// Category Archive for: Music Reviews

Music Review: Jason Heath and the Greedy Souls, A Season Undone

By Melissa Bratcher

Jason Heath and the Greedy Souls bear the trappings of the catch-all Americana label: banjos, mandolin, a gruff-voiced lead singer, excellent guitar with the occasional wildcard instrument (accordion, horns, kazoo—it’s been a very good year for the kazoo, musically). But the strain of Americana they play is filtered through the sometimes harsh light of L.A. There’s a grittiness to the music, a feeling of mid-1980s Sunset Strip crawling in the heavy guitar solos, and an anthemic quality that permeates many of the tracks on their second release, A Season Undone.

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Music Review: WSTR, SKRWD

By Tyler Hodg

Pop-punk is a genre of music that is probably past its glory days of popularity, yet to those who grew up with it, it remains a familiar and comforting sound. Newcomers WSTR (Waster) bravely fly pop-punk’s often forgotten flag with their debut EP, SKRWD, and give a unique reason to revisit the sounds of yesteryear. Although WSTR attempts nothing revolutionary with their first release, they have still created something that is sure to stir up nostalgic feelings and counteract the lack of edge in your playlist.

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Music Review: Buckcherry, Rock ‘n’ Roll

By Tyler Hodg

Seasoned veteran rock ’n’ roll band Buckcherry have returned once again to deliver their seventh album, simply titled Rock ’n’ Roll. The band’s music of late has been less than desirable for a lot of fans and could be described as generic at best, so is Rock ’n’ Roll a return to form or another disappointing outing? Aside from being riddled with cliches, the album actually brings some much-needed energy back into the fading band. Buckcherry is a hit-or-miss ensemble that has ended up on the
hit side of the equation this time around.

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Music Review: Frog Eyes, Pickpocket’s Locket

By Hanna

Pickpocket’s Locket is the follow up to Frog Eyes’ comeback album from last year, Carey’s Cold Spring (review). That album, influenced by a number of personal experiences such as the death of frontman Carey Mercer’s father, led the band into a more restrained and accessible style of music and lyrics. The press release for Pickpocket’s Locket explains the background for the album: Mercer’s father left him an acoustic guitar, which he used as inspiration.

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Music Review: Dealer, Don’t Worry I Got You Man

By Tim Murr

Sometimes you just don’t need to re-invent the wheel. For example: thrash metal, which pretty much got it right the first time and hasn’t done a hell of a lot of evolving since the early 1980s. Sure, some thrash bands progressed and started playing different types of music, but as far as I can tell, thrash metal has stubbornly dug its heels into the ground and stayed true to itself. It’s the bastard son of hardcore and metal, epitomized by bands like Suicidal Tendencies and DRI.

In the tradition of those great bands comes Montreal’s Dealer who recorded their debut EP earlier this year. Don’t Worry I Got You Man contains five tracks of unadulterated metal that is as fun as it is brutal. Even the album art calls to mind old school Suicidal Tendencies.

The album kicks off with “House Wins” and for a minute, you don’t know if it’s 2015 or 1985. The vocalist has a screechy yowl which fits the tunes well and is a nice reprieve from the Cookie Monster vocals a lot of bands are (over)using these days. You’ll definitely hear shades of Exodus, but Dealer has a more confrontational, frenetic, punk approach. The third track, “Game of Death,” might be my favorite of their songs. It’s a pummeling two and a half-minute pit classic if I’ve ever heard one. The longest track on the EP clocks in at less than four minutes; all five tunes fly past in a blur of belligerence and head banging.

The members of Dealer are true students in the art of thrash. Don’t Worry I Got You Man is a nice taste of their sound and I hope to hear much more from them in the future.

Don’t Worry I Got You Man was released on August 15. You can name your own price to download the EP on Bandcamp. Follow @BlackoutPR on Twitter for more information.

Music Review: Monk Parker, How The Spark Loves The Tinder

By Melissa Bratcher

Monk Parker’s solo debut album How The Spark Loves The Tinder could be filed under alt-Americana, but what it really brings to mind is if an alien recorded an Americana album. Everything is there: harmonicas, strings, horns, guitar, hushed husky vocals, but it’s all a little… off. It’s brilliant. It’s alien Americana.

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Music Review: The Sword, High Country

By Tim Murr

I was ready for The Sword’s High Country and was initially excited when I heard the first single, “High Country.” While there’s still a lot to appreciate about the album as a whole, I found the overall experience a bit of a let down.

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Music Review: Wordburglar, Rapplicable Skills

By Tyler Hodg

Rather than indulge in generic, mainstream topics and themes of current day hip-hop, Wordburglar has chosen to write about subjects much more close to home—like hockey players, Canadian issues, and video games—with conviction and humor. But don’t get him wrong, Wordburglar is far from a joke.

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Music Review: Noah Gundersen, Carry The Ghost

By Melissa Bratcher

Noah Gundersen is a seeker. On his follow up to the much-lauded Ledges, Carry The Ghost, he looks inward, questioning the nature and existence of God, of Gundersen’s own chosen means of expression and career, and exploring loneliness and love. It’s a heavy, introspective album.

It’s also startlingly quiet; there are moments that are so deeply felt by Gundersen that his voice, already hushed, trails off to a strangled choke, phrases ending on a breath. Coupled with Gundersen’s tendency toward acoustic guitar and piano, it becomes a journey in which the listener sometimes wonders just what was sung and perhaps one might need one of those fancy ear horns (but mercifully, Carry The Ghost on CD comes with a lyric booklet that is mighty handy, and a fine way to join Gundersen in existential questioning).

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Music Review: Jackie Greene, Back To Birth

By Melissa Bratcher

Jackie Greene has quite the pedigree. He’s toured with The Black Crowes and Phil Lesh and Friends, played with Levon Helm, and was in an acoustic trio with Chris Robinson and Bob Weir, called WRG. An enormously talented multi-instrumentalist, Greene aspires to be the whole package; musician, songwriter, singer, and on his latest, Back To Birth, he nails it.

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