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- Written by: Giovanni "Gio" Pilato
Music is one of the very few art forms able to express not just sounds and rhytms but also the traditions and history of countries worldwide, a bit like a paint would do. If Peter D. Harper was a painter, he would have been certainly an expressionist.
Nobody better than this versatile and extraordinarily talented artist from sunny Australia is able to enfuse his songs with Aboriginal sounds mixed with the blues of the 50's and 60's with touches of roots and R&B. An original formula that the Artist Himself likes to call World Blues.
Accompained by the Detroit-based band Midwest Kind, Harper's new album Show Your Love is a breathtaking sonic kaleidoscope, a journey divided in 11 tracks that fully catapults the listener in Harper's personal take on blues and rock. Frankly, not many artists have been able to deconstruct and reassemble those two genres in the last 25 years in such a clever way as Harper has done, especially on this album. Through his incredible talent as a multi-instrumentalist, the English-born artist has been able to apply new layers and shapes to his personal vision of rock and blues, combining to those qualities an excellent and versatile singing style, depending on the genre played on each track.
Show Your Love also epitomizes, more than any of his previous albums, Harper's excellence in playing harmonica, didgeridoo and djembe.
There are many moments of true brilliancy, on this record. The rootsy It's All In The Game starts with a droning didgeridoos that gradually unveils an irresistible foot-stomping tempo.
Drive Brother Drive is a magnificent stripped down acoustic track, where Harper showcases his many talents once again on harmonica and djembe.
His vocals on the whole album are as clean and perfect as they can possibly be, demonstrating furthermore the great skills of such a polyhedric artist as Harper is. The Midwest Kind provide a solid support to Peter Harper's music throughout the whole record and it's almost impossible to find sonic smudges on this immaculately recorded album.
Show Your Love is where music pays gratitude to the past by incorporating the present and building ground for the future. Harper's new album is, undoubtedly, the pinnacle of his career so far.
Giovanni "Gio" Pilato
Show Your Love is out now and is available to be purchased at Harper's Website
"Buy a record, support the artists, preserve the future of music"
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- Written by: Giovanni "Gio" Pilato
When poetry and music work side by side, the results cannot be less than spectacular. On their new EP called A Thesis On The Ballad, the Canterbury-based avant-garde band Jack Hues And The Quartet delivers musically, works of the poet Kelvin Corcoran in 6 astonishing mesmerising tracks.
The EP, is Volume 3 of an intended record trilogy written with a selected group of poets. This is the first one, whilst the other two parts will be released, according to the band's website, later this year.
A Thesis On the Ballad is a set of poems written by Kelvin Corcoran, from which Jack Hues took inspiration and created the six tracks on the album. He wrote the music to Corcoran's lyrics in 2 hours in just one day. The record is a journey of love, sadness, hope and mysticism in which Hues and The Quartet, with their artistry, create wonderful harmonies suspended in time and space, making the album become an ageless masterpiece.
Every song on the album lives a life of its own and travels in different territories. From the opener Barbara Allen, sweet and ethereal, with Liran Donin on double bass and Sam Bailey on piano creating the best possible musical carpet to Hues' soulful vocals, to the catchy An Expanse Of Water, perhaps the most up-tempo track of the album.
One of the greatest strengths of this project is in the excellent skills of each individual musician, able to showcase their craftmanship on each tune, adding elements of great finesse on an already exquisite record.
Even when Jack Hues and The Quartet march into haunting musical territories, such as in the instrumental The Truth, one can still perceive the nature of the band's project, to be able to create atmospheres and unique sensation through the power of the music.
A Thesis On The Ballad is a record to cherish, because it combines two of the finest arts in the world. Full credit to Jack Hues And The Quartet for believing in their music vision and in one of the finest projects of 2016 so far.
Giovanni "Gio" Pilato
A Thesis On The Ballad is out now and available in CD, vinyl and download via Bandcamp and download only on Amazon
"Buy a record, support the artists, preserve the future of music"
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- Written by: Giovanni "Gio" Pilato
It must have been not easy for Dan Patlansky to deal with pressure and expectations for his next record, after all the praises that the South African artist received back in 2014 by the music press and fans worldwide for his album Dear Silence Thieves.
Despite all this, Patlansky delivers instead one of his most interesting, intense and compelling records to date with Introvertigo, a collection of brand new songs showcasing a well-crafted blend of rock, funk and blues that will grab the listeners' attention by the neck straight from Track 1.
