GroundScore - Healthy Children

GroundScore - Healthy Children
2009, SMB Records

Washington, DC-based reggae rockers GroundScore formed in 2008 and have been making waves locally ever since. With a sound that runs the gamut from Sublime and Sugar Ray to Black Flag and The Dead Kennedys, GroundScore has the potential to cut a large demographic swath with their music. This mix of sounds is on full display on GroundScore’s debut album, Healthy Children.

"Ball Sweat & Tears" stirs memories of bands such as Black Flag and The Dead Kennedys in a fifty-two second headlong rush of sound. "Later On" is catchy and features some ethereal guitar work that dances over the driving bass rhythm of the song. "You'll Always Be A Loser" starts out in a melodic hardcore binge that resolves into a pop/reggae vibe that turns deafeningly repetitive in the chorus. "Hey Kidz/Real Love" starts out like a Green Day punk/rock anthem and devolves into a bland pop/rocker with a vague reggae beat. "See You All Tomorrow" keeps with the reggae rock feel on the verse but soars into a driven rocker on the chorus. It's one of the better all-around compositions on the album. GroundScore zooms away at top speed, saying goodbye with "You Don't Know Me Anything", slowing done for the verses to reminisce on time past, opportunities lost and simple pleasures. The song starts promisingly but loses focus in the verse.

GroundScore seems to be a band that thinks (musically) best at high speed. When thrashing their way through a chorus or occasionally an entire song the band is tight as can be and on the ball. It's the slower, reggae-based rock songs where they seem to run out of focus and fail to find focus or fall prey to repetition. There's obviously a contingent of the band in love with the Reggae-rock styles of bands like Sublime and Sugar Ray, but there's also a hard-core interest here. Both styles exist on Healthy Children, but they're not integrated. GroundScore tries to make both a part of the picture by crafting songs with reggae-rock verses and hardcore choruses, but this often ends up sounding contrived. If GroundScore can ever marry the two styles successfully they'll be considered visionaries. For the time being they are a band with two distinct minds; a house divided.

Rating: 2.5 Stars (Out of 5)

Learn more about GroundScore at www.myspace.com/dcgroundscore.  Healthy Children is available from Amazon.com as both a CD and Download.  Digital versions are also availbale from iTunes.

Review: The Corey Booth Project - I'll Be Honest, I'm A Liar [demo]

The Corey Booth Project - I'll Be Honest, I'm A Liar
2010, The Corey Booth Project

Like most artists, Corey Booth's muse was built on the collective backs of his favorite artists growing up. Unlike many artists, Booth is exceedingly honest about his influences, ranging from Blind Melon and Alice In Chains to Violent Femmes, The Flaming Lips, Sublime and even Jack Johnson. On The Corey Booth Project's debut album/demo, I'll Be Honest, I'm A Liar, these influences interweave with a personal singer/songwriter style to craft refreshingly honest Pop music with a Post-modern twist.

I'll Be Honest, I'm A Liar is a purely DIY affair, offered up in the style of a home recording accomplished without professional equipment. The result is an album of well-meant but mediocre songs with lousy sound quality. Even if the material here were better, many listeners would be miffed at paying for such a low-quality recording job. The energy throughout is not indicative of interest in the material, and the attempts at humor here are boorish rather than funny. Booth shows a couple of flashes of decent songwriting with Most Of The Time and Already Here. The opening and closing tracks (respectively) bookend a series of case studies in positive intentions and mixed follow-through. The flashes of potential might grow into something if they are nurtured.

Rating: 1.5 Stars (Out of 5)

You can learn more about The Corey Booth Project at www.myspace.com/coreyjbooth.

Review: Bums Lie - Stumblin & Mumblin'

Bums Lie - Stumblin & Mumblin'
2009, Bums Lie

To fend off questions from rabid Sublime fans, no, this isn't another Sublime side project. (Sublime released an underground record a number of years back under the band name BumsLie). Bums Lie is a Charlotte, North Carolina quartet with a serious love of Reggae, Ska and Punk who adds touches of 1960's Motown and Roots Reggae into their music. Since coming together in 2001, Bums Lie has released three albums and opened for Damien Marley, Yellowman and King Django among others. Bums Lie's latest CD, Stumblin' & Mumblin' is a live recording from a show a 2009 show at the Visulite Theater in Charlotte, North Carolina.

Stumblin' & Mumblin' opens with Brokedown Soldier, a wartime tale with a Reggae beat. It's a highly musical arrangement with a strong melody line. Edge Of Civilization is guaranteed to get you moving; it's probably one of the more enjoyable tunes I've heard of late. Just A Game has a gentle Reggae arrangement with real potential for Pop crossover. This is a first class piece of songwriting that deserves real attention. You Do Me Wrong is another song with real crossover potential. I wouldn't be surprised to hear this tune licensed for movies or television in the future. The album closes out with three "FM Editions", presumably radio-friendly versions without objectionable language: Edge Of Civilization, Captivating and Just A Game, before launching into an encore of Stand By You.

