Two full-length, track-by-track album reviews are the featured output this time here at DaveCromwellWrites. An overdue return to greatness comes by way of legendary creators and long-time friends of this site. It’s always satisfying when one can reignite feelings of excitement and admiration that an artist initially stoked in you. These moments are what you live for, and should never be taken lightly. Equally important is a brand new album from more recent contributors (to this site, anyway) who’s timeline of productivity mirrors the first entry. There’s a starting point for everything, and the focus here is on these latest works.
When the original “Pe'ahi” album was released by The Raveonettes in 2014, an in-depth review of it was conducted at this website. That actually served as the ninth full-length review of this bands work here spanning a time period from January 2009 through September 2014. The review writing done earlier (which goes back as far as 2003) is now lost to the wind and dead sea scrolls of now defunct hyperlinks. Post Pe'ahi (1), an epic 3,744 word review of their “2016 Atomized” album was published here in January 2017. Following that was an August 2018 one-on-one interview with the bands mastermind Sune Rose Wagner. After a long hiatus The Raveonettes recently released a much anticipated follow-up to Peahi, simply titled “Pe'ahi II.” DaveCromwellWrites now digs into every essential aspect of each track with recharged purpose.
True to the opening tracks song title, the album starts with horror movie sounding plinking toy piano notes on “Strange.” It’s a 1950’s style stroll progression before the primary forceful guitar chords commence to chug along with bass guitar in tandem. The familiar Everly Brothers-style blended Sune and Sharin vocals deliver opening lines “Whenever we try it's a waste of - my time – yeah. Whenever we fight do you feel it? You bring me to my knees and tears.” Melodic guitar figures follow, immediately underscoring what gorgeous songwriting this is. Wagner laments about losing someone to “a boy who looked like me,” pointing out how “strange” it is “to go from the other side to this.” It all leads up to an angelic chorus that states “when we try – can we feel it’s ok” – “and it feels just like love.” That euphoric moment is ultimately countered by sparser instrumentation and comedown sentiment “it’s a waste of you and I.” The tracks final minute is an ambient dreamscape of metronome clicks and hisses over a simple keyboard rendition of the melody.
Check it out:
Follow-up cut “Blackest” starts out just as mysteriously, this time approximating a jazz combo with busy free-form drumming and soft reverberated electric guitar. Pulsing bass notes soon begins and spoken word as if from a radio broadcast can be faintly heard. All of that is obliterated when forceful buzzing guitars burst into the mix, soon joined by a power-thump drum beat. One more layer adds on with a descending “detective story” guitar melody. All of that suddenly drops out leaving behind changeover “ooohs” and a stark rendition of the songs lyrics. “When I rise on my wave - the moon shows her face. A lonely dot at sea - a lonely girl coming straight at me.” The trademark Wagner long slithery guitar groove is never far away, and the one here is everything you could want. Cycling one more time through the lyrical passage, Sune’s guitar follows with a flurry of melodic lines against moody backing instrumentals and an eventual thump-n-bump drum beat outtro.
An official band lyric video accompanies this one:
A syncopated rhythm between driving guitar and stutter-stop drum pattern immediately kicks off third entry “Dissonant.” Harmonized Sharin and Sune vocals jump in, delivered quickly at one more alternating tempo. “Come and get beside her - just pretend you like her - this love is all yours to fake” is the opening, disillusioned sentiment. “I tend to harden up when our love is set to go - I wanna give it up for someone I don't know” completes the hit-and-run encounter. A musical callback to “Attack of the Ghost Riders” follows to much surprise (and delight). With that initial verse/bridge progression cycling though again, a quick stop deep bass buzz plateau is reached at the minute-and-a-half mark (and lasting over a minute) before it’s percolating build-up launches back into one more verse.
A classic, straightforward drum beat leads in the official lyric video enhanced track “Killer.” Melody kicks in by way of a tinkling bell sheen on its descending chord progression. Rough guitar chords slash underneath as dual sung vocals commence. While the verses are catchy in their own right, it’s the chorus that hooks you in immediately with the battle-scarred relationship lines “Kill for love, and make it so I don't care. Most of the time, I felt so alone.” After a second pass through it stops abruptly, with elegant piano notes and finger snaps in it’s place. Percussion returns, adding a steady current under the extended piano melody. Another subtle change halts that progression for brief arpeggio guitar notes, before returning to that relentless forward march. It’s an unusual (and unexpected) coda that measures half of the entire songs length.
A steady hard-edged guitar riff is the opening force driving next cut “Lucifer.” Motorik percussion joins in with measured pace, offsetting the guitars urgent nature. Softer higher range vocals spell out what appears to be a demonic fever dream. Bass guitar and more bottom heavy drums usher in the next passage adding a bit more grit and a touch of funk it it all. That is emphasized even further once the original hyper-drive guitar riff returns. Another more spacious audio section change includes lyrics indicating “Lucifer” is a woman who “never felt love” is “tired of all the fighting” and “wants to walk alone.” Cinematic in scope, the primary driving guitar hook once again moves out and open spaces emerge in its place. The tracks final minute is a blend of softer alternating guitar riffs, scratch-buzz percussion and ultimately deep buzzing synths.
