Album Review: Kae Sun – “Afriyie”

Kae Sun is a Ghanaian-Canadian singer-songwriter, and his music combines the elements of folk, soul and reggae. His influences have included Sam Cooke, Lauryn Hill, Dennis Brown, Bob Marley, Bob Dylan and Ben Harper.

When it comes to the themes he explores in his music, Sun explains, “My background, how I live, and what I believe all inform the way I write.” And when it comes to describing his music, Sun says, “The music is made with the intent to shift consciousness; not just to entertain, but perhaps to travel with the audience in a spirit of love and truth.”

Sun released the album, Afriyie, on May 28, 2013. The album has a total of 10 tracks, and there is a mixture of both upbeat and catchy tracks and songs that are much slower in tempo.

After listening to the album, I found that I enjoyed listening to Sun’s upbeat material more than I did the songs with a slower tempo. My favorite song on Afriyie is “When the Pot,” which was released as the lead-off single for the album. After hearing this song, I can see why it was chosen to be a single; it’s a very catchy song right from the start, and it grabs the listener’s attention very easily.

Another standout track is “Dzorwulu Junction,” because it sounds rather different than most of the other tracks on the album; however, this different sound makes it stand out in a good way. Of the uptempo material, my least favorite song was probably “Ship and the Globe”; while I liked how the song sounded musically, the lyrics became rather repetitive near the end.

Unfortunately, the slower tempo songs just didn’t do much for me. I think this was due, in large part, to the fact that a lot of the slower songs just seemed to stay stuck in a rut musically and not progress much of anywhere.

While I may not have appreciated all of the material that appeared on Afriyie, I have to give Sun a lot of credit for including several different sounds and styles on the album. After hearing the album, I definitely can say that Sun is a talented musician.

But you don’t have to take my word for it. You can check out Kae Sun for yourself at:

• Kae Sun’s website
• Kae Sun’s Facebook page
• Kae Sun’s Twitter page

Album Review: Greg Friedman – “Can’t Talk Now”

Greg Friedman is a musician who seems to not share much about himself online, so I really can’t tell you too much about him. However, I can tell you about his album, Can’t Talk Now. The album was mastered by Greg Calbi, who has worked with John Lennon and the Ramones in the past. The album’s cover was designed by Storm Thorgerson, the designer of Pink Floyd’s Dark Side of the Moon album cover, and it was one of the last projects that Thorgerson did before his death in April 2013.

There are a total of 12 songs on the album; unfortunately, the vast majority of the tracks sound like they’re trying too hard musically to sound like the material the Beatles released later in their career. Also, on a number of tracks, Friedman sounds like he’s trying awfully hard to mimic John Lennon’s vocal inflections. As I listened to the album, I found this mimicry to be a distraction.

To me, there’s a big distinction between being influenced by an artist and trying too hard to sound like another artist and ultimately end up sounding like a mimicry of the other artist. I think I would have enjoyed this album a lot more if Friedman had taken his influences and incorporated them into his own sound.

However, there are three songs on the album that don’t fall into the “mimicry” category: “Hear the Sound,” “Pancake, I Love You,” and “”Stories I’ve Told.” Personally, I thought that these three songs were probably the best on the album; however, “Stories I’ve Told” is a little repetitive lyrically near the end.

There is one other issue the album has, and this is due to order that the songs were sequenced in. The first half of the album has a good sonic mix of upbeat and slower songs; however, the second half focuses so much on the acoustic side that the songs end up blending together and end up being rather forgettable for the most part.

While Friedman isn’t a bad musician, I think he needs to spend some time figuring out what exactly his sound is, and to bring more of himself into the music and less of the other artists that have influenced him.

But you don’t have to take my word for it. You can check Greg Friedman out for yourself at:

• Greg Friedman’s website
• Greg Friedman’s Facebook page
• Greg Friedman’s Twitter page

EP Review: The Tall Tale – “The Tall Tale”

The Tall Tale is a solo project of Timothy McGiven, a musician based out of Hamilton, New Zealand. He has released an EP titled, The Tall Tale, which he says is a release that “draws inspiration from a ‘Brothers Grimm’ type narrative.”

While there are six tracks on the EP, there are only five actual songs; the sixth track on the EP is a remix of “Dalliance,” the first song that appears on the release. The total runtime for the EP is 19 minutes and 56 seconds.

For the most part, I would have to say that the vast majority of the EP flows together well as a continuous piece. The main exception to this would be the remix of “Dalliance” that appears at the end of the EP.

To me, the strongest song on the release is the original version of “Dalliance.” It’s a rather upbeat and catchy track, and it grabs the listener’s attention immediately. It also helps to set up what listeners can expect to hear out of the EP.

