Nashville folk-pop singer Hannah Miller has returned with a self-titled album and this time she is channeling a darker, edgier side. This is her third full-length album, and Miller has developed a more mature sound, not that her earlier work was exactly child’s play. The ten new songs (plus an alternate version of an already included track) featured on the album are equally as impressive as her previous efforts, if not better.

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Music Review: Allie X, CollXtion I

By Less Lee Moore

There are a lot of singers with impeccable voices who make terrible music. And there are many great songwriters who can’t sing worth a damn. Luckily, Allie X is not plagued with either of these problems.

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