Tag Archives: Single Review

Single Review: Soft Skies Inc – “Sin Some / Lose Some”

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photo by Chris McLaughlin; photo courtesy of Knyvet

Single Review of Soft Skies Inc: “Sin Some / Lose Some”

Soft Skies Inc – Ryan Rex (main vocals, guitars, and bass) and Martin Rex (drums, percussion, backing vocals, and keys) delivers a keyboard-heavy, ’90s-style, jangly, dreamily-floating alt-rock with the slightly off-kilter harmonies of “Sin Some / Lose Some.” This song reminds me a lot of the mid-’90s. It’s similar to the music I heard on the East Lansing music scene or among the featured acts at regional Northeast and Midwest music conferences during that time.

cover art photo by Lindsay Metivier; image courtesy of Knyvet

Musically, “Sin Some / Lose Some” is light but with a hint of darkness. Almost danceable but with a deceptively complicated beat that makes it hard to really hone in on, so when you hear it live, you just awkwardly sway like a pre-teen afraid to make the first move at a roller skating party. So what’s the song actually about? Well, according to Ryan Rex, “More than anything, I want people to find their own meaning in the song. But for me, it’s about the chaos of living a life that’s been off the rails for too long trying to wrestle control over things that were never really in your hands to begin with. There’s a kind of madness in that.” If you think about it, that’s kind of the same vibe. But yeah, lyrically the song’s more substantial than the visual embodiment I chose to personify its tweener energy might suggest.

More Recently

Since the release of “Sin Some / Lose Some,” Soft Skies Inc has released another single, “The Point,” with a more retro-’80s alt-pop/rock vibe. Of course, I’ve only played it once, so if I were actually planning to review it, I’d give it multiple listens so I could dig deeper. Still, combined with the pair of singles I reviewed last year – “Sooner or Later” and “Your Small Army” – it showcases the duo’s versatility.

Single Review: Shane Stevens – “GRITS”

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photo by Ari Lyon; photo courtesy of DRPR

Single Review of Shane Stevens: “GRITS”

Award-winning, hit-producing songwriter Shane Stevens has a hooky country single of his own, “GRITS.” It’s one of those rhythm-driven, funky country numbers that screams “radio hit.” If this doesn’t break big for Shane – and it’s been out for a while, so it may not – I wouldn’t be surprised if it gets recorded by a big-name country star and stirs things up on country hit radio. Yes, it’s that catchy, it hits all the right notes, and if you enjoy country music, it’s a song that’ll soon become a personal favorite, regardless of whether or not it gets a lot of country radio spins.

The song kicks off with a big catchy guitar riff, slides into rap/talkin’-country lyrics, and seems tailor-made for line dancing. It features a singalong/dancealong-able chorus, and, of course, it pays homage to GRITS (“Girls Raised In The South”). The song’s style is almost formulaic, but there’s a reason that formula works. The best songs of that type catch lightning in the bottle with just the right beat, a stylish vocal delivery, and lyrics that fall together cleverly. I mean, it doesn’t work without clever lyrics, and “GRITS” has got ’em, from the early-song line of “better than a slap of butter on a biscuit” to the back half of the chorus, “Shakin’ what they momma gave ’em, they keepin’ all their daddies prayin, Can I get an Amen? An Amen? For GRITS, girls raised in the South!” Pay attention, and you’ll find plenty more well-constructed lyrics, too – soon, you’ll catch yourself listening for them.

Bottom line, country music fans, is that you’re gonna enjoy this song. Just give it a quick listen, and you’ll hear what I’m talkin’ about.

 

Single Review: The Sun Harmonic – “Glory Days”

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photo by Eva Wheeler-Stout; photo courtesy of Cameron Carpenter

Single Review of The Sun Harmonic: “Glory Days”

The Sun Harmonic are Kaleb Hikele (vocals, guitar), Dave (Skitch) Patterson (drums) and Ian McLennan (bass), joined on “Glory Days” by Zack Buck and Al Grantham singing backup vocals. The band was founded in 2009, and six albums preceded the release of “Glory Days,” a song included on The Sun Harmonic’s seventh LP, simply entitled The Sun Harmonic.

image courtesy of Cameron Carpenter

“Glory Days” combines shades of Jimmy Eat World and Good Charlotte with the full-on cheekines of bands like Barenaked Ladies. Weirdly, the beginnings of the verses sound like they could be sung to the tune of “The Christmas Song,” with “Chestnuts roasting on an open fire” being replaced by lyrics like “Did you catch yourself squeezing the water from a stone?” or “If we both have nothing, then we have nothing to lose.” Check it out – do you hear it, too? Or am I just losing my mind? Either way, it’s a fun cadence with which to kick off each verse.

photo by Eva Wheeler-Stout; photo courtesy of Cameron Carpenter

The song itself relentlessly pushes forward with just enough breaks in the breakneck tempo to give it a catchy, pleasant, enjoyable style. I mean, the tempo – it’s almost like a march, an enthusiastic, tuneful march. The instrumental flailing at the end of the song is almost symphonic, too.

