Brittany Campbell - Nerd [EP]

Brittany Campbell - Nerd [EP]
2011, Brittany Campbell

New York City-based singer/songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and producer Brittany Campbell walks the musical edge.  Stylistic boundaries fall aside in Campbell’s path on her debut EP, Nerd. 

Nerd shows an artist on the verge of finding something great, but perhaps still caught in her own pre-conceptions of what she should sound like to find the sound ticking around inside of her songs.  "Clown" is a catchy dance number that's a bit sophomoric lyrically, but is highly entertaining.  Campbell builds a great dance vibe here, and her voice is distinctive and original.  The "Turn me on/turn me off" repetition is a bit too much, but will probably play well in the dance clubs where music is more about feel than sound.  "So Cold" and "DJ" both play on the edges of consumable pop music, with "DJ" standing out among the two.  Campbell builds in some nice vocal harmonies here in a solid dance tune.

Campbell stretches her vocal range upward on "Maybes", an exercise that doesn't work out to her benefit.  The tone and sound of her voice is an exquisite and easily acquired taste, but the effort and marginal melody here just don't make a good fit.  "Goody Goody" is a wonderfully quirky and accessible pop tune, and Campbell is at her best vocally here.  This song has real potential, and could get some serious looks from pop, dance and urban programmers.  "Nerd" might just be the counter-culture pop anthem of the year, with Campbell's distinctive voice playing off against a catchy dance beat.  Nerd closes with a dance mix of the title track; a likely effective single for the club circuit, but not really an improvement on the original.

Brittany Campbell has a voice that's instantly distinguishable, the sort you'll remember forever after hearing once.  Her vocal style is quirky and fun, but song selection will always be key for Campbell, as her voice occasionally finds musical wells where it just doesn't play as well.  When Campbell is on her game she's incredibly entertaining and fun.  The songwriting plays to lighter fare, but is generally quite well done throughout Nerd.  Brittany Campbell has big potential.  Nerd shows that she can use her talents and quirky sensibilities in concert to create enjoyable tunes, but it does sound as if Campbell is still working to distinguish herself and her muse from her own pre-conceptions.  When she finally makes that break, look out.

Rating: 2.5 Stars (Out of 5)

Learn more about Brittany Campbell at http://www.brittanysoup.com/ or www.myspace.com/brittanycampbell1.  Nerd is available for download via Amazon.com and iTunes. 

Basia Lyjak - The Complete Collection

Basia Lyjak - The Complete Collection
2010, Basia Lyjak

Canada’s Princess of Rock N Roll, Basia Lyjak, has created quite a stir with a series of singles that combine the rough edge of 1980’s rockers such as Pat Benetar, Blondie and Joan Jett with some of the pop sensibilities of artists such as Celine Dion or Chantal Kreviazuk. Lyjak has the voice and the look of a superstar. A demo of Lyjak’s singles, The Complete Collection, fell into our hands recently.

The Complete Collection opens with "Never Wanted Anything", a powerful, emotional rocker with shades of Pat Benetar and Celine Dion. This is a solid, radio-ready track with real oomph and honest emotion. "What It Feels Like" is an angry tune that allows Lyjak's rough edges some elbow room. "Don't Talk" is a great rock single with serious pop credentials that could be a hit with the right push. "Stuttering" would be entirely at home on 1980's pop radio and has one of those choruses you simply can't get out of your brain. This may be one of Lyjak's best overall tunes to date. "Torn" gets a bit repetitive, but has a big solid radio-ready sound that's likely to gain it some attention. "Lies" is pure anger and vitriol in song; solid rock songwriting with pop pre-texts. Lyjak saves her best for last; "Bye Bye" is a potential chart hit with a big upside. Get this song placed on the right TV show or movie soundtrack and you have the potential for this one to go viral.

Basia Lyjak combines the aura of a pop star with the rough edge of 1980's rock queens such as Joan Jett, Pat Benetar and Blondie. Lyjak perhaps isn’t ready to take the crown of Lee Aaron, but the day may come when she’s knocking on that door. The Complete Collection should be just a start for Lyjak, who has the sound and style to build a solid career at the glamorous crossroads where rock and pop meet.

Rating: 3.5 Stars (Out of 5)

Learn more about Basia Lyjak at http://www.basialyjak.com/ or www.myspace.com/basialyjak. Lyjak sells her singles and downloads directly through her own website, cutting out the middle man and saving listeners big dollars over what the big box e-tailers charge. You can also get digital with Amazon.com or iTunes. Photo credit: Ron Boudreau.