Distant, chiming guitar ambiance is the deceptive fade in on forward charging rocker “Speed.” Sune’s vocals are pitched into a slightly higher register as he delivers loosely related strung together lyrics alternating between hope and defiant resignation. “My hope died down I can't explain” (negative)
“Somewhere I know that I belong” (positive), “Don't sell your soul you're young not old” (positive),
“Don't waste your time you're one of a kind” (more of a pep talk). True to the song title, it’s fast paced, tasty guitar lick driven, and while the percussion is hissy and somewhat buried, there’s lots of angelic background voices floating all throughout.
The percussion stops momentarily leaving only guitar fuzz to emphasize lyrics “Got hit by a car and emerged unharmed” (well that’s good) “A failure in life means a winner in hell” (what?). Other lines that stand out, like “I don't wanna die without having tried” (good advice) and “You're jealous of me for what I've done” (that seems rather personal and one wonders who that is aimed at). The final verse let’s it all hang out, with the lines “I belong to this generation of filth” (self realization), “I was pushed into life entertained by war” (we’ve talked about this directly interviews and related song reviews),
“we're pretty and blessed to have met with death (?!), “cause I know when he comes I'll take his hand” (yeah, I suppose, but don’t wanna think about that now – or ever – when it happens it happens – nothing you can do about it).
Reaching the albums penultimate track, “Sunday School” emerges in full motion from the get-go as a quick-breeze ditty. With emphasis on vocals and lyrical story telling rather than instrumental depth, it’s the perky, harmonized chorus that instantly connects. “What if you met him on a rainy day, he wouldn't get a word you say. This ain't no darling little Sunday school, cause he'd kill for love but not kill for you.” Bonus points for adding bell-chimes on the bridge section “and all the things that break you down, he never cared at all. Another time another place, he never cared at all.” That is follow by single throbbing tone, with distant voices as if coming from a far off radio. The final verse include lyrics too intriguing to ignore, with “fucked dates go to their graves” (!?), “young men end their lives” (negative), “young girls become wives” (positive).
Final cut “Ulrikke” brings back the harsh distorted guitars and thunderdome drumming for it’s abrupt shock-to-the-system intro. All that drops out quickly on opening verses that culminate with the line “make me indestructible as I am.” That intro noisy instrumentation returns, now sounding like an approximation of a train chugging down railway tracks. The second verse (same as the first) benefits from trip-hop style percussion and distinct, stylized recitation (and pronunciation) of the words. “Make me feel like finding someone - who can never do right and can never go wrong” becomes the catchy (if somewhat puzzling) refrain.
It's a wonderful album overall, and a reminder of the seemingly effortless ability Sune Rose Wagner has in writing, recording and bringing a record to fruition.
Connect with the band and find out how to acquire the album via this link.
Finally, at full track-by-track review of all 12 "Atomized" song can be found on this site here.
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Around two and a half years ago this site did an extensive review of Canadian indie rockers Star Collector’s 6th studio album “Attack, Sustain, Decay . . . Repeat.” That was the result of being impressed by their (and subsequently reviewed here) video single “Green Eyes” from fifth recording “Game Day.” Now the band is back with their just released seventh album "Everything Must Go!" Expecting nothing less than another power-pop masterpiece, DCW digs down into this latest output.
The album opens with overall title track “Everything Must Go!” along with a full video production. This title name is something you would see on retail stores looking to move all their merchandise in one last blowout. That doesn’t seem to be the case however with this band, as their meaning is more universal as in letting material things go (“cause you can’t hold on to it”). The track (and video) comes into view initially via mix-master drummer Adrian Buckley’s subtle backmasking followed by a propulsive beat. Slashing guitar chords jump in, delivered by Vic Wayne and Steve Monteith with
Tony Kerr’s bass locking to this progression that echoes The Who’s “The Real Me.”
Vic’s vocals are less Roger Daltry and more Alex Chilton in timbre, as he calls out for you to “come along for the show.” There’s an early “easter egg” for classic film buffs with the lyrical reference “Warriors, come out to play” (if you know the scene, you never forget it). Continuing it’s anti-materialism theme “we ain’t any richer than our memories,” “can’t put a price on feelin’ this way” and “you can’t buy tomorrow” leave no doubt as to what “must go.” In classic power-pop fashion, a blistering lead guitar break by Steve at the two minute mark is tasty indeed.
