Monthly Archives: May 2018

Media, Poetry

Skytrain to Nowhere

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Available in Paperback here

and eBook (pdf) here

Skytrain to Nowhere is an imagination driven and esoteric volume of free-form poetry. The book documents the author’s experiences, thoughts and observations while riding the skytrain at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport over the period of several weeks. Since the skytrain is only designed to transport travelers between various terminals and parking facilities at the airport, someone spending nearly 50 hours riding it purely for recreation and artistic inspirational purposes is highly unusual (to put it mildly.) Aside from occasional quirky anecdotes about various passengers, the poems mostly deal with themes of motion, the passage of time, and nostalgia. The author grapples with these issues from a retro-futurist perspective. Skytrain to Nowhere celebrates the realization that our vitality hinges on our ability to always keep moving, while recognizing we are unwilling or unable to leave some things behind on the journey.

Purchase Skytrain to Nowhere on Amazon.

Reviews

Sightline Heights – Can’t Back Down

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Can’t Back Down is a new single from Philadelphia based alternative rock project, “Sightline Heights” (which is set to release its debut EP in June.) Though a lot of bands and artists have casually adopted the label of alternative as a descriptor of their music over the years, Sightline Heights’ Can’t Back Down strikes me as actually capturing the essence of the “alternative” music sound (as I imagine it anyway.) The tempo is slow to moderate, and the drums have a nice kick to them. The guitars have that nice, classic distortion, creating a coveted tone which really is the heart of this song. In addition to his guitar work, singer/songwriter Marc Eimer also does a decent job as vocalist, especially considering his parts are not particularly easy to sing. It’s difficult to actually “sing” at the volume required for this type of music while retaining artful clarity and without devolving into gravelly shouting or screamo type vocals, but Eimer manages to hold his own. Production quality on the track is excellent, right up there with any standard label release.

All in all, this is a pretty solid alternative rock song. I don’t really have any criticisms, but it would be interesting on some future releases to experiment with the sound a bit by adding in some unusual instruments, a synthy bridge or maybe even a surprise female solo. I wouldn’t really mess with it too much though as the artist has a pretty good formula so far.

For more info:

www.sightlineheights.com
www.facebook.com/sightlineheights

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1C4uv0LRWxI

Reviews

Diveyede – There is no Cure//They Will Be the Death of Me

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Diveyede refers to himself as a “Style of No Style.” His latest release There is no Cure//They Will Be the Death of Me occupies an interesting niche somewhere between hip hop, chillwave and spoken word poetry. Despite having a rather calm and pleasant voice to listen to, what stands out to me about Diveyede’s delivery is his impeccable sense of timing. It’s so on point that it almost seems like even a machine couldn’t have done a better job. The tracks themselves are very ambient. The best song on the album is I Lost My Mind in Seattle, which features some killer retro synth and very high quality rapping. Though my personal favorite is the first track, Midnight Thoughts on Alki which strikes me as the most creative and unconventional stylistically (for this genre anyways.) Diveyede is like a hip hop version of the classic lo-fi, avant garde, experimental alternative music, and his music is greatly enhanced by the small collection of talented artists and producers that also work on his projects. Shoutout to “Son the Rhemic,” Siggy and Noob. Their contributions to this did not go unnoticed by the reviewer.

For more info:
https://diveyede.squarespace.com/

Reviews

Ice Creme – Cotton Candy

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DJ Ice Creme’s new electronic music jam Cotton Candy really hits the spot. No, but seriously this is awesome. In the 90’s people used the term “candy raver” (or “kandi raver”) to describe a certain type of raver who wore kids’ backpacks, bright multi-colored bracelets and just gave off the vibe of friendship and childhood innocence. Now, I won’t say that Ice Creme’s music is any kind of direct throwback to that culture, but Cotton Candy definitely has a retro feel to it and abstractly recaptures much of the aesthetic from the early 90’s. Vocal effects and sample wise, it actually reminded me of early techno cassette tapes I owned in 1993 (if you were to replace the standard old school techno beat with something…well like this.) The best way to describe the unique sound of Cotton Candy is that it’s like someone mixed circus music, sounds of people being at the circus, and EDM. It is all very artfully done, and the end result is one of the coolest pieces of dance music I’ve ever heard.

http://www.icecrememusic.com/
https://www.beatport.com/artist/ice-creme/683731

Reviews

Natalie Lucassian – 12:26

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Natalie Lucassian’s new EP, 12:26 is light years ahead of most indie albums in terms of quality and artistry. Natalie’s sound has been described as “Amy Winehouse reincarnated as Adele’s indie rock little sister.” However, I don’t think that characterization does her enough justice. Her music seems refreshingly original. In fact, I like it more than the music of either of those other two artists. Natalie has a natural voice for emotive indie rock but is a more talented singer than most indie artists, whom tend to substitute authenticity for technical ability. Natalie Lucassian represents the best of both worlds.

Restless is a brooding track with psychedelic undertones and a light beat that’s slow enough to chill out to but peppy enough that you could dance to if you felt like it. 12:26 is a tad more upbeat and rocking. It’s my favorite song on the album and stylistically reminds me a bit of the music of a band called Magic Wands.

All in all, this EP punches above its weight class, and I can’t think of anything negative to say about it. 12:26 is awesomely haunting.

https://www.facebook.com/natalielucassian/
https://twitter.com/NatalieRae313

Reviews

RANZEL X KENDRICK – Texas Sagebrush

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Having done thousands of music reviews over the years, I have discovered a lot of interesting or good music, but not too much of it stands out. I have to say though that country artist Ranzel X Kendrick’s new album, Texas Sagebrush is exceptional. The first track Any Ole’ Song, should leave no doubt to the listener that this guy’s music is right up there with the country legends. This shouldn’t be surprising given that he apparently is the nephew of Grammy award winner, Roger Miller.

Kendrick describes his sound as Texas Roots / Americana, and he has become a pretty much a master of it, so far as I can tell. His style features mellow but articulate acoustic guitar, in a fairly minimalist context, along with sincere and quietly contemplative vocals.

Ambiance wise, the songs on this album would not have seemed out of place on the classic soundtracks of films like “Every Which Way But Loose” (which featured hits from Eddie Rabbitt and Mel Tillis.) They are just very professional and have the feel of someone that has been around the block a few times. Texas Sagebrush is very authentic and evokes memories of the last era of pre-popcommercialization of the country sound. This isn’t to say that the music itself is dated though. What a Pretty Day retains the artful authenticity while demonstrating appeal to mainstream contemporary audiences. Rebecca White’s stellar vocals combine the best of indie folk and country elements. At times on this album I even found myself questioning whether what I was listening to was a Greenwich Village coffee house folk tune or a country western song.

Just about anyone who hears this music will instantly recognize it as being in the top-tier of its genre.

For more info:
http://www.ranzelxkendrick.com/