The first CDs of the New Year
Well actually some of them came in December, but we did get some already in the new year. Make sure you check out the Rift mainpage for info on the upcoming events and stuff Rift is doing. We need to raise money to keep on rolling and your help is greatly appreciated.
20 Dollar Love - Sex Rock Heroes
Sometimes when hard rock bands stretch into the "prog rock" deal it dilutes the real meaning behind rock and roll. 20 Dollar Love, don't play it fancy or try to hard to find the most complex guitar and bass passage, they play it real. Hard rock with grit and determination. If your looking to have a good time, drink some beers and shake your fist a bit they are perfect. Of course one of my favorite songs on the CDs is called "Unicorns" and stretches the rock a bit with some cool guitar parts. It reminds a bit of the first Soundground album, without the Chris Cornell high notes.
Cloud Cult - The Meaning of 8
I have been waiting for this CD, and the wait has been worth it. It doesn't officially come out for a few months, but putting out a magazine does have its advantages. What Cloud Cult does is put over 60 minutes of music and 18 songs on a single CD. Pretty close to a double album. The songs don't stray too far from the style previously "Advice From The Happy Hippopotamus" but there are some suprises and very cool sounds. Craig Minowa the lead singer and the main guy in Cloud Cult doesn't mind mixing the electronic music with the rock, ambient, strings and a few unique instrumentations. His voice is uniquely his own and as with previous albums you feel like your going on a journey of self discovery with Cloud Cult. I like the difference between songs like" Chemicals Collide" which is very playful and simple and "A Good God" which is humorous and experimental all at the same time. We'll talk more about this CD, when Rift gets a chance to sit down with the band and do a feature.
Plasmatic Brain Spasm - Twice As Bright
Just one song on a CD from Plasmatic Brain Spasm, which is precursor to a new album they are working on. Kind of slow and plodding, the song sort of made me a bit sleepy. On the sheet they sent with it, it indicates things to come, I just hope they bring the tempo up a bit on a few of the songs that are on the new CD.
The Heise Bros - The Continuing Saga of...
Since I can't be impartial because Nelson Heise is one of the writers for Rift. Nelson and his brother keep it simple on their second release. This CD isn't going to win any awards for being the most groundbreaking, but it doesn't suck. If I rated it on a scale from 1-10 I would rate it a five.
Chris Koza - EP
Chris Koza is a great songwriter, singer and player. He is very good at having his voice wander around his seeming straightforward but offbeat rythyms. It is probably what makes most people when they hear him for the first time really get into him. He's a bit different then the other songwriters out there. This EP has six songs on it, and all of them are great in their own way. Now that I have totally crossed over into Chris Koza fandom, I better pass him on to a more critcal ear.
Torok - Addiction
Addicted to 80's hard rock and mid tempo rock songs, Torok falls a bit short on reviving a dead artform. Not that I won't admit to enjoying the songs of some of that same genre, I have moved on. Of course it might be worse if Torok was trying to be something it wasn't like when many of those bands of the 80's tried to play harder, cut their hair mixed in grunge and techno with their music. If Torok likes it, they should do it. Why pretend your something that your not.
Between Mirages - Self Titled
When I opened up this package, I really thought it was going to suck. The picture of James Fricker II is sort of funny on the back. Young kid 19, putting out his first recording. Well again my preconceived notion was blown away by a very talented musician who pretty much plays everything but the drums. The guitar parts are great and he doesn't do a bad job with the vocals. Sort of a better version of all that metal influenced calling themselves punk bands that are all around these days. The recording isn't perfect, but it seems like a great start for him.
Over Under - Line Out
Nick Africano who does the lead vocals for this band, has a unique and bellowing voice. The sound for this CD is sort of rootsy and acousticy (my own made up word), except for a reggae sounding track. This band doesn't really light me up, not that it's bad just not enough matches and TNT to light me up.
Calusa - A Form of Love
Far better then the demo they sent me last year or so, the recording quality seems much better. Calusa spits out the punk rock with melody. Off key at times, some bad lyrical choices and not anything spectacular.
Josh Aran - water to wash water away
There are quite a few songwriters locally that fit quite nicely into the style of music Josh Aran displays on this CD. A few stand out - See Chris Koza, Jeremy Messersmith and Brad Senne. Aran displays some good points but enought to put him the list with the above artists. He doesn't stray far enough from pop music formulas.