The South African guitarist and singer/songwriter shows his big respect for many artists on his new record, from Stevie Ray Vaughan to Rage Against The Machine almost in an effortless kind of way, flying with his guitar through different decades of music thanks to his enormous talent. Tracks like Run, which Patlansky performed several times prior to the record release whilst touring with Joe Satriani, the closing Queen Puree and Sonnova Faith are a true homage to the 90's rock era and they are wild, thunderous and played with incredible ability and swagger by Patlansky and his band.
Theo Crous is, once again on Introvertigo, in the driving seat not just as a producer but also as a musician and provide an excellent support to Patlansky's wall of sound on tracks like the slow number that it's Loosen Up The Grip. Together with Crous, it is also important to cite the merits and great work made by Patlanski's musicians on the album. Clint Falconer on bass guitar and Andy Maritz on drums are as eclectic and polyvalent as humanly possible, no matters what genre's played and constitute the ideal backbone to any musicians on the planet.
Dan Patlansky's work on Introvertigo, both as a guitarist and as a songwriter, reaches new highs on this album. The level of his artistry as a guitarist goes up a couple of notches, even more than on the universally acclaimed Dear Silence Thieves. The clever combo of acoustic and electric guitar on Heartbeat is phenomenal, the bluesy Poor Old John and that beautiful slow number that is Still Wanna Be Your Man contain some of the best guitar riffs Patlansky has ever done in his career.
From a songwriting point of view, Introvertigo has got several gems too but the shiniest one of such gems is certainly the song Western Decay. The tune is about the loss of overall values in the present society and one can almost read between the lines of Patlansky's personal feelings not just as a human being, but also as a father, worried for his children about the future of this crazy, modern world.
Introvertigo is a great step ahead for Dan Patlanski's career and showcases not just his great talent but also an artistic maturity on many levels. This record is the musical consecration of a hard working artist that, like the finest bottle of wine, gets better and better with each passing year.
Giovanni "Gio" Pilato
Introvertigo is out now and can be purchased on Amazon
"Buy a CD, protect the future of music"
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- Written by: Giovanni "Gio" Pilato
After having been called, deservedly, one of the best new live act in Britain in 2015, Broken Witt Rebels returns with an EP which is an absolute joy to listen to from start to end.
Georgia Pine contains 5 tracks fuelled not just with the power and energy that come with young age but also with the real desire of showing how much these quartet from Birmingham, UK understand about blues, rock, roots and americana.
It is rather difficult to pick a song in particular as the real highlight of the mini-album because all of them showcase a different and fascinating aspect of Broken Witt Rebels' vast musical background.
The opener Low, chosen as the first single of the EP, it's the band's firm declaration of intents of love for blues-rock, with big guitar riffs and catchy choruses. One of those tunes destined to be a live favourite for the band's fans.
Broken Witt Rebels create a solid wall of sound throughout the whole EP but it is Danny Core's voice, the lead singer and guitarist of the band, that ties all together on Georgia Pine. Core's vocals are so incredibly powerful,intense and able to adapt to any genres, from the beautiful, rootsy Suzie to the almost soul-esque Georgia Pine.
One of the real strengths of the record is the presence of great songwriting, in an album never overplayed or too self-indulgent. The lyrics present excellent structures, without using stereotypes too often abused by artists of any music genres or artistic structure. Broken Witt Rebels, instead, always sound genuine and honest in their first musical offer.
Getaway Man starts as a slow ballad, then it grows in an irresistible crescendo, with James Dudley on drums commanding the tempo with incredible presence and charisma.
Guns defines completely the sound of a band that knows and appreciate a lot music in its globality. The tune has got that infectious rock tempo that would push any true rocker to stand up and jump to the rhythm of a truly wonderful tune, worthy closer of a maybe short but fabulous musical rollercoaster.
"Born and raised where guns are made....", sings Danny Core in the closing track of the album. Judging by the quality of Georgia Pine, there is no doubt at all that Broken Witt Rebels will be among the finest rock and roll guns of the music industry in the years to come.
Giovanni "Gio" Pilato
Georgia Pine is out now and can be ordered on the Band's Website
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- Written by: Giovanni "Gio" Pilato
It's a new beginning for the Scottish electro alt-rock band Banshee. Previously known as Life On Standby, the UK quartet has decided to start a new chapter of their music career, although remaining loyal to their trademark sound.
Say My Name, their debut EP under the new artistic identity, is a little dynamite box of energetic rock tempo. The record carries sonic influences echoing the likes of bands such as Yeah Yeah Yeahs or Biffy Clyro and translated through the powerful voice of Erin Donnachie and the incessive drumming of Gianluca Demelas.
