| CD REVIEW TSM/SLW Promotion Special March 2010, #1 |
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TSM/SLW Promotion special March, #1: Originally, I had planned for this particular article to be posted in February, as the #2 TSM/SLW Promotion special for that month (you might notice it follows said article in alphabetical order), but with the enormity of the work-load of albums that were already out there but still in need of getting reviewed, coupled with some “emergency” reviews that had to be made, it took me a little longer than I anticipated to get to the next batch of TSM/SLW promoted albums! Anyway, enjoy…there’s something here for a broad taste in music! ----------------------------------------------------------------- To say the the Swedish artist goin’ behind the name of Sol Skugga (her real name being Vikström - I wasn’t able to find out what her first name is – the artist name stands for the duality within herself; something you’ll understand when finding out the name means “Sun Shadow”) is of the creative kind, is somewhat of an understatement. While goin’ to Vadstena Academy (where she learned clothes design and fashion) in 2001, she started designing her own modern fatasy and fetish clothes as a hobby to pay her loans, then registered the trade name Accented to print sophisticated graphics on T-shirts. Already interested in music, and at that moment in love with another woman, she made her oldest recorded song (“Ghost”, which was to appear on her second album Gardenia) in those days. She finished her Batchelor of Informatics degree in Media Informatics, Business Development, Systems Design and Graphical Design in 2003, and turned Accented in a web production company to have a part time job along with other dayjobs as a sales person. In 2005 she was hired as production assistant, webmaster & press responsible for a bikini fabrics maker and clothing design company in Stockholm. A job which would dissatisfy her thoroughly, and from which she would free herself in order to concentrate on her own projects. Having had lessons in classical music through private teachers since the age of 7, Sol had really always had other interests besides music, but eventually she took one year’s training in songwriting in 2007-2008 at the Royal School Of Music. All along, she’d continued to write songs, and in 2006 she opened a page on MySpace where she posted the aforementioned “Ghost”. In early 2007 she was busy recording her debut album Swimming Without Webbed Toes, when guitarist Staffan Österlind (known in the first place from his collaboration with Paul DiAnno in AK47, but also from M.ill.Ion and his contributions as a guitarist, sound engineer or producer/ arranger to albums by the llikes of Merrygold, Bloom, Burning Engines, From Behind, Reckless, and the Sweden Rock Festival among others) contacts her with an offer to produce her album. He also added some real raw guitar solos and some theremin keyboard sounds to some of the songs, and has been a constant in Sol Skugga’s musical outings ever since. The album was released through Accented in November 2007. Already a recording studio addict, Sol could be found recording her sophomore album soon after the release of her debut, and in early 2008 she invites violinist Thomas Von Wachenfeldt (a one-time guitarist for De Tveksamma, Thomas developed a passion for classical music and went back to music school for 6 ½ years to perfect his playing on the violin) to play fiddle to the song “Empty Street”. Another deep friendship was born, and the Gardenia album made its appearance in November of 2008. In early 2009, Sol/ Accented struck a deal with Stefan Hallgren, with whom she started to run the Happy Minds studio…which is where she would record her latest album, of course with the collaboration of both Österlind and Von Wachenfeldt. The latter playing violin, mandolin and banjo on the calmer and more Folk-oriented “Burn Her”, “Sweet Lullaby”, and “Slowly Fading”…the first playing Fender bass on most of the tracks and adding some guitar licks (intro to “Quietly Crucified”, lead guitar to “Sweet Lullaby”, and Leslie to “Simply Me”) and acoustic drums (to two songs – other drum sounds were created electronically or taken from samples by Sol). With Sol responsible for all vocals (also backings, which makes those come over quite harmonic), piano, acoustic guitar, a lot of electric guitar (even leads), electronic drums, ambient sounds, synthesizers and samples, she still saw place for a couple more contributions coming from Anthony “ScrewMaker” Mea, Jonas “Nordpol” Johansson, and two MySpace “helpers”. Musically, Sol Skugga goes through the motions of its embodying person. Her first album contained music written in a darker period of her life, when she was surrounded by depressed people and friends, a dear one even dying. Therefore the music on that album was rather geared into a Gothic direction. With Gardenia Sol wantedto show a softer, dreamier and more romantic side of herself, with her love for Folk music in focus. The new album however, is more upbeat, and in spite of having many acoustic moments, and shows an amazing warmth al well as versatility, seeing her go through several musical moods, ranging from Electro-driven Guitar Rock (album opener “Say It” andtheensuing “So Strange”, the latter a bit softer), Folklore and Rock ballads (i.e ”Burn Her” and “Quietly Crucified” respectively), all of which have a nice “Soft-Progressive” feel (in a Pop sense) underneath, all of which with an amazing honesty in the lyrics, which relate to stuff she comes across in her life. Vocally, Sol has been compared to such respected artists as Tori Amos, Amy Lee, Regina Spector, and