Monthly Archives: July 2023

Single Review: Dan Israel – “The Hang of It”

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Dan Israel – "The Hang of It"

image courtesy of Dan Israel

Single Review of Dan Israel: “The Hang of It”

We’ve reviewed Dan Israel‘s music several times at Geoff Wilbur’s Music Blog. Dan is one of Minnesota’s top performing singer-songwriters. He can lean folk, rock, and country, depending on the song and venue. Mostly, though, Dan Israel is a talented singer-songwriter whose song-driven music is fun and catchy, with some of his hookier numbers capable of reaching fans across multiple genre boundaries. On this single, Dan showcases the more rockin’ edge of his musical personality in one of the catchiest songs from his 17-album discography.

“The Hang of It” harkens back to the ’60s and ’70s, but its production value places it in a crossover pop-rock/roots rock lane. I hear a little Tom Petty, some Marshall Tucker Band, a little Creedence Clearwater Revival, perhaps a hint of the Allman Brothers. It’s an energetic pop-rock song with some country guitar twang. This song would absolutely get a country music bar buzzing. It would have appealed to the crowd at Woodstock. And it would get cranked up by beachgoers whenever it came on the radio. This should have been the summer single of 2021. There’s still time to make it one of your summer songs of 2023.

More Recently

Just this past fall, Dan released a new album, Seriously. “The Hang of It” is one of the ten songs on Seriously.

Looking Ahead

Looking at the “Shows” page of Dan’s website, he appears to have 2-3 shows booked in Minnesota each week for the rest of the summer. If you live in the North Star State, you should try to catch a show.

Single Review: The Static Dive – “1986”

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The Static Dive – 1986

image courtesy of Dog Ranch Music PR

Single Review of The Static Dive: “1986”

The Static Dive is the name of music blogger/recording artist Bob Smith’s blog and his nom de plume when he records. The single includes two tracks, first a version of “1986” with vocals, then the vocal-less “1986 (Instrumental Mix).”

The song, “1986,” is a quirky, funky journey, with an electronic beat, a variety of musical outbursts and rhythms, an occasional dancing guitar riff, one-off hints at a groove that are gone as quickly as they arrive, and lo-fi vocals.

The song is playful, fun, and something you’ll not really be able to imagine, though hopefully I’ve given you a head start with what I’ve written, so I’d recommend giving it a quick listen here at any of the websites listed on the song’s Songwhip page. Enjoy!

 

EP Review: Oumua – Glass Splinters

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Oumua – Glass Splinters

image courtesy of Oumua

EP Review of Oumua: Glass Splinters

This four-song collection from Oumua is an engaging dose of heavy rock. This five-piece band from Kraków incorporates a variety of vocal styles, from straightforward rock vocals to hard rock growls, from thoughtfully introspective musing to heavy metal screams. The underlying music is a blending of a classic heavy rock with more hardcore, aggressive metal influences. The result is a collection of songs that will appeal to a broad range of hard rockers, performed in Oumua’s very own identifiable, engaging, original heavy rock manner.

Quickly examining the songs on the EP: “Pulling Inward” sports a rolling rhythm line. “Surface Reality” is more in-your-face. “Salvation” is drum-driven, with thumping verses and, increasingly, distorted screaming metal vocals as the song progresses. And “Minor Claws” adeptly mixes a more airy musical composition and contemplativeness with aggressively heavy sections.

I absolutely dig Oumua’s metal energy. The stylistic variances found within each of the band’s songs make them interesting listens, driven by the energy and power that defines a great hard rock or metal band. If this sounds like it falls within your preferred musical palate, you’d be remiss not to check out Oumua.

More Recently

You’ll find a pair of newer songs, “Filters” and “Griefcase,” on Oumua’s YouTube page and at the band’s Bandcamp page.

Be sure to check out Oumua’s link tree page for various ways to listen to the band’s music.

