Polaroid Vision, Floating From to the Heavens With Passion

Impulse Animus - I feel like I am floating through a dream state as I listen to this release from Polaroid Vision. Guitars float through the air effortlessly and lock with the pearly vocals that slide out of my speakers. A grooving bass guitar paces and pulses the rhythm section in a close dance with your ears. Drum work is done very tastefully and does well to accent counterpoints with the music but the kick drum is keep pretty far in the background. It would help if it was a bit closer to the foreground and help give the passion in this recording a real punch. I almost feel like it is a summer day and I am riding my bike through forest trails with my hands reaching high into the sky. There is a true sense of peace, freedom and hope while listening to these songs. Lead vocals soar to the heavens on “A Nation Divided” and you can tell that they are being pushed to their absolute limits. Polaroid Vision has dug really deep to reveal what lies in their heart. Vocal harmonies on “Providence” work together as well as a fine clock and help weave a fabric that shows a great love for good songwriting. A real standout track is “Jargonelle Pear Drops” where electronic elements put a twist on PV’s sound and round out this session with true artistic flare. This EP is perfect for listening around the house during reflective times and long solo drives when you want to free your mind with the wind in your hair. I would highly recommend this track to those who like Pop Rock, Alternative Pop or Adult Contemporary. While there is so much to distract a mind these days take the time and satisfy your own Impulse Animus and check out this band right now. 

https://soundcloud.com/polaroidvision/sets/impulse-animus

https://www.facebook.com/polaroidvision

John WHiTE / Zero 7, Mind Expansion Before It Explodes

“Mind Expansion” - With a shuffle in its beat John WHiTE pile drives you with a notion and a point of view that will make you spend a good dose of time examining yourself while sliding around the room to this slick track. I wouldn’t use the term “beats” here because the music created by Zero 7 is truly more of a song and not just some simple snare/kick/synth beat looped over and over. Vocally John flows really well. He has a deep voice and a slick delivery that makes for a very well understood poet, and his words per minute are deep. While he does attest to “eating MC’s for breakfast” John dispels with the other cliche’ lines in rap these days by not bragging about the women he can get, the weed he can smoke and he money he has in the bank. Lyrically he poses some really interesting ideas and would do just as well behind the mic as he would as a philosophy professor. The interesting thing about this song though is that lyrics drop out at the 2:34 mark. At first I was waiting for a cool middle breakdown, which I got musically, but the vocals never came back. It would have nice if the chorus had come back for another round or two and then wrapped up the song. Honestly though, the music stood up so well on its own that leaving half the track without vocals didn’t really hurt. As the track stands I do wish that the kick had popped a bit more on this track. It would have helped in the long musical outro and anchored the music. I would highly recommend this track to those that like Rap, Hip Hop, Alternative and even Pop genres. No matter your point of view, “Mind Expansion” will arise on listening to this track.    

https://soundcloud.com/i-h-t-inc/mind-expansion

https://www.facebook.com/pages/IHT-inc/525293290888844

Red Sonnet, After Elnethe You Will Only Want More

“After Elnethe” - In the realm of music one thing that is timeless it the quintessential love song. Sitting and waiting for hearts to connect I feel the longing in the opening synth and guitar notes. With the piano pushing in at 1:32 I can almost see a young love with their head hung low wondering about the path for the future. With acoustic guitars entering, this track slowly builds energy like a set of broken wings yearning to take flight once again and soar to the heavens. This is the type of track that I love to put on when in a reflective mood but still wanting something inspirational. On the sound scape all the elements fade in rather beautifully so the electric guitar notes seem to be rather harsh especially with no percussion on this track. Perhaps a volume swell technique applied to these notes would have helped them keep with the vibe of the tack, but nonetheless Red Sonnet once again deliver a beautiful track played wonderfully. I would recommend this to those that like Instrumental, Romantic, New Age or Gothic genre’s. I don’t know what you are doing after reading this but I would highly recommend checking out “After Elnethe”. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BQtqvKzDpIw&index=1&list=UUX-iS9P-adfC1B_SUoTEUQw

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Red-Sonnet/251451898283735

K Sean Long, Making Mistakes is the True Sign of a Growing Artist

Make More Mistakes - Opening this EP is “Hey Abigail” and Sean’s brand of Acoustic driven Singer/Songwriting. With guitar in toe the songs each give you insight in to the mind of this artist as he tries to find his way in this world. The songs are introspective and truly passionate. While the guitar performances hold up really well, they compete with Sean’s vocals a bit too much at times. Vocally he just lays it all out there and holds back nothing. It takes a brave soul to sit in a room with nothing but his voice and guitar and play passionately from his heart. Everything is can be seen with nothing to gloss anything over. My particular favorite from this release is “Let Yourself Go” where the strumming really seems to fly and the vocal performance soars even higher. I would highly recommend this EP to those that Indie or Singer/Songwriter genres. As K Sean Long learns from his mistakes he only becomes stronger as an artists and continues to grow. 

