Misc Reviews

Absoloot – The Truth

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Hip hop artist “Absoloot” has delivered a new track titled “The Truth.” It’s very well produced and would be worth listening to even for the groovy musical arrangements alone. Absoloot’s pacing and tone flows well throughout. Despite the provocative title and cover, Absoloot’s political message comes across as rather nuanced, as he levels his constructive criticisms at multiple sides and doesn’t fall into the trap of cliched predictability. Regardless of your views on the state of current affairs in these tumultuous times, this is a great quality song, and the political message is conveyed in a manner that won’t rub you the wrong way if you don’t agree with parts of it. Expect this guy to continue to put out good material in the days ahead.

Available on itunes
https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/truth-feat.-captain-single/id1200622143

www.twitter.com/absoloot
www.facebook.com/absoloot
www.reverbnation.com/Absoloot
www.youtube.com/absolootube

Reviews

Gilbert Engle – 2016 Piano Sonata 10

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Gilbert Engle continues to display his music versatility and technical proficiency, the latest example to come across my desk being his 2016 “Piano Sonatas” release. These tunes maintain a feverish pace throughout and convey a lively, bright and upbeat mood. One can envision a scenario where crowds of people they are moving briskly through the sidewalks of a bustling metropolis, set to this music. “Piano Sonata 8,” one of the best tracks on the album, is an excellent example of this. All of the songs are simply numbered this way rather than given esoteric abstract titles. It gives a certain businesslike and perhaps modernist quality to the overall aesthetic. Engle delivers pure substance and never seems to rely on catchy titles or sloganeering in his work. His focus is entirely on creating the best piece of music possible. This is extremely refreshing when one considers that a good portion of contemporary music is almost entirely based around the marketing and image, with little attention paid to actual songwriting or even the music itself.

Engle’s piano handiwork is meticulously performed with an articulated precision. My favorite track is “Piano Sonata 4” I listened to several times in a row. It gave off the vibe of a hypnotic roller coaster ride with it’s teeter-totter of highs and lows and ups and downs. Even though the piano is the only instrument being used, this is by no means a somber or light album. The fast forward pacing gives these songs all the heightened energy of a downtown afternoon. It’s a terrific collection of tunes which are yet another representation of both the prolific level of output and quality that Gilbert somehow manages to maintain.

For more info:
http://newjazzmedia.com/music-lounge/albums/piano-sonatas-2016
http://newjazzmedia.com/about-the-artist

Misc Reviews

Charles Luck and Tino Red – Limitless: Lost In Space (Produced By DansonnBeats)

Charles Luck and Tino Red have cranked out another track. This one’s titled “Limitless: Lost in Space” and is produced by DansonnBeats. It has more of an epic feel to it, with an almost opera like, dramatic musical backing. The song takes a somewhat urgent pacing, which correlates with the tone and subject matter..(saving the world, etc.) Tino’s vocal skills come through like always as he demonstrates his usual combined rapping/singing adeptness. He also shows an uncanny ability to deliver material with class and in a unifying, elevating way. As a bonus, there’s even a slick reference to Paul McCartney and the Beatles song, “Eleanor Rigby” about a third of the way through.

Fore more info:
https://soundcloud.com/blackastronautx/charles-luck-tino-red-limitless-lost-in-space-produced-by-dansonnbeats


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Misc Reviews

TimbDagod – Bars No Lyrics

Humbly named hip hop artist TimbDagod has a new single out titled “Bars No Lyrics.” One thing that’s very apparent in this jam is his technical skill when delivering. His timing is tighter than a metronome. He’s able to maintain the consistency for long periods as well, not just short bursts of rhymes. His rapping style has kind of a rhythmic, hypnotic quality to it. It doesn’t express a lot of attitude or exaggerated emotions. “Bars No Lyrics” is a worthy effort, and TimbDagod certainly knows his craft.

For more info:
http://timbdagod.com/
http://www.audiomack.com/song/timbdagod/bars-no-lyricshttp://www.audiomack.com/song/timbdagod/bars-no-lyrics

Misc Reviews

Monsta Ma$h – Latest Tracks

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Los Angeles based artist Monsta Ma$h has recently released a couple new tracks. His style is a unique blend of pop punk and hip hop. The song “Stay on Edge” for example is reminiscent of carefree late 90’s pop / hip hop songs (though he also has a remix of this jam available which utilizes an awesome 80’s synthwave backing.) His music isn’t quite heavy enough to be classified as “rapcore,” but also not light enough or cheesy enough to to fit in with mainstream pop groups like Smashmouth. He falls somewhere in between and strikes a good balance. One thing that’s clear from his jams is that Monsta knows how to have a good time. He’s often hamming it up and laughing and loves to sing about partying. His delivery is confident, articulate and his approach is laid back without coming across as lazy. The production quality is excellent, and Monsta’s latest tracks along with his colorful persona are highly marketable.

