Sonic Templars - The Human Connection

                                         

I was very pleased to receive an email from the Sonic Templar guys asking me to review their new single The Human Connection. If you have read my blog before you will know that I rather love this band's music since discovering them through writing a piece about them around two months ago. 

This new offering does not disappoint, the vocals on the this track are just brilliant and effortless, blending perfectly into the stand out guitar rhythm at the beginning and throughout. The drums give the song its raw power which ties it all together perfectly.  The song has that moody dark tone to it which does take me back to listening to the Smiths, which in my book is no bad thing. The video also reflects the song perfectly, the simplistic approach is sometimes the most striking which is defiantly evident in this case. I adore this track and really feel this band should be so much bigger than they are at present. Fingers crossed 2012 will  be their year, I for one will be routing for them all the way. 

You can follow the band on their facebook page here

Sonic Templars – Sun Catcher and Sitting Ducks

Formed less than a year ago comprising of college friends and a later acquired bass player Sonic Templar combine guitar based rock music with a variety of music influences from punk to folk.

In terms of the bands uniqueness they admit this is drawn from the ability to blend together all the different musical influences and to that add their own unique sound.  The fact this band admitted to not follow trends and staying true to themselves really adds to their integrity as a musicians. It is all too common in bands now that success comes before their actual music. It is refreshing to see a band caring more about playing music that they are passionate about than what will make them popular. Although this is not to say the band are not motivated to succeed

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The first track from their double A side is “Sun Catcher”, starting off with melodic guitars blending into smooth vocals and drums the song is a delight to the ears.  A definite influence of bands like REM and Idlewild can be heard within the song but this is distinctly mixed with the bands own sound leading to something truly brilliant.

The second track from this double A side is “Sitting Ducks” which starts off with a guitar rhyme very much reminiscent of Nirvana leading into a heavier track faster paced than the last track. The song throughout blends brilliantly and flows freely with the addition of some cleverly placed guitar solos leading back into heavier rhythms. 

I very much enjoyed these two tracks and look forward to hearing the debut album.

You can catch the band playing live at the following dates

Jan 28th pivo pivo, Glasgow
Feb 11th Grand hall, Kilmarnock supporting The View
Feb 24th The Flask, Saltcoats plus loads more tbc
Feb 25th Box, Glasgow 
March 10th Bellfield Tavern, Kilmarnock with Outstandifold and the Wettygrippers 

To keep up to date with the band you can find them on their facebook page, band camp and soundcloud.

Jaego

When Jaego first started out the first band line up fell apart after their first gig. From this collapse two original members regrouped and started again gathering new members. Thankfully this second line up has worked more effectively.

Musical influences range from reggae to hip hop to rock giving the band a mass playing ground of sounds to mix into their music.  Uniqueness is always a hot question when it comes to artists and in this case it is no different. Jaego raised the point of the need for celebrity over musician and the whole x factor generation which is an interesting topic in itself. The band thankfully is one who takes nothing to do with the false trend and is far more content working on music full of their own experiences and passions.

  

When listening to their track “When Words Fall” you experience a clean cut soulful guitar led track. It reminds me of the old classic rock albums my dad used to listen to when I was growing up, simplistic and honest.  The vocals are strong and the lyrics are deeply passionate.

Jaego are definitely a musical treat to write about and their music a joy to listen too. Their down to earth nature and sheer passion for their music is infectious when you listen to their tracks.

I look forward to hearing future releases from this band and perhaps catching them live. 

You can catch up with all the latest news from the band on their official website.

Lyric

                      

Now for something completely different I have covered a variety of genres within this blog but never hip hop. Well that has all changed now with an inspirational woman called Teri “Lyric” Green.

From a graduate of engineering and computer science to the chief engineer at WLEY 107.9FM in Chicago, Lyric kept her passion for poetry and music alive. 

