Thomas Abban - A Sheik's Legacy (2017)

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Written by Frank McClure, posted by blog admin

Minneapolis guitar rock titan Thomas Abban may only be 21 years old but his first record A Sheik’s Legacy rings of a grizzled, hardened legend of the stage and studio.  This 15 song shambling beast of a debut feels like an album from a man AT LEAST twice Abban’s young age.  The enigmatic rock n’ roller of Welsh/Ghanian heritage also paints his face with strange symbols around his eyes and on his arms for performances and his music also possesses a wild, alien quality that is a wonderful yet rewarding challenge for reviewers, concert goers and listeners alike. 

“Death Song” comes off like a musical suite; several distinct passages are incredibly lush as they unfold in a storm of orchestral themed, multi-layered guitars parts from acoustic to electric, jazzy strutting bass lines, wild African vocal screams and chants, Abban’s breathtaking falsetto melodies, tom-tom leaned drum patterns that are gloriously wild and untamed…all wrapped up in a total package by the magical, darkness-charged lyrics.  By the time the song is over, you feel like you’ve listened to an entire album.  There are that many peaks and valleys in “Death Song.”  “Symmetry & Black Tar” further ascends the lofty ambition of the opening track by expanding on the same theme but consistently ratcheting up the tempos of the acoustic guitars while rifling off some deadly lead guitar sizzle played at a mountainous volume.  Abban’s vocal range empowers the ears and soul as he goes from trembling lower notes to sky high shrieks, as unusual facets like clavinets add a Spanish feel and classical strings whip up some truly provocative texture washes. 

A 4 second piano intro morphs into a hammering, arena destroying guitar riff during “Fear’s” no b.s., hard-rock assault.  Proto-metal progenitors like Led Zeppelin, Free, a fledgling Judas Priest and Bloodrock all made legendary albums completely culled from a similarly tattered, warts n’ all approach derived from the blues.  Thomas also has the danger in his voice to dive headlong into such material; he shows it in spades here and carries it over into the immediately following, gluey grooves of “Aladdin.”  The lyrical content switches to grand Arabian fantasy while the preceding “Fear” came from what seemed to be a very personal experience.  Just like the music, Abban’s wordplay and vocal delivery are constantly fluxing in a way that just cements your attention span to the stereo speakers.  For more big riffs, the shack shakin’ earthquake of “Uh” and the late game power-blues climax of “Black Water” practically declares Thomas Abban as a new age proprietor of the groove alongside names like Jimmy Page, Joe Bonamassa, Tommy Bolin and Steve Gould.  You even get a lead-loaded, spacey, up-tempo freak out as the acidic “Born of Fire” is no stranger to blasting volumes. 

Then just when you least expect it, Thomas will anchor the album’s mood to a totally different aura altogether.  There are largely acoustic numbers that meld folk-inspired harmonies to gritty blues or southern-fried country grace.  These traits appear in all sorts of mix n’ match road swerves on husky, dusky tunes like “Don’t You Stay the Same,” “Let Me Tell You Something,” “Lord” and the swift, harder-charging “Echo.”  Then these schematics will disassemble some of their darker qualities into bewildering, bewitching tenderness during “Horizons,” “Sinner” and “Irene’s” triumphant, heartfelt melodies where Thomas’ voice shows just how soft, subtle and contemplative it can get. 

A Sheik’s Legacy is nothing more than a triumph of breaking down genre walls.  Rock n’ roll is one of the biggest features but there is so much going on here that it’s impossible to truly nail down Abban’s sound.   This is a one of a kind record that no serious music fan should miss.

Ben Brookes - The Motor Car & The Weather Balloon (2017)

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Written by William Elgin, posted by blog admin

Ben Brookes is a renewing blast of fresh air in a staid popular music scene. The Motor Car & The Weather Balloon is a ten song collection that definitely embraces classic rock and pop themes while still shaping them in a distinctive way that speaks volumes about Brookes’ growing artistry as both a writer and performer. Brookes enlisted some heavy hitters to help bring The Motor Car & The Weather Balloon fully to life – chief among them is the presence of former Badfinger members guitarist Joey Molland and Mark Healey. The latter handled the production duties for the album and his contributions have an immeasurably positive effect on the overall quality. The Motor Car & The Weather Balloon is a polished sonic experience, but never so much so that it sacrifices its palpable human qualities. This is an invigorating and ultimately very human listening experience insofar as it pulls us into Brookes’ expansive lyrical and musical imagination with minimal effort.

