CD Review: Cinemuerte “Aurora Core”
January 29, 2010 by Aaron Phillips · Leave a Comment
If you like your female fronted rock and metal, there is a plethora of bands to choose from, Paramore, Nightwish, Within Temptation to name but a few.
A fairly new addition to this genre are Cinemuerte, who suprisingly, are relatively unknown outside their native Portugal. Formed in 2002 by vocalist Sophia Vieira and bassist Joao Vaz, “Aurora Core” is the follow up to 2006’s “Born From Ashes”. What follows is actually quite a good collection of straight up ballsy rock songs with a feel good factor.
Sweden’s “Hearts of Black Science” know how to please you: Rockin’ interview, free mp3 download & an autographed CD giveaway!
January 28, 2010 by Barbara Pavone · Leave a Comment
Hailing from Stenungsund, Sweden (just outside of Gothenburg) Daniel Änghede (Vocals/Guitars/Bass) and Tomas Almgren (Synths/Production/Mixing) are the extraordinarily talented duo behind Hearts of Black Science. The electronic rockers recently released their second full-length album, The Star In the Lake, and were kind enough to celebrate the release with us. Not only did Tomas offer to chat with me, but HoBS were more than happy to bring you (yes, you!) a free mp3 download of their latest single, Gold & Dust, as well as a contest to give away an autographed copy of the latest album. Enjoy the interview below and good luck!
Q: How did Hearts of Black Science start?
A: I moved back home (to Stenungsund) after having struggled as a horror movie director in London and Berlin. Daniel’s band, Astroqueen, had just split up and we were both eager to start a band ourselves. We had made music together before, when we were younger, in various mini-projects, but nothing serious like HoBS.
Hawk and Dove soar on this new EP release
January 28, 2010 by Scott Homewood · Leave a Comment
Hawk and Dove – Self titled
Self-released
After opening the package containing this CD, I immediately flashed back to my youth. Besides being a music freak (and not just any sort of music freak – I was a blues snob. Didn’t listen to anything but blues music of the ’50’s and ’60’s for about five years) I also was a huge comic book fan. The various titles featuring the superhero Batman were my favorites. I think I was into Batman the most because he didn’t have any super-powers and seemed to accomplish everything by the use of his wits and the physical prowess he had honed himself. Later, I realized he was a lot like a musician in this way. Creating viable songs, intricate arrangements etc. takes an immense innate musical aptitude and becoming a master of your chosen instrument requires a physical prowess most people cannot achieve. Why I immediately thought of comic books upon checking out this CD is that Hawk and Dove was the title of a controversial comic book in the ’60’s featuring two characters that were the total opposite of each other. One a dominant, emotional hero who solved problems with physicality and one more passive, who sought to use his wits to solve problems. While I am not sure if the dynamic between Elijah Miller and John Kleber has any comparisons with their comic book namesakes, the two do have an interesting sound together and Miller’s emotional lyrics and often-whispered vocals run counterpoint to Kleber’s in-your-face guitar work.
VIDEO: Rock and Roll Report TV…
January 27, 2010 by Mark Boudreau · Leave a Comment
VIDEO: Rock and Roll Report TV featuring Tonya Watts http://tmogul.com/tweet/bSmc0
CD Review: Rob Nicholas “Rob Nicholas” [EP]
January 27, 2010 by Bill Sullivan · Leave a Comment
It doesn’t take long to realize that Chicago’s Rob Nicholas is classically trained – just a few bars into his new self-titled EP and you’ll be amazed with the professional level and depth of his talent. Classically trained artists easily impress us with their fretboard gymnastics, but often come up short in the melody department. Not so with Rob Nicholas. The five tunes on his EP are not only technically brilliant, but are also extremely accessible. I can’t recall that last time I’ve heard someone get away with such a mix of sophisticated pop, rock, blues, and jazz so successfully.
Britain’s “Jarmean?” snub albums, embrace absinthe and will choose the ukulele over a guitar any day!
January 26, 2010 by Barbara Pavone · Leave a Comment
“Jarmean?” is no longer just the popular British time-saving, slang version of “Do you know what I mean?,” but it is now also the moniker of one of the most fabulous, refreshing bands I’ve come across in recent months. The British five-piece fuses punk and vaudeville in an amazingly innovative way and discovering this band was like discovering a diamond in a pile of rocks. Jarmean?
They released their debut single, Mind the Gap, earlier this month and took the time to answer some of my pressing questions in anticipation of the release. Being the cohesive team that they are, they answered all of the questions … together! Talk about uncommon, and awesome.
Jarmean? are: Truman (Ukulele/Crooning + Abuse), Jericho (Smooth Horns), Mr. Fox (Tuba Rapper), Swanimaru (Baby-Faced Assassin) and Smoochi (She’s Our Bez!) – Their descriptions, not mine!