When I first heard her song “Death of a Poet” not being a connoisseur of this genre I was sceptical but had an open mind ready for it to wow me or not.  I was pleasantly surprised I thought the truth in the lyrics she had written and that mixed with the stripped back guitar was brilliant. The introduction of the beat then mixed with these elements to blend perfectly.

While listening to the song you can’t help but be aware of the rawness of the lyrics and how different it is to the usual main stream hip hop. It was a joy to listen to.

I would urge you to embrace Lyric in your musical life if you want music with real raw passion and honesty.

You can check her out on her official website here 

Pipapelli

Every so often I receive an email from a band that is very different to the usual norm in this case Pipapelli were definitely one of these bands.  I had never heard of a band putting bagpipes through a wah pedal before until now. This is especially unique when you consider this bands influences being blues and Celtic.  None the less this strange mix actually works very well. You can see a strong influence of Led Zeppelin throughout some of their work especially within their track “Black Lagoon”.

Since the release of their album “Critter” in June 2011, the band has obtained a new bassist (who also plays the trombone) and a new guitarist/saxophonist.  To add to this “Critter” has been met with extremely good sales and regularly featuring on radio shows across the USA and even in my very own native country of Scotland.

The band list several TV appearances, playing the 2^nd Annual Highlands Celtic Festival at Black Mountain were they opened for Albannach and Rathkeltair to a crowd of approximately 1500 and the released of their album as their biggest achievements to date. 

Pipapelli are most definitely one of the most interesting bands that I have come to write about in a long time. Their views about the unsigned music scene going back to roots music and starting from there are definitely something I am starting to see from a lot of artists.

The band can be found on the official website, facebook and also their Sound Cloud account.

Songs For the Sleepwalkers - Our Rehearsed Spontaneous Reactions

If you have every read this blog before then you may remember way back in April last year I wrote an article about a young Swedish artist named Andrea Caccese. Since then Andrea has come back with a new name and a new release.

Songs For the Sleepwalkers is the new stage name for this fantastically talented young man.

                             

“Our Rehearsed Spontaneous Reactions” was released 12^th January and includes two of the tracks I reviewed in the previous artist from his EP “Icarus Falling / Set the world on fire”.

I am glad to say that this new release is just as beautiful as the EP was.  I really adore the sheer detail that has gone into every element of his work and the way the vocal beautifully blend into the instrumental arrangements.

If I have one wish for this year it is that Songs For the Sleepwalkers rises to the top. I would rather have his music filling the charts than the rubbish that currently resides there.

In short this album is a testament to Songs For the Sleepwalkers talent and ability to blend beautifully arranged instrumentals with haunting vocals. 

You can access a free stream and also purchase the new release by clicking on the title of album and also visit his official site here.

I hope you all enjoy it as much as I do and wish Andrea every success in 2012 

Jonathan Fastborg

Hailing from Sweden the one man band that is Jonathan Fastborg has been working away since the age of 17 honing his musical skills. Starting out a drummer then expanding his musical talents to guitar and other instruments until finally came the time to start writing his own music.  Fastborg admits he was never one to play covers so the progression from playing instruments to writing his own music was inevitable.  

Usually musicians have some musical influence of sorts and Fastborg is no different, “I don´t have a main source sort of speak. If it´s any good then that’s the inspiration, just bits and pieces.”  In respect of that illusive unique sound everyone seems to be striving for Fastborg admitted he is not unique from other bands but that a search for unique sound isn’t that unique now days. 

When it comes to his music one track sticks out in my mind “Hollywood Romance” This song is simplistically beautiful, the vocals and instrumentals blend perfectly. There is most definitely talent there and I can only see it getting better as time progresses.

Jonathan admits that in the future it would be his dream to be signed to a major record label with the same values as an indie. Now how plausible that is only time will tell but at present he keeps working away making the music that he loves

You can listen to an outstanding live radio performance by Jonathan here

You can also catch up with all the latest news on Jonathan's myspace and you tube pages.