Check out this song and video here:
Second entry “Victory Dance” builds around wiry slide guitar and hand-clap-style percussion. A chugging mid-tempo groove, lyrics tell a tale of “we” (us) vs “they” (everyone who isn’t us) with an unconcerned “And we laughed” hook resolution. Big chiming guitar chords and fluid bass propel third track “Shining Example.” A higher-register backing vocal harmonizes with Vic on verses, while the change is solo voice intimate. The overall feel is closer to Neil Young and Crazy Horse than traditional power-pop.
Stacatto percussion, slithering bass and open note guitar figures lead in the subdued “Queen Bed.” Gentle female vocals (courtesy of Renee Suchy) join Vic on the understated “fight or flight” segment and following chorus. Those essential backing vocals become more prominent as the song progresses through this tale of returning to single life. Angular prog-rock accents provide instrumental change hooks for the torn memory saga “Black Nostalgia.” A particularly busy bass guitar line runs throughout, and especially stands out on the ethereal “Ah – Ahh” chorus. Vic drops his vocal timbre down low for the emphatic final verse where “the brutal truth” is addressed once and for all.
Referencing the Greek myth of Sisyphus, “Roll That Rock (Up That Hill)” bounces along briskly with contributions from guest musician Adam East (guitar, bass and vocals). Each lyrical burden is met with a definitive “And I don’t mind.” A soft plateau mid-song change section indicates that even if you “scream into the vacuum, everyone’s [still] a critic.” “Overblown” is an easy, breezy groove with lyrical focus on interpersonal turmoil. The question is asked “would you really be better off alone?” Frequent references to “the devil you know” describes multiple outcomes.
“Heavy On You” comes into focus via distorted buzz-fuzz and a-cappella vocals. When the mid-tempo cruncher rhythm comes in, a cautionary tale spells out how “a special kind of fresh hell - when you look at yourself - heavy on you and your mirrorball.” Bonus points for the thoroughly savory guitar lead running through the center. Bright acoustic guitar and melodic bass guitar melodies usher in the merseybeat tinged “The Best Thing.” Clever wordplay combining descriptive terms “bushwhacked,” “ransacked” and “gobsmacked” focuses on a spirited literary approach. Essential statement “the best decision you ever made was doing nothing at all” rings ultimately true.
Light touch drumming and prominent bass guitar provide instrumental backing for the vocally intimate “Static.” There is a simple yet inventive nod to the songwriters plight with the line “searching for a chorus in a never-ending verse.” Quick paced chunky guitar rock returns for the lyrically opaque “Section 8.” Ostensibly about the rental housing assistance program often referred to by that name, a penetrating guitar riff adds necessary melody between each line of the verses. Jungle thump drumming, slashing guitars and a hyperactive bass guitar pattern propels penultimate track “Shakedown The Breakdown.” As hoped for, a smoking lead guitar solo rips n’ rolls at multiple points throughout. Because when you come down to it, “We all need a gang in this cold town.”
The album closes on an adventurous direction for the band, breaking from their signature power pop style with “Your Version Of Me.” Written as a collaboration between Vic and long-time friend of this site Jody Porter (most recent review on his music here, with linkbacks to numerous others) the groove echoes Pink Floyd’s “Wish You Were Here.” Building off an instrumental demo Jody presented, Vic’s lyrics build from original intentions with the lines “You were banking on a new religion - a grift you kept on the sly.” The songs title refers to how everyone we come in contact with has their own personal “version of you” and how that differentiates somewhat among all of them. No one can know everything about you, as such only have their own impression of you. “Now, I’m free… and not your version of me,” becomes the definitive statement. It’s a gentle and introspective way to end an album that overall is loaded with one fine song after another.
Dig in to the album here:
Find out how to acquire this groovy power pop album at their Bandcamp
2023 was another stellar year of new music reviews here at DaveCromwellWrites. As we come to the end of it, the annual Best Of is now presented for perusal. Each month's entries are covered, featuring the best of the best artists who put out compelling new recordings. Old favorites stand alongside brand new entries, all deserving of the in-depth analysis they received. What ties every one of these artists together is their own high level of recording acumen and overall creativity. With that said, dig in to the 2023 Best Of DaveCromwellWrites Features.
With springtime now beginning to bloom here in the northeastern region of America, the motivation to review returning artists by way of trusted labels and direct contact sources is strong. Compelling new releases from musicians working in favored genres provide the impetus for this months entries. What remains consistent since the very beginning of this all is a dedication to perceptive listening, followed by a life-long quest for literary excellence.
Back in 2020 a song from UK based gazey-psych-stoner rockers Excellent Skeleton showed up here in the DCW world and was given a deep review. That track (“Stop Waking The Sun”) now appears with six other cuts on their just released album “On Mercury Sea.” Having previously lauded their “unabashed sonic cataclysm” and “pure aural mayhem,” attention is now turned to these additional compositions.
