Mark Lassiter - Endlessly EP

Mark Lassiter – Endlessly EP
2013, Mark Lassiter

Mark Lassiter, AKA The Singing Dentist or alternately, The Dentist to the Rock Stars, has cut two divergent career paths at the same time.  Lassiter discovered his love of making music after dental school, and has gone on to work with members of The Foo Fighters, The Wallflowers, Blind Melon and Collective Soul, among others.  As a dentist, he has done extensive work with MusiCares (The Grammy Foundation), providing dental care for musicians at times of need.  Lassiter continues to explore his muse.  His current EP, Endlessly, gives listeners a snapshot of his musical journey and his distinctive pop sensibilities. 

Lassiter opens with the radio edit of “Endlessly”, a sweet ballad of love and devotion.  Lassiter never entirely decides if this is a country or rock ballad, mixing elements of country guitar into what is essentially a Triple-A arrangement.  The melody is solid and easy to sing along with, and the chorus trips the light romantic.  The album track version of “Endlessly” is next, clocking in at nearly seven minutes in length.  Lassiter plays around a great deal with musical effects and mood-inducing sounds, but the song drags on far too long for the standard listener’s endurance.  The affectations of the full version are also quite distracting to what is otherwise a nice ballad.  “Life’s Like That” is a pragmatic rock anthem about the ever-changing avenues that life throws at us.  The song is radio-ready with a solid hook and memorable chorus.  Lassiter closes with a song of welcoming to new love: “You’re My Favorite (Ashley’s Song)”.  Lassiter delves into the burgeoning joy a new relationship can bring, unfettered by time and experience.  It’s a simple expression of musical joy that is beautiful in its sheer effervescence.

Mark Lassiter continues to turn out high quality rock and roll.  Endlessly is more of a snack than a meal, briefly following the process of loss, healing and finding new love.    Lassiter’s greatest strength is his ability to write from the heart; not varnishing the truth but presenting his observations in the first person and without artifice.  Catchy hooks and a warm and welcoming voice make this a treat for the ears. 

Rating: 3.5 Stars (Out of 5)

Learn more at www.marklassitermusic.com. 

The Lions - New Rise Of The Footsoldier

The Lions - New Rise Of The Footsoldier
2010, The Lions

Calgary rockers The Lions return with their sophomore album, New Rise Of The Footsoldier, the follow-up to 2008’s Sounds Familiar. Keeping the 1960’s vibe of their first effort, The Lions have updated their sound to blend in elements of grunge and alternative rock. The result is an intriguing step forward for the band that might still be a work in process but looks (and sounds) quite promising.

New Rise Of The Footsoldier opens with the ethereal instrumental "Ghost Dancer", an ambient mood setter in the style of Pink Floyd. "No Other Way" is more of a straight-ahead rocker; catchy with an urgent feel, combining a 1960's sound with the energy and feel of The Tragically Hip. The Lions dip back into mood music for "Incalescence" before falling into the restless energy of "Roam", a dark diatribe from a man who simply cannot settle down. "New Rise Of The Footsoldier" is a mid-tempo song that's nonetheless driven by an almost refined savagery. Rapid fire lyrics give the song an almost hip-hop feel while maintaining the dark rock-n-roll sound that seems to fill the album.

The Lions take on a bluesy rock style in "The Jam" before launching into the "You're A Whiner!” a nearly seven minute long tune that turns monotonous in the end. There's decent energy particularly in the low end of the arrangement, but the song just goes on too long without any significant dynamic variation. "Invincible" takes on a grunge mystique but with some pop aesthetic worked into the mix. It's the most intriguing song on the album, and is most representative of the transformation The Lions have undergone on New Rise Of The Footsoldier. The Lions wrap things up with "Remember", a somewhat mellower track about moving on into the future rather than living in the past.