The secret of their winning formula is not, though, just the talent of Donnachie and Demelas. The band's unique sonic recipe spices up cleverly their detonating sonic attack by adding an excellent work throughout the EP by Gavin Williams on keys and Liam Walker on bass, especially on tracks like Eagles and the closing Landing Strip.
The 5-tracks Say My Name is a refreshing work of a band that has been working very hard on finding their own music formula and succeeding, overall. Banshee's offering on this EP balances well the aggressiveness that comes from a genre like rock, combining to it a good dose of melody, enough to guarantee surely, to the Scottish quartet, plenty of airplay on radios or any kind of media.
If Say My Name is the appetiser, music fans will be impatient to taste the next musical main course to come in the future.
Giovanni "Gio" Pilato
Say My Name is out now via Banshee's Big Cartel
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- Written by: Giovanni "Gio" Pilato
Every album, for an artist, represents a new chapter in their sonic book about their life stories. In Janiva Magness's case, the new album Love Wins Again portrays a really special moment, dense of positivity and love for life in the new chapter of this very talented singer and songwriter's career.
This is, without a doubt, one of the happiest times for Janiva Magness, judging by what she mentions on the sleeve notes of the record too. On her twelwth release, the American Artist offers a splendid blend of soul and roots with tints of Americana here and there, all carried through with her incredibly powerful voice.
The opener Love Wins Again tells a lot about Magness's good feeling. The song is very catchy, one that can surely be radio friendly enough, due to the perfect combo of Magness's voice and the tune's upbeat tempo.
Janiva Magness's range of styles is pretty unique too. She moves so graciously from soulful tunes like Long As I Can See The Light or When You Hold Me to the splendid, bluesy Moth To A Flame with such simplicity, something that comes from true talent.
Your House Is Burnin' deserves a special mention on Love Wins Again. This is the track in which the American Artist put the Soul Sister mantel on, due to a magnificent combination of different elements of R&B, blues and soul and her voice, which reaches some incredible highs. She truly becomes, on this tune, a female version of the late great James Brown in every sense of the word.
The new album reaches another great, although this time more personal, peak on that very delicate, intimate song which is Just Another Lesson. Magness explores, lyrically, relationships between couples with great honesty and her voice draws beautifully the different emotions carried by the imaginary couple in question, during the track.
Love Wins Again is a genuine album, there is absolutely no doubts on that. Although it may be not Magness's Magnum Opus, this record is a great return to form and contains some really great songs. Moreover, it shows an artist in splendid shape, vocally and lyrically. It's easy to say that, on Magness's new record, it is not just the love that wins again but also the talent of one of the finest singers and performers worldwide.
Giovanni "Gio" Pilato
Love Wins Again is out now and available on Amazon
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- Written by: Giovanni "Gio" Pilato
An album title like Time Has Come could have never been more correct. Ben Poole's new studio album is a clear statement on the British gunslinger's ability to flex his musical muscles at 360 degrees, on his new release.
Time Has Come, masterfully produced by King King's drummer and producer Wayne Proctor, is an accurate portrait of the artistic growth of Poole's career so far. Where the 2014 Live At The Royal Albert Hall album showcased Poole's ability as a live performer on many levels, Time Has Come demonstrates instead how this artist has matured as a songwriter too, on his new studio album. The songs on the new record often outline love matters and relationships, which Poole is able to deliver with great craftmanship through some real killer guitar solos and through his voice, which becomes better with each passing album.
The Guitar Virtuoso from South of England practises very well, at times, on Time Has Come the musical preaching of artists like Robert Cray or Jonny Lang still maintaining a personal trademark on every track.
Longing For A Woman is Poole's personal vocal masterpiece of the album. Rarely, in the past, the British artist has been able to deliver vocals of such great intensity as much as he has done on this song.
The album shows in full also Poole's great musical background. If You Want To Play With My Heart and You've Changed bring back timeless memories of the Motown soul period, through Poole's impeccable deliveries.
I Think I Love You Too Much and Time Might Never Come are two authentic blues pearls, in which Poole is able to craft soft, crepuscolar atmospheres through his phenomenal ability as a guitarist. The latter contains one of the best guitar solos that the British artist has ever recorded in his career.
The closing The Question Why has that unmistakable, catchy blues and soul combo of styles so close to the heart of Poole's artistic background, with an excellent work on bass by Steve Amadeo.
The British guitarist and songwriter clearly demonstrates, on Time Has Come, his complete versatility and talent on an album that sees him reaching a new high of his career. An excellent comeback for a rising star.
Giovanni "Gio" Pilato
Time Has Come is out now and it is available on Manhaton Records