Album Review: Vanessa Peters – Modern Age

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Vanessa Peters

photo by Rip Rowan; photo courtesy of Skye Media

Album Review of Vanessa Peters: Modern Age

Vanessa Peters’ Modern Age clocks in at the electrically-charged, guitar-driven, rocky edge of singer-songwriter fare. Modern Age will perhaps remind you of some of Liz Phair’s hits from the early aughts, but, as was the case with Liz, the songs are a bit more nuanced and adventurous than they initially let on. The songs are fully-produced but with a lighter touch, with plenty of crunch and grit, but a bit of open space among the instruments, too – it’s not necessarily noticeable unless you listen closely, but it does nudge the emphasis more toward the vocals, the lyrics, and the core songwriting, very appropriately for such a thoughtfully-assembled collection of songs.

Modern Age kicks off with its title track, my very favorite of the disc’s many outstanding cuts. “Modern Age” catchily laments modernization’s elimination of simpler pleasures: “That’s the way it goes in today’s modern age. As soon as it’s made, it gets through away. I’m running on a drained battery, and I really miss the way that it used to be.” For a song of regret and nostalgia, it’s quite peppy and fun.

Vanessa Peters – Modern Age

image courtesy of Skye Media

Next up, with an emotionally heavier tone, though still driven by some nicely distorted guitar strumming, there’s something nihilistic about lines like “I can’t rearrange these deck chairs one more time,” as “Make Up My Mind” tackles modern dysfunctions, seemingly both large and small, in the context of pondering self-examination.

“Crazymaker” is a lot more uptempo, with a heavy strum-driven rhythm putting the song through its paces but still sporting the same sort of not-quite-sarcastic but oh-so-clever lyrics.

“Valley of Ashes” slows things down to a more plodding tempo but features the sort of neat little, playful, old-school guitarslinger riffs and rambling noodling you might expect from guitar rockers when they slow the music down to a bare-bones near-crawl. Guitar noir, maybe?

“Hood Ornament” picks up the tempo again, detailing life as a woman slingin’ axe in the rock ‘n roll boys’ club, featuring lyrics like “Took my place up on the stage at the big event, all alone in a crowd of men. One of them looked me up and down and said, ‘I thought you were the hood ornament.'” Seriously, dude?! Yeah, this is more than just another catchy mid-tempo tune.

Vanessa Peters

photo by Rip Rowan; photo courtesy of Skye Media

“The Band Played On” is another hooky, lightly instrumented rocker, though I mostly just find myself singing along to the lyric “we can’t give up just ’cause the bastards won.”

“Never Really Gone” suggests you may not really be able to leave your hometown behind, even if you’re sure you’ve escaped. (Does that scare you as much as it scares me?) “The Weight of This,” a song of lament, follows.

“Yes” thumps along knowingly, a song about being passed over for deserved opportunities, while “The Try” is a deceptively cheerful song driven by a recurring, reverberating guitar riff that almost – but not quite – rivals the vocals for in-song dominance.

The recurring sense of optimism that seems to be an undercurrent beneath many of the other songs’ cynicism bursts forth (a bit) in the final track, “Still Got Time.” I mean, you won’t find the opening lyrics “Well, get a hold of yourself, ’cause the world isn’t ending yet” on a Hallmark card anytime soon, but after that beginning, the song takes a decidedly hopeful turn. As a result, after some of the emotionally heavy song subjects, this disc – an exceptionally fun listen throughout – will end up putting a smile on your face, leaving you excited to face the world. You know, excited within reason, anyway.

Beginning to end, Modern Age is a cool journey, a thoughtful, well-written album. I knew from nearly the beginning of “Modern Age” that I needed to share this album with anyone who would listen, and I’ll listen to that song alone on repeat a few times in a row, but the disc contains several other gems. Give it a few spins and you’ll find your own favorites.

Vanessa Peters

photo by Brent Baxter; photo courtesy of Skye Media

What’s Next?

