Category: Music Reviews

acoustic, Music Reviews, singer songwriter

Christopher Beland takes us to Hundred Acre Wood with “Return to Pooh”

I am met with insatiable glee in the very moments that the first notes are struck on Christopher Beland’s “Return to Pooh”. It has a charming old-English cottage-town appeal, as though we are just waking up to a brand new bright sunny day rife for adventure and the company of our closest friends.  It’s unsurprising but still a welcome realization when we learn that the … Continue reading Christopher Beland takes us to Hundred Acre Wood with “Return to Pooh”

Unknown's avatarCrooked ForestLeave a comment
country, Music Reviews

There’s good, there’s great, and then there’s Sydney Hansen’s “For Better”

Fresh off the 94 from her home state Minnesota and into the full-barrel honkey-tonks of Nashville, Tennessee comes 19-year old Sydney Hansen. Her latest single, “For Better” kicks off with southern charm still glistening from the polish that Nashville is not just known for but renowned and admired the world over.  Without hesitation you’re transported into the Ryman auditorium where we have no doubts Hansen … Continue reading There’s good, there’s great, and then there’s Sydney Hansen’s “For Better”

Unknown's avatarCrooked ForestLeave a comment
Music Reviews, rock

We are but turtles in The Finite Being’s A Shell of What Could Be

It’s melodic, it’s atmospheric, it’s spiritual, it’s driven and it rocks. Self-described as a faith-driven alternative 3-piece outfit, The latest EP by New Jersey’s The Finite Beings “A Shell of What Could Be” is a holistic journey that reflects on our connections to ourselves and each other.  The lead track and first single, “Untamed” sits somewhere between A Perfect Circle and Deftones, full of rich … Continue reading We are but turtles in The Finite Being’s A Shell of What Could Be

Unknown's avatarCrooked ForestLeave a comment
Music Reviews

Life dictates the cutouts in Kenny Fame’s Puzzle.

If we are to take its title in a literal sense, before “Puzzle” even begins we envision ourselves sat at a table with a scattered collection of puzzle pieces. Some are right side up, others colors entirely escape us, replaced by the cheap cardboard our mural was printed on. As the gauzy guitar joins us, sounding as though it’s coming directly to us from the … Continue reading Life dictates the cutouts in Kenny Fame’s Puzzle.

Unknown's avatarCrooked ForestLeave a comment
Music Reviews

How Do You Do It Without Making It Nauseatingly Extravagant?

We’re not one to admit it but sometimes when we listen to a track for the first time, we throw it on without headphones. We did that with this one, but only got a few seconds in before we’re reminded why putting on a pair is such a critical step.  We weren’t running it through a club PA so we were already missing the low … Continue reading How Do You Do It Without Making It Nauseatingly Extravagant?

Unknown's avatarCrooked ForestLeave a comment
Music Reviews

Jazzmine? Alien Feli’s latest feels more like a musical Goldmine.

With an almost animalistic nature, a lush wave of soulful blues guitars rushes out. Perhaps unsurprising given its namesake, the alluring tone is joined by jazz-inspired rhythms, soulful bass bopping along to the intentional shuffling of the drums and breezy staccato guitars carrying the beat steadily onto our auditory canal.  While we got a small taste of the vocal stylings of Alien Feli at the … Continue reading Jazzmine? Alien Feli’s latest feels more like a musical Goldmine.

Unknown's avatarCrooked ForestLeave a comment
Music Reviews

Big Sexy embark on the River of Shame.

Barreling out of Somewhere’sville, U.S.A comes Big Sexy, a unique collaborative group of artists who together pack a punch. Their recent release River of Shame is an 8-track album created in partnership with Outside Records out of Kiev, Ukraine who have been working with artists who shared their interest in supporting Ukrainian musicians and using music to ease the challenges brought on by the weight … Continue reading Big Sexy embark on the River of Shame.

Unknown's avatarCrooked ForestLeave a comment
Music Reviews

Luchi’s “Things He Handed Down” is like an emotional conversation with an old friend.

How can fathers not love their sons?  It’s the question posed by Glasgow-based Luchi in his most recent release, “Things He Handed Down”, an emotional pop-rock ballad.  From the moment the delicate piano strings are struck by the hammers accompanied by long-bowed violins welcoming us into a similarly somber headspace, we can feel Luchi’s sentimental reflection as it fades impassionately into view.  While the vocal … Continue reading Luchi’s “Things He Handed Down” is like an emotional conversation with an old friend.

Unknown's avatarCrooked ForestLeave a comment
Music Reviews

We’re Blowin’ Dust as we race towards Randy Ross’s latest.

We embark down a long dirt road to find ourselves on a cattle ranch somewhere just outside of Nashville, Tennessee. Lured in by steel guitars and charming fiddles weaving their plectrums and bows across their strings, we are utterly possessed to begin our two-step the moment our boots hit the gravel. Somewhere in the distance it’s as though there is a barn full of strangers … Continue reading We’re Blowin’ Dust as we race towards Randy Ross’s latest.

Unknown's avatarCrooked ForestLeave a comment
Music, Music Reviews

Celebrating the gift of music and life with Lady M’s “Day of a Hundred Candles”

Beginning with a somber pad of strings before we’re introduced poetically with a sprinkling of twinkling lights to our leading lady, the exceptionally talented opera singer Laura Gomez, Lady M’s Day of a Hundred Candles welcomes us with a brief introduction to the woman who inspired the piece and to which it is dedicated. “Mary, what a beautiful name,” Gomez propels, a nod to Mary … Continue reading Celebrating the gift of music and life with Lady M’s “Day of a Hundred Candles”

Unknown's avatarCrooked ForestLeave a comment