Sky Orchid - Oculus (2017)

OFFICIAL: https://skyorchid.net/

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

TWITTER: https://twitter.com/skyorchidband

Written by Drew East, posted by blog admin

Kansas blood brothers Gabriel and Daniel Traknyak have spent years assembling their debut full-length, Oculus.  Though a few of the tunes were composed during the actual album sessions, others were cultivated over years and years of playing together with the groovy soul/funk/blues of “Breathe Easy” dating back the farthest at 7 years of age.  With only two men behind this project they still put out a ton of sound and make up for the lack of additional instrumentalists by knowing their musical abilities inside and out; applying them with the passion and prowess of seasoned industry pros. 

Some of the material is dark and dreamy, other times they indulge in genuinely uplifting fare and they even break it down acoustic whenever the situation calls for such tactics.  The pushing, pulling dirge of “The River” starts the record off and it’s overflowing with electronic-smattered beats, rolling tom drums and a haunting piano hymnal.  Gabriel’s guitar doesn’t enter the equation till the end with some electric riffing but his stellar melody vocals lift this piece to great heights.  “Sneakers” starts off much of the same way but catapults itself over the introspective buzz and hum with a midsection alive and riff with hard-edge guitar riffs, industrial rock’s machine-syncopated madness and a bombastic vocal performance that really cuts to the meat of the song’s matter.  “In the Fire (Part 1)” makes use of trembling, glimmering clean indie-rock guitars and rollicking drum pulsations for a tune that plays off much like “The River’s” lighter and brighter younger brother.  There’s enough variation to separate the two tracks from one another and this one really shines bright with its melodic and harmonic qualities with numerous counterpoints between the different instruments.  Stripping down to a smoky acoustic duskiness,

“Wildfire” harnesses shades of country, folk and blues for one of the most poignantly unique sounding jams heard on the entire record.  The brothers switch things up yet again with “I’ll Stop the World (Part II)” and its fuzzy, riff-dusted punk grooves and etherized gothic rock textures.  It’s a super catchy track that’s lively and worth a spirited sing-a-long or three.  “Lex” burns the atmosphere in a campfire of swirling, ember-lit guitar melodies, surreal keyboards and another striking vocal performance.  “Breathe Easy” and “Take It All” kick off the dust off some blues and quirky, grooved out rock and rhythm n’ blues that’s all soul, sweat and swagger.  “Yesterday” sends us back to a watery grave of reverbed and delayed-affected ruminations, while closer “Fortify” remains a modicum of the same bleak, ambience. 

Sky Orchid really has it going on throughout this record.  Oculus simmers with drippy textures, layered grooves and unpredictable structures.  The material on this album is varied and dynamic with many unique ideas firing off in every single direction.  Folks that are into the trippy post-rock of the 80s and experimental 90s groups, though they add many of their own ingredients to the brew that makes Sky Orchid a sonically unique proposition that all died in the wool music fans should easily enjoy!

Rhett Repko - Thnx For The Ride (2017)

OFFICIAL: http://www.rhettrepko.com/

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Written by Mike Yoder, posted by blog admin

Make no mistake, this isn’t a hard rock album. There’s some solid riffing scattered across the entirety of Rhett Repko’s Thnx For The Ride, but the title song and opening cut clarifies from the first that this isn’t closer to a take on classic rock fused with solid pop fundamentals and high octane energy. Repko’s intensely engaged voice pairs up well with lead guitarist Stefan Heuer’s occasional backing vocals and there’s a satisfying amount of post production gloss and effects further enhancing the tune. “Please Don’t Laugh” features a less stylized guitar sound from Heuer, vividly reflected in his lead guitar work, but the same wont for tempo and pacing experimentation remains strong with this performance. The vocals are even stronger than what we heard from the opening number and contrast nicely with the straight rock guitar attack. They slow things down to notable effect just after the song’s midway point and the dynamics of this number are even more dramatic than those we hear with the title song.

“It Ain’t Coming From You” is the EP’s highlight for me. This isn’t a put down of the six other fine tracks featured on Thnx For The Ride, but everything comes together here with just a dollop more of cohesiveness and velocity than the first two songs and you can hear Repko senses that as well. He lets a barnburner of a vocal fly all out here, but there’s always a tight grip on his style and it never feels out of control. “Maybe I’m Weak” embodies the sort of personal, yet accessible and relatable songwriting, that’s brought Repko a great deal of notice and it’s clear he’s refining his style more and more with each new composition and release. The exponential growth of a talented young musician and songwriter is a thing to behold and Rhett Repko is progressing like few others today.

