HANNAH IN THE WARS – Hannah In The Wars

Hannah In The WarsThe stage name of New Zealand born singer-songwriter Hannah Curwood, Hannah In The Wars is a vehicle for soft, dark and occasionally bleak soundscapes – a mix of the piano balladry of Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, The Last Town Chorus and a touch of Mazzy Star.  This, her third release, is rarely anything shy of being a gloom-laden masterpiece.

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SCOTT JANOVITZ – Fall In EP

Scott JanovitzScott Janovitz will be familiar to some retro-pop aficionados as the mastermind behind The Russians – the mysterious indie/power pop band who left us a sole full length album ‘Crashing The Party’ in 2011.  Although a rather melancholy listen in some places, it’s collection of songs were very well crafted, with sounds borrowing from the sixties, eighties and nineties in almost equal measure.  The years passed, but nothing more materialised from either Janovitz or The Russians, leading some listeners to wonder what could have been…

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DELUXE EDITION DREAMLAND: Tori Amos – Little Earthquakes

Few debut albums are as perfect as ‘Little Earthquakes’ by Tori Amos.  Not only is it a recording with barely a note wasted its also a deep and thoughtful experience that leaves the listener emotionally spent upon completion of listening.  In under an hour, Ms. Amos takes us on a roller coaster journey of songs that deal with changing weather and changing emotions – songs dealing with self depreciation, of sexuality, self-worth, rape, missed periods, fitting social situations…or not, and far more besides; almost every line dealing with the deeply personal, uncovering parts of the human condition.  Right from the beginning of ‘Crucify’ to the last notes of the title track with Amos pleading “give me life, give me pain, give me myself again”, ‘Little Earthquakes’ never lets up.

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Awake & Dreaming: Real Gone meets Mick Terry

In 2010, London based singer-songwriter Mick Terry released ‘The Grown Ups’, a debut album with a personal quality.  Its creation came as a surprise, since Terry wasn’t especially planning on recording an album after returning to music after a family-raising break.  Since 2012, he’s been working on a follow-up.  Real Gone caught up with him in January 2015 to find out if it’s almost finished…

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JIM BOGGIA – Fidelity Is The Enemy

a2403831630_2Following a stint as a jobbing songwriter and working with and/or supporting well-known singer songwriters Juliana Hatfield and Amanda Marshall, power pop performer Jim Boggia delivered a storming full-length debut in 2001.  ‘Fidelity Is The Enemy’ takes in many moods during its old fashioned created- for-two-sides-of-vinyl-length forty two minutes. Every one of those moods is as fully realised as the previous, showing Boggia to not only be a strong songwriter, but an arranger of some confidence.

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