Other Animals - Midnight 76

 Ladies and gents be warned: the album I have for us tonight was pitched to me as "weird, killer... blending elements of Electronic, Industrial, Psychedelic, and Triphop driven by an uptempo Rock sound."Now I don't know about you, but with a description like that, I am immediately cautious. I know most of these elements work pretty well together, but I have never been one for psychedelic, and full disclosure I have no clue what triphop is, so I guess the only way for me to find out is to just dive right in, right? (I suppose I could Google it, but that's no fun for me, and what's worse is that I would be depriving you the joy of reading this brilliant intro while you're sitting on your toilet.)

What is really cool about reviewing this album is that it's another first for Synic Spins. Tonight we have an instrumental concept album. And as a brief aside, I have to quickly mention what a thrill and an honor it is to have you guys be sending me your music spanning all different genres, different parts of the globe, etc. It's really humbling and I want to thank you all for continuing to support me and grant me this opportunity to continue doing this.

Moving on, to quickly sum up what this concept album makes me think of, it would be like an action-packed sci-fi video game soundtrack. It's hard, powerful, and inspires action. I could easily see someone working out at the gym to this, or a LAN party of high school friends shooting aliens together.

I do find that some of the single compositions on this album seem to last for quite a while, with a handful of them exceeding 7 minutes in length, but I can't fault this artist for that, with instrumentals and concept albums alike that is just the nature of the beast. However, song lengths aside I find this album to be the ultimate background music. Like I said in the previous paragraph, it just instills action and power. By its very design it is meant to inspire and motivate.

Some of you might recall me saying in an earlier post (but then again, maybe not, I'm not even sure which of my posts I said this in...) that I don't usually care much for instrumentals. With that said, I bet you would expect me to be bored of this album. I certainly would have expected that. However, the opposite is true. I never once throughout the whole listening experience wished that there were vocals accompanying the instruments. Not once. There's no need for that. There's no room for it. The sound the band has achieved here is so full that it never feels like anything is missing. And the mixing is damn near perfect. I did wish the drums were a hair louder at times, but that could just be because I'm a sucker who has a big fondness for prominent drum parts.

Oh, and one last thing; I have some GREAT news for you all. Do you remember that old one-hit wonder with the specific dance that went along with it, "The Cotton-Eyed Joe?" Well lucky for us, Midnight 76 found Joe's brother: "The Whole Eye Doug." 

Other Animals - Midnight 76

4 - 13 - 2020

1. Just Another Animal (Tracker)

2. Just Another Animal (Imaxx)

3. Just Another Animal (Genetic Lab)

4. I Dig

5. Waxx (Wane)

6. The Whole Eye Doug

7. Just On Other Animals

8. 28

9. Rounds (Imaxx)

10. Waxx (Solstice)

Favorite Track: The Whole Eye Doug

Least Favorite Track: 28

Inside Outside - Reckless Velvet & Gabriel Kanka

 Guys you have no idea how incredibly humbling and thrilling it is to have an inbox full of requests that just keep on coming. And what is even more exciting is the handful of artists who have liked what I have done here and decided to come back for more. As you might have guessed, tonight I'm featuring a new friend of mine who just can't seem to get enough of the Synic Treatment. The guitar virtuoso Reckless Velvet is back, this time on the album Inside Outside, featuring the vocal stylings of the one and only Gabriel Kanka.

Upon my initial listen of the opening song, it is exactly as I expected. Hard driving rhythm with incredible guitar work to match. I find it very rare nowadays where I hear a new guitarist that consistently writes fresh and exciting riffs that just continue to surprise me. But on that short list of guitarists and riffmasters, you'd most definitely find Reckless Velvet among them. But again, this is hardly surprising.

What is surprising to me, however, is the style and range of the vocalist featured on this collaboration record. In his email to me, Velvet made sure to specify that Gabriel Kanka is indeed a male vocalist. At first read, I thought this was a very odd thing to include in a correspondence. Like yeah, okay... so is Mick Jagger, what's your point? Well a couple songs into the record, and I get why he felt he needed to clarify.

His vocal style on the opening track is almost misleading. His tone and the recording effects give his voice  a certain way about it that reminds me of one of my favorite male vocalists, Gary Cherone. (Extreme, Hurtsmile, my long rant about the 3 frontmen of Van Halen, etc.) In the tracks that follow, however, I find his tone and style morphs into something else, and the closest voice I can immediately relate it to is Chrissie Hynde of The Pretenders. It's truly quite impressive.

So now we know that the instrumentation and the vocals are working wondrously, leaving the question, is there anything that isn't working on this album?

The short answer? No.

The long answer? Well, I could get really picky and delve into the subjectiveness of music, and talk about how I really don't care for much for ballads and say that the slower songs such as "Headlong" "Sing My Sunshine" and "Subject of Interest" start to lose me as a listener. But the style and technique of each member of this duo compliment each other spectacularly in a way that just carries it through these slower songs. I will say, however, that if I were arranging this record I would consider separating these 3 songs. I find it really tough to stay engaged with an album if there are more than 2 slow songs lumped together on an album's track listing. I'm working on refining my ability to describe what I mean to my readers, so I hope that explanation made sense to you guys. BUT, if you were able to make it through that and understand what I was trying to say, then you would know by the end of "Subject of Interest," my interest was almost completely lost (that sounds more insulting than I intended, but alas). However, if there were any song on this record that was perfectly engineered and placed on the track listing to regard my attention, it is definitely "Fool's Gold."

The last thing I'll say, is that the opening riff to "Note To Self" reminds me very much of the opening riff to Pantera's "Walk" and I absolutely love that song, so that little (probably unintentional) nod to it was very cool. Even though the overall tone of both songs are wildly different from one another.

Inside Outside - Reckless Velvet & Gabriel Kanka

1 - 2 - 2021

1. Scratch That

2. Inside Outside

3. Rock My Way Out

4. Junior Year

5. Headlong

6. Sing My Sunshine

7. Subject Of Interest

8. Fool's Gold

9. Voices

10. Note To Self

Favorite Track: Voices

Least Favorite Track: Headlong

Synic Selects Vol. XIII - Female Fronted Favorites II

 Folks, some of you may recall one of my Synic Selects compilations from early last year; it shares a similar title with this new one: Female-Fronted Favorites. Well, as a quick refresher, the inspiration behind that original compilation was the fact that I had almost exclusively been listening to hard rock and metal groups with female vocalists up until that compilation was posted. I eventually pulled myself out of that pattern, and commemorated it by compiling some of my favorite songs for you all to enjoy, and leaving them behind me (not permanently, of course, just metaphorically.) However, a little less than a year later, I fell back into my old ways and became addicted again. Perhaps this time was due to new inspiration from sharing this musical interest with my newfound love Lady Synic, though through her I found myself making a playlist not of female metal, but female punk and Riot Grrrl classics. Now, the sad truth of it is that if you had asked me 6 months ago to name my favorite Riot Grrrl and female punk bands, I would've mentioned L7 and The Gits, because they were my new discoveries from this time last year. However, I would've been fresh out of names after dropping those two. Of course I knew of the girl grunge giants Garbage and Hole, but I openly loathe their music and everything having anything to do with Courtney Love. So basically, I would've had no real answer for you.

But you need not worry, my friends. This tragedy has been remedied. 

Something else that has changed in my little world of music, that coincidentally also came from my dear Lady Synic, was that yours truly is now among the paid-Spotify-subscribers community. Yes, it's true; while it may seem like very insignificant news to all of you, I had always felt that streaming music should be a crime, because the artists hardly see any revenue from it. I was a purchaser of hard CDs and Vinyl, (well I still buy vinyl, but not CDs anymore.) It took a hard kick in the pants for me to adapt to the 21st century, and finally see that this is how artists get exposure, listens, and even revenue/recognition for their work. While the best way to support the artist is still to buy a concert ticket and a tour shirt, streaming is apparently the future of music, whether I like it or not.

All of this seemingly incoherent babble aside, I promise you there is a point approaching. Through my new streaming service account, I started to craft a playlist of all female-fronted groups to satisfy my hunger. And as many of you already know, when you find an artist you like, Spotify will recommend a handful of similar artists that you might also like. Well, those bastards got me. And they got me good. Synic Selects Vol. XIII - Female Fronted Favorites II is entirely based on the larger all-encompassing playlist that Lady and I made together, and nearly every track you see below (with a few exceptions) comes from a Spotify suggestion. Exciting, no? I hope you think so, because this is what I'm going with for this month. Let me know what you guys think.

