Category: Music

Close Encounters with Alien Beats

Aliens and androids feature prominently on this six-track EP from EDM/Dubstep artist and producer, Eluusif.  It comes as no surprise that his biography presents an alter ego from another planet, although currently residing in London. All the pictures I have seen of him, including the cover of this latest release, show a rather sinister figure, wearing dark glasses and a face mask.

Released on 8th April, 2014, Aliens Do It Better is a self-produced record which fans of Krewella, Xilent, Nicky Romero, and Zedd are recommended to check out. Respected music blogs have been positive about Eluusif’s output, with intriguing promotional videos supporting the cause.

So, we have six blasts of electronica with vocals, mostly female and some male, launching with Hair Like Skrillex (featuring Adorah Johnson). Sounding like a Disney song interpreted by a Japanese pop act, it references the notorious haircut known as Skrillex. If you haven’t heard the word before, you will have seen photographs of celebrities who have adopted the style, defined by one shaven section of the head. The term originates from Skrillex, the DJ/Producer. This is actually a song about love, so the introduction of someone demanding hair like Skrillex is pleasingly surreal.

Talking of celebrities, Justin Bieber Is An Android is the next track. Eluusif claims that this song is not an insult to The Bieber, but rather a compliment, as androids are admired on his planet. Well, okay then. Oh, my god; does this mean there could be more Biebers rolling off the conveyor belt? Putting that alarming thought aside, punchy beats complement the robotic message. Reference is made to the fact that he drives the girls wild. Oh, yes.

The sentiments on  No, I  Don’t Wanna Be Your Facebook Friend will resonate with the thousands of people who have periodically shouted at their screen, no, I don’t wanna be your Facebook friend, I don’t wanna follow you on Twitter, no, I don’t want to see your f*****g video. These wonderfully brutal lyrics also rhyme ‘Twitter’ with ‘shitter’. How cathartic is that? A fun track with catchy, whoosh whoosh hooks and a vocal that sounds rather posh. And posh people swearing always sounds funny.

You Should Be Mine (Rework) is a more conventional pop offering, with a lighter vocal and instrumentation. I don’t like this one as much as the others, but it would please a dance crowd. I Need An Alien Tonight sounds like a track produced in Area 51. All the little green dudes get down. You Should Be Mine (Craniel Daig Mix) is the alternate version of track 4. Craniel Daig? An anagram of Daniel Craig – and why not. It’s been shaken and stirred into more of a dance track and I prefer the extra oomph.

Eluusif has carved out his own part of the universe with inventive ideas and layered production, and he’s not as sinister as he looks. Close encounters are recommended.


 

Synth Noir Confessions from Electro Duo

Confession is the name of the game and the title of the latest offering from the duo, no:carrier. Released on 24th February, 2014, this 6-track EP is the third ‘taster’ for the full length album, Wisdom & Failure, which will follow in April or May. Confession  gives more value when listening to it all the way through rather than picking out individual tracks, especially as it contains three different versions of one song. Allow it to permeate your brain.

This is a long distance musical partnership for the two German members, with the duo’s chief songwriter and producer, Chris Wirsig based in San Francisco and vocalist, Cynthia Wechselberger living in Germany. Chris and Cynthia have been collaborating for a number of years.

Described as Electro Noir Pop and Synth Pop, Confession contains three new remixes plus three new songs. Three mixes of the track, Confession appear on the EP. That’s a lot of confessing – what on earth did they do? Confession – Single Mix – has a melancholy vocal juxtaposed with upbeat electro pop instrumentation and fun plonky keyboard.  Confession – 1st In 14 Mix has a dreamier arrangement and vocal.  Confession – Inspired By F.P. Mix is the third and final version and my favourite of the three. With a percussive dance beat and staccato keyboards, it is somehow more dramatic and darker.

Hero to a Fool is the most conventional-sounding pop song of the EP. Wechselberger’s vocal is quite melancholy as she delivers an indictment of celebrity culture: we’re living in a world where the dumbest man can look like a hero to a fool. And Sometimes – RMX 2011B is a remix of a previously released song first heard on their debut album.  With dark keyboards and vocal delivery, I can hear echoes of Depeche Mode.