The weakest track on the release is “Kiss by Kiss,” the fifth song on the EP. It’s the slowest song on the EP, and it just kind of feels like it’s plodding after hearing the previous four tracks on the EP. After hearing “Kiss by Kiss,” I can hear why the remix of “Dalliance” was added at the end; “Kiss by Kiss” would be a weak song to end the EP with.

Unfortunately, I wasn’t terribly impressed with the remix of “Dalliance.” While the remix did add some new musical elements to the song, I wasn’t entirely convinced that these new musical elements enhanced the song.

Overall, The Tall Tale EP is a decent enough listen, and it shows that Timothy McGiven is a good musician. I think this EP is good for what it is, and I think McGiven has the potential to go and record music that’s even better. I looked forward to having the opportunity to hear more music from McGiven in the future.

But you don’t have to take my word for it. You can listen to a stream of the EP at Soundcloud:

Depeche Mode History: 25 Years Ago Today…

It was 25 years ago today (on July 18, 1988) that Depeche Mode performed the final show of the “Music for the Masses” Tour at the Pasadena Rose Bowl. A live album and documentary video titled 101 were released to chronicle this performance; this performance was the 101st of the tour, hence the name of the album and film.

To commemorate this anniversary, here is the video for “Everything Counts [Live],” which was released as a single from the 101 album. One of my favorite things about this performance is at the end, when all you can hear is the audience loudly singing the chorus until the end.

Album Review: Valente – “Music for Rooftops”

Valente is a producer and an artist, and is the son of an American jazz singer and an Italian opera and theatre director. According to the bio on his website, Valente says he was inspired by both his parents’ work and his sisters’ punk and new wave records. He has also studied bass playing and film scoring.

Valente has released an EP titled, Alexandria. He has now released his first full-length album, titled Music for Rooftops.

There are a total of nine tracks on Music for Rooftops, eight of which have vocals. The ending track, “Azabu,” is an instrumental. Many of the songs seem to be more downtempo, with the main exceptions to this being “It Don’t Matter” and “Human.” Musically, this is an album that would me a “mood album” for me; what this means is that I would have to be in just the right mood to sit down and listen to it, and that it wouldn’t be a release that I would listen to simply on a whim.

On many of the songs, I thought that the vocalist sounded a little too much like Chris Martin for Coldplay. In fact, there’s one song on album (“Curtain Call”) that almost sounds as if it could have come straight off of a Coldplay album, due to the combination of the vocals and the fact that the song focuses very heavily on a piano arrangement.

By the time I finished listening to Music for Rooftops, I was left with the impression that Valente has a talent for making music, but that this release just sounds a little too similar to Coldplay. While there are a couple of songs that stand out on the release, I felt that a lot of material ended up being a bit forgettable after listening to it.

But you don’t have to take my word for it. You can check Valente out for yourself at

• Valente’s website
• Valente’s Facebook page
• Valente’s Twitter page

4 Non Blondes – “What’s Up”

4 Non Blondes was a band from San Francisco, California that formed in 1989. They had their biggest hit in 1993 with “What’s Up?,” which was released as the third single from their album, Bigger, Better, Faster More! Unfortunately, the band disbanded in 1994 while recording their second album.

Lead singer Linda Perry launched a solo career in 1995, but she has become better known in recent years as a songwriter and producer. She is best known for working with Pink on her 2001 album, Missundaztood. Perry has also worked with such artists as Gwen Stefani, Courtney Love, Christina Aguilera, and Kelly Osbourne.

I have to admit that I personally didn’t care much for “What’s Up” when it was getting all the radio play and MTV airtime in 1993. However, over the past 10 years or so, I’ve come to better appreciate this song, and I actually really like it now. Maybe I didn’t like it much back in 1993 due to how much airplay it was getting, or maybe I’ve come to better appreciate it now because I better relate to the lyrics of the song. Unfortunately, 4 Non Blondes became a one-hit wonder in the mainstream. Like Blind Melon, pop radio only wanted another “What’s Up,” and that just wasn’t to be found on the album.

Earlier this year, my husband picked up a copy of the Bigger, Better, Faster, More! album, and it’s actually quite good. After listening to it, I was able to come to the conclusion that I did regarding 4 Non Blondes being a one-hit wonder in the mainstream. While “What’s Up” is my favorite song on the album, I do also enjoy “Spaceman” quite a bit.