1. Steel Sharpens Steel - Sheer Mag

The first track on the compilation, also the first exception to the rule. This came from my discovery of Sheer Mag last summer, through the suggestion of course of Lady Synic herself. This song opens the album A Distant Call, and what a badass opener it is. Only seemed fitting to have it open this compilation as well.

2. M.I.A. - 7 Year Bitch

I had heard of these girls before, but never actually thought to look into their catalogue. I had heard of them as they were mentioned in the Joan Jett doc Bad Reputation that I watched a couple years ago. As it would turn out, this song, as well as the album it came from, Viva Zapata are dedicated to the late Gits singer Mia Zapata. See why it makes the list yet? Viva Zapata, indeed.

3. Seether - Veruca Salt

Truth be told there were 2 or 3 Veruca Salt songs that were competing for a slot on this list. I eventually decided on this one because, well, I don't really know why. But that's the beauty of music sometimes, isn't it? You don't have to know why you like something, all that matters is that you like it.

4. Less Teeth More Tits - Lunachicks

Of the Riot and punk bands on this list, this song has arguably the most Riot/punk lyrics of them all. If I had to pick a single song that would fully encapsulate the entire spirit and attitude of the Riot Grrrl movement, this song would definitely be a top contender.

5. Shut Up and Fuck - Betty Blowtorch

People used to say that the sex themes in rock & roll was a man's game. But that attitude expired 50 years ago and this song, this band, helped prove that it was never coming back.

6. Kiss Me Girl - Hands Off Gretel

This is one that I am very grateful to Spotify for. I forget which band led me to Hands Off Gretel as a suggested artist, but it brought me to this song. And full disclosure, the whole album this song came from is pretty damn good.

7. Society's Reject - The Soap Girls

This is another one off my playlist that I never skip when it comes on. As of writing this, I have not yet looked further into The Soap Girl's catalogue, but if the rest of it sounds anything like this song you bet your ass I'll be a regular listener.

8. Beat Your Heart Out - The Distillers

This song. This fuckin song, man. Hearing this song again brought be back to my days playing Tony Hawk video games. And looking back at Selects Vol. II - Best Of Tony Hawk, it's a damn tragedy that this song wasn't on there. But goddamn am I glad I found this band again now.

9. Walking in L.A. - Missing Persons

Okay this one is another big exception. Technically they were recommended to me based on another band that I like, Blondie or The GoGo's maybe? But they are not Riot or punk by any means. Full disclosure, these guys are actually pretty annoying. This song took a while to grow on me. But grow it did, and here it is.

10. Oh! - Sleater-Kinney

Ready to hear something embarrassing? I had never even heard of this band until earlier this year, and apparently they are some kind of Riot Grrrl pioneer group that everyone knows about. If not for Lady Synic correctly guessing a Jeopardy question while I was cluelessly sitting next to her, I would still be living in the dark. Luckily, even with all of its faults, there are no shortage of avenues in this world to discover more fantastic music.

11. Can't Get Me Down - Lo-Ball

Another one that had to grow on me. The constant adding of extra syllables at the end of words just to sound edgy will always annoy me. and the vocalist (Pauley Perrette of former NCIS fame) is very guilty of it here. "Can't Get Me Downnn-nuh" will agitate me forever. However the rest of the song is better than good enough for me to overlook this.

12. Flame Thrower - Janet Gardner

Another exception. You remember Janet Gardner from some of my earlier posts, yes? Former singer of Vixen, had a new album come out last year that was very OK? Well this song is from a previous record of hers, and it is the key song to listen to in order to understand her new badass sound since leaving Vixen.

13. Hate For Sale - The Pretenders

Another exception. I knew about these guys for longer than I've been blogging and obsessing over female vocalists. Chrissie Hynde is one of the all-time greats, and admittedly she had to warm up to me. I wasn't a fan when I was younger. But I sure as hell am a fan now. And I wanted to throw one of their songs on here that you guys wouldn't expect. So I skipped the hits from the 80s and I give you the brilliant title track from their last album. You're welcome.

14. Dawn On A Funeral Day - Tsunami Bomb

The last exception (and last song) of the list. I had heard this song many moons ago, and I remember liking it, but in the years since I had grown a little older, discovered hair metal, and forgot completely about this song. I have to thank my oldest sister for bringing it back into my life.

So gang, there it is. I am kicking my addiction to female vocalists once more. Will I relapse again in the future? Most definitely. Will another compilation post be a result of that relapse? Well, that remains to be seen. Be well my friends.

Synic Selects Vol. XIII - Female Fronted Favorites II

1. Steel Sharpens Steel - Sheer Mag

2. M.I.A. - 7 Year Bitch

3. Seether - Veruca Salt

4. Less Teeth More Tits - Lunachicks

5. Shut Up And Fuck - Betty Blowtorch

6. Kiss Me Girl - Hands Off Gretel

7. Society's Reject - The Soap Girls

8. Beat Your Heart Out - The Distillers

9. Walking In L.A. - Missing Persons

10. Oh! - Sleater-Kinney

11. Can't Get Me Down - Lo-Ball

12. Flame Thrower - Janet Gardner

13. Hate For Sale - The Pretenders

14. Dawn On A Funeral Day - Tsunami Bomb

Familiar Faces V Crystal Visions - Aubrey Straw V Sound Egg

 Folks I have to apologize for the long delay since my last post. It certainly wasn't my intention to let that Offspring review fester at the top of my blog feed for over a week, in fact I wanted to get a new review posted as soon as possible to move on from that one. But my day job got in the way, if you can believe that, and it is really difficult to write new reviews without your laptop. Anyway, after far too long of a delay, here we go.

Tonight I'm taking a look at the single "Familiar Faces V Crystal Visions" by the creative collaborative duo Aubrey Straw and Sound Egg. Yeah, I'm not too sure about those names either. I had to fact check like 6 times to make sure I didn't accidentally swap the song title and artist name. Getting into it, we have a rather fun and easily danceable bass groove, with plenty of percussion and synth sounds to go around. in fact, I have to say the bass groove is my favorite element of the track.

What distracts me from this fantastic instrumentation is when the vocals come in. In the spirit of being completely brutally honest, I have to say these vocals just aren't working for me. The piece comes together in a way that reminds me of if britpop-alt rock band Supergrass joined forces with the Talking Heads. There is something that is very David Byrne-reminiscent about the singer's tone that isn't quite landing. What definitely IS landing, however, is the lyricism behind the voice.

While I don't necessarily completely relate with the subject matter of the piece, as it refers to the idea of lizard people running the world, it is the poetic skill involved in the way the lyrics are written that come together rather brilliantly. Lines such as "See what breeds in familiar faces / generations of loathing and faceless put downs / while an elite lounge of reptilians / in summer pavilions / glare with cold humanoid eyes" paint an elaborate picture of the rich and powerful living behind a human-like facade when really they are something entirely different beneath the skin.

Ultimately I think this collaboration shows a lot of promise. They have two really strong components, arguably the hardest two components to get right in a musical composition. And with a little bit more spit and polish done to their vocal work, I think they would have something really special here. I look forward to seeing what these guys do next.

"Familiar Faces V Crystal Visions" - Aubrey Straw V Sound Egg

2 - 1 - 2021

Let The Bad Times Roll - The Offspring

I hope you all understand that I have to take a brief pause from review requests to discuss this. As my loyal readers should know by now, one of my favorite all-time bands is The Offspring, so I was so excited by the idea of discussing new music from the SoCal group on my blog. After listening to Let The Bad Times Roll 5 times since its midnight release, my excitement has dwindled a bit. Let's get into what happened.

This is their 10th studio album, with their 9th release being Days Go By from 2012. That's a gap of 9 years, which is insanity if you ask me. But the band has been busy, touring with a different shitty 90s pot-rock band every summer, getting a PhD, firing their bass player, filming and re-filming music videos without said bass player, etcetera etcetera. So after such a long wait, this new record had to be mind-blowing. And the sad truth of it is, the only thing mind-blowing about it, is how mind-blowingly mediocre it is.

It opens with "This Is Not Utopia," which is in every conceivable way a rip-off of other punk legends Bad Religion. Listen closely to the chorus of this song. The harmonic chants "The roots... the roots of America," is straight out of Greg Graffin's catalogue. Even the title of it is super reminiscent of BR. I should say that I don't hate this song, but it's not an Offspring song. And considering what Dexter said of the new album: "It sounds like our old shit!" I'm starting to think Dex has forgotten what their old shit sounded like.