There are no upcoming shows listed on the “Shows” page of Vanessa’s website, but check back to see if/when some are added. You may also want to follow her Facebook and her Instagram accounts for upcoming news and events.

 

Album Review: Nobody’s Girl – Nobody’s Girl

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Nobody's Girl album cover

image courtesy of Hello Wendy PR

Album Review of Nobody’s Girl: Nobody’s Girl

Nobody’s Girl is a bit of an Americana supergroup, a collaboration among BettySoo, Rebecca Loebe, and Grace Pettis. With that pedigree, you’d expect songwriting and vocals to be among this trio’s strengths, and judging by this eponymous full-length album, indeed, they are.

Nobody’s Girl knows how to structure a song to build to power, to complement the vocals, and to connect emotionally.

The trio kicks things off emphatically with “Kansas,” a song whose music bed is as rich and lush as the group’s harmonies, a song sure to become an anthem of strength and support for those who left behind Kansas – whether the state itself or the state as a metaphor.

Throughout the rest of the disc, other favorites step forward, though the songwriting and delivery is so solid those breakthrough songs are destined to be different for each listener.

Nobody’s Girl tackles social issues in many of its songs. Songs like “Kansas” are subtle. Others, like “Promised Land,” are a lot more direct – though dependably tuneful, engaging, and catchy – lamenting the state of the U.S., but opining hopefully toward the end that “from where I stand, this could still be the promised land.”

“Rescued” stands out as an energetic song about personal independence with a cool rhythm line and, you just might notice, a small but effective guitar riff at just the right spot in the second half of the song to propel it home.

Difficulties of a career in music are fodder for the melancholically uptempo “Beauty Way.” Similarly uptempo “What’ll I Do” is a fun take on perhaps not the wisest romance.

Other notable songs include “Birthright,” singing forthrightly about a range of traumas, large and small, recent and generational; the floatingly, soft “The Morning After,” with its almost haunting musical backdrop and phrasing, particularly in the verses; and a relatively true to the original (but still oh-so-worth-the-listen) cover of  the Carole King classic “So Far Away.”

The disc closes with the sweet, folksy “Lark,” which repeatedly poses the question, “Where you runnin’ to?”

Individually, the members of Nobody’s Girl are obviously talented. Collectively, wow! And Nobody’s Fool is an exceptionally strong collection of songs that should be of interest to a group of fans with musical tastes ranging from singer-songwriter to pop-to-mid-tempo rock to some country-leaning Americana.

Looking Ahead

There are currently no tour dates listed on the “Tour” page of Nobody’s Girl’s website. However, there are current opportunities to see the trio perform separately. Rebecca Loebe’s “Tour” page shows that she has a September European tour planned. BettySoo’s “Shows” page shows that she’s in the middle of a continent-spanning summer tour. Grace Pettis’s website, meanwhile, lists a single September 21st date at McGonigel’s Mucky Duck in Houston, TX.

Album Review: Jeff Kollman – East of Heaven

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Jeff Kollman

photo courtesy of A.R.M.

Album Review of Jeff Kollman: East of Heaven (Marmaduke Records)

A few days ago, I reviewed an instrumental album from Lanterna. That was one of the two instrumental releases that have been gracing the top of my review-queue playlist during much of the last couple of years. This, Jeff Kollman‘s East of Heaven, is the other.

Jeff Kollman – East of Heaven

image courtesy of A.R.M.

East of Heaven is a classic rock-styled album, driven by Kollman’s axework. I don’t have many all-instrumental albums in my collection, but this one will sit proudly alongside my Steve Vai and Marc Bonilla discs. It’s one of those guitar-driven instrumental collections that can reach a broader market, with structured, catchy songs that’ll quickly become like old friends even for those of us who might typically like to sing along.

