SHARK-FIN AWARDS

Energy presents a diversely-appointed collection of hard rock rhythm and mighty melodic power balladry in their debut album after forty years of waiting, Rock Party, which is due out this upcoming June and already getting a warm reception from fans and critics alike. Featuring heavy groove tracks like “And I’m Doing …

The third full length release The Sun Left and Took the Moon With It from Portland’s Bees in a Bottle, comprising the duo of Christine and Chad McAllister, signals a turning point in an already promising run. The album’s eleven songs elevate their songwriting to higher levels than ever before as Christine …

The unique moniker Heistheartist leaves no doubt about LeeMann Bassey’s seriousness of intent. The Central Islip, New York native began his professional musical journey as a secular neo-soul singer before hearing an online TD Jakes sermon that spun his head around. Heistheartist felt inspired to redirect his artistic efforts and …

Go Time’s new album, Anything Could Happen, is a raucous and wild ride through the vast expanse of the rock genre. The band, consisting of Scott Niekelski on Main Vocals, Guitar, Keyboards, Steve Grzenia on Percussion and Backing Vocals, Paul Schmidt on Guitar and Backing Vocals, and Mark Marketti on …

Sharp and yet unintimidating, sterling but wholly accessible; the lead vocal in Barry Muir’s “Home In A New York Minute” has got to be one of the smartest of the new indie pop I’ve heard in 2023. Muir is no newcomer to his scene, and in his new single, he …

Live albums once carried commercial cachet they no longer enjoy. It doesn’t mean that such releases aren’t artistically viable, however. As a fan of live albums, I enjoyed The Price Brothers Band’s Live at the Yellow Cab Tavern immensely. The twelve song release presents us with a live appearance at the Dayton, …

From its first moments, “Out of the Dark” is clearly a special track. Its gentle piano melody beckons listeners closer, and it’s not long before the shared vocals of Trisha and Thara deliver one of the richest melodies of 2023. There’s a defined knack for what it means to be …

Produced by respected composer Alex Newport, known for similar work with acts as diverse as Death Cab for Cutie and At the Drive In, among others, Paul Jacks’ new collection Amphibious moves on from the past without foregoing what brought Jacks to the dance. The personal touch distinguishing prior albums such as Black …

As delicate as it is passionate in tone, the vocal track that Thomas Truax lays down in “Birds & Bees,” one of the key songs featured on his new album Dream Catching Songs (out this coming March everywhere indie music is available), is both surreally evocative and blunt, leaving us nowhere to …

Thrusting itself from the speakers like a wild animal that has just been uncaged, the deluge of guitar melodicism that we find in the first few important peaks of Johnnie Mikel’s “Vulnerability” is undeniably some of the most exciting of any found on his new LP Purgatory. In this strikingly strong …