SKELETONS IN THE PIANO – Please Don’t Die

skeletons in the pianoSkeletons In The Piano are the stuff of your technicolour dreams and your darkest nightmares.  Billing themselves as falling somewhere between The Doors and Black Sabbath, this New York septet’s sound constantly pulls between extremes, often favouring moods lodged inside the dustiest corner of the imagination.

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CRAZY & THE BRAINS – Let Me Go

letMeGo600x600In  2012, New Jersey anti-folk/punk outfit Crazy & The Brains released a handful of songs as part of a split EP with The Disconnects.  While C&tB’s xylophone heavy take on the Ramones’ ‘Oh Oh I Love Her So’ was their best track on that particular release, the band’s self-penned material had its own ragged charm, similar to ‘Don’t Need Snacks’, their own EP containing odes to Lindsay Lohan and Saturday Night Live.  2013’s ‘Let Me Go’ recycles a few numbers from those previous releases – including a couple of the band’s best – but the unheard tunes within the sixteen tracks certainly aren’t without their enjoyable moments.

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JUSTIN KLINE – Doormat EP

justinklinedoormatJustin Kline’s first full length album ‘Cabin Fever Songs’ marked a departure from his earlier EPs, shifting from sun-filled power pop to introspective, mostly acoustic songs with a home recorded quality.  While the introspective songs undoubtedly helped exorcise a few demons, he received mixed reactions for the record.

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THE SILVER SEAS – Alaska

AlaskaThe Silver Seas 2010 album ‘Chateau Revenge!’ not only raised the bar in terms of what they were capable as a band, but the release also came with a strong sense of cult adoration, with the UK’s Danny Baker becoming one of the band’s most outspoken supporters.  For those who were there, the band’s September 2011 performance in front of a select but fiercely loyal London crowd – just prior to an appearance on the BBC’s prestigious ‘Later…With Jools Holland’- remains something of a watershed moment.  Riding the wave further and coming up with an album that was not only equal, but better than ‘Chateau Revenge!’ was always going to be tough.  So, like Fleetwood Mac following the hugely palatable ‘Rumours’ with the over indulgent ‘Tusk’, with 2013’s ‘Alaska’, The Silver Seas have wisely chosen not to try and top previous achievements, but instead take a side-step and – at lease on the surface – offer their loyal fans something different.  …But fear not, it’s not so different…at least not in a frankly paranoid, coked-out and bonkers ‘Tusk’ sense.

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