From there we go into the title track. "Let The Bad Times Roll" is a celebratory punk anthem of the shitstorm that our country/world has become. Knowing what I do about the band members and their political views, it is more than safe to say this song is a political commentary on the Trump presidency. But here's the thing with that: he's not even the fucking president anymore. They waited so long, that their big politically-driven title track, and the theme of the whole album, is no longer relevant.

Scattered among the mostly forgettable filler songs are a couple gems, though. "Hassan Chop" isn't bad, minus the whispered lines. "We Never Have Sex Anymore" was leaked online some years ago now, and it resurfaced quietly as the albums 3rd sleeper single. Many fans hate it, but I actually have grown to love it. "The Opioid Diaries" and "Army Of One" are other notable tracks that almost resemble classic Offspring.

Also thrown into the track listing are "Coming For You," the first single (which was released literally 6 years ago) the unnecessary "Lullaby" serves as the album closer, following the piano rendition of "Gone Away," which is much better when seen live so you can forget how Dexter's voice just isn't cut out for ballads, and then there's the strange and completely out of place instrumental cover of "In The Hall Of The Mountain King," which comes right after "Never Have Sex..." so it is just a very confusing transition.

In conclusion, I have been excited for a new Offspring record for 9 years. But that is not what I got. What I got was a Bad Religion rip-off, a smattering of pop-punk borderline emo filler stuff, a couple unwanted covers, and 4 new Offspring songs. Between their last 3 studio releases, I really find myself believing that the band is struggling with a sort of identity crisis and their fans are suffering for it. Was it worth the wait? Nah. Will I still go see them live as many times as I can? For sure. 

Let The Bad Times Roll - The Offspring

4 - 16 - 2021

1. This Is Not Utopia

2. Let The Bad Times Roll

3. Behind Your Walls

4. Army Of One

5. Breaking These Bones

6. Coming For You

7. We Never Have Sex Anymore

8. In The Hall Of The Mountain King

9. The Opioid Diaries

10. Hassan Chop

11. Gone Away

12. Lullaby

Favorite Track: Army Of One

Least Favorite Track: Lullaby

Feeling Me - JD Mac

 Well you know what happens after you have your first time, don't you? You immediately want to dive back in for a second time. Good news, readers; that's exactly what we're gonna do together tonight. Tonight is the night that we take the plunge back into the world of hip hop. 

This time around, we're going to be looking at the new single "Feeling Me" by the one JD Mac. The collaborative track with Jae Mazor wastes no time in making it's message clear: "This one's for the ladies... I know you're feeling me right? I know your feeling me" These are the first lines of the song, and also the last lines to feature any sort of subtlety. From here, listeners are subjected to rhyme after rhyme about how special this girl is. So special, in fact, that the artist wants "to go down down down..." Hot, raw, on the bed, in the shower, even some whipped cream. This song really has it all.

But enough about the lyrics. I have to give the artist credit here where the credit is certainly due. The track is built around a beat that is as strong as any hip hop song I've ever heard. The balance between the lead singer's deep booming voice and the higher pitched electronically-tweaked voices are my favorite part of the song's composition. The changing pitches keep me reeled in as a listener and constantly engaged/interested in what they're saying. The chorus on this one is particularly fun, and I could've listened to it for a while without getting sick of it. In fact, I didn't even notice it fading out until the song was over.

Something I would maybe consider doing differently in the future, and keep in mind that this is merely commentary on this specific track and not the artist himself, is polishing up his lyricism. Again, as it was requested I review this track, I listened to this track 7 times and none of his others, so all I know of him came from this one song. But on this one song, his lyrics leave absolutely nothing to the listeners' imagination. There are hardly any big metaphors, just straight and to the point. He's a bit like the hip hop equivalent of Steel Panther or Psychosexual in this sense: it's hard to be tongue-in-cheek when your tongue is in your girlfriend. While the directness of the lyrics didn't bother me per se, I would really love to see him be a little more poetic in future releases. The structure and balance of the song really shine here, and with some perfected lyrics, I think JD Mac would have something really special.

"Feeling Me" - JD Mac

1 - 14 - 2021

Lockdown - Say Yes, Do Nothing

 Hey guys, remember a while back when I discussed a single called "Hum of the Hidden Machine"? Well the artist behind that single is back. Metaphorically speaking, of course; for they are home under lockdown just like the rest of us, as the title of their latest single would imply. "Lockdown" hit streaming services several weeks ago, nearly a full year into our "2 week quarantine."

Of all the singles I've heard thus far that were written about or inspired by the Coronavirus Pandemic and the house arrest or mask mandate that came along with it, this one is arguably the catchiest. What I immediately notice about this track is how night and day it is compared to "Hidden Machine." This one features an almost surfy skate-punk-like sound to it, or perhaps a skatey surf-punk sound. Soon the vocalist joins in, and his voice reminds me very much of what would happen if we were to combine Elvis Costello with Joe Strummer of The Clash. And as you can imagine just from my description, these two elements of the punkish tone of the guitar and the Strum-ello voice combine beautifully.

As I mentioned in a previous post where I discussed the record "Synergy" by Gardner & James, I talked about how I didn't really care much for their song "Talk To Myself" because the last thing I want from the music I listen do during lockdown, is to be reminded that we're in lockdown. However, I have since used this song in my Quarantine Synic Selects bonus EP, so I clearly have gotten over this. But even if I wasn't, I would still appreciate this single. There's something so mindlessly fun about it, where you could shut your brain off and just enjoy it regardless of what it's about. But if you were to really pay attention to the lyrics, you would hear some lines such as "The brokenhearted lovers are all calling it quits / They say 'Never love a girl with the mannequin tits / But she gives me what I want now / and we're a Lockdown'" Full disclosure, the lyrics took me a few listens and a few more reads to really get, but what I believe the artist is saying, with special thanks and interpretation credits to Lady Synic, so I guess I should say what WE believe the artist is saying... is that this song is 3 accounts of different people involved in toxic/destructive relationships who feel like they should get out of them, but can't because they are locked down with their partner, both metaphorically and literally, and decide it is better to be partnered and abused than be completely alone during the times of Covid. It's tragically beautiful in this way, assuming Lady Synic and I are correct in our interpretation...

What I think my favorite thing about this song is, is how contrary the subject matter of the lyrics are compared to the song's overall sound. It's fast in tempo, and just drives forward in a really fun but headbangy sort of way, all the while the song's message is a massive bummer. I love when songs do this. You're so engaged in the music you don't even realize what the lyrics are telling you.

"Lockdown" - Say Yes, Do Nothing

1 - 23 - 2021

Through The Cracks - Dusty Grant

 This one is quite unlike anything I've reviewed before. "Through The Cracks" is the latest single from Dusty Grant, and I have to say I love how much I learned about this artist just from this one song. I'm actually quite fascinated by the general sound of this track. It reminds me mostly of some of the deeper ballads from current metal bands, like Stone Sour or even Five Finger Death Punch. There are definitely some Corey Taylor and Ivan Moody tones to his voice. And maybe it's the tone of his voice, or just the fact that his name is Dusty, but I would argue that there's even some country flavors in there as well. Very subtle country though; so don't listen to the single and shit all over me for not knowing what country music sounds like.

While the single is quite simple in its composition, as it just features a singer, an acoustic guitar, some synthesized sounds and some percussion, it is how these elements are used that create a unique feeling. Grant has created a somberness here that hits you with overwhelming power. He brings a voice to hard to experiences we've all had before; trying our hardest just to fail anyway, our friends letting us down, and people we hold close drifting away from us. However, unless I'm misinterpreting the lyrics here, it doesn't sound to me like a message of hope. It's almost depressing how pessimistic of a message it actually is.

Moving past the grayness of the song's message, I do have to mention the fact that upon my first and second listens of the single, where I just simply focused on the sounds and overall experience, rather than the meaning itself, I found it to be quite compelling. "Through The Cracks" is a perfect example of how sometimes you may not like what someone says, or some things that may happen, but you can still enjoy the music. The intro might actually be my favorite part of the whole track, with the acoustic riff and electronic key melody playing off each other create a moving musical opening that actually fills me as a listener with wonder and intrigue.

What I am interested in after this single is to dig deeper into Dusty's catalogue and see what he has to offer that maybe touches on other, perhaps lighter, subjects. I can hear some real talent here and am very interested to see what else he does with it.

"Through The Cracks" - Dusty Grant

1 - 29 - 2021

Synic Selects Vol. XII - Working UnderCovers

 As most of you already know, I like to put up a new one of these compilations once every month, so the fact that we are now on Synic Selects Vol. XII means that this edition officially marks the one year anniversary of these compilation posts, and, more or less, the entire Synic Spins blog. What a fun year it's been. Since I just did a massive 2020 year-end reflection, I'll spare you the emotion-filled gooey crap. But I do just want to say another quick thank you to all of you readers, and all of the talented artists who have trusted me with reviewing their work for the public to see. It's truly humbling, and an incredible honor to be so warmly welcomed into the indie music community. Again, thank you.

