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New Piano Man @SeanOReillyBand is “Ready For You Now”

SEAN O’REILLY, “Ready For You Now”

New Haven, Connecticut’s Sean O’Reilly is a major talent worth watching for, if “Ready For You Now” from his Volume 1 album is any indication. In this song you have one truly original piano man package wrapped up with smatterings of Rufus Wainwright wordplay, Patrick Wolf attitude, Brandon Flowers vocalizing, and Mika playfulness. Plus “Ready For You Now” may remind you, at times, vocally, of “What’s Up” by 4 Non Blondes. I’m not sure what I like best, Sean’s piano thrashing that keeps the almost 5 minute song from faltering, or when he sings at the top of his lungs, which really drives “Ready For You Now” home. Sean even went out into pre-Hurricane Sandy weather to make the video (below) for this song. Talk about dedication to your craft! Though this record actually came out in 2012, 2014 is definitely the time for Sean O’Reilly to break through.

Under Cover: “The One” by @iamJMSN

JMSN, “The One”

L.A. based singer JMSN once again gives us plenty of food for thought in his second video from the EP †Pllajë† called “The One”. Seemingly cryptic and obscure, I think a message behind “The One” might boil down to something relatively simple: Don’t forget to look deep underneath the outside to find out what’s on the inside. In this case, we certainly have sensuality and beauty, but in other cases it may not be what you think. Vocals-wise, although he doesn’t appear much, we do get to hear a gorgeous JMSN falsetto after the 2 minute mark, which anchors the song. Ever thoughtful and challenging, that’s why I’ve been enjoying JMSN’s music since 2012’s †Priscilla†.

@RiverTiber Releases The Star Falls EP, @KwikFiks Remixes “The City”

RIVER TIBER, The Star Falls (EP)

RIVER TIBER, “The City” (Kwik Fiks remix)

I’ve been writing for close to two years now about the amazing alternative electronica pop/rock music released independently by Toronto’s River Tiber, which is a live, functioning, and very tight band, but otherwise a studio project for ace multi-talent Tommy Paxton-Beesley. A review of “The City” by SPIN Magazine this past summer signals some great things about to happen. So on deck tomorrow on iTunes we have a new EP focusing around “The Star Falls”, a song from the earlier Synapses free album release (now pulled off the market I’m afraid – some things you’ve just gotta get when you have the chance – but I think a re-release is in store 😀 ). Watch the video below which was released earlier this year. The EP will feature two unreleased songs, “California” and “North”, which naturally is very appealing to me 🙂 as well as “The City” and “What Are You Afraid Of”, also both previously on Synapses.

Also focusing on the diversity of the music of River Tiber, Tommy’s pal DJ/producer Kwik Fiks has transformed “The City” from being a mini-odyssey lost in the beauty of a big city, and into a seriously catchy and house-y club affair. Dance mavens and DJ’s will love this one as it stands out well on its own without taking anything away from the original. Big bonus: Download it for free below.

And I won’t finish up here without posting the stunning video for “The City” which captures the essence of the song. “The City” was #1 for a month on my personal chart this past February.

River Tiber plays a release party for The Star Falls on Thursday, November 21 at the Drake Hotel in Toronto.

@CageTheElephant Score Big with “Come A Little Closer”

CAGE THE ELEPHANT “Come A Little Closer”

Call me a newbie here to Cage The Elephant, but the song and video by the Kentucky quintet led by singer Matthew Shultz have caught my ears and eyes this time around. I think it’s because the sound of “Come A Little Closer” has Cage The Elephant filling a most notable void in alt.rock left by bands that are no longer, such as R.E.M., but with a soulful edge. “Come A Little Closer” sounds like one of those rare alt.rock songs that will turn pop radio ears. The tour video is an intriguing showcase and very reminiscent of the 90’s, leaving one to wonder what the band is like in live performance. It’s from the band’s recent album Melophobia.

‘Scary’ British Quartet @YellowCreatures Arrive with “Town Hall Crypt”

YELLOW CREATURES, “Town Hall Crypt”

“Town Hall Crypt” arrived just in time for Hallowe’en by Newcastle-upon-Tyne’s quartet Yellow Creatures, who seem to use 80’s early new wave/post punk bands – Bauhaus, New Order, Echo & The Bunnymen – as a jumping off point. Whether it’s scary or not is another thing, but I do enjoy the sense of humour. It’s pretty creative and tidy (2:11!) alt.rock with vocals that will quickly capture your attention. Watch for more from these guys! Listen below.

