Nikhil Korula - Solo Sessions

Nikhil Korula – Solo Sessions
2013, Nikhil Korula

Nikhil Korula is a classically trained vocalist and songwriter who spent several years immersed in the west coast jazz scene.  This exposure helped Korula to network with the current members of his Nikhil Korula band.  With several Triple-A singles and relentless touring, the Nikhil Korula band have built an international following.  Gigs with artists such as John Mayer, Jason Mraz, Dave Matthews Band, O.A.R., Tim Reynolds, Les Claypool (Primus) and Colin Hay (Men At Work) have served to build the band’s fan base as well as influencing the band’s sound.  Now Korula steps out on his own with The Solo Sessions, a five song EP that shows off his dulcet voice and his unusually smooth songwriting style.

Korula opens with “Spark”, a poppy and positive number with influences from Dave Matthews and Earth, Wind and Fire.  Korula gets in the listener’s head here with a rhythmic arrangement that you’ll be singing for days, as well as an upbeat message that leaves the listener with a positive feel.  “He Said, She Said” sounds like it could be a Dave Matthews Band outtake.  The mellow feel is thematic, right down to the occasional sax trills, and Korula even seems to channel Matthews vocally here.  It’s a well-written tune that might be a bit too sound-alike for some, but it’s very much worth a listen.  Korula ends up sounding a bit like Darius Rucker on “Broken Roads” with a sound that falls somewhere between his early work with Hootie and the Blowfish and his country material.  “Broken Roads” is a contemplatively melancholy tune, and Korula brings out the best in his voice.  “Silent Tears” keeps the same aesthetic in another moment melancholy piquant.  Strings in the arrangement offer lovely shading, and the chorus has a sing-song quality that you will carry with you.  Korula says goodnight with “Fade Away”, a mid-tempo rocker with a message about not giving up.  This is a nice choice for a closing tune after the melancholy of the two proceeding songs, and leaves listeners with an optimistic feel that will bring them back.

Nikhil Korula is undoubtedly a talented vocalist with a supple voice that allows him to take on several sounds across an album or EP.  This can be both beneficial and detrimental with music fans, but even if you find the sound derivative you have to acknowledge he’s good at what he does.  The material on Solo Sessions is first class, and Korula fills up each song with an ultimately capable voice and a boat load of charisma.  This is an EP you will find yourself returning to again and again.  And Nikhil Korula is one lucky break from being a household name for many years to come.

Rating: 5 Stars (Out of 5)

Learn more at www.NKband.com.

Wildy's World Top 60 Albums of 2010: 30-21

 We're moving quickly toward our number one album of the year.  Today we're counting down numbers 30 through 21 in our top Albums and EPs of the year.  Let's get to it!

30. Hans York – Young Amelia
York is a singer-songwriter thoroughly in his element on Amelia, and is one of the best folk songwriters working.

29. Phil Ayoub – Arrivals And Departures
A captivating singer, songwriter and performer. 

28. Carrie Rodriguez – Love And Circumstance
Rodriguez a dervish with a voice that could melt butter and a fiddle fit to cut the world in half.  Love And Circumstance is among her best work to date.

27. Eliza Blue – The Road Home
Eliza Blue proves the richness of recording at home with The Road Home, pouring her heart and soul into every song with a richness and depth that is rare in popular music.

26. The John Byrne Band – After The Wake
One of the finest Celtic-influenced albums of 2010.

25. Syzygy – Realms Of Eternity
Deep theological concerns and a modern take on classic progressive rock make Realms Of Eternity the sort of album you can't let go of.

24. Isabel Rose – Swingin’ From The Hip
Rose will one day be a legend.

23. Wes Weddell – By The Side Of The Lake
By The Side Of The Lake shows a master craftsman at the top of his game.

22. Annie Fitzgerald – In Good Time
In Good Time is absolutely captivating.  Annie Fitzgerald has you from hello.

21. The Chapin Sisters – Two
The daughters of Tom Chapin and nieces of Harry Chapin show that their musical blood lines run deep on Two, an a haunting collection you won't be able to get out of your head.

