Category: New Releases

Friday New Releases – March 2nd

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Welcome to March and Friday New Releases.  There is not a ton of new stuff, but hopefully there is something for you.  I have a few I will try out, but not super excited about anything.  My choices are highlighted in Blue.  Leave a comment and let me know if there is anything that you would like or something I missed (which I am sure I missed a lot).

  • 61Msln9d8SL._SS500  Andrew W.K. – You’re Not Alone – (Bee & El/Sony):  Here is someone we haven’t heard in a long, long while.  I am looking forward to explore what he has in store.  It is can usually be fun, strange, or who knows what, however, it is usually interesting.

  • 615r8UlIDhL  Michael Schenker Fest – Resurrection – (Nuclear Blast):  This should be an very interesting release as well. The guest list is quite impressive and any Schenker fan will love.  Guest appearances by Metallica’s Kirk Hammett, Wayne Findlay and Michael Voss-Schön along with contributions from three original MSG  singers – Gary Barden, Graham Bonnet and Robin McAuley.  Plus Doogie White is on it, who plays with Michael in Michael Schenker’s Temple of Rock.

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BØRNS – ‘Blue Madonna’ – Album Review

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I would venture to say that I am not in the same demographic this album is geared towards.  I am a 49 year old male who does not frequent dance clubs or listen to much pop radio, but you what?  I don’t care.  I am really digging this album and the fact I say I am digging this album proves I am not the audience for this music.

The album ‘Blue Madonna’ is BØRNS second full length studio release and a follow-up to his 2015 stellar release ‘Dopamine’.  With a name like BØRNS, the sound of his music and his whole style, I thought he was some European act that was breaking in America.  Boy, I was wrong.  He is actually from Michigan and a full on American.

He has his own style for sure as you can see by that amazing outfit on the cover.  I am no where cool enough to pull off that look.  BØRNS has a whole androgynous vibe about him as well with his hair, his clothes and his very high vocal range which adds to his mystique.  His falsetto will leave Adam Levine very jealous.  Now I guess I should talk about the music.

The sound and sonic vibe of the album is a mixture of pop, psychedelic pop and electro-pop.  The album is a little moody and dark at times.  This is definitely not something I am normally drawn to, but there is something about his songs that attracts me to it.  Ever since I heard his first hit “Electric Love” back in 2016, I have been a fan.  And with his first single off the album, “Faded Heart”, I was anticipating another great album and I wasn’t disappointed.

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Friday New Releases – February 23rd

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Welcome to the last Friday of February for new releases.  There isn’t a whole lot of new ones that are peaking my interest.  There are a few I will listen to and as usual, they are highlighted in Blue.  Let me know if there is something that tickles your fancy or if there was anything that I don’t have on my list.  Thanks and have a great weekend.

  • 510qrK6DCuL._AC_US436_QL65_  Alice Cooper – The Sound of A E.P. – (Edel Germany):  Alice Cooper’s latest album ‘Paranormal’ is absolutely stellar.  This is really just a single release of “The Sound of A” from that album, but what makes it special is the 4 B-Sides you get as well including Live versions of “The Black Widow”, “Public Animal #9”, “Is It My Body” and “Cold Ethyl”.  That makes it worth it!!

  • 715ygsnBa6L._SX522_.jpg  CoreLeoni – The Greatest Hits Part 1 – (Frontiers Records):  Leo Leoni, guitarist from the band Gotthard, releases this on the 25th Anniversary of Gotthard to celebrate rock and bring back some songs that Gotthard has left behind.  With singer Ronnie Romero taking on the vocals this could be a very interesting project.  Worth at least a listen.

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Friday New Releases – February 16th

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Welcome back to Friday New Releases.  This week is a little better than last week, but not by much.  There are only a few I am interested in this week and they are highlighted in Blue.  I am beginning to think February for music releases is like February for movie releases, there aren’t as many and they aren’t as good.  I am hoping for a couple exceptions to that rule.  Let me know what floats your boat.

  • A1flrKrkxTL._SX522_  Pop Evil – Pop Evil – (Entertainment One):  Pop Evil is one of the few modern rock bands I like.  And based on what has come out so far this year, I need something good and heavy.  They usually don’t disappoint.  I will admit it is a little generic, but it is consistent and you know what you are going to get.

  • 51+Hcq+l4oL._SS500  David Cook – Chromance E.P. – (Analog Heart Music):  Former American Idol winner is finally back, but only with an EP.  I will take what I can get.  David is a little rock, but mostly pop and I don’t know if he has ever fully found where he wants to be with his sound. Hopefully this finds him in a good place.

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Stryper – “Take It To The Cross” – Single Review

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Now, Stryper, and Michael Sweet in particular, have released a lot of music lately.  Let’s look back over the last 5 years…

  • March 2013 – ‘The Second Coming’
  • November 2013 – ‘No More Hell to Pay’
  • January 2014 – Icon (greatest hits)
  • September 2014 – Live at the Whisky
  • October 2015 – Fallen

And Michael Sweet…

  • 2014 – ‘I’m Not Your Suicide’
  • 2015 – ‘Only to Rise’ as Sweet & Lynch
  • 2016 – ‘One Sided War’
  • 2017 – ‘Unified’ as Sweet & Lynch
  • 2017 – Sole: Songs and Stories From a Life in Music live concert video

That is 10 albums in 5 years.  That is quite a busy group.  I will admit that I have grown a little tired of Stryper as it is music overload.  I can’t absorb all that.  Now, it has all been great actually, but I felt like I needed a break.

