Indie Music Reviews

Brent Daniels - Party at the End of the Road

published on October 4, 2017

Brent Daniels - Party at the End of the Road

WATCH THE VIDEO: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JooKjHxgNow

Brent Daniels’ latest single from Every Road Has a Turn, “Party at the End of the Road”, is a rollicking musical ride and his new video for the song approximates that feel to the maximum. It’s a boisterous, life-affirming performance certain to entertain a sizeable contingent of his audience while still exerting enough substantive musical value that it draws in longtime fans of the genre as well. The video does an excellent job of conveying the authority he holds down on stage and the embrace of a fun-loving aesthetic embodying all the energy of the song and his own experiences. It puts the virtues of Every Road Has a Turn in a fresh new light and promises further glories as Daniels gears up for the recording and release of his second album and live appearances to come. This is one of the best talents working in modern country music and the road ahead is brighter than the road behind him.

Nick Dakota – Sledgehammer

published on October 4, 2017

Nick Dakota – Sledgehammer

Watch “Sledgehammer” video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hlZQhirU6Wc

The future of country rock and country music as a whole rests with talented performers in the vein of Nick Dakota. Dakota is the archetypal Nashville star for the early 21st century – blessed with traditional strengths, stage presence, a powerful and commercially viable voice, and surrounded with the cross over potential that promises he can move in any crowd and find accepting ears. Much of this attributable to his innate talents, but some of it comes down to presentation. Dakota’s public profile is becoming increasingly refined, distilled down to essential elements, and it reveals an artist who promises to carry things to a whole new level with the release of his second album. “Sledgehammer” from his most recent effort Vision is a natural choice for a single and an astute selection on artistic grounds as well. The song has an appealing hook, a rich and vibrant sound, plus a Dakota vocal that’s impossible to ignore. The accompanying video with the song accentuates these points.

Ashley J – “Unbreakable” Single

published on October 2, 2017

Ashley J – “Unbreakable” Single

SOUNDCLOUD: https://soundcloud.com/ashleyj_music

It’s funny how music can change. It’s so malleable; you could hear it in one setting and hate it, vowing to never again let such filth invade your eardrums again. I’m referring to sonic pop by the way. Then, you could hear it at a different time, in a different situation, a different artist and see something in it that you never considered. It’s not just to down to peer pressure, either. You could be listening to a song on repeat in the morning that by night time you can’t stand. Basically, music isn’t just a meal in itself, to really enjoy it you need to be in the right frame of mind, as well as a situation where you can enjoy it.

Dizzy Box Nine

published on October 2, 2017

Dizzy Box Nine

YOU TUBE: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCIvMLTlPjzCFmAyUVLwdg6A

Dizzy Box Nine come out of left field with a great pop record that must be heard. Randy Ludwig is a great musician and proving it with well-written and arranged pop tunes that have somewhat of an improvised feel to them. This sets the band apart from the norm, and has helped them craft, what are generally, very playful pieces of music. He produced it with the best results possible for a self-produced platter, and should get all the credit for what is never an easy job there.

Brad Peterson - The Ellipsis Album

published on September 18, 2017

Brad Peterson - The Ellipsis Album

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

Chicago based singer/songwriter Brad Peterson’s latest release, The Ellipsis Album, might promise to be a rather serious and somber affair if you read about its genesis. Peterson spent a number of years sidelined due to a severe spinal injury that rendered performing and recording impossible for a performer who had risen far thanks to his considerable skills. As his condition improved, however, he found his attention turning back towards music with a renewed emphasis that perhaps been missing before. Moreover, the sound emerging from these thirteen songs has a more comprehensive approach than anything he’s taken part of before and there’s certainly a maturity discernible in each of the song that, undoubtedly, is born from painful personal experience. However, there’s ample humor here as well, some of it dark, some whimsical, and this diversity in the songwriting helps make reality the idea that The Ellipsis Album is one of 2017’s most compelling indie releases.

John Brownlow - The Summertime

published on September 17, 2017

Artist: John Brownlow - The Summertime

URL: https://johnbrownlowmusic.com/

Who doesn’t like Singer-Songwriter music? I’d all hands go up in the air. I mean, while Singer-Songwriter, which by the way kind of emerged in the late 60’s and 70’s with the arrival of artists like Bob Dylan, Cat Stevens, Elton John, Jim Croce and Billy Joel they represented a close and personal artistic snapshot from the artist in question. The music tended to be at times gripping and powerful. Many feel the Singer-Songwriter sound has lost it’s way evolving into overly commercialized, highly corporate songs that do a better job at getting under your skin rather than getting into your heart.

Barbara Jo Kammer - One Song at a Time

published on September 14, 2017

Barbara Jo Kammer - One Song at a Time

URL: https://www.barbarajokammer.com/

Barbara Jo Kammer’s One Song at a Time is a ten song collection that, in some ways, attempts putting down in a recording the truth of Kammer’s journey from the clutches of addiction into a new life free from the yoke of self abuse and filled with gratitude for life and survival. It’s also a memorable invocation of music from another time, but it isn’t ever a case of ten gorgeous butterflies trapped under glass for us to gawk and chatter about. This is living, breathing musical art that engages human emotions in a real way and doesn’t merely aim to entertain. It does entertain, however – the mix of instruments brought to bear on this track often possesses a lovely elegance and never risks over-indulgence. Everything comes together on this album in a very natural, live, and intimate fashion – we feel like Kammer is performing for herself and us alone.

Ephrata

published on September 11, 2017

Ephrata

URL: https://www.ephrataband.com/

Ephrata’s first full length release is a self-titled eleven song collection expanding mightily on the promise of their previous EP and harboring the potential to catapult this four piece to the forefront of the genre. Their blend of dreamy vocals with atmospheric guitar work and synthesizer playing comes together without ever sounding forced or plotted out. Their subject matter, as well, has a darker edge but is clearly written for adults rather than propping up some pose of teenage despair. Vocalist Skandi von Reis gives the band an added distinctive quality lacking from similarly themed acts, but it’s the songwriting that ultimately makes Ephrata’s first full length such a memorable listening experience. These are organic composition, no two passages ever sounding mismatched, and flows with a natural order that discerning listeners will find quite satisfying. The stew of influences coming to a boil on this album has youth, a vivid musical imagination, and an appetite for risk taking that makes it one of 2017’s most noteworthy releases.