by ImperfectFifth | Jun 15, 2018 | soundtrack
SunGhosts‘ band members compiled some of their keystone musical influences. These songs and artists helped to shape the way they channel their energy into their instruments and create something new & completely original on an individual basis. Once you listen to what has inspired each band member, then you can see how SunGhosts’ sound is like sedimentary rock n’ roll (geology pun!) Be sure to pick up our album which is due out next week. It is available here.
Nik Olas’ Influences
Louie’s Influences
Jared’s Influences
by Karina Marquez | Jun 14, 2018 | albums, review
Mallrat’s new EP, In the Sky, is electrifying and emotional in every way. She seems to take a piece of you and a piece of herself, giving the songs a personal yet nostalgic tone with sweet pop melodies. She also incorporates the beauty of nature in many ways, whether it be in the cover art, the accompanying videos on Spotify, or in the album title itself. It’s clear that she is inspired by everything around her, which is clearly shown in each song.
The EP opens with the cool simplicity of “Groceries.” It has a steady, bouncing beat and acoustic guitar that gives it an upbeat vibe. But the lyrics are surprisingly deep: “I just want to get groceries” shows emotional depth about what you want in a relationship. “Texas” starts off as a ballad with pretty harmonies, but as the song goes on, it becomes a track that makes you want to dance around your room. “Better” is an upbeat song with painfully honest lyrics. Her voice croons about young optimism: “Everyone’s alive so everything’s alright.” At the same time, she reminds us of how fleeting everything is when you’re young and growing up: “Maybe when the summer ends / I’ll drift away from all my friends.” This song was a personal favorite, and it really shows how personal her lyrics can be. UFO sounds like a summer Top 40 hit with its electro-pop vibe and a rap verse from fellow Australian artist Allday. The EP ends with “Make Time,” which is more subdued than the rest. it allows you to daydream and think about someone you miss.
Mallrat’s cool, unique sound is taking over the world. Not only does she sing and write her own songs, but she co-produced every song on this EP. At only 19 years old, she is a powerhouse of talent and passion.
Keep up with the latest on Mallrat here.
by ImperfectFifth | Jun 11, 2018 | albums, wolf tracks
Based with roots all the way in Hong Kong, multi-talented music group Blood Wine or Honey are currently celebrating their new album Fear & Celebration released on June 8th, by playing shows in Hong Kong. Consisting of members Shane Aspegren, Joseph von Hess, and James Banbury, this act ties in aspects of electronic, African, and dance style instrumentals. Blood Wine or Honey uses African drums, a wide variety of additional instruments, and trendsetting electronic vocals that will make you want to get up and dance to the music. When comparing the band to other musicians, there is no talent quite the same, so I suggest that if you ever find yourself in Hong Kong while they are on tour, you make your way to one of their shows to experience an electro-based sensation.
Keep up with Blood Wine or Honey here.
**Words by Aubrey Hanson
by ImperfectFifth | Jun 8, 2018 | perspective
The first album I purchased was ESC4P3 by Journey (1981).
I wasn’t familiar with their music, I just liked the album cover (I should mention that it was a cassette..I had just gotten my first “boom-box”). King Tut had toured through Chicago a couple of years before, and the Scarab meant a lot to me. So did the “1337 sp34k”–Google it if you aren’t familiar–on the cover. I spent much of late 1981 reproducing that cover in my school notebooks. I liked the imagery so much that I bought a baseball tee bearing the same imagery at the record store along with the album, still not having heard any of their tunes.
I had been brought up on The Clancy Brothers and Dean Martin and really didn’t care much for rock music, however I was determined to start “fitting in”. After all, I was 13 and I was tired of telling my schoolmates that rock wasn’t really music. Anyway, Journey is what I got. I told the other kids they were my favorite band, and I hadn’t really listened to another so I suppose it was true. I was informed pretty quickly that Journey was “a band girls liked” which I thought was just about as stupid as everything else. Within a year I had moved on to Motorhead and was in a whole other world of stupid. Before that, however, I stuck to my guns and picked up all of Journey’s cassettes through the Columbia Record and Tape Club. ESC4P3 remained my favorite and I continued to draw that album cover over and over.
It’s kinda funny, but listening to that album startles me to this day. It still has that 90s Platinum feel that simply is what it is…mostly due to Steve Perry being the Streisand of pop-metal. “Don’t Stop Believin'” is the highest-selling digital single of the 20th Century. I did think at the time that “streetlights…people…” was nicely abstract and potent. I can’t honestly say that I like the song. The feeling is more like love; the kind of love you feel when you’re thirteen and simply don’t know any better. It was also one of the first albums I listened to with headphones. Listening in my bottom bunk on my boom-box scared me sometimes. I had to take off the ‘phones and look around the room because it was so “real”. It was real. It was my first album. That’s all there is to it.
