The Complaints: Sunday Morning Radio

It doesn’t happen often, but every once in a while I find myself stumbling upon an album where the band sounds like they were just trying too hard. Unfortunately, Sunday Morning Radio, the newest release by The Complaints, is one of those rare albums.

Sunday Morning Radio doesn’t start off too badly—in fact, it made me feel fairly nostalgic. The vibe of the first track, “Man Downtown,” has a sound right out of the mid-90s pop-rock scene.

For a better idea of what the album starts out as, think Bon Jovi meets a mellowed out version of the Gin Blossoms.

This, however, only lasts for the first two songs. After that, Sunday Morning Radio begins to sound more like a band you’d hear playing at the local bar or as the special guest at the city fair. The songs are bland, with a lack of variety in the instrumentals, and mediocre vocals...MORE

The Princess and the Frog: Soundtrack

Honestly, I would wager that if I were to throw out the name of a Disney movie right now, the first thing that would spring to mind wouldn’t be the plot or even a character from the movie–more than likely, a song from the film would pop into your head. Part of what has defined Disney animated films are the songs that accompany them. They’re the type of songs that, no matter who you’re with, if you turn them on the majority of people will not only know the songs, but start singing along to them.

That is what I’ve always loved most about Disney films–their musicality. Consequently, when I found out that The Princess and the Frog was to go back to the days when Disney soundtracks actually featured the characters singing, rather than having the music simply set the tone.

I actually had the soundtrack for The Princess and the Frog before seeing the movie, and have been listening to it fairly regularly in order to give my best possible analysis.

I’m a little conflicted about The Princess and the Frog’s soundtrack. I really enjoy the songs, but overall the soundtrack just doesn’t feel like a Disney soundtrack. Allow me to clarify...MORE

Tom Braxton: Endless Highway

Tom Braxton is one of the most respected artists on today’s jazz scene, and with his newest album Endless Highway, it’s not difficult to see why.

Braxton’s saxophone playing is absolutely flawless. Sax is an instrument that can sometimes get overshadowed by supporting instruments, but with Braxton the saxophone completely carries the music.

One of the highlights on the album is the track “Ventura Highway,” which features vocals by Arthur Dyer. Dyer’s voice and Braxton’s playing complement each other really well, with the result being an awesome break from the instrumental tracks on the rest of the album, without losing the overall feel of Endless Highway.

As can happen often with instrumental albums, Endless Highway hits a lull where each song sounds indistinguishable from the one preceding it. Luckily, this lull only lasts for about three songs, and Braxton steps it up in the following tracks...MORE

Koldasee: Journey

I feel that Christian music tends to get a bad rep. No matter the style of it, any Christian music is automatically assumed to be overly zealous religious music. As such, it is a genre many people tend to shy away from. Journey, the latest album from Christian group Koldasee, is a pleasant surprise though.

There are, of course, the staple religious anthems, such as “How Great Thou Art” and “Amazing Grace,” and songs that have a blatant religious edge to them, like “Dancin’ on the Breath of God.”

Despite the religious slant of several of the tracks, much of the album tends more towards spiritual or inspirational. The songs talk about finding strength and hope when life gets difficult, which is a message that transcends religious borders.

However, if the fact that the album has any spiritual vibe to it still turns you off from checking out Journey, then ignore the lyrics and listen instead to the music itself...MORE

The Starting Line: Somebody's Gonna Miss Us

The summer of 2008 saw the final tour (for now) of pop-punk band The Starting Line. This tour provided the content for the band’s recently released CD/DVD combo Somebody’s Gonna Miss Us.

The CD part of Somebody’s Gonna Miss Us is a live recording of The Starting Line’s final performance in their hometown of Philadelphia. The DVD contains a video of the performance, as well as a documentary following the band as they head into their last tour and talk about what has brought them to that point.

Out of the two parts to Somebody’s Gonna Miss Us, the DVD far outshines the CD. Lead singer Kenny Vasoli generally has a pretty good voice, but on this album it’s just not there. He frequently sounds as though he is shouting or talk-singing, more than doing any real vocal work. Even when his singing does come out, it sounds flat in comparison to the band’s studio recordings...MORE

Katie Locke & Bullet Proof Tiger

Plain and simple, Katie Locke & Bullet Proof Tiger’s self-titled EP is wonderful.

The music falls into that genre of jazzy tinged pop that you hear from artists like Dido, Feist, and Norah Jones. However, Bullet Proof Tiger stands apart from those, thanks largely to vocalist Katie Locke.

