Next month I've got some reviews that promoters wanted me to make. We'll have around two or three bands, but in greater depth than the normal mini-reviews of the monthly Updates. I thought this month would be short on artists, but circumstances changed to give a fairly decent taste of "new" music. It turned out to be a fun month of listening.
Not in the Collection
From the Collection
- Charity Von: Bluesy, countryish rock with a strong message. Charity Von's low voice is very pleasant to listen to, but when mixed with the instrumentals, produces an overall muddy sound. I like her music, but not quite enough to buy at retail. [4]
- Officer Negative: Heavy, dark speed metal to yelled or growled vocals. I had to read the lyrics to make 'em out, then go to the website to see if I was actually dealing with a Christian band. The lyrics are cryptic and dark, but they don't condone evil like this extreme-metal genre normally does. [3]
- Palisade: Very FFHish, especially in the harmonies. Their lead male vocalist even sounds like Jeromy Deibler (FFH's lead male vocalist). The music lacks originality both musically and lyrically, but for light pop, it's still a pleasant listen. It's "safe" rock. [3]
- Rod Laver: sneering rap to heavy music. It's a bit monotonous to listen to a whole CD. No lyrics came with the CD, which I found to be frustrating. [3]
- Aretha Franklin: I gave Smokey Robinson a try because it was a famous name. I gave Aretha the same. I'm not sure why, but I expected livlier stuff, and not the vocal-range showing off, and the melismas. She took too much liberty with the classics so I couldn't sing along. I suppose she's quite good at what she does, and she's got a great voice. It's not my style. [2]
- Trans-Siberian Orchestra: Going on a tip from my wife's boss, I jumped on-line to find Trans-Siberian Orchestra. I found 'em, but wasn't sure about their Christian content, so I hunted around more, and found the band at Christian Book Distributers. They concentrate heaviest on Christmas music, but they do other stuff as well. I won't call their sound "80s", but if you like Meatloaf, ELO and Mannheim Steamroller, I think you'll really like this band. I found it pleasing that they even use a heavy, crunchy guitar on lots of the tracks. Thanks for the tip, Mel! [5]
- Michael Gungor: This was an unexpected surprise from a radio station we support. Acoustic loungy jazz-rock. Breathy, with some slur in the vocals. Lyrics are strong, but somewhat lacking in originality. [3]
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