Talent is a hard thing to deny, no matter what form it takes if the talent is there it simply can’t be denied. Shannon Marsyada Trio For You release has an inviting pop sound that I have not heard in many years. Never mind these overblown ballads or dance tracks by the latest diva when you can have the pure pop sound of SMT. Nick Lowe would be proud, so would all the sixties songwriters like Goffin & King, Holland Dozier Holland, Lennon & McCartney who wrote wonderful songs that fifty years later are classic tracks that ring in the history of music like a bell. Shannon is able to take her wonderful vocal in many directions with a superb sense of timing. This is a vocalist you are probably going to love or hate maybe not because of the voice but because of the style she employs with fifties and sixties harmony driven vocals. The songs are simple, keeping the melody enticing, inviting and Shannon plays the voice like an instrument that few can do, twisting and turning the melody into a dynamic and powerful statement of modern pop. Not afraid to rock the joint on Rock N Rolla she employs a harder edge but still keeps site of her ultimate goal. Shannon has one of most interesting voices that music has heard, with its expansive sound and her forth right expressions of emotions.

This is a fine female singer songwriter and time will show that Shannon Marsyada Trio are a powerful force. Not just some overrated pop diva but a talent that the universe needs to hear. Sappy Love Song is a hit record for pop radio and its not the only one. These are songs with substance and roots that are laid down deep into the psychic of the songwriting culture that has been missing from radio for many years and that is simply the music is fun. Like on the very last track I Just Want to Be A Kid Again. If you like the pop sounds of the Ronettes, the Crystals, the Beatles, and other classic pop music then go out and buy this CD and starting enjoying one of the fine new bands that will be considered a classic in years to come.

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Foot stomping, hand clapping music is the best way to describe Houndstooth Bindles. Way up in the hollers of the mountains this is what you hear on Friday or Saturday night when friends are gathered round to have a few drinks of dew and maybe smoke a few and just having some fun picking and playing. Steeped in the traditional sounds of bluegrass but adding a more jug band style with a very modern day punk “piss off” attitude to the mix. When you expect to hear great vocals you don’t, When you expect to hear good music you do. There is a attitude that abounds in bands like Houndstooth Bindles who don’t really care if you like them or not. Oh they would prefer that you did but with their offbeat attitude it makes you want to like them even when you think better of it. Virginia has a very old time feel to her vocals that reminds me of Mother Maybelle Carter or maybe the New Coon Creek Girls. Virginia’s old time voice and hillbilly persona and add warm charm to a rustic sound and oh what a sound it is. Picking and playing that starts your feet moving and your hands clapping. The same goes for Nick his vocals are very typical and fit the music like a glove. Remember we are sitting on the porch with a bunch of friends having a bit of “white lightning” and smoking a few and picking and playing and having fun on a Saturday night. Ya’ll have a good time.
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Leah Finkelstein has produced a very good release with Feigning Composure, one only has to give it a listen and it will wear on you. It is not an instant love affair but Leah grows on you. Like a person you meet the first time and you did not think much, but then you meet them again and you listen to them and heard what they had to say and you realized how good they really were. On this release with her keyboard driven sound, Leah is making fine music with tracks like Taking it Slow. Her vocals on this track are captivating like a siren on the shore she beckons to you, her chorus is just as infectious as the organ that drives the song along. Leah being a keyboard player hails back to the sound of Jackson Browne with her song The Tree is Shaking Again with its winsome, melancholy feel. She also writes songs that hint at the past, songs that remind you but only hit at what might have been. Songs like Waiting For a Good Day are well crafted songs that lodge themselves into your psychic and remain. Another track is a fine mix of country blues infused modern ballad with a soft acoustic guitar playing some nice slide and along with a pedal steel and carrying the melody is the infectious Mama Says Hi vocal chorus.
The simpleness of Leah works is the strength of her music. The hooks she employs in the melodies are infectious and inviting, warm and familiar. A little bit of rock and roll and a little bit of pop make for a solid CD release with a host of excellent songs that are sure fire hits. Songs like Taking it Slow, Waiting For A Good-day, She sings of life and living in the world like the rest of us. Sharing our similar experiences in her songs about lost chances and lies told to us. She answers the question just like most of us do. On the track It Doesn’t Really Matter the point is driven home to perfect example. Another subtle hit song, waiting for the public to hear. Showcasing the soft touch of her piano style. On Brooklyn you are reminded of of how good a songwriter Leah is with this modern R&B influenced pop groove, sophisticated without being overblown along with Hot Coffee, both are examples of sophisticated city music with its jazz/blues influenced piano work by Leah and her city living influenced lyrics. The last track 3A is very country influenced stretching beyond what most artist are willing. With is warm rich harmonies and the inviting simpleness of the song one can only only hope to hear more of Lean Finkelstein soon.

