Doc Fischbach “Walk Away”
Doc Fischbach is a versatile songwriter. His emotive, electrifying vocal stand outs easily among the countless songs released everyday. In his usual downbeat catalogue, he channels the wrenching story of the broken-hearted with vulnerability and sensitivity. With “Walk Away,” the artist takes on a different artistic direction, bringing an upbeat anthem into fruition.
“Walk Away” seems to be more in tune with the sass and unique electrifying energy of his voice. On there, his twists and turns radiate along the intoxicating sonics. The beats carry an roof-lifting, elevating vibe that effortlessly changes the mood in the room. On the latest track, Fischbach weaves the swirling retro aesthetic of disco and funk into the eclectic smash of pop and rock. Bombastic and energy splashing. The euphoric track doesn’t fail to deliver a meaningful message of self worth.
Never settling for something less. Walking away is about treating yourself right and not wasting time on games and nonsense. In the track, Fischbach explores a diverse sonic palette with dazzling colors and vibrant soundscapes in its everlasting empowering anthemic melodies. From the pulsing sonics to Fischbach’s defining vocals, every line seems to deliver a hit into your ears.
The track is intoxicating. Sometimes, it’s hard to tell if the mood is richer or the melodies are more satisfying. They are both quite brilliant and hard to forget. “Walk Away” leaves an impressionistic aftertaste in your ears. The positive outlook and the radiating sonic palette, along with the phantom of anthemic melodies make it ever-lasting and desiring.
Ruby Nixxons “Set Me on Fire”
Rock trio Ruby Nixxons unleash their hard-hitting second single, “Set Me on Fire,” following their heartfelt debut “Keep on Keeping On,” returning to the core of what makes rock n roll great. The new track lays more the heavy side, with psychological guitar riff, soaring vocal and flaming chorus. Elevating and escalating, “Set Me on Fire” is really to storm the world with its raw, irresistible energy.
With “Set Me on Fire” playing on the background, you don’t need no alcohol to get drunk. The rich atmosphere and stadium-filling vibe is already able to make a crowd go crazy, forgetting about themselves in the music. Ruby Nixxons’ anthemic chorus is probably one of the best of the best about this track. They don’t shy away from hitting it hard and true. As a song about irresitibility, it does exactly that to listeners.
The way guitar riff plays out with the recurring chorus and verse structure feels like a mad sonic poetry on its own. The six-minute song gets under your skin and ignites your primal desire to scream and move along with it. Even though “Set Me on Fire” is a studio version, it brings a natural quality of a live performance to it that feels authentic and spiritually transforming.
The metal-infused solo is pretty maddening, a little polyrhythm in the mix to spices things up. Ruby Nixxons also play with the different pacing of speed through the track, which takes collective effort. Although it’s longer than most songs, the track takes listeners on an emotional roller coaster, one never lack of the fun of high and low.
The Margaret Hooligans ‘Turntable Tribulations’
Characterized by brainwashingly addictive guitar riff, noised-coiled distortion, and big personality, The Margaret Hooligans unleash a rocker inventive album Turntable Tribulations. The record features nine tracks, taking rock n roll to a liberating dance of primitivism and psychedelic. Turntable Tribulations break all rule and boundary and sees celebration and hospitality in the most authentic form, inviting listeners to a stadium-filling, fully engaging experience.
The songs are written and recorded in a spontaneously inventive way that it captures the most organic call and response between musicians, instruments and instruments. From the very first track, “Oh Lord, Hit It,” they evoke a very physical reaction in listeners, where they want to join in and dance to the wild beats and bob their heads along the way. The music itself paints a carnival, where everyone can forget about who they supposed to be and just be who they want in the moment.
It’s also clear from this very first track that The Margaret Hooligans are abandoning all rules. One man one verse? That’s too boring for them. They’d rather expand and pass along the sonic between each other. Non-linear expression within an unconventional song form produces a very otherworldly experience that stretch beyond the existing dimension and space into somewhere totally unexpected. An euphoric glow of psychedelia is what sometimes a climax feels like.