Wildy's World Top 60 Albums of 2010: 40-31

We're back for another day of the Wildy's World Top-60 of 2010.  We're moving quickly to crown the top album of the year on New Year's Eve, as well as the Artist of the Year and Song of the Year.

40. Dana Wells – The Evergreen EP

Brilliant debut EP from the Washington D.C. based singer/songwriter with a bright future.

39. Alesa Lajana – Secret Garden

Lajana is an amazing songwriter who creates magic with her voice and on guitar.  Perhaps one of the best all around-talents in Indie music.

38. The White Ravens – Gargoyles And Weather Vanes

Brother and sister Amy and Will Bennett are a duo on the rise.  The chemistry and sound here are unforgettable.

37. Mike Farris – The Night The Cumberland Came Alive

The former Screamin' Cheetah Wheelies front man continues to impress with a mix of Americana and Gospel in an inspired performance given in the wake of the great flood in Nashville.

36. Darius Rucker – Charleston, SC 1966

Rucker's seemingly improbably rise as a country music star continues with perhaps his most poignant and subtle songwriting to date.

35. Kate Rusby – Make The Light

Rusby's voice is the fabric of dreams.

34. Fozzy – Chasing The Grail

Chris Jericho and Fozzy bring the muscle on a heavy hitting album full of distinctive pop sensibility.

33. The Flutterbies feat. Maureen Davis – The Flutterbies

Broadway diva Maureen Davis shows she can rock.

32. Halie Loren – Stages

The first (likely of many) live album from the engaging voice of Halie Loren.  The best live album of the year.

31. Kate Miller-Heidke – Curiouser

Yes, this album was first released in 2008, but it took until 2010 for Curiouser to drop in the Western Hemisphere.  A brilliant mix of songwriting, dance beats and kitsch.  Miller-Heidke has an operatic voice and a saucy tongue, a combination that has icon written all over it.

Darius Rucker - Charleston, SC 1966

Darius Rucker - Charleston, SC 1966

2010, Capitol Records Nashville

Darius Rucker rose to fame as the voice of Hootie & The Blowfish, blasting out of the South Carolina bar/frat scene in the early nineties with a string of Top-40 hits from their 19-times platinum debut album Cracked Rear View.  While never matching the magnitude of their initial success, Hootie & The Blowfish carved out their own niche in pop music over the course of five successful studio albums and significant charity work.  Rucker's first foray into solo work was with the 2002 R&B album Back To Then, a moderate success.  In 2008, Rucker signed with Capitol Nashville as a country artist, releasing Learn To Live, which generated three #1 singles, a platinum album and CMA Award for Best New Country Artist.  Rucker recently returned with his second country album, Charleston, SC 1966, already earning his fourth #1 country single.

Charleston, SC 1966 opens with “This", a love song that gives thanks for all the things that didn't work out along the way ala Garth Brooks' "Unanswered Prayers”.  The song is a brilliant blend of country and the sort of pop/rock associated Hootie and other Charleston bands of the early 1990's.   "Come Back Song" is a feel good country/rock with a solid melody; a competent album track.  "Might Get Lucky" is all about using honey to get sugar.  It's a love song written from a predominately male perspective, where utilitarian meets a realization of how lucky he is. 

"Southern State Of Mind" is a brilliant tune about missing/loving home.  Much like Billy Joel's "New York State Of Mind" in title and approach, "Southern State Of Mind" features a vocal performance that simply rolls into your ears and the melody sticks with you.  "Love Will Do That" is a catchy country rocker that explores love's ability to turn your world on its ear, particularly when it’s new.  "The Craziest Thing" keeps this idea rolling with practical application.  Exuberant and full of joy, "The Craziest Thing" is as catchy a tune as you'll find on a 2010 release, and it wouldn't be hard to imagination this one providing Rucker with a fifth #1. 

