Categories
Artists Worth Checking Out Best of 2017 Women in Entertainment

Best American EPs of 2017

Continuing on with our “Best of” lists for 2017, here are the Best 15 EPs released by American artists, as well as a few more that deserve mention.  You can find the complete reviews of each EP in our Get it or Forget it columns.

Honorable Mention – Red Hymns self-titled EP; Helen Culver Seven Year Glitch; After Hours Radio What Happened?; Broken Bellows The Card Table; Life Lessons Best When in Motion

15.  Sam Marine, Big Dark City – Definitely a surprise, this five song EP was obviously the result of an artist who has learned how to become part of the local community and reach out to them for help when needed.  We think you’ll be hearing a lot more from this artist in the future.

14.  Surf Rock is Dead, We Have no Friends? – A perfect combination of American and Australian ingenuity, this was another surprise this year with a huge potential.

13.  Eli Raybon, Green – This 20-year old Southerner has risen to the challenge and has set the bar high for subsequent projects.

12.  Mare Island, Eponymous – Likewise this Bay area band has some large footprints to fill in the future with this amazing debut EP.

11.  Ben Anderson, YouTopia – Indie label Chromodyne chose wisely in signing Anderson, and his four-song EP shows great promise.

10.  Riley Smith, self-titled – Riley Smith has made quite a name for himself as an actor on such beloved programs as Frequency and Nashville.  He can now add accomplished musician to his resume, as this EP was simply amazing.

9.  Ryan Sims, My Side of the Story – Another rising star in the country music field had a lot of help from his friends, including Jason “Slim” Gambill, Darryl Jones, Kenny Aronoff and Kim Bullard.  They helped him achieve a breakthrough sound that will have him rising up in Nashville in no time at all.

8.  Jacquie, The Only One – She survived NBC’s The Voice and a bad experience with the music industry to come back stronger than ever as an indie artist.  Can’t wait to see what’s next from this future superstar.

7.  Social Repose, Empress – Nearly 300,000 Facebook fans can’t be wrong about this one, and their latest EP proved just how good they are.

6.  Matt Westerman, Life Out Loud – One of LA’s brightest rising stars, Matt Westerman has a very promising future ahead.  We truly believe the sky is the limit for him.

5.  The Khourys, Good Stuff – Sisters Guila and Jahnna will surprise you – imagine one doing vocals and one doing rap – the combination is heaven’s nectar.  They are just as good in concert.

4.  RVBY My Dear, Cycles – Australian born and Brooklyn based musician Gabbi Coenen blew us away with her sophomore release.  Watch out for this one.

3.  Alex Mabey, Enough – An alumni of the Durango Songwriters Expo, Mabey seems destined to follow in the steps of another famous alumni, Meghan Trainor.

2.  Katie Costello, New World – A perennial winner of many awards, including the LA Music Critic Awards, Costello brought us both an EP and an album in 2017, and both were superb.  Here’s of taste of what makes this artist so great.

1.  Vinnie Paolizzi, Kids – Biggest surprise of the year was receiving an EP from this young self-promoted artist that simply blew us away.  We are dying to see what comes next from this young man.

Categories
Artists Worth Checking Out Get it or Forget it Reviews

Get it or forget it – Greg Sover, Mare Island, House Hounds, Aviator

As we close out the month of July, we are doing the last of our reviews for CDs released during the first half of 2017.  Here are our final four.