A fun concept I had (not an ORIGINAL concept, but a fun one nonetheless) for this month's compilation is to just post a handful of my favorite covers by some of my personal favorite bands. But for the compilation marking my first anniversary, I had to give it a little something extra; something to set it apart from the rest. So to spare you from any further extra reading, after all everyone always skips the personal anecdotes at the beginning of online recipes, you probably skip these intros too, I give you Synic Selects Vol. XII - Working UnderCovers.

1. Soul Man - The Blues Brothers (Sam & Dave)

I have loved this song for a long time. I first fell in love with this song at a young age, and I was so naive back then I thought that The Blues Brothers were a real band, and not just a cover band from SNL skits. I discovered it on an old kids' show called Drake & Josh, where the title duo actually performs the song in a school talent show. When I first heard the same Sam & Dave, I thought it was in reference to the Van Halen frontmen, and certainly not a legendary blues duo.

2. Land Of Confusion - Disturbed (Genesis)

One of the many bands on here that most of you are expecting to see. Maybe you were expecting to see their more recent "Sound of Silence" cover? Nah. This one is it for me. "Land of Confusion" is in my personal list as one of the world's greatest songs of all time. A highlight from the Phil Collins era of Genesis, this track's legacy in my world of music was permanently slated when David Draiman and the guys put their spin on it. Imagine my jubilance upon seeing this performed live. A few times, actually; not that I'm bragging or anything.

3. Bad Company - Five Finger Death Punch (Bad Company)

This is one of the handful of songs that my sister showed me when I first got into 5FDP. It's one of their earlier covers, and remains to this day one of their best. It remains in my regular shuffle whenever I play my favorite Death Punch songs, and most definitely deserves a spot on this list.

4. The Green Manalishi (With The Two Prong Crown) - Judas Priest (Fleetwood Mac)

Probably my favorite Fleetwood Mac song, as long as it's not Fleetwood Mac performing it. I don't have much for emotional connection to this one, but I did see the metal gods play it live in concert, which was every bit as badass as you'd expect.

5. Pump It Up - Hurtsmile (Elvis Costello)

This song is one of many that I will point people to whenever I make the argument that Gary Cherone is one of the most underrated frontmen of the last 40 years. He did tremendous work with Extreme, successfully nailed Roth, Hagar, and his own material singing for Van Halen, and formed a handful of other groups in his days since. Here he covers Elvis Costello, and to say he nails it would be a criminal understatement.

6. Bad Romance - Halestorm (Lady GaGa)

Since their conception, Halestorm has been known to release a Covers EP in between every studio album release. With their wide array of covers, it was hard to pick just one. But since the guest post we did some weeks back about the new GaGa record, I've gained a newfound appreciation for the artist. To celebrate that, I went with Halestorm's cover of one of the Lady's best songs.

7. School Days - AC/DC (Chuck Berry)

AC/DC are definitely not known for their covers, since their first record in the early 70s they have stopped recording covers, so I had to really dig deep for this one. Obviously I picked the Chuck Berry one.

8. I Fought The Law - The Clash (The Crickets)

Again, no deep personal connection with this one. But it's always fun to drop the bomb on someone that a band's best song is actually a cover of someone else. Granted this may or may not be The Clash's best song, it's still one of them. And undeniably belongs on this list.

9. You Really Got Me - Van Halen (The Kinks)

Duh.

10. Mama Weer All Crazee Now - The Runaways (Slade)

There are so many versions of this song. More famously, it's one of the handful of songs that Quiet Riot ripped off of the better band Slade from the 70s. After about 600 line up changes, Quiet Riot is now a Quiet Riot cover band, who was basically a Slade cover band. Beside the point; I fucking love The Runaways. 

11. Anarchy In The UK - Motley Crue - White Punks On Dope (The Sex Pistols The Tubes)

When people think of a cover by Motley Crue, 99/100 fans would come up with "Smokin' In The Boys Room" before they thought of this one. But there's no way in hell I was gonna put that on this list. I actually turmoiled with this one though, but it was actually between this one and the Crue's version of The Tubes' "White Punks On Dope." Actually, you know what? Fuck it I'm going with my gut here.

12. Dirty Laundry - Nickelback (Don Henley)

I'm gonna drop a hot take here, and it's not the obvious hot take that Nickelback is actually better than people are willing to admit, because everyone knows that already. The hot take is actually that Dirty Laundry is the best song that any of The Eagles ever came out with, either during their time in the band or solo. Only because Funk #49 by The James Gang doesn't count. Anyway, this cover is killer. I only wish they'd play it live more often.

13. Folsom Prison Blues - Budderside (Johnny Cash)

This one is brand new, actually. Released just this past Friday. Budderside recently revamped their identity with a fresh new line up and a serious overhaul to their sound. What put the band on my radar is their tremendous, powerful and infection energy when they're on stage. I saw them open for LA Guns a few years ago, and believe it or not I would argue that these guys could have stolen the show if they had more of the songs from the new album as part of their setlist back then. They did play "Folsom Prison Blues," however, and upon meeting the band they assured me that it would appear on their sophomore album. They did not disappoint.

Synic Selects Vol. XII - Working UnderCovers Disc 2: Joan Jett Edition

1. A.C.D.C. - The Sweet

2. Tulane - Chuck Berry

3. Androgynous - The Replacements

4. I Love Rock n Roll - The Arrows

5. Crimson And Clover - Tommy James And The Shondells

6. Everyday People - Sly and The Family Stone

7. Star Star - The Rolling Stones

8. You Don't Own Me - Lesley Gore

9. Rebel Rebel - David Bowie

10. Roadrunner - The Modern Lovers

11. Light Of Day - Bruce Springsteen

12. Nag - The Halos

13. Bird Dog - The Everly Brothers

Synic Selects Vol. XII - Working UnderCovers

Disc 1

1. Soul Man - The Blues Brothers

2. Land Of Confusion - Disturbed

3. Bad Company - Five Finger Death Punch

4. The Green Manalishi (With The Two Prong Crown) - Judas Priest

5. Pump It Up - Hurtsmile

6. Bad Romance - Halestorm

7. School Days - AC/DC

8. I Fought The Law - The Clash

9. You Really Got Me - Van Halen

10. Mama Weer All Crazee Now - The Runaways

11. White Punks On Dope - Motley Crue

12. Dirty Laundry - Nickelback

13. Folsom Prison Blues - Budderside

Disc 2

1. A.C.D.C. - Joan Jett & The Blackhearts

2. Tulane - Joan Jett & The Blackhearts

3. Androgynous - Joan Jett & The Blackhearts

4. I Love Rock n Roll - Joan Jett & The Blackhearts

5. Crimson And Clover - Joan Jett & The Blackhearts

6. Everyday People - Joan Jett & The Blackhearts

7. Star Star - Joan Jett & The Blackhearts

8. You Don't Own Me - Joan Jett & The Blackhearts

9. Rebel Rebel - Joan Jett & The Blackhearts

10. Roadrunner - Joan Jett & The Blackhearts

11. Light Of Day - Joan Jett & The Blackhearts

12. Nag - Joan Jett & The Blackhearts

13. Bird Dog - Joan Jett & The Blackhearts

The Zia Fantasy - Minaxi

 Guys I'm not sure what kind of second-rate music blogger I am, but I have to make a confession here; I have never once in my life heard of the term "shoegaze." But after looking it up whilst listening to the Zia Fantasy EPs by Minaxi, I get it now. Indie-alt rock, with distorted guitars and blurred vocals. Knowing that now, Minaxi fits the bill perfectly. They described themselves to me as shoegaze, and what sort of blogger would I be if I didn't do a little research before writing a post? I have to at least pretend to be professional here.

Also in their description to me, they mentioned a resemblance to The Smashing Pumpkins. And again, this description is spot on. The EP opening track "Full of Love" creates the exact same feeling using very similar techniques as the Pumpkins' hit "Today." Putting these two tracks side by side, it becomes very obvious to listeners that this is where Minaxi has found some of their influence.

