Skeletons 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.
Tag Archives: retro
THE SILVER SEAS – Alaska
The 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.
THE COMPUTERS – Love Triangles, Hate Squares
The first two releases from The Computers showed a band firmly rooted in garage punk noise. In the three years between their debut EP (2008’s ‘You Can’t Hide From…’) and their first full length release (2011’s ‘This Is The Computers’), although still raucous, the band had tempered the rawest end of their sound with a hefty dose of punk ‘n’ roll. That shift was hugely influenced by the album’s producer, Rocket From The Crypt’s John Reis, bringing a new dimension to the band’s sound.
STEPHEN LAWRENSON – Obscuriosity
Somewhere behind the retro childrens’ book artwork and drab brown packaging, Stephen Lawrenson delivers ten pieces of relatively sunny adult power pop on his debut release for Kool Kat. Fans of the genre will undoubtedly have fun in spotting the dozens of influences this particular singer-songwriter has twisted into his own vision, but while, by the time of its closing notes, ‘Obscuriosity’ has found its feet to become a great piece of work, it doesn’t actually start off too impressively…
AUGUST CHRISTOPHER – A Brand New Day
August Christopher is a Nashville based band which has a sound which encompasses many different elements, but could best be described as rock/pop with a leaning towards country rock. They’ve gained a reputation for being a hard working band and have secured support slots in the past with various bands, but appearances with Lynyrd Skynyrd, Train, Seven Mary Three and Nickelback would certainly be among their more high profile.
This third August Christopher release is a concept disc about “a man struggling with his alter-ego, walking a tightrope of good and evil”. As always with concept albums, this isn’t always completely clear. Concepts aside, though, ‘A Brand New Day’ features some good quality material. A couple of tracks fall short of the mark, but generally, the album presents a solid set of tunes.