Bums Lie's Stumblin' & Mumblin' is decent. There's not a lot of variety in sound or dynamic on the album which causes Stumblin' & Mumblin' to drag on, particularly toward the end of the disc. The voices and instrumentation are all fine, and it’s clear from the disc that Bums Lie has a solid local and regional following. I don't know if Bums Lie dispays enough here to justify being a big time band, but a solid career is certainly within reach.

Rating: 2 Stars (Out of 5)

You can learn more about Bums Lie at www.myspace.com/bumslie. You can purchase a digital download of Stumblin’ & Mumblin’ at Amazon MP3.

Review: Sam Pollard - World Of Difference

Sam Pollard - World Of Difference
2009, Sam Pollard

Melbourne, Australia’s Sam Pollard has been banging on the keys since he was five years old. Raised in England but relocated to Oz, Pollard began to bloom early as a musician, and was soon writing his own songs. 2009 sees the release of Pollard’s sophomore CD, World Of Difference. In a word, the album is amazing.

World Of Difference is an album with multiple personalities. Sam Pollard is a guitar rocker, a piano rocker ala Ben Folds, and occasionally a ska rocker ala Sublime. The currents change on World Of Difference as often as does the wind here in Buffalo. The result is an amazingly fluid and enlightening listening experience. World Of Difference opens with Better Day, a catchy "things will get better" anthem that's quite enjoyable. What To Do What To Say is a great love song with an unusual arrangement that's a bit rough around the edges but perhaps all the more charming for that fact. Not your typical love ballad but still a big-time mix-tape pick. Blah Blah sinks into a fancy bit of post-Punk Bubblegum Pop with real commercial potential. On Better Way, Pollard sounds like Ben Folds got locked in a studio with Queen and the horn section from the classic, late-60's/early-70's Chicago albums. The melody here is strong but the arrangement is pure genius.

The Other Side brings in a bit of Funk and Ska to the Ben Folds style Piano Rocker. Pollard shifts to Fold's influences on Out, hitting on big harmonies and Billy/Elton-esque themes before offering a fun and frolicking interlude on Earplugs. Whoops marks the transition to big guitar rock album and is probably destined to be a concert favorite. Save Me is probably one of the weaker tracks on the album but is built on a distinctive guitar riff that was worth following through on. It's actually a pretty decent song but just doesn't live up to the level of much of the rest of the disc. You Know is catchy to the point of being virulent. It's not a terribly complicated song but is quirky enough to break the Pop/Rock radio wall; this one has real commercial potential. Pollard returns to the Foldsian Piano Rock style on World Of Difference for a somewhat quieter epilogue to an album that ends up being a real pleasant surprise.

Sam Pollard is the real deal, and World Of Difference is destined to be an album that a lot of people are going to want down the road. An album or two in the future this guy is going to break out big time and people will be clamoring for his early releases. The two distinct musical personalities of Pollard co-exist here nicely, although the Piano-based rock is generally the strong of the two. World Of Difference is an album to put on your listen-to/get list. It's that good.

Rating: 4 Stars (Out of 5)

You can learn more about Sam Pollard at http://www.sampollard.info/ or www.myspace.com/sampollardmusic. You can purchase World Of Difference as either a CD or download through CDBaby.

Review: Strange Habits - Strange Habits

Strange Habits – Strange Habits
2009, Strange Habits

Strange Habits is a Detroit-area Rock trio with Funk and Reggae on the brain. Playing the Motown seen for the past seven years and have started to receive some regional and international recognition. Particularly known for an on-stage stunt called “the one man band”, where their drummer plays drums, guitar and bass all at once, Strange Habits strives to put on a great show to complement great music. Eric McGuire (bass, vocals); Eric McCauley (guitar, vocals) and Sheel Doshi (drums, vocals, keys) look not just to entertain you, but to immerse you in their own distinct musical culture. Their self-titled album, released in 2009, has much to offer.

Strange Habits opens with Sunshine Wrecking Ball, a Reggae inspired rocker with a vibrant bass line and an almost mellow-Sublime vibe. Silence Of Stone is a big guitar rocker reminiscent of early Pearl Jam. The highlight of the disc is Butter Noodles, with its grunge feel, pop hooks and vibrant rhymes. Butter Noodles is bound to be a concert favorite and may have real commercial potential. Nature opens with a ska-feel before turning into a churning rock guitar bridge. Strange Habits finds a grungy-punk sound for Bullets In My Pocket, a song about a disturbed individual with a mission of revenge, before closing out with the acoustic Take Over My World, a pleasant and lively listen.

