Tuesday, December 29, 2015

Rival Sons: "Pressure and Time"

I haven't been listening to the Rival Sons long enough to have a favorite song yet. I heard they opened for Deep Purple on a European tour and so checked out the group.

Wow.

It's like Led Zeppelin with a dash of White Stripes. The sound is classic rock with constant nods to the blues, with many of the songs clocking in near a White Stripish 3 minutes or so. The singer can really wail and demonstrates impressive versatility. The band is excellent, and the guitarist knows how to lay down a riff.



Yeah, you'll probably think of Zeppelin when you listen, but on top of that you'll be going "This is a great song!" "What a riff!" "Man, that guy can really sing!"

Check it out.

Tuesday, November 10, 2015

Music: Flying Colors' "Bombs Away"

When Steve Morse isn't playing guitar for Deep Purple he works on other stuff. Lately that other stuff is mostly the supergroup Flying Colors, featuring Mike Portnoy (Winery Dogs, ex-Dream Theater), Neal Morse (ex-Spock's Beard), Casey McPherson (Alpha Rev) and Dave LaRue (Steve Morse Band, Dave LaRue Band).

Flying Colors is releasing its second live Blu-Ray/DVD/CD recording this month, equaling its number of studio recordings.  Here's a video of the song "Bombs Away." It wasn't one of my favorites from the studio album but it translates beautifully to the stage.

Thursday, August 06, 2015

Nifty Music: "Rainbow Quartz" by the Grip Weeds

Hippies!

This video from the Grip Weeds reminds me a little of that old video gag where Stephen Colbert plays the veteran interviewing people in Berkeley about the local Army recruiting office.

But it's a great song, magnificently channeling late 60s early 70s rock vibe. The Beatles with a slightly harder Who edge.

Sure, the video is a live show with imperfect syncing. Enjoy the song.

Thursday, July 23, 2015

Nifty Music: Jessica Long and the New Kind




Usually when I post musical content I make sure it's a video. A quality video.

This one is audio with a still picture. Why? Because it's a good song with no "official"-looking quality video to match. There's a good song by the same group on YouTube, but I find the video irritating. For those who find that hard to imagine or just don't care about it while at the same time wanting to hear another tune by Jessica Long & the New Kind, have at it.

Jessica Long & the New Kind are in strong rotation right now with The Maybe Somedays and Black Honey. Still waiting on a high-quality video for the latter, though this fan video might account for my next post.

Saturday, June 27, 2015

Whitehorse: "Downtown"

I've been a bit slow getting on board with Whitehorse, a Canadian songwriting duo structurally in line with the Weepies. Listened to a few tracks from a past album. Didn't quite pull the trigger on any downloads. But the latest album I like better. One track from the new Whitehorse album has me hooked. It's got a Raveonettes vibe but with a dash of the White Stripes.



Wednesday, June 10, 2015

The Maybe Somedays: "All At Once"

I stumbled over this group on Emusic a few weeks ago. They're now in heavy rotation. The Maybe Somedays occupy roughly the same rock-pop niche as Toad the Wet Sprocket. But with a slightly harder edge.

Enjoy:

Saturday, April 18, 2015

Saturday, April 04, 2015

Kandia: "Scars"

There's some music I listen to that's popular. But not much.

Here's a group from Portugal called Kandia.

Heavy modern music, female vocalist. Professional video. Enjoy.

Saturday, March 07, 2015

The Plimsouls: "The Oldest Story in the World"

Before we return from the 1980s, a live version of perhaps the greatest pop song from the Plimsouls, "The Oldest Story in the World":

Wednesday, January 28, 2015

More music: Robin Lane and the Chartbusters

Turn back the clock!

Found this wonderful old-school music video by Robin Lane and the Chartbusters. Robin Lane was a folk artist who veered toward rock in time to influence the New Wave movement. Enjoy.

Friday, January 02, 2015

Nifty music: Lia Ices

I hate to bump Seventh Key from the top of the blog so quickly, but with 2014 filed away in the books, I'm set to announce my surprise favorite music artist from 2014: Lia Ices.

"Surprise favorite" means not counting unsurprise favorite artists like Flying Colors or Toad the Wet Sprocket. It means an artist that reached heavy playlist rotation more-or-less out of the blue, as Frankie Rose did in 2013 with "Interstellar."

As for Lia Ices, she moved from the border of the folk domain into the the realm of quirky pop. Her album "Ices" features varied rhythms, tasteful guitar parts, barbed hooks and her understated vocals. There's even a song ("Electric Arc") that isn't ruined with the use of an auto-tune, which is just short of miraculous. Ices enhances the music instead of delivering the vocal with the effect.

So check out "Higher" from her 2014 album:





The rest of the album is just as good, if not better.