Lane Steinberg(The Wind, 8×8) is back with his current Headspace. Steinberg is an excellent songwriter, and although this isn’t as dense as his 8×8 compositions, it’s just as infectious. Opening with the strong title track a sweet piano-bass combo with a creative guitar break, its influences are equal parts Rundgren and Nilsson. “Under Summer Skies” is an elegant lounge melody that layers its vocals on a bed of jazzy pop piano and strings. Another similar gem is “Lovesick Jones,” a tale of a self-destructive romantic, and a “kid that’s fully grown.”
A more Bacharachian shuffle is “The Best Part” with its subtle orchestral touches, and Lane has his quirkiness in overdrive on “Finally Next To You” and “Super Flumina Babylonius.” While he loses a little momentum after this, his last track “Antidote” is a bouncy, guitar gem that finishes this highly satisfying listen. Steinberg is a unique talent and one that deserves to be explored. Highly Recommended for sure.
UK band It’s Karma It’s Cool has evolved over the years. While the band’s point of view remains delightfully unique, the melodic elements are subdued in favor of densely layered psyche-pop fuzz and percussion. The opener “How Be You Be Blue?” has a lovely harmonic chorus, as the guitar echoing distortions contrast with the verses. Unfortunately, it becomes an issue on “Warmer Climes,” as the lead singer Jim Styring gets drowned out by the rhythm section.
Thankfully, the next few songs are better, “Old Bones” has a good guitar melody, and “Winter Coats” has guest Peter Holsapple(DBs) on Mandolin. The band leans more into progressive territory with “Broken Hearted Foundations” and “Vacations in a Taxi Cab.” My favorites here are “The Terms of Letting Go,” a novel way of grieving a lost love, and “Roll The Credits,” a paean to a supporting guitarist “in that power pop video.” Overall, I would’ve liked more musical hooks, but still a decent album, worth exploring. Check it out.
It’s that time of year again. Some stuff has the fun spooky theme, others not so much. The Seven and Six start us off; Lisa Mychols, Tom Richards, and Mike John Altier give us a cool surf-rock instrumental. Sal Baglio’s newest Amplifier Heads EP Rectifier is so heavy it’s good. Sal growls out “The Man Who Invented Rock and Roll,” channels Mick Jagger on “Maniaxe” and the wild “Rock Rules.” The holiday-themed ballad “Zombie Moon” is a real keeper as well, so pick up this treat. Dolph Chaney’s novelty “This Halloween” is goofy, but tragic fun and It’s Karma It’s Cool dazzles with “Old Bones” rich guitar chorus. Vegas With Randolph brings the catchy lovelorn theme “Don’t Stop Your Love” loaded with sax, handclaps, and guitars, and it’s another chewy treat. Finally, a new Kinks Tribute is taking shape, and I really liked the opener, a cover of “Victoria” by The Fatal Flaw.
It Karma Its Cool is a UK band from Lincoln featuring James Styring – Vocals, Martyn Bewick – Guitars & Production, Michael Barraclough – Bass, and Danny Krash – Drums have a new single “A Gentle Reminder” out. Not only that but the legendary Peter Holsapple(dB’s. R.E.M. and Hootie & The Blowfish) haves joined them for some long-distance recording and over the next 3 months, the band will be releasing six new singles. Let’s pay attention to each one of these guitar goodies! See the video below:
🎸 Visit this link to get the album: Amazon
Q: Where did the band name come from?
J: It’s a name I’d had written down for a while. I think I just woke up one morning with it in my head. It just seems to suit what we do. And karma is cool, isn’t it? Good or bad, it’ll be back to bite you on your ass. Watch what you do, ‘cos it’s watching you. There’s no escape. And it looks good on a t-shirt.
Q: What would you say is your primary musical influence?
J: As a band, we all bring our own influences to the Karma sound. On paper, it maybe shouldn’t work, but it does, so we don’t question it too much. Personally, I’m driven by melody, which probably stems from listening to my parent’s record collection when I was growing up. I didn’t know it at the time, but those records were shaping my taste in music and appreciation for good songwriting. I’m always drawn to the melody, regardless of the style of music. I’ll listen to the heaviest band if there’s a melody in there.
Q: Your vocal is very distinct — any inspirations for your style?
I don’t consciously try to sound like anyone, I just open my mouth and it’s there. A lot of people tell me I remind them of this singer or that singer, but I try not to let that influence me really, I stay focused on doing what I do. I’m well aware my voice splits opinions, folks really like it, or they don’t. It’s not going to change anytime soon, it’s just me. As long as people can tell I mean every word I sing and put my heart and soul into singing it, then that’s good enough for me.
Q: “Homesick for our Future Destinations” feels like an evolution of your sound, is the next album closer to this new sound?
We never intentionally repeat ourselves; we’re always looking for ways to push ourselves as songwriters. It would have been very easy to sit back and just re-write our previous album, but you owe it to your listeners, and to yourself as writers, not to do that. I think there has to be a sense of growth within a band with each new release, or things can quite easily become predictable. We’ll be releasing a series of brand new digital-only singles over the coming months, something that we’ve not done before, with an amazing special guest; an ‘honorary 5th member’ of IKIC. We have the one and only Peter Holsapple onboard for three of the new songs. I’m sure your readers don’t need me to tell them who Peter is, but he was a member of legendary, The dB’s and played with REM on their huge Green world tour, as well as playing on their multi-platinum album, Out Of Time. He’s also played and recorded with Hootie & the Blowfish for over 25 years. To say we’re excited for folks to hear these new songs is an understatement!
