Conrad the Band - Valley Fever

2017 –Slepton Records

Release Date : Oct 27, 2017

By Phillip Smith; Sep 28, 2017

Valley Fever, the latest release from Conrad the Band, has completely caught me by surprise, and I’m loving it.  Hailing from Bakersfield, California, and now living in San Francisco, this duo comprised of childhood friends Matthew Shaw (guitar/bass/vocals) and Nick Andre (percussion/synth/production) unveils a six-track masterpiece loaded with bleeding-edge techno, vintage guitars, and hardscrabble stories revolving about a cast of unfortunates.    

A seductive bassline, a hypnotic drum beat, and huge doses of electric fuzzy guitar effortlessly lure me into “Devil’s Gonna Find You”, an intense song with an ominous presence which speaks of junkies and public transportation.  “Food for the Fishes” is beautifully engineered and emits a floaty, cotton-candy sweet melody in Flaming Lips fashion while describing a melancholy dream about parting ways.

A poetic despairing tale of a miserable sad sack in “Teddy”, takes a series of dark turns while exploring end-games ranging from the homicidal to suicidal.  By its finish, my heart is racing.   A chill beat and dreamy synth usher in “One More Smoke”.  This melody about staying awake until dawn with a pack of smokes and a bottle of booze makes for a perfect epilogue for the preceding “Teddy”.  As if drawing musical inspiration from the best of the Seventies television crime dramas, “Poor Davy” blasts a barrage of gritty synth sounds topped off with an extra helping of pimping bass.   Valley Fever ends with a beautiful Velvet Underground-like track about doom and love called “Black and Blue”.

Albeit a short one, clocking in at just around twenty-two minutes in length, this is one cool-as-hell album.  I honestly can’t wait to hear what comes next for Conrad the Band.      

Jaime Wyatt - From Outer Space

2015 – n/a

By Phillip Smith; June 20, 2015

From Outer Space, the latest album from Jaime Wyatt is chock full of rootsy music coated lightly with a layer of pop, covered with crafty lyrics infused with a jolt of Outlaw/Punk attitude.  Wyatt has a distinct flair for songwriting and a devil-may-care style which makes her music so easy to digest and leave one hungry to hear more.  Mark Howard (Lucinda Williams, Tom Waits, REM, U2, Willie Nelson, Bob Dylan) being brought onboard to produce, was an excellent decision.  

Wyatt leads the album off with “Marijuana Man”, a fun Dylanesque alt-country track about a free-wheelin’ hippie encounter gone wrong.  She rips it up on guitar and rocks out on “Twisted”, a vibrant song which brings to mind the music of one of my favorite all-female rock bands from the Nineties, The Donnas.  I love the way “I Want to be Your Girl”, hits the ground running and keeps that energy lifted from start to finish.  This song puts me in my happy place. Like a forgotten song off Paul Simon’s Graceland album, “Stone Hotel” is definitely one of the best on this album.  Daryl Johnson keeps a funky bassline going while Don Heffington commandeers the driving drum pulse perfectly fit for Wyatt’s poetic jailhouse themed lyrics. This one is very nice indeed.    

From Outer Space is quite lovely and no less than outstanding.  Wyatt is sure to be a force of reckoning in the music world, and I look forward to hearing more from her in the future.  

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Sam Morrow - Ephemeral

2014 – Forty Below Records

By Phillip Smith; Aug. 9, 2014

Ephemeral, the debut album from singer/songwriter Sam Morrow is anything but ephemeral.  Before I had finished listening to the first of ten songs, “War”, I knew this album was something special.  Singing country-flavored roots songs with a sharp edge of truth, Morrow’s voice reminds me a bit of Eddie Vedder’s.  Morrow delves deep into his own experiences, revisiting the often unpleasant obstacles life blindly tosses around like little grenades.              

