Category: emerging artists

Freebie Friday! Music that deserves to be downloaded!

powerpopaholic

These four albums are listed as “name-your-price” downloads. I would encourage you to contribute to these artists, after all, they are spreading a wealth of music.

Yours & Mine “The Shadow You Cast”

Solid New York alt. rock trio with a melodic gift, and “I’m Not Ready to Go” reminds me of a Posies-Gin Blossoms hybrid. “Pushing up Daises” and “Shadow” are more driving power pop. Overall a great little album, and this band is bound for future stardom if anyone with a brain ran a major record label. Get them now, before that happens.

Sparky Bosque “Corkscrew Soul”

The last album Patrick from Sweet Sweet Music blog featured, Sparky Bosque was described by him as a cross between The Eels and Parthenon Huxley. The clean strums of “Do No Wrong” and sweeping “Poor Annie” do have an emotional component similar to P. Hux, and while not everything here works, the sullen atmosphere on some songs are irresistible, like “About You.” Check it out.

Rick Murnane “Summer Fun”

Northampton, Mass musician Murane tells us straight up “why would everybody want to be like everybody” on “Monkey in the Zoo.” He collected a group of songs, and boasts a country ballad on “Rodeo Billy” and suburban angst on “Bring You Down.” In a rough and tumble way, his voice reminded me of Peter Holsapple (dB’s) on “These Days.” Very cool.

Macseal “Permanent Repeat”

Long Island emo-band does good here, “Golden Harbor” will scratch that indie-emo itch, without too much grinding feedback. And the band can get downright anthemic on the great “Four Legs” and “Permanent Repeat.” Also check out “Beach Vacation” and “Hide Out.” Fans of Goo Goo Dolls will enjoy this too. Music that deserves to be heard!

Mikayla Geier and an interesting statistic

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Now something completely different: Vancouver-born and Los Angeles-based Mikayla Geier is a singer, songwriter, and former ballet student of the controversial Kirov Academy of Ballet. With the support of friends and family, Mikayla left the academy behind and began writing music and posting on social media to journal her past experiences. “Dance of the Trees” is her debut EP. Mikayla also has another song commenting on the dangers of eating disorders called “i don’t feel safe in my body.” She will be donating/fundraising for Project HEAL which provides resources to those who are struggling.

Hey Indie Musicians! Some interesting facts!

  • A staggering 87% of the top 100 artists on Spotify in the US are self-taught, challenging traditional paradigms of music education.
  • Only 4% of them have a music degree. An additional 4% started a degree but didn’t finish it, meaning that the remaining 92% don’t have a music degree and didn’t even start one.

This trend points to the growing accessibility of music creation and the democratization of the music industry, empowering artists without formal training to achieve success. We’ve got a full report available here:

Self-taught musicians dominate US’s Spotify charts — here are a few remarkable examples

The Summertimes and Meyerman

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The Summertimes

The Summertimes “The Summertimes”

So a new Aussie power pop band has arrived this summer, appropriately called The Summertimes. Guitarist Ashley Naylor (Paul Kelly and The Church), drummer Stephen O’Brien (Tumbleweed), and bassist Steve Bull (Icehouse) joined songwriters David Beniuk and David Challenger in the studio. Right from the start they hit the ground running with “Inside,” and influences like Teenage Fanclub, The Go-Betweens, and You Am I are evident. The production is flawless here thanks to ARIA award-winning producer Paul McKercher (The Hoodoo Gurus, Midnight Oil).

The tight guitar playing on “Password” and the melodic chorus of “My Beautiful Girl Harbour,” makes them instant classics. The chugging lead guitar on “White Pointer,” and the jangling gem “Love (It’s A Word)” are very much in the mold of Ice Cream Hands. The tone shifts mellower on the back end of these 10 tracks, but it doesn’t break the flow of the album. “Athens, GA” is a solid romantic tune flowing with a rich melody. Even the ending track “The Perfect Wave,” is an Aussie beach anthem that recalls the Yardbirds, and references Midnight Oil. Unabashedly Australian in scope and style and Highly Recommended. Makes my top ten nominee list for 2023.

