Tag: The Skiffle Players

Categories
Artists Worth Checking Out Get it or Forget it Reviews

Get it or forget it – Grant the Sun, The Skiffle Players, Grave Danger, New London Fire, Air for Ants

Happy Friday.  Tomorrow is the first day of December, and the nominations for the second half of 2018 for the LA Music Critic Awards will be announced on December 7.  As we finish off the final reviews, here are five more for your consideration, including one that is being released today.  Enjoy.

Artist Name:   Grant the Sun

Album Name:  Simmar Ur Bild

Label:   Mas-Kina Recordings

Genre:   Instrumental Metal

Track Listing:   1.  Simmar ur Bild; 2.  Ondskans Vakmastare; 3.  Tje Kjonoj; 4.  Sjuttonde Maj

Publicist:   Viral Propaganda PR

Review:   Grant the Sun is a trio from Norway, featuring founding members of the band Insense, Havard Sveberg and Martin Rygge (who is also the guitarist for Beaten To Death) and childhood friend and guitar virtuoso Markus Lillehaug Johnsen.   The band creates instrumental metal inspired by such bands as Devin Townsend, Extol and Meshuggah.  The music is complex and well-written, and could be useful as placements in commercials, as well as film and television.  It is not overpowering, but melodic metal that excites all the senses.  It is a combination of prog-rock and metal that should appeal to most rock music lovers.

Recommendation:   Definitely give this one a spin – we think you will be delighted by the subtleties and complexities of their sound.

Artist Name:   The Skiffle Players

Album Name:   Skiff

Label:   Spiritual Pajamas

Genre:   Indie Rock

Track Listing:   1.  Cara; 2.  Local Boy; 3.  You’ll Miss it When it’s Gone; 4.  The Law Offices of Dewey, Cheatum and Howe; 5.  Wham!; 6.  Long Horns, Long Necks, Long Legs; 7.  Herbamera; 8.  Los Angeles Alleyway; 9.  Skiffleman; 10.  Harsh Toke; 11.  Oakland Scottish Rite Temple Waltz; 12.  Santa Fe; 13.  Sweet Georgia Brown

Publicist:   Calabro Music Media

Review:   We had the pleasure of reviewing their previous EP Piffle Sayers back in August, and their full length album was definitely worth the wait.  Picking up where their EP left off, they have launched their ship even further into the deep, adding what they call “acoustic dance music” to their more traditional folk sound.  We love the country vibe on their first single, “Local Boy,” and the retro feel of “You’ll Miss it When It’s Gone.”   “Wham!” seems like a natural segue from the classic country song “Baby Likes to Rock It” by The Tractors.  This one is fun from start to finish, and we think there’s something for everyone within these songs.  Of course, it wouldn’t be complete without a traditional Skiffle romp through the classic song, “Sweet Georgia Brown.”

Recommendation:   Get it!

Artist Name:   Grave Danger

Album Name:   Let ‘er RIP

Label:   Self-released

Genre:   Ska-Goth (Skath)

Track Listing:   1.  Grave Danger; 2.  Escape From Skull City; 3.  Too Ghoul for School

Publicist:   Earshot Media

Review:   Grave Danger have taken ska and combined it with goth, creating a form of music they call skath.  It is a natural progression from the music of Oingo Boingo, and it has all the great vibe of that amazing band.  It was released on October 26, but we couldn’t get to it before Halloween.  Never fear – you don’t have to wait until next Halloween to enjoy this three-song masterpiece.   It will make you “Too Ghoul for School.”

Recommendation:   This one is a hoot – get it!

Artist Name:   New London Fire

Album Name:   Tired of This Man

Label:   Self-released

Genre:   Folk-Rock/Americana

Track Listing:   1.  The Fire; 2.  Tired of This Man; 3.  Now I’m Found; 4.  I Still Believe; 5.  You Know I Would; 6.  I Hope You Hear This Song; 7.  Momma It’s Alright; 8.  Abigail; 9.  When it Gets Hard; 10.  Rise Above

Publicist:   Behind the Curtains Media

Review:   Combine the fun of Mumford & Sons with the Celtic vibe of Flogging Molly and the folkiness of The Decemberists and you get New London Fire.  The lyrics are well-crafted and politically on point, and will definitely give you food for thought.  They hit the ground running on “The Fire,” and never let up.  They issue a call to unity and Americanism and provide empowerment to not forget the lessons of the past but use them to grow together, not apart.  This one is definitely going on repeat, as every track has something to offer.  Favorite tracks include “The Fire,” “Now I’m Found,” “I Still Believe,” “You Know I Would,” “I Hope You Hear This Song,” “Abigail,” and “Rise Above.”

Recommendation:   Definitely Get this one!

Artist Name:   Air for Ants

Album Name:   Once Again With Feeling

Label:   Self-released

Genre:   Indie Rock/Pop

Track Listing:   1.  We’re Together; 2.  Like a Lion or a Tiger or a Bear; 3.  The Loner; 4.  Privyet; 5.  Pieces; 6.  Did You Know You’re Gold; 7.  Cig

Publicist:   Behind the Curtains Media

Review:   Dominic Sahagun’s vocals shine on the latest for Air for Ants, which mixes ambient pop with elements of electronic music, jazz and funk to form their own version of Indie Rock that is uniquely theirs.  Sahagun, a professor at Berklee College of Music, has received high praise from the likes of Kenneth “Babyface” Edmonds and Ken Nelson, the producer for Coldplay, and you should definitely believe the hype.  This is one of the most interesting albums we have reviewed this year, and we look forward to repeated listens to capture all the nuances of their craft.  This one is just plain fun and truly belongs on the radio.

