10 Tracks with Mieka Pauley

Mieka Pauley, for just about 8 or so years now, has been a long standing fixture of the Boston area indie club scene, she's also toured the country and opened for Edwin McCain if I recall correctly as well, she's one of those acts you hear and you wonder why when artists who are like her, people like Sarah McLaughlin and Jewel and others of that type, though deserving in their own rights, are out there selling out theaters and concerts the world over, why isn't Mieka doing the same? This idea comes through my head alot when listening to her music infact, but then I remember, sometimes, for an artist, staying low key and not making it to the headline spot, sometimes is more rewarding.... so with that said, I give you my 10 songs to let you make up your mind about this beautiful and talented young singer...

1. Blunt: Blunt in Mieka's words, is an angry song about playing shitty clubs for shitty and drunk people all over the country, she tends to tell a really funny story about how she came to write it, however this version doesn't have that, I went with the better quality recording instead this time. Blunt is basically her answering every crap line she's been given in a very sarcastic manor, the title "Blunt" in in reference to the chorus where in she sings about hitting people with her guitar. "If this guitar wasn't so expensive, and I didn't need it night and day, it would make a pretty good blunt object, to make you back away..", I give it a 10 for style and content, as well as style for the obscure Quickdraw McGraw/El Kabong reference it brings to mind.

2. Devil's Got My Secret: This is one of those songs where Mieka's fragile side comes through more then most would find comfortable, this, like many of her songs, is her lamenting over her secret love for someone whom she either never spoke too or has lost for some reason yet still loves. Its a deep emotional song that cuts deep for more people then you would think, "The Devil's got my secret, he promised not to tell, I left it for safe keeping, I'll pick it up in hell" as the chorus says, her voice mixed with the lyrics and downplayed background music makes this a work of art.

3. Fate Day By Day: This is one of the first songs of Mieka's I'd heard, and still one of my favorites, its her singing about her outlook on life and the things you take and the things you miss as well, "I will not wait, I will not wait, for what the world may not create" she sings, and I find this to be so true about so many things, this was also the only track off her demo to make it on her first album (2000's Mieka Pauley), though I went with the version done on a college radio show in Boston from I believe 2003 or there abouts because i like her voice on it better then the studio recording.

4. Fields of Gold: This is a live "cover of Eva Cassidy covering Sting" as Mieka claims, I think if anything this lovely cover, shows how much like the great Eva this young girl really is, its not just a statement about how well she can do the song, its a statement of who's place in the music industry she could rightly fill of she so wished. Its truely beautiful.


5. I wanna see the City: this is one of those great songs that I've only been able to find one version of her singing, this was taken from the same radio show Fate Day By Day was taken from, and is a song of her looking out over a large city and wondering what is really out there, not just what is put out for the tourists to see, but the real city, the real heart and soul of it, wondering just what there really is out there or if its all just facade and there isn't anything else to see.

6. Left To God: this song is a very introverted look at herself and those around her, and to an extent the world around her as well, she challenges herself and her ideas of life and religion and what life is really like for everyone, the unfairness and the luck some have, as well as the power and weak of the world. "I have heard thunder loud as god is great, where everyone ran inside weather or not it rained, I knew a devil he was white as any saint, he fell right through the ground where Lucifer remains..." she sings in the third verse, I find the deepness of these lines abit scary at times.

7. Spirit: This song is about life, death and being alone, some could even argue it could be seen as a suicide song if they wanted, it speaks of her travels and how she's gone this distance in life alone, and how at the very end, when she feel like giving up given how weak her spirit seems, she still has the willpower to try and carry on. I've never been sure if she is singing about life after death, or just carrying on with very little willpower or depression in general, either way, this is and will always be a beautiful song that will strike a chord with most.