"We All Fall Down" is a song about the humanity of humanity, as it were.  Rucker manages to sound mournful and confident at once, inspired by a beautiful and stirring melody.  "I Don't Care" is a good-time buddy song about girl watching and features Brad Paisley in a duet with Rucker.  Drop this as a single leading into the summer months and it will rule country radio all season long.  "She's Beautiful" is a celebratory love song, one of two or three songs on the album that's decent but a bit mundane.  This one will at least inspire some interest as a dedication/mix tape song.    "I Got Nothin'" is enjoyable country/pop with a sad edge, with a great melody that manages to be catchy in spite of the melancholy feel.  Rucker closes with "In A Big Way", a song about getting back to the joys of a simpler life where things like home, family and time spent together mean the most.  This is another potential big hit for Rucker; a wonderfully memorable melody with an iconic feel and gorgeous cadences that make you want to sing along.

Darius Rucker could succeed in almost any genre, in almost any era.  Mixing an iconic voice, a brilliant sense of melody, an affable personality and a team of crack co-writers who keep him honest, Rucker could turn out hits by the dozen over the years.  Longtime fans were a bit surprised by Rucker's turn to country music in 2008, but he showed not only that he belonged with Learn To Live, but also the sort of humility and grace that are rare in a top-shelf performer.   Charleston, SC 1966 finds Darius Rucker picking up where he left off.  The songwriting is superb, and Rucker's voice is as enjoyable as ever.  Perhaps most importantly, Rucker has made sometimes melancholy country form his own without losing the easy grace of his earlier work with Hootie And The Blowfish.  One suspects that the time will come when Rucker will cross back over into the pop/rock realm not so much by forsaking country music as by dragging it across the divide with him.  Charleston, SC 1966 is utterly brilliant, a Wildy’s World Certified Desert Island Disc.

Rating: 5 Stars (Out of 5)

Learn more about Darius Rucker at http://www.dariusrucker.com/ or www.myspace.com/dariusrucker.  Charleston, SC 1966 is available from Amazon.com as a CD, Deluxe Edition CD with DVD or Download.  iTunes has the album in both Standard and Deluxe versions.

Sally Jayne - Remember Me

Sally Jayne - Remember Me

2010, Onalia Productions

Sally Jayne isn't about to tell you who they are. The band tries, in existential terms, to be a reflection of the world around them. The music of Sally Jayne is a chronicle of the human condition as seen through the lens of one small band from Jackson, Mississippi. The band title is something of a command, telling all lost souls (Jayne, as in Jane Doe) to rush forward and claim themselves (Sally forth). This purpose is scattered across four songs on the band's debut
album Remember Me.

Wildy's World was provided with a short form EP to review the album. The presumption in such cases is the best material from the album is on the EP. The EP opens with "Feel", a mid-tempo alt-rock tune with an infectious chorus; with it Sally Jayne sounds a bit like a cross between Creed and Hootie And The Blowfish. The novelty of the sound and repeatable chorus should build real momentum for this track as a single. "The Letter" is a guitar-driven ballad whose opening reminds vaguely of White Lion's "When The Children Cry". Vocalist Marcos Martinez-Rogers really does sound a bit like Darius Rucker. His voice is soulful, although not quite as full or warm as Rucker's signature sound. Sally Jayne heads for a rockier sound on "Chapter One" while maintaining the slow pace and soulful sound that seems to be their trademark. Sally Jayne closes with "Remember Me", a complex and dark rocker that shows a bit more classic rock lean than available elsewhere on the EP. It's a decent closer that serves to show off the breadth of Sally Jayne's sound.

Sally Jayne has enough in their sound to create moderate interest, but the style is essentially similar to a thousand other bands trying to crack the shell of commercial alt-rock radio. The songwriting here is solid, but there's a spark that just doesn't full engage at times, as if Sally Jayne know there's something explosive here but haven't quite figured out how to unlock it yet. Give them time. It will come.