With Dido, Feist, and Norah Jones, you have artists who are certainly talented and possess excellent voices. In common with the three though is the fact that their voices all have a certain softness to them. Not Locke.

Locke has a very strong, full voice that makes the listener sit up and take notice. Her voice has a power to it, and an awesome range, that can’t be ignored. Locke isn’t an artist you can have on as background music—her voice demands that you actively listen to her...MORE

Shane Beales: Heavy Clouds

Liverpool based artist Shane Beales is quite the up and coming artist. Since 2006, he has released 2 albums, 4 EPs, and 52 singles—all independently.

Beales’s most recent effort, the EP Heavy Clouds, is an interesting set of four songs.

Heavy Clouds opens with “The Crunch,” which feels like a throwback to the early 90s grunge scene. Beales’s voice and the raw guitar rifts are both reminiscent of bands such as Alice in Chains or Pearl Jam.

“The Crunch” is a hard-hitting song, and leaves the listener wanting more. The strange thing is this: the next three songs on the EP, while good in their own right, are not what “The Crunch” sets the listener up to expect. Instead, the songs are about as stylistically different as putting Rob Zombie and Mozart on the same album.

The grittiness of “The Crunch” is followed next by “Across the Seas,” a very soft, mellow ballad. The song is absolutely beautiful, both instrumentally and lyrically. The piano that starts out and backs the entirety of the song has a delicate, dreamy feel to it, which perfectly fits Beales’s lyrics about committing to someone for life....MORE

Oz Noy: Schizophrenic

It’s always disappointing when an album starts off strong, giving the listener the impression it’s going to remain that way throughout its entirety, but then fails to do so.

This is the case with Oz Noy’s fourth album, Schizophrenic.

The album starts off with “Ice Pick,” which has a sound similar to what you might hear during a Phish jam session. Schizophrenic maintains the jam-band style throughout, and Noy’s guitar playing consistently shines through.

About mid-way into the album, however, Schizophrenic starts to lose its appeal...MORE

Coco Montoya: The Essential Coco Montoya

Coco Montoya is by no means new to the blues scene. He got his start under the guidance of blues legends Albert Collins and John Mayall before going solo in the early 90’s.

With The Essential Coco Montoya, Montoya reminds listeners exactly why he was able to be successful as a solo artist.

The songs on the album aren’t new, but instead are all songs Montoya recorded over a decade ago. Despite the age of the songs, there is nothing old or stale feeling about this album.

Montoya has a voice that catches the listener and leaves them hanging on for more. His voice is powerful, soulful, and oozing with sincerity. You can’t help but believe every word that comes out of his mouth...MORE

ROB: Rise on Belief

If Jimi Hendrix and Lenny Kravitz somehow had a love child and let the Red Hot Chili Peppers raise it, ROB would be it.

These are some big names to compare a new artist to, but ROB is every bit deserving of such accolades.

ROB’s debut album Rise on Belief starts out with the song “Freedom,” which has guitar stylings, and even vocals, that sound like ROB directly channeled Hendrix, and Hendrix complied.

Although there is a definite reminiscence of Jimi Hendrix in ROB’s songs, there isn’t the feeling that ROB is simply trying to imitate Hendrix’s sound...MORE

Knight Area: Realm of Shadows

If you are a fan of progressive rock or Europop, you might enjoy Realm of Shadows, the third album from Dutch band Knight Area. If you’re not a fan of that genre, then chances are the album won’t do much for you.

Realm of Shadows has, to say the least, an interesting vibe to it. It has the fairly electric sound that sets progressive rock apart as a genre, but that seems to be the only cohesive aspect of the album.

On some songs, such as “A Million Lives,” Realm of Shadows has an 80s flair similar in style to that of The Police. On others, such as the second half of “Occlusion” Knight Area sounds closer to one of the definitive prog-rock bands, Pink Floyd. ...MORE

Erin Hunt: Meet Me in the Middle

In a music industry that seems to be moving ever closer to being taken over by synthesizers and electronic backing, anything that breaks away and has a sound of its own is a welcome change.

With her debut EP Meet me in the Middle, Toronto-based singer-songwriter Erin Hunt has given the music world something completely refreshing.

With a sound that can’t help but elicit images of a dimly lit jazz club, Meet me in the Middle is a fusion of soul, R&B, and pop, with a nice dash of Latin flair thrown into the mix to make for an album that is anything but generic...MORE