The Margaret Hooligans’ music is very provocative. It’s hard to sit through a track and not engage it in a way. Their authentically organic sound is a smash of everything at hand. “Pete and Roger” definitely feels like a play between audience and musicians. The call demands a shouting response, the lit energy demands a rocker’s sign in the air. Hearing the spontaneity and joy being expressed that way is truly spirit lifting. Songs like that make you think would be pretty mad to watch them live.
Crossing the genres of rock and world, they march into something that’s completely their own, but it’s nothing we haven’t seen before. Freedom, love, and passion becomes a beautiful experimentation in Turntable Tribulations.
“Bippity Boppity” opens with a madly fast jazz percussion with rocker aesthetic. It
“Bippity Boppity” opens with a speedy jazz percussion within rock n roll aesthetic, restless, eclectic. A spoke-sung vocal blends into the rhythmic madness brings out a bit of rap and funk to the style. The Margaret Hooligans also seem to bring a fresh perspective in the way instruments pair with each other. Nothing is really random, but they achieve a level of creative freedom to do that so organically and effortlessly, which takes time and effort to creating an experience like this.
“Feedback” is one of their previously released single about commentary and opinions. With that foot stomping and energetic straightforward punk rhythm, the track takes off like a plane and flies higher and higher. “I’ve Got Something To Say” sets its scene in a distorted moodiness. A lot of percussion feels very handmade, like what tribal musicians use in rituals and ceremonies.
Munk Duane “Myths”
Munk Duane brings little drops of happiness with each release of his music. The prolific producer/composer has numerous tracks featured in film and television series. As a graduate of Berklee College of Music, Duance’s craft is impeccable and well-polished. With even the simplest instrumentation and form, he’s able to deliver great momentum and thoughtful build with a broad range of emotions. “Myths” is humble in form, but impactful at heart.
The song opens with a heartfelt guitar picking with a foot-stomping drum beat. Duane’s soaring vocal instantly draws your attention as it goes for an expressive high. Hearing how everything forges into a groovy, Neo-soul R&B mixture is such a thrill! Duane explores a nuanced, almost unnoticed climb of sonics that gives you goosebumps without trace.
Into the second verse, a reverberant expansion in the drums expand its sonic reach, crafting out a space. The combination of different depth of reverb gives the music a little stop and go in motion. Movement and stillness is being introduced in such clever way. You have to admit that Duane’s way with sounds is quite brilliant. The chorus draws back the epic feeling of that glorious, golden era of R&B with modern execution that preserves nostalgia in time.
Smooth and rich, warm and intoxicating, tear-jerking and classic. Moments like that place you in a room with blazing fire in the hearth and a drink in your hand. It’s spirited and elevating. The vibe itself is perfect and memorable. It makes you never want the music to end. Like a never-ending celebration, it stands between time and space. It reminds a little bit of Bruno Mars and Anderson .Paak’s Silk Sonic.
Steep Steps “Stories On A Page”
Stories on a page can only do so much to inspire and encourage, but in the end, we have to take control of our own lives and make change happen. Electronic artist Steep Steps and sitarist/vocalist Ami Dang gather their epic, fantastic strength in their new single, motivating listeners to create their own stories.
“Stories On a Page” takes place in a strange land that bends ancient and modern time together as well as western and eastern culture. With the mystery and spirituality of the sitar and drastic filmic sound production, the track gathers the stories of a girl who uncovered truth, a man who escaped the king’s reach, and another who forges his own way of living. The moral of the song is to take control of your life and don’t waste it living in someone else’s tales.
The track weaves a world that stands in the middle of time, culture, and space. Exotic and strange, but familiar and exotic. That’s the beauty of Steep Steps. They find the balance in the crossing of genres and experiences, where everything can co-exist in all dimensions. They bring this vision into their music, not only in the sound but also in the storytelling, creating an immersive, genre-bending listening experience.