Kate Bush, and her music to the likes of Nine Inch Nails, U2, Blondie, Peter Gabriel, and Björk’s Human Behavior album. When listening to the (9!) songs posted at myspace.com/solskugga, I’m sure you will discover something of all these! In conclusion, an artist whom really deserves being discovered by the public at large. In the USA, people are slowly opening up to her, with record label Cauldron Soundwerx distriibuting her latest album and organizing an early 2010 tour over there. She’s obviously also enjoying sóme success in Sweden, where music of hers has been aired on several independent radio stations and podcasts (Somojo.net has had her in the Top 20 charts since December 2008). In early 2008 Sol entered a band contest organized by Tele2 and Warner, from which she finalized as #21 out of 800 participants. Now, it’s time for the rest of Europe to discover his delightfully luscious Swedish artiste, so head on over to her MySpace page, then also check out Sol’s own website solskugga.com! Do it now, do not let the opportunity pass you by!!! 95/100 ----------------------------------------------------------------- In my research on The Bonesmen’s back history, I’ve been quite unable to find out when exactly this New Haven based Connecticut Country/ Blues Rock band (comprised of singer/ rhythm guitarist Frank Thomas, lead guitarist Mark Turko, bassist Kenny Dempsey, and drummer Drew Carrano) came into existence. Although a British magazine states “…they’ve been kicking up dust for many years…”, the band released its debut album Skin And Bones (review occasion during which the aforementioned words were written) only in 2007. Already at the post for the band at that moment, were recording engineer/ co-producer Carl Osgood, and Angel Creek Records. The debut album got nice response, with independent radio stations Stateswize giving the album’s material some healthy attention, then UK’s ARFM also sharing in the airing duties. Around the album’s release the band had discovered the advantages of Internet (where musicians can portrey themselves as they really are) versus the established music industry (where musicians are pushed into styles they’re possibly not comfortable with, just to please the image some Industry fellows happen to have about the kind of music their customers should buy), and therefore the band not only had its debut album out on the streets through your conventional distribution channels, but also over the Internet. Obviously, the sales tactics worked, because two years ahead in time, and the boys are able to release their sophomore album. Happy with the team they had with the debut, the guys again recorded at Sea Level Studio with Carl Osgood. As a result, Osgood was able to catch the band on tape wwith the sound they also have in live conditions: catchy, gritty ‘70s Hard Rock with influences from Blues and Country, the latter coming through more in the two ballads of the album, the semi-acoustic “I Believe” and album closer “Slow Down” (which also has some banjo in the instrumentation, during the in- and outro ). Besides 9 original songs the band also opted to put their own, somewhat grittier version of “Last Train To Clarksville” (sorry, forgot to look it up, and cannot seem to remember by which band the song, written by Bobby Hart & Tommy Boyce, was originally performed by) on the album. Listen to it and album opener “Do it Again” (as well as 4 representative songs off Skin And Bones) at myspace.com/thebonesmen. For an introduction to the aforemmentioned ballads, check out thebonesmen.com! Good times Rock ‘n’ Roll, baby…right atcha! 84/100 ----------------------------------------------------------------- Based around Götenberg (Sweden), The Mary Major was formed from the ashes of Beseech in 2006. With Daniel Elofsson on guitar, Jörgen Ström on the bass, and Jonas Strömberg providing a thunderously heavy and massive instrumental backdrop, the band choose to use two singers: one male (Erik Molarin) and one female (Lotta Höglin)! Starting late 2008, the band got busy writing and perfecting a new set of songs, then recording ‘em in their own studio. Having done that, they mixed the material in collaboration with Vesa Kenttäkumpu (sounds Finish, don’t it?) at Evocation Studio. Now while it’s somewhat fair to say that Erik is the lead singer here, Lotta’s role is not just a backing one, as in many of the songs the two do duets. With many of the lyrics touching on male-female relationship issues, it would be kinda different to do otherwize anyway. Besides, even in her “backing” role, Lotta’s contribution often brings an additional eerie atmosphere. When push comes to shove, she’s the one to use her voice in the one and same mode all the time (except for some whispered intro to “Theme Of Darlene”), which is rather clean and powerful…and Erik’s the one whom goes from emotionally calm to a somewhat screamed (perhaps shouted is more appropriate) mode, over normally powerful. The music? Hum, with the one guitar (admittingly enhanced occasionally by the addition of a second guitar part) concentrated on heaviness, you might understand that the tempo is rather on the slow side…but let’s not exaggerate! The whole still gets a filled feeling, on the one side thanks to the great rhythm section, and on the other hand thanks to the vocal approach of the band! Hard to compare to existing bands, you should rather make up your mind by listening to the 4 studio tracks the band posted at myspace.com/themarymajor. “Morning Sickness” also has a video clip, and then there’s live video footage from the Emergeza Festival with a total of 4 songs, clips which proove that TMM is more than capable to recreate their studio sound in live conditions! Great band, and one worthy to make it big into Europe…and beyond! 