Album opener “Moving Away” rises up slowing on distant synths and twangy guitar figures. Soft vocal chanting can be heard entering the mix as foreboding textures are soon met with full band instrumentation. As this doom-laden groove lumbers forward, male-female vocal harmonies emerge (and sometimes submerge) expounding on “sun,” “highway,” “roadway,” “sky” and “the night.” With those mysterious images to ponder, an elevated manic guitar solo steps into the center of it all. Repeating that vocal passage once more, the band stomps its way to fade-out conclusion.
Follow-up cut “Train Station” emerges out of an ornate, FX-enhanced guitar figure soon met by a quick -tempo percussive beat. Lead male vocals take the dominant storytelling role, however wisely incorporation softer female background voices for dreamier responses. It all comes together on the lines “when you shine, you shine like gold – upon the soul.” Closing out with the repeated phrase “perfect moment” elicits an almost The Cure-like feel in attitude, despite the harsher guitars.
Emerging out of finger-picked open note chords, 8 minute epic-length “Mosquito” soon morphs into a full-throttle raging stomper. Tandem sung male-female vocals serve up impassioned lyrics with precise monotone delivery. Chord change segments shift away from the frontal onslaught momentarily, before returning with psychedelic guitar solos over the main progression.
“No Escape From You” adds a romantic-gazer feel to the proceedings, while maintaining the now-expected pummeling undertow. The Kevin Shields/Belinda Butcher vocal style is in full use here, both on the lovely verse progression and resolving title line chorus. Album title track “On Mercury Sea” is a two minute, 45 second ambient dreamscape of keyboard swells and layered, strummed guitars. A spoken word segment is introduced in the final minute, reciting what might be a fever dream about life's universal mysteries.
Sixth cut “Key To The City” nimbly blends pitch-bended, gazey guitars with a heavier bass and drums rhythm section. Space is cleared out on the verses for rising-progression tandem delivered vocal renderings. There's a particularly appealing high harmony that attaches on the end of periodic voicings. At over seven minutes in length, there's ample room for extended explosive instrumental forays. As stated at the top of this review, close-out track “Stop Waking The Sun” has been fully reviewed on this site, here.
Back at the beginning of 2022Big Stir Records tipped this site off to the talented North Carolina singer-songwriter Chris Church. The album released at that time “Darling Please” received a full DCW track-by-track review. Chris now returns with a brand new album “Radio Transient” which once again gets a no-stone-unturned analysis right here. Produced and Engineered by Chris and his wife Lori Franklin, familiar names from the previously reviewed album are back. Drums were played by Nick Bertling who also provided recording assistance as well as the overall mastering. Lindsay Murray of the band Gretchen's Wheel once again contributed lovely harmony background vocals. For his part Chris wrote (with notated additions) all the songs, sang lead and background vocals, played guitars, bass guitar, synth, keys and percussion.
The album kicks off with the noise-pollution-assault inspired space fantasy “GCRT” (which is an abbreviation for Galactic Center Radio Transient) from whence the album title comes from. Bass guitar driven in that Joe Jackson “I'm The Man” style, vocal couplets of exasperated frustration give way to more cerebral plateaus of fantasy escape “detached in the physical plane.” Yes, it's a complaint song (totally relatable) where acknowledging “incoherent emissions are free” accurately point out “yes of course it's you, it isn't me!”
Initial single “Going 'Til We Go” fuses a pretty melody chorus with lyrics on the joys of marriage and how “shopping” might possibly be the wife's second favorite thing in life (hoping her husband is still the first). The hook is gorgeous “anything you want to tell me, anything you want to sell me, I'm gonna buy.” Harmonies on those lines are perfection and capture the spirit of 70's creatives like Dan Fogelberg and other artists of that genre.
Listen here:
A propulsive drum pattern and oblique bass guitar progession mark out dance floor conundrum “I Don't Wanna Dance With Me.” The surprising ambient middle section (repeated once more near the end) is a welcome reprieve from an otherwise forward driving groove, lyrically fixated on a reluctant dance partner. The pace slows somewhat on the power ballad “One More Chance To Get Over You” (which is a great title and theme). The lyrics are excellent, with tender thoughts like “sold me on the plan,” and insightful ruminations “waiting game inside my dreams.” Additional over-the-target lines “it's either breaking down or breaking through,” and “when you look me in the eyes I'll be so strong” drive home how much pretending we actually do in this life.
The self-confessed Lindsey Buckingham/The Fixx/Hall+Oates inspiration is on full display with “I Think I Think I Like You.” Equally important to the overall sound on this one is the much-heralded Danelectro 12-string guitar which apparently provides the bulk of chiming twang on the entire album. The sugary background vocals are particularly sweet here, employed in an appealing elongated mode. Quirky synth sounds are sprinkled throughout the Darryl Hall/Todd Rundgren80's inspired “Already In It.” Minor chords (or are they 7ths?) tend to punctuate section ending lines, underscoring that “blue eyed soul” of the previously mentioned Hall+Runt. The lush romantic male background vocal harmonies emphasize that point further. Extra points for rhyming “starting to fall” with “ever need a wherewithal” and “right on time” with “shift the paradigm.”
