Prior to listening to their 3rd and latest album, “Wretched and Divine: The Story of the Wild Ones,” Black Veil Brides seemed to me like a band whose gimmick heavily relied on an overabundance of guyliner, hairspray and hazardously spiked clothing. They had failed to seize my attention with “Knives and Pens” from their debut EP “Sex & Hollywood,”...
After their return to the mainstream rock scene with the album “Save Rock and Roll,” Fall Out Boy is back six months later with an eight-song EP, “Pax Am Days.” In this release, the band strays away from their catchy, arena-rock sound for a raw, punk-rock roar.
Each song is a quick burst of energy, with seven of the eight...
Peter Sagar, more widely known as HOMESHAKE, delivers yet another sexy and smooth studio album with his latest release, “Fresh Air,” which creates a crisp and intimate ambience. The ex-Mac Demarco guitarist found his solo career under the moniker, HOMESHAKE: An artist whose songs mix various elements of R&B and lo-fi indie pop to produce a dream-like nostalgia while...
Griselda Records signee and one-third of the Griselda collective, Benny the Butcher, is back and better than ever in his long awaited project “Burden of Proof.” The album is executively produced by legendary producer, Hit-Boy, who’s been dominating 2020 by producing Big Sean as well as Nas’s latest album. This record is one of Benny’s crowning achievements, with tales...
On Feb. 23, the successful K-pop girl group TWICE released their EP “With YOU-th.” It’s their thirteenth EP, consisting of six tracks, and released in the midst of TWICE’s “READY TO BE” world tour. The group is known for songs “Cheer Up,” “TT,” “What is Love?” “Yes or Yes” and “Feel Special” — continuing the themes of past tracks,...
Jose Gonzalez, Swedish indie folk singer, songwriter and guitarist, has released his most recent work, “Vestiges and Claws,” in a return to much of the same melancholic, spatial folk music he has released in the past. The album is a series of 10 midtempo indie folk jams that use Gonzalez’s usual formula of layered finger-style nylon guitar playing and...
There’s no denying that Kelly Clarkson’s name alone evokes a sense of nostalgia. She became the first winner of hit TV show “American Idol” before creating the iconic break-up song, “Since You’ve Been Gone.” Clarkson has effectively left her footprint on the landscape of pop music and culture. However, being in the music scene for as long as she...
Cover albums are always a tricky thing. It’s difficult for musicians to encapsulate the original artist while incorporating their own twists and originality. This is where things get complicated on “Foreverly,” as Billie Joe Armstrong and Norah Jones leave their respective genres of music to cover The Everly Brothers’ 1958 album, “Songs Our Daddy Taught Us” — which is...