Tag: Luna Neptune

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

Get it or forget it – Fantasticboom, AG Weinberger, Family Animals, Luna Neptune, Sepsiss

The new releases keep coming, so we’re back with another edition of Get it or Forget it.  We hope you enjoy these five diverse artists.

Artist Name:  Fantasticboom

Album Name:  How to Build a Hole

Label:  Self-released

Genre:  Indie Pop/Rock/Electronica

Track Listing:  1.  The Sound of Cutting Ties; 2.  Gabby; 3.  I Thought I Could Save You; 4.  All the Words I Know; 5.  this; 6.  How to Build a Hole; 7.  All of the Above; 8.  Meg; 9.  The Flavor of Regret

Publicist:  Self-promoted

Review:  Mark Cuthbertson aka Fantasticboom is a multi-instrumentalist and vocalist who plays almost all the instruments on his latest project except the drums, which are contributed by Bucky Wheaton of Land of Talk.  The album was co-produced by Cuthbertson and The Besnard Lakes’ Jace Lasek.  Other than the very experimental sound of the first track, the album is pure indie pop/rock.  The songs are well written, with strong vocals perfectly mixed with the impressive musical accompaniment.  These songs would do well on college radio, and should be on the radar of smart program managers, especially “I Thought I Could Save You,” “All of the Above” and “The Flavor of Regret.”

Recommendation:  Skip the first track, but enjoy the rest.

Artist Name:  AG Weinberger

Album Name:  Reborn

Label:  BigFoot Records

Genre:  Jazz/Blues

Track Listing:  1.  Wang Dang Doodle; 2.  Sweet Little Number; 3.  On the Wrong Side; 4.  The Fool’s Lucky Day (ft Bob Margolin); 5.  It Wouldn’t be Enough; 6.  Slippery Slope; 7.  Just One Minute; 8.  Cadillac Blues; 9.  Shoot; 10.  Caroline; 11.  Reborn; 12.  I am the Water

Publicist:  Blind Raccoon

Review:  Dracula may be the most famous of all Transylvanians, but inside the country of Romania, AG Weinberger is a close second.  On his tenth album, he mixes elements of jazz, blues, cabaret, psychedelic rock and folk to create music that put him in the elite of all blues guitarists in the world.  In his spare time, he’s also a composer and playwright and has written 19 plays for the Romanian theater companies.  While Weinberger does not consider himself a blues artist, but an artist who infuses blues into everything he plays.  We tend to agree, and think his album is a treat from start to finish, especially the title track.

Recommendation:  Get it if you love the blues.

Artist Name:  Family Animals

Album Name:  The End is Mere

Label:  Self-released

Genre:  Psychedelic Rock

Track Listing:  1.  Push Play; 2.  Gimme Jim-Jims; 3.  Nuclear Confusion; 4.  Voyage to Nowhere; 5.  Chivalrous Idiot; 6.  The Modern Life; 7.  Captain Z Bop’s Friendly Friends; 8.  Guitarbot 4000 + the Two Tongued Twins (Live at Magnitard’s Tavern); 9.  The March of the Megaherd; 10.  Exploding Light; 11.  A Speaker in Your Stereo

Publicist:  Self-promoted

Review:  The sound of Family Animals is very retro, no doubt heavily influenced by The Beatles‘ Yellow Submarine and similar material.  The psychedelic undertones are almost mesmerizing and relaxing, especially on “Nuclear Confusion,” “Chivalrous Idiot” and “Captain Z Bop’s Friendly Friends” (which both sound like they could have come from The Doors), their first single “The Modern Life,” and the final track, “A Speaker in Your Stereo.”  On the other hand, “The March of the Megaherd” is more reflective of Jimi Hendrix.

Recommendation:  Definitely worth your attention, especially if you love 60’s influenced psychedelic rock.

Artist Name:  Luna Neptune

Album Name:  Reverse the Hexes

Label:  Self-released

Genre:  Alternative Folk

Track Listing:  1.  Sons of Adam, Daughters of Eve; 2.  Your Gods; 3.  Old Christine

Publicist:  Self-promoted

Review:  We last reviewed Luna Neptune when she released her EP Next Automated Wave back in August 2018.  She’s back again with another three-song EP that once again proves she is an artist on the cusp.  Her vocals are heavenly and the songs conjure up memories of such great songs as Heart‘s “These Dreams.”  The sound is very retro, sort of a cross between Heart and Fleetwood Mac, and very appealing, especially the first single, “Your Gods.”  We can’t wait for her to give us a full length album, because these appetizer EPs are so tantalizing and tempting while leaving us wanting so much more.