In the end, though, it works. It comes together under the guise of rock ‘n roll as a song that demands your attention, shows you a good time, and eventually becomes a favorite musical companion. I haven’t checked out the band’s subsequent self-titled full-length album – the one containing “Glory Days” – yet, but if this song is any indication, I look forward to giving it a spin.

Single Review: Consequence Of Energy – “Freedom”

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photo by Cici Rivarola; photo courtesy of Cameron Carpenter

Single Review of Consequence Of Energy: “Freedom”

Consequence of Energy dropped “Freedom” last summer as the first single from its We Are One album, subsequently released over the winter. This, however, is the song that found its way to my playlist last summer, and I’ve been digging it ever since. If you’re a rocker, I’m guessing you’ll dig it, too.

Consequence of Energy is a Chilean heavy rock band claiming influences such as Audioslave, Gojira, and System of a Down. And you can hear the heavy influences loud and clear in “Freedom.”

image courtesy of Cameron Carpenter

The song starts off with a swirling heavy guitar line before being joined by a slightly haunting but primarily stoic and softly ominous vocals. While sometimes the light hookiness suggests elements of pop-punk, the tone of the song is dark and heavy – yeah, like heavy rock – and the guitars build to distorted aggressiveness. By the second build-up, the heaviness takes hold. Subsequently, the final third of the song is increasingly distorted, with angrier axework and increasingly anguished lead vocals, though the supporting vocal remains tunefully calm. It’s an effective arrangement, building the song toward an increasingly raucous, heavy rock, almost metal conclusion.

So far, this is the only song I’ve heard from Consequence of Energy, but if this is any indication, I’m looking forward to checking out the full album and following this band’s career. This is a helluva song, even more impressive for being the band’s first single.

Single Review: Elisa Smith – “Nashville Don’t Forget Me”

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photo by Lena Nugent Photography; photo courtesy of Knyvet

Single Review of Elisa Smith: “Nashville Don’t Forget Me”

Elisa Smith won a 2025 Josie Music Award for Female Country Song of the Year for “Nashville Don’t Forget Me.” And it’s easy to see why. The song is well-written and impeccably instrumented, and Smith’s vocals hit all the right notes, literally and figuratively.

As the song begins, the opening guitar twang lets you know this is gonna be some true-blue country music. Then Smith’s voice, that sweetly strong voice kicks in. It’s an old-fashioned, crisp, old-school country voice. When I caught Elisa at the 2025 New England Americana Festival, I thought this song was a ’70s throwback, and indeed it came off that way as a live acoustic duo performance. However, this fully instrumented arrangement, while maintaining the classic, timeless country vibe, also has a richness and fullness that’d allow it to stand toe-to-toe with modern recordings of this same sub-style of country.

image courtesy of Knyvet

Neatly, the song builds, as instrumentation and vocals build to power, expressing the song’s lyrical sentiment, “Nashville, don’t forget me.” (Oh, it’s a lot deeper than that, but I’m not giving away any more lyrical content.) And, of course, the energy level pulls back and fades away at the end; message delivered.

One of the neat things you’ll discover, as you explore Smith’s playlist a little deeper, is that she’s as good at hitting some more energetic and sassier songs, as well. So beyond this kickass softer-touch song, she’s got the chops to pull off the song variety necessary for a fun full-length album or concert event.

Looking Forward

You can catch Elisa Smith live on Saturday at the New England Americana Festival at the Bellforge Arts Center in Medfield, MA – the pre-event schedule suggests she’s scheduled to go on at 2:00, so get out early to this all-day, 1:00-8:00 concert at a cool outdoor venue. For more upcoming performances, check out the “Live” page of Smith’s website.

Single Reviews: Adios Fatso – “WTF” and “Gopro, Not Again!”

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photo courtesy of Adios Fatso

Single Reviews of Adios Fatso: “WTF” and “Gopro, Not Again!”

