Apr 19, 2013

Michael Monroe – Ballad Of The Lower East Side

Eduardo Alonso Punk, Rock chorus, classic 0 Comment

Thank god it’s Friday and thank god for rock and roll. Finland’s most popular rock and roller and former Hanoi Rocks frontman Michael Monroe is back with the new single Ballad Of The Lower East Side. This is a fast bubblegum punk rock track with sticky clap-your-hands pop chorus. Classic Michael Monroe sound and an expected follow-up to the well-received 2011 album Sensory Overdrive. As you may guess, the song pays tribute to New York City where the singer lived for several years. The music video shows some old photos from the era when there were junkies, pimps and whores in the Lower East Side.

The new album Horns and Halos will hit the stores on 23 August.

Apr 11, 2013

Blind Architect – Lebanon

Eduardo Alonso Rock, Video 90s, alternative, guitars 0 Comment

Post rock outfit Blind Architect has just released their debut album We felt Mountain and made a nice and simple video for the first single Lebanon. The song is beautiful six-minute piece with loud guitars, interesting chord progressions and a nice touch of French horn that makes the song more emotive. The whole album is only six songs, but lasts more than 43 minutes, so expect some intense jamming.

Sadly, this will be the last release of Tampere based label Lionheart Records, which is leaving the business after delivering some good music like this and that.

Apr 8, 2013

Black Lizard – s/t

Eduardo Alonso Rock debut, fuzz, psych 0 Comment

It’s been a little less than one year since I first heard about Black Lizard but it seems the band has already built up quite a reputation, first with an EP last September and then with some important shows such as opening for The Raveonettes earlier this year. Finally, the awaited debut album hit the stores last week. Is it as good as we expected, as good as the first reviews are saying? Short answer, yes, it is a great album and a remarkable debut.

Mar 19, 2013

Encore: Them Bird Things

Eduardo Alonso Blues, Encore, Folk, Rock interview, them bird things 1 Comment

The second issue of Encore is now available and it is dedicated to one of my favourite Finnish bands, Them Bird Things. After three albums, they continue being a superb blending of blues, country and folk and recording timeless songs. A truly unique band. Probably no other band in Finland does anything similar. In this interview, singer Salla Day tells you some of the secrets behind the band’s latest full length, Pachyderm Nightmares.

Encore #2 also features contributions by producer Will Shade, who highlights the value of a good lyric, and Peter Krogholm from All Scandinavian.

You can read this issue online or download it.

Listen

Mar 11, 2013

Black Lizard – Love Is A Lie

Eduardo Alonso Rock hypnotic, psych, raw, soliti 0 Comment

Psych, hypnotic, raw, fuzz, proto-punk, noise, primitive… Those are the words being used to talk about Black Lizard music, the latest outfit to come out of the Soliti factory. After recording sessions last year in Helsinki and in Berlin, the quartet will be releasing their self-titled debut on 5 April. Having listened to it several times in the past few days, I am still captivated by its peculiar and exciting sound. It is strong and straightforward, yet subtle and atmospheric, like listening to The Velvet Underground after three days of no sleep.

You can stream/download the first single below.