Amanda Badze is here to save your soul as she swoops onto the scene with a soaring voice and a retro R&B vibe.  This stylish lady, born in Zimbabwe though currently living stateside, sings to kill with her full 60s/70s soul power, mixed with a funky bass line and some rocking guitars, in her upcoming debut EP, Eyes of Seven.  Hitting the shelves in early 2012, Eyes of Seven has as many tracks as its namesake, and each explores the hidden corners of Badze’s vocal capacity.

Her first single, “How Does Love Feel,” has a surprisingly rockin’ guitar part and a jumping bass that invites a shimmy and shake-along.  Purely enjoyable, “How Does Love Feel” lacks a particular genre and harkens back to a time when pop was less electronic and more emotive.  Get a first listen to the track below:

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Over the moon about brilliant reviews, Rick Wakeman (l) and Jon Anderson bring their happy song-fest to the NE US. Photo courtesy of Glass Onyon PR

I had posted some press releases previously, but sometimes assignments drop in your lap last minute.  Who am I to pass up Jon Anderson and Rick Wakeman coming to my “hood”?  I still regret not seeing Emerson Lake Merrill Lynch Pierce Fenner and Smith when they played this very same theater, the Sherman in Stroudsburg.

I thought I had spent enough time in the Poconos, having moved there shortly before 9/11.  Leaving shortly after realizing our position would be militarily strategic as a strike zone with the proximity of Tobyhanna Army Depot.

Circumstances and reversal of fortunes (in that all my legal issues have been, for the most part addressed and I am victorious, those who plagiarized me, not so much) allow me to attend Anderson/Wakeman on November 5^th, so I will be bringing you the usually slimmy on this critically acclaimed “Greatest Hits” tour.  What exactly are the critics saying?  Venture forth…

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For someone like me who keeps Fleetwood Mac’s Rumours practically glued to her record player, discovering Delta Rae was a revelation on par with the Second Coming.  This sextet from Durham, North Carolina call Fleetwood Mac to mind not just through their cover of “The Chain” but thanks to a shared musicianship and group sound almost lost in the do-it-yourself, one-man acts of these modern times.

Just in time for Halloween, Delta Rae have released a fantastically haunting music video for their phenomenal, quasi-spiritual single, “Bottom of the River.”  The track calls to mind music as old as chain gang call-and-response work songs, built on layers of percussion created by claps, chains, and the occasional thick drum thrust. Read the rest of this entry »

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CMJ came to a close this weekend, and as those who attended recover (I, for one, am still wearing sweatpants as much as possible), visions of alcohol-fueled shows are dancing through our heads.  This year’s CMJ was overwhelmingly packed with bands from all over the world, but Australia may have been the most oddly and extremely represented country at this year’s festivities.  Traveling through the streets of NYC last week was like being a croc on The Crocodile Hunter; you just couldn’t escape that Aussie accent.

Leading the pack from down under was Art Vs. Science, a trio that makes minimalist techno-rock destined for dancing.  While many of their songs sound tame in recordings, their shows are ridiculous.  Tracks like “Parlez-vous Francais” from the trio’s 2009 debut hit high-volume thanks to the group’s unstoppable energy. Read the rest of this entry »

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Are you cool enough to chase down We Stole The Kids?  If so, you can find them there, at the place where all things hip thrive.  Fronted by drop-dead gorgeous and delightfully named Megan Vice, We Stole The Kids hail from New York City, and their music is a melting pot of today’s trendiest tunes.

“Find Me There” mixes Skrillex-style dubstep with a touch of hip-hop and a heavy dose of 80s electronic dance music.  Add a pair of badass shades and a giant pile of sweaty glitter, and you’ve got the smokey, wandering, hard-partying video for “Find Me There.”  Check it out below! Read the rest of this entry »

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Synth sounds are usually polished to the point of blinding, but one-man electro band Beat Ratio is adding analog back into techno.  This electrical banana-pants-wearing Londoner recently recorded two singles, “Monkey Girl” and “Island in the City,” which will be released as a free download via Plasticrane Prod. this Friday.

Beat Ratio told PREX that the squeaky-clean production quality of electronic music software was hampering his creativity.  “I felt I was becoming a slave of the unlimited possibilities of music software and kept losing myself in useless perfectionism,” Beat Ratio said. Read the rest of this entry »

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Chicago’s Pool Holograph, a one-man experimental pop band comprised solely of the multi-talented Wyatt Grant, recently released a new single, “Incognito.”

“Incognito” slowly hums into existence, building into a breathy verse balanced by a creeping, tension-building beat that soon explodes into a sweet, almost wordless chorus.  Quiet and obscured, “Incognito” slips away from you with a sweet whisper.  Listen to the single (and download it for free) after the jump.

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On her first North American tour since the release of her self-titled debut album last year, Anika is planning to stop at Princeton University tomorrow night, September 29th.  Bridging the gap between dub, punk and 60s psychedelia, Anika sounds like Nico, if Lee “Scratch” Perry had produced her and Richard Hell had written the words she lived by.

