MUSIC REVIEWS

Crash Taylor’s 2022 album Retired Outlaw is another release we can thank COVID-19 for. Taylor’s written songs since he was ten and has since recorded many times but didn’t decide to release his first album until the pandemic caused him to consider it. Taylor is a writer as well and his lyrics …

Where a lot of his contemporaries seem to have a problem overthinking the Americana they’re weaving into their music, Pete Miller has no such issue in his new single “A Light out There,” the first release to bear his name in the byline. There are no fireworks here, nor a …

“I wanted you to know / If you choose to know, there is time for a change / It is written in your soul,” pleads Alex Krawczyk in the powerful “Remember,” one of my favorite songs from her new album Le Olam. Krawczyk’s lyrical protagonist is desperate to get through to …

In the title track from his debut EP Written in Whiskey, Larry Jay isn’t asking the audience to hear him, but instead putting his voice front and center where we have no choice but to bask in the glow of its melodic presence. This urgent desire to take his place at …

Shadowman, Robin Kelly’s sixth album release, remains very much the New Zealand songwriter’s album despite the cadre of five-star talent supporting him. Singer Sonia Wilson and guitarist Nigel Gavin playing alongside Kelly is a big deal, the mid way point of Shadowman might fall apart with it, but Kelly’s talents are the …

Random Parade’s most recent album release Never Meant to Last is a nine song collection continuing the Southern California band’s ongoing evolution. They’ve toured with seminal 80’s acts such as The Fixx and Missing Persons while echoes of Joy Division and The Cure, among others, are present in their music. …

Owe It All” is the stunning new single from Ella Blicker. Casting a dreamy, yet veiled in a brooding piano, this romantic pop offering is a coveted love letter. Blicker’s hushed, gentle melodic voice seems to tickle the ear much the same as a whisper. Drawing out the pronunciation of …

From passive melodies ala “It’s Only a Paper Moon” to a quaint harmony around every bend in “Summertime,” Bettman & Halpin manage to cover all the bases with their new album Timeless, all while promoting a rather minimalistic attitude when it comes to songcraft. The majority of the songs in Timeless are standards, …

When it comes to iconic pieces of music in video games, there are a few selections most would jump to from the start: the Halo chant, Mario’s various themes, “Dovahkiin” from Skyrim. There’s a piece of music in particular that most might not keep at the ready in case of …

For The Love Of Tabla is the latest groundbreaking album from Toronto Tabla Ensemble. Artistic director and founder, Ritesh Das, sought to make the tabla front and center on For The Love Of Tabla. The tabla often was lost amongst other instruments, something Das wanted to change. Das also wanted …