Broken Quote - Foreshadowing Sunlight

Broken Quote – Foreshadowing Sunlight
2014, 563026 Records DK

The Band
Broken Quote is a multi-instrumentalist, writer and producer from Houston, Texas who has been creating music since he was a small child.  A self-taught musician, Broken Quote showed a distinctive ear early on.  While the lack of lessons would be a roadblock to some, it became an open playing field to Broken Quote.  Broken Quote credits influences such as Bjork, Eyedea, Beck, Radiohead, John Cage and Parliament Funkadelic, among others.  His musical milieu continues to grow and evolve, but his current sound is something of a stew of ambient funk, trip hop, electro rock and acid jazz.

The Album
Foreshadowing Sunlight, a five song EP, is Broken Quote’s first release.

The Buzz
Broken Quote is all about minimalist atmospherics.  Electronics and ambient sounds are the core of the sound on Foreshadowing Sunlight, but the focus is less musical than it is of painting collages of sound. 

Spotlights
“Late Night Ocean” has an intriguing rhythm and life all its own.  The overall effect is more distracting than cohesive, but there is a musical statement to be made here.  “Glass Ceiling” is similarly unsettling.  Angst-filled piano gives way to a slowly growing cacophony of rhythm, as Broken Quote seeks to unsettle all who would listen.

Footlights
The energy throughout Foreshadowing Sunlight is minimalist by intent, but the effectuation is downright painful at times.  Angst and ennui are the core emotions, and those vibes are imparted to the listener like a cudgel.  Effects very often rule the day, covering the gaps that are left behind by songs that are thought out and through, but often not fully.

The Rating: 2.5 Stars (Out of 5)

The Songs
Ghost Crowd
Late Night Ocean
Glass Ceiling
Sparks Water The Seeds
Mispronounce

Where to Go
www.brokenquote.com.

Maria Rose & The Swiss Kicks - New Direction

Maria Rose & The Swiss Kicks - New Direction
2011, Maria Rose

Flint and Ypsilanti, Michigan are the co-homes of electro rock n soul trio Maria Rose & The Swiss Kicks.  Led by the powerful and soulful voice of Maria Rose, The Swiss Kicks power their way through an intriguing though sometimes muddled stylistic ménage on their debut EP, New Direction. 

Maria Rose & The Swiss Kicks get things started with "Velvet Cabaret", a musical biography of a strppr with dreams of owning her own French Café.  There's a morbid sort of pull to this song, as we hear the story of someone struggling to break free of a hard life.  It's never clear if our heroine will succeed, even though she's on the verge of her dream.  Maria Rose gives the whole affair a soulful and gritty read with a voice that will stick in your mind.  "Pineapple Wine" is a quirky folk/pop Boss nova; a sexy and sensual invitation to let down your hair and enjoy the moment.  "Angel Face" is a maudlin ballad that's half-hearted and vaguely depressed in sound.  There's a distinctive disconnect between the lyrics and the tone of the music presented here, enough so that it's distracting to the listener.

"Gypsy Of NYC" is another musical bio, this time of a young lady with quasi-magical qualities.  The arrangement and instrumentation is unique and compelling for pop music, even if the production does muddle the sound a bit.  "Wildcard" is catchy and intriguing; showcasing Maria Rose's voice in compelling fashion.  This is one of those songs that eat at you, growing on you slowly, over time.  The EP closes with "New Directions", an unfortunately apt tune that sounds something like Tori Amos and includes an unfortunate and non-committal rap.  This one just doesn't work all that well.

Maria Rose & The Swiss Kicks make a solid impression with New Direction, although the production on the album sounds incomplete at times.  The band skates the middle ground between acoustic band and full sound.  Unfortunately this half-measure doesn't seem to suite them well.  For whatever flaws New Direction might have, however, Maria Rose's voice can't be counted among them.  Rose will make you forget your troubles when she opens her mouth to sing.  The songwriting here is still developing and uneven, but the future looks bright for Maria Rose & The Swiss Kicks.

Rating: 3 Stars (out of 5)

Learn more about Maria Rose & The Swiss Kicks at www.mariarosekicks.com or www.myspace.com/mariarosemusic.  New Direction is available from Amazon.com as a CD or Download.  The album is also available via iTunes.

