Cranford Hollow - Color/Sound/Renew/Revive (2017)

OFFICIAL: http://www.cranfordhollowmusic.com/

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

INSTAGRAM: http://www.cranfordhollowmusic.com/#tour

VIDEOS: http://www.cranfordhollowmusic.com/#tour

Written by Alonzo Evans, posted by blog admin

Cranford Hollow’s journey through the modern music world has been shaped by their willingness to grow and take chances. The band originally began life as a more traditional minded outfit, but the addition of lead guitarist and fifth member Yannie Reynecke and a gradual evolution in their songwriting process has led them evolve in ways their fans and the band themselves likely never expected when they first formed. Their latest release Color/Sound/Renew/Revive is an eight song effort that might seem, when viewing the number of tracks alone, to indicate a work of relatively modest ambition. The truth is quite different.  These tracks highlight lead singer and songwriter John Cranford’s gifts in their full flower. Five albums into their career hasn’t dimmed his creative energies a single watt. Instead, Cranford writes like a man with something to say and the facility to express it in intelligent, often poetic terms and his vocals convey those lines with an appealingly theatrical world-weariness.

For novices to the band, the opener “Songfield” makes it startlingly clear that Cranford is every bit of the songwriter described above and plays with a band capable of investing his writing with the needed musical dynamics. Reynecke, over the course of Color/Sound/Renew/Revive, shows hints of his ability to dominate the recording with the sheer force of his playing alone, but the remarkable thing is how he restrains those talents with seeming ease. Instead, their performance on “Songfield” shows Cranford Hollow is a band of musicians and writers intent on serving the song first and foremost while deferring the spotlight to their efforts as a group. There’s a much more retro spirit powering “Long Shadows”, but the band’s blues rock spirit announces itself in artful ways. The instrumental breaks and chorus are dominated by Eric Reid’s violin playing while the verses are much leaner and guided by inventive percussion. Assertive and rather circular drumming opens the track “Noise” before other instruments gradually enter the mix. John Cranford is able to temper his vocal growl somewhat here and benefits from some key secondary vocal tracks to sweeten his gruff sound. The song has a brief and hypnotic melodic hook that has a slightly eerie effect on the song’s mood.

“North” sports a bit of a social consciousness, but Cranford is fortunately not a writer who picks up the soapbox and spews dogma. There’s an intensely personal quality touching his writing missing from songwriters addressing our time in much more strident ways. His phrasing is very effective as well; there’s something rousing about the way he treats the singing, but there’s a shadow of the melancholy seeping into the song. “Dark Turns” is a surprising instrumental this late on the release and encompasses a wide variety of musical turns, particularly near the end. The song certainly has a downcast air, but the tempo belies that and fiddle player Eric Reid glides and weaves through the arrangement with remarkable self-assurance. There’s a small amount of atmospherics woven into the fabric of the album’s finale “Swing”, but the tune has a definite shape thanks to some more strong, uniform drumming throughout much of the performance. Cranford Hollow has the rare versatility of invoking an array of moods without ever sounding incongruous. This is a result of their immense talents, but also a sense of identity – Color/Sound/Renew/Revive is the product of a band who knows exactly who they are, where they came from, and where they’re going.

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

Kittens Slay Dragons - Big Big Heart (2017)

OFFICIAL: http://kittensslaydragons.com/
FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/kittensslaydragons/

NEW MUSIC VIDEO -
Love is Surgery:  https://youtu.be/uLUjVFRQePk

STREAM: https://kittensslaydragons.bandcamp.com
 

Written by Craig Bowles, posted by blog admin

Kittens Slay Dragons is the electronic music project of singer/songwriter Sarah Donner and there’s no point during Big Big Heart when it sounds like a stylistic experiment. It sounds like a complete realized artistic and musical work that references Donner’s life in accessible ways and features songwriting that details others’ experiences as well. Despite the electronic nature of Big Big Heart, it never loses its warmth and heart – much of this is, surely, the result of Donner’s strengths as a melodic songwriter. She has an unique lyrical sensibility that serves the material well yet possess an understated conversational eloquence unlike many similar efforts in the style. The attitude infusing the songwriting is quite modern while still showing a complete mastery of fundamentals that supersede genre and sound – fundamentals that are, instead, the bedrock of popular song.

The first song “Gatekeeper” starts with a smattering of synth notes before a steady rhythm launches us off. Donner’s voice comes in soon after and, despite a light nasal quality to her tone, she sounds authoritative from the start and soon becomes the guiding emotional force of this release. Her approach to electronic music renders the form somewhat dreamlike – effects some to coalesce in Kittens Slay Dragons’ songs and the effect of the songwriting accumulates over time rather than arriving all at once. There’s a suggestion of the painter in this approach and she, indeed, uses the electronic instruments as conduits of color for these songs. “Smile Pretty” probably better embodies this than any other song on Big Big Heart. While Donner’s turn with this style shows off her talents for crafting direct, straight-forward numbers in this vein, this song shows her ability for going in a more atmospheric direction. It has a substantive lyrical message as well that she never communicates in a heavy handed way.