Steep Steps is known for the versatility in creating cinematic, filmic experience. The electronic artist is a visionary creator who has made so many unlikely sceneries possible in a sonic form. Ami Dang’s voice also has the compatibility to navigate dark, fantasy, and light, provoking different emotional experiences and responses as she navigates a song. “Stories On a Page” showed a different side of her vocal in a story-immersive performance, proving just how much surprise this artist has yet to bring us.
Jacks and Atoms “What I Know”
The discovery of Jacks and Atoms is definitely worthwhile. You’ll thank yourself later for listening to their music. The Chicago duo are marvelous musicians and spectacular memory creators. They create such a momentum in their music, energetic, stadium-filling, blood-bioling. Heart-thumping drums paired with genuine lyrics and heartfelt vocal with a touch of mid-2000s’ nostalgia. “What I Know” has an intoxicating vibe that keeps on brewing. Their music is quite unstoppable in that manner and very addictive to a point you’ll feel a little sad when it stops.
“What I Know” is about challenge and self exploration. Change and adaptation goes hand in hand in the process of discovery and evolution. A forward movement is in place. The track is a fantastic pop rock anthem, but there’s more to the music and even more to the duo of Jacks and Atoms.
In their addreneline-rushing, energy-splashing singles, there’s always a broader view that feels so appealing and liberating. At first, you’d think it’s the incredibly rich vibe, but there’s so much more to that. The heart desires to be free. A person desires to be challenged, to expand and go to places with extraordinary views. There is a primal desire and a calling that we all feel, and their songs understand that. They take you on a journey, to climb a mountain, to expand your vision, to be inspired and passionate about something again.
Their music is chain-breaking and beautiful. A touch of solitude but never alone. With their songs in the background, you’ll never feel alone. Life is so much more than what we see in the mundane. They remind you of your own potentials and the limitlessness and beautiful of this world. This and all contributes to why Jacks and Atoms’ music is so irresistible. Once you hear one song, you’ll want another, and soon you know you want to hear a full-length album.
Their music is as inspired and uplifting well as it’s liberating. They lighten your world-weary eyes with sparks again, and that’s something really unique about Jacks and Atoms.
BSP ‘In my garden’
On the debut alum, In my garden, BSP drops listeners into the creative dimension of a sonic garden. Like a secret place hidden in the modernistic urban surroundings, In my garden is its own universe. The unique album journeys through the different phases in life. Like a sultry, mysterious, futuristic but ancient ritual, it transforms our experience on earth. Consisting of nine tracks, the London-based multi-faceted artist brings her own artistic vision into her debut alum along with producer Lee Oakley.
The album opens with two deeply conscious tracks that dive into insecurity. As if slicing something wide open and feeling it bleed, the vulnerability in them feels immediate and palpable. BSP’s sonic palette is just as wild and extraordinary like the way she uses color on a canvas, the recipe of her sonics has something intuitive and magical in it. The punches, the ambient pads, the synths, the bass, and the electronics are all conscious and very much alive, enriching her garden like the organisms, plants and animals—the souls.
BSP’s voice is stunningly sensuous and delicious. Listening to her singing could get your ears pregnant. Her melodies are infectious and irresistible, filling listeners’ ears with pop-infused dreams. “I Think” walks into a darker landscape with deep bass lurking around in the dark. The thicker track evokes a sense of an introspective head space inside the turmoil and chaos that call and response in repetition. BSP’s voice is the only thing you could grab onto. Like the guide, she journeys you across dangerous water. Like a mirror, she invites you to see a side of yourself you were afraid to see.
“Why You Loose,”on the other hand, shows a relatively emo and destructive side of her voice. The confrontational piece gets bold and bloody as the track unravels. “Let it down and fight for it.” It’s powerful and epic as it is emotive and sensitive.
As two center pieces located at mid-alum, “Bamboo” and “Mayday” are two sides of the same coin. Starting with the immersive “Bamboo,” place listeners inside a flourish green, the track explores the metaphoric side of self and bamboo. “Mayday” continues the storytelling in a retell, but from an insider’s perspective, more emotive and insightful.