The album opens with a brief swath of sound effects to set the scene for “I Wanna Go Home”. There’s a strong sing-a-long quality to the song’s vocal melody and a gradual escalating quality to the vocal that builds numerous small peaks into the performance. There’s shades of both former Marillion vocalist Fish and Cat Stevens in Brookes’ vocal tone, but the phrasing is all his own and sustains a high level of attentiveness to the arrangement. Inhofer’s keyboard work adds crucial color. “Asleep in Galilee” definitely has some obvious commercial appeal from the first and the acoustic chiming carrying listeners through the opening expands across an even wider melodic canvas once the song is moving along in earnest. There’s some nice steel guitar fills coloring the song at key points. The lush, languid sound of “Crack a Smile” gains even more thanks to the patient sway of the vocal melody.. Brookes takes on each line with consideration, never belaboring it, but investing it with every bit of passion he can muster at a given moment. The lyrics are among the album’s finest and convey heartbreak in an understated way.

Another high point comes with the song “Before Sunlight” and it rates as one of Brookes’ best vocals on the album thanks to his phrasing and the spot on beauty of the song’s vocal melody. He amps up the rock muscle on the track “Look Through My Eyes” and the nimble stomp of its mid-tempo march packs enough melody that it makes for a thoroughly enjoyable listen. The electric guitar has enough bite on it to catch and hold your attention without ever attempting to dominate the song’s sound. “Siren” has some strong electric guitar work as well while still retaining many of the balladic elements distinguishing so many of Brookes’ songs on The Motor Car & The Weather Balloon. There’s a little bit of everything powering “Somewhere Around Eight” and it definitely transitions into a raucous, mid-tempo rocker by the song’s second half. There’s a strong bluesy influence spiking this track for a positive effect. Brookes ends the album with the gentle lope of “Shackles” and it makes for an effective, perfectly modulated conclusion with just a hint of the rustic influences we heard in the previous song. The elegiac mood is punctuated by some lovely, even lyrical lead guitar. Ben Brookes has talent that comes along only a few times per generation and it’s heartening to see him receiving the support he deserves from some important and talented collaborators. He’s come through with a debut release that poises him to be a major talent for years to come.

Cyborg Asylum - Never Finished, Only Abandoned (2017)

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Written by David Shouse, posted by blog admin

Never Finished, Only Abandoned is the first release from Cyborg Asylum, a twosome combining American and English influences into an unique powerhouse quite unlike any other act working today in the alternative rock/industrial genre. Rather than just focusing on slambanging guitar and percussion theatrics, Cyborg Asylum inventively utilizes melody and atmospherics to further strengthen their muscular arrangements. There’s an enormous amount of imagination powering the album’s twelve songs and the duo never relaxes their musical standards – hence, there isn’t a single song on the release you can regard as filler. Cyborg Asylum’s sonic landscape is varied enough that hardcore music fans will find virtually endless riches in these performances while casual fans will find the tracks to be accessible and intensely physical. Never Finished, Only Abandoned paraphrases the renowned quote from Leonardo da Vinci that a work of “… art is never finished, only abandoned” and even a cursory listen through this album will convince anyone that Cyborg Asylum has certainly crafted an enduring work of musical art.

