Sky Orchid - Oculus (2017)

OFFICIAL: https://skyorchid.net/

FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/skyorchidofficial/

TWITTER: https://twitter.com/skyorchidband

Written by Mike Yoder, posted by blog admin

The Traknyak brothers from Kansas have long been carving a soon to be musical legacy across their local area.  With tour and recording dates taking them throughout Kansas, Texas and Tennessee, they are making their radius known more and more every single day.  They’ve also received airplay on at least 50 different Internet stations at this point as well.  Oculus is their first full-length outing and it deserves a careful, deliberate ear for its many musical intricacies.  There’s no specific genre and the duo of Gabriel and Daniel traverse several within each of the songs on this 10-track offering. 

The soothing waves of the aptly titled “The River” gets things going with a downbeat piano melody giving way to electronica drum programming and sky shot vocals that really ascend to a big pay-off of hard guitar meat and densely layered sound collage. What starts as a leisurely stroll ends with volume and a wall of sound type production befitting a late great psychedelic rock band.  This record is full of these nuances with “Sneakers” following much of the same blueprint though it replaces the piano focal point with guitar and launches into a heavy rocker of the highest order long before the endnote.  “In the Fire (Part 1)” is a subtle dirge that reckons of the album opener with the follow-up of “Wildfire” changing the trajectory dramatically in a wake of acoustic guitars, superb vocal melodies and lurching beats that open up into wider electric expanses towards the finish line. 

The frenetic “I’ll Stop the World (Part 2)” mingles faster, riff-driven bursts with slower downshifts that showcase a split personality between heavier and lighter vibes that still keep mindful of excellent musical melodies and big vocal hooks.  Tempos descend on the crumbling “Lex” and the tune’s scintillating guitar smolders, powerhouse drum thumping and fire-forged vocal mantras.  This strange otherworldly flavor is offset by the bluesy rollick of “Breathe Easy” and the almost ska-guitar boogie of “Take It All.”  These tracks are certainly the odd man out on the record stylistically, but somehow they fit within the overall framework.  Sky Orchid returns to darkly shaded surrealism on “Yesterday” and “Fortify,” making for a very strong send-off for the record at large.  There are no duds to be found here and all of the songs obviously had a long gestation period for all of the individual parts to develop and solidify. 

Oculus couldn’t be a stronger flagship release from the brothers Traknyak.  They’ve got strong musical chops, sharp songwriting skills, fantastic ears for production and all-around full bodied sense of how their sound should be portrayed to the masses.  With the proper label push and backing that understands their music, there is no reason that Sky Orchid couldn’t become a household name.  The duo has gotten a sizable following from their touring and recording out in the Midwest and it’s only a matter of time before they start branching out and taking over other parts of the United States.  Oculus is a fantastic debut that should be heard by everyone.         

Man Called Noon - Everybody Move (2017)

OFFICIAL: http://mancallednoon.com/

FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/mancallednoon/

TWITTER: https://twitter.com/ManCalledNoon

Written by Laura Dodero, posted by blog admin

The third outing from Chicago’s Man Called Noon represents a substantial leap into the future for the Windy City eight piece and Everybody Move finds their brand of intimate, yet intensely physical, music more alive than ever and, potentially, ready to commercially take off in a significant way. However far Man Called Noon takes their dreams, they will always be able to say that they didn’t compromise themselves to reach their goals. The three songs on Everybody Move indulge in a relatively wide cross section of sounds for such a short EP and the band convincingly pulls off that stylistic balancing act. Their music brings singer/songwriter level intimacy together with a soulful, robust approach to arranging along indie alternative rock lines. One of their unique signature, multiple voices exerting some sort of effect on each of the cuts, elevates these already fine songs to a higher realm.

