Eclectic Vibes

by Andrew Frey

Reviews From: Year 2011
Collective Acoustics - bc >= ad

Collective Acoustics - bc >= ad

Collective Acoustics
bc >= ad
Label: Gah Gah Music

Love at first riff? From the very moment I put this in the player, the silky smooth organic rocktronica created by this experimental trio caressed my musical g-spot. The flowing and dreamy instrumentals are comprised of curious guitars, murmuring and enticing jazzy rhythms and patches of blissful ambience. All played on real instruments. No samples, loops or MIDI here. The highly versatile crew creates in other interesting ways including organs, electric bass and harpsichord plus instruments and devices of their own design.

Collective Acoustics WebsiteCollective Acoustics Facebook

Carlos GoGo Gomez - New Paradigm Global Music

Carlos GoGo Gomez - New Paradigm Global Music

Carlos GoGo Gomez
New Paradigm Global Music
Label: KidLat Records

Railing against the boundaries of what most consider the parameters of music to be this Ifa priest, martial artist and world renowned percussionist manages to surprise and inspire through his attractive shamanic messages and mystical beats. Transcendental drones subtly change and morph into mind-bending expressions of bliss and unity.

Carlos GoGo Gomez WebsiteCarlos GoGo Gomez Facebook

Eugene Grey - Diversity

Eugene Grey - Diversity

Eugene Grey
Diversity
Label: Greyhound Records

Disc 1 shows off the instrumental side of this hard working and award winning Jamaican born guitarist and composer while disc 2 has all the vocal tracks thrown in. I can’t decide which is better. They are both flavorful in their own way, highlighting inflections and nuances of the buoyant horn section and funky subtly flowing rhythms that are based in Afro-pop, reggae, jazz and jam.

Eugene Grey WebsiteEugene Grey Facebook

Ridley - Planets

Ridley - Planets

Ridley
Planets
Label:

A universe of sounds is at their disposal and these musicians take full advantage of the panorama. Temptations of poptronica are caustically interrupted by jarring currents of industrialized rhythms only to be emoted into the ambience of post planetary escapism. As one of the last projects to be recorded at the now defunct Smart Studios, this spirited electronica explores fanciful compositions into varying forms of musical satisfaction and subterfuge that manage to surprise and delight on numerous levels.

Ridley WebsiteRidley Facebook

Titans Eve - The Divine Equal

Titans Eve - The Divine Equal

Titans Eve
The Divine Equal
Label:

I love thrash metal as much as anyone, but this throwback thrash quartet brings back all the things I don’t love about the music. Starting with the poor cover art, it continues with the cheesy logo and predictable song names. This group has cookie cutter repeat written all over them. I’m sure they worked hard on this, but to no avail, as I have seen and heard this hundreds and hundreds of times before.

Titans Eve FacebookTitans Eve Wiki

Water Street Bridge - Hard Times

Water Street Bridge - Hard Times

Water Street Bridge
Hard Times
Label:

A mischievous ensemble of cleverly kicked up traditional and original Celtic folky ditties peppered and pizzazzed with violin, mandolin, ukulele, washboard, bodhran and more!  The song ‘Shack of Sit’ is symantic ear candy plus ya gotta love the revamp of ‘I Want Candy’ as ‘I Want Guiness.’ Makes me thirsty just writing about it. Catch their show at Lyons Pub in Watertown, WI on Thurs 3/17 for an early evening St Patty’s Day show.

Water Street Bridge WebsiteWater Street Bridge Facebook

Azam Ali - From Night to the Edge of Day

Azam Ali - From Night to the Edge of Day

Azam Ali
From Night to the Edge of Day
Label: Six Degrees

Lullabies of love; lullabies of anguish; lullabies of rebellion, exile and awareness; such is the dichotomy of these Iranian, Turkish, Lebanese and Kurdish lullabies as presented by this amazing Iranian-born, Indian-raised vocalist. She connected with the spectrum of emotions behind lullabies when she gave birth to her son and realized the tumultuous world that he would be exposed to and live in.

Azam Ali WebsiteAzam Ali Wiki

Club D'Elf - Electric Moroccoland/So Below

Club D'Elf - Electric Moroccoland/So Below

Club D'Elf
Electric Moroccoland/So Below
Label: Face Pelt Records

Playfully hypnotic global psychedelic rock flows forth from the soul of this effervescent musical collective. Although firmly rooted in Moroccan ‘Gnawan’ music and the trance aspects of it, they also intersperse dub, jazz, free jazz and global improvisation into this rewarding rhythmic adventure.

Club D'Elf WebsiteClub D'Elf Facebook

Dub Is A Weapon - Vaporized

Dub Is A Weapon - Vaporized

Dub Is A Weapon
Vaporized
Label: Harmonized Records

Dub is known for being the music of producers but not live performers. Antibalas’s guitarist and dub mastermind Dave Hahn has managed to create a fabulous dub release as well as forge a live unit capable of extracting the style from the studio and playing it live thanks to his masterful knob twirling techniques and ear for detail.

Dub Is A Weapon WebsiteDub Is A Weapon Facebook

Putumayo Presents - Rumba Mambo Cha Cha Cha!

Putumayo Presents - Rumba Mambo Cha Cha Cha!

Putumayo Presents
Rumba Mambo Cha Cha Cha!
Label: Putumayo World Music

Get out your dancing shoes and get ready to strut your stuff! This time around, Putumayo brings us 10 tracks by 10 different artists descended from the Cuban family tree to celebrate the increasing popularity of traditional Latin dancing music and show off their universal appeal.

Putumayo Presents Website

Buddy Guy - Living Proof

Buddy Guy - Living Proof

Buddy Guy
Living Proof
Label: Jive

Buddy Guy is a living legend that continues to create legends; both at his ‘Legends’ nightclub in Chicago and on each of his solo releases. Even though he is 74 years young, he can still spin a high octane blues riff or stomp on a sorrowful chord with enough of a flourish to win a Grammy nomination for “Living Proof.”

Buddy Guy WebsiteBuddy Guy FacebookBuddy Guy Wiki

Danko Jones - Below The Belt

Danko Jones - Below The Belt

Danko Jones
Below The Belt
Label: Bad Taste Records

Smack-ass Canadian hard rock with attitude, intensity, and great grooves. This well tested trio knows how to chew up the traumatic lessons of life and love that our existence hands out to us. Learn and grow from past problems and percolate them into great musical lessons for us all to learn from. Hold on, this one doesn’t stop.

Danko Jones WebsiteDanko Jones FacebookDanko Jones Wiki

View More

Viewing Page 1 - of 3

 1 2 3 >