8. Daydream: Daydream is maybe my all time favorite of hers, its a song of a love she never had, and as anyone can tell you, the love you daydream of but never say anything of because of fear and depression believing they don't feel the same as you, "have you ever spent your nights dreaming of someone you could not call your own? I close my eyes in a little daydream, and I pretend that you can love me, and I pretend that you are mine" she sings, this is truly one of the greatest love songs ever written I believe.

9. Companion to a King: this is one of the best tracks off her demo, why its never gone past that I'll never know, its excellent, the best way to describe it, think a song as masterfully written as "Let Her Cry" by Hootie and the Blowfish (you know, before they got lame) but told by a woman instead of a man, its the story of a woman who just can't leave a man who ignores her most of the time and hardly speaks to her, its a very sad tale but also a very well written one as well. Her guitar strumming even brings the emotional frustration of the lyrics through, simply great.

10. Run: Run is a song off her demo that saw play on a NEMO (New England Music Organization) compilation put out by Starbucks of all places afew years back, and where the title to her soon to be released second album "Elijah Drop Your Gun" came from, I like to call it a "Bluesy Stalker Song" because I see a scene in like, a cop movie playing out in my head as the song folds out, like the scene where the cops are chasing this guy through back alleys and stuff, its a nice mellow delta bluesy sort of feel to it.

11. When I'm in Chicago: Ok the bonus 11th song on this is because I just couldn't let this one not be put on here, this is a song looking back at a former love, she mentions various other places and who she's thinking of at that point in time, and it sort of has a feel of someone thinking back wile drinking abit, infact she jokes at the end "when i'm in Kenya i simply forget ya, when i'm in russia i'm not thinking of ya, when I'm not sober I think of your mother" to sort of hint its ment to be a sort of drunken looking back wile in the city of Chicago. Its a lovely little song and a lovely little highnote end to this set...



i hope you all enjoy, I do believe that anyone who hears Mieka will grow to like her, if not love her music, it just has this sort of sound that strikes everyone to it, its hard to explain really, but you just have to hear her and hear what she's saying, her voice and her lyrics truly are a gift for all to share.


10 Tracks with Mieka Pauley

Artist: Mieka Pauley
Genre: Indie,acoustic,singer/songwriter,female vocalist,folk,blues


by: Just A Simple Poet

37 Days by Beth Hart

After the overwhelming response i got for releasing Beth's beautiful album Leave The Light On, I figured I would follow it up with her new album entitled 37 Days (named for the amount of days it took to make from start to finish for you music trivia buffs). A Return to Beth's raw powerful range spanning vocals and lyrics, she's grown alot since Leave The Light On, you can not only hear it in her voice, which ranges from soft and beautiful to raw and in your face screaming like a mad woman just trying to make herself noticed in a world thats so easy to brush aside those who aren't like others. Even more then in past albums solidifying her place as the successor to Janis Joplin's throne in the kingdom of white girl soul, a kingdom thats sadly vacant these days.

As you would expect, Beth jumps from blues to soul to rock to gospel to pop and hints of jazz in there, much as she's done on her last few albums, the songs again range from love songs to uplifting to angry, but yet, I find myself not really being bored with this formula from Beth, I don't know if its her voice or just her in general that makes me want to hear more and more, whatever it is, its on this album in spades, just as I had hoped it would. That in itself is a big sign, if i actually am looking forward to an album for months on end, you know its gotta be good... so lets get into it shall we?

