Tag: Kristina Koller

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

Get it or forget it – WANK, Radar State, Lazy Queen, Kristina Koller, Ted Russell Kamp

(Meant to finish this yesterday, but got a little under the weather, so we’re finishing it on Friday.  Friday’s regular Get it or Forget it will be published tomorrow.  Sorry for the delays.)

We close out the month of January with today’s Get it or Forget it, featuring five more reviews including the incomparable the latest from preeminent musician Ted Russell Kamp.  Let’s get this going.

Artist Name:  WANK

Album Name:  White Knuckle Ride

Label:  Self-released

Genre:  Pop-punk/ska

Track Listing:  1.  Remington; 2.  Blue Skies; 3.  Salvation; 4.  Rollin’ On; 5.  Sweet Music; 6.  Believe It; 7.  Shut you Down; 8.  We Wanna Rock, 9.  It was You; 10.  Won’t let Go; 11.  Forgiven

Publicist:  Earshot Media

Review:  WANK may be a pop-punk band but their sound is more akin to ska/indie rock bands like Reel Big Fish, No Doubt and Flogging Molly.    Their music is upbeat and fun, without all the angst associated with most punk music.  These songs are truly radio friendly and ready for heavy rotation, especially “Blue Skies,” “Salvation,” “Sweet Music, “Shut you Down,” “We Wanna Rock” (although it needs to remove the f*bombs), “It was You,” “Won’t Let Go,” and “Forgiven.”   They would also make great placements in film and television.  Take a fun ride with WANK – you won’t want the fun to end!

Recommendation:  You simply MUST Get this one!

Artist Name:  Radar State

Album Name:  Strays

Label:  Wiretap Records

Genre:  Indie Rock/Punk

Track Listing:  1.  Strays; 2.  What’s a Rebel; 3.  Anywhere; 4.  Summer of Sundays; 5.  Damn the Man; 6.  Making me Feel; 7.  Self Hurt Guru; 8.  Artificial Love; 9.  Defender; 10.  Good Catholic; 11.  Leather Dye; 12.  Victims of Fashion; 13.  Play for the Game

Publicist:  Earshot Media

Review:  Radar State is a new band composed of Matt Pryor and Jim Suptic from The Get Up Kids, Josh Berwanger from The Anniversary and Adam Phillips from The Architects and The Gadjits.  Combined these four bring a strong punk flavor to their version of indie rock, complete with screaming guitars, great vocals and amazingly well written songs.  This band rocks, and deserves major industry attention, especially on songs like “Anywhere,” “Summer of Sundays,” “Artificial Love,” “”Defender,” “Victims of Fashion,” and “Play for the Game.

Recommendation:  Definitely worth adding to your collection, especially if you like a healthy dose of punk with your indie rock.

Artist Name:  Lazy Queen

Album Name:  A Sigh so Deep

Label:  Self-released

Genre:  Punk/Rock

Track Listing:  1.  F*ck Kevin Spacey; 2.  Things I Think About While we F*ck; 3.  Apocalipstick; 4.  Turn from Void; 5.  Tamir

Publicist:  Self-promoted

Review:  Norwegian band Lazy Queen mixes raucous punk rock with profound lyrics that tackle such topics as gender identity, mental health, racism, police violence, relationships and self-destructive tendencies.  They are not your run of the mill punk band, but use a almost heavy metal rock to drive their lyrics home.  While some of the song titles may be explicit, the lyrics are less so, although there are a few f*bombs.    The story told in the lyrics is worth listening to, even though the musical accompaniment is pretty strong.  If you like your music hard, then this is a good choice for you.  We think the closing song, “Tamir” is the best track.

Recommendation:  Definitely worth checking out.

Artist Name:  Kristina Koller

Album Name:  At the Poli Club

Label:  Self-released

Genre:  Jazz

Track Listing:  1.  Save  Your Love for Me; 2.  Falling in Love with Love; 3.  I Didn’t Know About You; 4.  What a Difference a day Makes

Publicist:  Self-promoted

Review:  This EP is a live recording of part of Kristina Koller’s show last October at The Poli Club in Connecticut.  We reviewed her last album in May 2018, and we think this live recording affirms our previous assessment.  She has such a strong voice and with the help of her amazing jazz trio, she raises the bar for jazz performance.  This album will truly help you chill after a hard day of work, and should be a required item for your own well being.  Grab a glass of wine, sit back and enjoy jazz perfection.