It's hard for me to really dig into this one, because the nature of shoegaze (from the brief skimming I did of some online references) is that it all is distorted and blends together. And one of the big things I always talk about in these posts is the mixing. And while I really don't love the mixing on this record, it's clearly a style choice and the artist did it this way on purpose. The two elements, however, that do really work well for me on this EP are the harmonies (another thing I always talk about) and the tone of the guitars. The guitar tone, when combined with the vocals and harmonies, creates an almost hollow feeling in the listener that I can't quite explain. It actually creates a unique amount of depth within a record with a seemingly one-dimensional method of mixing and mastering.

With every song closely resembling the next, this EP almost feels like a single 23-minute song with brief pauses every 4-5 minutes. But that's just the first in the trilogy of EPs. The second opens much different. It feels more unique to me rather than a direct draw from Smashing Pumpkins. What they do here in creating a sonic bridge from the indie alt rock world of the US to that of India is unlike anything I have experienced before, so to call it unique is a drastic understatement. 

The Zia Fantasy EPs - Minaxi

11 - 27 - 2020

Noor

1. Full of Love

2. Sehra

3. Bug

4. Leaving Feeling

5. Yellow Waving

Isra

1. Smile

2. Grace

3. Intezaar

4. B

5. Listen

Luna

1. Theresa

2. Thistle Toe

3. It's Got Me

4. Naina

Favorite Track: Smile

Least Favorite Track: Naina

I Love U In Real Life - Weekend Lovers

 Ladies and gentlemen, imagine for me if you will, a handful of bands such as Fleetwood Mac, The Mamas and The Papas, a sprinkling of the Seattle Indie scene, with some dashes of Debbie Harry, new wave, and a big ol' cupful of artpop. Now throw that whole strange assortment into a blender. What would you get? The Weekend Lovers.

The album opens with "Baby," a laid-back indie pop rock tune that immediately sets the tone for the whole record. Truth be told, when I was introduced to the band I was a little worried that I would absolutely detest their sound. They are inspired by some of my least favorite bands to ever exist. But I was pleasantly surprised. These guys are the perfect band to get into for the hipster college crowd who claims they love Fleetwood Mac, but they actually don't. Knowing some lyrics to "The Chain" doesn't make you a real fan, kiddo. Sorry, but the truth hurts sometimes.

Each track flows almost seamlessly into the next on this album, which is great if you're trying to relax and create a "vibe." Weekend Lovers are quite honestly the ultimate vibe band. There is an exciting tempo change just under halfway through the record, where we really see the blend of Seattle indie and artpop come to life. "Big As The Dark" and its chaser "Older" are probably the grungiest tracks on the record, and what a welcome addition they are. I only wish that "Big As The Dark" didn't open with such a loud, harsh high pitched alarm-like noise.

For the most part, every track on this record reminds me of some of Debbie Harry's vocals from Blondie, specifically on tracks like "Union City Blue," where you can tell the vocalist is really belting, but in the mix she is turned down so as not to create to heavy of a sound. Basically it's to avoid sounding like she's yelling, like Heart and The B-52's do. 

While the record does create a consistent chill grungy artpop vibe, I have to mention my issue with the way the album is mixed. Everything melds together because they are all the same level. Even the guitar solos blend into everything else. It's like listening to stonewashed jeans. Nice, but just mellow and faded. And this is a shame, because if you really dig into each track you can hear some really great elements there. The choruses are catchy, the vocalist has a great sound and talent, and the instrumentation itself compliments these vocals beautifully.

Full disclosure, and this will come as no surprise to any of you who have read my blog before, but I think my favorite element on this record are the harmonies. Especially prominent on the George Michael cover "Father Figure." They really shine (even the mixing) on the more upbeat and faster tempo-ed tracks on this record (looking at you, "Larvae Love.") They have some great potential here, and I believe if they polished and perfected their mixing they would have something truly special.

I Love U In Real Life - Weekend Lovers

11 - 6 - 2020

1. Baby

2. Me

3. 2Soon

4. Big As The Dark

5. Older

6. Lost In Face

7. Father Figure

8. Larvae Love

9. The Moon On Mars

Favorite Track: Larvae Love

Least Favorite Track: Baby

Set Me Free - Ooberfuse

Just in case you folks were wondering just how behind I am on knocking out all these requests, here's a great example for you. This single was brand spankin' new when the artist asked that I review it for them. That was January 22nd. Now here we are, well into March, and the band has since released another single on streaming services on February 12th. So yeah, I suck. But I'm just one person, and I promise I'm working on it! Kinda. 

Tonight I'm taking a look at the new single "Set Me Free" by musical duo Ooberfuse. It's a techno pop track of sorts, that actually creates an interesting depth of feeling within me as I listen. For a snappy pop song, it's surprisingly somber. Or, perhaps it's surprisingly snappy for a somber pop song. Don't worry, I'll explain. Though like all of my reviews, I encourage you to listen to the music yourself so my words make a little bit more sense as you read them.

Like any techno pop song, the track opens with some light percussion, and eventually the layers of synth and digital beats come in one at a time until the sound is thick enough to cut with a knife. This sonic build up is perhaps my favorite element of the song, as it does exactly what any good song intro should: it gets you head-bopping or toe-tapping before you even know what the song is really all about. 

The other element I really appreciate about this track, are the lyrics. They're much stronger than the repetitive swill that floods the radio today. I did use the world "flood" purposefully, as my favorite line from the song is "take a step closer til you really hear / living waters drowning my fear" That's some deep shit, guys. This is where the 'depth of feeling' I mentioned earlier comes into play. The synth beat inspires dancing, shots, having a good time. While everything about the vocals inspires the opposite. They're dark, they're emotional. They're wildly different than the music they're paired with. But it is actually in this sonic mis-match where the song finds it's footing and lands successfully. It's actually quite interesting and engaging when a song's music and lyrics are coming from two different emotions. I know I've mentioned him several times before, but Springsteen is actually the king of doing this. He'll have his audience dancing and head bopping along while he's singing about poverty, death, and disaster. (See "Roulette")

The one thing with this song that bugs me, and really it's me being nit-picky, is the vocal delivery. My biggest pet peeve in songs is when lyrics are whispered. The Romantics do it near the end of "What I Like About You," countless other bands have done it, and I hate it every single time it's done. In my opinion, there is no good time for whispering in music. So my issue with this track is that the vocal style sounds very breathy to me; almost as if the lyrics were whispered- on key- and the vox volume was then turned up to hide the fact that she's whispering. Maybe I'm way off base and this is her singing voice, in which case maybe I should apologize a little, as I'm not trying to shit on your entire existence as a singer. Hell, I can't sing for shit, so who am I to talk? But if this is just a style choice, I don't think it's working for me. She can find the right notes, but if she gave it some more throat power I think she would really have something here.

"Set Me Free" - Ooberfuse

1 - 22 - 2021

What Did You Mean? - Bmixx

 They say you never forget your first. And after tonight, I know that cliche is actually true. Because tonight is the night I dive headfirst into the world of hiphop. Before even listening to the song, I have to give Bmixx some credit. I don't know if he knows this about me, but hiphop is among my least favorite musical genres. In fact, I never listen to it. So the fact that he ignored this fact and requested a review anyway is very brave. So kudos to you, sir.

The track features a solid beat, which even I know is crucial in any hiphop song. And what's more is the pacing of the lines matches up with the beat quite nicely. He doesn't slack or trip on any of his words, and he's able to create a consistent sound throughout the piece, while also keeping it interesting when he breaks things up with the choruses here and there.

As a hiphop song, I must say that I didn't hate it. And I know that might not sound like much of a compliment, but if you know me and my opinion at all, you would see that it actually is a pretty big compliment. I listened to it three times before I even started writing this, and usually I can't even sit through a single listen of any hiphop or rap song. (Except maybe for old Eminem stuff, cause who didn't have an Eminem phase?)

The big thing that stands out, for me, is the lyrics and the message behind the track. Maybe the lines start out a little lazy in the beginning, when he rhymes villain with villain, but he certainly picks up from there. And the shining star of the track isn't in the complexity of the lyrics, but the relatability of them. He fell for the wrong girl, and he's left feeling like a shell of a man because of it. Who hasn't been there before?

So if you're looking for some hiphop, and you're someone who has ever felt anything, check out Bmixx sometime. He gets it. Cause like the rest of us, he's been there. And he's not afraid to talk about it.

Better Late Than Never - Out Of Spite

 Ladies and gents, I'm really excited to share this one with you tonight. I've had it in my inbox for quite some time now, and I am finally able to give it the attention it deserves. What happens when you mix alt-punk and metal, with just a sprinkling of new-wave? Well, out of spite, I'm not gonna tell you. Okay, that was a cheap joke. But it was right there, I had to do it.

