Shorties: 5 Spot

Time for some more SHORTIES!

Julian Bachlow

Julian Bachlow

[rating:7.5/10]

It took me forever to review this one. Sorry, Julian! It got buried in a pile and only recently did I get to sort through the pile. Glad I found it, though. This 9 track release is solid beginning to end. Weird, but solid. I can’t help but think that Julian is into Beck when I listen to this. This has the avant-garde, folk influenced, pop oriented, techno inspired feel that endeared many to Beck’s work in the 90’s. Also reminds me at times of another singer-songwriter named Derek Webb.

The short of it… Julian Bachlow is an artist that I’d expect you to hear on NPR sometime soon, if you haven’t already. Great stuff.

Heinali and Matt Finney

Lemonade

[rating:7/10]

Their second EP in a few months, this duo is a collaboration from poet Matt Finney and Unkranian composer/musician Heinali. If you are into ambient music and spoken lyrics, this is a stellar combination of the two. Something about Finney’s voice reminds me of Tricky, though not quite as deep. Available for free on their bandcamp site, its well worth your time… and if you choose name your own price rather than get the free download, you get some free bonus material.

This is an artsy fartsy type’s fantasy. Great layers, spoken word poetry, what else could you want? And for free?

Judges

Sleepless

[rating:7/10]

Harrisburg PA’s Judges plays music that falls into the dreaded “-core” realm. The scenecore kids will eat it up. But does that mean it sucks if you’re not some Hot Topic shopping high school kid? Not at all. Musical chops are certainly there, tons of metallic elements, a healthy dose hardcore elements, and some ambience by way of chillout breakdowns… this isn’t just manufactured crap from the latest Victory band. Challenging spiritual lyrics presented in multiple vocal styles are in the forefront of the aforementioned musical onslaught. At times, you’ll here a mewithoutYou type influence and at others grinding Death Metal punishment… and everything in between. Another one well worth a listen or six.

StarFist

Ocean EP

[rating:5/10]

Three tracks make for a simple review… but these tracks aren’t simple. Musically, there are cool layered synth effects, some solid piano parts, and a whole lot of solid rock and roll… but the vocals simply don’t shine here. It may be more about the recording than the actual vocals, but at certain parts the vocals actually make me cringe a little. A lot of promise as a band, but some cleaning up of the vocals with some better production is definitely needed, especially on the opening track.

Marshall Lawrence

Blues Intervention

[rating:7.5/10]

In a pretty solid haul of 5 nice musical projects, I think this one’s my favorite. So, I guess I saved the best for last.

Marshall calls himself “the Doctor of the Blues” and there’s reason. Dude has a doctorate in Psychology. Crazy, right? Some doctor guy is spending his days as a musician instead of raking in the dough as the next Sigmund Freud. But, then again, he’s Canadian and they tend to be cooler than us American types.

These 13 tracks are raucous and fun, with the occasional downbeat track thrown in. Having played with full bands and tearing it up in the past, this go round he covers the album with solo acoustic work. The good doctor reminds me why I started getting into blues a few years back when I saw Black Snake Moan. Nothing about this release isn’t enjoyable. Check this one out for sure, even if you’ve never been the blues type before.

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~ by thepaintedman on September 8, 2010.