Rating: 2.5 Stars (Out of 5)

Learn more about Sally Jayne at http://www.sallyjayne.com/ or www.myspace.com/sallyjayne. Remember Me is available as a digital album through Amazon and iTunes.

Review: Kindred Souls - Social Ninja

Kindred Souls - Social Ninja
2009, Kindred Souls

Kindred Souls is a six-piece band hailing from the Jersey Shore that has begun to make some serious noise on the New York City scene. Mixing Rock, Pop, Jazz, R&B and Soul, Kindred Souls try to create music that doesn't so much cross boundaries as transcend them. Lead vocalist Jeff Rafferty sounds like a pop band leader, and with the band he creates fresh and peppy musical scenarios against which he can apply his vocal wiles. Kindred Souls' latest recording, Social Ninja, is a four-track EP that displays some of what makes them so popular a live band, and some of the distance they still need to go in bringing that energy and panache onto recorded medium.

Social Ninja opens with Whatchagonnado, a catchy, if repetitive slice of dance rock that is bound to get some popular attention for Kindred Souls. Losing You is a gothic bit of 1980's Pop/Rock, with the same sort of soaring hooks that decade is know for presented here in darker aspect. Awhile shows shades of Darius Rucker and Neil Sedaka in a gentle Pop/Rock Arrangement. The chorus gets a bit repetitive but is decent for all of that. High Wire I didn't enjoy quite as much as the rest of the EP; it seemed to lack the inspiration and energy Kindred Souls brought to the first three songs.

Kindred Souls has real potential as a band. There's a certain Pop spark in the music presented on Social Ninja, but it can be fleeting at times. I suspect this is just the case of a young band learning to funnel the energy and commitment they put into a live show into a studio. The ability to get up for a sound booth they way you do for a crowd can be learned, but it takes some time and effort. Kindred Souls show flashes, and an ability to craft decent Pop songs with a bit of flair. I have no doubt that the next trip into the studio will produce even greater things.

Rating: 2.5 Stars (Out of 5)

You can learn more about Kindred Souls at www.myspace.com/kindredsoulz. You can purchase a download of Social Ninja from iTunes.

Review: Brent Jordan - Blue. Shout. Blind.

Brent Jordan – Blue. Shout. Blind.
2008, Brent Jordan

A boy is born, destined to play guitar. Influenced by the sand hills and sunshine of North Carolina and the sounds of Southern Blues, he eventually makes his way to San Francisco. With a voice that’s all heart and soul, and a songwriting style he learned from childhood palaver with the likes of Johnny Cash, James Taylor and Van Morrison, Brent Jordan offers up a sophomore album full of autobiographical songs, Blue. Shout. Blind.

Blue. Shout. Blind. opens with Pretty Little Thief, a gritty bit of Americana Folk/Pop. Jordan will remind listeners strongly of Darius Rucker. John's Song has one of those melodies that just stick in your brain, working in touches of Blues and Soul. The Prophet Song proves Jordan's Blues chops in an acoustic setting you won't forget. Jordan shows a bit more of his musical diversity on American Morning, a song that sounds like it was inspired by mid-career Billy Joel and finds Jordan sounding a touch like Marc Cohn on vocals. It's a great musical offering that might attract the ear of other artists as a song to cover. The best overall song on the disc, though, is On The Radio. Jordan built a Southern Rock N Blues sound with a lot of bounce to it. Be sure to check out the alternating waltz and 4/4 sections of Laugh In The Face Of It All and the classic folk sound of Across The World.

Brent Jordan is really good at what he does. The mix of Folk, Rock, Blues and Soul with singer/songwriter simplicity treats him well, and his voice is warm and distinctive enough to create a favorable impression. Blue. Shout. Blind. is a fitting introduction to the artist; familiar enough to grab onto and new and different enough to keep hold of. Fans of Carolina Rock (i.e. Hootie & The Blowfish, Edwin McCain, et. al) will love Brent Jordan, as well anyone with an ear for great pop music.