If you dig two minute-ish broad-influence punk-styled raucous rock complaints-slash-anthems (though the song lengths probably technically disqualify them from being called anthems), you’re gonna love Adios Fatso‘s two somewhat recent singles, “WTF” and “Gopro, Not Again!” Both songs were recorded at the Blasting Room in Fort Collins, Colorado, mixed by Andrew Berlin (Descendents, Teenage Bottlerocket, Rise Against), and mastered by Jason Livermore (NoFx, Propagandhi, Lagwagon), so you know the real, raw, rambunctious Adios Fatso sound was well-captured on the recordings.

image courtesy of Adios Fatso

While this Massachusetts band’s tempo and edginess are pure punk energy, other influences come through loud and clear. Pop, funk, classic rock, soul, and more all show up here and there in the mix. And an overarching jangly-psychedelic ’70s pop veneer appears in both tracks, though when you put so many ingredients into a punk rock blender, you can never be entirely sure whether you’re hearing an influence or simply the natural result of blue and red making purple. Of course, on the “Gopro, Not Again!” cover art, the red and blue remain distinctly separate, never creating purple, so perhaps that’s telling you something. (Seriously, no, that’s completely unrelated.)

image courtesy of Adios Fatso

Lyrically, Adios Fatso insists its lyrics are based on real-life events, and its fun to listen with that in mind. The first of the two singles, “WTF,” gives a hint into its real-life basis with the closing lyrics “When gaslighting is the name of the game they will play, making good things seem bad, and they’ll blame you (yeah, they’ll blame you) every time.” Seriously, WTF? It’s a solid 2 minutes of energy. Well, mostly. “WTF” slips a cool stop-start rhythm into the chorus, providing a smoother vocal befitting its briefly slower pace, and it ends with reference to being bullshit-free. (I’ll circle back to the bullshit-themed reference later.) As for those closing lyrics, they lead up to a short but blistering guitar run that’ll thrill fans of all guitar rock subgenres.

photo courtesy of Adios Fatso

More recent single “Gopro, Not Again!” very quickly gets to its drum-slapping rhythm, but it also features a funky little bass riff, an almost jazzy breakdown, some ska-reminiscent horns, and some slightly slower segments that allow listeners (or concertgoers, I’d imagine) to breathe occasionally before launching into the song’s pervasive, chaotic, breakneck pace. The song itself focuses on the disappointments of a misbehaving GoPro, with recording attempts thwarted by such nuisances as a firmware update and a faulty SD card. I know I’m citing the other song here, but WTF? As for the lyric linking the two songs together, “Gopro, Not Again!” ends with the line “I’m sick of dealing with your bullshit” before launching into a wall-of-noise yet tight instrumental close.

Both of these songs are infectious. If you have any predilection toward enjoying this kind of music, both “WTF” and “Gopro, Not Again!” will become fast favorites!

Single Review: Battlemode – “Game Over”

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photo by Astro; photo courtesy of Knyvet

Single Review of Battlemode: “Game Over”

Boston’s chiptune gurus were at it again last summer. Shortly after I reviewed the band’s singles “Playlist” and “Just Pretend,” the trio dropped equally-hooky “Game Over,” which I’m reviewing today, because when a song’s this catchy, I can’t let you – anyone who reads the blog – miss hearing about it (and enjoying it). I assume if you saw my review last year you’ve been following these guys and have been keeping up with their music, but what if you haven’t been? Or what if you were so busy – let’s say, on your classic Game Boy, for example – that you totally missed the last review? I’mma rectify that right now.

cover art by Narvicto DeJesus; image courtesy of Knyvet

Battlemode is comprised of Biff (vocals, violin, keyboard, aerophone), Astro (vocals, Game Boy), and Sam Mulligan (vocals, guitar). And these dudes are chiptune maestros.

Like its predecessors, “Game Over” is an infectious, dancefloor-ready, electronic-based, hook-laden earworm. In this song, a steady, punchy rhythm, classic recurring supporting electro-riff, and a floaty, atmospheric musical background support a digital-sounding chorus fed by a distorted first verse and a fast-spoken, not-quite-rap second verse. But the key to “Game Over” – as was the case with “Playlist” and “Just Pretend” – is simple: It’s memorable and fun to listen to. It’ll get you bouncing to its energy all the way up to it’s all-too-abrupt end at 2:00. And do you know what that means? Yeah, it ends too soon, so you’re gonna have to play it again.

More Recently

Proof that I can’t possibly keep up with these guys’ prolific output, there have been several releases since “Game Over.” Battlemode also dropped “NVR KNOW” and “Sw33ttooth” later in 2025, followed by the EP DON’T PANIC!, which counts “Sw33ttooth” as one of its three tracks, earlier this year.