A couple songs in, and it is very clear to me who they remind me of. Take your favorite classic Cali punk band, such as NOFX or Bad Religion (pre-90s BR) and put them in a bed with current hard rock band Budderside. Give it about 9 months, and you'd end up with Out Of Spite. The album opener reminded me a little of The Knack as well. Not strongly, but just a little. I know I've said this before, but the songs on this record fit right in with the soundtracks of the Tony Hawk games. And if he were to make a new one, I would want to see one of these thrown into the mix.

Admittedly, I was into their sound from the get-go. Each subsequent track added new flavors and variety. While I was immediately into their new take on modern punk rock, it was their eponymous theme song that really threw me for a loop. There are horns, even a dubstep interlude. (Remember dubstep??) I hated it back then, but I do think it has its uses. It's a fun inclusion here, but I am really glad it's not in every track. Punk-rock-ska-step just seems like a lot to take in, doesn't it? But it makes for a fun, danceable-yet-angsty headbanger here.

For some good old-fashioned punk chanting, or chant-punk if you're down to clown, check out the track "Carnival of Chaos." The layered vocals create a really cool effect here, even though all of the layers are just one guy (it is a one-man-band, after all) Spite still achieves the sound one looks for in punk flavored harmonies. Each voice is delivering the same (or similar) vocals, but it slightly different pitches, with the timing off on a couple just to keep things interesting. It's actually brilliant in its sloppiness, as it encourages listeners to chant along and feel like one of the band, rather than an audience member. This effect continues in other tracks, including the aggressive ska-inspired "The People I've Met."

There is a very consistent sound throughout the entirety of the record, and for a debut record I have to say that it shows quite a bit of promise. The artist sold himself to me as an "eclectic dance rock band," and while that is mostly accurate, I feel that is selling himself short. There's so much more going on here. It's more like eclectic-dance-ska-punk-rock that experiments with dubstep on rare occasion. While the dubstep was a fun addition, I believe the artist should direct his attention to the hard percussion, groovy bass and wild riffs featured in the tracks. I don't know where the artist drew his inspiration from, but it's working. 

An open letter to Out Of Spite: 

Embrace the punk, dude. It's WORKING for you. There's tons of good shit from the 80s to late 90s to draw inspiration from. For ska influence, I highly recommend The Interrupters. Cheers my friend, Synic.

Better Late Than Never - Out Of Spite

9 - 30 - 2020

1. The Hype

2. Serene Solanum

3. Out Of Spite

4. Carnival Of Chaos

5. The People I've Met

6. Gave It All Away

7. Past Dreams

Favorite Track: Gave It All Away

Least Favorite Track: The Hype

Resurrection - Mickey Homicide

 Ladies and gentlemen, tonight we dive into some musical new-old-stock together. What I mean by this is, the album we're looking at tonight - Resurrection by Mickey Homicide, was uploaded to streaming services just last year, however the songs were written and recorded back in the 90s. So there you have it: new old stock.

Some of you may remember a review I did back in December for an artist by the name of Reckless Velvet. Well he's back, this time as a member of Mickey Homicide, alongside singer Adam Webster, bassist Matthew Andrewartha, and drummer Daniel Noss to complete the fearsome foursome. What immediately excites me about this record is how reminiscent it is to 80s and 90s metal. What keeps me excited, are the different flavors and genres that we pick up along the way. The opening track, par exemple, "Collection of Fools" is essentially a metal-ized drinking song. And what fascinates my eardrums even further, is the undertones of swing that is present in their sound. It is the second track, "The Little Green Elephant," where the swing comes to the forefront and the metal waits until around the 2:00 mark to break back in. Green Elephant is bluesy and swingy, and makes me think of what it would sound like if Brian Setzer and the Stray Cats went metal. Some punk too, but mostly metal. Metal punk? Punk metal? The instrumentation is where the metal comes from, while the vocalists' showman-y style is what reminds me of vintage punk.

One note I have to make here, and it can be taken generally as an all-encompassing note, but it is more specifically concerning the track "Into My Room." I love the sound they were going for. The sexy and aggressive guitar tone is spot on, and the raspy-angsty vocals compliment these tones perfectly. What I wish they did differently, however, was turn the bass way up. The bass groove is the unsung hero of this song, and it deserves a spotlight. If they turned it way up so you could hear it over the guitars during the verses and bridge, then allow the guitars to come in over it during the choruses and solos, you'd have my pick for coolest song of the year. It's certainly still up there, but it just falls shy with that bass groove being lost in the mix.

To no one's surprise, the guitar work on this album is simply marvelous. The tone throughout the whole record, and the solos that are done are just the right mix of technical and soulful. What surprised me about this record, was the range captured by the vocalist. One minute he's reminding me of Irish drinking songs, then metal Brian Setzer, then a less-bothersome James Hetfield (See "Move Over Sister" for the best Metallica song not recorded by Metallica, with some guest vocals by Jim Morrison of The Doors.) There is so much range and variety on this record, it's a shame it wasn't released sooner. 

Resurrection - Mickey Homicide

9 - 6 - 2020

(Recorded in early 90's)

1. Collection Of Fools

2. The Little Green Elephant

3. Poor Little Hitchhiker

4. Into My Room

5. Sex Toy

6. She Doesn't Love Me

7. Move Over Sister

8. Underneath My Bed

Favorite Track: Into My Room

Least Favorite Track: She Doesn't Love Me

Holding On - India Dupriez

 Here's a fun one for you guys to check out. I know I keep saying that electropop is way out of my wheelhouse, but it keeps finding it's way into my inbox. But I'm NOT complaining. In fact, I love the challenge and the variety. Keeps things interesting and keeps my ears on their toes. Now that's a weird visual...

Tonight I have the new single "Holding On" from Aussie teen talent India Dupriez. It starts off the way any current great pop song should. Keep the girl's voice prominent and up front, start slow, throw in a couple effects or samples, and build from there. The track is built quite beautifully, actually. The writing, composition, and overall sound are damn near masterful. I mean no offense when I say this, and I'm sure she probably gets this a lot, but she is really quite amazing for a 17-year-old. I'll go one step further, though. You guys know my general distaste for modern pop, but something about this song really works and resonates with me. So I'll say that not only is this girl great for a 17-year-old, but she's even spectacular for a modern pop singer. Naturally my next statement is gonna be "I would love to hear this girl sing for a punk or metal band..." which is true, but hell I'd listen to anything this girl wanted to sing. She's that good. 

Her voice aside, the mixing and composition of this track are also shining stars here. The percussion and synths drive the song along and build up before the chorusses in the way that they should, but they change things up enough to keep things interesting. Something else I have to make mention of are the lyrics. The message behind the song is really quite beautiful, and it could not have come at a better and more relevant time. It's so much deeper and more powerful than the mindless drivel I hear in today's top 40. This girl has 4 singles available for streaming, and the day a full album gets released, I'll be one of the first listeners.

"Holding On" - India Dupriez

1 - 8 - 2021

Aging Teen Idol - Brent Newbold

 Hey guys, I've got something special for you tonight, and it's not my grandmother's cheesecake recipe. Don't be too disappointed; she makes the worst cheesecake in the world. No, tonight I have for you the newest offering Aging Teen Idol from indie lone wolf Brent Newbold. Let's get into it.

My immediate first impression upon dropping the needle on the first track was "holy hell this is thick." When I call a song thick like that, I mean that there is a, incredibly full sound and many layers to peel back. At any given point throughout the songs, every instrument or element involved are very busy. It's honestly like a bottomless Olive Garden music salad. There are many ingredients involved, and just when you think you're full the waiter brings you another gigantic bowlful. What is intriguing about Newbold's music salad, however, is that while in most cases the riff or melody is the main component that the rest of the song is based around, (like the lettuce or baby spinach, or arugula if you nasty), in Newbold's case, the instrumentation seems to take a back burner to the vocals.

The way that each song is mixed, especially on tracks like "Torn Down," and "Today Becomes Tomorrow," the vocals are much louder and more up front than the other elements of the song. You have to really focus in to dissect the deeper elements, the percussion, keys, guitar riffs, synths, etc. (The fixin's of the salad - carrots, tomatoes, red onion, croutons, etc.) ...have I lost you completely with this salad metaphor yet? What I'm trying to say is, there's a lot of sound going on here, and much of the complexity of the song's instrumentation is almost buried underneath all of the heavy vocals. Normally, this would bother me. Okay, maybe it still does a little here. But it's obvious to see that this isn't poor mixing, it's a style choice. Because those prominent vocals I keep mentioning? They're nearly all harmonies and overdubs. With himself. I'm not sure that I have ever heard an entire record done this way, and it certainly gives Newbold a unique and memorable sound.