Recommendation:  You need to chill to this one every day, so run out and Get it.

Artist Name:  Ted Russell Kamp

Album Name:  Walkin’ Shoes

Label:  Poetry of the Moment Records

Genre:  Americana/Roots

Track Listing:  1,  Home Away From Home; 2.  Paid by the Mile (ft Sam Morrow); 3.  This Old Guitar; 4.  We Don’t Have to be Alone; 5.  Heart Under Pressure (ft Jaime Wyatt); 6.  Tail Light Shine; 7.  Highway Whisper; 8.  Get off the Grid (ft Brian Whelan); 9.  Written in Stone; 10.  Freeway Mona Lisa; 11.  Just About Time for a Heartache; 12.  Less Thinkin’, More Drinkin’ (ft John Schreffler); 13.  Roll on Through the Night

Publicist:  KG Music Press

Review:  Ted Russell Kamp is one of LA’s busiest musicians, spending his time on tour and in the studio with the likes of Shooter Jennings while still finding time to record and perform his own music.  In fact, Walkin’ Shoes is his 11th solo album.  He is joined by his touring pals John Schreffler and Jaimie Douglass, as well as local LA artists including Brian Whelan (Dwight Yoakum, Chris Shifflet), Dan Wistrom, Sam Morrow and Jaime Wyatt.  The result is his best material to date.  While most of the music he makes with Jennings is more southern rock, Kamp’s own material is closer to Americana  and Roots Rock, with a healthy dose of country and soul.  His lyrics are heartfelt and poetic, and deserve more industry attention.  We really love his duets with Morrow, Wyatt, Whelan and Schreffler (especially those horns and that jazzy NOLA sound).

Recommendation:  If you love the grit of good Americana music, then this one is a must for your collection.  Go Get It!

 

 

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

Get it or forget it – Animal Confession, Kristina Koller, David Hopkins, John Flanagan Trio, The Dreggs

We made it to hump day again.  To reward you we have five more reviews to check out.  Let’s get started.

Artist Name:  Animal Confession

Album Name:  Age of Today

Label:  Self-released

Genre:  Hard Rock

Track Listing:  1.  Everyone is Watching; 2.  Ritual; 3.  Hole in the Sky; 4.  Guillotine; 5.  Red Eye; 6.  All we Have is Now; 7.  Panic Attack; 8.  Age of Today; 9.  Memories; 10.  The World you Know; 11.  Waiting for Yesterday

Publicist:  Self-promoted

Review:  Animal Confession kicks off their sophomore effort with a more upbeat and radio-friendly vibe while keeping their overall hard rock sound.  This should make them more attractive to a larger indie rock audience, while maintaining the energy that made them so successful in their native Ottawa.  They definitely have the chops to compete on the American rock scene.  Smart music supervisors will check out their catalog and find songs that would make great placements, like their current single “Ritual.” “Hole in the Sky,”  “All we Have is Now,” and the title track, among others.

Recommendation:  If you love powerful, upbeat, high energy rock, then this is the band for you.  Get this one.

Artist Name:  Kristina Koller

Album Name:  Perception

Label:  Self-released

Genre:  Jazz/Soul

Track Listing:  1.  You go to my Head; 2.  Simplicity; 3.  I’ll Remember April; 4.  You’re Here Now; 5.  Skinny Love; 6.  Nice Work if you can get It; 7.  Blame it on my Youth; 8.  Utopia; 9.  I’ll Know; 10.  Devil may Care; 11.  I Miss You; 12.  Our Lives

Publicist:  Self-promoted

Review:  It may be cliche’ but Kristina Koller is an old soul in a young body.  She has a firm grasp on making jazz music that is comparable with some of the greats like Diana Krall, Etta James, Billie Holiday and Norah Jones, albeit in a more progressive and contemporary fashion.  From the first notes of “You go to my Head,” it becomes quickly evident that this lady can SING, and that we would buy her singing the phone book if she released it.  “Simplicity” has that great traditional jazz standard sound, including some amazing stand-up bass and keys.  All in all, this is one of those albums you put on and listen to from start to finish because there are no weak tracks.