For more info:
http://www.monstamash.net/

Misc Reviews

Bar None – Devils in the Details

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New hip hop track available from “Bar None.” It has a terrifically eerie carnival styled musical backing to it, which even on its own is enough to give the song a great ambiance. “Devils in the Details” keeps it minimalist and mellow. The song doesn’t ever get too busy or tryhard with a lot of unnecessary flash. The rhyme delivery is unique in the way it alternates between fast and a kind of slow “drawl” style. This is a pretty decent jam, and these guys have a good aesthetic going.

For more info:
https://twitter.com/barnone302
https://soundcloud.com/chuckandlock/devils-in-the-details

Reviews

Sunterra – Reborn (Listen to it Here)

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Sunterra is a well known Austrian independent metal band that is making a comeback after a 10 year hiatus. On the surface their appearance resembles that of a standard metal band, but appearances can be deceiving. Their new album, “Reborn,” while retaining the ambiance and aesthetic of old school metal is actually an eclectic mix which incorporates gothic, industrial, electro, and even dubstep elements. These various elements are subtly and meticulously merged together, creating a distinct and cohesive sound (essentially metalstep) while not coming across as a stew of mush by combining all these different ingredients. A lot of metal bands look only to the purity and heroes of the past, so Sunterra’s creative approach and commitment to the future is refreshing.

You can listen to it here:
http://player.believe.fr/v2/3614971132287

Misc Reviews

Dario Black – Don’t Let Go (No Te Vayas)

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“Don’t Let Go” is a new single out from indie artist Dario Black. It’s a pretty straightforward dance pop track which does a good job at capturing the positive spirit and aesthetic of EDM. After a colorful tropical intro, the song picks up the pace and is brimming with hypnotic romantic energy throughout. This is a club type jam, ripe for an outdoor festival or rave setting. The repetitive nature of the the chorus “Don’t Let Go” helps to drive home the message and enticingly programs the listener to stick with it long after the music stops. The production quality is quite good (as is expected with this genre.) This is a great effort. EDM is a crowded field and it’s difficult to get noticed, but hopefully some DJs will give this a spin.

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Dario has a keen eye for color usage and aesthetic artistry, and I anticipate when/if a full video for this song is released it will live up the song.

Available on Spotify:
http://spoti.fi/2jEhu3Z

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HaPlYR9LzMU

Reviews

Charles Luck and Tino Red – One Love

Charles Luck and Tino Red team up here to create the musical number, “One Love.” It’s one of those light and refreshing summertime pop songs, the kind with a little bit of hip hop flavor thrown in. This actually reminds me of the kind of jam you would hear in the fun romantic scenes of a late 90s or early 2000s teen movie. Or it would work well as music in a commercial for just about anything love oriented. It doesn’t come across as cheesy though, just straightforward and solid quality.

A lot of rappers can’t sing at all and simply rely on style, lyrical ability and flow, but Tino Red sings incredibly well. He shows his range and artistic versatility throughout. He could probably excel as a professional vocalist in almost any musical genre.

The audio quality once again is top notch. It actually sounds better than most of what you’d hear on the radio (from an artistic standpoint as well as content and production wise.) I don’t know how these guys can put out so much material. It’s really coming together for them.

For more info:
https://soundcloud.com/blackastronautx/charles-luck-tino-red-one-love-2
http://www.luckonmars.com

Reviews

Charles Luck – Featuring Addie and Tino Red – Earthquakes

Earthquakes is another new track from Charles Luck and his collective. They continue to crank out an impressive volume of work without sacrificing any quality. This particular jam is a mix of pop, light hip hop and EDM which is carried by the sparkling vocals of Addie, a female vocalist. Wisely, producer Ian Hanks and the rest of the crew kept effects to a minimum and didn’t ruin her vocals with a lot of unnecessary processing. The result is that Addie’s voice shines throughout the song with near crystal clarity, while Tino Red chimes in midway through the song with a well timed rap interlude.

The catchiest parts both musically and lyrically for me are the “starting earthquakes, moving mountains…” phrases which are repeated several times throughout the song as part of a lovely musical progression. It builds and rebuilds each time to an epic EDM chorus which delivers the payoff excitable types will be waiting for. As with the other songs associated with this collective, “Earthquakes” exudes a positive, energetic and upbeat tone throughout.

https://soundcloud.com/blackastronautx/charles-luck-ft-addie-tino-red-earthquakes-produced-by-ian-hanks

http://www.luckonmars.com