Astronomique - Sharp Divide (2018)

OFFICIAL: http://www.astronomiquemusic.com

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BANDCAMP: https://astronomique.bandcamp.com

Written by Pamela Bellmore, posted by blog admin

“Forefathers” opens Astronomique’s Sharp Divide with the sort of confidence you don’t often hear from new bands. This Minneapolis based four piece has threaded together an irresistible sound coupling the best elements of electronica, eighties flavored Euro pop, and a deceptively strong singer/songwriter sensibility dominating the album as a whole. “Side of Your Mind” has a bright bounce from the first and singer/keyboard player Logan Andra Fongemie’s vocal shares the same upward, optimistic tilt, a mood in short supply on Sharp Divide. Drummer Mitch Billings and bassist Preston Saari distinguished themselves on the album’s opener, but they demonstrate their versatility here as they don’t play such a prominent role in the mix, yet provide a center for “Side of Your Mind” immeasurably enhancing the song.

The tracks “Losing Our Control” and the title song are likely the album’s pinnacle. There are extraordinarily good songs following this tandem, but the duo of songs near the album’s midway point stand a cut above thanks to the unified effort you can hear in both performances. Fongemie’s synthesizer playing is an integral part of the band’s sound, rather than pure ornamentation like it might be for lesser acts, and the delicate, nearly crystalline qualities of her voice are equally fitting for the material. The title song seems to be the more impressive of the two thanks to the extra dollop of passion Fongemie brings to her singing. “Smoke”, however, takes a slightly different and welcome shift on the band’s template this far and succeeds in focusing more on atmospherics without losing the musical plot.

“Unspoken”, however, returns us to the more familiar terrain of the album’s first four songs and rivals the aforementioned tandem of “Losing Our Control” and the title song without ever repeating itself. Hogan’s guitar work here is especially strong and one can feel his inspiration working with such a talented rhythm section team. “Bleed Me” is another of the album’s marquee numbers and effectively juxtaposes its intense lyrical content with another slightly melancholy, but entertaining musical arrangement. “Hardly Deliberate” maintains the same approach to Fongemie’s vocals defining the album on the whole while it brings a tense, rolling arrangement to bear anchored by the potent interplay between Saari’s rib rattling bass and Billings’ drums.

“Heading Nowhere” seems to bring Sharp Divide to a dispirited conclusion, but it is reminiscent of the earlier “Bleed Me” in its willingness to bring a relatively dire lyrical mood together with a freer, slightly more upbeat musical identity. Few albums are as clearly conceived and laid out as Sharp Divide and it’s a testament to the band’s innate chemistry, particularly between Fongemie and her songwriting partner guitarist Sean Hogan, but bassist Preston Saari and drummer Mitch Billings make a big impact on the album’s final form.

Rejectionist Front - Evolve (2017)

OFFICIAL: http://rejectionistfront.com/

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

Written by Pamela Bellmore, posted by blog admin

New York City based four piece Rejectionist Front’s second studio album Evolve avoids any of the wavering we sometimes hear from an act’s sophomore release and, instead, refines their songwriting template and consolidates their position as one of the rising indie rock outfits working today. Fronted by singer/songwriter Michael Perlman with Lincoln Prout single handedly taking care of the band’s guitar duties, the album’s twelve songs show off Rejectionist Front’s influences without ever sounding like slavish imitation. There are some obviously commercial rock songs included on Evolve, but there are some more artful and idiosyncratic tunes included on Evolve that often veer past hard rock and into top shelf prog metal reminiscent of a harder edged Pearl Jam or Queensryche with a crucial difference coming with how Rejectionist Front only boasts a single guitarist rather than two. Produced by World2Be Entertainment, Rejectionist Front’s second release has a powerhouse presentation guaranteed to capture the attention of both casual and hardcore fans.

There’s definitely an exultant quality to some of Rejectionist Front’s music that, thankfully, eschews any heavy handedness or over-simplifications. This quality comes across at a few key points during Evolve and one of the most notable is the album’s opener “Ride”. It’s also a powerful illustration of the rare vocal strengths they bring to a style and genre not ordinarily known for acts with a top shelf vocal presentation. They pursue their Muse down a more solidly traditional hard rock avenue with the second track “All I Am” and Perlman shows off, for the first time, the capacity for adapting his voice to a song’s demands. “Savior” continues in that traditional hard rock vein with a particularly punchy chorus and more of the outsized guitar muscle that defines the album’s songwriting as a whole.