Strange Habits has a very home-grown feel to their music, inspired by Reggae, Grunge, Folk and a bit of Punk. Their self-titled debut album is a pleasant listen that refuses to sit still or fall into one category. Strange Habits is definitely worth spending some time with.

Rating: 3 Stars (Out of 5)

You can learn more about Strange Habits at www.myspace.com/strangehabitsmusic. I was unable to find an on-line outlet for the CD Strange Habits, but if you contact the band their MySpace page I’m sure they’ll be happy to hook you up.

Review: The Supervillains - Massive

The Supervillains – Massive
2008, Law Records

The Supervillains are back. Following up on their popular 2006 release, Grow Your Own, the Orlando, Florida Ska/Punk quintet are back with Massive, their most refined and accessible album to date. Produced by James Wisner (NAS, Justin Timberlake, Shakira); Massive features appearances by Slightly Stoopid’s Kyle McDonald and Inner Circle’s Kris Bentley.

Massive opens with You Got Me, sounding a great deal like Sublime. The Pit hearkens back to the early days of The Mighty Mighty Boss Tomes, in a pure Ska/Punk extravaganza. Home Again is a wonderfully catchy Pop/Punk hybrid with great harmonies happening between the two vocalists. My favorite track on the CD is the surprising cover of Billy Joel’s Movin’ Out (Anthony’s Song). Aside from the reggae beat this cover is amazingly faithful to the original and very well done overall. St. Thomas is another curveball from The Supervillains; a honky-tonk style ode to the fringe benefits of a visit to the U.S. Virgin Islands. Other highlights include Overdose, Iru Kanji and Snow White.

The Supervillains are a highly entertaining Ska/Punk outfit with a serious penchant for chemical relaxation. For this reason the album is one parents might want to think twice about before buying it for your child. That being said, The Supervillains might be one of the better Ska/Punk hybrid bands going. Massive certainly could be, there’s enough commercial fodder here to keep The Supervillains in consistent radio rotation until at least mid-fall. It’s a great listen.

Rating: 3.5 Stars (Out of 5)

You can learn more about The Supervillains at www.myspace.com/therealsupervillains or http://www.thesupervillains.net/. You can purchase a copy of Massive at Amazon.com.

Review: Blue Island Tribe - The 5 Hits Of Ecstasy

Blue Island Tribe - The 5 Hits Of Ecstasy
2008, Spark A Fire Records

Blue Island Tribe have been together for most of this decade, originating in their university days U of Northern Iowa. Mixing Rock and Reggae with an infectious pop aura is what Blue Island Tribe is all about. For all of the positive response their four previous releases have received, Blue Island Tribe truly comes alive in front of a crowd, be it a monster crowd or an intimate house party. Blue Island Tribe's fifth release, The 5 Hits Of Ecstasy (EP), finds The Tribe continuing down their chosen artistic path with a little more maturity and a little more finesse than in the past. The spirit still burns white hot, but the delivery has been refined just a tad.

Down opens with a classic Reggae sound turning into a sound that is a slightly more pop-oriented version of Sublime. The tune is extremely catchy and has potential commercial impact written all over it. Drop Out is a bit edgier, surfing the waters of a broken relationship. The upbeat, catchy vibe of the song stands in stark counterpoint to the subject matter here. Jump And Shout is the most familiar sounding song here, with a definite Red Hot Chili Peppers thing going on. The class of the album is the fourth song, March On. It's a tribute to US troops that was born out of a house party the band gave on a military base in Korea. Apparently the band had written the music previously but didn't have words. The lyrical inspiration came mid-performance in a blur of creative magic. The song does not celebrate the military as a war machine, but celebrates the people who dedicate their lives to maintaining peace through their presence and sacrifice. The album closes out with Ecstasy, which is probably the most pop-oriented. If you remember the commercial and appealing mix of reggae and pop that Eddy Grant achieved in the early 1980's then you have an idea of the sound here. Very smooth and slick, Blue Island Tribe may have found their first true hit here.

Blue Island Tribe continues to spread their musical moments of joy through 200 shows a year, but somewhere along the way they've grown from raw musical creationist to songwriters and artists. The 5 Hits Of Ecstasy shows The Tribe stretching their creative wings and attaining a higher level of musicianship and song craft. A very strong and enjoyable recording that's much too short, but otherwise without complaints.

Rating: 4.5 Stars (Out of 5)

You can learn more about Blue Island Tribe at http://www.blueislandtribe.com/ or www.myspace.com/blueislandtribe. The 5 Hits Of Ecstasy is currently only available as a download through iTunes. A hard copy was originally scheduled for November of 2008 but has been pushed back until March of 2009.