The Lions have brought a heavier, darker feel to New Rise Of The Footsoldier. The same melodic tendencies the band has shown in the past are there, but the intensity and melancholy have trebled. Even sinking into such depths, there is generally very solid energy throughout the album. New Rise Of The Footsoldier explores alternative rock and hints of grunge shrouded in the depths of human misfortune but with eyes clear and strong upon a brighter day ahead.

Rating: 3.5 Stars (Out of 5)

Learn more about The Lions at http://www.thelions.ca/, which will redirect you to their MySpace page.  New Rise Of The Footsoldier is available digitally through Amazon.com and iTunes.

The Everyday Motive - Seven Song EP

The Everyday Motive - Seven Song EP
2010, The Everyday Motive

Milwaukee quartet The Everyday Motive spent a whole lot of time listening to alternative music during the 1990’s, a fact that is apparent when listening to their Seven Song EP. Influenced by bands such as the Foo Fighters, Weezer, Nirvana, Green Day and Stone Temple Pilots, the band also features high pop aesthetics woven into each song.

Everyday Motive’s Seven Song EP opens with "Anything Done Differently", an appealing modern rock tune with stripped-down sound. Solid vocals and a big pop hook help to create a high-energy, danceable rock tune. The song explores each of our own worst enemies while staying positive. "Lock It Up" is highly melodic and catchy; a bit of the low-key side for commercial radio but which might just turn into a hit single anyway. "From What I Can Remember" is pure pop/rock gold with a chorus that is likely to take over your skull and set up checkpoints. The angular style of the song mixed with The Everyday Motive's sense of dynamics and harmony vocals make this a potential breakout hit. "You're No Good" finds The Everyday Motive sounding more than a bit like Cowboy Mouth with a slightly heavier rock sound. It's a strong tune that's perfect for modern rock formats. The Everyday Motive closes with "Waste Away", a somewhat cookie-cutter tune that retains optimum sound.

The Everyday Motive has the potential to be huge. Breaks aside, The Everyday Motive appear to be in a good position to maintain and sustain a career of making music. Their Seven Song EP is an apt introduction, certain to inspire people to want to learn more about the band. Make sure you check out The Everyday Motive. You won't be sorry you did.

Rating: 3.5 Stars (Out of 5)

Learn more about The Everyday Motive at www.myspace.com/everydaymotive. Seven Song EP is available as either a CD or Download from CDBaby.com.

Review: A New Vice - A New Vice

A New Vice - A New Vice
2009, Band-Aid On A Bullet Records

Hollywood, California has long been a good place to pick up a new vice. Perhaps that's the inspiration for A New Vice, a band that's been blowing them away at The Knitting Factory and The House Of Blues. With a reputation for amazing live shows, A New Vice channels that live energy into the self-titled debut album. Managed by Ron Welty (Offspring), A New Vice slots in well amidst bands such as Foo Fighters, 30 Seconds To Mars, Three Days Grace and Nickelback, but carries with them a sense of authenticity and unpretentiousness that is refreshing in the world of Modern Rock.

A New Vice opens with Lights Turning Green, a wonderfully guitar-driven active rock tune with real spirit. Big riffs and hooks are the raison d’être here, and if you listen to the opening the song practically sings its name to you. A New Vice relies on a sing/speak vocal style in the verses that's not exactly rap but isn't too far removed, with more traditional rock choruses added on. Faithfully is a heavy ballad for modern times with great presence and a dynamic vocal line, and is perhaps the most radio-ready track on the disc. The next song, Fake, could almost be an inside joke for the band. Following a song entitled Faithfully, Fake has a cadence in the chorus that sound suspiciously like it was drawn from the Journey song of the same name. The song is instantly memorable with highly emotional vocals and a faux-happy chorus.

