The Brigadier and Bryan Estepa

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The Brigadier “Holiday Special” EP
Once again Matt Williams returns with his latest seasonal themed EP. “When The Sun Comes Out” is a sweet summer song with jangle filled melody, rock riffs and multi-tracked chorus. Once more Matt’s soft vocal plays to the narrative strengths in “Swansong” with a thick reverb guitar.  On the sparse, but brilliant “A Holiday Romance” it’s both corny and compelling, you picture a resort-romance montage.

“Ogmore-by-Sea” is an jaunty surf-styled guitar tune and “Time To Go Home” wraps up the theme in a neat bow. The subtle orchestral touches make the melody display the dichotomy of wanting to stay on holiday and being drawn home, it plays like a Moody Blues meets Aztec Camera epic. Overall, this Brigadier EP is reliable casual fun.

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Bryan Estepa “Vessels”
Sydney singer-songwriter Bryan Estepa grows up here, and has moved fully into solid adult pop bliss. The wonderful pop hooks and solid song craft are evidenced in the opener “Won’t Let You Down,” with the chorus bridging together complex multiple harmonic lines. The worldly theme and breezy charm here is similar to The Jayhawks and Michael Carpenter on “Hard Habits.” The best track is next, “Tongue Tied” is classic Estepa, full of memorable rhythms and wonderful harmonies.

“Purple Patch” is another standout here, Hammond organ, guitar and vocals combine like a vintage cabernet for the ears. “Alone” is similar to Tom Petty in tempo and feel. When things get serious like on “Pull Ourselves Together” and “Let It Go,” Estepa let’s his soul shine through each verse. The albums second half is decidedly sober with more of an alt-country bend to it.  No matter your mood, Bryan creates an essential music album for your playlist.

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"Beatles Stories" premiere and Red Button pre-order

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I spent my Saturday Night at the east coast premier of Seth Swirsky’s new film “Beatles Stories.” A great little film that’s on the festival circuit right now, it goes through a series of interviews with celebrities and musicians who had a personal Beatles experience.

I was trying to get a photo of myself and Seth outside the theatre, so I handed my camera to a friendly asian lady who was near us. She took the photo and I thanked her… not even realizing that it was May Pang who took our picture! On top of all this Seth is now promoting the new Red Button album. The album is available now and my review will be ready in a few days. Photo: May Pang and Seth Swirsky.


Beatles Stories promo from Seth Swirsky on Vimeo.

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Andrew Gold passes away

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I report this with heavy heart, as Andrew Gold – a brilliant singer/songwriter died of a heart attack at age 59. Gold was best known for his 1977 hit “Lonely Boy” and 1978’s “Thank You For Being A Friend“, but also sang on records or played live with three of the four Beatles, Paul McCartney, John Lennon and Ringo Starr. Power Pop fans were delighted in his Beatlesque alter-ego band “The Fraternal Order of The All.”  I have no details, but from posts I’ve read he definitely had an album in the can waiting for release. One of the great ones has passed… I will truly miss him.

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The Whiskey Saints "24 Hours"

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L.A. based alt-rock quartet The Whiskey Saints are an expressive band that delivers southern-influenced alternative rock with well-blended harmonies and raucous guitars. Brought together by David Bloomfield and David Sparrow, they rock loudly on “The Gift” with crashing drums and riffs. The impressive “Long Road” shows a solid blend of rock and pop, similar to Toad The Wet Sprocket but with heavier guitar chords. But they jump right to the raucous garage style of “Before My Time” and its a catchy treat sure to please.

The tracks are varied with arena-styled alt. rockers (“Eastbound”) and pretty guitar ballads (“Karianne”) with superior musicianship. With influences like Ryan Adams, My Morning Jacket, and Wilco it’s not hard to understand why The Whiskey Saints are popular around the LA music scene. More gems include “Building To Break” and “Curtains.” An enjoyable listen from a talented and experienced band.

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Together We Are Not Alone
Here is a collection of several artists, including our fave, Bleu sending out songs to support Japan in their time of need. All funds goes to the Japanese Red Cross Organization and the label takes no profit from this album. 100% royalty goes to the catastrophe victims of the March 11, 2011 earthquake and tsunami,accidents at nuclear power plants that hit Northern Japan. Explore and you’ll find this is a really cool compilation for a great cause. Just listen to The Sonic Executive Sessions shine with those stellar harmonies on “Their Hearts Were Full Of Spring.”

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The Nines "Polarities"

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The Nines are one of a very few reliable power pop artists who’ve produced consistently great music since 1998. Lead by Steve Eggers, over the course of 15 years and 4 full length albums, a few gems tend to slip through the cracks. Polarities gathers these unreleased tracks for public consumption.

The Nines clearly fall in the McCartney/XTC/Ben Folds realm, but the band has its own unique sound and a solid command of melodies and minor chord shifts. The opening track “Anything” is a catchy dance number lead by an ELO styled synth line. Another up-tempo tune is “You Can Get High” with its awesome cascading chord structure in the chorus, although the vocals are slightly buried. The winsome ballads “Goodbye Janine” and “Vanessa” were likely an outtakes from Gran Jukle’s Field. The rolling rhythms of “A Series of Shots” is very similar to Sugarplastic, and the slow guitar strum of “Orange of Summer” is another fantastic ballad. Because each track isn’t related to the others, you’ll find several favorites here. It’s a good thing, too – as this album is chock full of great music to choose from.


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