The title song has an ambitious, melodic texture despite its condensed length. James Marino and Anthony Giamichael’s guitars rein themselves in for a fill and rhythm focused performance only occasionally bursting into brief melody laced passages from lead guitarist Marino. Giamichael’s vocals lead the way for Man Called Noon, but Erin Myover-Piotrowski and Jacqyelynn Camden’s contributions are important in this song and the remaining tracks. Much of the Americana touches creeping in on their earlier releases are, largely, missing with this EP, but it doesn’t lessen the impact of the band’s presentation on the title song. “Kiss Kiss Bang Bang” has similar results. This is far removed from Americana and, instead, the funk and rock mix powering this cut is topped off by a superior vocal from Giamichael. The song is a little busier than the title number, but never threatens to overwhelm you. Instead, it has fiery rhythms and a rock attitude that captures you quick.

“One Last Ride” does a much better job of bringing a rock sound into the EP and it’s never inaccessible. Marino’s lead guitar is a pivotal part of what makes this work, naturally, but the rhythm section performance from bassist Dave Aitken and drummer Josh Fontenot keys much of its fireworks without ever sounding too heavy handed. Giamichael’s upper register bent is credible tackling a straight rock track and the lyrics are among the most effective on Everybody Move. Man Called Noon’s EP recording carries the band’s creative vision a significant step forward without ever losing sight of its foundational strengths. Anthony Giamichael and his band mates sound fully engaged with this material and it’ll surely ignite even hotter during live performances.

Chris Bartels - Myths and Mold (2017)

Myths and Mold / Album Video Teaser #1: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b8y-LCoVbAE

Written by David Shouse, posted by blog admin

Chris Bartels’ career trajectory is reminiscent of many other fine performers on the indie scene. He’s a jack of many projects, never adhering to just one course, and it’s resulted in a number of notable projects and efforts that reveal him as one of the best all around songwriting talents flying under mainstream radar today. His guitar playing is a powerful part of his presentation, but his vocals shouldn’t escape notice as he has quite an intelligent and emotive side to his singing reaching far beyond the ken of most indie singers. It makes his often poetic, at least suggestive, lyrical content stand out even more. The five songs on his newest solo EP, Myths and Mold, clearly shows that he’s capable of crafting some beautiful lyrics alongside near ideal sonic settings for that writing.

The EP begins with a decidedly alternative rock/indie music guitar vibe, but Bartels never stops there. He’s expended a tremendous amount of creative energy getting the guitar sound and composition right on songs like the opener “Blind”, but it’s equally apparent that he’s devoted considerable effort to structuring the vocals in such a way that they have a dramatic theatrical quality missing from much of modern music. Some might hear similarities or influences from the popular act Bon Iver, but Bartels is a more accessible singer and songwriter overall and the sheer variety of voices he utilizes in his performances often outstrips Justin Vernon’s offerings in this style. The guitar playing is even more assertive on the EP’s second track “Missoula”. Careful listening to this song reveals it to be a track about inchoate and specific longing – Bartels does an exemplary job of placing that mood in the right musical context. The melodic virtues of this track are the strongest on Myths and Mold, but they aren’t run of the mill melodies with identifiable tropes. Like he’s capable of in other areas, Bartels’ melodic sense challenges the audience’s preconception of what popular music and melody can accomplish together.

The theme of longing continues with the track “Stay”. The same melodic excellence we heard on the preceding song thankfully persists through this tune and the lyric even more directly exposes Bartels’ vulnerability without ever cheapening it. Myths and Mold takes its artiest turn with its title song, but Bartels never belabors his ambitions. He packs an impressive amount of musical world into the title song’s relatively brief amount of space while maintain a light, tasteful touch. Not many performers mixing electronica, guitar, and multi-tracked and layered vocals can claim that. He returns to more familiar territory with the last song, “Counting Hands”. This conclusion probably has a more definite “shape” than any other track on the release, but this veneer of traditional normalcy doesn’t sound out of place. There’s certainly enough of Bartels’ unique musical imagination powering this, albeit more subtly than usual, to make it an effective final curtain. Myths and Mold is a release of such quality that it places Bartels among the first rank of indie songwriters and sonic auteurs working today.

Grade: A-