“Piece of Me” tastes like growth. The nuanced track is full of light and strength. Revolving around a Zen-like melody, everything falls into place. Resonating guitar and water droplets are mirroring together as well as completing each other. The beautiful track is touching, “See the piece of me lost in you.”
Savior “Paralysed”
The dance of lust and love is a dangerous one, where temptation, heartbreak, pain, passion and love twirl into a whirlwind. It keeps on spinning, trapping you inside. Inspired by the time when Savior first moved to London, looking for love in all the wrong places, his third single “Paralysed” explores a darker tone while even deeper into his sensuous, danceable electronic pop phantom.
Fierce beats and monstrous bass paints an unescapable nocturnal charm. Soft, flaming gasp in the background draws you into that sweaty, sensational scene of passion and love. The combination of spoken and sung words experiments different aspects of sonic narration. Savior’s immersive and non-linear storytelling provides listeners a unique experience in which all their senses and feelings are being highlighted.
Savior also excels at creating vivid imageries with his music. “Paralysed” seems to be testing the limits of just how much a song could convey a deeply personal experience. Like a mini film that explodes in your ears, journeying through various scenes in which the loneliness, desires, and hurt are all being exposed fully, “Paralysed” is able to do all that under 4 minutes.
Vulnerability here is explored through a synthaesthetic lens. It beats and breathes into your ears, all the emotions that exist in this experience, but the music itself isn’t isolated. Through Savior’s darkly satisfying, almost palpable sonic palettes, the track powerfully tells a story that so many could easily relate to.
Parjam Parsi “In Decadence and Disarray”
Armenian pianist and composer Parjam Parsi shares his piano work in the album, In Decadence and Disarray. The album tells the story about the composer’s mother, her world, and their relationship. As atmospheric as it is passionate with storytelling, the album draws listeners into a sensitive, impressionistic sonic world with warmth.
Hearing all the sounds while Parjam Parsi plays the piano is such a powerful and intimate experience. You could hear when the paddles are being pressed down, the weight of his fingers on the keys, his breathing, the sound residuals flowing in the air, the resonance of the space, etc. It draws you into the room, the emotional space, the spiritual space, and even the physical space where it’s being recorded. That’s one thing about this record really stands out.
“One October Day” is a haunting ballad with impressive sonic storytelling. The track gives out a clock-clicking sort of pacing rhythm, while it lays out the story. “The Water and The Blood” explores a strong classical influence with arpeggio dominated accompaniments. Instead of creating a separated melody, the right hand seems to join in the telling of a textural, impressionistic scene. The track feels keen to capture a moment in the daily life that seems ordinary at sight but precious at heart. There’s a lot of warmth and sunshine in the track.
“The Entwined Bodies” drops into the lower register of the piano with a strong Debussy vibe. It’s impressionistic with a water symbol in there somewhere. The melodies are sparse and expressive, full of emotions. “May Wear My Silence” feels like a monologue, emotive, nostalgic, reflective. The mind lingers on a melody, not willing to leave. History and memory is being intertwined in there. From Debussy’s impressionistic, fantastic sonics, the last two tracks continue to evolve. “All Souls” concludes the album with broad compassion and a speck of melancholia.
Burton Badman “Fields of Confusion”
Tel Aviv-based alt-rock band Burton Badman returns with their fourth single from upcoming debut album The Opposite Way. Hard-hitting, addictive and disruptive, ”Fields of Confusions” journeys through the darkest and the deepest trauma that haunt us in life like a hundred ghosts. In the track, Burton Badman sonically depicts the intense confrontation, setting its scene in a darkly fierce inner battlefield, casting out the ghosts, leading to a final salvation.
Between the smooth, charming vocals that coil up the lyrics like a candy-infused hallucinative drug and the warm-toned guitar riff that teases you with its magic, the flickering, distorted lead guitar dives much deeper under the surface. The in-between, the bridges, and the solos are swelling up, lurking, uncontrollably.
It’s really fascinating how Burton Badman channels this sort of a big, badass, distorted personality sonically while exploring the fragility of it being untamed and tamed. There’s a lot of power in the art of giving up power, which makes “Fields of Confusion” quite a magnificent track.