Recommendation:  If you are a jazz lover, then you NEED this one in your collection.  Get it today!

Artist Name:  David Hopkins

Album Name:  Overlook

Label:  St. August Records

Genre:  Indie Rock

Track Listing:  1.  A Small German; 2.  C’est La; 3.  When I do it With You; 4.  The Spirit Song; 5.  Who am I What are We; 6.  Irresponsible; 7.  Disappointed; 8.  Let Somebody Inside; 9.  God & Gabriel; 10.  A Smaller German

Publicist:  Vision Music Promotion

Review:  “A Small German” is an instrumental gem filled with horns that serves as an intro to the awesomeness that is “C’est La,” the first single released from David Hopkins’ latest project, Overlook.  The album is currently available digitally, but the label plans to release a vinyl version next week.  The video for the first single, as well as the entire album, was produced by Mark Stoermer, who has made a name for himself working with The Killers, and that experience makes Hopkins sound like a million bucks.  There are no weak songs on the album, but we really love “C’est La,” “When I do it With You,” the heavy Beatles influence on “Who am I What are We” and “Disappointed,”  the Latin vibe of “Irresponsible,” the retro sound of “Let Somebody Inside,” and “God & Gabriel.”

Recommendation:  This one is a must-have for all rock aficionados.  Definitely Get it.

Artist Name:  John Flanagan Trio

Album Name:  Honest Man

Label:  Self-released

Genre:  Bluegrass/Americana

Track Listing:    1.  Beauty on the Bottom; 2.  Nomad; 3.  Something to Complain About; 4.  Free John Zarb; 5.  The Last of the Cassette Men; 6.  Honey I’d buy you a Home; 7.  A Place Untouched by Man; 8.  Ripples; 9.  You can Love Yourself; 10.  Honest Man; 11.  Young Minds; 12.  Leave me to my Blues

Publicist:  Penney and Logan

Review:  With harmonies as pure as a mountain stream, and musical prowess that equals or exceeds that of Nickel Creek and the Punch Brothers, Australia’s own John Flanagan Trio deliver perfection with the release of Honest Man.  The trio features John Flanagan on lead vocals, guitar and banjo, Daniel Watkins on mandolin, guitar and backing vocals, and Liz Frencham on double bass and backing vocals.  The awesomeness starts from the first note of “Beauty on the Bottom,” and continues throughout the album.  The Trio were joined in the studio by guest musicians Justin Olsson on drums, Pete Fidler on dobro and lap steel and Kat Mear on fiddle, and their contributions are clearly evident.  This band could easily sweep the Americana Music Association awards, and are ready to take on the North American continent.  There isn’t a weak song on the entire album.  We strongly advise station managers in the Americana market to consider this band for heavy rotation.

Recommendation:  Don’t think twice.  Run out and Get this one today!

Artist Name:  The Dreggs

Album Name:  Seas Embrace

Label:  A&R Records

Genre:  Indie Folk

Track Listing:  1.  Blue; 2.  Feel Alive; 3.  Give Myself to You; 4.  Ocean and Earth; 5.  Simple Question; 6.  Thinkin Bout Tomorrow

Publicist:  The A&R Department

Review:  The incredible guitar picking hits you first, followed by that smoothly amazing voice and harmonies, and you know that you have found your place of relaxation.  “Blue” is the perfect introduction to the duo of Paddy Macrae on lead vocals and percussion and Zane Harris on guitar and providing those perfect backing vocals.  The Australian indie scene continues to impress us with some of the most dynamic musicians in the world.  The Dreggs are pumped and primed to tackle the American radio market, and would surely be successful if they did.  We strongly encourage indie radio stations and smart music supervisors to check them out, especially “Blue,” “Ocean and Earth,” and “Simple Question.”

Recommendation:  This may be one of the best duos we have reviewed this year.  Don’t wait for another minute – Get this one now and be the envy of all your friends.