Another batch done and another batch on my desk. Until next time.
Rich
20 Dollar Love - Sex Rock Heroes
Sometimes when hard rock bands stretch into the "prog rock" deal it dilutes the real meaning behind rock and roll. 20 Dollar Love, don't play it fancy or try to hard to find the most complex guitar and bass passage, they play it real. Hard rock with grit and determination. If your looking to have a good time, drink some beers and shake your fist a bit they are perfect. Of course one of my favorite songs on the CDs is called "Unicorns" and stretches the rock a bit with some cool guitar parts. It reminds a bit of the first Soundground album, without the Chris Cornell high notes.
Cloud Cult - The Meaning of 8
I have been waiting for this CD, and the wait has been worth it. It doesn't officially come out for a few months, but putting out a magazine does have its advantages. What Cloud Cult does is put over 60 minutes of music and 18 songs on a single CD. Pretty close to a double album. The songs don't stray too far from the style previously "Advice From The Happy Hippopotamus" but there are some suprises and very cool sounds. Craig Minowa the lead singer and the main guy in Cloud Cult doesn't mind mixing the electronic music with the rock, ambient, strings and a few unique instrumentations. His voice is uniquely his own and as with previous albums you feel like your going on a journey of self discovery with Cloud Cult. I like the difference between songs like" Chemicals Collide" which is very playful and simple and "A Good God" which is humorous and experimental all at the same time. We'll talk more about this CD, when Rift gets a chance to sit down with the band and do a feature.
Plasmatic Brain Spasm - Twice As Bright
Just one song on a CD from Plasmatic Brain Spasm, which is precursor to a new album they are working on. Kind of slow and plodding, the song sort of made me a bit sleepy. On the sheet they sent with it, it indicates things to come, I just hope they bring the tempo up a bit on a few of the songs that are on the new CD.
The Heise Bros - The Continuing Saga of...
Since I can't be impartial because Nelson Heise is one of the writers for Rift. Nelson and his brother keep it simple on their second release. This CD isn't going to win any awards for being the most groundbreaking, but it doesn't suck. If I rated it on a scale from 1-10 I would rate it a five.
Chris Koza - EP
Chris Koza is a great songwriter, singer and player. He is very good at having his voice wander around his seeming straightforward but offbeat rythyms. It is probably what makes most people when they hear him for the first time really get into him. He's a bit different then the other songwriters out there. This EP has six songs on it, and all of them are great in their own way. Now that I have totally crossed over into Chris Koza fandom, I better pass him on to a more critcal ear.
Torok - Addiction
Addicted to 80's hard rock and mid tempo rock songs, Torok falls a bit short on reviving a dead artform. Not that I won't admit to enjoying the songs of some of that same genre, I have moved on. Of course it might be worse if Torok was trying to be something it wasn't like when many of those bands of the 80's tried to play harder, cut their hair mixed in grunge and techno with their music. If Torok likes it, they should do it. Why pretend your something that your not.
Between Mirages - Self Titled
When I opened up this package, I really thought it was going to suck. The picture of James Fricker II is sort of funny on the back. Young kid 19, putting out his first recording. Well again my preconceived notion was blown away by a very talented musician who pretty much plays everything but the drums. The guitar parts are great and he doesn't do a bad job with the vocals. Sort of a better version of all that metal influenced calling themselves punk bands that are all around these days. The recording isn't perfect, but it seems like a great start for him.
Over Under - Line Out
Nick Africano who does the lead vocals for this band, has a unique and bellowing voice. The sound for this CD is sort of rootsy and acousticy (my own made up word), except for a reggae sounding track. This band doesn't really light me up, not that it's bad just not enough matches and TNT to light me up.
Calusa - A Form of Love
Far better then the demo they sent me last year or so, the recording quality seems much better. Calusa spits out the punk rock with melody. Off key at times, some bad lyrical choices and not anything spectacular.
Josh Aran - water to wash water away
There are quite a few songwriters locally that fit quite nicely into the style of music Josh Aran displays on this CD. A few stand out - See Chris Koza, Jeremy Messersmith and Brad Senne. Aran displays some good points but enought to put him the list with the above artists. He doesn't stray far enough from pop music formulas.
Another batch done and another batch on my desk. Until next time.
Rich
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