The album starts off with "Good as it Gets" a loud ruckus blues rock track thats got number one hit all over it, assuming its given wings and let fly. Its sort of like the kind of song you'd hear in any blues bar down in the south when a waitress stepped up to sing a song with the band, that whole raw yet lovely song about love and life and living as best as she can. A great opening track honestly. Followed by "Jealousy" a sad bluesy love song about wanting to love someone with all that she has in side of her, but he doesn't want it anymore, Beth has this way of making the saddest things a picture painted in words that everyone can look at and see exactly what she means with it, assuming this album gets any press at all, "jealousy" will be one of those big break up songs. The next track is the awesomely done but strange "One Eyed Chicken", this is a definite rock anthem if I've ever heard one, the beautiful guitar work, the easy to sing along too chorus and bridge, this is the kind of song you wanna turn up really loud and just make the people around you know just how awesome it is. The next song is "Over You", another of her empowering blues ballads, this is normally where Beth shines, her voice comes through so vulnerable and so beautiful in songs like this, I just love it. The next song is "Sick", a very high speed almost kinetic rock anthem that just makes you wanna play it really loud and yell along, its just incredible, normally by the middle of the album for most artists start getting choppy, but not here, still pushing through with the same fury and fire as always, is the next song, "Face Forward" a straight up rock song about the "war" in the middle east, it sounds like Fortunate Son had wild sex with the time in the 1980s when women knew how to rock, not that thrashing around a stage like a stripper excrement you find today in "rocker chicks", there is alot of Joan Jett in this one, oddly I also here some late 1960s Tina Turner in there too, lovely track. The next song "soul shine", brings things down to a lovely "spotlight" style sound with mostly Beth, a piano and some smaller instruments, very lovely and a very positive track about being yourself no matter what happens. This is followed by the lovely "Forever young" a very low indie track that I honestly believe is the best track on the album, its looking back at her first love and those summers we never want to end when we're teenagers, this track speaks so much about Beth as a person its just so great. "Easy" is a song where Beth spends alot of time talking about life and death and her ideas on both, very uplifting, and lovely done. "Heaven Look Down" is next, and its almost an uptempo gospel track, though its really a social commentary about the world as a whole and how we've all kind of lost our way. The tempo picks up abit with "Missing You" a song that though you think is about someone else, makes me wonder if its really about Beth missing who she believes she once was, the next song "Waterfalls" I must admit I'm not really sure what thats about exactly, but its really a neat little song, it gives you a great incite into Beth herself and the music is just awesome. The album ends on a nice mellow note, the last two songs "Crashing Down" and "At the Bottom" seem almost linked in a way, speaking about Beth's depression and her inner demons and how its so easy for those sort of things to eat you alive if you let them. They're rather sad, but beautiful in their own way as well.



As a whole this album is a beautiful opus of a person's continuing struggle to come back from losing it all and how even though you can come back from a huge setback, you can feel not complete, and spend all your time trying to rediscover that side of yourself that feels lost. Do i think this album is for everyone? hell yes, do i think that long time fans and new ones should give this a listen? Most definitely. So what more are you waiting for? Click the link....

Artist: Beth Hart
Album: 37 Days
Genre: Blues, Rock, Soul, Indie

37 Days by Beth Hart

-BC

10 Tracks with Jodi Shaw

I've always been a fan of female vocalists, I've made this well known I think given some of my releases here, but among those whom I like, this one stands out, this is a woman by the name of Jodi Shaw, one of the greatest and well crafted artists to come out of the north east music scene, the newfoundland native has traveled and lived the gambit from Boston to New York and back again many times over, playing her heart out whenever she could and slowly gaining a very big following in clubs and now thanks to the wonders of the internet, there as well. Jodi knows how to write a story, and she knows how to write it out in song. Such a beautiful range of content she has, from happy to sad to introspective, to in some places dark. Its a lovely range and I am glad to share it with you all.... Here are the tracks...

1. The President Knows: This track is a lovely sort of tongue in cheek reference to the resistance in france when it was under german occupation, it tells the story of spy woman who worked in the media at the time, its a very cool very run and uplifting song, I just love it.

2. The Forger: this version, like afew others in this set, is taken from an old boston collage radio show called Main Streets and Backroads, The Forger tells the story of a person who makes a living by forging fake works of art and selling them to those who've no idea its fake, and how inside he's fooling everyone but himself.

3. The End: The End is a song about Abortion and thoughts of suicide, its possibly the darkest song she has ever written, and I love it.

4. Out of Love: this is the version off Main Streets and Backroads, again because its a better quality then the original recording. Its a song about how you always seem to fall in and out of love with the right person.