Through the constant darkly guitar sonics, “Fields of Confusion” tackles the haunting, disruptive nature of trauma. It shatters you like a stream of electricity (the guitar literally churns in your ears that way). While on the surface, the melody, the center riff, and the lead vocal poses a lullaby-like quality as illusive as it is charming. The soaring never really stops.
“Fields of Construction” gives a very powerful, almost palpable portrayal, channeling the ugliness and the darkness that trauma could carry and destroy. Near the end, the guitar solo wails in a ghostly horror, creating a visual image of a hundred ghosts fleeing.
Air-Ik “Call Me”
If you’re familiar with Blondie’s iconic “Call Me,” you wouldn’t want to miss Air-Ik’s rendition of the song. It’s pretty impressive how much he could channel from the existing song, taking an entirely different artistic direction. Air-Ik feels like a silent screaming slow-burn in a cinematic darker atmosphere.
Thinking of blues meets Kurt Cobain meets Blondie. Even if you’re not entirely familiar with the band or the song, Air-Ik is creating quite a vibe in “Call Me.” From the suppressive whispers, growing into a hysterical scream, Air-Ik paints a very emotive and intensive journey. The image of decay and shrivel meets the lonesome road of traveling alone.
Air-Ik slowed down the temple and explored the darker whispers that already lived in the song. It’s done in such an embrace that feels almost liberating. He brings the ghosts out in his rendition, blown in the wind, yet still somehow exist in the surroundings. The deep drop of electric guitar eerily lurks in the background; the punchy percussions is metallic and hard-hitting; the vocals are expressive and extreme — everything is stretched to the fullest, with no hesitation and reservation.
Scrolling down Air-Ik’s song catalogue, the artist’s own songwriting is just as impressive as his cover song. Anthemic hooks and captivating melodies in a heavy metal sort of rational, irrational extreme. In the 90s and early 2000s, Air-Ik was known as the lead vocalist and guitarist of metal band Willow Wisp. Later in his personal pursuit, more aspects of rock and metal are being explored.
Dream of a Man in a Top Hat “Opposite Poles”
Dream of a Man in a Top Hat is a pair of mad geniuses, who play into the psychedelic post-punk territory with uncompromised, limitless creativity. The correct way to listen their music is to open your mind and let go of any expectation because they are bond to crush them. Setting its scene in a grungy flickering well of echoes, “Opposite Poles” is a psychedelic worm hole.
The sonic impression of the track gives out a feeling of Radiohead meets Nirvana in a sonic drone where “the differences are the same.” Odd, intriguing, and mind-bending. The haunting track reflects on the idea of “opposite poles” on so many different levels while everything is repeated, twisted, emphasized, faded.
Dream of a Man in a Top Hat have a very unique way of playing with guitars. They seem to paint each track in a different space and feel, then layer them together, creating a parallel of multiple realities that are distinctively different yet co-existing in peace. It unlimitedly expand their sonics, tapping into untapped territories. Dream of a Man in a Top Hat certainly have one-of-a-kind mind-bending tunes that sound really surreal to even exist.
They create highly conscious yet illusive experience. “Opposite Poles” adheres to that aesthetic and non-linear storytelling, and in this track, they seem to be taking the vocals through a multi-dimensional tunnel. The lyrics are simple, but hauntingly mesmerizing. “You went I came,” “ shame is such a shame,” “our differences are the same.” The entire track from sonics to lyrics reflect upon the idea of “opposite poles” in such a creative and spontaneous way that seems mystical.
Rolko “Emerald Stones”
Rolko sets the bar high with his debut album, Hidden Hotel Rooms. The darkly fascinating album consist nine brilliant tracks, taking listeners through a spiritually transcending journey, radiating a unique blend of fierce, dark sonics taking inspirations from techno, rock, world, and indie pop. Rolko has a very particular taste when it comes to bending and blending genres. The visual, cinematic inspired sonic landscapes create something obscure, nostalgic, and one of a kind.
