Browsing Tag

texas

Suspenseful and Seductive in the Instrumental Realm

Posted on 5 December 2022

This has been a great week for new lo-fi tracks. In addition to the stellar producers that I’ve been handed earlier, a couple of days ago, I also get to talk about playNo’s newest instrumental “My Chick.” The Texas born producer and composer has released a fantastically psychedelic music video on his YouTube channel. The music is great, but the swirling colors looking like a tie-die fractal is something I could stare at for days.

The track is simultaneously upbeat and laid back, which in and of itself is quite an accomplishment. Beginning with some sound-design cascades offering a mood setting intro, the track breaks into new chords and pulsating static notes that take over the tune. The playful marimba and piano dialogue make for a mysterious sound – but not something that takes itself too seriously, which is nice. If you could cross some of the best music from “Plant Vs. Zombies” with an upscale jazz club in Harlem, you might get a sense of what I’m describing. Background vocal samples round out the dazzle with “My Chick” and we have a lovely listening experience.

Hopping over to playNo’s Instagram page will be a joy for dog-lovers. Many of his stories feature his pet pit-bull which is an adorableness overload. It’s nice to see the personal side of a gifted producer who obviously works very hard on his craft but isn’t afraid to play also.

Deep In The Forest: Lilith Max roars with so much hunger on Big Bad Wolf

Posted on 28 November 2022

Taken from her recent 5-track EP called Storybook, emerging young talent, Lilith Max sees that smirking face and looks deeper into the monster on her latest feast-filled single, Big Bad Wolf.

Lilith Max is an 18-year-old award-winning German-American Houston, Texas-based indie alternative pop/folk singer-songwriter.

”Lilith Max is a YoungArts Winner 2022 in the category Voice. She is also known as an actress in Call of Duty WWll and other productions and two-times the winner of Best Child Actress awards. She was born in Germany and moved to the US at age six.” ~ Lilith Max

With so much poise and grace while displaying a vocal output which is quite sensational, Lilith Max is rather terrific on this terrifying single performed by a true storyteller who knows how to capture our imagination.

Big Bad Wolf from Houston, Texas-based indie alternative pop/folk singer-songwriter Lilith Max is a magnificent single about surviving a beast who has decided to bite a sweet soul away. Projected so wonderfully by a young talent who sings with such joy, this is a memorable single to close your eyes with while imagining that hair-raising danger lurking in the woods.

Listen to this fine new single on Spotify and see more on the IG page.

Reviewed by Llewelyn Screen

Houston-based rock/hip-hop-fusion band Wizards of Atlantis dominate proceedings with Stop the Transmission

Posted on 7 November 2022

Splitting up our earlobes like a hungry Lion looking for prey, Wizards of Atlantis are at their excellent best with a roaring single to snack on all day and this one is called Stop the Transmission.

Wizards of Atlantis are an experienced 3-piece Houston, Texas-based indie rock/hip hop band who make that classic sounding music vibration to remember the 90s with.

”We continue to push the boundaries of what can actually be fused together and still sound pleasing. Our attitude is: If it sounds good to us, it is good.” ~ Wizards of Atlantis

Soaked with a supremely confident sound which has the power to change perspectives, Wizards of Atlantis show us what years of time in the game sounds like when you make music with a real backbone.

Stop the Transmission from Houston, Texas-based indie rock/hip hop-fusion band Wizards of Atlantis is a laced up track which shall take you back to an exciting time. Furnished with scratching and so much creativity to thrive deep inside, this is a sure-fire dance floor winner for those who love that classic Beastie Boys-like vibe.

Hear this buzzing new track on YouTube and see more on their Facebook.

Reviewed by Llewelyn Screen

Don’t Be Mad: Texas-based hip hop artist Hafto urges us to be way of those devil trick on timeless classic comeback track The Soul Pt.1

Posted on 4 November 2022

With a magnificent vocal intro which will surely warm our inner soul, Hafto shows us where satan’s wings fly and educates us so that we can steer well clear on the truly extraordinary The Soul Pt.1.

