Well, Thursday has arrived and we’re almost to the weekend. Should be a great one, and we will be covering the Shakey Graves concert on Saturday. In the meantime, here are five more indie artists to check out.
Artist Name: Shari Puorto Band
Album Name: Live at Bogie’s
Label: Little Lightning Production
Genre: Blues
Track Listing: 1. It’s a Damn Shame; 2. Home of the Blues; 3. Outta my Mind; 4. Guilty; 5. Six Months Sober; 6. Sugar Daddy; 7. Evidence; 8. All I Want is You; 9. My Obsession; 10. All About You; 11. Tired; 12. Can’t Find my way Home
Publicist: ABIK Radio Promotions
Review: Shari Puorto and her band have been tearing up the Southern California blues scene for years, and this live recording from Westlake Village’s Bogie’s demonstrates just why she is so popular. Her songwriting is excellent, and has won her an award in the Song of the Year competition while that sexy voice has won the award for Best Female Vocalist in the Southbay Music Awards. Truthfully, it’s a “Damn Shame” that she is not more widely known, as she is one of the best blues singers in the genre today. If you live anywhere in Southern California, we strongly encourage you to go catch her show live!
Recommendation: Don’t even think about it – just Get it!
Artist Name: Fir Cone Children
Album Name: The Straight and the Curly
Label: Blackjack Illuminist Records
Genre: Punk/Shoegaze
Track Listing: 1. 3D (ft Krissy Vanderwoude); 2. On my Plate (ft Krissy Vanderwoude); 3. Top of the Shelf; 4. Down Below; 5. Beastie Girls; 6. Chasing Shadows; 7. The Straight & the Curly (Part 1: The World at Stake) (ft Krissy Vanderwoude); 8. The Straight & the Curly (Part 2: To the Rescue); 9. Festival (ft Krissy Vanderwoude); 10. Blend In; 11. Awesomenitis!; 12. We’re Going Out (ft Krissy Vanderwoude)
Publicist: Blackjack Illuminist Records & Promotion
Review: Shoegaze is our favorite kind of punk because it retains all the energy and drive of traditional punk without all the angst. Germany’s Fir Cone Children is one of the best we have heard this year, and we love their latest album, especially the guest vocals of Krissy Vanderwoude. If their live show has even half of the energy on this album then they must be amazing to watch. Like traditional punk, these songs are limited to about two minutes each, and that’s the perfect amount of time to grasp the meaning of song, work up a sweat and move on to the next song. We think this band has a legitimate chance of making it on the American music scene.
Recommendation: If upbeat punk is your thing, or you just like high energy music, then give this one a spin.
Artist Name: MillaMusic
Album Name: Vol 1
Label: MillaSound
Genre: Pop/Soul/R&B
Track Listing: 1. On the Line; 2. Wrong or Right; 3. Hey Now; 4. Gotta Know Your Name; 5. Why Won’t You; 6. Surrender
Publicist: Self-promoted
Review: We last heard from Stephen Miller in 2016 when we reviewed his last album, MillaMix. Now he’s back with MillaMusic Vol 1, featuring Mike Robledo. The first track, “On the Line,” was a Top Finalist in the UK Songwriting Competition back in 2015, and we simply love this song, which has “hit” written all over it. In fact, all six of these songs are simply amazing, and demonstrate the incredible talents of Mike Robledo. We are most appreciative to Stephen Miller for bringing this project to fruition, and we love his collaboration on “Hey Now.”
Recommendation: If you need a lift, this is the perfect album for you. Get it and enjoy.
Artist Name: Christine Hitt
Album Name: Magical Kite
Label: MAXJAZZ
Genre: Jazz/Standards
Track Listing: 1. Wade in the Water; 2. Magical Kite; 3. Don’t you Worry ‘Bout a Thing; 4. Shower the People; 5. Yardbird Suite; 6. Believe in Me; 7. Shine on Harvest Moon; 8. Smile; 9. Around the World
Publicist: Mouthpiece Music
Review: Christine Hitt is a jazz lover’s dream vocalist. She effortlessly transforms standards and pop hits into modern-day jazz classics which should appease just about every music lover. She is also a multi-instrumentalist with both Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Music. Besides singing, she is currently a coach for jazz pianists and vocalists at the University of Wisconsin, Eau Claire. This amazing album was recorded at Capitol Records and features John Beasley, Jeff Hamilton, Gene Coye, Leo Amuedo and Bob Sheppard, and was produced by Geoffrey Keezer. Our favorite track is her cover of James Taylor’s “Shower the People.”
Recommendation: Check this one out.
Artist Name: Bugge Wesseltoft & Prins Thomas
Album Name: Bugge Wesseltoft & Prins Thomas
Label: Smalltown Supersound
Genre: Instrumental Jazz/EDM
Track Listing: 1. Furugerget; 2. Norte do Brasil; 3. Sin Tempo; 4. Bar Asfelt; 5. Epilog
Publicist: Worldwide Friendly Society
Review: What do you get when you blend one of the world’s premier ECM jazz musicians with a modern day electronic dance artist? You get an interesting mix of music that is not only fun to listen to, but will get you in the mood for dancing as well. NPR debuted this album, and their review is very technical, but a good read. On our end, these five tracks offer jazz and EDM lovers intriguing melodies performed by a myriad of instruments, including drums, synthesizer and keys. They even added one of Norway’s greatest jazz drummers, Jon Christensen, the the mix, and his touch is very evident on these tunes, especially “Sin Tempo.” This is definitely one of the most unique collaborations we have ever reviewed, and we like it, a lot. Thank you Norway for sharing two of your greatest treasures.
Recommendation: We guarantee you don’t have anything like this in your music library, so definitely go out and Get it.