The Jezabels - Dark Storm

The Jezabels - Dark Storm
2010, The Jezabels

Sydney, Australia quartet The Jezabels have had a whirlwind year, landing opening gigs for artists such as Tegan & Sara, Katie Noonan and Josh Pyke while promoting their 2009 EP She's So Hard.  In the process The Jezabels grew into headliners themselves, selling some pretty impressive rooms along the way.  Led by vocalist Hayley Mary, The Jezabels bring an eclectic sound on their latest EP, Dark Storm, the last of an EP trilogy.

The EP opens with “Dark Storm”, a stark and lovely tune with a disturbing edge.  The song has a hidden pop sensibility; it won’t necessarily be your favorite the first listen through but it is the song that will keep you coming back.  Vocalist Hayley Mary intrigues while sounding like a cross between Kate Bush and Stevie Nicks.  “Mace Spray” is crunchy-but-ambient pop.  Hayley Mary’s vocal is distinctive and disturbing, full of an asymmetric beauty and a hard edge that’s sort of like chewing on tin foil.  “Sahara Mahala” is an edgy pop love song with a serious hook and a deep sense of mystery.  “A Little Piece goes a bit too far vocally, with Mary stretching for some soprano notes that were perhaps ill thought.  The Jezabels close with “She’s So Hard”, a vocally intriguing but lyrically obtuse song that shows elements of Sarah McLachlan and Bjork.

The Jezabels show an intriguing mix of rock, pop and Lilith Fair pastiche on “Dark Storm”, one of the more intriguing musical introductions we’ve made this year at Wildy’s World.  The EP itself has its ups and downs, but Hayley Mary has a voice that could become iconic.  Voice aside, there’s enough here to keep you in the loop enough to want to find out what The Jezabels do next.

Rating: 3 Stars (Out of 5)

Learn more about The Jezabels at http://www.thejezabels.com/ or www.myspace.com/jezabelsband.  Dark Storm is available on CD from Amazon.com.  Digital copies are available via iTunes.

Review: Little Invisibles - Closer

Little Invisibles - Closer
2009, Little Invisibles

Gina Degnars has been a fixture on the New York and Philadelphia music scenes for a number of years (as well as her native Delaware). The songstress, who studied at Boston's Berklee School Of Music, released an album with her prior band, Stygian Veil back in 2001 (Poison Berries), but has continued to create wonderfully dark and textured piano-based Alt-Rock over the years. In 2009, Degnars was ready for a transition, incorporating more distinctly Pop melodies and electronic beats in her music. This change led to the formation of Little Invisibles, and the release of the band's debut EP, Closer. Preferring minor keys and human frailty to the shallow happiness of modern pop or the cynical boredom of most alt-Rock, Degnars climbs through her existential musical angst to generally find the element of hope that drives us all.

Closer opens with the urgent exhortation of Breathless. The song is part fascination and part mourning; the singer still finds her other enthralling but the feeling is no longer reciprocated. The musical canvas gives a desolate, lost feel, and tension in the vocal line is wholly palpable. What Once Was explores the aftermath of a relationship while still yearning for what was. The emotions here are raw and compelling, and earnestly represented in the stark nature of the instrumentation. Gina Degnar's yearning, mournful voice is full of tragic beauty, emoting both the passion and frustration that drive the song. Not One Of You is highly reminiscent of some of Tori Amos' more emotional mid-career musical ramblings; a performance that appears ready to come across at the emotional seams at a moment's notice but never disintegrates. Little Invisibles closes with Headrush, with Lance Davis providing Bono-esque vocals alongside Degnars in a starkly beautiful performance that's enthralling and more than a little disturbing.

Gina Degnar's dark side drives the music on Closer; a diluvial outpouring of mixed emotion and angst against esoteric, keyboard-driven compositions. Degnars falls somewhere in the triangle between Tori Amos, Kate Bush and Bjork vocally, drawing a lonely strength from a sublime combination of vulnerability and certainty. Closer is probably destined to be under-appreciated in light of current mores, and unfortunately so. Degnars is a singular talent as both a writer and performer, and Little Invisibles coalesce nicely around the dark clouds of her muse.

Rating: 3.5 Stars (Out of 5)

You can learn more about Little Invisibles at www.myspace.com/littleinvisibles or http://www.littleinvisibles.com/, where you can purchase a copy of Closer on CD. Downloads are available through iTunes.

