Tag: Social Repose

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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.

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Artists Worth Checking Out Get it or Forget it Reviews Women in Entertainment

Get it or forget it – The Commotions, Fred Smith, Holy Hum, Katie Costello, Social Repose

Happy Friday – been a really crazy week, busier than I thought it would be.  The new job is fun, but there is so much to learn.  Really happy to be working again, though.  Sorry we missed our daily review yesterday, but here we come with five more reviews today.  Enjoy.

Artist Name:   The Commotions

Album Name:   Volume II

Label:   Self-released

Genre:   R&B/Funk

Track Listing:   1.  Good Enough; 2.  Bad Girl; 3.  Masquerade; 4.  Let me Kiss you Baby; 5.  Too Little Too Late; 6.  Say Yes to me Tonight; 7.  Right Kind of Wicked; 8.  Believe in Yourself; 9.  Don’t Walk Away; 10.  Last Look; 11.  Loving You; 12.  Take a Chance; 13.  Come Clean

Publicist:   Last Tango Production

Review:  At first listen, it was almost like Motown has returned with the amazing sound of The Commotions.  Reminded us of the Tower of Power backing up the Supremes.  The horns are powerful, the keys are as good as Grace Potter, and the vocals from both Rebecca Noelle and Jeff Rogers  are second to none.  This is the perfect soundtrack for any TGIF celebration, or any other party for that matter.  This band can jam and raise the funk.  All 12 members of this band are at the top of their class, and we could not be happier with the result.  There is not a weak track on this platinum collection.  This one definitely deserves repeated spins.

Recommendation:  Definitely one of the best albums of 2017.  Get this one like your life depends on it.

Artist Name:  Fred Smith

Album Name:  Great (double album)

Label:  Self-released

Genre:  Americana & more

Track Listing:  Disc 1:  1.  Some Lovers; 2.  Little Jimmy Boy; 3.  Wind and Wind; 4.  If I’m Free; 5.  Texas; 6.  Lover Like Me; 7.  Emily Rose; 8.  Ellie May; 9.  Raggedy Anne; 10.  Zeebrugge FOB; 11.  Greezy Spoon; 12.  American Guitar; Disc 2:  1.  What Could go Wrong; 2.  Nice to Meet You; 3.  Addicted to Addiction; 4.  My Girlfriend; 5.  Satisfied; 6.  Backwoods Burn; 7.  Sister Sandinista; 8.  Watch the Road; 9.  Sugar Boy; 10.  New York City; 11.  Go Fast Eddy; 12.  Frederique Q. Love

Publicist:  Penney & Logan

Review:  Australian singer-songwriter Fred Smith has also spent time as the first Australian Ambassador to Uruzgan, as well as spending time as a merchant marine and working alongside American soldiers in Afghanistan.  He turns his love of American history and literature into a double dose of songwriting bliss with this collection of story songs.  Smith dabbles in a myriad of genres, ranging from Americana, bluegrass and alt-country to rock, pop and blues, and even throws in a little glam rock and jazz for good measure.  His vocals have a Gordon Lightfoot vibe, and fit the quirky folk rock mixture to a “T.”   From start to finish, his lyrical content tells interesting story after story, making each song worth the time it takes to listen.  This one is a worthy addition to your Americana/folk collection.  We really love “What Could go Wrong,” the lead track on Disc 2, a rousing and hilarious look at the tirades and boasts of Donald J. Trump.

Recommendation:  A worthy effort by an outsider, who has captured the American spirit in storytelling.  We recommend you Get this one.

Artist Name:  Holy Hum

Album Name:  All of my Bodies

Label:  Heavy Lark Records

Genre:  Ambient Pop

Track Listing:  1.  All of my Bodies; 2.  Yoo Duk Lee; 3.  Flower in the Snow; 4.  Heavy Lark; 5.  Sex at 31; 6.  Joseph pt. 2; 7.  White Buzz; 8.  Sun Breaking; 9.  Ready to Have It; 10.  Space and Time; 11.  Mellotron Doom

Publicist:  The Syndicate

Review:    Andrew Lee aka Holy Hum creates a masterful blend of ambient noise to go with his keen mastery of instrumental music and brilliant lyrical content.  On this, his debut album, he shares that knowledge with his listeners in a most profound and interesting manner, creating songs that are complex in their structure but easy on the ears.  While not radio friendly, they provide an excellent musical background to keep you company when nothing else seems to fit.

Recommendation:  This one is different enough to hold a special place in your musical library.  Check it out.

Artist Name:  Katie Costello

Album Name:  Twice the Love

Label:  REBEL POP Records

Genre:  Pop

Track Listing:  1.  New York Graffiti; 2.  Up in the Air; 3.  Why Does my Heart Break; 4.  New World; 5.  Roses; 6.  Silver & Gold; 7.  I’ll be Here; 8.  A Beautiful Mystery; 9.  Lights; 10.  Here & Now; 11.  Holiday

Publicist:  Far Digital PR

Review:  Katie Costello is the reigning Indie Pop Princess, and with the quality of this recording, is poised to take her place on the Indie Pop throne.  Two of the tracks, “New York Graffiti” and “New World” were featured on her New World EP released earlier this year, but bear repeating, as this lady knows how to write great radio-friendly songs that keep her fans entertained and glued to her musical treasures.  She also makes amazing videos, which have been a regular addition to this Blog’s Monday Mashup columns and a big hit on YouTube.  Quite frankly, Costello could release and re-release her songs monthly, and we would never grow tired of them.  Best tracks include “New York Graffiti,” “Up in the Air,” “New World,” “Silver & Gold,” “A Beautiful Mystery,” and “Here and Now.”

Recommendation:  Run, don’t walk, to your favorite retailer and Get this one.  Now.

Artist Name:  Social Repose

Album Name:  Empress

Label:  Self-released

Genre:  Alternative Electronic Pop

Track Listing:  1.  Chemistry; 2.  Empress; 3.  Filthy Pride; 4.  Mother; 5.  Villain; 6.  Behave

Publicist:  Earshot Media

Review:  Social Repose is the electronic alter-ego of YouTube sensation Richie Giese, who has amassed more than 140 million views on his channel.  He has a truly unique style that is instantly recognizable, filling your ears with auditory excellence that penetrates to the very cells of your body.  All six songs are masterpieces, and show a depth of songwriting and maturity that marks Giese as a visionary and an artist that will be around for a long time.  Empress is his sophomore release, and shot to #9 on the Alternative charts immediately upon release.  We can only hope for more of the same from this amazing musician.  Until then, enjoy Empress as one of the best EPs of 2017.

Recommendation:  Get. It. Now.