You may know Kollman from his hard-rockin’ stint with Edwin Dare in the ’90s or perhaps more recently from his prog-metal fusion group Cosmosquad. This disc falls clearly within the purview of someone with Kollman’s resume, showing off what he can do on a “solo” rock album. Of course, though Kollman’s guitarwork drives the record, his top-shelf bandmates make this truly a bandwide effort. Jeff is joined by Shane Gaalaas and Jono Brown on drums, Paul Shihadeh on bass, and Guy Allison on keyboards.

Jeff Kollman

photo courtesy of A.R.M.

East of Heaven opens with “Loss,” a 2-minute table-setting piece, sporting guitarwork with just a hint of distortion on what seems like a slowly-building music bed. It’s the sort of 2-minute album intro you might expect to kick off a classic rock album, particularly in the days when AOR ruled the world, and not necessarily just on concept-driven discs.

In the heart of the album, “Superstring Theory” is probably my favorite of the harder-rocking numbers, thanks to its driving rhythm. Other favorites include the more often – though not always – softer “Ghostly” and “East of Heaven” and the mellow guitar-picker “So Long Ago.” The songs on East of Heaven range from energetic to introspective to moody, though perhaps most often introspective, covering a broad spectrum of sounds and emotions.

Kollman closes the disc aptly with “See You On the Other Side,” a meandering piece with a recurring theme, traveling a musical journey that draws sonically upon many of the prior songs in the collection, combined in such a way that it seems to be saying “So long for now. We’ll meet again on the next album.”

If you’re a classic guitar rock fan, a guitar instrumental fan, or both, East of Heaven will be a welcome addition to your collection.

Jeff Kollman

photo courtesy of A.R.M.

More About Jeff Kollman

Since this album’s, there’s a newer single, “Green For Miles” (featuring Guy Allison), available from Jeff at his Marmaduke Records bandcamp page.

You can follow Jeff on Instagram for new announcements, including upcoming shows. Also, though there are no dates listed, you can watch the “Events” tab of Jeff’s Facebook page and the “Events” tab of Cosmosquad’s Facebook page for upcoming listings.

Single Review: Madysin Hatter – “Wild & Strange”

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Madysin Hatter

photo courtesy of Madysin Hatter; photo by Brandon Ripley of Sleepless Pictures

Single Review of Madysin Hatter: “Wild & Strange”

Madysin Hatter is a classic hard rock vocalist, a singer whose powerful voice is fully fluent in hard rockin’ howls and screams. She uses her vocal tool to great effect on “Wild & Strange.” The musicianship is tight and interesting throughout, not surprising given the pedigree of the musicians joining Madysin on this recording: Tyler Bryant (Tyler Bryant & The Shakedown), Frank Ferrer (Guns N’ Roses), Rob Bailey (David Johansen), and Brett Bass (Gregg Allman).

Madysin Hatter – "Wild & Strange"

image courtesy of Madysin Hatter; photo by Brandon Ripley of Sleepless Pictures

“Wild & Strange” begins with an instrumental build. Not a slow build, per se, but first crunchy drum, then guitars, and then a relatively unadorned vocal line through the opening chorus before the vocals get a little meatier and the music bed gets a bit fuller. By the second verse, the occasional guitar flourish changes things up some more, and by the end of the second chorus, it’s time for a sassy vocal bridge (“I’d need a lobotomy just to give you a shot at me…”) that leads into some brief guitar shredding. From there, the song ends in power – vocals, guitars, drums.

Madysin Hatter

photo courtesy of Madysin Hatter; photo by Kamera Shoots NYC

In summary, “Wild & Strange” is a true, crunchy rock song with a bit of an updated ’80s swagger. Well-structured, catchy, memorable, with excellent musicianship. Of course, that’s how I would describe the song as a reviewer. As a music fan, I’d just say “Dude, this song rocks!”

More About Madysin Hatter

To find your way to any and all things Madysin Hatter – interviews, recordings, music videos, press releases, and more – you can start with her “link tree.” As for live shows, there aren’t any currently scheduled, but if any are added you’ll likely find them on the “live” page of Madysin’s website.

