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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

Get it or forget it – LeRiche, The Raft, Vinnie Paolizzi, Tall Men Group

Hope your first week of 2018 was a success. We have now arrived at the final reviews for all submissions for the LA Music Critic Awards for the second half of 2017.  Here are the final four.  Watch for the return of Monday Mashup tomorrow, and our Best of 2017 lists later this week.  Have a great day!

Artist Name LeRiche

Album Name X-Dreamer

Label:  Big Story Entertainment

Genre:  Indie Pop

Track Listing:  1.  Nomadic Heart; 2.  River Runs; 3.  Under Covers; 4.  Come Around; 5.  Dreamers; 6.  Roam; 7.  Briefcase Full of Booze

Publicist:  Auteur Research

Review:  LeRiche has such a dreamy voice that it makes his songs float on air.  His accompaniment is first rate, with a great singer-songwriter style.  From the first note of “Nomadic Heart,” we were hooked.  His music fits in with Andy Grammar, Jason Mraz, Ernie Halter, Tony Lucca and similar artists, and would be perfect for pop radio, as well as for placement for a myriad of television, film or commercial use.  This is his debut EP, and we are totally jazzed with his potential.  Our favorite tracks are “Nomadic Heart,” “Come Around,” “Dreamers,” and “Roam.”

Recommendation:  Definitely give the new kid a go – Get his debut EP now!

Artist NameThe Raft

Album NameOrion

Label:  Self-released

Genre:  Pop

Track Listing:  1.  Blue and Blue; 2.  Orion; 3.  Into You; 4.  My Elusive Friend

Publicist:  Self-promoted

Review:  Phil Wilson aka The Raft has released a trio of EPs in 2017, and we think he saved the best until last.  We reviewed his previous efforts in July and September, and consider ourselves privileged to get to do it again with his third EP, Orion.  The songs are so upbeat and happy they bring a smile to our faces, especially the title cut.  We truly believe that the sky is the limit for this amazing and talented indie artist.  All four songs are wonderfully written and performed, making The Raft one of our favorite discoveries of 2017.  You can’t go wrong with this one.  Check out the amazing vocals of Claire O’Neill on “Into You” – they will definitely change your perspective of indie artists.

Recommendation:  The Raft should become one of your favorite indie performers and a household name for indie perfection.  Get all of his EPs ASAP, especially this one.

Artist NameVinnie Paolizzi

Album NameKids

Label:  Self-released

Genre:  Americana

Track Listing:  1.  Ugly Drunk and Scared to Death; 2.  Over the Limit; 3.  Scarlet Sky; 4.  Kids

Publicist:  Self-promoted

Review:  Vinnie Paolizzi has been making a name for himself in his hometown of Philadelphia and his adopted home of Nashville.  He is garnering lots of local radio airplay in Philadelphia and being compared to such diverse artists as Jackson Browne, Jason Isbell and Ryan Adams.  Upon listening to his latest EP Kids, we can easily understand why he is being met with such critical acclaim.  All four songs are great and worthy of more expanded radio airplay, especially “Ugly Drunk and Scared to Death, “Scarlet Sky” and the title track, which has “HIT” written all over it.  We look forward to the release of his follow-up EP Grown Ups.  This one is a keeper.

Recommendation:  Get it now – you’ll thank us later.

Artist NameTall Men Group (TMG)

Album NameFeast

Label:  Tall Records

Genre:  Americana

Track Listing:  1.  Hey Loner; 2.  Unloved; 3.  Grandma; 4.  When we were Bad; 5.  Time Stands Still; 6.  Storm; 7.  The Night I met George Jones; 8.  Eggshells and Tears; 9.  California Soul Man; 10.  L’Amour; 11.  Surf the Mississippi; 12.  Baby Sleep

Publicist:  Self-promoted

Review:  What started as a request from acclaimed Los Angeles indie musician Jimmy Yessian to five of his friends to get together monthly for food and music has developed into one of the premier indie bands on the Folk Alliance circuit.  Composed of Marty Axelrod, Severin Browne, Jeff Kossack, John Stowers, Ed Tree, and Yessian, this “supergroup” has just released their third album, and it is a work of pure genius.  Every member contributed two tracks, and the combination of their musical, writing and singing skills make TMG the “Travelling Wilburys” of the indie world.  With traces of country, Americana and classic rock, the musical sound of TMG is second to none.  Lead vocals are shared, with the writer becoming the dominant voice.  Each of them have their own vocal style, but  Yessian’s vocals remind us of a cross between Gordon Lightfoot and Jim Croce, and highlight “Unloved.”  Other tracks we really love include “When we were Bad,” “Storm,” “The Night I met George Jones,” “California Soul Man,” “Surf the Mississippi,” and “Baby Sleep.”

Recommendation:  If you love just good ole music, then this one is a must have – we highly recommend you rush out and Get this musical feast.