PICK OF THE WEEK

Brian Shapiro follows the beat of his own drummer. The unique confluence of life experiences and musical talent always produces interesting, if nothing else, results. Los Angeles born Shapiro is no exception. His signature synthesis of punk, new wave, singer/songwriter, and a smattering of rock would be enough to set …

An earnest beat engages a melody at the start of “Ancient Cosmic Truth,” the title track of Louis Siciliano’s all-new experimental EP, and though the rhythm of the instrumentation is pendulous, there comes a quiet urgency in the distant vocal element that pushes anyone within earshot to the very edge …

The art of being a rock band in a modern music industry generally means conforming to an idea that the masses have of what you should be; as rock slowly grows away from being one of the undeniably biggest genres in the world, weaning in favor of hip-hop, pop, and …

It’s been quite the journey for Kimberlye Gold, starting with the release of her debut album back in 2004. She’s navigated through what would eventually become three unique eras in the history of pop music to come out on the other side of things sounding a lot more focused than …

To say that it’s not very often that an indie single enjoys the buzz that Sarah Diamond & The Soul Miners “Doin Whatcha Doin” is receiving today might be the understatement of the year, but that isn’t stopping country music buffs from singing the burgeoning songwriter’s praises this year.. Influenced …

Lisa Marie Claire has a poet’s soul. The singer/songwriter takes her cues from the tradition established by such artistic luminaries as Joni Mitchell, but it misses the point to stop there. She does what any talented artist, musical or otherwise, sets out to do – use their influences as a …

Something is chasing us with immense urgency the second we press the play button on “Proof of Monsters” that is immediately dark and yet freewheeling at the same time, but as is the case with the majority of the tracks you’re going to hear in Darren Michael Boyd’s Thoughts & Scares, …

While they’re entirely organic and available to us in a litany of successful singles found across the country music spectrum in 2022, the string elements of the main melody in “Dandelion,” the new single from Justine Sletten, are some of the warmest I’ve heard all year long. The guitar parts …

Sometimes a solo outing is the only way to get something off of your chest as a creative, and I think this is partly what led Chris McCooey to issue a masterpiece of a one-man effort in his new album Missing Pieces this December. McCooey’s melodic moxie is as powerful as ever …

Talented vocalist Dianña has made a couple of prior forays into the pop country arena and her latest “Missing You Underneath the Mistletoe” marks her first Christmas song. I am normally not much a fan of these types of songs, they tend to be calculated far more than other such …