Here’s the music video for 4 Non Blondes’ “What’s Up.” It’s still hard for me to believe it’s been 20 years since this song came out…

Song Review: Xander Demos – “Under a Darkened Sky”

Xander Demos is a hard rock/metal artist based out of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He fronts his own solo band called XDB, and he also performs with a national tribute act called James Rivera’s Sabbath Judas Sabbath. He has appeared as a supporting act for Symphony X, Adrenaline Mob, Buckethead, UFO, Lizzy Borden, and Kip Winger. His music has been compared to Rusty Cooley, Neil Zaza, Steve Vai, Shawn Lane, and Michael J Romeo.

Xander Demos has released a song titled, “Under a Darkened Sky,” which can he heard at his Reverbnation page. When I listened to the song, I could hear that he’s got a lot of talent as a guitarist; musically, the song is a very solid hard rock track. When it comes to the vocals, I thought I was hearing a very similar inflection that would be used by Geoff Tate, the former lead singer of Queensryche, on some of Queensryche’s classic releases. The vocals are good, but I had to keep reminding myself that it wasn’t Geoff Tate that I was hearing.

Overall, “Under a Darkened Sky” is a rather sold hard rock track, and I could easily hear it being included in a playlist with artists such as Queensryche, Dio, and Iron Maiden.

But you don’t have to take my word for it. You can check out Xander Demos for yourself at:

• Xander Demos’ Reverbnation page

Song Review: Ghost Loft – “So High”

Ghost Loft is the pseudonym that Los Angeles-based producer Danny Choi records music under. In addition to producing his own music, he has also remixed songs by Two Door Cinema Club, The Neighbourhood, Little Daylight, and Icky Blossoms.

As Ghost Loft, Choi has released a song called, “So High,” as well as a music video to accompany the song. I recently had the opportunity to watch the video and listen to the song.

“So High” is a synthpop/electronic song that has a rather ambient and melancholy sound to it. It’s a very soothing and relaxing sound, and the song almost literally “washes over” the listener and keeps the listener interested in what they’re hearing. The vocals that appear on the song really work well with the music, and this creates an overall package that should appeal to listeners who enjoy synthpop and electronic music.

I’ve been listening to synthpop and electronic music for several years now, and I have to say that I am incredibly impressed with “So High.” I hope to have the opportunity to hear more material from Ghost Loft in the future.

But you don’t have to take my word for it. You can check out Ghost Loft for yourself at:

• Ghost Loft’s website
• Ghost Loft’s Facebook page

And as an added bonus, here’s the music video for “So High.”

Song Review: PleasePlease – “Viva La Piano”

PleasePlease is a duo from New Zealand, and its members Antony Jeffares and Ryan Mulligan. They originally played together in high school rock bands, but then reconnected in 2012 and began recording EDM music.

PleasePlease has recorded and released a song titled, “Viva La Piano.” Since I enjoy dance music, I was very interested to hear with “Viva La Piano” had to offer; when I finished listening to the track, I wasn’t at all disappointed. In fact, this is a song I could easily hear KNHC 89.5 FM in Seattle, a radio station I listen to sometimes, including in their playlist.

Musically, the song has a light and airy sound that made me think of summer. The vocalist on this track also adds something to the song, and the combination of the music and the vocals make this a dance track that you’ll want to play during summer parties and barbecues.

According to a promotional writeup I read for PleasePlease, it says that “Viva La Piano” knocked both Lords and Daft Punk out of the #1 spot on New Zealand’s George FM charts. After hearing this song for myself, I can see why!

But you don’t have to take my word for it. You can check out PleasePleasew for yourself at:

• PleasePlease’s Facebook page
• PleasePlease’s Twitter page
• PleasePlease’s YouTube page

And as an added bonus, here’s a stream of “Viva La Piano” that’s available at SoundCloud:

Song Review: The High Wire – “LNOE”

The High Wire is named after a song by Richard and Linda Thompson called “Walking on a Wire.” The act was originally started in 2007 as a vehicle for singer/songwriter Tim Crompton; he was later joined by Alexia Hagen from Canada and Ross Forrest from the UK to become the three-piece that the band is today.

The band will be releasing the single “LNOE” on July 29, 2013. From listening to the song, it appears that “LNOE” is short for “last night on Earth.”

Musically, I was very impressed with what I heard. There is a strong emphasis on strings, and the combination of the musical arrangement and the vocals made for a very pleasing listen. The overall arrangement for “LNOE” really made me think of some of the Beatles’ later material, but with a more modern sound. I also thought the track had a soothing, yet interesting, sound.

“LNOE” shows a lot of promise for the band, and I really enjoyed it. I’m looking forward to having the opportunity to hear more from The High Wire in the future.

But you don’t have to take my word for it. You can check out The High Wire for yourself at:

• The High Wire’s website
• The High Wire’s Facebook page
• The High Wire’s Twitter page

And as an added bonus, here’s a stream of “LNOE” that’s available at SoundCloud.