"Snowblls" (Featuring Tahz) "Feel It"

The vision of Russia that most of us in the west have become accustomed to, is not one that we would associate with "tropical." Generally, we think of frigid winters, beautiful women walking around in fur and stunning architecture amid snowy backdrops. So imagine my surprise when I heard of the band "Snowblls" (a team of Russian natives) performing a tropical house single "Feel It." 

From the first moment, the deep-belty voice cutting through the track "Your hard heartbeat, fill me with love." Following with electro-reggae rhythms and cascading synth pads makes the song a club-positive experience. I have to say that these guys know how to write a catchy hook - be warned if you listen to this track you will be humming it for at least the rest of the day. For his part, Tahz's contribution is a great feature, lending his expertise to the track. His island-style baritone is a beautiful contrast to the feminine, sexy vocals in the lead singer of Snowblls. 

These cats are a new group for me, they are managed under Black Tears Media which seems to be a one-stop-shop for all things commercial. From a brief documentary about China, to a host of musical acts, I'll be curious to see what the future has in store; it might even end up being a new NinjaTunes-like success story. 

EVindie "It's You"

A tempting square-wave bass and pulsating rhythmic glitch sounds are wonderfully employed in EVindie's newest track "It's You." The instrumentation is very akin to what you might hear in modern Hip Hop/Pop/RnB but what really ties everything together is EVindie's sensual-signature breathy voice, and sexy lyrics. There's a lot that admirable about "It's You," I like the call-back to 80's song structure (Think Eurythmics) with synthetic pops that carry the tune, I also like the character of Eve's voice keeping me on the edge of my seat. I think the thing I love most about this song is the cascading vocal-pads during the breaks, it's like we're awash in angels and you don't want to go back. But nothing that beautiful lasts forever, thank goodness there is the "repeat" button :-)

The Milgram Reverie "In-Formation Desert"

When I was a classroom teacher, I would often drift into old-man-moments where I rambled about the striking interconnectivity of our modern age. I would say "back in my day" (I know, I know, not a great way to talk to college kids) "if you wanted to communicate with an individual from another country, you needed a pen-pal; these days, how many of you have at least one friend from a non-English-speaking country on your FB friends' list?" Of course, they all did. 

And I think the same is true for musical styles and instrumentation as well. We have unprecedented access to the widest pallet of sound we've ever had as a people which is giving birth to new forms of orchestration. Couple that with the innovations made in electronic sound design and the limits are, actually, endless. 

One artist making full and skillful use of intricate sound-pallets and thoughtful musicianship is The Milgram Reverie. If I had to boil their music down and try to convey the style to someone who had never heard the music before, I would say that it's sophisticated instrumentation used in a primarily "metal" framework. They have an ambitious new album out titled "In-Formation Desert" which clocks in at 17 tracks total. Far too expansive to give a detailed reflection on each song, so I've made some choice selections for you. 

I believe that "In-Formation Desert" is on some level a concept album; I'm supported in this belief by the opening track "Nocebo" acting something like an overture. Of course, it's the first track I listened to when this music was passed to me. The first sounds we hear are near-eastern percussive strings supported by distorted guitars and eventually a wild (and beautiful) string part. The shift in textures and tones gives me a ballet-like impression as if the music demands some kind of dance. 

The near-eastern flavor continues with "Happiness Machne," where we have first-rate tenor vocals carrying the song. I'm very taken with the asymmetrical rhythm in the musical phrases. The Milgram Reverie has done an amazing job of keeping a forward motion. Again, as has been the case since the first paragraph of this review, the instrumentation is a delicious buffet of tones blended together in a unique and captivating way. 

With track number 4 "Wanderer" we are treated to a guitar part which reminds me a lot of the new guitar parts we hear from the modern gurus (think Tim Hensen or those chaps from Unprocessed). It's a ballad, but still very tough - once again, the vocals are amazing! Lyric-wise the words are rather confessional which gives a personal edge to this track; the mood is bolstered by the sparse (and by comparison to the rest of the album, simple) instrumentation.

One song that navigates the space between world-music and metal expertly is #6 "Change the Channel." It's fast-paced with clean vocals beautifully effected, but with rhythmic growling guitars. It almost makes me think of a more hardcore version of Sneaker Pimps - but that just might be because I'm enjoying the vocals so much. I imagine the drummer from this track has amazing biceps. 

A real stand-out track is "Receptor" (number 9). It is probably one of the most pop-sensible (which is meant as a compliment) songs on the album but twisted not unlike something you would hear in early Bjork (think "Army of Me"). The sound design is just beautiful - and the juxtaposition between smooth ethereal vocals and chugging guitars works on just about every level. 

Of course, we have to talk about the title track "In-formation Desert." Here we are treated to some female vocals (singer: Donata G) over an acoustic guitar strumming beautiful chords and a harsh rhythmic bass. The song develops orchestrally much like other songs from this album - quite the feat of composition if I do say so myself. I don't know who does the heavy lifting when it comes to the writing of these songs but whoever does it has an otherworldly sense of melody (I just found it in the liner notes, one C. Aubrey seems to be the mastermind behind "The Milgram Reverie"). The singer has a charming accent which (sorry, we're all thinking it) is rather sexy. 