Recommendation:   Go Get it now!

 

 

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

Get it or forget it – Foemen, Raquel Bell, Paulaa, Michika Fukumori, The Skiffle Players

As we head into the final week of August, we still have lots of great artists to share with you.  Here are another five for your consideration.

Artist Name:  Foemen

Album Name:  Magntisz 

Label:  Marmallow Pavement Records

Genre:  Electronic

Track Listing:  1.  All Night; 2.  Freedom Rules; 3.  Magnetic Form; 4.  Oh Crooked Crown; 5.  Surrender

Publicist:  The A&R Department

Review:  While not the biggest fan of electronic music, we really like this EP from Australia’s Foemen.  The sound is hot and is good to listen to as well as dance.  We love the songs, which are well written and radio ready as well as the perfect addition to a house mix.  The effects on the vocals are also not the norm, and we like the overall production of the EP.  Our favorite tracks are “Freedom Rules, “Magnetic Form, and “Oh Crooked Crown.”

Recommendation:  If you are a huge electronic music fan, then you must have this one.  For the rest of us, it is still worthy of your attention.

Artist Name:  Raquel Bell

Album Name:  Swandala

Label:  STORBM

Genre:  Experimental Pop

Track Listing:  1.  Stones; 2.  Vibration Carnation; 3.  A Solo to Mars; 4.  Who Gets to Name the Name; 5.  Wizard Liar; 6.  Growing in  Your Mouth; 7.  Swan

Publicist:  Howling Wuelf Media

Review:  The only music that we normally like less than electronic is experimental.  Raquel Bell is changing our perception with her latest collection of experimental songs.  Although we don’t like the first track, “Stones,” at all, there is more structure to the second track, “Vibration Carnation.”  The music on this track is brilliantly constructed and Bell’s voice is ethereal and provocative.  She really hits her stride on “A Solo to Mars,” and the EP gets better with each new song thereafter.

Recommendation:  Forget the first song, but the rest of the EP is worthy of your attention.

Artist Name:  Paulaa

Album Name:  Fall In

Label:  Self-released

Genre:   Trip-Pop

Track Listing:  1.  Fall In; 2.  Commit; 3.  All These Stories; 4.  Done; 5.  Call me When you Wanna Try; 6.  Know You

Publicist:  Mystic Sons

Review:  Paulaa has a beautiful voice that lifts her songs to the stratosphere.  The title track is a masterpiece and deserves heavy airplay on the radio.  She is from London and her music is just the remedy that our current American radio needs.  Not only does she deliver on the title track, but she delivers on every other track as well.  She is definitely becoming one of our favorite UK performers, and we are putting her EP on repeat, especially “Call me When you Wanna Try.”

Recommendation:  Definitely Get this one!

Artist Name:  Michika Fukumori

Album Name:  Piano Images

Label:  Summit Records

Genre:  Instrumental  Jazz

Track Listing:  1,  Colors of Blues; 2.  Into the New World;  The Seasons; 3.  The Answer is . . . (Winter); 4.  The Story I Want to Tell You (Spring); 5.  The Days we were Smiling (Summer); 6.  Tomorrow is Full of Promises (Fall); 7.  Where or When; 8.  Palco (a Little Dancer); 9.  Chovendo na Roseira; 10.  My Muse; 11.  Oceans in the Sky (ft Steve Kuhn); 12.  Luiza; 13.  Ev’ry Time we say Goodbye

Publicist:  Mouthpiece Music

Review:    As most of our readers know, we are huge jazz lovers, and we seldom get piano jazz, although one of our favorite musicians, Dave Yaden, is a maestro on piano and can play just about every genre.  Thank goodness for Michika Fukumori, a native of Japan who now calls New York City her home.  She came to America to study jazz and we think she nailed it.  We love how she mixes blues, ragtime and her own soulfulness into her jazz.  Whether she is playig a jazz standard or her own composition, Fukumori delivers beautiful music.

Recommendation:  If you love jazz, you owe it to yourself to add this one to your collection.

Artist Name:  The Skiffle Players

Album Name:  Piffle Sayers

Label:  Spiritual Pajamas

Genre:  Folk

Track Listing:  1.  Glow in the Dark Scratch and Sniff; 2.  Jonny Todd; 3.  Stagolee; 4.  Dearest; 5.  A Blessing in Disguise; 6.  Slippin’ and Sliding’; 7.  John O’Dreams

Publicist:  Spiritual Pajamas

Review:  They consider themselves folk musicians, but the first track has all the makings of classic psychedelic rock.   True to their word, the rest of the songs are more traditional folk.  The band is composed of a group of friends that originally got together for a single concert, but liked what they had so much they decided to keep doing it.   The result is a concise and cohesive sound and the skillful telling of some great folk traditions.  In addition, the acoustic guitar work is exquisite, especially on “Dearest.”  We can hardly wait to hear their next full length album.

Recommendation:  By all means, Get this one.