MUSIC REVIEWS

Jake Allen (music), Jennifer Mann (paintings). In an era where music is predominantly consumed in bite-sized streaming formats, Refractions Volume I emerges as a breath of fresh air—a symbiotic audio/visual project that challenges the very notion of how we experience music. Created by the dynamic duo of Jake Allen and Jennifer …

Her single “It Was Always You” carries on a venerable songwriting tradition with character and flair. It’s a song about the aftermath of a relationship when the aggrieved partner realizes, hey, it wasn’t me who had the problem, it wasn’t me who failed “us” – it was you. Songs like …

You can’t ever accuse Universal Dice of aiming for the lowest common denominator. I believe songwriter Gerry Dantone and his cohorts merge thought provoking themes, adult subject matter, and beguiling musical settings better than many much more well-known contemporaries and are writing and recording music aglow with timeless attributes. Their …

As indebted as the song and perhaps the artistry of the man who created it for us is to the Canadian-born country of yesteryear, there’s something rather transcendent about the vocal in “Constellation High” that makes singer/songwriter Vili V all the harder to pigeonhole in this all-new single. Although there’s …

In bd Gottfried’s startlingly on-point “Live, Fight & Die,” the burgeoning singer and songwriter reflects on experiences as a player who, for better or worse, has lived enough life to tell a story or two and has no qualms about doing as much here. Boasting some of the more endearing …

“Growing Pains” begins Maybe in a bold way. Any of these songs could have worked as the EP opener, but it’s arguable that any could set listeners on the journey this release takes on the way that “Growing Pains” does. He comes out in a big way, like the boxer swinging as …

Tom Tikka and Star Prairie Project’s Nolen Chew Jr. pair up for a songwriting gem entitled “California Smile”, and it’s the perfect song for sweeping away any lingering winter chill. Tikka is one of the music world’s best-kept open secrets as a songwriter, and recent releases such as Rainbows and Dead …

The Ontario underground has always produced some of the most provocative artists known around the world, and this February it’s offering us another bold duo of musicians with a talent for making impeccably experimental music in instrumentalists Marbyllia. Marbyllia is a collaborative project from Bill Gilliam and Margaret Maria dedicated …

Different Moon’s “The Underdog” is the latest single from North Carolina-based Jim Piper’s personal project now nearly ten years down the line from its first release. Piper may be working on the margins of the independent music scene, but it isn’t because he lacks talent. Different Moon’s blend of pop, …

Johnny Wheels definitely knows his blues and his skills are a harmonica player are second to none. I feel like I can make this statement after a virtual lifetime of listening to the blues; Wheels’ harp skills remind me of the great Paul Butterfield’s proficiency on the instrument. FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/SWAMPDB/ …