Browsing Tag

Lou Reed

Lou Reed meets Tom Waits in the tender warmth of Lance La Breche’s latest seminal piano score, One Last Dance

Killing The Pistanthrophobe by Lance LaBreche

With vocal lines as arresting as the plaintive harmonies drenching Tom Wait’s Closing Time LP with soulfully spirited melancholy, the standout single, One Last Dance, from Lance La Breche’s upcoming album, Killing the Pisanthrophobe, is a piano-led score you’ll want to surrender to time after time.

The Lou Reed-esque keys also play a heavy hand in allowing you to succumb to the impassioned gravity within the single orchestrated by the Raleigh, NC residing self-taught singer-songwriter, who photographs architecture in the daylight and renders resolving melodies by the shroud of night.

The bluesy sepia-tinged tones and the endlessly compelling yearning for perfect nights to last forever won’t fail to fill you with the same tender warmth which flows through the score which abandons inhibition for vulnerability, to superlatively stunning effect.

Stream and purchase One Last Dance on Bandcamp, and keep Lance La Breche on your radar for the release of his forthcoming LP, which is set to drop on December 15.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Denim Dan created a capsule of 70s folk-pop-rock nostalgia in their sixth studio album, This Way, That Way, The Other Way

NYC’s Denim Dan fortified the folk-pop-rock realm once again with their sixth studio album, This Way, That Way, The Other Way, which will ricochet you back to the 70s via an aural time capsule you have never experienced the like of before. Under the heart-on-sleeve influence of Tom Petty & The HeartBreakers, Lou Reed & Leonard Cohen, you will also be able to reminisce on the slightly zanier production styles of Zappa and the Legendary Pink Dots in this warm vignette of fond memories forged in an era of personal freedom and revelation.

There are few things as sonically sweet as coming-of-age tales after decades of retrospect. The kaleidoscopically honeyed soundscapes in This Way, That Way, The Other Way allows you to cruise right back to the 70s while allowing your perceptions to shift around the pearls of wanderlust wisdom.

“This Way, That Way, The Other Way is our sixth studio album. A non-fiction coming-of-age narration of loosely factual true events from my time in New Mexico in the mid 1970s. The title track and first four songs were written in Florence, Italy during the pandemic when I felt inspired to write about my experiences of four decades earlier. The next eight songs – also written about that period – including Let Your Love Fall Down On Me [too] were recorded in 2001 right after 911 in Boulder, Colorado. They were forgotten…but my son, Marcello, found them in an old computer.”

Stream This Way, That Way, The Other Way on Spotify now.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Masorti presents: “Father’s Eyes”, a new studio release

Masorti is a creative and talented musician with a focus on exploring a wide variety of influences, while still ensuring that his music is incredibly punchy and creative, appealing to listeners of all backgrounds while portraying the artist’s personality and Americana-folk vibe.

Masorti’s most recent studio work is titled “Father’s Eyes”, and it is yet another step forward for him. This one shows a lot of potential, as the production is just as good as the performance of the artist, which brings so much vitality and passion to the mix. The release is a crossroads of different vibes and influences, yet as if by magic, it all really acquires a stunning and original tone, which adds to the scope of this release.

Find out more about Masorti, and check out “Father’s Eyes”, his flavorful new release.

The John Michie Collective – Nothing to Die For: Existentially Relatable Indie Psych Rock

There was no forgetting multi-instrumentalist, The John Michie Collective, after hearing their 2020 release, I’ll Write Your Constellation’. After the release of their latest single, Nothing to Die For, their psychotropic experimentalism is permanently etched in our freshly altered minds.

With a touch of 70s rock in the spacey dreamy alt-indie single, you get the same feeling of ascendence as when you hit play on Lou Reed’s most psychedelically sweet tracks.

The romantic-in-spite-of-nihilism touch to the vocals and lyricism acts like an emotional sucker punch. For the aurally sensitive out there, don’t be surprised if Nothing to Die For has a bruising impact. It perfectly captures the collective sense of futility which breathes throughout our locked-down society and illustrates that your outlook can be as sweet as the tones in this enrapturing relatable release.

Nothing to Die For is now available to stream via Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Escape the existentialism with Talketto’s latest single ‘Across the Table’

Brighton-based indie producer, Talketto’s latest single ‘Across the Table’ is an indulgent escape from existentialism; if you could imagine what it would sound like if Lou Reed collaborated with the Legendary Pink Dots, you’ll get a good idea of what is in store when you hit play.

The despondently hazy vocals come with a sardonic bite as they chomp down on the semi-psychedelic artfully impactful spacey synths which weave colourful progressions as Talketto delves deep into the agony and inconvenience of the human experience.

Across the Table truly deserves to be a staple to everyone’s ambient indie playlists. Talketto may think outside of archetypal boxes, but each of their soundscapes consume you through the sheer ingenuity.

Across the Table is now available to stream on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

The Thinking Men Release Official Video For Rock Track “I Wanna Be Good”

Rock music has infinite permutations in modern day. Under every genre, there’s a subgenre that hybrids with rock. When folks complain about a lack of rock, they ought to be more specific. Rock is everywhere, but the blues is scarce these days. Other than a few big acts, rock has had to adapt to survive. The Thinking Men seek to remind us of why we like to add rock to our music. They remember where rock came from and they know how to inject the blues into good, energetic bursts of sound creating that feeling we’ve been missing.

Their song I Wanna Be Good lends itself to a fairly simple, formulaic approach. There’s no need for too much going on in the verses as they’re a means to an end, and that end is a rip-snorting time full of aggression and virility. It’s also downright fun. This song has all the raw catchiness of garage rock with the soul and style of blues rock. The Thinking Men have form and function in mind as they bring together all the things you’ve wanted to return in a new package that can keep up with the loudness wars while retaining its rooted dignity. This can be a dangerous game though, reviving old flames. As the lyrics state, if you can’t be good, you’ll wind up dead. Let’s see how long the Thinking Men can stay on that bull and remain good.

-Paul Weyer