Category: Rock (Page 106 of 241)

Seven Mile Ride: Seven Mile Ride

February 6, 2009 /

Seven Mile Ride cranks out music that fits squarely within that sort of journeyman rock groove that has been well trodden before by many other like-minded groups. Vocalist and guitarist Shayne Rushton has one of those semi-gravelly voices that compels you to keep listening, and at times his guitar work can bring to mind the great Roky Erickson (check out those searing notes that cut through the intro on “Take Me Home”). “Face in the Crowd” kicks things off with an almost jazzy vibe that signals this might be something different. When the third tune “Always” rolls around, though, Seven Mile Ride starts sounding more like typical bar band fare than anything seriously breakout. That’s nothing bad in their case; indeed, “Dance Song” is fun and funky, and “Keep to Myself” has a solid strutting rhythm to it. But overall this is pretty safe stuff that doesn’t take too many chances. (Macaca Fuscata Records)

Seven Mile Ride MySpace page

CD QuickTakes, CD Reviews, Rock

Blue Island Tribe: The 5 Hits of Ecstasy

February 6, 2009 /

You’ve heard this one before. A group of white guys decides to hit the same path that better groups like Sublime walked years before, and do their own take on the reggae/ska groove. It sounds exactly like you might expect. Take that one part Sublime, adhere a bit of No Doubt, and slap on a coat of old-school Chili Peppers, and you basically have Blue Island Tribe. The only problem is that they are as faceless as all the other groups that tried out this gig and never became famous beyond their local sand bar. Luckily, they didn’t try to attack any dub here, and there isn’t a big horn section to goose them along, which may ultimately make them sound plainer than other groups of their ilk. Good enough, but just, and not really worth getting any more excited over than the same band down your own street that’s doing the same thing. (Spark A Fire Records 2008)

Blue Island Tribe MySpace page

Alternative, CD QuickTakes, CD Reviews, Reggae, Rock

Dana Falconberry: Oh Skies of Grey

February 5, 2009 /

Sometimes new artists come out of nowhere to brighten our day and sometimes they help by painting beautiful images in our heads with their music – be they bright, or be they cloudy and drizzly as Dana Falconberry does on the aptly titled Oh Skies of Grey. Falconberry is an Austin Texas singer/songwriter who moved from her hometown of Dearborn, Michigan a few years back and has been hanging around the camps of Patty Griffin, Peter Buck and Alejandro Escovedo. What you’ll hear in Falconberry is equal parts sultry folkster (Griffin), rainy day alt-popster (Suzanne Vega), and bombastic arrangements that give her songs incredible character (think Laura Veirs). All of this is wrapped up in a neat package and delivered with authority on Oh Skies of Grey, and it’s the kind of moody fare that you stick in your CD player and forget about for a while, or at least until the sun starts peaking through. The best tracks among 12 varied and well-crafted ones are the shuffling, hauntingly sexy “Love Will Never Leave You Alone” and “Flourescent” as well as the unofficial title track, “Blue Umbrella.” (2:59)

Dana Falconberry MySpace Page

Alternative, Ambient, CD QuickTakes, CD Reviews, Folk, Pop, Rock, Rock Babes

Living Colour: Live August 19, 2005 – The Bowery Collection

February 4, 2009 /

Live August 19 – 2005 – The Bowery Collection is the second live release from Living Colour to be recorded at CBGB’s. The last one, recorded in 1989 (and released 3 years ago), served as an opportunity to work out much of the material that would appear on their sophomore record, Time’s Up. This recording is more of a career retrospective and a love letter to Hilly Kristal, the proprietor of CBGB’s and the one to give Living Colour their initial break. As entertaining as it is to hear Vernon Reid noodle around on his guitar and listen to these tracks which have an energy and passion matched by the sociologically intense lyrics, the buzz is killed by awful sound. Apparently the source of the material is the soundboard from the club, and as romantic as that sounds, it comes off on disc as muddled. The mix is jarring and distracts the listener from the material and performances. The band also sounds disorganized as it labors a bit between songs before grooving into a new one. The material is mostly good, except for the assault on the ears of “Terrorism,” but the sound is so bad, you can flat out skip this release. (MVDaudio)

Living Colour MySpace page

CD QuickTakes, CD Reviews, Funk, Rock

In Endeavors: You’ve Got Your Friends, I’ve Got Mine

January 30, 2009 /

Coming off like the Strokes’ no-nonsense southern cousins, Lexington, Kentucky’s In Endeavors pretty much do nothing but rock out on their pointedly titled five-song EP. Fortunately though, singer Gerren Reach doesn’t drench his vocals in quite as much sonic gook as Julian Casablancas, allowing his own textures to take center stage. What’s more, when bassist Patrick Meyers’ and guitarist Cliff Meyers’ backing vocals respond to Reach’s calls on “Private Eye,” the result is a small dose of good-time rock n’ roll to diffuse some of the smug swagger native to the territory of coolness. But they turn in their most satisfying combination of the EP’s closer, “I Can’t Run” – rough backing harmonies combine with between-the-beat drumming and shaking tambourine in the chorus for a dynamic, single-worthy entry into the band’s discography. Pretty it up a bit in the studio for radio, and it could be a hit. (Eugene 2009)

In Endeavors MySpace page

Alternative, CD QuickTakes, CD Reviews, Rock

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