Roadcase Royale "Not Giving Up"

PRIMARY URL: https://www.roadcaseroyale.com/

I have been a fan of Heart for many years. They were a big part of the formative music of my life. So, when I heard that Nancy Wilson was a part of this project, I was excited. Well, this song doesn’t disappoint. It’s just so good. There are two women who sing in this band, Wilson and Liv Warfield. The rest of the band is made up of three guys from Heart (Dan Rothchild on bass, Ben Smith on drums and Chris Joyner on keyboards) and guitarist Ryan Waters. There are parts of this that sound like Heart, but almost like Ann Wilson instead of Nancy. Then again, I’m not sure which woman is singing which part on this. The two voices have a tendency to sound close enough to one other to really complement each other well.

VONJ – RAUCH

TWITTER: https://twitter.com/vonjproductions

Vonj comes out of the UK via Kenya, and it’s a good thing that it doesn’t matter on his new CD, Rauch, if you’ve heard him or not. As long as you like all of the elements he brings with some equally talented musicians, you’ll be wanting to check out more. The guitar in particular covers ground from Jimi Hendrix to John McLaughlin and even some Allan Holdsworth territory is covered for good measure. And if you like your covers reworked over to make a statement, then you’ll get it all and more. This isn’t a glossy produced work either.

Something About Her From Mina Alali

Submission for "Robots in the Zone " review

That One Eyed Kid - Crash and Burn

URL: https://www.thatoneeyedkid.com/ 

Josh Friedman, the man responsible for That One Eyed Kid from the beginning and its continuing guiding force, is a musical artist possessing deceptive talents. The latest release credited to That One Eyed Kid, Crash and Burn, is a five song EP with just the right amount of diversity to reaffirm his strengths as a songwriter/singer/performer, show real evidence of growth, and provide newcomers to his work with a compelling first taste. Crash and Burn, by this measure, succeeds wildly. It has superb recording quality with an intimacy that virtually nothing else besides live performance could hope to replicate – each sonic part of Crash and Burn is invested with improbable warmth and fidelity that few performers, on any level, go to such pains to achieve as he does here. Crash and Burn sounds like an EP release that’s been slaved over, every attempt made to get its presentation just right, yet none of it saps the energy from Friedman’s performance.  

Bradford Loomis - Bravery & the Bell

URL: https://www.bradfordloomis.com/ 

Washington State based singer/songwriter Bradford Loomis isn’t some pretender dabbling in Americana music. He’s unafraid to show off his wide array of influences, but Loomis also shows a complete understanding of the traditions he works in on each new outing. His latest release, Bravery & the Bell, clocks in at a little over thirty minutes in length and features seven songs that both play to preconceptions as well as challenging them. Loomis isn’t averse to turning his talents in a commercial direction, but he always carries into those endeavors an obvious insistence on remaining true to his vision and never pandering. He also shows a pronounced penchant for revitalizing time-tested elements by bringing his own unique turns of phrase and imagery to bear on the songwriting. It’s an irresistible brew that results from all of this and the added personal feel blanketing the artistry at work here gives it much needed intimacy.  

Mammother – Devotion Lost

CD BABY: https://www.cdbaby.com/cd/mammothor7

Mammothor strives to deliver the essence of rock: the thunderous heavy metal riffs and guitar shred of the 80’s, rounded out with the passion and versatility of 90’s alternative. Mammothor is an American hard rock band from Boston, Massachusetts, formed in 2012. Travis Lowell fronts the group with powerful and versatile vocals. Berklee graduate Josh Johnson studied with guitar shred legend Joe Stump while Dana Sharpton has studied with virtuoso guitarist Greg Howe. The dynamic and steady drums of Nick Raby fill out the band’s eclectic sound. This new year is bringing a lot of surprising new, as well as old sounds with it, and Mammothor is just one of them. They not only seem to have that jump on what clearly looks to be a new era in hard rock and heavy metal music, but they gain much lead with those not resting on, but using classic and alternative rock to a modern advantage. You can hear it as the first song blows doors off radio rock, without its musical disgracing its power source.

Patrick Simmons Jr. - This Mountain

URL: https://patsimmonsjr.com/ 

The six song collection This Mountain marks the beginning of Patrick Simmons Jr.’s musical career and has memorable qualities. Its mix of high and low fi qualities is perfectly balanced, Simmons shows he’s an effective if not outright brilliant singer each time out, and the songs are tailored both to a fine point in terms of exploring their subject but, likewise, never overextend themselves. There’s a great deal of artistry that goes into cutting an album with such depth, entertainment value, and easy going confidence. Simmons Junior’s bearing comes, undoubtedly, from his genes. His father Pat Simmons Senior is a founding member of the seminal 1970’s hit makers The Doobie Brothers and his production efforts on This Mountain help ensure that his musical progeny has the best possible presentation for his debut. These are six songs that never press the listener, but they are imbued with their own urgency and demeanor quite unlike anything out there today.