5. Kristine's Lullaby: this is a lovely song thats done as a lullaby to a child, there are so many lovely images and its just so amazingly crafted, I love this song and it makes me think of parenthood and the joy of it.

6. Kenny: This is a song about the life and struggles of a man named Kenny thats been through a very hard life but ended up on in the end. Its really an uplifting lovely song.

7. The Singer: This is a lovely track about a singer that works her whole life to become what she dreams, and tells the story of her travels to stardom, its a lovely introspective track.

8. Savannah: is a great track about a woman named Savannah who seems to be sad more times then not, and that when she smiles, she apparently had a great smile, its really a nice calm song that is great in so many ways.

9. In Cabrini Green: This is in my opinion, the greatest of her songs. it tells the story of a murder in Cabrini Green in Chicago and how everyone even though they've seen it, will not say a word, its a masterpiece in audio, it really is.

10. Evangeline: this is a lovely song that tells the legend of Evangeline and how it reflects the life of someone who goes through something similar and looks to Evangeline for guidance.

Do I think that Jodi will be for everyone? Sure, I think everyone can find atleast one song in her catalog that will make them happy on some level, which to me is a great statement of her true abilities and the love of music she brings to her songs. So give her a shot if you're up for something outside the normal, but still good listen.


Name: Jodi Shaw
Genre: Indie Rock, Pop, Indie Pop, Chick Rock, Folk Rock

10 Tracks with Jodi Shaw

by: BC

Real Life by Joan as Police Woman

This lovely bit of audio and visual candy is a woman named Joan Wasser, she was born in Biddeford Maine and raised mostly in Norwalk, Connecticut, and believe it or not, she has one of the most impressive musical petigrees I've ever come acrossed. She started out playing piano at the age of 6, and spent her teens playing with various bands and working solo as well, this feat, more so the amazingly matured and defined that it gained her early admitance to the musical converatory at Boston University where she became the prize student of the world renowned Yuri Mazurkevich where she became part of the Boston University Symphony Orcastra and played many large venues through out her time with them. In this time she also formed Boston indie scene legends Hot Trix, The Damnbuilders and Black Beatle as side projects as well as did work with Those Bastard Souls and Mind Science of the Mind. Joan didn't go into classical music after college like most assumed she would, she went hardcore into the independant musical mecha that is the boston music scene and after awile formed Joan as Police Woman in New York City in 2002. Her credentials in the popular music scene are as equily as impressive as her classical, she was a former band member and lover of the late Jeff Buckley at the time of his death, and has worked with such well known artists as Lou Reed, Tanya Donelly, Sheryl Crow, Dave Gahan, Elton John, the Scissor Sisters, Antony and the Johnsons, Joseph Arthur and Rufus Wainwright, to name just afew.

With a history like that you would exspect her full length debut in this new band of hers to be nothing short of musical nirvana in mp3 form right? Well, if you assumed this you would be correct! This album is just complete bliss in audio form! Joan and her fellow musicans mix everything from blues to rock to pop to indie to late 1960s phycidelic infusions and soul to classical together in a way that leaves me speachless and wanting more. I love how they span the gammet from upbeat and fun to torch songs to straight up blues to rock and stop off all over the place along the way, Joan's vocals sound so much like Billie Holiday through most of this album that it scares me at times.

The title track "Real Life" is a great start off, its a very mellow smokey delivered piano driven love song, its as sexy as it is eerie. "Eternal Flame" is an odd mix of a love song and a grandus symphonic fused with uptempt 1970s style rock with a huge chorus singing along, its wonderfull. "I Defy" a great duet done in a 1970s Marvin Gaye "Whats Going On" era sort of style, I really wish they gave more more then just the first name of the man that sings it with her, I can't seem to find him in the band reguester or the credits and would like to here more from him, the way they blend horns, violins, pianos and strings together are just incredable as well. I could really go on and on about how great every track on this short disc is, only 10 tracks, though I would love a double disc special edition with all the B-Sides and out-takes and stuff, I just can't get enough of this band!