Review: The Candace Brooks Band - The Chase

The Candace Brooks Band - The Chase
2009, The Candace Brooks Band

The Candace Brooks Band is a Providence, Rhode Island quartet the blends 1990's Alt-Rock with an edge worthy of today and a Pop sensibility that's universal across generations and genres. Following up on the success of their 2007 EP, Life After Me, The Candace Books Band returns with their first full-length album, The Chase. The Candace Brooks Band won numerous accolades for Life After Me in Providence, even placing second in a Boston battles of the bands, but with The Chase looks to open themselves up to a much wider audience. The self-produced album shows influences such as Tegan & Sara, Blondie and Franz Ferdinand but stays on the high side of original with a sound that's a breath of fresh air in the stale Alt-Rock genre.

If you like to dance you're going to love The Candace Brooks Band. The band loves songs that make people dance, feeding off the energy of the crowd to push their stage show ever higher. Brooks displays the utmost confidence on the opening track, I'm Gonna Break Your Heart; a musical acknowledgement of fact more than a threat. Brooks' rough hewn voice is the perfect rocker girl touch, the ultimate accent that sounds like a cross between Jewel and Debbie Harry. Reign Of Heart grabs hold of the listener in the ultimate courtship song, mixing elements of lyric rock with a heavy guitar chorus that isn't metal but wants to be. Feel It will get you on your feet, between the delirious bass line, danceable beat and cane sugar vocal line you'll be moved to move.

Whatever You Want (For Right Now) puts a serious edge on things, catching the energy of early Blondie in a risque tune that will play particularly well live. The rhythms here are right off a Ramones record, practically, and not dancing is not an option. Reckless follows up on a somewhat bland note; not a bad song but just not having the oomph of the rest of the record. The Chase ends with Gone Missing, a song mourning the slow decline of a relationship and recalling the days when things were different. Brooks sounds her most committed on this tune, and the band is as tight as always.

The thrill of The Chase is something that doesn't fully materialize for The Candance Brooks Band. The material is mostly strong, the band is excellent, and Brooks is entertaining, but for a band with such a reputation for their live shows, that energy just doesn't translate to CD as well as it might. Brooks sounds like she's been held back at times; her voice suggests she can really let go when she wants to, but it doesn't happen here. There's a danceable energy in the music but it doesn't always carry over to the vocal line. There are probably several production decisions that lead to this outcome, but it doesn't do Brooks or the rest of the band justice. I recommend the disc, but recommend catching them live even more.

Rating: 3 Stars (Out of 5)

You can learn more about The Candance Brooks Band at http://www.thecandancebrooksband.com/ or www.myspace.com/thecandacebrooksband. You can purchase The Chase directly from the band's web store.

Review: The New Up - Better Off

The New Up - Better Off
2009, Evil Cherise Publishing

Occasionally a band comes along where no one can agree who they sound alike. The New Up has been compared to such divergent acts as Radiohead, Journey, Lake Trout, The Talking heads and TV On The Radio. These comparisons aren't entirely off the mark, but none of really strike a careful listener as accurate, either. The San Francisco quintet with roots far to the east (Chicago, Illinois and Charlottesville, Virginia) have managed to craft a sound that sounds a little bit like a whole lot of people and a lot like no one else, which is as close to original as it's possible to get in a medium based on eight notes. The New Up's latest EP, Better Off, will be released on August 18, 2009, and is a follow-up to last year's Broken Machine. Where Broken Machine was a musical elucidation of the problems of the world, Better Off is the beginning of transcendence, suggesting changes that might happen on the personal level that will turn things around. Producer Jamieson Durr (Franz Ferdinand, The Killers, Handsome Boy Modeling School) brings out the best side of The New Up on Better Off, juxtaposing their Pop tendencies with their harder side in a mix that crosses genres with electrifying results.

Lead vocalist ES Pitcher is a front woman in the tradition of Blondie or Gwen Stefani; a big Rock N Roll voice with lots of layers and a very sensuous side that can draw you in before she belts you away. Pitcher also contributes on guitar. The band is rounded out by Noah Reid (guitar, vocals); Hawk West (flute, automation); Dain Dizazzo (bass) and Drew Bertrand (drums, percussion). Better Off opens with Dear Life, a vibrant guitar rocker that shows off Pitcher's pipes in grand fashion. Dear Life is good enough and hard enough to crawl all over Modern Rock radio playlists, but has enough Pop sensibility to cross over. Better Off slows things down a bit in a post-Grunge tune that rocks and grinds its way to self-realization. B!tch has a new wave sheen to it that fits somewhere between The Replacements and No Doubt; the melody line is straightforward but the arrangement builds in a lot of sonic dissonance that keeps listeners on their toes. Not to mention there's a guitar solo here that would sound right at home on a Scorpions album. F.Y.R.U.F.N. is an acronym we can't fully publish, but let's just saw I'm glad I'm not Roger. The song is dark and vaguely disturbed in sonic aspect. Wait (For Danny G.) is a sprawling memoriam in song that just doesn't fit with the rest of the material here, but is included for obvious reasons.