Nick Bertling's rapid-fire drumming, Chris' Danelectro chime and Lindsay Murray's honeyed background vocal sheen reinforce the lyric heavy “Over And Out.” Loosely themed on “gossip,” the repeated ending refrain “you know you could always just stop” is good advice all around. While synthesizer plays a large sonic role on breakup song “Gotta Go Gotta Ramble,” the bass-guitar and drums interplay driving everything along is even more impressive. Once again, soaring vocal harmonies on the title line chorus lift the mood above it's subject matter.
Bass and drums provide the focused underpinnings for the popular bpm-dance-beat “Far Too Late.” Synth twiddles, elevated background vocals and an extended guitar-noodle mid-to-outro section add needed weight to lyrics that “rattle 'round like bumper cars in your head.” Video game samples make their way onto album closing track “Flip” which includes the appropriately related phrase “ready player one.” Standout lyric “we all need someone that we CAN do without” (emphasis added) drives home the absurdity of things we think we “need” and can't (but in reality “can”) do without.
The album is out on CD in record stores worldwide and streaming everywhere on March 24, and is up for pre-order at www.bigstirrecords.com, the BSR Bandcamp page, and online retailers now.
A year ago this month Canadian “mod” indie rockers Star Collector received an initial DaveCromwellWrites review feature on their video single “Green Eyes” off of their 5th album “Game Day.” The band is now back with a recently released 6th full-length “Attack, Sustain, Decay . . . Repeat.” Twelve songs in all, the DCW microscope now digs down into this latest work for a track-by-track review.
Opening track and the album's first single “Feel It Comin' On” benefits from a lively video to accompany it. Bursting out of the box in full motion, power-pop guitar chords and snare-to-tom-roll-drumming thunders underneath memorable slide guitar riffs. Consistently thematic in style, video imagery colorfully displays the 4-point musical-reference meaning of the album's title. As singer/songwriter/frontman Vic lays the vocal lines, “It's all or nothing” becomes an immediate catchy bridge hook. There are elements of The Who-style full band punctuation on end-of-verse-lines “my time,” “what's mine” and “stone jive” - where, bass guitar, and power chords lock in for emphasis. On reaching the title line chorus, a smoother plateau is reached with somewhat softer vocals. Momentarily putting the slide down, lead guitarist Steve rips a killer solo, just after an amusing lyrical bridge that references “pie,” “cookie jars,” “pile” and “rile.”
Check out this super fun song and video here:
Next cut “Beat It To Death” doubles-down on that power-pop prescription, with slashing guitar chords and bass guitar/drums tandem accents. Sweet wah-wah pedal riffs add a momentary Clapton-esque feel to it all. “The Back Of Your Head” comes on initially with a quieter, unaffected vocal style paired against a single guitar only. With the band kicking in fully after a minute and a half, buzzing guitar chords and Keith Moon drum fills are the preferred modus operandi. The songtitle meaning ultimately becomes clear as a metaphor in being able to see what's coming behind you. “Halfway Home” comes wrapped in an easy cruise groove, musing on life's journey as one big circular adventure.
“Running Through The Rain” adds a rich sonic element of organ into the mix, enhancing background vocals and an emphatic chorus. Similarly, a big-time guitar riff stitching the verses together is only surpassed by the nimble-fingered guitar solo midway through. “Black And Baby Blue” builds around an acoustic guitar, soft brush drumming and intimate vocal reading. Dealing with confidence-turned-self-doubt issues, essential lyric “holds you down, without a sound, and what else can you do?” defines the mood.
“If We Can't Take A Joke” is propelled along over a buoyant bassline that runs like a snake through the entire track. Drawing it's title from a common expression, it's ultimately used as a summation for perceived unrequited efforts. “Crashin'” brings back that classic cowbell-on-percussion groove and crunchy chords/bass guitar tandem. Rhyming the title word with “fashion,” “passion,” “smashin'” and “trashin'” seems like the most sensible thing to do.
“Cross My Heart” is a gentle finger-picked acoustic guitar driven number engaging in clever wordplay about a serious matter. Namechecking two popular “Tonight's The Night” songs ( one referencing first love, the other devastating addiction) ending in eventual loss. “Broken Butterflies” rides a groovy secret-agent-man bassline under verses sung with deep-voice aplomb. Crunchy guitars return on a chorus that serves as something of a pep talk on the harsh realities of life.
“Nineteen Dream” comes on with an easy, gradual groove, saving the full-band bombast for emphasis on the weightier passages. Reflecting back on a life where “the years just fly away” but noting “still got some things to say.” Final cut “Don't Have To Fold” closes out the album with defiant conviction wrapped in a hard-charging rocker. Musing on the passage of time, it's title references a cardplayers “hand” in this game of life.
