Welcome to our special Sunday edition of Get it or Forget it, as we continue our reviews of submissions for the first half of 2018 for the LA Music Critic Awards. Her are five more to check out.
Artist Name: Martha Reich
Album Name: Brave Bird
Label: Self-released
Genre: Progressive Folk
Track Listing: 1. If you Only Knew; 2. Fade Away; 3. So Brave; 4. The River; 5. I’d Rather be Surprised; 6. The River (instrumental); 7. Over the Rainbow
Publicist: Broken Jukebox Media
Review: Martha Reich is a modern combination of Joan Baez and Joni Mitchell, preserving their folk legacy for a new generation. “If you Only Knew” how hard it is to be “So Brave” in writing songs of this caliber, then you would realize that Reich’s music will never “Fade Away.” Her instrumentation is pure and sweet and fully demonstrated on the instrumental version of the spectacular song, “The River.” The cherry on the top of this amazing set of original tunes is her skillful interpretation of the classic “Over the Rainbow,” which we believe will surely stand the test of time and become one of your favorite covers, second only to Iz’s unforgettable version.
Recommendation: This one is a must have if you love folk music. We highly recommend you Get it.
Artist Name: Duvel
Album Name: Attempts at Speech
Label: Fysisk Format
Genre: Post-punk
Track Listing: 1. Winter Dreams; 2. Going Home; 3. Skin Deep; 4. Strange; 5. Ashamed; 6. Sacred Place; 7. Plastic Bags and Seagulls; 8. Falling; 9. Visions; 10. Breathe; 11. Cynics; 12. Birds
Publicist: Viral Propaganda PR
Review: From the autonomous youth community of Blitz in Oslo, Norway comes the post-punk sound of Duvel, who has created controversy on Spotify with their cover art. Without that controversy, most people would probably not be checking out their music. That would be a shame, because although the lyrical content is quite simplistic, the high energy of this trio combine to form some interesting songs. These are not the kind of songs you hear on commercial radio, but they are the kind that demonstrate that this band has to have a dynamic stage show to contain all that energy. Although they are not our cup of tea, they are worth checking out, and will probably be a big hit with our younger audiences.
Recommendation: If you love punk and/or high energy rock, then you should definitely check them out.
Artist Name: Tom Richardson
Album Name: Promise of the Light
Label: Self-released
Genre: Folk Rock
Track Listing: 1. Can you Hear Her; 2. Healing of the Heartbeat; 3. Give Your Heart Away; 4. Wildest Dream; 5. Leave a Light; 6. Somebody say Love
Publicist: Penney and Logan
Review: The music of Tom Richardson has been called the voice of John Mayer combined with the activism of Bob Marley and George Harrison. We debuted “Healing of the Heartbeat” in our Great Singles of April article, and nowhere is the previous statement better demonstrated. We can add Richardson to the growing list of Australian artists that have a realistic possibility of breaking into the American music scene, and we strongly encourage American radio station managers to add his tunes to their rotation, especially “Healing of the Heartbeat,” “Leave a Light,” and “Somebody Say Love.”
Recommendation: This one is dying for a place in your music library. Get it today!
Artist Name: Into the Ark
Album Name: Valencia
Label: Blackwood Records
Genre: Acoustic Soul
Track Listing: 1. No Place Like Home; 2. Caroline; 3. Better Than Never at All; 4. Good Lord; 5. Don’t Roll Your Eyes
Publicist: Missing Piece Group
Review: Into the Ark appeared on last year’s The Voice UK, and so impressed their mentor and fellow Welshman Tom Jones that he added them to his current American tour. Within a few notes of listening to “No Place Like Home,” it becomes quickly obvious why Mr. Jones fell in love with this dynamic duo. Their harmonies, combined with a simple guitar accompaniment, are the perfect accessories to the incredibly well written songs. This is a band that knows what they want and are unwilling to let anything stop their dream. We can hardly wait to see what’s next for them.
Recommendation: Don’t think twice – Get this one today!
Artist Name: The Keeshea Pratt Band
Album Name: Believe
Label: Self-released
Genre: Blues/Funk
Track Listing: 1. Make it Good; 2. Have a Good Time Y’all; 3. In the Mood; 4. It’s too Late; 5. Shake off These Blues; 6. Home to Mississippi; 7. Easily Replaced; 8. Monkey See, Monkey Do; 9. Believe; 10. Out of my Mind; 11. Can’t Stop Now; 12. So Bad Blues (live)
Publicist: Frank Roszak Promotions
Review: The Keesha Pratt Band has a sound that straddles the line between traditional and progressive blues, with big phat sax, funky keys and the amazing and soaring voice of Pratt that is part Ella Fitzgerald, part Bonnie Raitt and a whole lot of Aretha Franklin. The title of the second track sums up this record, because when you put it on it will become obvious to all that you “came to have a good time, y’all.” The music also has a very jazzy R&B groove, as demonstrated on “In the Mood,” “Monkey See, Monkey Do” (which reminds us of the groove on “I’m a Woman) and the title track, and the funky sound of New Orleans as demonstrated on “Shake off These Blues.” The band likewise shows a healthy respect for blues history as they demonstrate on the delta blues sound of “Home to Mississippi,” and the swing style of “Easily Replaced.” To quote another track, our advice on this album and the band is “Can’t Stop Now.” This band is headed for greatness!
Recommendation: Drop everything and be the first in line to Get it when it is released on Tuesday, May 29.