Considered by many a talented actress, unbeknownst to many, the Tony award winner Idina Menzel (those of you who follow Broadway shows religiously, will undoubtedly recognize her from “Wicked” or “Rent”) is a very talented musician as well. In the past she’s released two albums, that unfortunately didn’t get the necessary attention it deserved and decayed into anonymity. Now, on her third studio effort, titled “I Stand” announces to be a hit record of the…
Last year Northern Irish hard rock band The Answer finally managed to gain some exposure, after receiving some much deserved critical acclaim for their 2006 debut “Rise,” after a year prior to this they were named best new band of the year. Their sound strikes me as a blend of Led Zeppelin and Whitesnake, borrowing the best treats from each band. Although their first and latest single “Under The Sky” was released over a year…
Plants and Animals, a Montreal based indie trio, have recently come to my attention, thanks to their beautiful blend of acoustic and electric sound, striking me as a forming rock ‘n’ roll shooting star. Lead vocalist and guitarist Warren Spicer is easily recognizable in Montreal as an increasingly sought-after producer, guitar hero, and mustachioed gambler. Matthew Woodley (aka “The Woodman”) handles the rolling backend of the trio on drums with Graceland-like soul (and headband), and…
[tag]Art Brut[/tag] and its sophomore release, It’s A Bit Complicated, have certainly been one of my favorites this year, but I was really blown away when I started watching their live gigs on the telly and on the web. I myself haven’t ever attended in person one of their live shows, but apparently the band are making it possible for me to finally see them in the flesh, as they’ve announced the venues and dates…
Photo by Matthew Field As previously reported the Californian super group [tag]Queens of the Stone Age[/tag] was set to play a gig in the cold deeps of a German salt mine. The concert took place, in front of a small and intimate crowd, on November 20, where the band played live 700 meters underground. The initial press release reported that the band was going to play a never before performed live track, but haven’t heart…
In 1998, what today is one of the most revered heavy metal bands in the world, [tag]Godsmack[/tag] released their self-titled, that catapulted them straight from underground anonymity to mainstream notoriety. Now 10 years later, the band has decided to homage this special anniversary by releasing a special best of , titled “Good Times, Bad Times… Ten Years of Godsmack.” The [tag]Led Zeppelin[/tag] fans out there might recognize the title catch phrase, as the name of…
Mystery seems to be a [tag]Radiohead[/tag] trademark, from cryptic runes (those were fun though), to a sporadic out of the blue new album, to a basement gig footage and most recently details have surfaced of the band’s much anticipated 2008 tour. The dates for the summer European tour were announced yesterday and included some vague schedueling for Manchester, Dublin or Glasgow; at the time I didn’t know if this was intentionally put to confuse or…
This thing is huge; fabulous. Queen cleans the spider webs from their instruments and they start to sing again. Wait just a minute. What could they do about Freddie. Their website announced that the band was going to release their first single in ten years a few days ago and more then that it was announced that it will be for free as well. The rock band introduces again frontman Paul Rodgers and they recorded…
Well whoever said that [tag]The Mars Volta[/tag] music is “puzzling” is oh so right, especially when the Long Beach, CA based band, recently put out a brain challenging puzzle on their website. The puzzle is made out of 16 blocks, all forming the cover art for TMV’s forthcoming 2008 studio album “The Bedlam in Goliath,” the type where you have to move a block one at a time. Yeah I know it’s really frustrating. If…
Seems like the end of the year, apart from holiday and best of compilations, is a good time to release rap albums, at least that’s what the pour of constant hip-hop records, released in these past days and week, leads us to believe. Leading the pack is [tag]Wu Tang Clan[/tag] warlord [tag]Ghostface Killah[/tag], with his much awaited seventh solo release “The Big Dough Rehab”, after last year he delighted us with fish and later with…
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Andrei Mihai