Recommendation:  Run out and Get this one.

Artist Name:  Sepsiss

Album Name:  Fair to Say

Label:  Self-released

Genre:  Metal

Track Listing:  1.  Fair 2 Say; 2.  Eyes of Empathy; 3.  The Swarm; 4.  To Write Hate on His Arms

Publicist:  Self-promoted

Review:  Sepsiss has a traditional heavy metal sound with a sweet twist, the powerfully crisp and clean vocals of Melissa Wolfe, which belong in the same category as Amy Lee.  This band has the potential to go head to head with the giants of metal, and come out ahead because of those memorable vocals.  We especially love “Eyes of Empathy.”  This is hard-hitting metal at its best, and we look forward to hearing more from these monsters.

Recommendation:  If you love metal, you will love Sepsiss.

 

 

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Artists Worth Checking Out Monday Mashup Women in Entertainment

Monday mashup 2018: vol. 45

OMG – did you see the end of the Miami-New England game?  That amazing 69-yard pass/lateral that resulted in a Miami touchdown and a win over our arch-rival the Patriots?  That was one of the best games we have seen in many years, and so happy we were able to pull it off.  We are also happy for all the nominees of the LA Music Critic Awards for the second half of 2018.  Remember, fans can ONLY vote for the Fan Favorite award, so leave your vote as a comment on the announcement article by saving “I vote for (name of artist or band) for Fan Favorite.”

Now that the nominations are out of the way, we have a wonderful Monday Mashup for you today, with five new singles and videos including some holiday tunes.  We hope you enjoy them.

NEW SINGLES

Our first single this week is from LA alt-rock band Swerve.  It is a hard rocking tune called “She Cut Her Hand,” and we like it a lot.  Swerve originally began as a moniker for music created by Los Angeles native Greg Mahdesian. But what initially began as a solo project eventually became a full-fledged band. Greg solely composed all of the songs on Swerve’s self-titled debut EP and hired producer Brandon Duncan to record them. So, when it came time to recruit musicians in order to perform live, Greg naturally asked Brandon to join on bass, his old college friend, Ryan Berti, on guitar, and Mark Gardner on drums.

Next up is a holiday cover from Israeli rock goddess Ninet.  We love the simple stylings of “Sweet Chariot” and hope it puts you in the proper mood for the holidays.

For our third single, we head up to Sweden for the beautiful voice and similarly simple arrangement of Marlene Oak on her latest song, “In the Evening.”  Enjoy this masterful and soaring song.

Next is a pop gem from Dollshot called “Paradise Flat.”  This one is not your ordinary pop tune, and we relish its uniqueness, with sparkling jazz stylings. Please let us know what you think.

Our final single is another amazing holiday song, this time featuring the incredible voices of Mallory Trunnel and Lauren Harding, otherwise known as Crimson Calamity.  This may well become our favorite new holiday song.

https://soundcloud.com/crimson-calamity/first-snow/

NEW MUSIC VIDEOS

We tried to share this one a couple of weeks ago, but it was not released until December 7.  The video was shot in Portland and we think it is very well done.  Check out the amazing Hayley Lynn, who shot this video in one take, and her incredible pipes amid the beautiful backdrop on her song, “Valentine, Too Soon.”

From the beautiful to the different, we bring you the latest from Luna Neptune, who are sharing the “Next Automated Wave.”  They are another European band, and we hope they come play the States in the not too distant future.

Our third video features the truly hip sounds of Saving Forever.  We think you’ll love it, so let’s make some “Memories.”

Our fourth video is a lo-tech lyric video from Alex Bloom.  We love the simpleness of the shoot but the intensity of the lyrics on his song, “Elevator.”  What do you think?

We close out this week with a cover of one of our all-time favorite holiday songs, “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas.”  This time around it is covered by the lovely and extremely talented Arlene Zelina, and we think it provides the perfect sentiment for the season.  See you again soon.

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

Get it or forget it – Luna Neptune, Megative, Brigades, Daniel Aged, Detroit Rebellion

Just one more day until we fly the friendly skies back to North Carolina.  Here are five more artists to consider as we prepare to go.