Hafto is a Dallas, Texas-based indie hip hop artist, multi-instrumentalist and renowned street poet who is a creative soul who makes those unmistakable gems.

Skillfully establishing to us (via a barrage of ear-tingling vocals) all how to avoid those false narratives and big-headed fake heros which can only harm our hearts with their greed and games, Hafto is that cleanse from evil deeds which might shred all self-dignity away and open up the taps of despair.

The Soul Pt.1 from Dallas, Texas-based indie hip hop artist Hafto is a vocally mysterious single which shrewdly has us turning the volume up to maximum to decipher each carefully scribbled word. There is so much quality substance bolted inside this absolutely mesmerisingly ear-healer. This is one of the best track of 2022 without doubt.

Real hip hop lives on through the underground.

Listen up on Spotify and see more on IG.

Reviewed by Llewelyn Screen

I’m Not Alive: straight stitch feels the haunted world bite hard again on HalfLife

Posted on 3 November 2022

Feeling like the fresh path is close after so much recent trauma, straight stitch aim in the right direction and fire hard with a floor-shaking new track to paste all over your shocked speakers called HalfLife.

straight stitch is a grunge, shoegaze, and noise-rock fused band who shreds the airwaves with a powerful sound your whole soul needed to witness.

”They are committed to sonic destruction, all sharing a love for surf-punk in their early teenage years. Now, ages 19, 22, and 21 they hope to combine shoegaze and grunge with the energy of early bandcamp no-wave.” ~ straight stitch

Slashing straight through our eyes and into our deeper conciousness, straight stitch are in no mood to mess around and might cause some loud foot stomping to occur on many sweat-drenched dance floors.

HalfLife from the Austin, Texas-based grungegaze band straight stitch is a heavy-to-the-core track which will evidently soak your awaiting spirit and give it an extra vibration. Turned up to the max and showing us an electric soundscape to truly salivate over, this is a fine effort with that extra underground quality that’s so hard to find easily these days.

Hear this fab new single on Spotify and see more via IG.

Reviewed by Llewelyn Screen

I Can Only Imagine: Tough On Fridays pulls deeply onto our heartstrings with Daisy

Posted on 20 October 2022

Dropping their 2nd single off the upcoming full release called The Encore You Didn’t Ask For, Tough On Fridays shows us why it’s never enough when you know that something special is too damaged to continue on Daisy.

Tough On Fridays is a Texas-based Archangel Records-signed indie alternative band who has been slowly brewing on the underground with their world class sound.

Following on from the previously well-received single Growing Pains, Tough On Fridays are rather excellent on this reminder that things just don’t work out sometimes. Packaged so sweetly together to take us on a reminder-filled daydream, this is a fine track that shall guide you back into your past.

Daisy from the Texas-based alt-rockers Tough On Fridays is a supercharged soundtrack to that lost love you cherish forever. Sung with gorgeous vocals that might open up your soul again, this is a superb reminder that life has many different hazards waiting for us all when we least expect it.

Change your mood on Spotify and check out the IG page for more.

Reviewed by Llewelyn Screen

Remind Me: Andrew Akins almost gave up on the drive-filled I-25

Posted on 4 October 2022

From dreaming through that late night moon and drifting slowly through so many memories, Andrew Akins shows us the route through those Colorado mountains on I-25.

Andrew Akins is a 27-year-old Amarillo, Texas-based indie Americana solo singer-songwriter who makes that road trip music that will make you smile for hours.

”He’s shared stages with modern poets such as Ryan Culwell, Natalie Schlabs and Charles Johnson, and even opened for lyrically-renowned heavy outfit Silent Planet.” ~ Andrew Akins

Lathered with a sensational layer of authenticity, Andrew Akins has cultivated a song that shall take you to back to a certain time in your life when you didn’t want something special to end.