Artist NameGreg Sover

Album NameSongs of a Renegade

Label:  Grounded Soul Records

Genre:  Indie Rock/Blues

Track Listing:  1.  My Moment; 2.  Heroes; 3.  Preacher; 4.  Quicksand; 5.  (Make Me) Say Yeah; 6.  After Me; 7.  Deja vu; 8.  Ain’t no Sunshine; 9.  Superman; 10.  Cherie

 Publicist:  Frank Roszak

Review:   OMG.  We have a man-crush on Greg Sover.  Talk about the total package – amazing guitar work, soaring vocals and a classic rock feel that just feels right.    Although technically released in August 2016, Sover has not had any publicity or assistance with his career until recently, and this artist deserves some attention.  We strongly suggest that the music industry take notice of this amazing artist NOW.  His music is just plain good, and deserves both radio airplay and placement in television and movies.  Every song crushes the competition, exposing the hidden talent that is this Philadelphia blues rocker.  He deserves a national stage for his music, and we are proud to (hopefully) be the first rung on his ladder of future success.

Recommendation:  We don’t know why this artist has not become a huge star, but we are offering his Songs of a Renegade our highest recommendation – Get it NOW!

Artist NameMare Island

Album NameMare Island

Label:  Self-released

Genre:  Dream Pop

Track Listing: 1.  Alight; 2.  Anon; 3.  Vanish; 4.  Crushed; 5.  Unawake 

Publicist:  The Syndicate PR

Review:  This seems to be the day for hidden gems.  This Bay Area quintet is just too good to be unknown, and we think their debut EP just might shed the light on their talent.   Their first single, “Anon,” became a huge hit in the San Francisco area, and it’s time for the rest of the world to discover what San Francisco has been keeping to itself – Mare Island is a treasure that needs to be shared with the world.  The five-song EP is simply too short – we want and need more!  All five songs are amazing and deserve more attention, with their moving musical arrangements, the wonderfully written lyrics, the ingenious guitar licks and the dreamy vocals.  This is a band that we guarantee will do well in this industry.  Let’s get them on a nationwide tour soon.

Recommendation:  Amazing work which we are proud to recommend – you should definitely Get this EP, and then pre-order the next one.

Artist NameHouse Hounds

Album NameSaturate

Label:  A&R Records

Genre:  Indie Rock

Track Listing:  1.  Bird; 2.  Young Things; 3.  Karamel; 4.  Bully; 5.  Disquiet 

Publicist:  The A&R Department

Review:  House Hounds is another band from Australia who has a sound that we need here in the States.  They combine amazing guitar licks, drums and harmonious vocals to create a sound that is soothing and stimulating at the same time.  Their songs belong on the radio and deserve national attention.  From the first notes of “Bird,” to the haunting last notes of “Disquiet,” the band nails every song, providing a great soundtrack for life in the States.  We especially like their single, “Karamel.”  Australians are damn lucky to have these boys in their back yard.  We can’t wait until they visit us.

Recommendation:  Definitely Get it.  We promise you won’t be sorry you did.

Artist NameAviator

Album NameLoneliness Leaves the Light on for Me

Label:  No Sleep Records

Genre:  Indie Soft-core Rock

Track Listing:  1.  I Wanna Make a Movie, Heather; 2.  Nasonov Pheromone; 3.  Ad Nauseum; 4.  I Wouldn’t Leave Here if you Paid Me; 5.  Looks Deep Enough From  Here; 6.  End Scene; 7.  One Year Warranty; 8.  I Wouldn’t Live There if you Paid Me; 9.  Safety Coffin; 10.  Does it Make a Sound?

 Publicist:  Earshot Media

Review:  Aviator has evolved from a hard-core metal screamo band to a more refined soft-core sound without sacrificing any of their passion or power.  The music still rocks, the screamo is still there, but the music is toned back enough that even other rock fans will enjoy the album.  You can feel the band’s angst and understand the lyrics enough to comprehend that they truly have a story to tell.  The pride of Boston will soon be heard around the country as it is impossible to keep a band this good regionalized.  Best tracks include “Ad Nauseum,” I Wouldn’t Leave Here if You Paid Me,” “Looks Deep Enough From Here,” “One Year Warranty,” and “Safety Coffin.”

Recommendation:  If you love metal, you will love this album.  If you like good rock music, you will probably like this album.  In fact, unless you only like soothing pop music, Get this album.