The thought and consideration that goes into realizing this release reveals itself in multiple ways. Despite Tumminia’s vocal and lyrical presence in the duo, a substantial portion of the release is devoted to instrumental tracks, usually brief in duration when compared to the tracks where Tumminia contributes more, and they demonstrate the deliberate yet organic approach that defines even the vocally driven numbers. “Blitz” makes excellent use of sound effects well in keeping with its title and theme; it makes for a powerful opener. “Synergy” is a much more stripped down, sinewy endeavor that features two key elements for the first time – John Tumminia’s vocals and Phil Jones’ guitar work. The former, obviously, exerts the largest influence on the track’s development, although it achieves different effects than one might expect thanks to the presence of post production manipulations. Jones’ guitar isn’t a shirking violet, however – the edgy distortion and upper register wails he incorporates into the arrangement immeasurably enhance the track. “War Machine” is another of the album’s instrumental tracks and the hints of imminent threat couched in its industrial textures are impossible to ignore. Its brief running time only serves to underscore its impact.

“Weightless” brings one of the album’s best arrangements with, beyond dispute, Tumminia’s finest lyric. The near poetic attributes of his writing create a striking contrast with the dark hued music and his delivery is up to the task of helping the material get over even stronger with listeners. The rattling percussive snap driving “Fragments as Illusion” along has its effects doubled by a haunting Tumminia vocal and the song takes a handful of surprising turns that will grip listeners. “Pale Green Dot” brings piano into the instrumental mix and it makes this instrumental melodically glitter in a way that few tracks on Never Finished, Only Abandoned are capable of. There’s certainly a tangible darkness that increasingly creeps in along the edges of the performance. It serves as a natural introduction of sorts, perhaps unintentionally, to the album’s last track “Paradigm Shift”. This shows the duo intent on ending their debut with enough appreciable sonic and musical force that listeners will feel satisfied, albeit a little dazed. Never Finished, Only Abandoned is definitely an exhaustive experience, but rewarding regardless, and it gives this tandem an exceptional strong debut to build on.

Josh Birdsong - Where the Light Bends (2017)

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Written by Daniel Boyer, posted by blog admin

Where the Light Bends is the second release from Nashville based singer, songwriter, and guitarist Josh Birdsong. His debut Simple Geometry threw down the gauntlet by serving notice to the Nashville scene and the music world at large that a major new performer and writer is poised to make a deep impact. The promise of that initial release is fully realized with Where the Light Bends’ six songs and it has an impressive scope despite being an EP release. It isn’t surprising when you stop to consider the wave of accolades Birdsong has enjoyed since first emerging – numerous competitions, plum placement of his material on high profile television networks, and graduation from the prestigious Interlochen Arts Academy with a singer/songwriter degree. Where the Light Bends should accelerate his upward trajectory and cement him as one of the more formidable talents to emerge in recent memory.

His artistry is apparent from the first song onward. “Complex Context” is definitely the most aggressive track on the release and, while it shares some of the ambient textures you hear fleshed out in greater detail on later songs, the authoritative drumming heard throughout much of the track and uptempo pace set it apart from later songs. Birdsong delivers an equally forceful vocal and his guitar parts are certainly worth listeners’ attention. His six string talents are simply impossible to ignore. Another of the strongest songs on Where the Light Bends is the second cut “The Sound Beneath the Static” and the well rounded creativity defining both the arrangement and lyric makes this one of Birdsong’s most fully realized moments on both this release and his debut. The chorus is particularly memorable and the one-two combination of this with the opener gets Where the Light Bends off to an impressive start. The ambient influences on Birdsong’s songwriting gain strength with the songs “Cloud 8” and the EP’s longest song “Too Much to Hold”, but neither track is so devoted to its soundscape design that it neglects to engage listeners. The former song, especially, features subtle guitar lines that get under the listener’s skin while Birdsong’s singing on “Too Much to Hold” raises already excellent lyrics to a much higher level.

The EP moves away from the atmospheric ambient tone of those songs and back to music more in touch with the potential of his guitar playing with the songs “Arctic Desert” and the title song. There’s a slightly unsettled, dissonant edginess coming from “Arctic Desert” Birdsong’s audience will undoubtedly admire and concluding the EP with its title track illustrates how thoroughly conceived this release is for Birdsong and balances the guitar textures with equally memorable keyboard playing. Where the Light Bends is a more than adequate follow up to Simple Geometry and embodies for current fans and newcomers alike Birdsong’s considerable talents. These six songs pack far more of a cumulative effect than many full length albums and it never resorts to heavy handed methods to achieve its desired results.