Jason Karaban “Shift”
Pop artist Jason Karaban’s new album is co-produced by Steven Jay (Jeff Lynne, Regina Spektor) and Shane Smith (Los Lobos, Amos Lee) and features the contributions of a huge assortment of guest stars like Pete Thomas & Davey Farragher (Elvis Costello’s Imposters), Glen Phillips (Toad The Wet Sprocket), and members of Counting Crows (to name a few).
“Misplaced” is a richly orchestrated anthem, and “What Do You Say” is a moody echo heavy Bowie sounding song. But “Devil That I Know” just hooked me. Its a pretty sweet piano melody with solid guitar riffs. The tone changes with an inventive rhythm (tuba, violins) on “Succeed 101.” It ventures into alt. country with “Tumbleweeds” and blues pop on “Swinging At The Wind.” It’s got a bit of everything stylistically, and that variety is a strength here.
Sonali “Speechless” EP
On singer-songwriter Sonali Argade’s debut you hear big hit potential on the opener “Speechless.” Her vocals are balanced and the melody is fairly sticky, fans of Kelly Clarkson will relate well to this style pop.
Both “Road To Nowhere” and “Just Wanna Love You” are more guitar heavy and lyrically concentrate on teen romance issues. In a sea of competition, Sonali does stands out. And on top of this all of the profits from her EP are headed to the charity SmileTrain. Get the EP and support this worthy cause.