Artist Name:  Luna Neptune

Album Name:  Next Automated Wave

Label:  Self-released

Genre:  Alternative Folk

Track Listing:  1.  Next Automated Wave; 2.  Elspeth & Elijah; 3.  The Illustrious Pen Thief

Publicist:  Self-promoted

Review:  Scottish alt-folk singer Luna Neptune is a tease.  There is just enough greatness in her latest EP to get you hooked, but not enough to fill you up.  That is probably part of her plan for world domination, as she gives us just enough to make us want more.  All three of these tracks are stellar, unlike anything else in this genre.  Her Scottish heritage comes through strongly in her musical style and strikes a chord with the listener.  We are now addicted and can’t wait until our next fix.

Recommendation:  By all means, go and Get this one!

Artist Name:  Megative

Album Name:  Megative

Label:  Last Gang Records

Genre:  Dub/Reggae

Track Listing:  1.  Have Mercy; 2.  More Time; 3.  Can’t do Drugz (Like I Used To); 4.  Beneath the Sun; 5.  Yeah Yeah Yeah (Yeah Yeah); 6.  Bad Advice (ft Metric Man); 7.  Can’t get Away; 8.  Megative No Fear (ft Metric Man); 9.  She’s not Real; 10.  Ghetto Defendant; 11.  One Day … All This Will be Gone

Publicist:  The Syndicate

Review:  Infusing their music with the best of reggae and 70s-era UK punk, Megative gives us a truly listenable dancehall dub mix that is fun to listen to, and perfect for dancing.  The reggae forms the foundation of the music, making it the music of choice for chilling and party-time.  It will appeal to reggae and dance music lovers, as well as to anyone who just loves great music.  We can see it becoming a smash in Europe and on the college music scene, and we absolutely love this album.  It starts out strong with “Have Mercy” and then proceeds to blow us away with its intensity and sheer joy.

Recommendation:  Run out and Get this one today!

Artist Name:  Brigades

Album Name:  True Blue

Label:  Tone & Pixel

Genre:  Pop-punk

Track Listing:  1.  Turmoil; 2.  Buffy; 3.  China Doll; 4.  Sucker; 5.  Calligraphy; 6.  Finish Your Chardonnay

Publicist:  Behind the Curtains Media

Review:  Brigades has a driving indie pop/rock sound with vestiges of punk that is upbeat and fun to listen to.  They would be a great soundtrack for your daily work-out, as well as the perfect addition to your local radio station.  Their music is truly radio friendly, and would also be good placement material for film and television.  Best tracks include “Turmoil,” “China Doll,” “Caligraphy,” and “Finish Your Chardonnay.

Recommendation:  We highly recommend you Get this one.

Artist Name:  Daniel Aged

Album Name:  Daniel Aged

Label:  Quality Time Recordings

Genre:  Instrumental/Electronic

Track Listing:  1.  UNTLD1; 2.  BASS.INT; 3.  BH; 4.  STEEL.INT; 5.  KAWAI SQ; 6.  BREATH2; 7.  PC33; 8.  12.21

Publicist:  Worldwide Friendly Society

Review:  Daniel Aged is a gifted musician that knows how to bring out the best in his compositions with stylistic electronica and impressive bass guitar.  It is no wonder that he has gradually found his niche in composing scores for film and television, and is every bit as gifted as Oscar-winner Trent Reznor.  According to his Facebook page, this album is a collection he started in 2015 or 16 from demos, loops, and feelings, and recorded them on his computer and tape machine.   We see a bright future for this gifted composer.

Recommendation:  These instrumental tracks are perfect for chill time.  Get a copy and enjoy.

Artist Name:  Detroit Rebellion

Album Name:  See You Next Year

Label:  Bodan Kuma Recordings

Genre:  Modern Blues/Garage Rock

Track Listing:  1.  Wrong Number; 2.  Troubadour; 3.  You’re Going South Tonight; 4.  Black; 5.  When the Finger Points at You; 6.  See you Next Year; 7.  Snake Eyes; 8.  Storyteller; 9.  The Bug Jar; 10.  Spit Fire; 11.  Put on a Show; 12.  Graveyard Blues

Publicist:  The Syndicate

Review:  We reviewed their first album The Man last August, and are happy to be able to review their sophomore release as well.  This time around, the sound is much more punkish and raw than their debut release, but no less effective in raising the listener’s consciousness.  This is not your father’s blues, but a modern-day sound that incorporates more rock and punk into the mix, making it sound almost lo-fi and retro.  The lyrics still hit with a punch and are about the issues that are pressing today.  They are harder to understand because of the lo-fi production, but we recommend you listen to the songs over and over until their message comes through.

Recommendation:  If you like a modern day approach to protest songs, then definitely give these guys a listen.