Jean Chang is an aspiring songwriter who has a gift for taking the emotional parts of love and the human experience and putting them to song. She rises above her medical conditions to bring forth beauty in song. “One of a Kind” great love song that Jean Chang has constructed for another using piano as the foundation and heartfelt feelings as the walls that surround a beautiful result. “How Does He Do It When He’s Just a Guy” vocals are a perfect fit for Chang’s words here. You could hear this one on a Sheryl Crow record. It’s strong presence matched with a universal thought of wonder. We will all meet someone who surpasses what it is to be human and will be in awe and Chang’s put it to song. “We Were Just Not Meant to Be” after those other two, this one breaks the heart. We love, we lost. Chang captures both sides of love in her lyrical content. Jean Chang should never give up her craft because she’s got a pure skill. (https://www.reverbnation.com/jeanchang)

Bill Koar’s “Love Should Do” album is full of songs that adults looking to let loose could enjoy. Koar’s music sits right in the middle of a good time. It’s not too little and not too much as it glides from each track to the next with a case Cool Cat with songs like “New Age” and “Time” You get a sense that Koar could play a contempoary jazz night at a local club or bar with “Like It Or Not” where he’d find much success with the couples in the crowd who are ready to have fun with some dancing; cue “Stuck On You” to finish out the night. This isn’t before “You and I” and the ballad like ways of “I Wish I Was.” Bill Koar’s voice resonates with times of American Bandstand, when music was pure. That is why you could imagine hearing his music blasting from the car of adults who have their act together. If you’re into AC radio and need more, check out Bill Koar and his album “Love Should Do.” (https://www.cdbaby.com/cd/billkoar)

Craign Lawrence Taylor’s Dance of the Sonic Mind is like the soundtrack to an eerie tale, a movie where a lot of off things happen – A movie made in an era were eccentricities were accepted by the masses. Songs like “The Sun Is Shinin” sound dark despite the title and give off a grimey feel. You get a look inside Taylor’s mind with “Deep Inside My Mind” and it’s a doozy. The vocals come in second to the music, which isn’t loud and fast, just loud and in your face; make sense? He creates a world in which only the peculair would live with “Slow Motion” and “Lizard in the Desert.” If you are the kind of person who likes things a little off the path labeled “normal,” especially your music – then Craig Lawrence Taylor is just the thing you have been looking for. Check out his album, out now. (https://www.emusic.com/album/craig-lawrence-taylor/dance-of-the-sonic-mind/14413707/)

What do you get when you take a dream landscape, robots and a haunting voice? You get Shayna Gianas, otherwise known as Wolfskill. The San Diego artist takes these avant-garde ideas and strings them together to make music that would likely be heard in a nighttime sequence in a movie, or in a museum while patrons walked around a modern art exhibit. It’s got this artsy feel to it that screams softly with songs like “Still Skin” and ‘the most contemporary of the bunch, “Free.” Then Wolfskill gets mechanical with “Go-Bot” which is literally about being a robot and “Robots in Disguise” which was overall a good song, but not as ear grabbing at the other robot one. If you had to place this artist’s music on a spectrum amongst others, it’d likely fall somewhere between electro-pop due to “Pay Out” and eccentric art school music thanks to “Lost Ditty.” If you’re into the obscure then don’t go too far and check out Wolfskill for yourself. (https://soundcloud.com/wolfskills)

There are many reasons to pick up music and make something of it. For Edison Jimenez, it’s a higher power that called to him. He was given the rights to record in 2012 and took it and has been going ever since. Along with singing, Edison leads worship every week and appreciates the life he has, “It is truly humbling when you hear a collective audience singing as one for The One. I hope to continue to produce genuine music to guide others to an unforgettable worship experience with God.” His song, “Jesus You Reign (In My Life)” is an uplifting attribution that everyone should take a minute to listen to. I say a minute because that’s how long it is, well a minute a handful of seconds. It’s worth the time because if you need a positive thing in your life, check it out. Followers of the Lord should definitely check out Edison Jimenez. (https://www.noisetrade.com/ejimenez)

Music has the power to move us. That plays a huge part in why it’s the chosen choice for entertainment and recreation for many and has been for centuries. The oldest form of it though, instrumental, is timeless. You cannot begin to understand how powerful it is to be moved by a piece of music that has no words to guide it. Passage understands this with the album “Riviera Blues.” A heavenly number of tracks contain a sound that is resonant of a clear night sky in the desert. As someone who grew up with cactus right outside their window, I can stand by that. The title track sets the tone for the record overall as this soothing place that brings peace of mind. The following songs like “San Jose” and “Til We Meet Again” each contain aspects that make them unique but have this base that sounds like a New Mexico, adobe landscape. If you’re into music that eases the mind why captivating, then check out Passage’s “Riviera Blues,” out now. (https://www.cdbaby.com/cd/Passage5)

Anyone can tell what era Shannon Matter likes to call home when it comes to her musical style. It’s taken from the days when peace and love were apparent in the air and artists like Janis Joplin were rising in the ranks. Matter ties in old school elements and barely tinkers with them. Her sound could be played in the tape deck of a Chevy as it’s gritty and timeless all at the same time. Songs like “Aware on Burnaby Mountain” capture the echo of someone who has lost their way in the hills, a maples wanderer with only a song. “Inside Out” is an upbeat track white “Starseeds” could use a little work to be stronger in the vocal department. It seems her strengths lay within the water though as “Off to Surf” was good, but “By The Shore” was her best. Shannon Matter should stick to the coastal route and let the ocean breeze flow through her because that’s where they glides high. (https://www.youtube.com/user/ShannonMatter)

97 Grenade is a trio of punks who combine their appreciation for the anarchist musical movement with likes of metal riffs and hardcore breakdowns. With only a handful of songs to judge them on, it’s not hard to hear where they’re going for. “The Fashion Show” is a clear shot at being an individual and not wanting to be part of the norm – no matter what. Why look like everyone else when you can be yourself, right? “Screwball” is where you can hear that metal influence and it’s un-punk in that it might be quick and fast at the end, but the long instrumental rage that leads into the bursts of spattered lyrics are more metal than punk. The energy doesn’t stop with “Out of Body Experience” and then things wrap up nicely with “Buzzkill!” Three guys who want to show the world what they got when it comes to punk – let them show you before they just say, screw it and show you anyways. (https://www.reverbnation.com/97grenade)