On April 20th, Stryper brings us another new album called ‘God Damn Evil’ and my first thought was NOOOOO!!!  On the title, I am sure they will catch some grief for using that title (which will be for another discussion if I review the whole album), but it is ballsy and I think it might set the tone for what is to come on this album.

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John 5 & the Creatures – ‘It’s Alive’ – Album Review

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John 5 & the Creatures bring us a new album to start the year off and this time we get their first live album.  ‘It’s Alive’ was recorded live off the Season of the Witch Tour in 2017 at the Sellersville Theater in Sellersville, Pennsylvania in April 2017.  The band consists of John 5 on lead guitar, Ian Ross on bass and Logan Miles Nix on drums.  The amount of music that comes out of these there guys for this album is incredible.

In listening to an interview with John 5 on Talking Metal with Emily Strigl, I learned that album was recorded rather spontaneously.  They arrived at the theater the day of the show and someone from the theater asked them if they wanted to record the show as they had a recording booth upstairs.  The band joyfully said yes.  And a little less than a year later, we have a live album released.

John 5 also stated in the interview that there are no overdubs or any re-recordings.  What you hear is what you get.  And what you hear is a live album that is near perfection which is also a little of the drawback.  The album at times doesn’t sound live as the musicianship is absolutely incredible.  There are probably errors, but they are not noticeable (at least to my untrained ears).

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Friday New Releases – February 9th

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Happy Friday!!…or is it?  Well of course it is, it’s new release Friday.  There is not a whole lot I am pyched to listen to this week.  Some I might give a spin, but only one will get listened to today for sure and it is highlighted in Blue.  Otherwise, not much else that is exciting me.  Let me know what floats your boat.  Thanks.

  • 41VSwhV-ZFL  Franz Ferdinand – Always Ascending – (Domino Recording Co.);  The Scottish indie rock band is back with their fifth album.  I have been a fan since the beginning which is strange for me as I usually don’t like the whole indie rock vibe, but Franz gave me a nice retro rock feel with a lot of distortion.  I don’t know what this one has to offer yet, but I will give it a listen.

  • 61CbMAk5zzL._AC_US320_QL65_  Toto – Greatest Hits: 40 Trips Around the Sun – (Sony Music)

  • 51O8TIeBEuL._SS500  Sister Hazel – Water – (Croakin’ Poet Records)

  • 51xgRMToKcL._AC_US320_QL65_  Voodoo Circle – Raised on Rock – (AFM Records)

  • 51cKSEatsBL._SS500  Dashboard Confessional – Crooked Shadows – (Fueled by Ramen)

  • 61l+GoCpryL._SS500  MGMT – Little Dark Age – (Columbia Records

  • 5130EnGGISL._SS500  Elevation Collective – Evidence – (Elevation Worship Records)

  • 61By-XPHFoL._SS500  Social Club Misfits – Into the Night – (Capitol CMG Label)

The Poodles – ‘Prisma’ – Album Review

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Not a huge cover albums fan, I was very apprehensive on this release.  I do like cover songs, you know, maybe throwing one on an album, but not a whole album.  Cover albums can be very hit or miss. The band either interrupts the songs in to their own sound or they copy it exactly adding nothing special and that is always my fear.

The Poodles decided to do a covers album for their 7th studio album and all though I am a huge fan of the band, this worried me greatly.  But being a fan, a did give it a spin.  The good news is the band took an approach of picking songs from artist that are not in their specific genre of glam metal and they definitely achieved that goal.  The album title ‘Prisma’, I can only assume was picked to signify the songs would be looked at from different angles or viewpoints and they would add their own color to them.  And was that achieved?  Well, let’s discuss that and find out.

The opening track of the album sounds like pure, classic Poodle.  The song is “Crazy Horses” by the Osmond Brothers from 1972.  Yes, I said that right…the Osmond Brothers.  Now that is definitely going outside your genre.  The song is cranked up much heavier and would fit perfectly on any Poodles’ album.  What helps is that I am not real familiar with this song so I have no preconceived notions of what this song should sound like.  Their first choice is making me think this might be a great covers album.

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Anderson East – ‘Encore’ – Album Review

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Anderson East’s ‘Encore’ is the follow-up to his label debut album ‘Delilah’.  With ‘Encore’, Anderson is finding himself and bringing us such a powerful vocal performance.  His voice was so soulful with that grittiness and emotion that it reminded me of Joe Cocker.  For that reason alone, I really dug this album.

He had some help with this album with songs written by Chris Stapleton (“King for a Day”) and Ed Sheeran (“All On My Mind”) both personal favorites.  He also reworked songs by Ted Hawkins (“Sorry Your Sick”) and Willie Nelson (“Somebody Pick Up My Pieces”).

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One of my favorites from the album is the upbeat song “Girlfriend” which feels like he is in church testifying his love to the congregation using horns and synthesizer (organ sounds) to give it that churchy feel.

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Friday New Releases – February 2nd

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Welcome to February’s First Friday of new releases.  There is a little Metal, Rock, Pop, Country and even Frank Zappa (he is his own category).  Hopefully something will float your boat.  There is only one I am really interested in and I might check out some others, but too early to say.  My choice is highlighted in Blue as always.

  • 61AHx4Gb31L._AC_US436_QL65_  Justin Timberlake – Man of the Woods – (RCA Records):  Is it no surprise that Justin is back with a new album as he is performing as the headline act for the Super Bowl Halftime Show on Sunday.  The first single is a little different and took some getting used to, but I think I am digging it a little now.  I am interested to see what he has to offer.  I will admit I am a fan of his music so this one is a no brainer for me.

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