Bandcamp


Meyerman

Meyerman “Happy To See You”

Twelve years after their exciting debut, Meyerman finally returns with a sophomore album. Theo Meyer’s vocal sounds a bit rougher on the title track “Happy To See You,” but he’s lost none of his melodic skill as its hits a vibe similar to The Posies. New bandmates Jeff Preischel (bass), Rob Sadowski (guitars), and Danny Diaz (drums) are supported by fine production from Kurt Reil (The Gripweeds). The guitars are soaring on the brilliant “Katie Wong,” an early highlight here.  Then it slows considerably on “Witchita” and the next few songs are done in a ’90s hard rock style. While this sounds fine, it’s the lack of hooks that are concerning here.

I need not worry too long, as “WWDAT” is a pretty cool tune, with an unexpected style shift towards the end. At this point “Meyerman” is the perfect theme song (why didn’t they lead with this?) that rocks (turn it up!) and Theo is on a roll at this point. “Princeton Bells” has a cool swirling harmony during the chorus, and “Nova” is another great rocker that’s just infectious, akin to Enuff Z’nuff. Each song from this point hits the mark, “T-Shirt,” “Hello, Hello,” and “Handclaps and Tambourines” all focus on band life. This is the rare instance where the album’s backend is much stronger, and it brings things over the finish line. Highly Recommended.

Amazon

The Make Three and Super 8

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The Make Three

The Make Three “You, Me & The Make Three”

This New Jersey band is led by vocalist/guitarist Jerry Lardieri, and he’s joined by Peter Horvath (The Anderson Council) on bass and Chris Ryan on drums. This strong rock and roll, as the guitars blare out on “Against The Tide” recalls riff-heavy bands like The Successful Failures and The Well Wishers. “Black Cloud” and “Under My Skin” have a late ’90s indie vibe akin to The Lemonheads. Of course, The Anderson Council’s shadow falls over a few songs like “Emily Strange,” and “Local Scene” with its driving rhythm.

At the mid-point, it smartly slows down the tempo for “Hurry Up and Wait,” as a welcome pause it shortly takes off again. This is meat and potatoes rock that fits neatly in your mix with those other bands I mentioned earlier. Does it innovate or distinguish itself? Not really, but it’s not bland either, and after a few listens some of these songs will stick with you. Check it out.

Amazon


Lane Steinberg

Super 8 “HOOPLA”

Paul ‘Trip’ Ryan is back. It starts with a low-key charmer “For My Friends,” a dedication with soaring strings, and preps the listening audience for some blissful fun. “Susan Revolving” has a Sgt. Pepper-styled bass groove that makes it easy to love. The mellow vibes continue with “All My Worries” with its Lennonesque quality, referring to the calm zen-like state when he was in the “submarine.” From here it gets less Beatlesque, but the spirit remains very trippy, hippy, and idyllic on “Out of My Head,” “Jennifer Anne,” and especially “Our Town.” The fab references continue with the jangling love songs “Be My Yoko” and “Moments In Time.”

The tone is very consistent throughout the album, and maybe that’s what the problem is. The songs tend to blend into one another, creating almost a jangling soundtrack to put you to sleep. The previous album Universal Journey had some fuzzier guitar songs mixed in to prevent this. ’60s pop enthusiasts will enjoy this for sure, but others might want to start with the last album. Still, it remains music that deserves to be heard.

Amazon

Fresh September video singles: Airport 77s, The Thirsty Curses, Ines South, Madison Cunningham, TAM

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I get a variety of different bands contributing to my inbox, and some are just too good to ignore. Firstly, a heads up on what I think will be a great album; The Airport 77s are set to release We Realize You Have A Choice on JEM Records, and the opening single simply rocks. Review coming soon, but this was too good a video to pass unpromoted. The Thirsty Curses do a puppet version of Natural Born Killers with a compelling melody. Ines South looks like she’s having fun here, and the song “Sun’s Son” is a fun single too. Another up-and-coming star is Madison Cunningham, her LP is out this week and she reminds me a little of Sheryl Crow. Finally, TAM is LA artist Tommy Mai, and he gives us a cool “mental souvenir” with its late 1970s vibe.