“Emerald Stones,” being the third single from the album, tackles human desires, telling the not unfamiliar tale of a man entangled by the beauty of a dark spirit. It comes in the shape of a woman, intensely desirable, dangerously addictive, leading you to make all the wrong decisions. Like a blazing flame, with palpable sonics, driving down a visually emotive, dark road, “Emerald Stones” is a track you can’t look away from, but it seems to be telling you something more.
Rolko delivers melodies with warmth and vulnerability. The guitar rhythms are enriched with a folkloric mystery. The tingling percussive bells blown in the background add nuance and innocence to the track. Though the dark ode depicts a journey alone, Rolko’s vocal brings a distinctive rocker’s sensibility in contrast with the electronic-infused modernity.
Things get really interesting when Rolko’s rocker grittiness meet a night-inspired urban electronic, rounding up with the addictive pop phantom. It seems to be the perfect combination, talking about desires, addiction, and the dark side of technology in a spiritual conscious, high awareness state of mind. Hidden Hotel Rooms gaze into the hidden and secret corners of your soul. Like a fire that could both take down an entire village and cast away darkness, it calls for confrontation. Maybe it’s about soul-searching, facing the ugliness and darkness, finding the fire in your eyes again.
Chris Wirsig ‘Halloween Obsessed: Haunted Attractions’
Chris Wirsig releases an intensely reality-bending EP Halloween Obsessed: Haunted Attractions (Music from the Documentary Series, Episode 2), consisting the soundtracks from the second episode of the award-winning documentary (Amazon, Tubi) as we steps into the spooky season. One thing that stands out instantly is how lively and soulful his music is, even though they are music composed to fit different scenes.
Wirsig takes a more contemporary cinematic approach compare to the traditional, heavily percussive orchestration. Every track carries a song-like fantastic vibe that draws comparison to John William-style imagination in the similar genre. Unlike soundtracks that can’t really exist outside of motion pictures, Wirsig’s music is rich in textural, with the keen capture of mood and emotions. Even the ghostly whispers have a touch of personality to them, not to mention those whimsical and tender pieces where each drop of sound feels precious.
Of course, as a seasoned composer/producer, Wirsig’s production is flawless and the sound designs and arrangements are masterful. It’s cued to the scenes, but in each piece, you could hear Wirsig’s own creative passion speaking from it. The music has a soul and lives in a world of its own. The storytelling flows so effortlessly from the music, taking you into a lost world at different points in history. There’s also very interesting speculative vibe to the music that’s rooted in wonder and curiosity.
It’s not every day you hear a track as brilliant as it is in the film itself as it is alone, but Wirsig manages to excel at both with every piece of music he composes. That is quite rare to hear. “A History of Haunted Houses” spreads out before your eyes as the buried stories in history speak in deep voices. “That Haunting Feeling” feels very accurate to the swelling spine-tickling chill with the heaviness of what it behold. “Lady Ghost and the Darkness,” on the other hand, tells a story of her own under the moonlight. It feels like a nostalgic confession, not without a dark twist.
“Pirates and Tiki Haunts” mixes world elements with bone-ticking quirkiness and folkloric melodic phantom. “The Family That Haunts Together” traces a lost time with a tender heart. The end title concludes the episode with a smash of electronic, rock pop-grazed ghostly entrancement.
James Myhill “Cinematic Inspired 1 - Ouroboros”
Ouroboros is the symbol that represents the circle of life and how it connects to death. A serpent eating its own tail. Inspired by the passing of close family member and the celebration of birth, James Myhill brings a nuanced, cinematic project Cinematic Inspired 1 - Ouroboros, consisting of twelve instrumental tracks. The respect of life and nature can be observed throughout the album. In there, elements and influences from all around the world join each other for an elegant dance, flowingly while deeply connected.
Myhill carries out a zen-like quality in his music while exploring and weaving the vivid, kaleidoscopic imageries and visions. It draws from subtle movements, like the wind and the kiss of a raindrop in “The Long Climb Out” to magnificent, drastic cinematic moments that feel like the roaring waterfall splashing massive energy in front of you. In a way, Ouroboros is unpredictable and mystically beautiful, just like life and nature itself, but Myhill takes another step forward.