Alt-Electro: Depeche Mode, Parralox, BAKER, SIRPAUL, Sergey Lazarev, and Everything Everything

Depeche Mode, “Heaven”

It’s rare that I get to write about a group or performer whose entire career has been roughly the same length as my adult life. So I’ve basically grown up with Depeche Mode from listening to – and not really liking – their first album Speak & Spell back in my college radio days in 1981. In fact I didn’t fully begin appreciating the multi-faceted talents of the band until 1984’s Some Great Reward, when it was extremely clear that they were more than just a new wave synth pop band and had to diversify to survive that era in music. And survive they did; they’ve actually made some of their best and most interesting music in recent years and have a repertoire that any band that’s been in the biz for 30 years would kill for.

“Heaven” (video below) is the first single from Depeche Mode’s upcoming album Delta Machine, due at the end of March, their first for Columbia and latest since 2009’s hit-and-miss Sounds Of The Universe. It’s a languid affair but it does feature a most compelling and passionate vocal by Dave Gahan that definitely pulls you in and brings you back again. I’m sure the band will mix it up for the new album, but think of the song for lack of exact comparisons as “I Feel You” (without the blistering guitar sounds) meets “Stripped” with a dash of “Precious”. Would love to hear some true Depeche Mode fan comments about this one!

Parralox, “Enjoy The Silence” and “Heaven”

In those 30-plus years, Depeche Mode has influenced an endless array of performers. I’ve been writing about Australian electronic duo Parralox recently, and they have been one of the first out of the gate not only with an electronic cover of “Heaven”, but also a reverent and most welcome cover of the band’s biggest North American hit “Enjoy The Silence”. This time John takes on lead vocals from Amii and brings another dimension to the duo’s growing catalogue of songs. It’s no mean feat to carry off covers like these but Parralox performs them in style and they can easily help make them contenders in electro dance this year after already receiving positive notice with “Sharper Than A Knife”. Watch the video for “Enjoy The Silence” and listen to their take on “Heaven” below.

BAKER, “Overload”

It’s only been a few weeks since the video for BAKER’s “If U Love Me” dropped, but after hearing the Red One-produced “Overload”, it’s absolutely no surprise why this one couldn’t wait. This is one of those exceptional powerhouse arpeggio-laden dance records that could send BAKER into the international dance charts. It’s sound goes hand-in-hand with Red One’s contemporaries like Calvin Harris, David Guetta, Ian Carey, and others, but what makes the difference here is BAKER’s stunning vocal, which helps raise the bar even higher. Listen below.

SIRPAUL, “Glow”

SIRPAUL is a New York singer/producer/remixer who has been making music by his own set of rules for the last 15 years. After establishing himself as a force in his own city, his music has been spreading around the world. To be honest, I had only just heard of him when his song “Going Down In La La Land” was a highlight on last year’s absolutely essential This Beat Is…Poptronik Volume One collection. Since then he’s released his latest album The Horse, from which comes the latest single “Glow”, highlighted by an expensive-looking video with some beautiful images below. The song sparkles and has a killer vocal that stands out from the rest.

Sergey Lazarev, “Take It Off”

Some of you may know Sergey Lazarev as one half of Russian group Smash during the last decade. Others may know him from his cover of Johnny Hates Jazz’s “Shattered Dreams”, whose video was clearly shot in my city and looks like Sergey had Yonge Street all to himself (below) 😉 “Take It Off” is from his latest album Lazarev, available on iTunes, a dance track with an upfront flirty intent. You can see how much Sergey’s vocals have progressed since “Shattered Dreams”; you can’t have such a tease of a song without having a commanding vocal. Watch the live performance of “Take It Off” from last summer below. A video for the song has been in production and I hope it will surface.

Everything Everything, “Cough Cough”

Mighty drums are ablaze and surely what will attract you to the latest single from UK quartet Everything Everything. “Cough Cough” comes from the band’s sophomore album Arc, released last month in the UK. It’s definitely an alt.mix of tribal rhythms and electronics that will lift you out of your seat and make you watch and listen, particularly if you like other similar bands such as The Presets or Depeche Mode. The band is signed to The Strokes’ singer Julian Casablancas’ label Cult Records for North American release, and will see an EP of “Cough Cough” on release February 5. Everything Everything also performs two shows at SXSW in March.

River Tiber in concert (Watch Out 2013)!!

I take this pause in reviewing songs, albums and videos to rave about River Tiber’s concert in Toronto last night in anticipation of their new album Synapses due January 1.

