#music

Dobbeltgjenger- The Twins (Album Review)

Michael Bless

Mar 4
4 min

Dobbeltgjenger- The Twins (Album Review)

The duality of one’s own mind is something that many can relate to. Often, people have days in which they struggle to get out of bed, and want to do nothing but sit on their phone, scrolling through an endless ocean of information to keep their minds off of the day’s tasks. Other days, they are ready to go and conquer anything that faces them. The duality of one’s self and other topics of mental health and well being have been expressed through art plenty of times before, and

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Floodwater Angel- Dungeon Crawlers (Album Review)

Michael Bless

Feb 3
5 min

Floodwater Angel- Dungeon Crawlers (Album Review)

Creating a narrative or theme within an album has always been something that has been highly intriguing to me. The thought that goes behind picking an element to base an entire album around is a process that fills me with so much wonder and curiosity. A series of songs can be based around an emotion, object, or all around obsession that the band or singer has at any given moment. As we are all humans with varying interests, the way we create art and interpret a certain topic

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Eliza & The Delusionals 'Give You Everything' on their latest single

Michael Bless

Mar 24, 2022
3 min

Eliza & The Delusionals 'Give You Everything' on their latest single

There is a certain sound that is able to transport you back to a time that you never experienced, yet it sends you back to a simpler moment in your life. Australian-based dream pop band Eliza & the Delusionals transport us back in time to that crush that you fought so hard trying to impress on their latest song, ‘Give You Everything,’ and it works so well. With glittering synths and an excellent, dreamy vocal delivery from lead singer Eliza Klatt throughout, this track feels

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We Are Scientists release new track, 'Handshake Agreement'

Michael Bless

Aug 9, 2021
3 min

We Are Scientists release new track, 'Handshake Agreement'

The year is 2011. A thirteen year old version of me is playing FIFA 11 on my XBOX 360 as I play hooky from school because my first girlfriend broke up with him after a long one and a half weeks of being together. As I sip on a Dr. Pepper from the refrigerator, contemplating if the reason she broke up with me was the fact that I only ever had one conversation with her in the entirety of our relationship, a younger version of me hears the guitar riff of the song 'Rules Don't St

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Michael Bless

Aug 4, 2021
4 min

Poise- Vestiges (Album Review)

Grief hits people in a myriad of ways, whether it’s taking time away from the world that surrounds us, or getting stuck into a creative endeavor right away, we all have our own way of dealing with loss. When Lucie Murphy’s father passed away, Lucy got to work writing songs for the album that would eventually become Vestiges. For those unaware, vestiges means a fragment of something that no longer exists. Within the 11 tracks on Poise’s latest record, we see Murphy coping and

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Michael Bless

Jul 13, 2021
3 min

Hybrid- Black Halo (Album Review)

If you’ve watched a film or played a video game in the past 20 years, chances are you’ve heard something put out by UK-electronic group Hybrid. Their music has been featured on a staggering amount of projects, and it’s not hard to see why. Black Halo allows the duo consisting of Mike and Charlotte Truman to survey an electronic apocalyptic wasteland of sorts, recreating the turbulence that was the past year, but setting it in a dimension that parallels our own. The concept an

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Michael Bless

Jun 28, 2021
3 min

Losers- EP01 (EP Review)

As artists, feeling burnt out with your creative output is something that is all too common. It can be difficult to continue a project for many people when they feel this way, especially when you are in a musical group. In 2016, Losers released the album How To Ruin Other People’s Futures to critical acclaim. The group had ideas, but didn’t know where to go with them. Feeling creatively jaded, one of the members of the group, Tom Bellamy attended Barcelona’s fantastic music f

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Airbag- Identity (Reissued Album Review)

Michael Bless

Jun 11, 2021
3 min

Airbag- Identity (Reissued Album Review)

In 2009, Norwegian Progressive Rock icons, Airbag, blitzed onto the scene with their ambitious and cinematic debut record, Identity. The album, which is receiving a reissue from Norwegian Based Prog label, Karisma Records, would go on to help them secure a passionate and loyal fanbase reaching all across the globe. Identity acts as a bridge between the real world and a sparse fantasy dreamland for the listener to be alone on their own planet with the music that surrounds them

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Fried Monk and beautiful-fortune: Here As One (EP Review)