Review: Jerin Falkner - Pyro Aesthetic

Jerin Falkner - Pyro Aesthetic
2009, Pyro Aesthetic

Seattle’s Jerin Falkner is just like your typical girl next door. Typical, that is, until she steps onstage and her inner fire lights up the stage like a spotlight. Falkner has written over sixty songs since 2004, release four independent albums and being highly competitive in a host of songwriting competitions across the US. Falkner’s latest release, Pyro Aesthetic, is breathtaking.

Falkner opens with Count Of Three, sounding more than a bit like Sarah McLachlan. The arrangement is simply piano with electronic accoutrements; its one of the gentler, more ethereal kiss off songs I've heard. The melody and arrangement is a thing of beauty. Falkner goes to the other end of the spectrum with the frenetic Dance/Pop of Let Down, which is more reminiscent of the maniacal energy of Devo than any Alternapop chanteuse. Right In Front is back in the middle of the spectrum; a mid-tempo Pop tune that truly highlights Falkner's wonderfully textured voice. All of the songs thus far on Pyro Aesthetic are about or based on a relationship that's fallen or is falling apart. The trend continues on the rhythmically inspired Flight. The mood here is turmoil, and is delivered in a wonderfully upbeat arrangement that will inspire repeat plays. For You has a tragic cabaret feel, sounding like something Sarah Slean might have written. Falkner seems to have a knack for tragic beauty and melancholy in her melodies and it's never more apparent than on For You. Copy Me wanders over the borderlands between unusual and truly bizarre, wrapping Falkner's wonderful bit of madness in the golden hues of Pop Rock. The song is fun and vaguely danceable and breaks into total perspective distortion before returning to its roots. Falkner closes out with Sunrise, a wish for the light after a period of personal torment. It's a recovery and rebirth from the loss of a relationship that's detailed throughout Pyro Aesthetic; layered and multi-textured and beautiful in its singular sense of hope.

I knew nothing about Jerin Falkner when I sat down to listen to Pyro Aesthetic; but this is one amazing artist. Falkner walks to the beat of her own drummer, creating music somewhere in the Outlands beyond Sarah McLachlan where folks like Kate Bush, Tori Amos, Bjork and Sarah Slean frolic and play. Falkner's sense of melody is distinctive, and her ability to emote the tragedies of everyday life through both her piano and her voice is singular in nature. Pyro Aesthetic perhaps isn't perfect, but Falkner is working on her own lattice so even the imperfections become perfect parts of the whole. Pyro Aesthetic is brilliant; a Wildy's World Certified Desert Island Disc, and Jerin Falkner is just getting started.

Rating: 5 Stars (Out of 5)

You can learn more about Jerin Falkner at http://www.jerinfalkner.com/ or www.myspace.com/jerinfalknermusic. You can purchase Pyro Aesthetic on CD from CDBaby, or you can download the album via iTunes.

Review: Michael Bellar/The As-Is Ensemble - Turned On Turned Up

Michael Bellar/The As-Is Ensemble - Turned On Turned Up
2009, Left Three Lanes Music

Michael Bellar and The As-Is Ensemble were, at one time, the house band at New York City's Blue Note jazz club. They have played Lincoln Center (NYC), The Kennedy Center (Washington, D.C.) and the JVC and Bell Atlantic Jazz Festivals. Their latest album, Turned On, Turned Up, displays the band's penchant for high-energy jazz and sense of mischief, as if anything might happen at any time. Featured performers on Turned On, Turned Up include bassist Rob Jost (Imogen Heap, Bjork); drummer Brand Wentworth (Aretha Franklin) and percussionist Robert Di Pietro (Norah Jones, Jessie Harris). Michael Bellar himself has toured/recorded with Art Garfunkel, Amos Lee, Howie Day, Wheatus, Jump Little Children and Giorgia

Turned On Turned Up opens with Squashing Pollyanas; serious Funk with an incredibly infectious bass line and high quality organ work over the top. This highly creative and danceable instrumental gets The As-Is Ensemble off on the right foot. The choice of Ben Folds' Fred Jones Part 2 as a cover is interesting. The instrumental version offered up here reminds us that Folds isn't just bombast and keys but a pretty mean songwriter as well. Bellar plays around the edges a bit but leaves the melody line essentially intact while burying it in reverb on the synth. All Things Rabbit is a high-energy jazz/rock instrumental featuring keyboard work vaguely reminiscent of The Who.