As regular readers know, I have been touting multi-instrumentalist and vocalist Tommy Paxton-Beesley and his band since first hearing their From Now On album at the top of this year. I’ve now seen three shows by them, heard the Remixes and Massachusetts EP’s, as well as two songs from the upcoming album, “What Are You Afraid Of” (video below, created and directed by Tommy) and “I’m Not Here” (also listen below). By far, last night’s experience epitomizes why I go out to club shows to see new performers as well as my favourites. You end up seeing a show that you were glad not to miss.

The set mainly focuses on untried new material, book-ended by “Someday” at the top and “These Are Centuries” (which both landed up my chart earlier in the year, at #1 and #13 respectively) at the end. The rest of the show – which included “What Are You Afraid Of” – introduced a new River Tiber, incorporating ace guitar, bass, and drums/percussion work, as well as Tommy’s striking Jeff Buckley-esque vocals (hope you won’t get tired of that comparison ’cause it’s true 🙂 )which gave me chills of the best kind, along with very layered keyboard sounds and drum effects which might not sound out of place next to songs by the Chemical Brothers or Gorillaz. The club (Silver Dollar Room) where it was held is noted for showcasing Blues, Jazz and Folk performers, and regulars to this club might have seemed like fish out of water last night, but it was clear from the attention being paid to the show that River Tiber totally won them over.

Watch my Twitter feed for more River Tiber news, including upcoming shows – if you’re in Toronto in early January for the next one, which will be a CD release show, you won’t want to miss it.

Music Is Our Release: Secondhand Serenade’s “A Naked Twist In My Story” and “Unsung Hero” by Colin Munroe

At the worst of times, music is our release, it’s where you can turn when you need to clear your head and fill it with something else. John Vasely of Secondhand Serenade and Colin Munroe have had their bad times, and are fortunately such talented performers that they can share it with us through their music.

Secondhand Serenade “A Naked Twist In My Story”

We have actually heard John’s story, back in 2008 when its sparkling, doe-eyed showcase song “Fall For You” could be heard everywhere (it got to #7 on my personal chart). But it’s one of the few happy songs on the record, coinciding of course with the start of a promising relationship that ultimately falls apart. A Naked Twist In My Story is A Twist In My Story stripped away to near-bare bones, but without the studio enhancements the story becomes a much more emotional and personal affair.

I can’t really say that “Fall For You” is improved; this version is its gritty companion. Being in a different place myself in 2012 than in 2008, the pain and sorrow of songs like “Why”, “Pretend”, and “Goodbye” is better understood and the raw performances shine through. There’s a lovely new bonus song too, “Belong To”, which doesn’t set out to be another “Fall For You” and I think is the point of hope that we all reach at a certain part of our stories. I saw Secondhand Serenade in concert three years ago. About 80% of the attendees knew the words to most of the songs that were played, and John and his band made a medium sized venue quite intimate for their fans, many of whom will be on board for this new part of the story.

A Naked Twist In My Story is an independent release that will whet your appetite for Secondhand Serenade’s fifth full album, due later this year. Buy it on iTunes and listen to a snippet of “Belong To” below.

Colin Munroe, “Unsung Hero” (mixtape)

If I’m reading the lyrics correctly (and I may not be), I’d say that Colin Munroe struck rock bottom in both professional and personal hell in the last few years. However, as strange as life turns around, we are benefitting from the results through his new record deal with Capitol/EMI and his compelling recent releases, which have landed inside his latest mixtape “Unsung Hero”. And it’s definitely a different kind of ‘unsung hero’ that we heard back in 2008 with his mixtape “Colin Munroe Is The Unsung Hero” or when he first appeared as a featured artist on songs by the likes of Donnis and Drake.

“Unsung Hero” doesn’t rest on one kind of style of pop music, navigating easily through accessible but cutting pop like “Over It”, the cathartic R&B hip hop of “The Fight Of My Life” and “Scars ‘N Stars”, the almost giddy “Fucking Amazing”, and the thought-provoking, deliberately paced “Your Eyes”. Colin Munroe has such talent with his craft that one shouldn’t forget that his vocals are spot on, too. And he has a bevy of friends to help him build his castle of a resolve, including Cassie, K.Flay, Pusha-T, Kendrick Lamar, Memoryhouse, and RZA. In some ways, “Unsung Hero” is also a good companion to JMSN’s †Priscilla† of earlier this year.

“Unsung Hero” may still be available for free download at some sites, but I’m not sure if that was the intent. Regardless, you can stream the entire record on Colin’s Soundcloud page below. I’d say Act II of Colin Munroe’s musical career is well-underway with a lot more ahead for us to hear.