If you really dive into it, you'd find yourself an almost folky, punky, indie rock sound. It's refreshing, really. This is made especially clear on tracks such as "Lost Cause" and the instrumental intermission "Try Five." What throws a monkey into the wrench for me, is the seemingly out of place "Shu's Triumphant March Across the Rainbow Bridge." I won't say anything about this track, as I encourage you to spin the album yourself and discover what I might be talking about here.

At the end of the day, I think my biggest gripe with the record is actually found within the overdubs/harmonies I mentioned earlier. I love them as an element, and making them the front runner of each song is a very unique style choice. My drawback with them is that each layer of the harmony is singing in a very similar register to the others. To keep a harmony interesting, you need a few different voices coming together as one. Maybe throw in a lower note in there, and a couple higher ones. Give those harmonies some extra flavor. Kinda like what's going on during "Hope on the Horizon."

Aging Teen Idol - Brent Newbold

6 - 1 - 2020

1. Torn Down

2. Flashback

3. On the Bright Side

4. Today Becomes Tomorrow

5. Open Air

6. Try Five

7. Lost Cause

8. Shu's Triumphant March Across the Rainbow Bridge

9. Hope on the Horizon

10. Wonderful Obsession

11. Free Music on Matson

12. Trying to Live

Favorite Track: Open Air

Least Favorite Track: Today Becomes Tomorrow

Synic Selects Vol. XI - Girls, Girls, Girls

 This is a fun one I had written down for quite some time now. Let's be real, everyone who has ever heard a song has sat with friends and listed all the songs they could think of whose titles contained a woman's name. Whole Lotta Rosie, Come On Eileen, etc. etc. But have you ever sat down with a pad and pen, and listed all your favorite songs whose titles are ONLY the girl's name? If you haven't, good news! I did it for you. If you have, bad news! You're a loser with too much time on your hands just like your old pal Synic. At least you don't refer to yourself as "your old pal Synic." At least, I hope you don't... Referring to yourself in the third person is weird enough, let alone referring to yourself in the third person while also using my name instead of yours... Has this compilation intro gotten weird enough for you? Or should I derail it even further with a couple rhetorical questions?

Anywho, this month's Selects took form pretty quickly at first, I had probably half of them written down almost immediately. Getting enough to fill an album's worth took a little longer, I had to dig into the depths of my music knowledge to pull out 6-7 more songs that were just a girl's name... So without further ado, and no more word vomit, here it is: Synic Selects Vol. XI - Girls, Girls, Girls

1. Jane - Jefferson Airplane

This song takes the spot as album opener because it was the very first one I had written down. In fact, this is the song that inspired the theme for this month's Selects. The truth is, I don't love Jefferson Airplane, Jefferson Starship, or Starship. But I do really love this song.

2. Amanda - Boston

This was the second one I came up with. Boston is one of my first loves. Back in my youth when I only listened to classic rock, my favorite bands were Styx and Boston. Now that I've mentioned Styx, it just occurred to me that I don't have "Lorelei" included on this list... Oops.

3. Jenny - Tommy Tutone

This is probably an obvious one, no? It's the first song people come up with when they think of one-hit-wonders. People may give me a hard time because it's technically called "Jenny (867-5309)" but if we wrote it shorthand and dropped the parenthesis, it's just "Jenny." So, on a technicality, I'm counting it.

4. Melanie - "Weird Al" Yankovic

If you've read my blog before and you're still surprised to see "Weird Al" on here, get your brain examined. He played this at the first concert I've ever been to, and it's been one of my favorite deep-cuts of his ever since.

5. Suzie Q - Creedence Clearwater Revival

Fogerty should go down as one of the all-time greats. Maybe this is not his best work, but it is a hit nevertheless. At the end of the day, even the not-so-great Fogerty songs are still Fogerty songs, and therefore they are still great. Also, if your name is Suzie, then you have probably heard this song.

6. Tulane - Chuck Berry (Honorable Mention - Joan Jett)

Full disclosure, I heard the Joan Jett cover before I heard the original version of this. But the same is true for many of Joan's songs... But more on that later. Even further disclosure, I think I must've heard this song about 15 times before I realized Tulane was a girl's name.

7. Lucille - Little Richard

Having Berry without Richard just seems wrong. Together they re-invented rock n roll, and Lucille is one of Richard's many masterpieces.

8. Carrie - Europe

I had to get some of my hair metal on here, didn't I? Okay, maybe Europe is on the pop end of the hair metal spectrum, but they're there aren't they? And truth be told, I really like this song.

9. Gloria - Laura Branigan

Did you forget this woman existed? Did you ever know she existed? As a kid I thought this was her only song, turns out she has multiple albums. Who knew? I didn't. But this woman can SING, dude. And this track is a slapping family favorite that deserves a place on this list.

10. Helena - My Chemical Romance

Truth be told, I'm a little embarrassed to include this one. They are the kings of emo, and I was never into emo. At all. But they do have a handful of good songs, and this happens to be one of them.

11. Grace - Supergrass

To lighten things up after the brief dive into emo, who better than my favorite brit-pop-rock band Supergrass? To think I almost got to see them last summer... *tear* Anyway, this song is among my favorites of theirs, so it belongs here.

12. Rosanna - Toto

This is a fun little jam from back in the day, that you'll likely hear if you play a classic rock station for a while. "Rosanna" is 50% of the lasting hits that Toto came out with, and admittedly I had to look up the other hit because I always get these guys confused with Asia (the "Africa" people.)

13. Minnie The Moocher - Cab Calloway

Another one that you might argue with me on, as "The Moocher" isn't part of the girl's name. But if people refer to her as Minnie The Moocher, then that is her title, or another name for her, so I'm counting it. And I would be embarrassed if I had a music blog any longer without mentioning the late great Cab Calloway.

BONUS: Lorelei - Styx

...Oops.

So, there you have it. My list of all my favorite Girl's-name-titled-songs. Feel free to add more if there are any that I missed that deserve a spot. That's the beauty of playlists, isn't it? They're for everyone, and they're never truly finished.

Synic Selects Vol. XI - Girls, Girls, Girls

1. Jane - Jefferson Airplane

2. Amanda - Boston

3. Jenny - Tommy Tutone

4. Melanie - "Weird Al" Yankovic

5. Suzie Q - Creedence Clearwater Revival

6. Tulane - Chuck Berry / Joan Jett & The Blackhearts

7. Lucille - Little Richard

8. Carrie - Europe

9. Gloria - Laura Branigan

10. Helena - My Chemical Romance

11. Grace - Supergrass

12. Rosanna - Toto

13. Minnie The Moocher - Cab Calloway

Bonus: Lorelei - Styx

At Mercy's Edge - Joseph Parsons

 Hey guys, hard to believe it's been a full week since my last post. Time has really been flying past me lately; since starting a new job, and celebrating a birthday this past weekend, I haven't really been able to stop and think about much else. But I think it's high time I return to my first love: music.

How's that for a cliche opening? Anyway, today I have the joy of sinking my teeth into the newest offering At Mercy's Edge from Joseph Parsons. Parsons is no stranger to the music business, and that much is made perfectly clear immediately upon diving into this new record. The LP opens with "Greed On Fire," a folky rock track that reminds me of a cross between Springsteen and Hootie and The Blowfish. The music and mixing is very Bruce to me, while I find something in the sound of his voice, especially when he holds a note, even more specifically on a vowel, that reminds me very much of Darius Rucker. Is it working? Why yes, yes I believe it is.

Moving forward, the record only gets more sonically interesting from here. The second track is a little groovier than the first, and reminds me of a more danceable Dire Straits, rather than Springsteen & Rucker. "I fuckin' love that." Track 3 returns to the Springsteen/Rucker sound, but it is much slower and bluesier than the album opener. The lyrics are the shining star on this track, they remind me of some of the great American songwriters such as Cash and Petty, and being delivered in a bluesy folk style helps put Parsons' range on full display. He certainly is no one-trick-pony.

Later tracks illustrate this point even further, as the song "Last One In" can only be described as what should be the end credits song from a Tarantino western. Unusual point to make in a review, I know, but listen to it and I think you'll see what I mean.

My biggest drawback from this album, though, is the rise and fall of it. The first 5 tracks are each unique, interesting, danceable and just engaging. The last 5 are a total 180 from this. Tracks 6, 7, and 8 are ballads, Track 9 is more upbeat with an almost interesting groove, but it is seemingly filler and is lost among the ballads. Track 10 is the title track, but it is another ballad. My reader's know that I am not the biggest fan of ballads, but I do believe they have their place on an album. But I'm not sure how I feel about piling them all in together one after another. People often say a great album should rise and fall, but I'm not sure I agree. I would have it rise, dip a little, and rise up again. Were this an entry in my record collection, I certainly would play it, but I'm not sure I would flip it over and play Side B.

