Tag Archives: rock

LIV SIN – Inverted EP

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For thirteen years, Liv Sin was the frontwoman with Swedish hard rock/metal band Sister Sin. Armed with various old school riffs and a hard vocal style, the band shared stages with King Diamond and Slayer and drew comparisons with Children of Bodom and Skew Siskin. All things come to an end and after Sister Sin decided to call it a day, Liv embarked upon a solo career. Continuing to plough a classic Euro metal furrow, her first solo outing ‘Follow Me’ (released in 2017) was produced by Accept’s Stefan Kaufmann and featured guest performances from members of 69 Eyes and Destruction. With plenty of high octane riffery and a footing in a late 80s sound, the album had plenty of appeal for those who like Benedictum, Accept and even Sabaton.

As its title suggests, her 2018 EP ‘Inverted’ EP represents a much more low-key, moody artist. In her own words, the original plan “was to do a stripped down acoustic EP”, but the process took the band “somewhere else”. That somewhere else is quite removed from the bombast of ‘Follow Me’, but it’s a recording that long-time fans might find interesting.

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J EASTMAN AND THE DRUNK UNCLES – Pleasing Some Of The People None Of The Time

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In 2016, J Eastman and the Drunk Uncles – a bar band from Minneapolis with an Uncle Tupelo obsession – released ‘No Capo Required’, a rough and ready EP that was as much a gutsy homage to their musical heroes as a no-frills love letter to musical fun. Not all good music has to be perfect and the Uncles seemed keen to champion that message. Two years on, the follow up ‘Pleasing Some of The People…’ keeps a firm hold on their slightly sloppy but incredibly gung ho style, but trades in some of the more rootsy elements for a tough but not always entirely tuneful power pop edge. Put it this way: with mid-period Replacements as part of the blueprint, you can’t help but hear more than a trace of the best music that sprang from their geographical roots on parts of this release.

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The Right Here release new video commemorating closure of the Triple Rock Club

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Mineappolis rockers The Right Here pay tribute to one of their favourite local venues in the new video for their single ‘Judge Me When I’m Sober’.  The intimate and worn-in setting provides a great backdrop for the track, since the band come across like a hybrid of The Replacements and Gaslight Anthem, combined with the roughest edge of the much missed Uncle Tupelo.

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JIZZY PEARL – All You Need Is Soul

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Upon release in 2014, Jizzy Pearl’s EP ‘Crucified’ was incredibly well received by the online rock press, with many thinking it was the former Love/Hate frontman’s best work for a many a year. Although only a six tracker, it did indeed manage to capture a lot of the energies of his younger self, something probably amplified by a short playing time. With no room for filler, he really made an impression, so you’d think Pearl would’ve been keen to keep up the momentum and really capitalise on its success, but it took him almost four years to craft a follow up. Prior to release, he claimed that follow up, 2018’s ‘All You Need Is Soul’ had all the excitement of his former band’s ‘Blackout In The Red Room’ debut. Big talk indeed, but it seems that no matter how much time passes, that album is still very much the benchmark for everything that’s followed.

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SUN VOYAGER – Seismic Vibes

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For those who’ve not been paying attention, fuzz rock troupe Sun Voyager have been lurking on the Brooklyn underground scene since 2012. After a few enjoyable EPs, ‘Seismic Vibes’ – their first full length LP – really capitalises on their previous musical ideas, presenting a world of haze and stoner based riffs with not only more confidence but also a better production value than they’ve ever had. Those who think “better production” could also mean more commercial should fear not, though, since everything that was great about these mighty Sun lords before remains just as great; it’s just that this time around, the material has more warmth and depth. It’s interesting they’ve not taken advantage of the longer playing time and experimented with longer songs, but just one or two listens to this album should be enough to explain why: there’s definitely something about this material that is more effective in short bursts.

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