Your Backstage Pass To The Music Industry
Your Backstage Pass To The Music Industry
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KARMINA Backwards Into Beautiful CBS Records |
| Over the past few years pop music has earned a bit of a bad name, so when CBS Records resurrected and announced that Karmina, a pop influenced band, was going to be its flagship act, a few eyebrows were raised. However, just as soon as you hit play on their debut album "Backwards Into Beauty," you realize that this band is nothing like any of the generic pop bands over the past few years. The haunting vocal harmonizing at the beginning of "Satellites," reminded me of something I would hear coming from Amy Lee. The piano driven intro on the song raised my ear as these sisters continued to display a great style in their vocal that was anything but the stereotypical pop sound. The harmonizing is incredible and is present throughout the album much to my liking. Debut single, "This Kiss," is a smart song that knows exactly when to hush the vocals down a bit as they display in the verses, but as the chorus hits they, along with the music, elevate to the level that you'd want from a driving song and lyric like this. Karmina offers very smart musical decisions throughout, which no doubt come from the fact that Kelly and Kamille took the time to understand the songwriting process. This album does everything right from the picking the perfect spots to drive home the well thought out lyrics but at the same time knows exactly when to let the amazing vocals carry the songs as they show on tracks like "Inside Of You." This is not an ordinary, modern pop record, but rather a great duo that knows how to use the strength in their voices. Karmina has already created a buzz about them selves and I am certain that with just one listen, regardless of what you normally spin, you will instantly fall in love with this album. | |
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KATY MAE You May Already Be A Winner Maggadee Records |
| Every now and then a band comes along that blurs the lines of genres and just simply creates great music that all comers can fall in love with. Katy Mae is that band. Hard to classify? Absolutely. The country genre has fused together with rock, rock has fused together with country, then of course the little sub-genre of alt. Country now exists for those that don't want to fit either category, and the list goes on. Katy Mae walks the line between them all and has put out what has quickly become one of my favorite EP's in my collection. Though they are hard to classify, the comparisons to the likes of The Replacements, The Byrds and Wilco are easy to spot, but Katy Mae also finds a way to stand out on their own two feet. With great, relatable, story telling in their lyrics, mixed together with an outstanding vocal delivery from Phil Doucet, and catchy though simple guitar riffs this band can fill up a Lower Broadway honky-tonk in Nashville and have the place packed and they will quickly have the patrons raising their drinks to the ceiling. But, put them on stage in front of a great rock-n-roll crowd and they are going to have the same thing happening. By stretching the lines of genres and what is and what isn't acceptable amongst music today, Katy Mae has created an amazing EP with a sound unlike a lot of the other bands out there right now. For the first time in a long time, I am really excited about some new music and can't wait to hear more from Katy Mae. | |
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DAVE KENNA City Waltz Dravelaw Music |
| 30 years in the making. That is how long it took for Dave Kenna's musical realization to find it's way to a debut album. Though he has had material recorded over the years, as he introduces listeners to on this album with a live recording of "New Doors" from 1987, as well as "Astoria" that was recorded in 1990 and he includes as part of "City Suite," this is by all accounts his first actual, complete, studio album. Due to this project being more of a labor of love for Kenna, he is able to accomplish what most artists today can't. Without having to worry too much about the cohesiveness and flow of the album, he just wrote songs he liked and felt like playing thus making for a unique experience with no two songs ever really sounding the same. Inspired over the years by New York City, where Kenna resides, he seemed to almost sit back and watch the city and people around him eventually forming songs about the hustle and bustle of the city life as he displays on title track "City Waltz," one part of the four part "City Suite." As stated earlier though, this fuses together a lot of variety as Kenna displays on the blues heavy "Ain't Got No Song," that Irish/folk lullaby of sorts to sailors on "Sail On," and the 7-minute, heartfelt, "You're My Son," which let's Kenna focus more on the lyric and delivery of it than on creating the music behind it as he is accompanied only with an acoustic guitar. While this may never be anything more than a labor of love for Kenna, he did create something that is completely unique and real, and is sure to make some new fans along the way that just want to give a spin to something new yet heartfelt and full of passion. | |
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KILROY Football Chants & Angry Rants Mental Records |
