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Michael Bless
- Feb 23
- 3 min
Quality Used Cars- Good Days/ Bad Days (Album Review)
For many artists, attempting to traverse unknown ground can be a big creative challenge that some give a thought to, but never act upon it because they are too scared or unconfident. For Frances Tait, this is not the case. Frances has been an active member of Melbourne’s rich music scene, playing in psychedelic surf rock groups, jazz bands, and blues groups. With his new project, Quality Used Cars, he conquers a new sound, and fronts a more straightforward singer/ songwriter
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Michael Bless
- Jan 2
- 3 min
Vermont Punks, Pons, Release New Live Album: Bird and Boy
In a year where there was barely no live music to be found, Vermont based Post-Punk band Pons wanted to give their fans a little taste of what they are missing on their live album, Bird and Boy. The album, and film the band released alongside it, make it their mission to come as close as they can to transporting the listener to a live Pons gig, minus the sweaty venues, crowd antics, and Pons’ insane crowd interactions. The live followup to their September 2020 full length alb
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Michael Bless
- Dec 6, 2020
- 4 min
Soft Blue Shimmer- Heaven Inches Away (Album Review)
On their debut record, L.A. based dreamgaze band, Soft Blue shimmer, explore their chosen sound throughout 9 songs about the budding and breakdown of human relationships. Soft Blue Shimmer are a great example of a band who fully embraces their sound to its truest form. On the 35 minute album, the thing that stuck out to me was just how comforting this whole record felt throughout. Even if some tracks are generally about wanting something back that you once had, musically, thi
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Michael Bless
- Nov 26, 2020
- 3 min
Ember Knight- CHERYL (Album Review)
CHERYL, the sophomore album by Los Angeles based artist, Ember Knight, is a lovely yet bizarre exploration of what a Rock Opera can truly be. Set in an alternate society, CHERYL explores the story of a girl who wakes up one morning and cannot seem to remember what her favorite color is. Not remembering this little fact about herself gets her committed to an asylum. Cheryl is not able to get out until she remembers what her favorite color is. As you can see, Ember Knight puts
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Michael Bless
- Nov 7, 2020
- 5 min
The Goalie's Anxiety At the Penalty Kick- Ways of Hearing (Album Review)
Ways of Hearing by Philadelphia band The Goalie’s Anxiety At the Penalty Kick reminds me a lot of a fragile glass vase, ready to break when you give it the slightest gaze, but somehow stays upright. There are moments where this metaphorical ‘vase’ may break and shatter into millions of tiny pieces, but the band finds a way to glue them all back together in an instance. The Goalie's Anxiety At the Penalty Kick have created a perfect album to listen to in the moment, it’s lush
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Michael Bless
- Oct 31, 2020
- 3 min
The Big Easy- A Long Year (Album Review)
When we look back at the year 2020, it is safe to say that there will always be one thing that immediately jumps into everyone's head. The Coronavirus pandemic has affected almost everyone in some shape, and has caused some people great depression. It is safe to say that this year has challenged everyone in some way. We often forget to think about the people around us though and how they are dealing with the world as we know it. For The Big Easy vocalist and guitarist, Steven
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Michael Bless
- Oct 25, 2020
- 3 min
Wendy Eisenberg- Auto (Album Review)
Sometimes, when you listen to a record, you can immediately tell that an artist has put a significant part of them on the line for the listener to digest. Auto by Wendy Eisenberg encapsulates that better than any album I have heard in the year 2020. Wendy Eisenberg proves that they have a vast knowledge of music and displays that across 13 breathtaking songs that feel minimalist yet chaotic all at once. So many of these songs display the various musical experiences Wendy has
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Michael Bless
- Oct 17, 2020
- 3 min
The Most- Of What We Have (Review)
On Of What We Have, The Most create a sprawling piece of art that is very difficult to pin down into one particular box. Usually, I feel as if saying something doesn’t fit into generic standards is a bit of a cop out, but The Most have really perplexed me and challenged me on their sophomore record. Of What We Have is an exercise in taking rules of certain genres and throwing them out of the window. When I heard that this album was deeply rooted in Jazz, Math Rock, and Punk m
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Michael Bless
- Oct 12, 2020
- 3 min
Heavy Sigh- Hard to Care (Album Review)
On Hard to Care, Clifton, New Jersey dream-pop/emo band Heavy Sigh deliver songs that find beauty in the most vulnerable pits of human emotion. The album feels like a therapy of sorts for its creators as they navigate the complications of relationships and loss in general. These experiences may be independently felt by one member of the band, or shared by Heavy Sigh’s five members, Suzy Forman (vocals, guitar), Eric Schoolz (bass), Gregory Maniago (synth, trumpet, percussion)
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Michael Bless
- Oct 1, 2020
- 4 min
Pons- Intellect (Album Review)
Mind transforming experiences are hard to come by. On Intellect, Vermont based post-punk band, Pons promises an experience that is almost seemingly connected to the brain. It is written all over the identity of the band, as their name is taken from a part of the brain. The album cover features brains. The album title is Intellect, which again is another term closely associated with the brain. Will you feel a grand transformation after listening to this record? In some way, ma
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Michael Bless
- Sep 23, 2020
- 5 min
Fever Queen- The World of Fever Queen (Review)
Chicago based artist Elenor Rose Lee, known by her stage name as Fever Queen, has created an extraordinary collection of songs that will be exciting for her to look back on for years to come. An avid journaler, the level of attention that the songs on The World of Fever Queen receive is something that many other artists, even those who are bigger than her can really envy and take note from. Fever Queen creates this thoughtful time capsule, making us feel not only like a touri
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Michael Bless
- Aug 25, 2020
- 3 min
Sea Glass- Shifts (Review)
Shifts is a brilliant work of art that encapsulates a relationship between nature and humanity unlike any other record I have ever heard. With its beautiful droning synths intertwined beneath minimal acoustic guitar playing and delicate vocals, Sea Glass create this beautiful, almost autumnal sounding experimental-folk record worth listening to. The band, consisting of Matt Ashton, Melinda Bronstein (both from the drone pop group The Leaf Library,) and Mike Cranny (from the d
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Michael Bless
- Aug 23, 2020
- 4 min
Guitar Fight from Fooly Cooly- Soak (Review)
Soak is a record that I could see a lot of people really attaching to. It has everything most people could want in an emo/punk record. It has the ability to feel unapologetic and self aware in how it presents itself, a quality that many records that capture hoards of admirers possess. There are a lot of quirky qualities that add a lot of charm to what Guitar Fight from Fooly Cooly are doing here. Whether it be the very brief, yet fun math-rock inspired moments, or the samples
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