Anika’s “Woman’s Dub” sound is the heaviest on her Bob Dylan cover, “Masters of War.” There are two versions of the cover on her album, one of which is an even thicker dub cut.  Its echoing drum machine definitely calls Perry to mind, but a sample towards the end of the original track takes the tune out of the past and into the present, turning “Masters of War” from a Vietnam-era protest song to an anti-war hymn that addresses the guilt of participating in the War on Terror and the unclear boundaries between heroes and villains. Read the rest of this entry »

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What makes Bruce Springsteen and Tom Petty great?  Aside from memorable haircuts, it’s their ability to redefine simplicity and embrace the everyday, heading straight for the greater glory hidden in simple truths and shared experiences.  Local band The Grand Nationals‘ love for their all-American forefathers echoes through their debut record, Tennessee Rain.  The Grand Nationals’ folk-tinged tunes and like-able lyrics are absolutely enjoyable and reminiscent of the heartland rock of yore.

The Grand Nationals‘ “Movin’ On” is so heavily influenced by these kings of yesterday’s rock radio that I would almost swear I’ve heard it before.  With a bopping melody, narrative lyrics, and an unstoppable sunshine smile, “Movin’ On” sounds like a mix between Simon & Garfunkel’s “Cecilia” or solo Simon’s “Me and Julio Down By the Schoolyard” and John Mellencamp’s “Jack and Diane.” Read the rest of this entry »

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Girl power! It may not be the 90s anymore, but Wild Flag definitely knows how to kick it old school, mostly because the members of this brand-new band were also members of 90s legends Sleater-Kinney, Helium, and The Minders.  But this act is no throw back: now, more than ever, Wild Flag’s touch of girly grunge is both fresh and fun.

The supergroup’s self-titled debut starts off with the energetic “Romance,” whose defined beat and relentless stride reminds me of The Knack’s “My Sharona,” minus the pedophilia and plus some serious attitude.  By the time the hand claps break in, “Romance” has spanned every genre from grunge to keyboard-driven pop to girl-group harmonies and vintage vibes.  Check out The Best Show host Tom Scharpling’s video for the single after the jump. Read the rest of this entry »

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This weekend, fang-bangers waved a fond farewell to True Blood (and a handful of its cast members) in the gory Season 4 finale.  As the blood dries and we shake off the bad vibes from that terrible season, there’s only one place left to turn for our supernatural fix: The Zombies!

Although the band reunited somewhat later on, The Zombies had their heyday in the late 60s.  Most lauded for their 1968 album, Odessey and Oracle, and most known for their hit single, “Time of the Season,” The Zombies have continued to make waves even today, not the least of which was this year’s cover of the Zombies tune, “She’s Not There,” for True Blood’s Season 4 premiere episode.  Hear the Nick Cave and Neko Case cover here.

But while the psychedelic madness of Odessey and Oracle reigns supreme and the moody melody of “Time of the Season” is inarguably one of the best moments of 60s pop, The Zombies have much more to offer. Read the rest of this entry »

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In preparation for their sixth album, their first real-live studio record, San Francisco psych-rockers Wooden Shjips have released a video for their new song, “Black Smoke Rise.”

The band’s new album, West, sounds like a journey not only through the desert, but through the mind.  Backed by more than the traditional guitar, the Shjips include Nash Whalen on organ, who adds a ghoulish tremble to “Black Smoke Rise.”  Out of the layered feedback and distortion, singer Ripley Johnson’s voice barely makes it through, echoing from a distance in an extremely inviting and mystical manner.  Check out the black-and-white video after the jump. Read the rest of this entry »

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Frusciante Rages Against Recycling in RHCP's "Can't Stop"

John Frusciante’s name is on the tip of every music critic’s tongue in the wake of the Red Hot Chili Peppers’ latest release, I’m With You.  The band’s twelfth album has been given almost across-the-board lukewarm (or dead cold) reviews, and an increasing number of critics have been assigning the blame to the former guitarist’s absence.

Not even a founding member, Frusciante has left the Chili Peppers before, in 1992, amidst the angst of new fame post-Blood Sugar Sex Magik and a serious heroin habit.  But John Frusciante has been involved in all of the Chili Peppers’ most successful albums, including Californication, By the Way, and the band’s 2006 double album, Stadium Arcadium, in addition to Blood Sugar Sex Magik.  Missed not only for his fantastic guitar playing, Frusciante may have been one of the hardest working members of the Red Hot Chili Peppers, as evidenced by his already prolific solo career. Read the rest of this entry »

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She began as the Woman Behind the Curtain, the saucy lady on the scene.  A songwriter, a muse, possibly even a “super groupie,” Betty Davis was a familiar face to musicians from every genre in the late 60s and early 70s, lending her lyrics to The Commodores for their breakthrough demo, befriending Jimi Hendrix, and loving and inspiring Miles Davis during their brief, volatile marriage in 1968.

