FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/kirbiemusic/

The first single from Melon Soup, “Human”, brings another creative high for its composer and performer Kirbie. Kirbie Rose Parker is based out of the Washington D.C. area and has been working at her art for the last nine years in an effort to build and expand on her audience. The discipline and hard work required have paid off with a fully integrated effort that works both musically and lyrically. The production highlights her highly individual blend of multiple genres and lays a thoughtful songwriting sensibility over it all that never panders to her target audience. One never gets the sense that Kirbie is confining herself to a narrow swath of the listening public. Instead, “Human” seems aimed for anyone who’s experienced their own frailty and consistently asks the big questions that each of us seeks answers for over the course of our lives. This immensely relatable subject matter and the fine musical accompaniment make this performance a winner from the outset.

FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/TheSpiderAccomplice/ 

The second album from Los Angeles based alternative rock trio The Spider Accomplice, Los Angeles: The Abduction, is the second installment in their critically praised Los Angeles Trilogy. The conceptual trappings of the EP shouldn’t be mistaken for the outright concept albums leanings, i.e. The Who’s Tommy or Queensryche’s Operation: Mindcrime, but their attempts at crafting a coherent storyline for the EP is a deeply rewarding and entertaining effort throughout. They probably rely a little too much on set pieces, like the spoken word and ambient introductions to many of the songs, but their effect on the release isn’t averse enough to drag down the entire work. Some will like those moments, and some will wish they just got on with the song. Overall, however, this is a gripping rock EP that features a dynamite lead singer in VK Lynne, and she’s accompanied by two exceptional musicians who have noticeable chemistry with each other. These are songs that, undoubtedly, rock in a live setting.  

URL: https://www.jamespatrickmorgan.com/ 

The provocatively titled Art + Work = Love marks a critical turning point in James Patrick Morgan’s music career. Morgan has earned a reputation as a popular live performer in the Atlanta, Georgia area and surrounding environs, but this release takes his artistic pursuits to the next level. The collection features five songs, four originals, and show Morgan as a outstandingly creative musical force who effortlessly blends a variety of genre influences into a distinctive sonic template. This is as much high quality singer/songwriter material as it is pop and it’s to Morgan’s credit as a composer and vocalist he can engage audience’s thinking and emotions every bit as much as he can entertain. It’s an underestimated skill. Most artists are too limited, for one reason for another, or confine themselves to one line of attack in order to maximize their attention in a given style. Morgan, thankfully, doesn’t go in for any of that. The EP’s stellar production seals the deal for what makes this an exceptional release – it has vivid, visceral clarity without ever overwhelming the listener. 

SOUNDCLOUD: https://soundcloud.com/jimm-shannon/hard-to-come-by-m2 

Jimmy Shannon’s musical education has obviously been quite good. The latest release from this talented singer and songwriter, Better Now than Ever, follows up his 2014 release Better Late than Never and shows off wide ranging talents never restricting themselves to one musical direction alone. Instead, Shannon dabbles in a little bit of everything with a great deal of success – blues, folk influenced pieces, pop, Americana, all of these things fall into his wheelhouse and he shows equal confidence navigating through their demands. The eleven songs on Better Now than Ever are strongly focused, never wasting a word or note, and listeners will find their time well rewarded by pursuing this album from beginning to end. Jimmy Shannon is an unique and meaningful talent in a genre filled with paint by numbers technicians and derivative performers. Better Now than Ever is a breath of fresh musical air.

FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/events/994596870632548/ 

The sophomore album from Minneapolis based singer/songwriter Matt Hannah follows his critically lauded 2014 full length debut Let the Lonely Fade and sets the bar even higher than that memorable first offering did. The new ten song collection is nothing less than a poetic exploration of serious themes, all of the songs exploring similar ground from different musical and lyrical angles, far outpacing the work of many peers. The collection’s musical influences are, not unexpectedly, largely folk in origin, but there’s discernible shades of blues and country informing many of the performances and fits in nicely with his dominant approach. The lyrical content is often sophisticated, but never so much so that its meaning will elude listeners. This is a performer of deceptive power and remarkable clarity. He doesn’t waste a single note musically and, likewise, his writing has the sort of focus and intent lacking in countless other artists, regardless of genre.  

URL: https://righteoushillbillies.com 

Since their 2008 debut, The Righteous Hillbillies have shared stages with a virtual who’s who of American roots music luminaries and earned a reputation as one of the nation’s most pre-eminent and popular live acts in that area. Their three recordings have earned fulsome praise from important voices in the genre who recognize their faithfulness to tradition while signaling them out for their fresh revitalization of longstanding forms. It’s difficult to deliver anything beyond entertainment with this music – experienced listeners have, frankly, heard all of the possible songs in every possible permutation. The Righteous Hillbillies, however, recognize a critical point few of their peers in this genre ever fully understand – blues rock in 2016 will only succeed and show staying power if the artist or performers in question infuse these hoary conventions with as much of their personality and experiences as they can bring to bear. The Righteous Hillbillies’ fourth album, Two Wheels Down a Lost Highway, bear the fruits of that lesson. 

FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/emishmusic/ 

New York Celtic folk songwriters and performers Emish, formed in 2005, have experienced considerable success since the beginning thanks to their distinctive mix of original songwriting and fidelity to traditional forms. They really have struck on a new blend for this sort of music – it recalls the past while still honoring the present and allows their songwriting to find a musical vehicle for self-expression that they show enormous talent using. Their first live collection, simply entitled Live, is a mammoth cross section of covers and tracks from the band’s preceding studio albums and celebrates the band’s tenth anniversary as a performing unit. The live album, once a staple in popular music, has tumbled in popularity through the years, but Emish do things the right way – it’s nearly revelatory to hear so many familiar songs from the studio albums find new and vivid life on the stage, Moreover, the band’s same resolute avoidance of self indulgence continues here as well and the performances are punch and to the point.  

St. Petersburg, Russia – February 15, 2017 – Dark Folk project Tamerlan, since the onset of the project in 2006, has consistently presented what may be considered Gothic or NeoFolk material, but also departing from these styles by introducing a gradual development and enhancement of the project’s aesthetics to include compositional elements from various other styles. The project’s latest release, Luciferian, is no exception, and decisively embraces a more experimental feel than previous albums, utilizing ambient soundscapes, layers of ritualistic percussion, sudden changes to heavier, “thicker” instrumentation, and more. Timur Iskandarov, the musical mastermind behind Tamerlan, has accomplished this musical evolution and diversity by selecting a cast of contributors to the new CD especially designed to expand the dynamics and style of the project’s direction; generating what critics regard as being a highly successful combination of sounds and styles.

FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/soundofcurves/ 

Rock music has been forced, by commercial demands and the culture as a whole, to transform itself in order to survive as a viable artistic force. As it always has been, it’s a genre reliant on its performers to bring a healthy dose of personality to bear so that the standard array of clichés and poses are invigorated and seem fresh for each new generation of listeners. The Sound of Curves understands this. Their third album Gone Gatsby exists within a specific genre and tradition, but the songwriting isn’t simply paint by numbers nonsense. The band certainly has its own style and they aren’t afraid to exploit it, but they are likewise emboldened to attack these tunes with creativity and tweak the formulas with some truly individual touches that elevate the compositions far past their normal métier. One can hear a band reaching for something new on this album, a next step in their evolution, and bands willing to do that are, typically, the ones who survive along enough to feel posterity’s warmth.