Sincerely,
Vernon
New Classic Music For Tomorrow

When you look for new artist to listen to and you like music that mixes older rock and roll with a blues rock feel to it and mix in some singer songwriter songs. Then Erisa should fill the bill quite nicely with her impassioned odes to gypsies, home and life. Drenched in the sounds of traditional rock and roll and singer/songwriters, Erisa. has a dynamic vocal style with a nice warm feel to her vocals that are wrapped around solid songwriting. Delivering a excellent performance on tracks like Gypsy in the Desert, Black Ball and News to See. There is a quite mellowness to Erisa, on tracks, Like Dominoes and Pushed with there pop leanings in the piano singer songwriter style. She mixes a bit of Joni Mitchell with Laura Nyro and some Mystery to Me/Heroes Are Hard to Find era Fleetwood Mac. Dynamic and driven by the music’s edginess, the mellow vocals on tracks like Pushed and To Bleed are impassioned and heartfelt and pure pop. The only modern artist I can compare her to is Kelly Willis with the laid back feel they both have but vocally they are not really close as Erisas vocals are more dynamic in range with more of a rock edge to it. As I sit here listening to the tracks for the second time I am struck by passion she delivers on track after track. Heartfelt passion that is real, that reaches out to you with its simplicity. Maybe a bit like Lindi Ortega as well, specially on the track News to See with its upbeat poppy feel. This a very mixed bag CD and depending on your taste you could easily put this CD every day till you have worn it out. There is a quite solidness to the whole CD as Erisa mixes a wide range of styles into this release and she pulls each and everyone off quite nicely.
The biggest surprise on this CD is Cannot Change. in stark contrast to most of the release. Cannot Change is a rockabilly driven track that fits right into the Alt Country scene. Though some of the other tracks have a bit of country feel to them, Cannot Change is just a so different it stands out.

This is a good name for this band, hell you never know if you are going to get a Loretta Lynn drenched country song or a soul influenced rock track such as A Bad Way. Becky Warren and the band travel a musical road that few others can walk. The path is wide as this band brings the familiar sounds of several genre’s together with equal ease. The individuality of Becky Warren is the driving force behind this band. Her vocals carry the attitude of the songs with their haunting yet hopeful despair. You can hear elements of the blues in tracks like By the Time You Get to Texas. There is a melancholy edge to Becky’s vocals as she sings her songs, she brings the emotions to the fore front of the bands sound which has a laid back style.
Mixing country, blues and rock and roll, The Great Unknowns offer a mixed bag for listeners with a sound of their own. When you listen to The Great Unknowns it might remind you of Lucinda Williams or maybe Kelly Willis but Becky brings her own uniqueness to the songs by blending the various styles together. The sound of real music permeates the Homefront CD, not this fake stuff you hear on the radio. Music with substance that has staying power even in the face of the awful popular music of today. Down home and sophisticated Becky Warren delivers on track after track with her easy going vocal style without ever a hint of urgency.
The Great Unknowns are putting out some of the best new music in this Alt Country, Americana scene as she blends the folk, bluegrass, country, blues and rock and roll into a classic sound of powerful music that keeps you listening track after track. The subtle use of different instruments on different tracks keeps the tracks changing and moving forward that draws the listener in deeper with each song that finishes playing. From the days of great music the roots were laid and now years later The Great Unknowns take up the torch and release a warm and inviting release that will be listened to for many years, with its roots in the past but its sound warm and inviting today.
This band sent me their first CD as well and its called Presenting the Great Unknowns and it to is just as enjoyable as this one. The band laid the foundation with their first release, they have built the rest of the house with the excellent Homefront follow-up CD.

MIZ East Hope Avenue is an excellent blend of Rock, Country and folk into a wonderful sound of modern music. Folk without being bland, rock without being heavy and country without being stuck in the present or present. Blending these three styles into a modern amalgamation of sound. When you listen to music you search for your connection to the song, with MIZ you find it easily. With a sound rich and full much in the tradition of great artist like The Band, MIZ is the modern hope for a sound that seems forgotten in time but yet resonates down through the years of history like a beacon of hope to those who are lost in the world of charted music with its hype and lack of talent. October Skies open this CD with its harmonica playing against a rich melody. This song captures the full force of MIZ and takes the listener down a familiar path that feels safe and warm. The vocals are just different enough to make them inviting.

There is some fine playing and picking on this CD as well. Pen Y Bryn Road has a slight Celtic feel but may have more in common with a band like the Pogues without the Irish accent on the vocals. New Morning Sky is a modern love song that treads the land of Jackson Browne. The music is easy to listen to filled with excellent arrangements, a bit of soul and country mixed with pop. Miz is a blend of sounds that bring back the golden era of music for most baby boomer’s. Those magical years of the sixties to the early seventies when music made a dramatic change in direction this is the backdrop that MIZ pens his odes to. The days when the Rolling Stones dabbled in country, when music was played by musicians. A time when artist might play three or four different styles of music on their record.