10 OF THE LOUSIEST COVER SONGS EVER
January 25, 2010 by Bill Sullivan · Leave a Comment
We’ve all encountered that unsettling feeling upon hearing a beloved song redone by another artist. What were they thinking? How dare they try to redo this song! While we are powerless to prevent these clowns from trashing the originals, we can call them out on it. There are plenty more nasty cover tunes out there, but here I’ll list 10 of the worst offenders I’ve found to date…
10. Bonnie Tyler – “Have You Ever Seen The Rain?” (Creedence Clearwater Revival)
Bonnie Tyler is the female Meat Loaf: she records those epic Jim Steinman songs, her performances are over the top, she uses the line “I will do anything for love, but I won’t do that” (on her song “Getting So Excited”), and she now sits at home on Friday nights desperately waiting for VH1 Classic to call with a gig. She is best known for her monster hit, “Total Eclipse of The Heart”, but her attempt to eclipse some great songs on her 1983 album, “Faster Than The Speed of Night”, failed totally. In addition to her vocal shredding of this CCR classic, she rips up the Bryan Adams tune “Straight From The Heart” on this same record. Read more
GARY PIG GOLD’s NOUGHTIE TWENTY-ONE
January 22, 2010 by Gary Pig Gold · Leave a Comment
Despite an alarming amount of critical mass to (and by) the contrary, there truly was much, much more worth hearing this decade just past than those big Big Star, Beatle, Bob Dylan and even Neil Young box sets.
No, really!
So then, strictly alphabetically speaking as always, here’s what I spent much of January 1, 2000 through December 31, 2009 listening very closely to whilst Rock and Roll Reporting…..
Apartment – Sparkle Bicycle
Waikiki Record (2008)
http://www.myspace.com/apartmentjp
Tatsuya Namai’s radiant pop of the Daniel Johnston-meets-Shonen Knife variety.
Alex Brennan – The Last Smile Of The Pied Piper
xtoalex@hotmail.com (2004)
Hopefully Mr. Brennan will be duly hired to give the Beach Boys’ catalog that Beatles Love treatment when the time inevitably arrives.
Lindsey Buckingham – Under The Skin
Reprise Records (2006)
http://www.lindseybuckingham.com/
Once insane, always insane.
Candypants – Candypants
Sympathy For The Record Industry (2000)
http://www.amazon.com/Candypants/dp/B00004YWQ0
Ronnie Spector fronts Elvis’ Attractions …and THEN some!
CD Review: The Kavanaghs S/T
January 22, 2010 by Matheson Kamin · Leave a Comment
When rock was developing, one of the stages of the music came in the form of bands and musicians from England taking the blues-based rock music that had been created by the American musicians and turning it into something a little different by taking the music and sending it in a whole different direction. This time period in rock was referred to as “The British Invasion”. With the British influence now existing in the music, the world of rock music was changed forever. And in the last ten years or so, many rock musicians and bands have brought many of those styles back into the music to freshen up a genre that has had a recent history of being a little too stale. It is over in England that a 21st Century version of the British Invasion has been taking place. Bands like Coldplay and Stereophonics have been at the forefront of this new English-based influence to rock. While a large amount of music containing this influence has obviously been created by English bands, the revival of the British Invasion has not been contained just in Great Britain; there are many groups out there right now from all over the globe that are joining in on this revival. One of the bands from outside of Great Britain creating music of this style is the Argentina-based band The Kavanaghs.
Supernova.com Music Artists Compete for $25,000 in BREAK YOUR BAND
January 21, 2010 by Mark Boudreau · 1 Comment
(Press Release) Hundreds of young music artists and bands from across Canada are competing for a shot at a $25,000 development deal, and the finals are HERE!
Supernova.com is proud to present the BREAK YOUR BAND Finals, where Canada’s most promising new band talent hits the stage for a shot at a $25,000 deal to launch their music careers.
The BREAK YOUR BAND Finals are taking place in 12 major cities across Canada, with each event featuring over a dozen of the best bands to take the Supernova.com stage this year. Each artist has earned their place in a previous Battle of the Bands, and has built a solid fan base through Supernova.com, making this one of the most intense talent competitions in Canada!
In an industry where young, unknown talent can often struggle to find the opportunity to play and gain experience, Supernova.com is creating hundreds of live gig opportunities for these young bands to get up on stage, play in front of a real audience, and feel the rockstar experience.
The BREAK YOUR BAND Finals go even further with thousands of dollars in music prizing, plus a $25,000 Development Deal which will be awarded to the most promising new band.
The BREAK YOUR BAND Finals:
Barrie: Sunday January 17, 2010 – Yuk Yuks Theatre
Hamilton: Friday January 22, 2010 – Absinthe
London: Friday January 22, 2010 – Music Hall
Edmonton: Saturday January 23, 2010 – The Nest
Ottawa: Saturday January 23, 2010 – Babylon
Oshawa: Saturday January 23, 2010 – The Groove Lounge
Vancouver: Friday January 29, 2010 – Wise Concert Hall
Calgary: Friday January 29, 2010 – John Dutton Theatre
Kitchener: Saturday January 30, 2010 – The Wax
Toronto: Saturday January 30, 2010 – Sound Academy
Winnipeg: Sunday January 31, 2010 – Pyramid Cabaret
Montreal: Saturday February 6, 2010 – Just For Laughs
For media inquiries, interviews with artists, or access to events, contact:
Corina Newby || 416-635-8885 || 1-888-777-0767 x.268
corina@supernova.com