| There were always two scenes to follow as far as I was concerned. The New York scene had it's pop-punk sound of bands like The Ramones, early Blondie, etc… while Los Angeles offered a more wasted youth kind of lifestyle through their music and lyrics that lacked the fun of NYC, but was as real as it comes. One of those "real" LA bands was Kilroy, and 25 years later they are ready to release their latest effort, "Football Chants and Angry Rants." Throughout the years one thing is evident with Kilroy; they have never strayed too far away from their earlier influences of bands like Stiff Little Fingers, Sham 69, etc… and this album is more of the same and that's exactly why I love it. I can't stand those bands out there who put out a great first album and then decide they are more creative then that album showed and put out load of crap after load of crap. That isn't the case with Kilroy. They haven't changed their sound throughout the years, but rather just did their thing without any apologies. Most of the 15 tracks that make up this album come in right around the two-minute mark and before you actually know what hit you they have already moved onto the next song. In today's generation I guess this is considered to be "Street Punk," but where I come from this is just honest, punk rock, music for a generation, that isn't afraid to be too punk rock like so many bands are these days. | |
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KOTTONMOUTH KINGS The Green Album Suburban Noize Records |
| Having a career that spans 12 years, and now with the release of "The Green Album," 10 albums, is truly a feat that not many have been able to accomplish, let alone do it all independently the way the Kottomouth Kings have on their own Suburban Noize Records. With an already solid fan base there really isn't too much expanding and experimenting that needs to be done at this point from album to album, but as they always have done in the past, The Kottonmouth Kings do find a way to expand a bit on their already well-known, hip-hop blend of rock music on this album. The first thing that you will notice is that there are 21 tracks on this album that top over an hour of music. WOW! That in itself is incredible in this day and age. They brought in guests on this album that add a unique flavor to some of the songs and brings the Kings to a new level while maintaining their signature sound. The personal favorite guest spot comes from Suburban Noize recording artist Dirtball, who guests on "Green Grass," but there are many standout tracks on this album altogether. The feel good songs you've come to expect from the Kottonmouth Kings are a plenty as they display on tracks like "Happy," where they proudly sing "we like smoking, drinking, and doing our thing," making this sure to become an instant fan favorite, as well as tracks like "Trippin'," "Pack Your Bowls," and album closer "Plant A Seed." There is no explanation necessary as to what these songs are about, just look at the titles. The Kottonmouth Kings are a band that embraces the indie road more so than any other band out there right now, and with this monumental release they seemed on a mission to please their fans and they easily have done that with "The Green Album." | |
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KOUFAX Strugglers Doghouse Records |
| Koufax is a truly unique band that brings a little something different to the table than a lot of the other bands falling into the indie-rock genre at the moment. With critical acclaim already on their side as well as a slew of fans from their previous releases you are tossed into "Strugglers," their latest effort, with the whine of one of their famous homemade horns on opening track "Any Moment Now," quickly adding a unique jazzy feel to the album, a trend that continues throughout the majority of it. The vocals kick in and you hear a blend that often times for some odd reason tended to remind of 70's era Mick Jagger while perfectly mixing in the underground pop/alternative sound of bands like the Cure. "Strugglers" offers up the one thing that I love most about an album these days in that they never stray too far away from the sound that you first hear when you hit play. So, with that being said if you like the first track you will like them all, and if you hate the first track then you will hate them all. There is no in between with a band like Koufax. This is weird at times, a little more out there then most thanks in part to a wide array of instruments including Wurlitzer's, omni chords, and mandolins, but if a unique band is what you are after in today's mostly mundane and watered down scene then Koufax is the band for you and this is your next favorite album. | |
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AMY KUNEY Bird's Eye View Spin Move Records |
| Growing up in a missionary family is full of it's up and down's. All you have to do is look at Amy Kuney's story about this and you will see that to be fact. After growing up in Los Angeles for the first part of her life, her family relocated to Honduras. While there she and her friends were at one point kidnapped by rebels, however it was also while in Honduras that Kuney began to really focus on her music and her writings which we are all the better for as her debut album "Bird's Eye View" displays. By being a fan of country music I have grown to love story telling in my songs and Kuney does just that. As she has stated, she just scribbles thoughts and stories in a notebook before she ever crafts them into songs or lyrics and for me that is where this album truly stands out amongst the pact. She has the ability to take something she sees with her own eyes, create the true story from her point of view with her words, and at the same time add a universal feel to them so that anyone can relate to them even when she is singing about her time spent in Honduras. Both vocally and musically, the comparisons that she has earned to the likes of Fiona Apple are very fair comparisons, however Kuney doesn't completely follow stereotypical songwriting trends throughout the album which allows her to add unique flavoring to her songs and stand out that much more from those she's being compared to. As I stated earlier, I love a well-crafted and relatable lyric, and this album is full of them and Kuney is smart enough to not let the music over shadow her vocals making this a great listen if you like your songs to tell wonderful stories of real life and living. | |