Waste of Time is country rocker much in the vein of Nitty Gritty Dirt Band and MIZ pulls it off effortlessly switching direction without notice and taking us down a path we remember from long ago. There are folk rock songs, singer songwriters odes, there are country rockers and sappy pop and its all MIZ. Reach out right now and play Heels of the Day, New Morning Sky, Waste of Time all are new classics for today. If you like Gov’t Mule, Greg Allman, Jackson Browne, The Pogues you’ll most like enjoy the sounds of MIZ New Hope Ave CD.

If you like to dance then Chloe will get you moving. Click picture to buy

Bring Back the Fever by Chloe Dolandis gets your feet tapping right from the beginning with Let’s Make this Moment. This is a rocking’, swinging track that has a excellent groove for dancing and I could see this being a hit in clubs every where. Dance music that has substance and a excellent groove, with horns accentuating the groove and the band flat out rocking’ to the beat. The solid groove laid down by the bass and drums and the fine vocal performance from Chloe make this a hit song waiting to be heard. Track two Solid Woman has more of the Stax/Volt soul groove approach that was laid down back in the late sixties and early seventies. Pure R&B with a solid arrangement that does its predecessors proud. Chloe hits the groove the way Betty Wright did in Clean Up Woman, the way Aretha did Respect. Not quite as gritty as the aforementioned artist but with her own sound Chloe rocks the song.

This is the sound that is missing from music today. Josh Stone attempted this on her first release but Chloe Dolandis has taken up the torch that Joss dropped when she moved into a more modern pop sound. Give Chloe credit to go against the grain of hip/hop/rap, that seems nothing but a beat to dance to. Passion is lost when the vocals are not sung out. Check out Don’t Call Me funky dance groove, that blends the sounds of jazz ala Brian Auger’s Oblivion Express with its solid groove. Chloe shows her roots on track four with its pop styling. The use of the harmonica as the lead instrument is something you don’t hear much anymore and its works well in the track giving it a light airy feel. Track five Bring Back the Fever is a bouncy fun dance track that would have been a hit in the disco era of the seventies. It is a modern day Donna Summer style dance track but though it has a retro groove it never falls into a the trap of sounding dated. It creates its own unique groove that will keep your feet moving till the track ends. New Suit also follows the style with excellent effect.

So put away the hip hop, put away the rap and put on this record and dance your ass off to the infectious beats of this excellent CD. Girl Can Wait has the groove to make you move. This CD is split fairly equally with rocking dance tracks and ballads. Her ballads remind me of Sarah Vaughn meets Doris Day pop jazz vocals of the fifties. Chloe’s strength is her ability to rock the house and I hope the next CD is more to that flavor. In the mean time start spinning the hit’s Let’s Make This Moment, Bring Back the Fever, Girl Can Wait that all get your feet moving and dancing the night away.

Dream Chemistry -Images of White sends one back sailing though time to when music seemed more in tune with the world around it. From the halcyon days of the San Francisco hippiedom with bands like It’s A Beautiful Day, Victoria and Stoneground who were taking a more acoustic approach to their sound, Dream Chemistry is well learned. In England, at close to the same time, bands like Pentangle, Fairport Convention and Fotheringay with their female vocalist tread similar ground. Dream Chemistry mixes a folk rock sound with a soft dreamy vocalist who meshes well with the easy going sound that the band produces. The songs blend together into a collage that pulls the listener along with each change in the musical style. There is no genre for this type of band.

They are more hybrids of sounds, Folk with rock music leanings or a dreamy trip into a world of the past. But Dream Chemistry has meshed their style into their own sound. With each track the vocalist gets better, with each track the songs get stronger and the musicianship is always top notch. Track five, Three Legged Horse, which is an instrumental track, pushes the thought home more than some of the other tracks at this point in the CD and shows the relationship between Irish jig and the English folk traditions. They are basically one in the same from an American point of view. But don’t get the idea that this band is not playing modern music. You Groove Me has a warm vocal feel that haunts back to the days of the female pop singers of mid sixties. Smooth and clear with warm tones that show the strength of the vocal quality, backed by a soft romantic quality to the violin and the acoustic guitar. Perfect Life is a pop track with a smoothness that few artists ever lay down in the studio. The guitar work with its swirling sounds and the wonderful vocal truly remind me of the aforementioned bands.

Here in 2012 where talent is left on the side of the road and hype is the key to success, now is the time to start listening to real music. Dream Chemistry is one soulful band that arrives at a universal sound that has been played before but not like this. The individuals bring that uniqueness to their parts that add up to a whole that few artists achieve.

There are many artists playing without a truly defined sound. Playing in bands and finding the right combination of musicians is as challenging as creating a musical release that truly captures what the band is about, yet Dream Chemistry have delivered on track after track. Destined not to be a forgotten part of the past without a hit single, the track Perfect Life will capture American listeners in ways the other tracks cannot because of their eclectic nature. Perfect Life is a modern pop hit that never loses sight of its place in the context of the overall band sound. This is a modern day classic release that you should buy and listen to right now today. In ten years people will be pointing back at this release and saying what a great record it was.