“Love Is Surgery” combines the straight-forward style with her more artful touches and succeeds. The multi-tracked vocals are a nice touch for a singer already possessing enough pipes alone to carry the material. The arrangement, likewise, has a patiently simmering quality. Minimalist verses build to an impassioned, well orchestrated chorus and the percussion does an excellent job mimicking the beat of a heart. The title song has some of the same patiently simmering qualities and Donner distinguishes herself with a flexible vocal capable of great sensitivity and towering emotional peaks. The insistent pulse beginning “Under the Waves” does a great job of scene setting before the synths join and Donner tackles the album’s sole duet. Her vocal partner wisely provides a counterpoint that accentuates his strengths while never attempting to supersede her importance to the song. It’s an interesting performance, as well, thanks to how it maintains such a restrained temperament throughout and yet hooks you into its web.

The album’s penultimate song, “Eggs”, has a muscularly soulful vocal from Donner and a rough-hewn arrangement quite different from anything else on Big Big Heart. The vocal melody stands out thanks to its cascading effect, but it’s the tension this song generates without ever quite exploding the way you expect that makes it especially notable. The song’s playful nature, as well, sets it at odds with the album’s finale “Head Down, Heart Up”. You can’t help but notice and admire the dogged determination behind the title, lyrics, and Donner’s exultant voice, but it’s a richer song for how it tacitly acknowledges that moments like this are products of struggle. Kittens Slay Dragons has produced one of the deeper, yet still faithful to the genre, electronic efforts you’ll ever hear. This is a songwriter behind this stuff, folks, and she makes every track count.

Grade: A-

Jerad Finck - New Kids (2017)

Photo by Michael Sparks Keegan

OFFICIAL: www.jeradfinck.com

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

TWITTER: https://twitter.com/jeradfinck

LISTEN NOW: https://soundcloud.com/jeradfinck/new-kids-master/s-266fn

The newest single from Spokane native Jerad Finck will haunt you. His interest in music from an early age, discipline to work hard, and a willingness to learn from those who’ve come before you set him apart in an age when pop sensations flame out at a faster rate than ever before. “New Kids” has the entertainment value, intelligence, and emotional resonance we associate with extended careers. The discipline propelling his hard work touches on his penchant for writing first class material. It’s his latest collaboration with writer/producer Denny White (The Fray, Tiesto, Usher) and the two have an obvious rapport. Another factor contributing to the song’s success, without question, is the influence jazz music had on Finck’s youth, but it isn’t an influence that readily announces itself. You can hear it in the exquisite textures that make the song so memorable and the attention to style that far outpaces what most modern pop has to offer.

There’s a pleasing inevitability about the way it moves. Finck has certainly hit upon a winning formula for this song and it moves with cool fluidity throughout its entire duration. Groove and melody, more than anything else, makes this work. The drumming has just the right touch and the reverb driven guitar work weaves an evocative web over the top without ever overindulging. There seems to be a little like post-production work applied to Finck’s singing, but it just accentuates his natural greatness thanks to the phrasing he employs in every passage. It’s finesse coupled with feeling and you can hear the conviction he brings to the song. Perhaps some of his early jazz influences come out in the clear way he listens and studies the musical accompaniment behind him. This isn’t a performer who’s trying to take up the entire spotlight. He wants to sing with a band and does so marvelously here.

His musical collaborators are equally focused on serving the song. The guitar work is particularly memorable and, much like his vocal, certainly suffers no harm from the sounds laid over it but has enough melodic merit it could have easily stood clean on its own. It works as a second vocalist, in a sense, and duets with his voice quite well. Finck spends much of his time fixed on working with the six string and percussion alike, but the song never feels cluttered. Everything is streamlined, sleek, but sizzles with undeniable life. Jerad Finck’s steady ascent towards global stardom likely continues with this song. “New Kids” burns with exceptional lyrical content and an excellent musical and vocal presentation and shows his growth is exponential. Jerad Finck clearly has a strong musical DNA that is evolving at an impressive rate and moves with a sure footedness beyond his years.

Written by: Pamela Bellmore

Grade: A+

Swirl - Ditch Day Soundtrack (2017)

Photography: Neil Zlozower

FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/Swirltheband/
TWITTER: https://twitter.com/Swirltheband

OFFICIAL HOME PAGE: http://www.swirltheband.com/

The power and precision of Southern California’s four piece Swirl has the sort of recognizable swing long missing from young, modern hard rock. Iconic bands of this ilk were always expert in delivering the hard-hitting punch required for this style, but they also specialized in a familiar swing that gives the song real strength and sway. It has become a bit of a lost art. Swirl, however, has a natural feel for this style that comes through quite clearly in the three songs included on the Ditch Day movie soundtrack. The tracks come from the band’s recent self-titled effort and are an ideal fit for a movie that has attracted a lot of popularity and notice from numerous quarters. The core of the band, guitarist Duane “DT” Jones and drummer Brian “Bam Bam” Jones, are augmented by vocalist Alfred Ramirez and bassist Shane Carlson. The quartet packs superb instrumental prowess in a package with palpable rock and roll attitude, but their lyrical content distinguishes them a little further. The three songs included on the Ditch Day soundtrack have familiar and intelligently chosen imagery, passages of pure virtuosity, and enough energy for three bands.