Single Review: Ariana Colletti – “6am”

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photo courtesy of Now Hear This, Inc.

Single Review of Ariana Colletti – “6am”

Ariana Colletti‘s “6am” is a sleepy, dreamy pop song with a hint of anxiety. Singer-songwriter Ariana Colletti’s voice is sweet, enjoyable, yet still conveys an uneasiness.

“6am” is an ode to overthinkers, noting in the chorus “It’s crazy how in the middle of the night, the darkness shines and the world goes quiet. The beauty in the silence.” However, for me at least, the payoff lyrics come toward the end, twice-repeated with some intervening thoughts, “So I’ll lay here and think about everything we’ve ever said or done until I finally see the sun.” That’d be the very opening lyric, “6am.” Oh, sure, it seems like I’ve given up a fair bit by sharing those lyrics, but that’s just tip of the iceberg. The rest of the lyrics are so very detailed and cool.

image courtesy of Now Hear This, Inc.

Of course, lyrics alone aren’t what makes a song classic, interesting, a welcome addition to your playlist. No, it’s the music and the delivery. Ariana’s vocals are critical, with their tunefulness and their edgy, barely-holding-it-together-at-times emotion – a rare capability that reminds me of one thing I found so special about Sophia Ward’s vocals (probably in part because she was also responsible for her own lyrics), both during Sophia’s work as a solo artist and previously during her work with TOS.

The music, too, is critical. It starts sparsely, leaving the listener to focus on the vocals, slowly adding instrumentation before reaching full production level with the opening chorus. From there, though the path isn’t linear, the song builds throughout. By the end, it’s a powerful wave, matching the song’s passion, with an almost orchestral full instrumentation before stripping back for the song’s last, short verse, leaving the final, emotional vocals to stand nearly on their own, with just sparse piano accompaniment.

More Recently

Since the release of “6am,” Ariana has released “Don’t Mess It Up,” showcasing her versatility by revealing a more energetic alt-pop tempo and a more playful delivery.

Single Review: Natalie Joly – “In Time”

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image courtesy of Natalie Joly

Single Review of Natalie Joly: “In Time”

Regular Blog readers are aware of the talents of rock/country singer-songwriter Natalie Joly. Well, she only keeps getting better. Of course, Natalie’s gravelly, rich vocals still crack oh-so-engagingly during the emotional spots. And on “In Time,” there are plenty of those! This is a smooth ballad – perfect for a country slow dance and reminiscent for me in emotion and tempo of what I might expect from the Garth Brookses of the country world, full of power and painful reminiscence. So what did I mean about getting better? Well, I’ve always enjoyed Natalie’s songwriting, but “In Time” levels up in terms of word and phrase choice, which result in a similar level-up of emotion.

Have you given this song a listen yet? Once you do, if you didn’t know before, oh my god, what a voice, am I right? The moment you hear it, you know it’s Natalie!

Keep an eye out for new releases by Mrs. Natalie Joly Labo! (Her Spotify account, at least, appears to be transitioning to her married name, so if you can’t find her under one name, try the other.) In addition, you can always see what Natalie’s up to on her socials, which you can find via her linktree.

Single Review: Flash Bangs – “Hide Away”

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photo courtesy of Cameron Carpenter on behalf of the Flash Bangs

Single Review of Flash Bangs: “Hide Away”

For those of you who enjoy power pop, have I got a song for you! Power pop is a style that was huge in the days of top 40 radio with its guitar-driven, hook-laden, broad-appeal style securing several spots on each week’s hit music charts. Fans might just call it rock ‘n roll without assigning it a subgenre, but a well-written and well-performed song in this subgenre, with its big, bright sound, energetic rhythms, and catchy beat, is almost impossible not to enjoy.

photo courtesy of Cameron Carpenter on behalf of the Flash Bangs

Well, with “Hide Away,” the Flash Bangs have delivered a great addition to this perpetually engaging subgenre. Launched as a side project of George Westerholm (George Westerholm And The Wild Wild Cats), James Clark (The James Clark Institute), and Sean Ryan (Mr. Miyagi), this Toronto-based trio’s 2025 debut self-titled EP opens with the single, “Hide Away.”

On “Hide Away,” the wryness of Westerholm’s vocals and the rough-edged nature of his vocals combine well with Clark’s sometimes-steady, sometimes-aggressive drumming and the nifty touches yet steadiness of Ryan’s bass work to deliver a timeless rock song that’ll bring you energy and smile every time you hear it, all the way through its final instrumental crash then fade-out. “Hide Away” also sports an old-school, throwback-style music video, which you might enjoy watching on YouTube.