Don't let me be misunderstood, the man can write, he can play, and he can sing. He's proved that fact time and time again. But I would've considered restructuring the record's tracklist, and kicking up the tempo a bit.

At Mercy's Edge - Joseph Parsons

10 - 30 - 2020

1. Greed on Fire

2. Changes Everything

3. Nerve

4. Madness

5. Trouble Zone

6. Last One In

7. One More

8. Living with the Top Down

9. Mule Train

10. Mercy's Edge

Favorite Track: Changes Everything

Least Favorite Track: One More

Strong At The Broken Places - CeCe X

 For those of you who thought my post a while back about Lady GaGa was gonna be a one and done thing, well I was sort of thinking that too. But we thought wrong. Because tonight we're gonna dive into the fun world of electropop. When I started this blog last year, I never imagined I would write those words. But here we are!

Truth be told, guys, I'm not exactly sure I can relate this EP to any widely known artist, because electropop is so far from what I normally listen to, that I'm just not well versed enough to make a comparison. As far as I'm concerned, there is no artist out there who sounds quite like this. The composition of this record is really spectacular. The mixing is perfect, the music is synthesized, of course, as is the nature of the beast with electropop, hence the "electro" part, but it is not synthesized in such a heavy manner where it is distracting and nauseating. She doesn't rely on the catchy tune to create listenable music like the artists in today's top 40. In fact, it is her voice that is the shining star of the record.

CeCe X clearly knows her vocal strengths, as she is able to flaunt her range and the varying tempos that she can keep up with. Simply put, the artist knows her craft, and she has nearly perfected it. What kept me interested in this EP was the variety. While most of the tracks are true-to-form electropop, with the trebley vocals and heavy synth sounds, each one has a unique rhythm and other elements of sound that keep a track unique from the others. The standout track here, for me, is "Full Stop" where the synthesized sounds and keys seem to take a back burner, and as a result the song becomes more percussion driven, which works beautifully with her voice. The tempo is interesting, almost to the point of hypnosis. Maybe the ending could have used a little more spit and polish, but this is an otherwise gorgeous song. It needs to be in a car chase scene, or training montage in a movie someday. 

One small note that I would consider tweaking, and this might just be commentary on the entire genre of electropop, as I say again I do not typically delve into, is that there seems to be a shortage of bass elements in the tracks on this EP. There's percussion, and plenty of treble, but there just isn't enough bass tones to counter balance the high pitches of the treble and the vocals. Granted, if it were up to me, I would put CeCe X in front of a hard rock band and throw them on tour with September Mourning and Stitched Up Heart. But not everything's up to me, is it?

In summary, CeCe X is a tremendous vocalist. And try as I might, I am just not a big fan of electropop. But I am a fan of this EP. My only wish is that there was some more bass thrown into the mix.

Strong At The Broken Places - CeCe X

12 - 14 - 2020

1. Same Air

2. Full Stop

3. Daughter

4. Flames

5. Run

6. Siren

Favorite Track: Full Stop

Least Favorite Track: Siren

Infinidy - The Acute

 Ladies and gents, tonight I have a fun little treat for you; the latest EP from NYC duo The Acute. Infinidy dropped just last year, and it does my heart good to know that so many artists out there have managed to create and inspire in what will go down as the worst year in human history. Some good does come out of the bad sometimes, doesn't it?

Right off the bat, I love what this album does. It lifts me up, and drops me right in the middle of 80's London. The guitars, the synth sounds, the techno harmonies, the percussion, and the powerful, booming vocals create such a vivid and nostalgic tapestry that I find myself wanting a red leather jacket, and for my girlfriend to be wearing neon leg warmers and excessive amounts of hairspray. Every track on this EP paints the same picture, though the second track strays from this a bit. Imagine if you will, that English alt-pop and The Clash had a baby that, somehow, ended up speaking French. There you have the second track, "La Souris Politique."

This EP is such a fun blend of punk, rock, electronica and pop that really resonates with me quite well. I'm having a very hard time picking a least favorite track and favorite track. I might have to pick "La Souris.." as least favorite simply because I barely remember anything from the French classes I took in grade school.

Each track also features a noticeable female vocalist chiming in from time to time in the background, and my only note on this EP is that I wish she was featured more. The two of them together create a really interesting and layered dynamic that reminds me of X (The "Los Angeles" band) or maybe what the B-52s COULD HAVE been if they weren't so nauseating and terrible.

I actually feel kinda bad for how short this review is, but the truth is I have no notes. I listened to the EP 3 almost 4 times through while writing this. My biggest notes are, more balance between the two vocalists, and just keep making more music in general? For real, I ran out of music before I was ready. If you like UK first wave Alt-punk-rock radio, such as Morrissey, Blondie, The Clash, and maybe even some of the eclectic outliers like Captain Sensible and X, then you'll love this EP.

Infinidy - The Acute

12 - 1 - 2020

1. Newsical

2. La Souris Politique

3. Nyla

4. Camouflage

Favorite Track: Newsical

Least Favorite Track: La Souris Politique

Dragons - Clint Slate

 Hey gang, miss me? I appreciate all of your continued support, and your patience as I took some time away from the blog. There were some recent developments in my life that required my full attention, but now I'm back to continue giving you all the good word. And in my first post back in the blogosphere I have the honor and pleasure of digging into the now one-month-old album Dragons by Clint Slate.

The album was described to me as "created using the cut-up technique and merging rock, pop, folk, electro or hip-hop to generate a truly unique identity." Truth be told, I am no artist; I am merely a humble music fan and amateur critic. That said, the term "cut-up technique" is completely lost on me. I have no idea what it means. If anyone can tell me more about this technique, please feel free to drop a comment below, or email me, or leave me alone in my confusion and bewilderment. Of course, I could Google it, but what fun is that? Anyway, my immediate response to this description was fear and worry. Merging that many different sounds together would just create a really busy and confusing genre salad, wouldn't it? Well, apparently not.

Going through this album, the general sound actually works quite well. It's quite unlike anything that I have heard before. There is some beauty to the unique, almost strangeness that each song has. Each song on the album is wildly different from the next, but it is in their differences that the similarities come out. Or perhaps it is in the similarities that the differences come out. Confused? Good. Me too. What I mean to say is, I'm not sure I can pinpoint what genre this actually fits with. I can really dissect the songs and hear the elements of rock, folk, electro, pop, even hip-hop that the artist mentioned. Just in the first track alone, the song starts as some kind of electro-hip-hop sound, then seemingly out of nowhere transitions to a light rock song, just before the 1:00 mark. I even looked at Lady Synic and told her "I can't believe this is the same song." ....maybe that's the cut-up technique? And just to revisit the previous paragraph, where I talked about the confusing genre salad, some of the songs on this album remind me very much of UK first wave alternative, so I wanna toss some of that into the mix. Just think Depeche Mode, Tears For Fears, English Beat, etc. See "Dead Noise" and I think you'll get it.

What shines on this album, aside from its eccentricity and variety, is the mixing that the artist achieved. Each song is balanced damn near perfectly, I don't find myself ever wishing that something was turned down a hair, or the vocals were louder. The artist and engineer clearly spent a lot of time polishing this record, and it shows. What I think would be beneficial for the artist to work on, however, is exercising his vocals and practicing new techniques. His voice works with the sound of the album quite well, don't get me wrong, but there are times when his singing just seems to reset to default, and he falls into this single tone, single tempo style. Which certainly works from time to time, but with all the unique variance in the instrumentation here, I found myself looking for that variance to be paralleled in his voice. And in a couple of the tracks, like "The Sixth Trip Plan," he delivered. But I think the album deserves more.

My closing remark is just to say that I was pleasantly surprised by this album. There truly is a little bit of something for everyone on Dragons. If Clint wanted to sprinkle in some punk, metal, and blues on a future release, He would truly become a sonic Jack-of-all-trades. A Clint-of-all-genres, if you will.

Dragons - Clint Slate

1 - 4 - 2021

1. Sunset, Nova and Earth

2. Reconciliation TV (The Love Tides)

3. Ghost America

4. Dead Noise

5. Dark Is Wire

6. The Sixth Trip Plan

7. Obstacles

8. Systems and Batteries

9. Smash

Favorite Track: The Sixth Trip Plan

Least Favorite Track: Sunset, Nova and Earth