Cranky George - Misery Road track review

Year : 2016
Genre : Soft Folk Rock, Country
Label : Independent
Origin : United States
Where to check the song out: > - here - <

Misery Road is an entry from the upcoming longplay of LA based folk rock/country ensemble, Cranky George. This page has a lot of good info on the history of the group, while this review will concentrate on the single, as an indicator of what possibly you could expect from the foreseeable future, "debuting" on the 18th of November - simultaneously with the new Metallica double release. This spirit at dormant competition is something one must reckon with an intact poker face. Let's dive into the song!

Misery Road eloquently and inventively worships oldschool songcraft traditions with top tier production values, these latter meticulously balanced/arranged in at attempt to court said traditions with maximum-, though well orchestrated efficiency.

The self-reflective, ironically introverted, placid initial pacing conveys the classic country setting of parking at a fireplace in the company of a bourbon, a dead relative and a banjo - banjo not included, do you happen to have a lighter? -, yet, this trusty pulsation (pun intended) is armed with the intention to dress into moods and colors of hefty, brisk intensity.

At a given dramatic point in the song, by which you falsely think that everything has happened already, and grandpa is no risk to the society OR to your psyche as the top dog of this music-universe, the band commands the intensity up against the roof, as to let the soul reach beyond the skies, nevertheless remaining faithful to the bulk of the exhibited musical character. Clean, competent, all-voice-out lead singing is supported by a country ethos that reveals grace and elegance with sufficient power to display the heart of country classicism.

The result is an ironic, hilarious display of deliberately larger-than-life comic book country done in a truly badass, ballsy fashion. This feat could not have been pulled off without a decent frontman-, nor without sophisticated taste and competence on/at how exactly command the sounds to make them more intense, but keeping them from messing with the structure. The track is a truly pleasant experience to listen to, as it does not satisfy with merely existing, instead, it IS a successful musical metaphor FOR the flow of existence itself. An immediate recommendation for all music lovers, and don't forget, it is only a week's time until the LP debuts.

Step on the Misery Road here.

GyZ at Bandcamp.

If you want, check out my music

and / or

Buy me beer. Read more!

REP - Street Walkers track review

Year : 2016
Genre : Hip Hop, Christian Hip Hop
Label : Independent
Origin : United States
Where to chech the song out: > -  here - <

REP is back not with a vengeance, but, with a fresh review request concentrating on another track of the Co-Laborations LP.

Street Walkers is an attentively sculpted, massively mid-tempo hip hop track, pinpointing lurking danger and ambiguous remnants of hopes at every corner. The central musical attraction of the song is a nice pairment of a highly retroid slot-machine riff, - the melody itself has a luciferian Last Ninja vibe - and this motive is quick to demand for itself gargantuan support by a duo of mobsters in the form of a powerful, sneaky bass, and a clever drum passage that admires the musculature of said bass, inventively pinpointing the key points in its relentless anatomy.

The rapping is good, too, as REP knows that it is best if he is "just" a REPorter, staying away from the framing of brisk morality. Instead, he is revealing percepts and reocurring thoughts/tendencies that are amidst the pertinent components of the observed daily life of a prostitute, as you do not have to be one to know one - the lyrics reflect the position of a man who feels empathy for the prostitute, yet is in the process of seeking to decide whether the woman would prefer to be "saved" from this lifestyle at all.

What I like about this track, is how the mood of the music reflects this timeless concealed dilemma, conveying the percept that everything you think about the situation, might be utterly wrong - nevertheless both the music and the prostitute invites you to come and find out.

Check out the song here.

GyZ at Bandcamp.

If you want, check out my music

and / or

Buy me beer. Read more!

REP - Escape Room track review

Year : 2016
Genre : Hip Hop, Christian Hip Hop, Soul
Label : Independent
Origin : United States
Where to check the song out: > - here - <

Escape Room is an entry found on the latest longplay delivered by Virginia-based hip hop artist REP. Your host is not at all reluctant to express a clear and unconditional devotion towards Jesus, and Escape Room is one of those songs that emerge successful at painting elegant allegories about the state a soul MIGHT find itself in, if subjected to existence without a palpable pointer to grasp unto. The Escape Room, of course, is your body, in this metaphor. But let's not spoil the challenge and the fun of finding the key to it.

The music is quite interesting, and here is why: the bulk of the piece is an almost fragile-, though well researched sonic environment, composed mainly of bass lines that paint out the harmonic domain with inventive strokes of sounds flirting with the timing, and REP seems and sounds to be almost conscious to refrain from the utilization of such casual super-orhodoxies like a snare drum, hi-hats, or a crash cymbal. The song simply evades these elements, and, hilariously, you spend the whole time listening if they will ever show up - and there is no void to be felt upon realizing that they were NOT invited this time.

The song manages to capture a floaty feeling, and finds efficient methods at maximizing its potential with a strictly limited set of instruments and sounds utilized. The piece is a collab, by the way, and the talented singer Mikaela Juday brings you clear, soulful lead singing that is precise and brisk: there is zero trace of autotune.The chorus is awesome in character, and Mikaela knows this, too - but the music fails to realize in the background that SOME elements are yet to be brought to the table to court the lead singer as she declares the main gravitational pull of the entry. Mikaela bursts into full bloom mode in the chorus, but the music fails to recognize it. A pity.

Luckily, REP steps in to deliver a decent block of well-tempoed rapping without offending anyone. A talented artist with true musical vision, and a particularly strong sense of how to validate limitation in the context of diversity of sound. Sometimes less is more. And sometimes it is not.

Check out the song here:
REP - Escape Room

GyZ at Bandcamp.

If you want, check out my music

and / or

Buy me beer. Read more!