My favourite of all six tracks is the final one. A Bright Room is, unfortunately, the shortest offering, only lasting 2:19. It’s distorted and menacing and described by the duo as experimental, with surreal lyrics.

I’ve never come across a band name with a colon in it before, although apparently there is a Scottish electro-pop band called  : ( and it’s pronounced Colon Open Bracket.  The important thing is that Confession will please fans of this genre. It’s intelligent and dark and reveals more on each play.

 https://soundcloud.com/nocarriermusic/sets/confession-ep

 

Gabriel Blows the Walls Down

Gabriel Olteanu put together his first EP (released December, 2013), simply titled Gabriel Olteanu EP, in collaboration with three fellow musicians. Whether you remember 1980’s rock the first time around or you’re discovering it for the first time, this kind of hard rock with a metal edge has always had a loyal fan base.

This release is head banging, legs akimbo stuff – with the amps turned all the way up to 11; you get the picture. Hard rock/metal was always made to be heard live or loud or both. Listening to this conjures up an image of long hair waving from the blast of a wind machine…alas, Gabriel’s picture shows a good-looking man, but one with short hair. This 21st century departure notwithstanding, lovers of this genre will play along on air guitar to their heart’s content to the three tracks here.

This recording features Gabriel on lead and rhythm guitar along with guest performers, Franco V on lead vocals, Kevin Jardine on bass, and drummer, Peter Tzaferis. Jardine and Tzaferis are known for their work in Canadian nu-metal band, Slaves on Dope whilst Franco V is known for the Chicago hard rock band, Beneath Me. Gabriel Olteanu wrote the music and co-wrote the lyrics along with Franco V. Kevin Jardine also produced the three songs.

On the cover, a forlorn-looking guitar lies in the middle of the highway, leading to a futuristic cityscape. Starting with a blasting riff, track one is My Desire, the most melodic and my favourite of the three. This is followed by I Want It All and then Homeless Nights. All share the 80’s zeitgeist, swaying sing-along choruses and guitar solos.

Romanian-born, Gabriel Olteanu is now based in Montreal. He taught himself how to play when he was given his first guitar at age 14. An accomplished guitarist, he weaves melodic lines into his hard rock/metal style. Listening to Queen when he was a teenager was a good beginning. These tracks are not innovative or tricksy and they don’t set out to be. If you have a chunk of metal in your soul – you’ll like this.

Soundcloud – https://soundcloud.com/gabriel-olteanu-music

 

 

 

Particle Wave Washes on a Distant Shore

Los Angeles-based Particle Wave is a 4-man band with the ability to make you smile. Their third studio album, titled Grand Unifier, is scheduled for release on 25th March, 2014. Much of this 11- track album is California sunshine meets British 60’s beat groups. Psychedelia and surf rock is carried by gorgeous, gorgeous guitars; the result is timeless.

Continue reading Particle Wave Washes on a Distant Shore

The Blues Blows In From Jersey Shore

If you like blues and jazz played by excellent musicians and spiced up by straight-talking (sometimes raunchy) lyrics, you’ll enjoy The Danny Petroni Blue Project (featuring artist Frank Lacy) by The Blue Project (released 11th January, 2014) This is late night music – the kind that used to be heard in smoke-filled rooms.

Petroni plays guitar in the band and all tracks are written by him. All the musicians and singers involved on this debut album, which include Frank Lacy on lead vocals, trombone and flumpet, bring something to the party. With the likes of Louis Jordan and Joe Turner sitting on Petroni’s shoulders, he explores different shades of the blues tradition. The guitar plucks at your heartstrings; the horns make you shuffle your feet. By the way, ‘flumpet’ isn’t a typo! I looked it up and, apparently, it’s a hybrid instrument which merges the trumpet and the flugelhorn.