You’ll find the video for “Wild & Strange”  here on YouTube. If that’s not enough, there’s also a lyric video available.

Album Review: Liz Bills and the Change – Liz Bills and the Change

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Liz Bills and the Change

photo by Andy Twyman Photography; photo courtesy of Liz Bills

Album Review of Liz Bills and the Change: Liz Bills and the Change

This is the eponymous debut album of Liz Bills and the Change. Blog readers may be familiar with Liz, who has been featured in these pages as Analog Heart’s vocalist and as a solo performer. Her latest act, Liz Bills and the Change, is toned down from her hard-rockin’ Analog Heart gig, but it’s still very much Liz Bills-styled music. And with this release, Liz is back in a band format, bouncing off of other talented artists who share the studio and the stage with her, so it has a cool energy. Always one to move forward and expand upon what she’s built before, this band and new release are a great next musical step for Liz; in fact, Liz Bills and the Change snagged the Pop Act of the Year award at the 2021 New England Music Awards.

This album is engaging from the very first listen, but it has so many layers and so much depth it gets better each time through, though with Liz Bills’ songwriting skills, that’s no surprise.

While Liz Bills’ music is frequently deep and introspective, it’s also, without a doubt, a lot of fun. Liz exudes a warm, enthusiastic, authentic energy during her live performances; it features prominently in her songwriting and in her recordings, too.

On brand, this album kicks things off with high energy. An energetic rhythm drives “The Train Song” in such a way you’ll not only bounce along to it, but you’ll find yourself screaming along with Liz’s vocal train whistle, “Whoo Ooh!” And yet, it’s not just a fun song. The train serves as a metaphor for life’s journey or, more specifically, life’s best – or at least more interesting – journey, and Liz sings tuneful encouragement.

Life’s journey continues with “Somebody Else,” as the verses chug along (because now you’ve caught the train, if I were to continue to train metaphor) interrupted by serious tempo and mood changes in the chorus and bridges (because your life may not always be on the track you expected).

Liz’s songwriting drifts home during the disc, notably in the next song, “Home,” and a couple songs later, on “Mama’s Song.” There’s a little melancholy in the slow-tempoed but flowing “Home,” but shrouded more in remembrance than sadness. “Mama’s Song,” meanwhile, is an ode – a very personal lyrical love letter – to a mother from a child who knows the mother did her best and appreciates all she’s done, even as the child is just slowly coming to this realization gradually with each passing year. This introspection seemingly culminates with the revelation that is this song, which acknowledges just what the mother has accomplished and, perhaps, sacrificed.

Nestled in-between those two tracks sits “When I’m With You,” a tuneful, folksy, strumming love song. Even a slow song like this moves along with a bit of a motor when performed by Liz Bills and the Change. Liz’s music never gets too mellow, even when her songs are chill.

“Wi-Hi” is a fun, funky, dynamic song about the psychological ill effects of being constantly connected. “Gasoline” is a playful song about playing with fire, mixing imagery with metaphor – mostly metaphor, but it makes for a clever, fun ditty. And “Come Back to Me” closes the album with a funky rock ‘n roll flair, a style we’ve come to know well from Liz through the years.

Once again, Liz Bills has assembled an album that’s a fun listen – I’d dare you to try not to smile while listening, but you might hurt yourself – while being thoughtful and introspective, causing listeners to examine their own preconceived notions. It’s a stellar debut for Liz’s newest band, Liz Bills and the Change.

Looking Ahead

There are a few upcoming shows listed on the “Tour Dates” page of Liz’s website. She’ll be at the Summer Soiree 2023 in West Sidney, ME on July 27th, at TroutStock 2023 in Rutland, MA on August 4th, at the Boston Harbor Distillery in Boston, MA on August 25th, and at Wormtown 2023 in Greenfield, MA on September 14th. Of course, keep checking back to see new dates at they’re added. Also, be sure to follow Liz’s Facebook and Instagram accounts for show and career announcements.