“And I Told Her So” is nearly every bit the equal of “It Ain’t Coming From You” and the only area where the latter tune surpasses it is the lyrics, but that’s ultimately a matter of taste. Lead guitarist Stefan Heuer turns in an especially memorable performance, particularly his guitar solo, and it’s a joy to listen how these musicians respond to each other. There is a smattering of acoustic guitar heard on Thnx For The Ride, but it’s always in support of the electric and adds more muscle to the overall performance. “Learn Your Name”, the EP’s second to last track, is a churning, tightly arranged tune distinguished by a rhythm section working in fluid lockstep with each other and Repko’s exuberant vocal deserves mention as being among the EP’s best. The EP finishes up with the track “Make Me Right”. It’s quite a romp to end Thnx For The Ride and again shows Repko’s tendency to manipulate musical dynamics in a dramatically appealing way. Rhett Repko’s second release of 2017 is one of the best indie rock releases in recent memory and a big part of that comes from the overpowering likability of its material.

Shofar - s/t (2017)

BANDCAMP: https://shofar.bandcamp.com/releases

BROADJAM: http://www.broadjam.com/shofar

Written by David Shouse, posted by blog admin

Shofar’s early catalog, available on CDBaby, doesn’t differ wildly from their return to recording, a self titled six song effort. Perhaps their songwriting concerns are a little more secularized than they were in the Minneapolis band’s earlier incarnation, but Shofar has always been more about a thoughtful, intelligent hue for the songwriting rather than some pulpit thumping broadside in a musical package. The six songs on this new EP lean more towards commercially minded and melodic rock with a mid-tempo pace, but there are some notable exceptions on this new release. Vocalist and main songwriter Larry Hagner remains a vital force at the center of the band’s compositions and has a talent for pouring a definable presence into the band’s performances. A number of these cuts should prove especially effective in a live setting.

“Running” opens the EP up with a blend of aggressive riff-focused guitars and some lengthy passages, especially during the verses, where they are more fixed on offering color to the piece. The hard rock portions of the track never really come again on this release, but Shofar shows they are more than capable of discharging some believable crunch through their music. “Powerman” is much more in keeping with the bulk of the EP, though it does place a greater emphasis on melody than instrumental assertiveness. It is, probably, the song on the EP best illustrating some of the band’s more obvious musical influences while still stamping the lyrics with a distinctive identity. “Shades of Grey”, unlike the aforementioned tune, looks within instead of without and demonstrates the immense artistry that Hagner and his band mates bring to the band’s more obviously personal material.

“Hands Down”, however, is much more clearly in a rowdy rock mode than any song save the first one. It boasts a particularly zesty chorus, as well, with Hagner riding high on the wave of its momentum. The band turns in their most inspired performance of the release as well and it’s keyed by a superb bit of drumming that sticks in the memory. We end up in a more poetic, imaginative realm with the EP’s final two cuts as “Countdown” envisions impending global calamity while the ending tune “The Coming” is open to a number of interpretations depending on your own imagination and familiarity with Shofar’s past material. Once again, they distinguish themselves by providing a compelling musical landscape and allowing listeners to arrive at their own conclusions. This self-titled EP is an experience like that – it doesn’t force itself on listeners but, instead, shares its heart and communicates with the hope that it finds different meaning with each new encounter.

Man Called Noon - Everybody Move (2017)

OFFICIAL: http://mancallednoon.com/

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

TWITTER: https://twitter.com/ManCalledNoon

Written by David Shouse, posted by blog admin

It’s evident from the shucking and jiving pop n’ rocky fury of lead-in number “Everybody Move” that Man Called Noon is intent on getting limbs swinging and bodies bumping with their danceable acrobatics.  Anthony Giamichael’s post-punk guitar shimmers and scorching solos work up a good melodic sweat set to a thrilling tempo ride set by drummer Josh Fontenot and bassist Dave Aitken’s well-oiled swagger.  Citing soul and Americana influences these elements ebb to the surface of Man Called Noon’s style thanks to the call n’ response vocal dynamics of Giamichael’s leads and Erin Piortrowski’s lavish back-ups; together the team makes the verbal component of the band’s sound airtight uber-contagious.  There’s a breathy, slightly nasally vibrato to Anthony’s leads that sounds a little like Tom Petty, but he keeps subtly shifting his tonality for a very original feel. 

The second composition “Kiss Kiss Bang Bang” might be the EP’s best overall piece but with the quality of material on offer here, well, that’s a tough call to make.  Still this tune charges forth on a careening drum performance that embellishes punk rock tempos but twists them towards new wave’s lockstep syncopation and fluid bass work.  The guitars hang back in this one and seem to add extra notes to help complete certain grooves, embracing a near minimalist approach to the playing which delegates synth-player Nathan Crone to a pivotal role that sees his swelling, sonically tough keyboards riffs placed right upfront in the track’s production mix.  Speaking of the production there’s a fine sheen to the total package yet a certain amount of rawness is present on each instrument; rendering Man Called Noon as a rambunctious act who can take a wiry rock song and sand it to a smooth pop masterpiece.  Again the harmony vocals shine as the instrumentation delves into a complexity one seldom hears when exploring this style of music.  These cats should be all over rock radio and hopefully they are. 