Rating: 3.5 Stars (Out of 5)

You can learn more about Brent Jordan at www.myspace.com/brentjordanmusic. You can purchase a copy of Blue. Shout. Blind. at www.cdbaby.com/brentjordan2.

Review: Flint Zeigler - The New Harmony Sessions

Flint Zeigler - The New Harmony Sessions
2008, Flint Zeigler

Tennessee's Flint Zeigler has known musical success before. As a member of Grantham Road he charted on the Roots Music Report (#26 for the 2006 album Parade); receiving significant airplay in markets such as Philadelphia, South Carolina, Ohio, Virginia, Alaska and New York City. Grantham Road played with Hootie & The Blowfish, The Badlees and Saving Jane. Zeigler's soulful voice (somewhere between Darius Rocker and either March Cohn or Michael Kroll) and melodic guitar style wrap themselves around and through songs about love, family, spirituality, faith, loss and God. While not overtly Christian music, there is a strong Judeo-Christian ethic at the base of Zeigler's songwriting. Produced by David Foreman (Dwight Yoakam, John Hiatt), The New Harmony Sessions is an uplifting and thoughtful album in the classic singer/songwriter tradition.

I had to check a couple of time when I first put this in to make sure I'd grabbed the right discs. Flint Zeigler sounds so much like Michael Kroll (long one of my favorite Indie artists) that I was certain I'd made a mistake; but no. There are subtle differences if you listen closely, but they could be brothers to judge by their voices. Zeigler brings eleven autobiographical songs on The New Harmony Sessions that are among the most enjoyable I've heard in 2009; Zeigler is a master story-teller in song. The CD opens with Martyrs, a wonderfully soulful song about working your way through personal and marital difficulties in the face of a sometimes cruel world. It's a positive message that is often eschewed for easy answers and the song is, quite frankly, inspiring. Zeigler delivers all of this with a melody hat will stick in your head like superglue and a classy, soulful arrangement.

Gone Away is a song that could go a long, long way for Zeigler. It was written about spending an evening alone with his wife; about wanting to be never separated from the one you love. Expect this to be licensed in the extreme. It's a mix-tape song, a wedding song and a potential part of the soundtrack to millions of everyday lives. This song works because even though it is a highly personal memoir of one evening in Zeigler's life, it's universal. Survive is a contemplative declaration that is very powerful in its quiet determination. In These Days is a song of faith and a lamentation of the general loss thereof in society. Zeigler references Martin Luther, Mother Theresa and John The Baptist, among others, as signs of inspiration of days gone by, and mourns the absence of similar folks in this day and age. Zeigler thinks that either God has stopped speaking to us or we've stopped listening, and this is the heartfelt extension of those ideas into song.

Felt Like Rain is a wonderfully dark folk/rock tune with some amazing guitar work and a plodding, soulful vocal that is extremely memorable. Other highlights include the reserved Sorrow And Gin, Touch And Bloom and Room Of Cards.

Flint Zeigler is a masterful story teller with an ear for melody and a talent for writing striking yet reserved guitar-based arrangements for his songs. The New Harmony Sessions tells true life stories in song. I found myself getting more drawn in with each song. Zeigler will charm you with sometimes dark stories full of light and life; Stories about hard times where faith and hope are the only life raft remaining, and in the end the sunshine always peaks through. This is an amazing album that should march across all sorts of musical barriers. Zeigler is an amazing talent. Check out this disc.

Rating: 4.5 Stars (Out of 5)

You can learn more about Flint Zeigler at www.myspace.com/flintzeigler or www.myspace.com/granthamroad. You can purchase a copy of The New Harmony Sessions at www.cdbaby.com/cd/flintzeigler.