Single Review: John Lodge – “The Sun Will Shine”

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John Lodge – The Sun Will Shine

image courtesy of Glass Onyon PR

Single Review of John Lodge: “The Sun Will Shine”

“The Sun Will Shine” was released in the spring of 2021 by John Lodge, bass player, songwriter and vocalist of The Moody Blues. The song was recorded remotely by John and his 10,000 Light Years Band during to the pandemic and also features Jon Davison from Yes on background vocals.

John Lodge

photo by Brian Aris; photo courtesy of Glass Onyon PR

Musically, “The Sun Will Shine” duplicates the rich harmonies of the Moody Blues, stylistically a potentially good pairing with The Moody Blues’ hit single “Your Wildest Dreams” from the band’s The Other Side of Life album. “The Sun Will Shine” has the same lush music bed, though perhaps a slightly more understated lushness – but only by comparison, of course. John’s voice remains full, smooth, and precise. Indeed, this song would seem to be a must-have for any fan of John Lodge or the band for which he’s famous.

In Addition

“The Sun Will Shine” was designed to be part of an On Reflection EP to be incorporated into John’s live album, The Royal Affair and After. However, neither John’s website listing nor the Amazon page for The Royal Affair and After mentions anything about an On Reflection EP, so your guess is as good as mine if one exists… unless you have a copy, of course. (Then please let me know in the comments.) However, you can find the song “The Sun Will Shine” available for purchase on John’s website. In addition, several other ways to purchase or stream the song are available at this link: https://lnk.to/TSWS.

Album Review: Lanterna – Hidden Drives

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Lanterna

photo by Theo Merritt; image courtesy of Howlin’ Wuelf Media

Album Review of Lanterna: Hidden Drives (Badman Recording Co.)

You know how sometimes the way an album hits you is more about a sound than it is about the individual songs? Well, Lanterna‘s Hidden Drives is one such record. Over the last year or two, this collection of instrumental tracks has resided near the top of my to-be-reviewed queue, providing a warm, rich music bed conducive to the thoughtful analysis required by my work. Though Hidden Drives is soft and unstartling – important to those who listen to music while they work – it also features musical hooks and flourishes that embed themselves into the listener’s brain, capable of reappearing unprompted in the mind days or even weeks after the most recent listen.

Lanterna – Hidden Drives

image courtesy of Howlin’ Wuelf Media

Musically, Lanterna’s songs float and flutter – the fluttering a result of adeptly-picked guitar strings – while similar rhythmic themes seem to reappear from song to song. The reappearance is, of course, more complete in the handful of songs that are reprised at the back-end of the disc. Hidden Drives contains 15 tracks. It kicks of with ten songs, then ends with reimagined versions of five of those ten. For example, the smooth strummed, warm motor of the second song on the album, title track “Hidden Drives,” reoccurs on track 11, “Hidden Drives (Thomaston).” You know, to be honest, the differences in the remixes are generally too subtle for me to realize when the songs cycle back around. However, it’s the repetition – both the similarities of different songs and the repeating of several songs at the end – that causes this album to quickly feel like an old friend.

Much of the album is quiet and mellow, but you’ll find bursts of energy. “Chagrin Boulevard,” “Aqueduct,” and “Nice” are a few songs that provide that modest tempo variance. But the mellower songs are the backbone of Hidden Drives. Favorites include “Cupola” and “Cupola (University Avenue),” “Redwood” and “Redwood (Sans),” and “Flag.”

In all, I have really enjoyed listening to the disc regularly for months and months and months. If you dig light but interesting instrumental soft rock, whether as a soundtrack to your workday or in any other locale, you owe it to yourself to give Lanterna’s Hidden Drives a test drive.

Looking Ahead

Though there are no upcoming shows listed, you can find performance dates, as they’re added, at the bottom of the main page of Lanterna’s website and on the “Events” tab of the band’s Facebook page.