Keep up with Charlie Smyth here.
by Meredith Schneider | Jun 6, 2018 | albums, premieres
Portland-based art-folk musician Michael Charles Smith is hitting a high note with the soundscape provided by his often ambient melodies and soft – yet assertive – vocals in his new 12-track release, In The Shadow. Bathed in a raspiness that is both emphatic and ethereal, Smith’s lyrics are apt to tug at the heartstrings of many, as they paint him as a vulnerable, masterful lyricist.
Beginning with the upbeat track “Hello Hello”, the album establishes a true journey for the listener, pace changing with each no track, and mindsets shifting from one end of the spectrum to the other, as he repeats, “I’ll die alone” in third track “Angel, and then softly croons, “I must have fallen in love” immediately following, in fourth track “One Word”.
The variety in the soundscape of In The Shadow makes sense, when the album is put into context. Inspired by his past struggles with addiction, Smith has come to terms with his circumstances, transforming that energy into a beautifully well-rounded body of work that you might never turn off. We’ve got the exclusive streaming premiere below.
Keep up with Michael Charles Smith here.
by Abby Trapp | Jun 5, 2018 | albums, review
Jessie Kilguss recently released her latest album, The Fastness. The Fastness is the fifth album for the Brooklyn based singer/songwriter. The alternative-indie artist has a lot of things to offer on her latest album. The Fastness is an album of regrets, hope, love, and wanderlust. Jessie’s voice and style brings weight to the album as you can hear the Stevie Nicks and Norah Jones influences. The album has ten tracks, each song a little different from the last. “The Master” is a song about a person of great wisdom, holding the key to all the answers. Leaving his followers behind, Jessie asks “Who will be the oracle when he is gone?” “New Start,” tells the story of one’s ability to believe in love again. The hopeful and upbeat song will lift your spirits with lyrics like “I thought it was over, but I made a new start,” “Now I’m ready to be mystified, I know I’m not the only one,” and my favorite “You changed my mind.”
Jessie shows us her darker side on “Hell Creek.” The song is full of sinful regret, shame, and morbid themes. “I knew I the time had come to break myself free- and every thing went red,” cries out the singer. The song remains haunting with the line “Going down to hell creek, wash the blood off my hands.” The artist also shows off her love for travel and the world with “Spain,” and “Rainy Night in Copenhagen.” I completely related to the song “Spain” as I once fell in loved with Madrid and the beautiful lyric “Maybe I’ll find it here- Spain stretched out in front of me.” It describes the country perfectly. “Rainy Night in Copenhagen,” is a place to leave all your troubles. “So peaceful, so far away from home,” Jessie sings on the countryside. “I’m not ready to go home,” laments the artist as the song is a feeling of wanderlust, a thirst for the world- something we all experience at least once in our lives. The Fastness provides a variety of melodies to feed your soul, heart and mind. Jessie’s beautiful voice and thoughtful lyrics will take you to a peaceful place that is all your own.
The Fastness is currently available on major streaming services. Get your copy here.
by Abby Trapp | Jun 1, 2018 | albums, review
If you’re a fan of The Flaming Lips, then listen up! The classic rock band is giving a gift beyond your wildest dreams. As one of the most well known and influential rock band of their time, The Flaming Lips are pleased to announce the release of their first ever “hits” collection. The best news? The Greatest Hits Vol. 1 is officially out today via Warner Bros. Records. The collection will be available as a vinyl edition and as a deluxe edition (3-CD and digital).
The Flaming Lips offer so much in this collection, starting with debut hits such as “Transmissions From The Satellite Heart” (1993), “Clouds Taste Metallic” (1995), “The Soft Bulletin” (1999) and more recent tracks like “Yoshimi Battles”, “The Pink Robots” (2002), “At War With The Mystics” (2006), “Embryonic” (2009), and their current album “Oczy Mlody” (2017). If that weren’t enough, The Flaming Lips also include added specials such as studio outtakes, unreleased tracks, and international single B-sides on the deluxe edition. Other features include “Zero To A Million,” the unreleased demo track, “Spider-Man Vs Muhammed Ali” and “Silent Lord.” The collection is a great complication of the unique and creative sound that The Flaming Lips has spent so many years building. Here are the tracks for the two editions:
Tracklisting for Greatest Hits Vol. 1 (Vinyl edition)
Side One:
1. Do You Realize??
2. Yoshimi Battles The Pink Robots Pt. 1
3. Race For The Prize
4. Waitin’ For A Superman
5. When You Smile
6. She Don’t Use Jelly
Side Two:
1. Bad Days (Aurally Excited Version)
2. The W.A.N.D.
3. Silver Trembling Hands
4. The Castle
5. The Yeah Yeah Yeah Song
Tracklisting for Greatest Hits Vol. 1 Deluxe Edition (3-CD & Digital)
Disc 1:
1. Talkin’ ‘Bout The Smiling Deathporn Immortality Blues (Everyone Wants
To Live Forever)