I-25 from Amarillo, Texas-based indie Americana solo singer-songwriter Andrew Akins is a romance packed journey to finding the peace with two souls. Rich in love and caressed with an embrace to get things back on track, you will find a song to hold on tight with here. Vocally strong and backed up with a memorable ambience that shall lurk in your veins all night, this is a single to turn up as loud as possible.

Listen up on Spotify.

Reviewed by Llewelyn Screen

Copperhead Jones is down by the water in his narratively blissful country single, Cold Beers and Tight Lines

Posted on 21 September 2022

While deployed with the US Navy in 2012, the Texan country crooner, Copperhead Jones, started to pen his roots-deep Americana songs. A decade down the line, he is fresh from the release of his narratively escapist sophomore album, Anchor.

The standout single, Cold Beers and Tight Lines, lyrically sets the scene of a more serene time, while the upbeat Americana instrumentals feed the euphonic highs through the flair of the bluesy piano motifs, winding Country guitars and assuredly steady percussion that would have a dive bar crowd tapping their feet to the tight snappy rhythmic magnetism in no time at all. Regardless of the mood that Cold Beers and Tight Lines catches you in, the soulfully sincere soundscape is sure to brighten it.

Cold Beers and Tight Lines is now available to stream on Spotify along with the rest of Copperhead Jones’ 2022 album, Anchor.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Bills Stack So High: Madukwu sees that angel in disguise on the excellent Heaven Knows

Posted on 5 September 2022

With vital help from his management team, Miss Glo Vader, Madukwu, returns to our consciousness again with a genuinely top-notch release you will find hard to ignore called Heaven Knows.

Madukwu aka Madukwu Chinwah is a multi-Grammy-award winning Dallas, Texas-based indie hip hop artist, multi-instrumentalist, and prolific music producer who is probably best known for introducing neo-soul to the world.

Released from his latest 12-track album called Royal, the legendary Madukwu is in pulsatingly imperious form, with a glowing gem for the youth to learn from.

With a supremely skilled storyteller’s pen in action, a precise production to match, and an ear-warming voice that will cause many hearts to flutter like a happy bird seeking a comfortable next, you may find yourself turning up the volume here.

Heaven Knows from the exceptionally world-class Dallas, Texas-based indie hip hop artist Madukwu is an inspiring story that shows us how one chance can change everything, if two hearts may join as one. Sung with expert poise and vocally advanced melodies that many try to copy but can’t, this is a brilliant release from a real legend in the game.

Even if you have had countless heartbreaks, the courage to find the one must be in your soul in order to be romantically happy each time you close your eyes at night.

Hear this phenomenal new single on Spotify and see more news on his impressive IG.

Reviewed by Llewelyn Screen

Don’t Get Snappy: Our Last Daze washes it all down with cheap wine on Happy, Sappy and Everything In Between

Posted on 28 August 2022
Happy, Sappy and Everything In Between by Our Last Daze

Showing us the wild life that can drown your memories in warm beer, Our Last Daze wonders if they thought that something else was expected on the speaker-blaring new single to froth with called Happy, Sappy and Everything In Between.

Our Last Daze is a San Marcos, Texas-based indie alternative emo/pop-punk band who makes anthem-sounding songs that certainly deserve the big stage.

”With emotive lyrical themes of the debauchery of youth and the existential dread that follows.” ~ Our Last Daze describing their sound

Singing with so much gusto about that feeling when you just know that someone is expecting you to put on a show when you aren’t feeling it, Our Last Daze shakes off their headaches from the previous night’s debauchery with impressive aplomb. Brushing away the snappiness that has unwittingly seeped into modern day society, this is a play-loud track that has you thinking you’re back in the 90s.

Happy, Sappy and Everything In Between from San Marcos, Texas-based indie alternative emo/pop-punk band Our Last Daze is such a roaring song that you might feel Lion-like. Packed with wild stories and drink-guzzling melodies, this is a powerful track to play loud when you just want to vent out your frustration without breaking anything.

Showing that you are only going to be yourself despite the pressures applied is the only way to live, after all.

Hear this new single on Bandcamp and see more via the IG page.

Reviewed by Llewelyn Screen