92/100 ----------------------------------------------------------------- Yeah…in these modern days, when the world seems possessed by hatred and aggravation fueled music, many music lovers look back to the days when music was much simpler. Many simply go back to the record collections of their elders, and check out the music of the ‘90s, ‘80s, and when they’re lucky even as far back as the ‘70s and late ’60…or beyond! Eventually, a small portion of those music listeners will start sharing music with each other, find out they have the appropriate instruments at home, and start up a band in their preferred style! That’s exactly how Seattle’s Thunderbird Motel came to life in early November 2006, its young founders 2 pizza delivery guys, a bartender, and a “mad scientist” (all of which had been fumblin’ around with their instruments on an individual basis)…who were bored with the local music scene being overflooded with limp Indie Rock. The quartet released a demo in early 2007 (already featuring some of the tracks that would eventually wind up on the album) and released a very limited (only 27 copies made) and hand-numbered single with the songs “Love & Rockets”, “Sleeping With The Angels”, and a cover of Free’s “Fire & Water”. As you might’ve guessed from that cover, the 4 use a late ‘60s to early ‘70s Garage Rock as their musical template, something which has often gotten them a comparison to the great MC5. And, although those would be considered rather big shoes to be filled by many of MC5’s fans, I’m sure most people who’ve heart Thunderbird Hotel play on one of the many gigs they played since later in their founding month (3 during 2006, 29 in 2007, at least as many counted up to Oct. 2008 – their gigs list is incomplete, but still impressive for a band without a record) would agree with that. I mean, these guys not only have that sound (vintage instruments & amplification?), but also the catchy tunes to go with it, the obligatory solo and era-typical backing vocals making everything complete! Still, it would be unfair to pin down TM’s sound to just that one band, as they get off with flying colours at their covers of the Free song as well as Humble Pie’s “Stone Cold Fever”, which they’ve posted at myspace.com/thunderbirdmotel alongside several songs off the full-length (hum…or rather long-player, because with 8 tracks they fill 30 minutes only just), and live material (which hasn’t been recorded in studio yet). None of those covers are on the album though, and for that TM gets 2 thumbs up in the courage department! Oh, just to set the record straight: not all album tracks were posted in their final album version so…among the songs posted, the following also appear on the album: “Red Dress”, “Witchy Ways”, and “Hell Raiser”…just so you know! Anyway, if you’re into that vintage Garage Rock sound that made bands like Free, MC5, and Humple Pie (they were a little more mainstream) as important as they became, then by all means you should check out this band! Contact through their MySpace page. 90/100 ----------------------------------------------------------------- No idea (because info is again lacking) when this Austin (TX) based American Prog Pop-Rock trio (comprised of singer/ guitarist Casey Tipton, bassist Eric Stephens, and drummer Matt Eads) came into existence, but it must be a relatively recent event, as on their MySpace page they were calling out for people to join their street team only in February of 2009. Yet, they díd release the 3-track EP Dischantement in 2007, containing already the song “Kite” (later to be used on The Pleasure Principle), so it’s safe to asume that the guys were already thinking of their future body of work back then. At any rate, the trio (which may well have been a quartet to comprise a pianist/ keyboardist) has been very prolific at writing and recording their material, because in mid-August they announced the release of a two-disc album entitled Programmes (I & II) – Fons Et Origo. With a concept based on Sigmund Freud’s work Civilization And Its Discontents, these two discs would be releases as separate entities (or “programs”) titled The Pleasure Principle and The Reality Principle, the first of which was released digitally through CDBaby.com on September 15th, 2009. The second would follow in early 2010, and is announced to contain a more experimental and heavier instrumental focus. Meanwhile, we’re to give our judgement on the fiirst “program”, and I must admit it comes out quite gloriously, even after several listening sessions. With a focus on acoustics (guitar & piano, with occasional soft keyboard/ organ additions), the sparce electrified passages serve to stress on Man’s darker wants (remember what the album’s about?) with vocals also being more forceful, but retaining their clean quality. In 9 songs (and one short instrumental) the band goes through several of Man’s emotions in a time period of almost 51 ½ minutes, and as happens sometimes with Man’s emotions, has some of the tracks flowing into each other quite seemlessly. Seen the emphasis on acoustics, the overall mood of The Pleasure Principle is to be considered as Pop Rock with a Progressive touch rather than as a Post-Rock thing with Progressive elements. Convince yourself of that assessment by listening to the couple of tracks the band posted at myspace.com/woolgather. If, after listening to what you’ll find there, you find you’re hungry for more Woolgather material, keep in mind that for the moment it is available only through CDBaby, iTunes and Amazon (for links, check the blogs on the band’s MySpace page) 92/100 Tony. |