As for if I think most people will like this? Yes, I believe most would, there is enough of every style to keep even the most closed minded "one genre'er" happy. But people like me that are all over the musical spectrim will go wild over this and scream for more. Its just so beautifully crafted, there is so much detail given to even the smallest bit of music on this album, its almost bordering on artform in some spots. Its a definate must for anyone that claims to be "musically open minded" and isn't really just saying it to get cred. Give it a shot, seriously, won't be let down.


Artist: Joan As Police Woman
Album: Real Life
Genre: Indie, Indie Rock, Blues, Blues Rock, Fusion, Boston Indie

Real Life By Joan as Police Woman


By: BC

Woke Myself Up by Julie Doiron

I first heard about Julie Doiron as a featured musican on an album by one of my favorite bands, The Tragically Hip. I liked her and thought I would like to hear more from her, so just to give her a try, I picked up her latest album, "Woke Myself Up". And though I can't say this is my favorite album, I can tell you that it is infact, a good listen and something that in time does grow on you. I'm not sure if its Julie's bubblegum like delivery over well played "chick with guitar" style backings, or that she seems to be having fun wile doing her songs, or that she seems to write songs that seem realistic and down to earth and fuse them with a great many styles. I will say though, before I get into this, my only real complaint is that the album seems to have many short songs and the album itself suffers of short disc syndrome because of this. (Short disc syndrome is a term I coined for an album thats under 40 or so minutes total and is said to be a "full album")

Julie does blend styles well, each of her songs is done in a different genre all driven by a masterfully played guitar base. She crosses genres from bubblegum pop to blues, to rock, to a 1800s style traveling gypsy fire side dance anthem, to an accoustic adult contemperary song, to just about everywhere else one can go with a guitar. She really does a good job mixing all of these as she does and not sticking to any one genre for more then a song or sometimes two. "I left town" also has her cats meowing in the background at some points like an odd yet lovely idea for a chorus. Truely well done.

"No More" is actually about as close to "radio friendly pop" this album gets though, I will admit this, but then again, we're not really about radio friendly or mainstream around here, so that makes it ok. The track itself is great though, its got a beat that will keep the people that just have it on for background sound from getting bored with it, and the harmonics and lyrics will keep everyone else going as well. "Don't Wanna Be Liked By You" is second for radio friendliness, which I think is kind of why I think they were placed back to back, the beat sounds like a mix of "secret agent man" and "walking on the sun", very infectious and very easy to drive over the speed limit too.

The other tracks on the disc are just this great audio journey though the world of guitar based canadian infused music. As I said earlyer though, the only downside really is that its short, the songs average about 3 minutes or so, and there aren't very many of them, only about 10 or so, but still, by no means does this make the album suffer as a whole. I enjoyed it and intend to attain the rest of her collection whenever I can see possable to do so. I highly recommend this disc.


Artist: Julie Doiron
Album: Woke Myself Up
Genre: Slowcore, Indie Rock, Indie Pop, Singer/Songwriter, Female Vocalist

Woke Myself Up by Julie Doiron

By: BC

Math and Physics Club by Math and Physics Club

For some reason as of late, I've really become endeared with what i call "throwback acts", Math and Physics Club is definately that, sort of hailback to the early british invasion era of the 1960s with a very uncanny simularity to Herman's Hermits most notably, and in their self titled debut, Matha nd Physics Club have really shown that though music has progressed and moved past the british invasion, its good to go back and kind of hang out with it now and then.

The album itself consists mostly well crafted and beautifully arranged love songs and 1960s style bubblegum pop, its really interesting how a basement band small time project like this band can actually incorperate such modern terms and ideas and mesh them with a sound that timestamped an era in the way it did. I've always been a big fan of that sort of work, new light on an old school sound. Course, I'm a big Peter Noone fan, so I would love a throwback to his sound.