This superb EP crosses the finish line with “One Last Ride’s” raucous punk n’ soul shakedown; Piortrowski steps into a co-lead vocal position providing some wordless blues melodies that wrap around Giamichael’s hooks like man-eating pythons as a throttling rhythmic groove nails everything down tightly.  Upper echelon vocal trade-offs and some of the most striking guitar work on the recording (marked by another killer little solo run) yields this jam a rowdy aura that will make you really want to bounce off your bedroom walls.  The alchemical split between soul, rock, punk and electronic music isn’t performed quite like anybody else out there.  Man Called Noon is fiercely original when stacked against their closest competition. 

All three tracks on this EP hit the bullseye with abandon and attitude.  Though pop elements prevail and the songwriting is tailor made for dancing and bedroom mirror vocal performances, there’s a sonic slap in the snout to this music that makes it a bit more in your face than anybody else that does it. Man Called Noon is poised to release the best album of their career based on the strength of Everybody Move; keep an eye on them!

Thomas Abban - A Sheik's Legacy (2017)

OFFICIAL: http://www.thomasabban.com/

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

INSTAGRAM: https://www.instagram.com/thomasabbanofficial/

Written by Mike Yoder, posted by blog admin

Thomas Abban and his maniacal debut A Sheik’s Legacy is the kind of album that you know if going to be great from the very track.  This multi-instrumental prodigy (aged only 21) pulls out all of the stops on opener “Death Song,” wandering through dreamy ballad waters of acoustic guitar, psychedelic keyboard signals and mixed percussion sounding like tabla mixed with a standard kit before smashing into crazed vocal histrionics and throbbing, deadly precise guitar surgery.  The motifs are many and none of them paint a clear picture as to where Abban draws his influence; according to the scant information online given by the artist himself, he’s very much a classical music fan and it’s without a doubt there is a sense of arrangement to this song and the rest of the album that transcends basic “jamming.” 

The hard-hitting passion of Abban’s vocals and the overwhelmingly expressive of his crazed ear for time-signatures lend “Symmetry & Black Tar” an unrelenting barrage of emotional earworms.  Galloping, full-throttle drums are heavy on the tom/kick patterns as the guitar work runs country music through flamenco mysticism and even an esoteric Celtic pulse that one might find on a prime Pogues’ record.  Thomas’ voice embraces wind-whipped falsetto and grainier blues hues as Abban rips out maniacal guitar tapestries that break stylistic barriers with a sledgehammer.  Those tempos get more harried, frantic and angular as the song races towards a monolithic climax that proves to be a pitch perfect set-up for the bulldozing, Clapton-esque riffing (circa Cream and Blind Faith) of “Fear.”  “Fear” is riff after riff piled high atop of a molasses-y rhythm that slowly uncoils its python-like death grip into a lightning fang strike of increasingly complex drum/bass progression.  Again, Abban who sequenced the album himself places the most appropriate track in succession, this time manifesting in the form of “Aladdin.”  The groove is a touch looser not QUITE as heavy as “Fear” but it’s not far removed either.  His chord choices and phrasings, powerhouse riffs and slamming rhythms still will nevertheless knock the paintings off your wall and shake a few molars from your gumline.  If you find it odd that Abban is the only musician I reference, don’t be surprised when you pick up the album and find out that he played every instrument but two on the entire record.  Even crazier, he wrote, sang on, produced, mixed and arranged every single bit of the album himself.  The magnitude of such a feat, so early in a musician’s career is nothing short of mind-blowing. 

A smoldering, slow-burn blitz seethes through “Time to Think” and its lonely, desolate acoustic guitars, whistling melodies, blaring organs, guest musician played flutes and fuzzy electrified riffs deliberately stack the song up to the sky, bit by glorious bit.  “Horizons” is a less intense, subtler take on his ambitious track layering; this time piano and a wall of acoustic guitars providing a softer yet no less commanding fortress of audio might.  Abban’s songwriting literally overtakes the mind, usurps the eardrums and engages the palette, no matter what manner in which Thomas presents a song.  Be it the castle conquering, riff-y black magic of “Uh” and its snubnosed groove, the pop sensibilities of “Sinner” and “Irene,” “Don’t You Stay the Same’s” well-travelled Dylan licks or “Echo’s” long climb from an acoustic well to high-temple, 70s-soaked progressive rock… Abban leaves no stone unturned on A Sheik’s Legacy.  He takes everything wonderful about the 60s/70s and then applies his own 2017 spin on the material which sounds like nobody else playing rock n’ roll in the current musical climate; a highly recommended album from an artist we should keep an eagle eye on.