Traditional blues kicks off the album, with I Changed My Ways, a slow song with vocals from Frank Lacy and Jo Wymer plus fabulous blues guitar and swampy violin. As well as terrific vocals from Frank Lacy throughout, which reverberate from years of experience, he gives us fine musical moments such as the trombone solo on Mouse in the House. Danny Petroni’s guitar playing is also assured, no matter what style he’s playing in. Cracker Jack and Diminishing Returns are the two instrumentals present, the former with jazz horns and country/ rock-tinged guitar and the latter featuring a mellow Petroni on a Fender Strat.

God of War is a hard-hitting anti-war protest and the most rock influenced track on the album. Requiem for the Working Man, probably my favourite contribution, begins with a wonderfully mournful upright bass intro. This song is about those on minimal wage struggling to get by, with simple lyrics which eloquently describe their plight. As for the track, Peanut Butter & Jelly, I can’t help thinking that “peanut butter and jelly” may be a euphemism for something…..

Danny Petroni’s motivation for forming this band from fellow Jersey Shore musicians was in the wake of Hurricane Sandy in 2012 when the aftermath saw the local music scene all but stop. This record is their phoenix rising from the ashes, so to speak.

There’s purity in this music, which shows a modern audience that you don’t need studio tricks and endless layers of production; you just need a soul.


Streaming link: http://theblueproject.bandcamp.com/   

 

 

Monks of Mellonwah Are Becoming Addictive

Take a great big cooking pot; put in some experimental Incubus, a pinch of epic theatricality from Muse, and spice it up with Red Hot Chili Peppers. Leave to simmer under the baking Australian sun and what do you get? Monks of Mellonwah have this stew coursing through their veins but still manage to be original.

This alt-rock/indie band from Sydney (Vikram Kaushik – vocals, Joe de la Hoyde – backing vocals/guitar, John de la Hoyde – bass and Josh Baissari – drums) has been together since October, 2009, and they are as tight as the proverbial drum. They’re going from strength to strength having gained lots of airplay and have also developed a fan base from their national and international tours. Plans for 2014 tours in America and Europe will promote their latest offering, which is their debut full-length album, Turn the People. A&R Worldwide signed the band, and they can certainly hold their own with the likes of stable mates, Muse and Coldplay.

Turn the People has actually been part released, teasing and drip- feeding fans with tantalising selections. Volume 1, released in June, 2013, is titled Ghost Stories. This was followed up in October, 2013 with the second volume, titled Afraid to Die. Volume 3, with the title, Pulse is scheduled for release in March, 2014, along with the album in its entirety. Having already heard (and reviewed) Volume 2 – Afraid to Die – I’m familiar with the four songs on that EP that appear on the new release, namely title track Afraid to Die, Downfall, Alive For a Minute and I Belong to You. My earlier review of the first three tracks reflected my great enthusiasm for the music but inability to connect to the lyrics. However, the powerful ballad, I Belong to You blows me away, always threatening to make me cry.

As for the remaining tracks on this new album, the opener, Ghost Stories – Intro is 57 seconds of a strange, otherworldly instrumental. This is followed by Ghost Stories, an epic drama with inventive, unnerving and menacing lyrics. You can feel the kick of Kiedis and Co. on the aggressive rock of Vanity and the gentler Pulse, which also has some gorgeous harmonising.  Tear Your Hate Apart has exceptional vocals and dark lyrics.

A frenetic outpouring puts you within those “hallowed walls” in Escaping Alcatraz. Sailing Stones rocks along, with a surprising Arabian Nights-like instrumental break.  The track, Turn the People has great imagery and ends with soaring guitars.  Sky And The Dark Night – Part 2 – Control, as the title implies, is part two of an earlier release – more great imagery and guitar virtuosity.

Superb production, arrangements and musicianship are in evidence throughout. Lyrically, the simpler and more direct ones work better for me. When they rock, they rock hard; when they go the electronic route – it’s inventive, and vocalist, Vikram Kaushik has the emotional weight to take you with him to some sublime places. The cover art indicates this is going to be experimental and outside the norm, but what I like about this band is you never know what’s coming next.

Turn the People is an emotional rollercoaster – the kind of album where you’ll hear something new with each play. This band is really getting under my skin.

Soundcloud (https://soundcloud.com/monksofmellonwah/sets/turn-the-people)