Archive for Emerging Artists
The Heaven Switch, S/T, 2012
Sometimes you have to break out of your comfort box and sometimes you need to smash that box with a baseball bat. You may have noticed that as of late I have been listening to some albums that are not my usual brand of tune-age. This is nothing new for me, and I often enjoy the challenge of listening outside my own box, just don’t get used to it, Avid Reader. If you happen to recall the album I wrote about by the brothers Wolff ,then Ryan Calhoun could be their long lost older brother. Allow me
Is It Safer by the Shore?
A while back you might recall that I reviewed a band called Mugshot who have made a name for themselves in New Hampshire as being a great cover band on any given night. While Mugshot is still plugging away each weekend, their vocalist/guitarist Brien Sweet is also making tunes under the name Safer by the Shore. True, playing covers can be a lot of fun and gives you some flexibility to stretch out and show off a bit -- but creating your own material has rewards as well.
In 2007 Brien released his first album of acoustic original songs
In 2007 Brien released his first album of acoustic original songs
15-Year-Old Korean Girl Stuns on KPop Star
I'd like to take a moment and state right off the bat that I loathe reality music shows. They're irritating to no end, they cheapen the feel of music, and it's just awful television. All of this is my opinion, of course. If you happen to get some sort of delight from watching a pompous, British record producer tear people down for no real reason other than it being in his nature, then fine. I personally find it stupid.
That being said, I saw something recently that had me in awe. A 15-year-old South Korean girl named Park Ji Min,
That being said, I saw something recently that had me in awe. A 15-year-old South Korean girl named Park Ji Min,
Shalini, EP, 2011
When it comes to writing about pop music, sometimes the easiest way to describe something is to relate it to something else that is popular. Easy enough, right? Well, yes, it is easy enough, but now I have pigeon-holed an artist to sound similar to a more popular artist in order to entice you to check out some new tunes. That doesn’t strike me as fair at all, but it is the easiest way out of a conversation. For this particular EP I’m going to ask you to keep Sara Bareilles and Zooey Deschanel in mind and not go
Nat and Alex Wolff, Black Sheep, 2011
My motto, for the past eight years, has been: I’ll give it a spin once because it can’t kill me, right? When the opportunity came to review something that was genuine twee-pop, I had to research The Naked Brothers Band for some background, I said "oh what the hell" and gave these brothers a fair chance. For a few boys that started young, crafting songs by themselves, then on to Nickelodeon, they seem to have come a long way.
Right off the bat, what I liked about this album is that these boys seem to be singing from their hearts and
Right off the bat, what I liked about this album is that these boys seem to be singing from their hearts and