The New Up is on to something out there in San Francisco. The market for bands like The New Up is a narrow one, and many great bands go unheard by anyone who doesn't happen across their MySpace page, but The New Up just might have the right zeitgeist to make it. Better Off makes a distinct impression, with a sound that's derivative yet original, and a vocalist in ES Pitcher who can break down walls with her sound and presence. Don't be surprised if The New Up is a name you hear a lot more of in the future.

Rating: 4 Stars (Out of 5)

You can learn more about The New Up at http://www.thenewup.com/ or www.myspace.com/thenewup. Better Off will hit shelves on August 18, 2009. Keep checking The New Up’s web site for updated release information.

Review: Cupéro - Cupéro

Cupéro - Cupéro
2009, Cupéro

Wow.

Warwick, NY native Clarissa Cupéro just bowled me over. Cupéro's self-titled 6-song EP is the sort of introduction that knocks a listener off their feet. Whether it's the distinctly mature tone of 19-year-old Cupéro's songwriting, the no-holds-barred emotional strength of her songs or the absolutely amazing instrument that is her voice, Cupéro is a purely unexpected and welcome surprise on the musical scene. The Siena College student has influences all over the music map, from KT Tunstall to various classic rock artists to Columbian rocker Juanes (17 Latin Grammys). Juanes has inspired Cupéro to be a bilingual artist, writing and singing in both English and Spanish. The EP, Cupéro, was produced by Patrick Ermlich and E-Shy Gazit, who brought Cupéro's songs to life in ways even she didn't suspect when she contacted them as a high school senior. Now, Cupéro is a college student trying to build her fan base in the Albany, NY and New York City markets who has her eyes on bigger stages down the road.

Those bigger stages shouldn't be a problem at all. Not since Marian Call came along with Vanilla have I been so utterly stilled by a debut album. Cupéro makes you want to just drop everything and listen, and she handles active rock tunes and ballads with equal aplomb. With a voice that falls somewhere on a line between Sarah McLachlan and Bonnie Tyler, Cupéro makes fans every time she opens her mouth to sing. Cupéro opens with I've Got Your Number, a song she wrote for a high school talent show that has become her signature song. I've Got Your Number could have been a hit anytime in the last 25 years, and with the right breaks would vie for radio spins even in today's fractured market. La Sombra is a Spanish language song, and while I can't comment on the lyrics (no habla), the song has a powerful, sensuous feel that borders on overwhelming. Cupéro rips the roof on this vibrant rocker.

I Thought I Knew Love is a commanding love song that's chart ready as you read this. It's a bit off the beaten love song track but ideal mix-tape material and the sort of song that lights up request/dedication lines. Life Is A Moment is a song about striving for dreams and never giving up. It's a powerful message delivered in a powerful vocal performance. The arrangement opens with Cupéro and piano, adding in cello and other instrumentation as the song progresses. There's a Paula Cole "I Don't Want To Wait" feel to this song that's unmistakable. Don't be surprised if Life Is A Moment ends up licensed, movies or even gets covered by big name artists down the road (by then Cupéro may be one herself). Quiero Tu Amor is the other Spanish language song on the EP, a gorgeous ballad that would sell a million copies in an English version. I have to say though that the Spanish language brings out a certain sensuality in Cupéro's voice that's more reserved in English, increasing her marketability in an increasingly multi-ethnic culture a hundred fold. Cupéro closes out with You'll Never Be There, an urgent acoustic rocker with Americana leanings that just about proves that she can do, play or sing almost anything.

Clarissa Cupéro has everything but the breaks. Talent and composure well beyond her nineteen years and a killer voice make it very possible that down the road the name Cupéro will be as familiar as names like Prince, Madonna and Beyonce. Yes, it's a grand statement, and practically everything in Cupéro's life and career would have to go just right for that to happen. But based on what I've heard on Cupéro, it's not out of the realm of imagination. Yes, she's that good. Find out for yourself. Cupéro is a Wildy's World Certified Desert Island Disc. Don't wait, get it now.

Rating: 5 Stars (Out of 5)

You can learn more about Cupéro at http://www.myspace.com/cupero or http://www.cuperomusic.com/. You can download a copy of Cupéro through iTunes or through Amazon MP3. I don’t have any word on CD distribution at the time of publication, but will update with links when/if they become available.