Betty’s gift for famous flings and friendships isn’t hard to figure out.  She cut a stunning silhouette with her stand-out afro and flair for funky fashion, a short-lived modeling career already under her belt by the time she sashayed onto the music scene.  But Betty wasn’t one to lean on anyone, and she definitely wasn’t your average groupie.  Betty always had her eyes on her own music career.  By the time she released her 1973 self-titled debut, Betty Davis, she had already taken control of her destiny, writing all of the songs, directing their arrangement, and self-producing the majority of her studio albums afterwards. Read the rest of this entry »

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Hide your bottles, The Wine Thieves are crashing your party with their Hot Hor D’oeuvres EP, now available on YouTube.  Heavy on the confidence and slick in its production, Hot Hor D’oeuvres is sample-ridden stoner hip-hop interspersed with audio clips reminiscent of Wu-Tang’s 36 Chambers.  Its unusual layered beats sometimes sound like a chopped and screwed bongo player going crazy at a poetry reading, and each track draws your attention with its humor, flow, and unexpected sonic pairings.  With The Wine Thieves, it’s impossible to anticipate where the next three minutes will take you.

Producer/beat master Party.picasso and rapper Emcee Hype met at William Paterson University in 2003.  “There seemed to be an instant musical connection between the two of us,” Party.picasso told emcBlue in a recent interview.  “The minute we found out we both freestyled and had a love for hip-hop, that was the end of it.” Emcee Hype adds, “I don’t think we spoke in prose for years. Everything was a freestyled rhyme. Read the rest of this entry »

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Rachel Fuller is the long time, significant other, heterosexual life partner of Pete Townshend from the legendary rock band The Who.  Several years ago, she released an album that was not as well received, critically and commercially, as she had hoped and was looking for a way to connect to a wider audience.  Thus “In the Attic” was born. 

It started with a web cam in the home studio (always a risky proposition) with her and some folks talking about music and occasionally playing some tunes.  In 2006-2007 when The Who decided to tour again (Exactly how many farewell tours have they pulled off?), Rachel got the idea to take a traveling studio to the various festivals The Who played and invite other artists, who played the festivals, to come in and chat, perform a song or two and stream it over the miracle of the World Wide Web.  This worked well for the European leg of the tour and had gained quite a following.  As The Who made plans to tour North America, a new plan was needed as the logistics and expense of shipping and traveling in the studio were apparently prohibitive.  Read the rest of this entry »

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The camera pans across the unyielding desert.  Nothing stirs.  The wind barely blows as every grain of sand seems glued to the earth’s floor.  Majestic shapes of impossible rock rise above the landscape, cutting into the bleached sky with unimaginable silhouettes.  As the scene begins, the hint of a song kicks up, a song that could only exist here.  But what is it?

It may be the plaintive whistle of a classic Ennio Morricone tune or a thick, dark beat from The Doors, musicians who drew inspiration from and came to define the West.  Or it could be one of Spindrift’s scores.  Inspired by the likes of Morricone and Morrison, Spindrift has emerged from the LA scene as the psychedelic spaghetti western pioneers of the modern age, crafting soundtrack music that skews the rules of time, sending new pictures back into the desert depths of westerns gone by.  Their latest release, Classic Soundtracks Vol. 1, compiles the band’s best soundtrack work, a unique collection that celebrates Spindrift’s colorful collaborations.

I recently got the chance to chat with Kirpatrick Thomas, the man behind Spindrift’s sound and scoring, about Classic Soundtracks Vol. 1, the legend of the West, and the origins of Spindrift. Read the rest of this entry »

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Cowboy and Indian at SXSW, Plemons far right

Jesse Plemons may have killed a man on NBC as Landry Clarke, the nerdy comic relief-turned-murderer in Friday Night Lights‘ worst plot twist, but he’s since risen from his roots on the now-defunct (though excellent) TV show to play a different role: folk singer.  Plemons is part of a folk crew, called Cowboy and Indian, whose outfits are something to shake an eyebrow at and whose gorgeous vocal harmonies and down-south fever are enough to start you square dancing.

And no, Friday Night Lights fans, Cowboy and Indian don’t sound anything like Landry’s fictional Christian thrash band, Crucifictorious. Read the rest of this entry »

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Hair Rocket's Punishment Cookie and The Great Afternoon's Self-Titled EP

Now on consignment at the Princeton Record Exchange are two exciting new projects from local bands, Hair Rocket and The Great Afternoon.  Hair Rocket, from Lumberville, Pennsylvania, recently released their first full-length album, the upbeat, edgy Punishment Cookie, and Lambertville’s The Great Afternoon just released their first official, and extremely folksy, self-titled EP.

First, let’s start off with Hair Rocket, whose Punishment Cookie is surprisingly rewarding.  Pop-punk in the best possible way, Hair Rocket shoot through their first full-length with a witty, high-energy, yet irreverent sound, playing rough and fast while managing to pull off the polish. Read the rest of this entry »

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