Eye on New Releases: May 29th, 2012

This week's got releases suitable for all of your upcoming naps and hootenannies!  Read on to see what's happening!

Label: Cosmicleaf Records


Album: Lullaby


Artist: Eguana


Genre: Electronic, Ambient

Eguana returns with a new ambient album, titled Lullaby.  Despite its narcoleptic title and soothing sound, this release is more than just a selection of bedtime tunes.  In actuality, it’s a fleshed out, fully realized, trance record.  Interesting to note in this release is the diversity of theme from one track to the next.  “Lullaby for my daughter” calls to mind a futuristic hotel lobby, while “Journey to the purple smoke” paints a visual image of a pilgrimage across dusty sand dunes.  Indeed, the tone of the album phases back and forth from a sharp electronic sound to a softer, vocal equipped sound with droning didgeridoo-esque synths and ceramic drums.  For sleepless fans of ambient electronica with a hint of world music, Lullaby might be just what the doctor ordered.

Label: Q Division


Album: Q Dee Rock and Soul #10


Artist: Tim Gearan


Genre: Rock, Soul

Tim Gearan, a singer and guitar player who has performed with Grammy-nominated blues artist Susan Tedeschi, and toured internationally with Toni Lynn Washington, has released a two track 7” of his own that’s sure to get your mojo working.  For those familiar with the work of JJ Cale, John Hiatt, Randy Newman, and Nick Lowe, Tim Gearan’s smoky voice and funky groove will feel right at home.   “Get a Gun,” the first track, burns with a sort of laid-back charisma that is so indicative of tracks cut by seasoned performers.  “Enough” is a love letter to classic Americana, using elements of blues, soul, and funk in its theme and composition.  Because of his charm and infectious energy, Tim Gearan’s latest release is a viable option for long-time rock and soul listeners and newcomers alike.

Eye on New Releases: October 11th

Whether you're carving pumpkins, picking out that perfect halloween costume, or booking those holiday plans, two of this week's releases will stir your creative juices, err, egg nog, into results!

Label: Cosmicleaf Records

Release: Phial Of Love

Artist: Eguana

Genre: Downtempo, Ambient

Careening through space on a shimmering cloud built from ambient dreams births the latest release from Eguana, Phial Of Love. Cinematic sonic environments detailed with wispy and organic synthesizers, nimble vocals, and a warm, welcoming low end, elevate listeners into an intimate involvement within their own senses. The album’s second track, “Last Dream Of A Galaxy Warrior,” pulls the imagination into a cathartic canvas filled with dreamy, and euphoric landscapes, gracefully rising and falling from static passages. “Spaceship War,” the album’s final track, is the most up-tempo of the three, inviting the body’s imagination to embrace the danceable conflict of the song’s climax. The album’s symbolic title represents Eguana’s offering to the masses, a freedom to let your spirit radiate in all its hypnotic capacity.

Label: Q Division Records

Release: Q Dee Rock and Soul #3: Muck and the Mires

Artist: Muck and the Mires

Genre: Rock

 The Q Dee Rock and Soul 7” Series is back in all its bouncy, garage-punk-surf glory, carrying a timeless rock-and-roll attitude with their latest release, Muck and the Mires. The 7” Series pays homage to rock-and-roll history, times when record labels were synonymous with the studios they were built around. Both songs from the release are filled to the brim with the whimsical and restless energy found on British Invasion records. Fans of the Ramones, Sonics and Beatles take note: “Muck and the Mires” will have listeners reminiscing about freewheeling summer nights, nights where exciting young romance flourishes.

Eye on New Releases: August 16th

Well this week we've got two rockin' all-male bands and a few ladies out to prove they can rock even harder! Who's it gonna be?

Label: Cozy Music
Album: The Italian Nightmare
Artist: makeupbreakup
Genre: Indie Rock, Pop, Electronic

What's summer without a little mellow punk to associate all those vacation memories with? Well no worries. It's here just in time to wrap up the sunny, or not-so-sunny in San Francisco, season. And it's got the feel of '80s punk mixed with psychedelic indie which sounds just as ridiculously good as you'd imagine. Although the album is titled The Italian Nightmare, it doesn't sound very Italian... or much like a nightmare. It actually sounds more like a dream of sand and surf where you have MGMT playing in one ear and Duran Duran playing in the other.

This is the sophomore LP of Makeupbreakup, hailing to us from the tiny state of Rhode Island. The album, however, is sure to have a big impact on the end of summer. Don't miss it!

Label: Q Division
Album: Zero/Don't Make Me Wait
Artist: Sea Monsters
Genre: Rock, R&B

Get ready to rock out with this Dave Matthews meets Zac Brown Band eight-person ensemble. Known around Boston for their audience-inclusive, anything-goes live performances, the Sea Monsters bring the same passion and high-energy to the recording studio with the release of singles "Zero" and "Don't Make Me Wait." Both songs are as full and funky as you'd expect and oozing with soul and rock n' roll. "Come on please, please tell the truth despite the devil inside you," sings Jesse Dee with deep, bluesy emotion on "Don't Make Me Wait." Even the lyrics are telling of the southern rock influences that are obvious upon listen.

Sea Monsters originally started out as a forum for fellow musicians to help develop each others' previous works, but their chemistry on stage made them an instant live-performing success. And alas the on-stage magic has been documented for our convenient listening pleasure.



Label: Anchor Brain
Album: Menarchy
Artist: Whore Paint
Genre: Experimental, Punk, Rock

Whore Paint's Menarchy can be otherwise summed up as a 2011 feminist manifesto. The combination of the words "men" and "anarchy," merged to form the album's title explains a lot about the album's content. It seems the three women of Whore Paint documented their audio musical conspiring of an uprising against a still patriarchal society and listeners have the benefit of eavesdropping. All their anger toward female oppression wells up into banging electric guitar riffs, the most racket you've ever heard on the drums and merciless vocal screams. They definitely succeed in making their voices heard because these girls are as loud as they come. Thus proving also that they can rock just as hard as the boys can.