Dig into this whole album here, along with how to acquire it and the bands entire catalog:
Connect with Star Collector via their Social Media here: Facebook - Instagram
The frequently reviewed here vocalist Bryce Boudreau of the band Lunar Twin has collaborated with Italian recording artists Dead Miranda on a track off their latest album “Anima.” That records final track “The Valley Below” pairs Mr. Boudreau's voice with producing and recording artists Humbert Allison ( Vocals , Guitars , Bass and Synth) and Luigi Limongelli ( Programming and Effects , Drums). The results are an intriguing musical alliance that now receives a detailed review below.
A rising siren-like synth wave are the first audible tones before a deep-jungle percussive pattern commences. The mood is instantly dark and mysterious as the snap, crackle and popping beat slithers forward. Various textures make their way into the mix, like extended-note guitars and a variety of effects. Bryce begins his vocals in a hushed whisper, offering: “On the outside, in the night time ever wild in desert below.” The rhythmic pulse picks up with intensity, and repeated lyric “blood red moon” is separated by a strong guitar notation. A distant bubbling pulse commences underneath the more dominant bass+drums progression, adding one more ear-engaging level of sonic depth. The guitar figures become more frequent and intense, powering over top of the rhythms as vocal lines “Fly away/ I’m gonna fly away” and ultimately song title reference “In the valley below” bring the track to conclusion.
Listen to this killer track and find out how to acquire the entire album here:
Previous reviews of Bryce with his band Lunar Twin on this site can be found Here, Here, Here, Here and Here.
2022's final month offers a time for revisiting music reviews composed and compiled here on this site throughout the year. The annual “Best Of” highlights those notable artists written about since January. A concise listing focused on each months entries in sequential order brings attention once again to the most engaging releases of 2022.
With the New Year came a fresh crop of album and single releases that were followed by full-length recordings later on. Most of these artists have been developing their individual style for a number of years. Featured on indie labels with consistent track records, the first month of 2022 saw this site digging in to a variety of creative songwriters and sound designers.
Frequent contributors to this site Big Stir Records rolled-out their first major album release of 2022: “Darling Please” from acclaimed North Carolina singer-songwriter Chris Church. A remastering of songs recorded a number of years back, the artists re-imagined his original vision aided by modern recording studio facilitation.
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Along with the lyric-heavy vocal music frequently reviewed here, this site has also made it a point to feature quality instrumental releases at times. The Seattle-based soul-jazz groove machine Delvon Lamarr Organ Trio first released the single “Don't Worry 'Bout What I Do” and full album Cold As Weiss via Colemine Records.
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Good Eye Records introduced an exciting new track "Boscobel," which served as the first single from new to this site band Sooner's debut album, Days and Nights. Sooner specializes in blending alternative rock, dream pop and gaze with romantic female lead vocals.
The Kool Kat Music label released “Wish I Could See” by Cheap Star. Fronted by Swiss-French musician Remi Vaissiere (who wrote, sings lead and plays guitar on all the songs). A distinct 'Americana/Powerpop' vibe runs through it all due to the artists long-time relationship with seminal late 80's/early 90's Posies frontman Jon Auer. Brought in to produce and mix the record, Jon also plays a variety of guitars and keyboards on nearly all of the tracks. The Posies connection doesn't end there as respected drummer Brian Young (a member of that band during their major label years from 94-98, before moving on to The Fountains of Wayne and then The Jesus and Mary Chain) delivers outstanding percussion on every one of these new songs.
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The music of Dead Leaf Echo is no stranger to this site, having covered their recordings and many live shows for over a decade. Notwithstanding some personnel changes one could hardly be surprised at over that length of time, the current lineup has been relatively steady the last few years. After completing their first Latin America tour, they released a six track EP. “Milk.Blue.Kisses.And.Whalebone.Wishes” is the mysterious and poetic title, serving as something of a hybrid to the song titles on it.
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Austin, Texas heavy-groove blues-rockers The Dizzy Bangers received a detailed analysis on their song “Painted Bruises,” which displayed an advanced level of musicianship and lyrical mastery within the heavy rock genre.
Equal measures of industrial electronics, heavy rock, seductive vocals, black-clad fashion glamour and spirituality are woven together in the music of Turbo Goth. As popularity continues to grow in both their native Philippines and adopted home of NYC, the duo of Paolo Peralta and Sarah Gaugler released their album “Awakened Imagination.”
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The always busy Brighton, England based Shore Dive Records contributed this month, promoting their 111th release featuring Stockholm, Sweden's We.ThePigs. This full-length album highlights a lovely collection of female vocal dreampop, harsh Sonic Youth-like guitar noise and even a JAMC “tribute” as well.
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Enticed to check out the music of already established indie rockers Star Collector proved to be a prudent endeavor. Working in the classic 4 piece, two guitar, bass and drums formation, an impressive level of vocal harmonies lift them above rudimentary “garage band” status.