2. Hit Me Like You Did The First Time
3. Frogs
4. Felt Good To Burn
5. Turn It On
6. She Don’t Use Jelly
7. Chewin The Apple Of Your Eye
8. Slow Nerve Action
9. Psychiatric Explorations of The Fetus With Needles
10. Brainville
11. Lightning Strikes The Postman
12. When You Smile
13. Bad Days (Aurally Excited Version)
14. Riding To Work In The Year 2025
15. Race For The Prize (Sacrifice Of The New Scientists)
16. Waitin’ For A Superman (Is It Getting Heavy?)
17. The Spark That Bled
18. What Is the Light?
Disc 2:
1. Yoshimi Battles The Pink Robots Pt. 1
2. In The Morning Of The Magicians
3. All We Have Is Now
4. Do You Realize??
5. The W.A.N.D.
6. Pompeii Am Gotterdammerung
7. Vein Of Stars
8. The Yeah Yeah Yeah Song
9. Convinced Of The Hex
10. See The Leaves
11. Silver Trembling Hands
12. Is David Bowie Dying?
13. Try To Explain
14. Always There In Our Hearts
15. How??
16. There Should Be Unicorns
17. The Castle
Disc 3:
1. Zero to A Million (Demo)
2. Jets (Cupid’s Kiss Vs The Psyche Of Death) (2-Track Demo)
3. Thirty-Five Thousand Feet Of Despair
4. The Captain
5. 1000 Ft. Hands
6. Noodling Theme (Epic Sunset Mix #5)
7. Up Above The Daily Hum
8. The Yeah Yeah Yeah Song (In Anatropous Reflex)
9. We Can’t Predict The Future
10. Your Face Can Tell The Future
11. You Gotta Hold On
12. What Does It Mean?
13. Spider-man Vs Muhammed Ali
14. I Was Zapped By The Lucky Super Rainbow
15. Enthusiasm For Life Defeats Existential Fear Part 2
16. If I Only Had A Brain
17. Silent Night / Lord, Can You Hear Me
You can order the collection here. Keep up with them here.
by Abby Trapp | May 31, 2018 | albums, review
Freedom Fry is set to release their debut album Classic Friday, June 1st. I know Freedom Fry fondly as I recently reviewed their single off of Classic “Cold Blooded Heart.” Freedom Fry is an indie duo, whose voices were meant to be together. The duo consists of Parisian born Marie Seyrat, and Michigan born Bruce Driscoll. “Die Tryin” is the second single release off of Classic. A regretful love song, Freedom Fry sings on what could have been done differently. “I’m the worst, I’m a first class jerk, but I need you tonight,” Bruce humbly sings. “Oh I’m going to get you or I’m gonna die tryin,” belts the chorus. What may seem like a hopeless track at first, turns into a sweet, romantic track and the will to “die tryin” to do right by a lover.
Of course, I love “Cold Blooded Heart,” a not so romantic track cursing a heart breaker with “Cold blooded heart, yeah that’s how I pegged you from the start.” “Awake,” remains a little more upbeat and even “tropical.” “Awake! Here we go,” harmonize the duo. The song remains lifted with sounds of ukulele, bongos, and whistles. Shifting from the somber side of Freedom Fry, “Awake” simply remains a positive feel-good, indie song. One really cool thing about the release of Classic, is the album trailer. The artsy trailer on YouTube feature Emma Kenney (Yes, Debbie from the hit Showtime series, Shameless.) Emma navigates her way around downtown through coffee shops, thrift, and record stores with her walkman cassette player as each song off of Classic is previewed. The trailer is really something, as Freedom Fry allows a sneak preview of their debut album in an aesthetic and cinematic nature.
Classic is out tomorrow. Keep up with Freedom Fry here.
by Abby Trapp | May 31, 2018 | albums, review
Tancred is excited to release their latest album, Nightstand. The release of Nightstand follows up on the well praised 2016 album Out of the Garden. The album rounds out with eleven tracks, the first fittingly titled “Song One.” It is slow, sweet, and at 1:44 it is all too brief. Jess Abbott (Tancred) shows off her vulnerability on this track. “I will not lie to you, these words will be true,” leads the first line of Nightstand. “Why must she love someone else?” wonders Tancred. “Apple Tree Girl” has a folk indie vibe to it, with some interesting lyrics. “Drink my heart out, drink it up,” and “send me a photo, the two of us in the unknown,” make for interesting and almost emo lyrics.
I really enjoy Tancred’s “Underwear”. The song starts off slow and self-loathing, almost punk. “I don’t want to fight you, I’m already fighting me…and I’m losing,” sings Jess before the guitar comes in. The quirky title comes from the electric song line: “Remember when we were in the halls at 5am in our underwear running from ghosts and in my room I was learning that you were soft.” “Rowing” the last track on Nightstand, equally mirrors “Song One” and again shows the artist’s honesty and vulnerability. “I am crude and sweet in bed, I am gentle in a dress,” sings Tancred. With a taste of rock and tambourine, tinged with Tancred’s simple vocals, “Rowing” is a series of positive, gentle thoughts.
Nightstand, in one word, is diverse. It shows Tancred’s ability to navigate through a series of genres and styles, while remaining true as an artist.
Look for Nightstand which will be out June 1st 2018. Keep up with Tancred here.
