Sometimes it’s vexing when a new band’s press kit tells you what other bands they sound like. As a reviewer, this means you’re not able to listen to the music without prejudice. You’re going to compare the newer artist to the bands that their press agent just told you they sound like. In this case, we’re informed from the outset that we’ll like Oregon’s Supplemental Pills if we like Spacemen 3, The Velvet Underground, and The Brian Jonestown Massacre. I am delighted to report that Supplemental Pills does in fact sound like those bands, but takes those influences and melds them together into something new. They are less derivative than…
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Melody Fields 1901/1991
Swedish Psychedelic rock band, Melody Fields released two albums last year. The first of the two, 1901, is a great blend of classic ’60s psychedelic, shoegaze, and experimental landscapes. Starting off the album is the powerful opening track “Going Back”. With a rolling “Tomorrow Never knows” drum line, solid baseline, and eastern hook to catch your attention. This psych raga track also has lots of the albums signature three part male/female vocal blends which sounds divine. The second track and first single, “Jesus” has a big horn/saxophone riff creating a gospel/rock vibe. One of the best tracks on the album, it creates a “Big Heaven” sound, with the looping riff…
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IVY ROOM 9.23 | Star Decay, The Love Dimension, Melting Elephants
It was a good turnout for a Wednesday night in Berkeley. It’s good for San Francisco and East Bay bands to play shows on both sides of the Bay. Different people from parts of the city make it out who would not otherwise. It’s hard to always be going to San Francisco or Oakland for shows, as band members often live in many different parts of the Bay Area. People like to go out locally on a weeknight for shows, and it showed at this event. The Ivy Room is a great venue in North Berkeley to do shows for those who live in that neck of the woods. It…
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Aoife Nessa Frances has returned with a new album, Protector
Aoife Nessa Frances has returned with a new album, Protector, on Partisan records. Starting off the album is the calm track, “Way to Say Goodbye.” The soothing vocals are mixed over a mid-tempo beat, with a creative use of brass and strings that softly creep up in the mix, which opens the door to the rest of the album. “This Still Life” has a similar vibe and production. “Emptiness Follows” has a fantasy acoustic-type vibe with shimmering keyboards and/or mellotron. Harps and Brass accentuate the chorus, giving it a timeless feel and the hearing of music on a grand scale. The next track, “Only Child” features a toe-tapping minimal beat,…
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Infinite Possible Futures is the new album by Mayya
Infinite Possible Futures is the new album by Mayya, and it hits like a comforting warm breeze or a hug from a long-lost friend.
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C.ROSS’s new full length album “Skull Creator”
Story by: Matt Robeson Martin Skull Creator is the new album by C. Ross (Chad Ross) of the Canadian bands Comet Control, Quest for Fire, Nordic Nomadic, and the Deadly Snakes. Recorded at the Balloon Factory in Vancouver, British Columbia by Joshua Wells, the album has a very cosmic acoustic style production that permeates across the album as a whole. Each song is uniquely different. However, the lush, mellow production dresses each track differently, like they were all cut from the same mold. This would be a soundtrack to a rainy morning, with chill vocals resting perfectly atop the lush acoustic production of each track. Sweeping synths on some of…