Afew notable tracks, "Darling Please Come Home" is a lovely lead off track that has a masterfully played guitar as the driving force of the track, it sounds like it was done on one of those old 58 Gibson guitars that rocked so harshly. "I Know What I want" is a lovely song about not giving up on a love that means more then the singer realized, its great, "April Showers" is a pretty little song that sounds abit like someone from acrossed the pond singing a happy Simon and Garfunkel track from the early days before they went all overly political and serious (not that I mind simon and garfunkel that way mind you..), its a pretty love track about curling up under a big umbrella in the rain. "Holidays and Saturdays" is a sort of an internet love song, its nicely done and well writen. "La La La Lisa" is a musicans love song, writen about a woman in another band and they're right, there is just something about a woman with a bass guitar...

The rest of the album is the same sort of work, its just a delightfull trip back in time to the era when people knew how to write a song, and knew how to play instruments, like actually play, not repeat the same three chords over and over again at an annoyingly breakneck speed wile someone screams over them, and when value was placed over just mindless agression of corperate marketing plans. I don't think anyone will be let down by this if you open your mind and give it an honest listen.


Artist: Math and Physics Club
Album: Matha nd Physics Club
Genre: Indie Pop, Retro Pop, British Invasion

Math and Physics Club (self titled album)


By: BC

Kate Klim: A First Look

In my line of work I meet alot of up and coming artists, its actually the better part of my job I think, keeps me alittle ahead of the wave and keeps me real. One of those artist I've gotten to meet was a woman by the name of Kate Klim, and if I may, I would like to talk about her for just afew minutes. Plus she fits in well with my weakness for female vocalists and female singer/songwriters... but thats a whole other thing.

I met Kate after a show she did in her current hometown of Boston Massachusettes just about 2 years ago, and is a joy to talk too, very funny, very open to people speaking of her music, and very easy on the eyes if you ask me. I only spoke to her for afew minutes but i could tell she had that something that was going to make her a star someday, a very Tori Amos/Vanessa Carlton/Amy Lee girl with a piano and a voice so frail and vulnerable, as well as eligant and beautiful. I've compiled 7 songs of hers i've been able to track down through various internet sources to show you just what I mean.

"breath me in" is a very lovingly crafted and sad song about a lover and looking back at their trubulent and unstable relationship, of how everytime she wants to leave and end things, with a touch, she returns to where they were.

"Give Me a Sign" is beautifully made song of longing for more from someone who has her entrauled with the very idea of them, but she is waiting for some sort of a sign that they feel the same for her, some of Kate's greatest bridges in this one, "give me a sign, give a fighting change, I want this way to bad to change my mind, and this is our song, and i've waited all night to dance, but darlin I'm running out of borrowed time."

"I Choose Me" is an upbeat guitar laced song that makes you tap your feet even if you don't realise you are, its about looking back at childhood and thinking how things have changed and how instead of a young love, she choses to be herself and to live her life. This is one of Kate's more upbeat and uplifting tracks, and one of her few non-piano driven ones, a very nice stand out.

"Heaven Help Me" is a very open song of love and how she is trying not to fall for someone because she knows deep down just how bad it will be for her, she goes on about trying to fight it inside but she just can't. This is the very first song that Kate played infront of a crowd at a professional singer its said.

"Jacob" is about Kate looking back at the first boy she's ever loved, how they grew up together and how she would follow him where ever he would go and her looking back and wondering what he's up to now that they're older and have drifted appart because of his moving away. Its a happy and somewhat bittersweet song about how innocent love is when we are young and how meaningfull it can be when you look back at it years alter.

"Nothing" is a small song that is a sad song about sitting alone and missing someone she loves with all that she has inside of her, this is where the best line she has ever writen in it "anyone can say I love you, only I can say I miss you.", though its very short, its a very deep and meaningfully tocuhing song, your heart literally breaks as you listen to it.