Rejectionist Front tempers the brash, even bellicose, spirit of their music for the song “All is the Same” but this more even-handed, restrained approach still bears signatures of their style and fits in rather well with the surrounding material. “Reclaim” revisits the anthemic potential of the album’s first song and, like “Ride”, refrains from pandering to listener’s conventions about such material. “Flush” is a single from the album and it’s shortest track on a release where running times are largely uniform with only a few notable exceptions. The sleek, lean musical attack makes all the right choices if the song’s intent is immediacy and engaging the audience and Perlman delivers one of the best vocals you’ll hear on Evolve. The atmosphere of melancholic sensitivity pervading “Hold Or Break” contrasts dramatically with the song’s heavier passages and the varying tempo of the song nevertheless maintains the needed seamlessness for a coherent performance. Evolve’s closing number “Inside of Me” is another more thoughtful and orchestrated cut relying just as much on affecting vocal harmonies as it does compelling guitar theatrics. The meditative spirit of the release provides a valuable counterpoint to its boisterous, assertive sound and helps make it an even better, more entertaining listen. Rejectionist Front are quite unlike many rock bands working today and our music world is better for it.  

Michael Askin - Road by the River (2017)

REVERBNATION: https://www.reverbnation.com/michaelaskin

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

Written by Pamela Bellmore, posted by blog admin

Road by the River, the new five song EP release from New Jersey based singer/songwriter Michael Askin, is a relatively unassuming collection, but there’s a warm glow radiating from these five tracks that’s, in turns, haunted and deeply felt. He’s largely working in a folk/singer-songwriter mode, but there are definitely nods to country, blues, and rock influences peeking out at various times during this listening experience. Askin, fortunately, surrounds himself with a top notch cast of collaborators obviously sympathetic to his musical vision and they play with a singular focus aimed towards best serving the songs. Despite the retro style Askin has chosen to adopt for his songwriting, it has a fresh vitality that prevents it from ever sounding like an academic exercise. Much of this is thanks to the superb writing and uninhibited sensitivity Askin shows for giving us an artful peek into his life and heart.

We can hear that in the cool and confident jaunt he takes through the EP’s title number and opener. The drums are captured especially well and set a memorable tone for the performance as a whole, but the true beating heart of the song comes with Askin’s emotive singing and the satisfaction arriving with the chorus. It’s the only time he makes extensive use of harmonies to buttress his singing, but it’s exceptionally well done and memorable for its brevity. Some of the inevitable chagrin you experience when you feel like you aren’t being heard and held down comes across with the song “Nashville” and, although he communicates his dissatisfaction clearly, Askin’s songwriting is distinguished for its lack of pointless vitriol. It’s one of the EP’s darkest musical moments as well.

Not quite as dark as “Sun Goes Down” however. Askin, with this song, arguably goes deeper than anywhere else on the EP and his guitar playing particularly stands out thanks to its shadowy elegance, taste, and soulful touch. He hits another high point with the song “Hard to Make a Living” and this Merle Haggard-ish (lyrically) meditation on rough times allows his country music influences to come through a final time. The EP’s ending number, “Last Train”, mixes a dollop of rock into a folky blues shuffle that’s brief, but becomes more interesting as it goes along. It’s, lyrically, probably his most Americana tinged moment on the EP and feels like a satisfying finish for the EP in every way. Michael Askin’s Road by the River doesn’t have to pretend to be authentic; there’s a life well lived coming across on every song.

Sarah Morris - Hearts in Need of Repair (2017)

OFFICIAL: www.sarahmorrismusic.com

FACEBOOK: www.facebook.com/sarahmorris10

Written by William Elgin, posted by blog admin

Sarah Morris’ latest full length album Hearts in Need of Repair marks a new high point in the career of one of the country’s best singer/songwriters working today. The Minneapolis based artist has established a reputation as one of the more probing, vulnerable songwriters working today thanks to a mix of her revealing poetic lyrics and an intelligent, outside the box approach to her songs that, nonetheless, demonstrates a thorough understanding and mastery of fundamentals. This third album follows up 2013’s Ordinary Things well by reaffirming the virtues of that sophomore effort, enlisting the same musical team to help bring things off, and yet moves the needle closer to her peak than any preceding release. This award winning songwriter and vocalist has amassed an impressive following for such a young career and there’s little question that Hearts in Need of Repair will garner her even more respect and followers.