Setting the tone for the rest of the album, “War”, invites the listener into Morrow’s melancholy world with despairing lyrics about a husband and father who looks to the bottle for happiness.  Morrow shows great range as a vocalist and writer in the heart wrenchingly beautiful song, “Old Soul”, about the hurt of lost love, and the self-destructive thoughts which go along with it.  “Run” seems to pick up where “Old Soul” leaves off, leaving thoughts of self-destruction behind and replacing them with feelings of anger and declarations of love.  I’m really drawn to its haunting melody, fortified with a cool drum cadence and symphonic strings.  In a Tom Waits fashion, Morrow reexamines the broken relationship with booze, after two years of sobriety, in “December”, a song of reconstruction, remembering and longing.  This softly played guitar and violin tune tugs on my heart strings.

Ephemeral is such a beautifully constructed album of brutal honesty, I can’t get enough of it.  Morrow shines as a writer and performer, and I highly recommend this album.

Doug Gillard - Parade On

2014 – Nine Mile Records

By Phillip Smith; Aug. 1, 2014

Parade On, the third solo release from Doug Gillard is a refreshing double-dose of indie-rock.  Gillard is a renaissance man when it comes to music.  Singer/Songwriter aside, he takes on responsibility for performing every instrument on this album (guitar, bass, keys, percussion) with the exception of drums. 

Gillard breaks the seal on the track list with “Ready For Death”.  Here, he cleverly marries sullen lyrics sung from the agonized perspective of one just ready to let go, with a lovely upbeat melody which could easily be mistaken for a long-lost track from Electric Light Orchestra.  Then, as if the dial had been turned from the Seventies channel to the Eighties channel, “Angel X”, with its slightly fast tempo, takes me back to the days when the band Squeeze ruled my stereo. 

I can get lost in the melodically beautiful “Your Eyes”.  Sugary and poppy, it instantly puts me in a good mood.  Other favorites include “Come Out and Show Me”, a throwback to the early Who, and “I Shall Not Want”, which seems to draw more influence from George Harrison.

Gillard masterfully ties these eleven pop-infused songs up in one neat little package, to make Parade On, a damn cool aural treat.

Mofryky Safe Word (EP) + Human Aquarium (EP)

2013 - 2009  Mofryky

By Phillip Smith; June 28, 2014

Twitter is a vast and amazing online space ripe for discovering new music.  This past year, I have been exposed to a variety of amazing music via Twitter that I probably never would have had the opportunity to experience otherwise. I am almost sure I wouldn’t have happened across the music from alt-rocker Mofryky from Erie, PA.  Once I had read his tweet, ‘Two METAL Tributes to DEVO”, followed by a Soundcloud link, I knew I had to check this out.  Being a huge Devo fan from way back, it would be a sin for me to not dive down this alluring rabbit hole. 

This brought me to the 3 track EP, Safe Word.  The Devo covers, “Uncontrollable Urge” and “Don’t You Know”, were astonishing. “Uncontrollable Urge” is heavy and very punk.  This song begs to be played loud as Mofryky delivers very fitting, angst-filled vocals and tasty guitar licks over attention-grabbing beats from drummer Trevor Huster.  I absolutely love “Don’t You Know (Crazified)”.  No holds barred, this one is a full frontal assault, mixing metal with techno.  At just a tad bit over two minutes in length, this leaves me wanting more so much I find myself listening to this track repeatedly at least a couple of times in succession whenever played.  

Also uncovered in this quest for new music, is Mofryky’s earlier release, Human Aquarium. “Red Dot Charlie No-Pain” walks a fine line between punk and alt-rock with  catchy hooks, and hot licks. “Down the Shore” is bound to be my go-to summer song this year.  With a pop-punk Offspring vibe, and tongue-in-cheek lyrics about teen debauchery, it would undoubtedly be perfect for MTV’s Spring Break.

Fellow “Spudboy”, Mofryky bridges the gap between the alternative music of today and that of twenty years ago, using the music technology of today to give a new spin on old favorites, and a classic sound to his contemporary works.  He took such a fresh approach with “Uncontrollable Urge” and “Don’t You Know”, I could certainly go for second helpings of his reinterpretations from the Devo catalog. 

 

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VIDEO: Mofryky - "Uncontrollable Urge" . From the motion picture, "The FOUR"