"Something" seems to be a continuation of "Nothing" just with the line "something" and afew other lines added, i'm not really sure what the deal is with that, but it still has that same heartbreaking feel as "Nothing" I think maybe she ment to put them out as two different versions of the same song, but I can't seem to find any actual backing up of this to be sure.

I find that though most would lable Kate as depressing or emo, she isn't, she is reaching out through her saddness and other feelings and trying to touch on places that many are scared to admit we have for various reasons, that part of ourselves that is flair and scared and vulernable, those places we try to protect from others, Kate puts them out for display and shows us all that its ok to do so and to feel these things.

I'd highly recommend her to anyone thats up for something soulsearching, deep and will hit just abit close to home.

Artist: Kate Klim
Album: N/A
Genre: Singer/Songwriter, Indie Pop, Female Vocalist

Kate Klim: A FIrst Look


by: BC

Kevin Johansen

Well, this is going to be a bit different from what you guys have posted here before, but as the theme is variety and music for the nonjudgemental people, i couldn't think of anything more appropiated than these three albums.

After going over and over the three of them for a week trying to decide which one was better in order to upload just one here, i couldn't make my mind. There's just too much to say about each album and there's no way of saying (in my opinion) which one is better, I hope that you will find it as enjoyable, entretaining and smart as I did and then tell me if you found one of your preference.

Now, to keep going with this, let me introduce you the artist :

Kevin Johansen was born in Alaska, to an Argentinian mother and an American father, and raised in the San francisco area until he turned 12 years old that they moved out back to Argentina. He was part of a small underground Argentinian band until 1990 that decided to jump in and "re-discover" the States, with the idea of opening his mind about music as he stated, "The States is not only New York City" . This re-discovery took him 10 years, and maybe to contradict himself a little bit, he lived mostly in New york city and it was there that he got married and found the Fundation with which he came back to Argentina with his 1st album under his sleeve.

His first cd, named as his fundation "The nada" , was recorded in the fundation and released under an independent label in Argentina in the 2000. Just by the name we can tell how it's gonna be, full of mixtures of every kind, with a good sense of humor in his songs and twice more enjoyable for those that get to catch a bit of both languages, english and spanish. The record itself didn't make him famous apart from in the underground music ambient in Buenos Aires and some places of Spain were another independent label launched it,but surely started a path that he would follow in the future and the basics from where he would start developping his music and just printing his own style. He presented it this way: "The Nada is a record i brought with me in 2000 and it was recorded in New York, i wanted to remix it over and over, those things of a maniatic musician that is never satisfied with the mix, luckily i didn't and that's why it was launched exactly as i originally made it, mixing tracks as i was finishing them, doing basicaly all the final work myself" What you'll basicly going to find here is a good mix of talent humor, variety in styles and a lot of folcklore, starting from Argentina to a lot of other places of latin america, mixed with an special spice.

Eventhough "The Nada" is in my opinion a good record, it got pretty much nowhere. It wasn't until his second record in 2002 that we heard from him other than in under pubs. Thanks to a popular Argentinian Soap Opera that had one of his song as the main song of it. "Sur o no sur" as he named his second album, hitted the radios for as long as the soap opera was played and gave him the oportunity to be a little bit more known and go on tour to all Argentina aswell as some places in Spain and Belgica. Unfortunately, or not, this didn't make big record labels put their eye on him as he's still under an independent Label.

My description for "Sur o no sur" would be the concept of a person that doesn't know where the borders are anymore, a person that has become someone without nationality or maybe with too many. It completely expresses the feeling of belonging to so many places that you can go anywhere and feel home. In this record Kevin goes everywhere, and does it not only good but with the constant element of the surprise. It keeps surprising me with every song and making me laugh a lot. From a Cuban song to a Tango to something with a Mexican reminiscensce to a billingual ballad and a typical blues. It has all the elements to make you feel good while listening and to keep you paying attention to it as the songs go by.
"Sur o no sur" was until now he most successful album,which not only sold well in Argentina but also awarded an Mtv Latin american music award.