The first of the three numbers, “Spell”, draws lyrically from the genre’s long tradition but gets over in a fresh, thrilling way thanks to some subtle twists and how well Ramirez embodies every line. The rhythm section really jumps out at listeners thanks to Bam Bam and Carlson’s sharply honed chemistry and the tight focus they bring to their playing. Duane Jones shares the same focus. His guitar attack isn’t afraid to show off some flourish, but it likewise commands a great deal of fundamentally mastery that keeps the track grounded. “Rise Up”, the band’s most recent single, has an exhortative quality that defines a lot of great rock and roll and the band deserves props for putting it out there in a way that doesn’t overtly personalize it but, instead, relates it to the band’s large and ever-growing audience. Duane “DT” Jones brings the same combination of flair and fundamentals that filled the first track, but there’s never a gratuitous moment in what he does. Instead, there’s always reason behind his rock and roll madness and numerous passage sing with convincing melodic moments.

“We Are Alive” puts an exclamation point on the aforementioned song’s message. Swirl really has quite a talent for zeroing in on what hard rock audiences want and are hungry for. This song, as part of an EP release, would make an effective closer and works just as well in its role here. It summarizes the band and all their best attributes with the same concision and lean muscularity that sets them apart from the pack. Ditch Day and the band benefit greatly from the mutual association. This is big screen hard rock/metal that hits hard and leaves you wanting more.

Grade: A

YOUTUBE video for "Rise Up" : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6_RhbgL5Cv0  

WATCH NOW: http://thefilmditch.com/watch-now/

Written by: Bradley Johnson

Humprhey/McKeown - Tapestry of Shadows (2017)

Written by Scott Wigley, posted by Jason

OFFICIAL: http://www.hm-music.com/
FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/HumphreyMcKeown/ 
 

Heather Humphrey and Tom McKeown first began working together in 2006 and found some initial success working as a songwriting team and peddling their creations to a variety of artists. It wasn’t long, however, until they found themselves chomping at the bit to take their songwriting vision and do something with it themselves rather than feeling beholden to the whims and professional vagaries of another. It resulted in five albums, thus far, of uniformly high quality. The latest release from the duo, Tapestry of Shadows, is a twelve song affair with the sort of focus and wide ranging vision we typically associate with the greatest of artists and acts. Their sure-handed invocation of Americana music never follows a predictable path, but contains recognizable elements reaching out far from a mere regurgitation of the style’s trusty tropes. Tapestry of Shadows delves deep into universal human experiences and has a spark of the personal that will draw in many listeners.

The opening track makes this apparent. “Beautiful” doesn’t go in for any of the trite musical or lyrical explorations of the subject and, instead, hits a solidly soulful and melancholy note quite unlike anything happening today in the genre. The album’s third song, “You Don’t Know Me”, has a bittersweet sentiment conveyed by a musical arrangement placing a premium on imagination over obvious turns. Any predictability in the performance has a pleasing variety – listeners can come to expect it and admire how well Humphrey, McKeown, and their collaborators pull it off. “Flower on the Wall” has a more traditional slant than many of the other songs on Tapestry of Shadows, but it never smacks of the imitative. Instead, it serves as one more testament to the duo’s ability to refurbish traditional minded material in a thoroughly modern way.

“Someday” has a light, relaxed musical feel and the trading off of vocals between Humphrey and McKeown finds just the right balance for it to prove an entertaining listening experience. Their lyrical skills are always welcome – few songwriters, singly or in tandem, are so adept at balancing the disparate elements that go into making a great song while paying justified deference to all of them. One of the album’s high points, songwriting wise, comes with “Sasha on the Carousel”. This image-heavy song has a strongly personal air but, still, retains enough universality to allow everyone to enter into its world. The slight elegiac air pervading the track gives it a faintly sad air while never belaboring the emotion. “Passing Shadows” opens up with some hard-charging mandolin playing soon joined by some strong and simple drumming. The song does an exceptional job balancing its attitude between alternating Humphrey and McKeown vocals as well as different musical moods. The album’s finale, “Sunshine Today”, has a bright uplift quite different from the earlier songs but never so out of the ordinary that it doesn’t sound wholly consistent with what has come before. It’s an excellent finale for an album that personifies all the best qualities associated with the singer/songwriter or Americana form while avoiding all of its excesses.

Grade: A