Review: New York Dolls - 'Cause I Sez So

New York Dolls – ‘Cause I Sez So
2009, ATCO

If the New York City punk scene of the 1970’s could be traced back to one forefather it might just be the New York Dolls. Mixing influences as rich as the Rolling Stones, classic R&B, rock and Philly Funk with an attitude that’s all New York, New York Dolls practically created the scene that spawned such bands as The Ramones, Blondie, The Talking Heads and Television. The New York Dolls reunited in 2004 after a long hiatus with original members David Johansen (known to some as Buster Poindexter) and Sylvain Sylvain. The New York Dolls rock their way into 2009 with a new album of original tunes, ‘Cause I Sez So.

The New York Dolls don’t mess around with the sort of edgy, maudlin alt-pop you hear on the radio nowadays. This is good old fashioned Rock N Roll with elements of Rhythm N Blues and the occasional dose of funk. ‘Cause I Sez So opens with the title track, a raucous, bar room song that you’ll want to shake your fanny to. Lonely So Long sees the Dolls embracing an Americana sound that is a bit surprising and yet fits them so very well. This is the sort of song you sing along to at a concert along with everyone else in attendance. My World is a blue collar, Rock N Roll love song that’s something of a throwback.

Making Rain is one of the stronger songs on the disc; an Alt-Country/Americana tune featuring outstanding guitar work. Drowning is a tasty bit of Southern/Classic Rock that opens with a guitar intro that isn’t in itself iconic but established a tenor and sound that is unforgettable (think Queensryche’s Silent Lucidity). My favorite song on the disc is Nobody Got No Bizness, a mix of Rock, Rhythm N Blues and a bit of Philly style funk. This is a great party tune that you won’t be able to get out of your head. ‘Cause I Sez So closes with Exorcism Of Despair, mixing elements of Rock and Punk with the frenetic drive of early Rush. This sounds like a 1970’s AOR staple.

The New York Dolls were a special band in a special time. Their successes in the early 1970’s paved the way for many artists who would come afterward. ‘Cause I Sez So is a very strong effort from the New York Dolls, and a sure sign that they have a lot of kick in them yet. If you’re looking for the roots of the Punk movement, look no further than the New York Dolls.

Rating: 4 Stars (Out of 5)

You can learn more about The New York Dolls at http://www.nydolls.org/ or www.myspace.com/newyorkdolls. You can purchase a copy of ‘Cause I Sez So at Amazon.com .

Review: Saint Bernadette - Word To The Lourdes

Saint Bernadette - Word To The Lourdes
2009, Exotic Recordings

Led by the honey-coated steel voice of lead singer Meredith DiMenna, Bridgeport, Connecticut's Saint Bernadette brings their introspective relationship angst back to light on Word To The Lourdes, their most rock-n-roll effort to date. Along with husband, songwriting partner and guitarist Keith "Touch" Saunders, DiMenna belts, croons and lays her heart on the line across six distinctive and musically pleasing tracks. Rounded out by guitarist Joe Novelli, bass player Bran Anderson and drummer Dave Valle, Saint Bernadette hits a lot of high notes on their first of three releases due in 2009.

DiMenna's voice is distinctive; a dark and pleural resonance with just a hint of steel that is highly interesting to listen to and gives Saint Bernadette an instantly recognizable sound once you're familiar with it. The album opens with Nobody Wants My Kind Words. The song itself wasn't my favorite, being a bit overly repetitive, but the song is a great showcase for DiMenna's voice. Already Gone is a punk/pop anthem that would make Blondie proud, and should vie for real commercial attention. He's A Collector is a bit of delicious pop-noire; not a song that you'd ever expect to earn radio play but a fun listen nonetheless. Wrap It Up has an urgent, rocker-girl quality to it that walks the line between classic rock and 1980's pop. The EP also features I Can Add You To My List and Don't Take This Away.

Saint Bernadette is inspired and influenced by classic rock & pop sounds that span a couple of decades, this all shines through the post-punk/pop sheen that envelops the six songs on Word To The Lourdes. If the songwriting is a bit uneven at times, it's more than compensated for the by the consistently excellent performance of Meredith DiMenna and crew. In many ways they remind of a young band that came to prominence in the mid-90s fronted by another dynamic female vocalist. Veruca Salt and Saint Bernadette share the same Rock N Roll spirit and rough and tumble aura. Make sure you check out Word To The Lourdes.

Rating: 3.5 Stars (Out of 5)

You can learn more about Saint Bernadette at www.myspace.com/saintbernadette or http://www.exoticrecordings.com/. You can purchase a copy of Word To The Lourdes at Amazon.com, or download a copy through iTunes.