Michael Bless

Jun 3, 2021
3 min

Fried Monk and beautiful-fortune: Here As One (EP Review)

Sometimes, when two artists collaborate on an album or an EP together, the end result feels awkward. On Here As One, Fried Monk and beautiful-fortune show that they are collaborators that can keep elements of what makes them unique intact while creating a sound that stays true to their individuality as artists. This isn’t something that can just be created inorganically, however. Both members of the Philadelphia music scene for quite some time, it is apparent that both Fried

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Michael Bless

Apr 20, 2021
3 min

boys cruise- boys cruise (album review)

The culmination of unapologetic youthfulness, boys cruise storm into your ears with a sense of urgency on their unkempt yet accessible self titled record. Hailing from the very active music scene surrounding the University of Vermont, Boys Cruise consist of two members of the noise-punk group, Pons, a group who I am no stranger to, having covered them in the past on this very site. On their self titled release, boys cruise create songs that have more accessibility than I woul

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Charity Children Release New Single, 'We Loved', After Five Year Hiatus

Michael Bless

Mar 26, 2021
3 min

Charity Children Release New Single, 'We Loved', After Five Year Hiatus

Life after the end of a romantic relationship seems to go one of two ways. For some people, the time of resentment towards the person that they once loved begins. Contact is cut and the two will rarely talk ever again. For others, the relationship may be cut off romantically, but their platonic relationship is given a chance to blossom. Sometimes this type of relationship is just as, if not more rewarding, than their romantic relationship. For Chloë Lewer and Elliott McKee, k

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Quality Used Cars- Good Days/ Bad Days (Album Review)

Michael Bless

Feb 22, 2021
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

Feb 10, 2021
3 min

Meer- Playing House (Album Review)

The world of Progressive Rock music has always been something that has intrigued me, but has intimidated me for the longest of time. I’m a huge fan of music that contains epic arrangements and sweeping symphonic moments, but for some reason I have yet to fully appreciate the technicality and precision that this genre of music roots itself in. That’s where the Norwegian eight piece Alternative Pop Orchestra, Meer come in. Throughout their sophomore record, Playing House, the

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Michael Bless

Feb 1, 2021
3 min

Evert Snyman- Hot Mess (Album Review)

On Hot Mess, Evert Snyman creates stoner psych rock caked in a layer of desert sand that can be thoughtful and also a little rough around the edges at times. Hailing from South Africa and no stranger to the stoner rock scene of South Africa, Evert Snyman has been performing with the band Ruff Majik, who explore a louder side of metal-tinged stoner rock music. Evert Snyman uses his solo work to showcase his eclectic range of influences, creating this sound that puts Evert in a

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Adi-Keshet Cohen- Battleships (Album Review)

Michael Bless

Jan 26, 2021
3 min

Adi-Keshet Cohen- Battleships (Album Review)

Some artists just have a knack when it comes to making music that sounds timeless and modern at the same time. On Israeli based singer-songwriter Adi-Keshet Cohen’s debut album, Battleships, we witness this statement firsthand. Crafting songs that hold true to the test of time is no easy feat, especially in an era of music that seemingly feels too well polished to be real, Adi-Keshet Cohen finds a way to keep the human emotion that makes her music feel real while crafting her

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Michael Bless

Dec 30, 2020
14 min

Top 20 Albums of 2020

Graphic: Karee Bless website: karee.design ‘Best of 2020’ sounds a little bit like an oxymoron, doesn’t it? In a year that caused so many people to ask themselves so many painful questions about themselves and the world around them what does ‘best of’ even mean anymore? Do the things that you consider the best help you escape from the world around you, or do they wrap you around closer than you’d like to be to tough subjects? 2020 was a year where many maybe felt cooped up, l

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Michael Bless

Dec 15, 2020
5 min

2020 Without Music

For the past couple of weeks you may have noticed that I haven’t exactly been writing my weekly review. I am sorry for this, as I am currently planning on making a top 50 or 25 albums of the year entry coming at the end of the year. I will not be doing another review on a newer release until the start of 2021, as not much is coming out by way of music for the next couple of weeks. Last week was a big week, but I’ve just kind of been recollecting everything that I heard (or ev

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The Big Easy- A Long Year (Album Review)

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 11, 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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