The title song is a piece of music with immense subtlety. There are a number of subtle tempo shifts built into the arrangement and drummer Zachary Schmidt handles these changes with a deft sense of timing and just the right touch. The mix of acoustic and electric guitar is, likewise, understated yet assertive enough to further shape the song. “Good at Goodbye” is a clever bit of songwriting with a more pronounced country music influence coming through. Some might deem it somewhat predictable, but discerning listeners will instead hear a pleasing inevitability in Morris’ writing that illustrates her mastery of the form. Her lyrics also traffic in a number of specific details that gives the song a more intimate edge. “Cheap Perfume” has some of the same specificity driving its writing and a moodier character overall while showing some of the same musical influences. A bluesier spirit fills the song “Falling Over” and the same penchant for concrete details distinguishing “Good at Goodbye” comes across even stronger here. Morris, likewise, fills the song with a wise gravitas that, as well, never fails to musically deliver. The slide guitar laced through the track is particularly effective.

The pensive intimacy of “Empty Seat” elicits a level of delicacy from Morris’ voice that gets under the lyric’s skin and there are some remarkable lines. It’s one of Morris’ finest moments in her career so far, never mind just this album, and the hard won experience fueling its observations is exquisitely expressed. “Shelter or the Storm” has some of the same swampy ambiance we heard with “Falling Over” with a more memorable vocal melody that demands lung power from Morris unlike any other song on Hearts in Need of Repair. Her wont for a probing love song continues with the starkly beautiful “Nothing Compares” and she wonderfully avoids the tired tropes common to the style without ever compromising what it wants to say. The steel guitar and piano duet coloring the finale “Confetti” is a good match for the customary acoustic guitar and dramatically arranged drumming, but it’s the considered tempo and deeply felt vocal magic that makes this a real winner for her final curtain. Hearts in Need of Repair is one of the finest exponents of the singer/songwriter school in recent memory and Morris’ command over Americana forms makes this a formidable listening experience.

Joe Olnick Band - Downtown (2017)

OFFICIAL: https://www.joeolnick.com/

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

Written by William Elgin, posted by blog admin

The 6^th release from completely instrumental threesome the Joe Olnick Band is a quirky, off-the-cuff album full of twisting rhythms and intense guitar workouts that conjures up some real funk ‘n blues hoodoo.  Downtown is a collection of jams that weave in and out of one another in a grandiose, 70s-progressive madness that encompasses every style from ambient noise to wailing punk-psyche to groovy drive in theater soundscapes. 

Things lead-in on the burly, buoyant funk of the title track which utilizes pounding, thunderous rhythms that you can shake your booty to while band mastermind and guitarist Joe Olnick splices psyche leads, fuzzy wah-explosions and atmospheric licks into the band’s Frankenstein creation of sound.  There’s an obvious drive, power and aggressive component to the band’s sound that keeps the music stomping forward on dirty, fun lovin’ numbers such as this one, the swank downbeat of “Philadelphia Moonlight (Part One)” and the bustling “Rush Hour.”  “Rush Hour” has a snappy rhythm that’s always moving along at a good clip as Olnick imprints his rocked-out, jazzy funk leads permanently into the tune’s tough rhythmic flesh.  The first part of “Philadelphia Moonlight” is one of the album’s most melodic numbers and even though some of the guitar work has an incendiary burn to it, the rhythms stay more meditative and the melodies are softer and more noticeable. 

The gristly “Food Truck” provides another take on the Joe Olnick Band’s varied, multifaceted funk.  This cut has a barrel-chested, walking bass lick played by Jamie Aston that holds the entire song together in tandem with Jamie Smucker’s precision, slow motion beats.  Meanwhile, Olnick snakes multiple guitar leads and lick into the jam that keep expanding far beyond the initial minimalist seeds that were planted.  “Parkside” examines a similar, stripped down atmosphere with gothic keyboard drones and an odd no-wave noise vibe being filtered through the atonal tunefulness.  “Philadelphia Moonlight (Part Two)” gets by on using the absolute bare minimum when it comes to instrumental notation.  The guitar, bass percussion and keys each seem to pick a singular note or simplistic motif/pattern and stick with it for nearly the entire song.  Slow but surely new notes are eventually added and Olnick builds his tense, noisy guitar squalor into a very eerie yet memorable ambience.  The soul sundering “Sports Complex” borrows heavy metal’s ruthless, infernal volume that was introduced to the genre in the late 60s.  Wedding this loud, dirty drawl to a runaway Sex Pistols’ tempo and allows the guitar work to erupt with volcanic psychedelic rock, this no-holds barred psycho ditty closes that album on a downright terrifying note. 

Downtown is 7 tracks of instrumental experiments that work and actually make for a set of unique, fantastic songs.  No two tracks are alike and the band’s musicianship isn’t afraid to catch a mighty groove or overload your senses with power and volume… exactly what good rock n’ roll should be doing whether it has a funk, jazz or classical base regardless.  Pound for pound you’ll be hard-pressed to find a better instrumental release this year.