The As-Is Ensemble turns expectations on their heads with Fur Turban, carrying a Middle Eastern Flavor and Latin Rhythms. The song is highly energetic in presentation and is very entertaining. The Damage Done captures a European sound that verges on melancholy before busting out into a bass-driven, accordion-led chorus. Unravel is an introspective rainy-day peace, with a melancholy-yet-hopeful feel that's more intriguing with each listen. The As-Is Ensemble takes on Led Zeppelin with their instrumental version of Misty Mountain Hop, which turns out to be a big treat. Turned On Turned Up closes out with Yoga For Prison Girls, a questionable selection as the arrangement is mellow and frankly, it's likely the weakest track on the disc.

Michael Bellar/The As Is Ensemble are a highly original and intriguing bunch. Turned On Turned Up a bit uneven at times, but overall is a very strong release.

Rating: 3.5 Stars (Out of 5)

You can learn more about Michael Bellar/The As-Is Ensemble at http://www.michaelbellar.com/. You can purchase Turned On Turned Up as either a CD or download from Amazon.com. You can also download the album from iTunes.

Review: Gemma Ray - Lights Out Zoltar!

Gemma Ray - Lights Out Zoltar!
2009, Bronzerat Records

Gemma Ray is a sensation in her native England, writing dark and emotive songs in styles that range from Americana to 1950's and 1960's pop. If you find musical embodiment to Quentin Tarrantino's psyche it might just be a Gemma Ray album. Comparisons have included Lee Hazelwood, Nina Simone, Isobel Campbell and Norah Jones on Amy Winehouse's drugs, but it's clear that Gemma Ray has struck a chord so vital in UK fans that she's become something of a phenomenon. Ray's US debut, Lights Out Zoltar! drops on October 26, 2009, and has few peers stylistically. Fans of Canadian singer/songwriter Sarah Slean will be highly intrigued, and the comparisons to Tori Amos, Milla Jovovich and Bjork will be made, but Gemma Ray is no one if she's not herself.

Traditional instrumentation isn't an issue for Ray, who uses whatever sounds right to her irrespective of whether it's conventional. The opening track, 100 mph (in 2nd gear) is beaten out on a hollow body guitar with a kitchen knife while a toy piano tinkles in the background. Ethereal backing vocals and a gothic European cabaret pathos fills out the sonic landscape in support of Ray's entrancing vocal. Snuck A Peak sounds a bit like a Fiona Apple song played at the wrong speed on a phonograph. The surreal effects applied here make the song sound like it's in dimensional limbo with Ray's voice acting as the focus point. The song is beautiful in bleak fashion. 1952 takes an almost Surf sound and turns it into music noir with lyrics in both English and French. Death Roll is one of the more unusual tracks on the disc. Death Roll sounds like French Cabaret in a mad house; highly entertaining yet disturbing all at once.

No Water is an allegory for being caught in the emotional wastelands that we all find ourselves in from time to time. Considering the darkness of the subject matter, the chorus is bright and full of warm vocal harmonies. Ray eschews the gothic feel that pervades the album for gentle pop that runs entirely counter to the neurosis it envelopes. If You Want To Rock N Roll is bleak with depressive overtones and kind of gets stuck in itself, but Ray returns strong with Something Shifted, returning to the Americana style she started out with. The song represents a coming-to-terms with change even if it never really defines what's changed. Ray closes out with So Do I, a return to Carol King-style songwriting with a melody you could hear a group like the Chiffons Doo-Dooing along to.

Gemma Ray is unique and interesting as a songwriter, opting for an almost Madrigal Rock built on a wide range of traditional and toy instruments, all wrapped around the highly textured and beautiful voice she possesses. Lights Out Zoltar! is a dynamic Cabaret/Lounge trip you don't want to miss.

Rating: 3 Stars (Out of 5)

You can learn more about Gemma Ray at www.myspace.com/gemmaraymusic. Lights Out, Zoltar! will be released in the US on October 26, 2009. If you can’t wait, the UK release will drop on September 7, 2009. You can purchase a copy of UK release of Lights Out Zoltar! At BronzeRat.com. Digital copies will be available through BronzeRat on the date of release.

Review: Cara Tower - Ambience Of Love

Cara Tower - Ambience Of Love
2009, Raw Dog Records

Cara Tower is a singer, multi-instrumentalist and composer for whom the process of creation never stops. A Southern California girl by birth, Tower has travelled all over the world chasing her muse. Along the way she has been a major label recording artist (Hollywood Records), an entrepreneur (Raw Dog Records) and a film composer among many other things. 2009 sees the release of Tower’s third album on her own imprint, Raw Dog Records. Ambience Of Love is full of positive, affirming songs and gentle arrangements.