The folks at Shoredive Records seem to instinctively knows what will fly here at this site. Offering the labels 116th release featured an artist out of Chicago called “Glitter Assassin.” That cool name along with the promise of noisy guitar layered indie pop with a heavy gazer influence received the full DCW analysis.
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Respected Label BIG STIR RECORDS rolled out the first in a series of singles highlighting Finnish power-pop guitar group The Bablers. An appropriate CromwellWrites deep-dive ensued.
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An interesting musician recording under the name Friends from Moon released a concept album titled “Astray.” It's epic and incendiary track “Marvels beyond Madness” garnered intense listen and review.
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The Rosie Varela Project released their album “What Remains,” with its single track “Fault Line” receiving a wordy investigation.
Four exciting new audio and video releases summoned attention for the month of May . Storied legends with lengthy discographies (still going strong) share space here with newer established artists along with debut entries as well.
Legendary gothic death-rock pioneers Christian Death have a long history that dates back to their original formation in the 1980's. Equal parts adoration and controversy have continued to surround them ever since. Featured track and video for “Beautiful” from their 17th studio album “Evil Becomes Rule” received primary focus.
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Inspired by a 75 million year old rock formation in Thailand that when viewed from above, create the visual illusion of a family of whales, 3 Robots Records indie label artists Sueño con belugas released their epic track “Normal.”
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With the release of her latest album “Tresor,” the evolutionary vision of musician Gwenno reached a new pinnacle. The title track and it's accompanying video provided a unique journey into her Cornish and Welsh history.
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A collective calling themselves Seedsmen to the World released their debut album on Blue Arrow and Birdman Records. Combining elements of trance-drone and folk music, it's offbeat qualities sparked further investigation.
Frequently featured label Patetico Recordings returned to the DCW realm with a new collaborative effort Heliocentric Overdrive and their debut EP “Weightless.” Their melodic-pop tracks are fuleed by a precise and frenetic delivery.
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If it seems like there is yet-another Shoredive Records artist being featured here on this site every other month or so – well, that's because it's true. One of the busiest, most-consistent labels out there, something new, exciting and previously unheard of appears in our listening sphere that simply can't be ignored. This time it was mysterious dreamgaze from Montpellier/Paris going by the name 40 Days Without Water.
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Another independent label discovery was the Peruvian based Chip Musik Records. It specializes in ambient, electronic, chillwave, experimental, glitch, dreamgaze, vaporwave and experimental artists from all over the world. Their release Lego 15 – Pulsos de Bosques (Forest Pulses) is an extensive collection of music from Central/South American and other international locales.
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Sometimes a record is released in a low key manner with little fanfare, and the band moves right to playing live as a means of showcasing this new material. Such was the case with Tight Lips debut EP, which was released at the end of March. With bands and audiences reconnecting at live shows again, the opportunity to focus on this previously uninvestigated recorded music presented itself.
The good folks over at Big Stir Records released a full-length album by LA psych-pop rockers Maple Mars. Titled “Someone's Got To Listen,” it's the band first album in over a decade, and debut for this label.
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Andres Alfonso Lugo is a Baltimore-based recording artist who's work has been featured here on DCW numerous times. While those previous reviews focused on the bands he belongs to, the current work here being delved into is his solo project Los Dientes Hundidos en la Garganta. With that phrase translating into “the sunken teeth in the throat,” the music created is less ferocious (though still quite powerful) than that expression would suggest. Andres provides guitar, loops, programmed drums, bass and synth, while enlisting contributions from Ferran Pont Verges (Die Noia Futuriszka) with guitars, voice and mixing on "Loops of Energy."
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Receiving news about a new project involving long-time fave David J (of Bauhaus and Love & Rockets fame) is always welcome. Busy as he's been over the last few years with revived live shows, hearing about brand new songs and group collaboration peaked curiosity. The debut album “A Free Society” by newly minted combo Night Crickets also includes Vincent DeLorenzo (from Violent Femmes) and multi-instrumentalist Darwin Meiners. Drawing their name from a conversation about something David Lynch said, the recordings came together via audio files shared between Los Angeles, Milwaukee, London and San Francisco. Their music video and song “The Unreliable Narrator,” received a detailed review.
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An inquisitive individual who records and plays live music under the moniker 77 Apes caught the attention of DCW through their steady persistence. It is a solo artist endeavor where lyric-heavy songs are accompanied by acoustic and electric guitars, fleshed-out with background rhythm tracks.
Longtime friends of this site The Stargazer Lilies released a video for first single “Bending The Lines” in advance of their 5th studio album release “Cosmic Tidal Wave” via Floravinyl Records. The track and video receives appropriate fragmented windswept reverie.
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The steady output from Philadelphia's Patetico Recordings assures ample opportunity for frequent reviews here on this site. This particular month saw the release of “From the ashes” by Stellarscope, which featured a precision review of single track “All the lies.”