Wait For Me expands on the big A New Vice's momentum blending and Emo feel with an almost 1980's Whitesnake style of Rock N Roll. The result is highly entertaining and a great listen. As You Fade finds A New Vice trending more toward the melodramatic side with a highly emotional Rock N Roll song that's enjoyable but begins to show the limitations of the band as well. In essence, vocalist Sash Kuzma is overwrought much of the time he is singing, rarely varying sound, style or approach through the first half of the album. After a while it creates an impression that the songs on A New Vice all sound the same or similar. A New Vice does change things up a bit later on, but the impression is pretty firmly planted by that time. Let Me Go is the first sign of variation, changing approach and intensity a bit. It's a decent song but doesn't manage to shake the overall impression. Thinking About You may be the saving grace of the band in this regard, a true power ballad in which Kuzma shows shades of Freddie Mercury in his most dynamic and engaging performance on the disc. A New Vice closes out with Promises, a vitriolic song that's more style than substance and somewhat reinforces the impression that Kuzma sings essentially at one level only.

A New Vice has real potential, but would be well-served by expanding the horizons just a tad and showing a bit more depth stylistically. Otherwise they are likely to get pigeonholed into the "all their songs sound alike" genre where bands go to whither slowly away. That would be unfortunate, because there is something special about this off-beat quintet. Listening to A New Vice, there's enough here to imagine these guys taking to the biggest stages somewhere down the line. I just think they have a bit more growing to do as a band before they get there.

Rating: 3.5 Stars (Out of 5)

You can learn more about A New Vice at http://www.anewvice.com/ or www.myspace.com/anewvice. A New Vice’s website seems to suggest the self-titled debut was released in September, 2009, but no on-line outlets are noted. Keep checking the band’s website for details.

Review: Gumshen - Super Buffet

Gumshen - Super Buffet
2009, Gumshen

Gumshen is a Seattle quartet with serious rock credentials who choose to delve just a bit deeper. Working in elements of Jazz, Funk and Hip-Hop, Gumshen has hit a creative goldmine, generating three EPs in two short years. Their latest, Super Buffet, finds Gumshen on a path of distinctive musical creativity tempered only by a paucity of lyrical depth.

Super Buffet opens with Start Of Something Good, an alt-Rock tune that apparently brought about some creative issues in the lyric-writing process. The highly repetitive nature of the song detracts from a not unpleasant rock arrangement that sounds like it may have been recorded in one take. Lost Disguise reveals an outright ambivalence toward lyrical progression even while building a decent melodic and harmonic progression into the song. The lyric issue is befuddling, as Gumshen almost appears to place statements together without regard for their connectivity. That's not suggest that the lyrics are random, but there is seemingly a shattered sense of thought behind the first two songs. Gumshen opens up the throttle on Guts, building around a vicious guitar riff another song that is sonically pleasing and lyrically puzzling. Gumshen steps out of the lyrical woods on Gone Too Soon, speaking in terms that make sense in a highly enjoyable Elton John-ish arrangement. There's still a tendency to go off the tracks here and there as Gumshen appears to make lyrical choices at times based on rhyme and rhythm rather than narrative, but on the whole it is much easier to follow Gone Too Soon than the prior songs on the EP. Super Buffet closes out with Down Like Me, spearheaded by another vicious guitar riff you won't be able to get out of your head. Once again, repetition, rhythm and rhyme seem to take precedence over conveying understandable thought, but the music is very enjoyable.

Gumshen's Super Buffet is a tasty treat, musically, that often times just doesn't live up on the lyric side. As a listener you get the feel that the words are second class citizens, chosen more for their sound than for their meaning. Gumshen proves this isn't always true on Gone Too Soon, a moving and powerful tune with an eye for a bleak future hoping to motivate the present, but otherwise you might expect to get a bit lost for meaning amongst the rhythm and rhymes of Ron Hippe's vocals. Super Buffet is nevertheless musically intriguing and worth checking out.

Rating: 3 Stars (Out of 5)

You can learn more about Gumshen at http://www.gumshen.com/ or www.myspace.com/gumshen. You can purchase Super Buffet as either a CD or a download from CDBaby.com.