Ambience Of Love opens with Even When, a song about overcoming obstacles and maintaining a positive outlook. It's a breezy pop tune that's 100% self-affirmation that acknowledges that life has a circular quality and that any rough times one goes through have happened before and will happen again. The implication, of course, is that the good times come around again as well. Love Is No Stranger opens with a voiceover that sounds like it's from a sermon and delves into a nice folk/pop arrangement with a moving bass line. The song itself is about giving yourself over to love and could just as easily be a love song as a song of praise (I left the song not being 100% sure which is intended). Why and Before There Was A Name both sound like meditations or perhaps even devotionals. The latter in particular is quite lovely. Courage To Change stays in the highly positive vein, challenging listeners to be the change they wish to see in the world. Flowers takes to a dance beat to explain the seeds of seeking universal standing in a bit symbolism that borders on cliché. Tower closes out with Appalachian Wind, perhaps the best tune on the disc. On the first eight tracks Tower has been focused inward; on Appalachian Wind she focuses on the world around her and the result is a haunting and beautiful tune.

Ambience Of Love is all about religion, philosophy and feeling good about oneself. With the exception of Appalachian Wind, the album feels more like a self-help book than a collection of songs. That being said, Cara Tower crafts pleasing arrangements around tried lyrics such that the album is a pleasant listening experience. Appalachian Wind shows that there's more to Tower as a lyricist than Stuart Smalley style proclamations, and hopefully we'll see more of that side of her on future releases.

Rating: 2.5 Stars (Out of 5)

You can learn more about Cara Tower at http://www.caratower.com/ or www.myspace.com/caratower. You can purchase a copy of Ambience Of Love at CDBaby.com.

Review: Zweiseitz - Zweisetz (Caroline Seitz)

Zweiseitz – Zweiseitz

2008, Caroline Seitz

Caroline Seitz hails from Bristol, Southwest, England, and creates some of the edgiest folk-electro music you’ve heard. Working with producer and college mate Kostia Rapoport, Seitz breaks new ground with sonic enhancements and derangements provided by Kostia. Performing and Zweiseitz, Seitz has created a highly interesting and unusual CD in the 4-track EP Zweiseitz. Hang on to your hats.

My Greatest Invention kicks things off in fine and weird fashion. This song, seemingly about falling in love with a robot, is incredibly frenetic. Zweiseitz comes off as a cross between Tori Amos and Bjork in a song meant to be humorous but perhaps serving as a harbinger of things to come. The Web is ethereal and strong; A fractured Tori Amos style composition that takes off into the electronic atmosphere thanks to producer Kostia. Make The Tape Rewind finds Kostia taking Seitz’ song and turning into something incomprehensible. The vocal and electronic effects here render Seitz’ diction unrecognizable; it’s a “because I can” type performance that actually undermines the song. To make up for it, Seitz leaves us with the gorgeous Forever In Disguise. If the purpose of Make The Tape Rewind was to hide the artist, then the ironically named Forever In Disguise finds Seitz there alone with her piano; heart on her sleeve. The song is slightly disjoined and disturbed – vulnerable and filled with the conflict of humanity.

Zweiseitz introduces herself to the world with her self-titled EP, but the recording sounds more like a process of finding herself musically. It’s obvious, particularly from Forever In Disguise, that Caroline Seitz is an incredibly talented songwriter, and a unique and memorable performer. In collaboration with producer/programmer Kostia, she has become quite enamored with surrendering her creations to the alterations and permutations of a producer with strong electronic proclivities. I would say that this EP is musically out of balance. It’s not bad; it has quite a lot of promise in fact, but Seitz and Kostia appear to still be finding the balance between her acoustic creations and the electronic faces he overlays them with. It would be my hope that they continue to explore the conjoined worlds of electronic and acoustic music as they may find themselves a very powerful creative force once they find their balance. But I also hope that Seitz continues to offer up the occasional stripped down performance as well. They’re very much worth waiting for.

Rating: 2.5 Stars (Out of 5)

You can learn more about Zweiseitz at www.myspace.com/zweiseitz. We were unable to find any online outlets selling Zweiseitz, but feel free to contact the artist through her MySpace page for purchasing information.