Though the landscape of rock music has changed drastically since Helmet’s founding in 1989, Helmet has never worried about what music is popular. With Seeing Eye Dog, Page Hamilton and company offer their most experimental set yet, but it is still undeniably Helmet.
Concord Record’s John Burk, has compiled an album’s worth of songs worthy of inclusion in the Charles canon. Burk, with cooperation from RPM studios where Charles' music is stored, culled through four decades of tapes, looking for material. “We narrowed it down to what was actually unreleased, and narrowed that down to songs that feel connected, like an album”, Burk noted. What he chose were ten songs, two from the 70’s, six from the 80’s, and two from the 90’s.
Meet Me at the Muster Station is the debut full-length album from Kingston, Ontario recording artists PS I Love You. A duo consisting of Benjamin Nelson and Paul Saulnier, the band mixes guitar, drums, organ, bass, and feedback galore to produce a brash sonic squall that has powerful strengths and a notable shortcoming. There is no doubt the band will make their mark with the Pitchfork-tight jeans and goofy glasses crowd searching for a hot new rave up but what is really happening inside this so-called Muster Station?
Hill Country Revue are at the vanguard of a new generation of Southern rockers and, like their illustrious forebears The Allman Brothers Band and Lynyrd Skynyrd, the band blends blues and country music with hard rock hearkening to 60’s icons The Jimi Hendrix Experience and Cream. HCR’s no-nonsense attitude makes the mix work without allowing themselves to slip into the caricatured stance that afflicted generic Dixie rock of the Seventies.
The prolific Jesse Harris also boasts a diverse and affecting group of solo records, and the latest, Through the Night, is a deceptively dense experience. Appropriately titled, the record is distinctly flavored for consumption after dark, and it's full of melodies and vocals that nicely evoke the wee hours.
Aloe Blacc's ability to re-interpret and reinvigorate the beloved soul sound with remarkable song arrangements makes this debut stand out from the oftentimes cookie cutter format of two chord vamps and throaty vocals. Good Things is a grower, gazing toward the classics for inspiration and standing tall next to the modern champions. Let its charm slowly burn.
Boasting the presence of Wynton Marsalis and Allen Toussaint, Clapton does carry the distinction of impeccable craftsmanship, but without the famous name(s) attached to it, the album might not command much attention at all.
Third Day is a Grammy and Dove award winning southern rock band from Marietta, Georgia who have recorded over 14 albums and were inducted into the Georgia Music Hall of Fame in 2009 with fellow Georgia rockers, Widespread Panic. Third Day continue to progress and enhance their sound with each album, while managing to stay true to their southern rock sound.
New Idea Society have crafted a sonic landscape that relies on nuance and sleight of hand rather than a routine pop rock formula. Though the music has a minimalist approach, its layered quality rewards repeated listening, with each play revealing something new. Sounds that don’t traditionally go together are combined, such as the frenzied drum rolls and jangling guitars of “Autumn You” or the marching drums and brooding melody of “Come Outside.”