And last but not least, Kevin latest album "City Zen" which is we could say Urban Kevin Johansen. As he said it himself "It's related with putting up with the vortex of big cities where the music is present everywhere, like the Zen that helps you relax inside what is this daily madness we live in" and it reflexes the urban spirit of the many cities Kevin lived in. This is maybe a more calm record, with guitars as the main instrument.It's a cd that creats sor of a warm athmosphere, counting with good armonies and melodies which make it in my opinion the sweetest of the three. Truly a delight.

The result of how mixed cultures are nowadays, the positive side of it all results in Kevin Johansen and his unique style. This is really material to open your mind to what not only is a reality that is happening, the good side of globalization maybe, but also to find that all cultures and nations can be mixed to create something more interesting. I highly recommend you all to download theses records, intern yourself in a warm, un-genred athmosphere.

For more info go to www.kevinjohansen.com

Kevin Johansen - The Nada-

Kevin Johansen-Sur o no sur-

Kevin Johansen - City Zen -

By Tamara

Those The Blokes by The Magic Numbers

From BC About this Album:

I'm finding alot of exspantion in the world of indie pop as of late. Now, I would normally be alarmed at this very idea of this, but I must say, alot of these newer acts are very good. Such is the case with The Magic Numbers, a band constructed of seemingly life long friends, Sean and Angelia Gannon and Romeo and Michelle Stodart. They started out as Sean and Romeo trying to be part of various musical groups in their area, and finding little joy in that, they decided to make a band with themselves and their sisters. That is how The Magic Numbers came to be.

Their music is very unqiue and stand out, its a throwback to the days of light fun all ages friendly retro 1960s/pre-disco 1970s sounding pop music that you would hear playing at a cook out in the summer somewhere, with all your family and friends around just laughing and smiling and having a great time. A true rarity in music these days. I find myself as I listen, missing those lazy summer days with a grill and abounch of friends all all chilling at a lake somewhere, or in a big field or something, that whole carefree upbeat before life becames all about working a day job and keeping your head above water. Ofcourse I think on some level we all long for those times.

The album itself, is a stand out from start to finish, I find it very hard to actually pin down favorite tracks, though "Undecided" is by far my frontrunner, followed by "This is a Song" and "Boy", though really the whole disc is steller. A definate must try for any music fan.

Artist: The Magic Numbers
Album: Those The Blokes
Genre: Indie/Pop/Retro


Those The Blokes by The Magic Numbers

By BC

Passover - The Black Angels

From BC about this album:

Not long ago, I came acrossed an album called "passover" by a band called The Black Angels, now, I figured I'd give it a shot, the name and some of the song titles seemed to be metalish, and though I'm not a massive fan of metal, its always good to see what people are doing with it these days. Hot damn was I wrong!

When I cued it up in my player (JetAudio FTMFW!!!!) I had to check it and make sure I didn't cue up a Doors album by mistake. They sound so much like them its uncanny! I mean it really blew me away. Its a throwback to the hayday of late 60s rock, so much so that I had to do some checking and make sure this wasn't some obscure band from that period before writing this. The band was formed in 2004 if you're wondering, but I can't seem to find anything else of theirs, which is a shame.

I find myself wondering alot, if Jim Morrison has comeback to life in the guise of the band's singer and writer, he writes songs that Morrison would right, the song about vietnam for instance sounds like something Jim would write, and take straight to the top of the charts. This is just as much a political and social album as it is anything else, songs about war, religion, the mindset of the world around us all, again, reminding me of anything that Jim did in his lifetime. Its truely amazing.

I would say this is an album for fans of classic late 60s rock, that might be looking for something to remind them of just how good that era was, or for someone thats looking for a blend of sounds of the past linked with the world of today. Its truly unique and a shame that it more then likely will get passed over in the record stores.

Artist: The Black Angels
Album: Passover
Genre: Classic Rock/Neo Classic Rock

Passover - The Black Angels

By BC