His music feels grounded but in dimension and visions, they reach above the sky into a sonic world that doesn’t exist elsewhere. In here, there’s no boundary, there’s no isolation. The profoundly flowing elements weave together into these ethereal, fantastic, almost magical soundscapes that are deeply touching and awesome. It’s a world that’s immediate and highly conscious. It’s illuminating and free-flowing.
The album itself blends so many different genres and influences from all around the world to a point that feels just spontaneous and inspired. The music in there, can’t really be defined, but it’s like a wonderful melting point where everything gets to be so purely and fully themsevles.
In a way it’s abstract, but in another way it’s high resolution. Myhill is really good at creating rich visions that guide listeners into these unnatural phenomenas. At times, he takes you to a mysterious forest, at times, it feels like the element of water that being so unpredictable and playful in life, and there are also times that feels like you’re in a surreal, fictional space, witnessing an ancient ritual (“The Edge of Chill”), and then there is also the observation of human behaviors and social structures among the tracks. “Memory of Matter” has a glorious but unified glow to it that almost feels imperialistic but nostalgic with a kind of mystery and surreality around it.
Ankur “Roots”
Meaningful lyrics and mesmerizingly soulful hook, there’s something for everyone in Ankur’s music. It’s obvious when an artist puts his heart into the music with his mind thinking about the listeners. “Roots” is an empowering anthem that combines pop and hip-hop with a message about grounding, reconnecting to ourselves, finding our centres in in the noisy world that constantly tries to lure us into consumption and addiction.
Ankur tackles the theme so wonderfully throughout his lyricism. Without being too explicit, the thoughtfully orchestrated words sometimes carry carry the exact message we need to hear. It hits you hard, and you find yourself reflecting on aspects of your life while he guides you into a higher vibrational state.
It’s almost like there’s a spiritual aspect to Ankur’s music making. Everything in there were in harmony, though contrasting and diverse. It has a kind of inclusiveness that’s natural, a connection that’s spontaneous and profound. The sonics, on the other hand, are earthy, warm, and vibrant. The track wraps around you wonderfully as if a safe space, a moment of quietness in the busy world.
Feature artist Brontë Kolbe’s voice provides a very interesting addition in contrast with Ankur’s raw and honest rapping style. She’s honest and pure as well. They share the same core values and vibration but express themselves so freely through their uniquely diverse way and perspective.
Naga Brujo “Sick Sad World”
Naga Brujo brings you a good dose of melodic hard rock smashed with punk rock that guarantees to rock your brain out in a wonderful and hard-hitting way. Unpredictable, moody, and primal, the Austin-based four piece femme and queer charged punk rock and roll band brings the nasty underground punk rock live experience right into your speakers and ears. Filled with smoky, sexy licks, the track feels like standing outside on a stormy light with lightning and rumbling thunder, where you open your arms, welcoming the aggressive and massive beauty of nature.
Haunting melodies and moody, flashy guitar licks that feel like the blinking lightbulbs in an underground tunnel. It’s a bit wicked but it’s everything that has you banging your head. Fresh out from the band’s upcoming EP Canceled, “Sick Sad World” is unapologetically straightforward and striped down naked, staring at you with haunting eyes. It’s the kind of track you don’t really forget no matter how much time has passed.
It’s interesting how Naga Brujo blends their love for the 90s’ grunge, punk rock and hard rock all together. “Sick Sad World” gives a retro nod to the past, but in its own artistic pursuit, it’s more daring bringing the genres together. The glitchy, smashing, hard-hitting immersive vibe from the more heavier genre is combined with punk aesthetic. The lyrics are as raw as life itself. There’s no filter or decoration of any kind other than “it”s a sick sad world.” It expresses itself so fully in a very simple, unapologetic way.
The electrifying vocals on the track share an Axl Rose haunting vocal characteristic. It’s primal, it’s versatile, and it’s licking hot.