https://kseanlong.bandcamp.com/releases

Blindside Thunder, 100 Proof 100% of the Time

100 Proof - Blindside Thunder deliver yet another quality fix of American Hard Rock/Heavy Metal. This release sounds absolutely awesome. Delivering a sound that you come to expect is nothing but first rate. Drums bring the thunder that feels like a 100 tons of crushing cinder blocks. Guitars blaze like molten metal and incinerate everything its path. Bass guitar work holds down the low-end and help give Blindside Thunder their trademark sound. Vocal work on this release really rise to the occasion and give the music a run for its money. John really seems to have stepped up his game on this album and leaped a couple levels in his vocal delivery. Rather than fill an album with a couple of good songs and a bunch of filler, BT has crafted a disc with eight tracks that rock. One stand out track is, “Take My Breath Away” with its true swagger and sex appeal. This is the type of album that you want to put on and have a good time. Blindside Thunder have a great talent for writing party anthems that make you want to throw back a few cold ones and grab your girl. The opening of “Rebel Revolution” has a really cool crawling vibe that helps unfold a track that is a call to arms and makes you want to join the Blindside Army. From the opening grind of guitars in “Rock n’ Roll Junkie” to blazing leads in “Burn” Blindside Thunder delivers again and again. If you are a fan of Hard Rock/Heavy Metal then I would highly recommend checking out this album because it delivers 100% of the time with pure 100 Proof.

http://blindsidethunder.com/

https://www.facebook.com/BlindSideThunder

Highlives/Nothing Gold Can Stay, A Split Record? It Comes Together 5 Star!

Split - This is an interesting release being that it is literally split between two different bands. The first two tracks are helmed by the Highlives. Like a shot of espresso main lined into your vein this release just launches right into your face. The drums slam and are played to perfection. You can almost feel the passion and maybe some sweat smacking you in the face. Guitar work is grinding and full of angst and energy and makes you want to windmill air guitar till your arm fly off. Bass guitar work holds down the low-end and gives these songs balls the size of and elephant’s cloned to be 5 times bigger. The singing is of true passion you find yourself wanting to play this over and over so that you can sing along. I would definitely recommend this band to anyone that likes Rock, Punk Rock, Hard Rock, Pop Rock. This is an excellent display of passion intersecting with musicianship. For the second half of this release the band Nothing Gold Can Stay takes over. With their track “2010 Was a Bad Year” Ft. Ashely Cadwallader NGCS opt for a more open sound that is still full with the same heavy hooks and excellent production found on the first 2 tracks. Singing on these songs are a bit more melodic and slant a bit more to the Pop/Punk realm. Drumming is still top notch and skins are hit with the power of a sledgehammer and the precision of a sniper.  Vocals from Ashely Cadwallader really help put this track over the top and add dimension to the story. Guitar work is of a true professional. Bass guitar duties are in perfect lockstep and hold down the low-end but I wish that the tone had a bit more character to help it stand out. With their track “Sick of it All” you will find yourself chanting along on this rock solid anthem. I wonder why these two power houses don’t just join forces and make for one great band, but there is definitely enough talent to go around no matter how this is Spilt.

https://highlives.bandcamp.com/album/split

www.facebook.com/highlivesuk

www.twitter.com/highlivesmusic

www.instagram.com/highlivesuk

www.youtube.com/highlivesuk

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CnSgICKGOZU

SyDobi, Better Catch This Song and Pull In This Great Release

“Catch, Pull, Release” - As I close my eyes I feel like I am in a warm cabin safe from the winter cold. As I look across the table past the glowing candles I see a group of friends making great music. They don’t care about money or fame they are just following their core passion for music changing the air around them one note at a time. Some of the greatest jams I have seen are when a bunch of friends sit down and just jam out a song, and this is exactly what you have here. While this song is acoustic in nature rocks out like a true anthem. Carly Sokol’s violin pierces the air and winds up through the stratosphere singing like an angel. Ruth Menger’s cello floats around the room and dances like a passionate ballet dancer on fire in her prime. Ben Zaccagnino’s bass playing pulses the song along and gives depth and counter melody to this beautiful track. Willie Clay’s drumming on this song has and awesome snap to it that keeps the song in line and helps the emotional peak moments reach mountainous highs. Bringing the whole thing home is SyDobi on lead vocals and guitar with Bryan Gallagher backing him up on both. Their playing on guitar has the power of a hurricane and the potency of an exploding volcano. Vocal performances are the sweet desert at this gourmet banquet of talents. With sneer and edge playfully dancing close to the fire these talented musicians have created a track that not only is fit for fun and dancing but for refection of the mind as well. I would highly recommend this track to those that like Acoustic Rock, Folk, Pop, Gypsy and Bluegrass genre’s. These fine men and women have created a truly original and unique piece of art that can be enjoyed for all ages. So take a moment and “Catch, Pull, Release” this beautiful song into your mind and revel in its pure passion.

https://soundcloud.com/moving-city/catch-pull-release

https://www.facebook.com/movingcityrecords

https://www.facebook.com/pages/SyDobi/1423580381241185