Q: What’s your songwriting process like?
Most start with a guitar idea from either Martyn (Bewick, guitars) or Mikey (Barraclough, bass) They’ll send me a load of ideas over; I’ll write to the ones that grab me. I’ll add melody and lyrics, then we’ll get together in the rehearsal studio with Danny (Krash, drums) and knock them into shape. We can tell pretty early on in the process if an idea’s going to work or not. And we have no map or blueprint as such, we allow the songs to go wherever they need to.
Q: For example, How did the song “She Sept With The Radio on” come together?
That would have come from an initial guitar idea. I remember having a few lyrics, and we just hammered it out in the studio. It came together pretty fast that one. We knew we were onto something after a couple of run-throughs. It’s then just a case of fine-tuning the arrangement. Some songs instantly jump out as singles, that was one of those.
Q: How did you meet up with Peter Holsapple and how did he contribute to your new digital-only singles?
Firstly, I’m a fan who’s followed Peter’s career for many years. I literally just asked him, figuring he could only say ‘no’. He asked me to send some of our songs across and said ‘yes’ pretty much straight after. We sent the demos over and gave Peter free rein to experiment and add whatever he wanted. You don’t really need to tell someone like Peter what a track needs, he’s been doing this for a long time! The songs have all come to life, we’re very happy with how it’s all taken shape, and how easy it’s all come together. They’re some of the strongest songs we’ve written, without a doubt. I’m sure we’ll work with Peter again in the not-too-distant future.
BONUS! We asked Peter Holsapple:
Q: What drew you to work with It’s Karma It’s Cool, and what other projects are you working on?
Peter Holsapple: Honestly, the guys from It’s Karma It’s Cool contacted me to do some overdub work on their beautiful songs, and I have to assume they must’ve known my work from the other records I’ve been on. Suffice to say, I was very grateful to hear from them! As far as the future goes, it’s pretty much “write, record, repeat” (but not “release”) around the home studio, with another house concert tour in the fall hopefully–the June tour was fantastic and self-affirming, something that’s pretty worthwhile at age 66.
No more weather-related puns. Just great new music. DB Edmunds is a welcome sight after all this time. As a member of power pop greats The Gladhands and The Stars Explode, he’s back with a solo effort that sounds excellent. UK band It’s Karma It’s Cool has a new single out with the help of Peter Holsapple(dB’s. R.E.M. and Hootie & The Blowfish). Another notable collaboration is Natalie Sweet and Brad Marino (The Connection), the first single has Sweet singing the rocker “Second Time.” And yet another pairing with Michigan indie pop veterans Tom Curless and Chip Saam combine to form Crossword Smiles, they sing “Parallel Lines” in advance of their new album. And power pop band Vanilla decides to go full disco for its upcoming ‘77′ album, with the teaser “Ka-Bang!” sung by Ava Adams. I randomly came across Freya Josephine Hollick, and her tune ‘Me & Mine’ is for all the misfits, the ousted, those who live on the fringes of society trying to make ends meet, and finally a video from an eclectic group called Electric Lecture. The band is the brainchild of Greg Ansin, Bronson Taalbi, and Anthony J Resta, and the band is influenced by XTC, Tom Petty, and Beck. Can’t wait to hear more from them!
It’s Karma It’s Cool “Homesick for our Future Destinations”
James Styring and his Lincoln, UK band take on a more subdued approach with their latest album. The low-key instrumental “Homesick” leads to “All Branches Break In Time,” a slow-building song with a jangling atmosphere and guitar dramatics at its peak. Unlike past work, the atmosphere is key as opposed to melody, and a song like “Wild Fire Flames,” is a good example, with its complex rhythm. The spacey “Absent Transient” is another highlight with echoing textures and riffs.
Overall it incorporates more psych-pop and prog influences than past works. That’s not to say the singles don’t stand out. “She Slept With The Radio On” is fantastic, and the big guitar hooks of “Coffee Cup Circles” are true highlights. A good combination of the melodic and atmospheric is “Guest on a TV Talk Show,” and most of the songs go past the four-minute mark, so you will need a few spins to appreciate this. A very good album that deserves to be heard. Amazon | Kool Kat Musik
The Laissez Fairs “Curiosity Killed The Laissez Fairs”
God bless John Fallon and his band of electric acid dandies! The retro-fuzzed guitars and Farfisa organs recall the golden age of late 60s psych-pop mixed with the Paisley Underground of the mid-80s across 11 tracks. The musical structure of each song is densely composed, sometimes crowding out the vocals — but the spirit and skill of these musicians cannot be denied. Listening to the opener “Image” and Joe Lawless guitar jangle is all you need to get a perfect mashup of The Byrds, Stones, and The Who.
“Sunshine Tuff” is a garage-laden mod rocker loaded with the kitchen sink, and “Tell You What It Means” is very much like The Small Faces. “Somewhere Man” and “Two Sides of The Same Coin” are also highlighted with bits of The Move and The Rain Parade in their DNA. Almost every song hits its mark, with the album’s end track “Upside Downer” a stoner meditation. Turn off the lights and stare at some blacklight posters while listening to this. Highly Recommended. Amazon