Viscula “Dance Cannot Be Killed”
Psychedelic and garage rock joins in the punk rockers’ intoxicating quirky groove in “Dance Cannot Be Killed.” Viscula delivers another eclectic track, filled with electrified licks and retro dance rhythm. Mesmerizing and flickering. The track feels like a vivid hallucination where you see the nerves in your body tap their feet to the infectious, bouncy rhythm, holding their hands, stomping their feet.
Viscula is a band with vibrant personality. Their music is proud to be quirky. Their wicked, palpable sonic imagination always translate to the flamboyant, confrontational, illustration-like palette that is hard to forget. It’s refreshing to see a band with such vibrant sonic palette in combination with a kind of earthy, fantastic approach.
“Dance Cannot Be Killed” contains a nod to iconic show personalities like Michael and Johnny Depp. A change of pace in the middle of the song gives listeners a break, elevating them to a whole new level of fantasy. Up the cloud with atmospheric, almost romantic slow dancing session before the music sweeps you off your feet again. “Dance Cannot Be Killed” feels very piratic (maybe by association with Depp).
It’s a bit of a rule breaker, drunk, but fun-loving. The track also shares the similar craze of Jack and Rose’s dance scene in Titanic. It’s the kind of energy that makes you love life all over again. Earthy, intoxicating, and energetic. One aspect that can’t be ignored is the feeling of community that Viscula brings with their songs. “Dance Cannot Be Killed” in that sense is provocative, it challenges you to come join the dancing group, and through that experience, they bound everyone together.
Will Moore “Get Along So Well”
Quirky, bouncy, and imaginative, the new single “Get Along So Well” from Will Moore and band storms the music scene with its uncanny, palpable sonic imagination that almost feels like a new brand of lollipop that is destined to trend. It really feels like a candy that you never have, the listening experience of “Get Along So Well” is a combination of euphoria and childlike innocence.
The track is uniquely refreshing, but in there, you could still taste the iconic flavors lingering in there that pluck your memory. A sprinkle of psychedelic in there along with the expansive new wave sensibility flows through a cinematic pop storytelling. It feels both familiar and new, right at the crossover where all your senses are broadened and triggered.
In 2018, Will Moore was already expanding his sonic palette in the pop scene. A desire for an alternative sound exists in the work he released around that time, and so was an imaginative, filmic storytelling. His work is immersive and deeply engaging. Coming back in 2022 with the brand new single “Get Along So Well,” Will Moore seems to really be able to execute those visions he had towards a broader and more daring songwriting.
The music and soundscape itself has so much to say that it demands your attention. They are stubborn, like children, somehow, they don’t compromise, but rather, they be the best version of who they are. That’s the kind of beauty in “Get Along So Well.” It feels like the smash of a bit of everything, but the diversity is singing in a vibrant harmony.
Lizard Brain Trust “Beach Day”
Lizard Brain Trust is quite a wicked band. Their songs are really interesting and stimulating. The level of their collective imagination is pretty wild with some of the iconic influences still recognizable, but the way they do it makes you feel a bit surreal, like you wake up in your most daring dream. What if Kurt Cobain is highly euphoric in his music making not in a destructive way but actually optimistic? That’s the kind of vibe “Beach Day” gives you.
It’s wicked, truly transforming, and very experimental and high. Think about smoking the devil’s leave while having a serious conversation with the ocean. Lizard Brain Trust gets you to places you simply can’t even imagine in real life. Like science fiction meets the authentic rocker’s heart and a bit of psychedelic. Futurism, nostalgia, and free spirit smashing into one place and that would be Lizard Brain Trust.
The new emerging band is full of surprises, and “Beach Day” only offers you a glimpse at what they are truly capable of. Lizard Brain Trust has so far released three songs, and every single one of them is just as unique and distinctive as the others bearing almost no overlap with each other at the same time feels authentic to the band’s sound.
They are the madmen who made moving the mountains a reality, but there’s also something in their music that feels evocative. It stirs you in a good way, making you feel things and confront certain emotions. It feels like the blood and nerves of rock n roll are pulsing and screaming through them.
Lizard Brain Trust has a full-length album coming in October.