Track 13 is "Innumerable Suns" - on first listen, mostly because of the title, I assumed this would be an instrumental track. Hey, it just shows after 10-15 years of maintaining this blog, I've developed some pretty good instincts. One thing I haven't mentioned much is the extraordinary feat of engineering this album is. I listened to "In-Formation Desert" on a number of devices and the consistency of sound over numerous instruments, voices, percussion elements, and sound design is really impressive. I would be very curious to know if all of this was recorded at a distance, or in one studio - from the consistency of the sound I would assume one studio, but technology these days might be tricking me. Anyway, "Innumerable Suns" is a gorgeous track filled with gorgeous sounds that have a cinematic flair all their own. 

Remember, that there are 17 tracks on this album, and it's easy to run out of ways to say that it's an impressive array of sounds, composition, and talent. Truth be told, I'm not sure if "In-Formation Desert" is really music you can have on in the background while conversations are happening at a party or gathering. This music, much like Debussy or Beethoven demands attention. I listened to it alone more than a few times and feel like I have a good grasp on it now, the only thing that would be better would be seeing/hearing these talented folks live, imagine what a feat that would be!

But hey, we can wish :-) Visit The Milgram Reverie's BandCamp page here. 

Mariachi Quinto Sol "Tennessee Whisky" and "TUYO"

Dear CMT readers, I think you're really going to appreciate this one: 

One thing I don't get to talk about too much on these blogs is my upbringing in the American SouthWest. I grew up in a border town in Arizona where you were more likely to hear Spanish than English and the major industry was agriculture. Looking back on it, culturally is was dramatically different than the Pacific Northwest where I live now, but back then it was simply home. 

During my years in that small border town, I was first exposed to Mariachi music. At first, it was just the music performed in the Mexican restaurants while my family and I ate fried ice cream as dessert from our enchiladas (green for me please, thank you) dinner. But later, as I got more and more devoted to music (and especially singing) I started listening more carefully to the numerous Mariachi bands at various cultural festivals and events in town.

These days I love Mariachi and everything about it. I love the deeply passionate singing, the unique instrumentation, the cultural mix of German horns, and Italian strings, blended with Spanish singing and love poetry. I love the romanticism of a dreamy scene: a picturesque Mariachi singer serenading a beautiful young woman.  Above all, the long history that all these things are drenched in. 

And with that long history, you wouldn't think there was anything new to be done in the "genre," and that's what I thought too, until I came across Mariachi Quinto Sol, a California-based young ensemble led by the commanding presence of Roberto Diaz; the band is happily traditional, but with a modern twist that is as much fun as it is innovative. If you have a look at their website/YouTube, you're just as likely to see songs like "Mi Historia Entre Tus Dedos" a gorgeous ballad filled with Latin Jazz chords as you will a video of a Mariachi version of the Pokemon theme (A+ for having a sense of humor folks, seriously). 

I listened to their new song "Tennesee Wisky" - a waltz-y ballad with a sly and brilliant trumpet part. Lyrics in English, with vocals that echo a bit of SouthWestern country plus a dash of blues. The subject matter makes the bends in the brass and strings sound almost drunken. The laid-back nature of the tune gives the listener a feeling of sympathy with the singer. An innovative violin solo halfway through the track really makes the song! (I wrote that line before I watched the video above - now I'm afraid I have the world's biggest crush on the violinists :-D )

Speaking of skill, can we talk about the singers? Both the gentleman and the ladies are first-rate vocalists. But I'm not that surprised, one thing I forgot to mention in my interest in Mariachi music is that it is a technically demanding style. You can't really fake your way through singing "Por Un Amor." First off, you'd never make it through the song, second, Mexican audiences wouldn't stand for someone who didn't know what they were doing. 

Another track available on the Mariachi Quinto Sol is a cover of the song "TUYO" from the Narcos soundtrack. It's much more an Argentine Tango, but again, this just shows the stylistic breadth of the band. Of course, as mentioned before, the vocals are awesome, with tight harmonies; distinct lines that blend beautifully. It's very much a candle-light song, it's sweet and feisty, I suppose like a tango ought to be. 

I suppose this band might give me another reason to visit Southern California - it would be awesome to catch one of their live shows as it seems they've made quite the rounds (the Whiskey, etc). With all doors hopefully open to them it will be interesting to see where their talents take these young people. In the meantime though, check out their website here, and their YouTube page here. 

Nonstop to Cairo "Million Dollar Space"

Whenever I'm given a new act to review, my mind always trapeses into the more abstract. One thing I love about new music in Western Culture is the access that artists have to previous movements in popular sound. What was once a tribalistic landscape of genre-factions is now a wildly inclusive shared space for sonic exploration and it seems all are welcome. 

This is especially evident in today's review, "Million Dollar Space" from Nonstop to Cairo. In this song we have elements of Classic Rock, Jazz, Funk, Hip-Hop, Blues, and of course their own "special sauce" as artists. It's an upbeat track with a solid backbeat. Horns and bold basslines keep things moving energetically. The vocals show a lot of versatility, especially in tone - all put together, creating a track that goes equally well on the dance floor as it does in the car. 

Readers can find Nonstop to Cairo's Spotify link here.