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Influential bands of the 90's continued to re-emerge with new material, which was welcome news to audiences who have missed them. Consider the Portland trio – No 2 – back with their third album, but first in a number of years. Fronted by Neil Gust who originally shared songwriting duties in Heatmiser (along with Elliott Smith), No 2 rose out of that bands ashes in the late 90's. The album titled “First Love” was released on Jealous Butcher Records.
Heavy blues rock has always been a particular favorite here at this site, and nobody does it better than Austin, Texas-based The Dizzy Bangers. Though relatively new here to the DCW orbit, a number of reviews have already made their way into prior features. The band returned once again with a new video release for their song “Painted Bruises,” earning additional commentary and analysis on it.
Turning attention once again to one of Shoredive Records releases found this site focusing on the recording project Xeresa. Simply titled “IV” (as in album number 4), the fully named Nicolas Pierre Wardell (previously only known as Label boss Nico Beatastic) serves as the bands primary catalyst. Painstakingly recorded between 2019 and 2022, each song features guest vocalists, some who have full releases on the parent label. Each track was built in the more common now than ever way of sending instrumental basic tracks to each respective artist for their creative additions (predominantly vocals).
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UK Power Pop Rockers It's Karma It's Cool released the track “A Gentle Reminder,” accompanied by an in-studio style video performance, providing visual imagery of the band performing. This perfect slice of powerful pop music received a full DCW breakdown.
It had been a year or two since new Lunar Twin music entered our universe. The enigmatic west coast duo returned with “Beyond The Sun,” the first single release from their upcoming album “Aurora.” Bryce Boudreau (vocalist/songwriter) and Christopher Murphy (multi-instrumentalist/producer) continue to expand on their sonic vision with this new material. “Beyond The Sun” received a close listen and complete review. A full nine track album is due soon, with another track “Android Dreams” available now to acquire and listen to.
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Returning here for another review is the work of Baltimore-based recording artist Andres Alfonso, who makes solo music as Los Dientes Hundidos en la Garganta. While that phrase loosely translates to “the sunken teeth in the throat,” Andres composes his ambient works with guitars, bass and heavy looping. What comes out of that are wonderfully dreamy experimental ambient electronic soundscapes. The second single “Configurations” from latest album “Infinite Past” on Jak Jonson Tapes has recently dropped, and got the full review treatment.
An in-depth Interview and hotly anticipated EP Review shared space with two full-length, track-by-track reviews from trusted labels and artists. With one returning and another first-time creator receiving detailed analysis on their latest recordings, the quest to make sense of it all carried on without limit.
When press releases about a new band called The Buckleys started showing up via email over the last two years, an appreciation for the music and image they were producing was instantly felt. With the band recently coming to New York, Nashville and LA for press stops and personal appearances, I was honored to catch up with them for a face-to-face interview.
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Back in May of this year, ambient dreamgaze collective Sueño con belugas were reviewed here on DCW for their introductory track “Normal” in anticipation of upcoming album “Memoria Cósmica.” With the release of that full eight song album, a chance to dig deeper into their sound presented itself.
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Bookending Big Stir Records first major album release of 2022 (as mentioned here at the beginning of this Feature) was their final release of the year, “Sounds In English” by Sweden’s Richard Öhrn. Best known as the guitarist and one of the songwriters for the indie pop band In Deed, this release serves as his solo debut.
The Kings and Queens of that glorious Astoria music scene – GIFTSHOP, performed two notable live shows that certainly qualify for “Best Of 2022” designation. Back on the final day of April the band played at Otto's on NYC's lower east side as part of a benefit to aid Ukraine.
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Treating the audience to many of their classic tracks like “Despicable,” their careful selection of classic covers contribute to a total live show experience. Check out their glorious rendition of The Cars “Just What I Needed” on this night right here.
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A more recent show went down earlier this month at beloved Astoria, Queens venue The Shillelagh Tavern. With dazzling frontwoman and lead vocalist Meghan having morphed from platinum blonde to bright-fire redhead, the band ripped through another killer set of originals and choice covers.
Opening with perennial favorite “Purchase,” they hit the ground in high gear and everything was “soo good – soo good.”
Was great to hear an updated version of “Same” which also included room for Jordan to showcase his drumming skills. There was the how-does-she-do-it hyper-speed vocals on “Things I Feel.”
Damian and Matt - axe-slingers on the corners.
Other enjoyable tracks played were "Stylish Junkie," "Spooky Halloween Christmas" along with bring-the-house-down covers of "Creep" and "Only The Lonely" (a clip of which can be heard at the end of this Instagram Post here).
Dave Cromwell has been writing about music since the dawn of the internet age. In addition to the steady flow of features here on this site, he has been a regular contributor to The Deli Magazine (both Print and Web) since 2010. With numerous Print Issue cover features and weekly contributions on the Deli website, scores of artists have received the Cromwell point of view. Along with ongoing contributions to this site and The Deli Magazine, Dave has written for Dingus, My Social List, The Waster, Spin and Rolling Stone magazines.
