Monday And: Cabin Cults - Midwest Soul Xchange

Cabin Cults - Lights Out.

Background promo - After sharing stages with the likes of The Jungle Giants, The Cairos, North East Party House and more, Adelaide’s Cabin Cults are now gearing up for their headline launch show for new single ‘Lights Out’ January 16 at local watering hole The Hotel Metro.

Taken from their just released EP ‘Riot Is The Watchword’, ‘Lights Out’ is an energetic slice of synth driven post-punk with an urgent lyrical desperation of disbelief that’s all wrapped up in a Pixies inspired pop sensibility. Teaming up with producer Badcop (Tkay Maidza, Mio), the band have craftily captured their jam room instincts while ultimately shaping their material with an electro inspired sound.

The fraternity of Cabin Cults is made up of brothers and friends and indeed hails from the city of churches where the myth of purity amongst the reality of depression is evident throughout the city. The habitus that shapes them plays through them and through this body of work reveals the cracks in the veneer that binds them. Expect to hear more from Cabin Cults in 2016 as the band also prepares to announce east coast dates along with plans to head back into the studio.

Taken from a four song EP 'Lights Out' typifies the natural energy of Cabin Cults. The expression used in their promo 'synth driven post-punk' is pretty much spot on. It's upbeat, pleasing, and there's enough hooks in all four songs, to make a second listen more or less mandatory.

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Midwest Soul Xchange - Roots.

Background promo - Imagine a duo that combines its Americana, folk/prog rock and pop influences with a passion for the sounds of acts that range from Kula Shaker, Pink Floyd and Tenacious D to The Beatles, The Decemberists, Queen and Michael Jackson.

Eclectic, perhaps? That's the robust template established by Midwest Soul Xchange, comprising Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin-based troubadours Nate Cherrier and Ryan Summers. The pair has been buds for nearly two decades, but only recently recognized their sonic synchronicity as songwriters, vocalists and instrumentalists. By year-end 2015, their 11-track debut full-length album "New American Century," is destined to hit the streets.

Each brings their unique talents to the XChange, with Nate contributing percussion and rhythm tracks as the "enchanting wizard of rhythm" and Ryan serving as the "professor," adding synthesizers, lead guitar and working as producer and engineer for the upcoming album. They prefer to deem themselves... the "maestro" and the "master."

Meanwhile, the duo dealt with the challenge of collaborating from afar... sort of. Even though they both grew up in Wisconsin, Nate was living in Phoenix during the recording process, meaning that every note and beat was literally an "exchange" of ideas. Now that the work is done, "New American Century" sashays comfortably between the pair's numerous beloved musical genres—while maintaining the identifiable signature and melodic moxie that has already become the act's calling card in live gigs.

I'm playing catch up again as this song has been around for a while, and the album was released back in November. However the album is so good, I did not want to miss out on giving them a mention. 'Roots' is but a small taste of the creativity of Midwest Soul Xchange, who travel through genres and styles with ease and top it all with superb twin vocals.

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Bad Reed - EP

Bad Reed - EP.

Background Bio - Brantford, Ontario pseudo-rockers Bad Reed channel a multitude of popular and obscure influences into unique snapshots of passion.

Bad Reed released their first professional studio EP last year,and it's available on line for free (Here).

Bad Reed is Costa Chatzis on percussion, Austin Sharpe on bass, Sydney Sollazzo vocals and keyboards, and Graham Walker on guitars. Hailing from small towns and diverse backgrounds, Bad Reed consists of members with varying music tastes. The group emerged in March 2015 from the ashes of their previous acts to forge a new, focused force of nature. Strip-searching music's history while fusing modern zest, they are likened to acts from Alt-J, Hozier, Jack White, and The Black Keys to Snarky Puppy, The Mars Volta, and Esperanza Spalding.

Bad Reed is engaging and danceable. Bad Reed is happiness and strife. Bad Reed is harmony and dissonance. Bad Reed is overcoming the odds and getting even. Expect to hear them on more radio stations, to see them touring farther, and playing many festivals in 2016.

Three songs make up Bad Reed's first studio EP. It's been around for a while, however I only got to hear it for the first time yesterday and was really impressed. Above comparisons noted, they have enough of their own art and style shining through, and are really worth a listen.  

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Gooch and the Motion - Comin' Home

Gooch and the Motion - Coming Home.

Artist, Ryan “Gooch” Nelson and his band, Gooch and the Motion, are preparing to release their debut album, “Comin’ Home,” on February 19th 2016.

Background - Ryan “Gooch” Nelson is an inspiring quadriplegic cancer survivor from New Jersey, who hasn’t quit since his paralyzing 2004 auto accident, with an infectiously upbeat attitude and an ability to write and perform equally infectious blues-based rock.

His producer, nine time Grammy winner Joe “The Butcher” Nicolo (Billy Joel, Cypress Hill, Wyclef Jean, Lauryn Hill, Boyz II Men, DJ Jazzy Jeff & the Fresh Prince), thought enough of Gooch to make him the first artist on his new record label, Blacbird Records, distributed by Universal.

On his Facebook page Ryan 'Gooch' states - I am a quadriplegic, musician, writer, & a man of many hats. I am living my dream and want to inspire others to never give up on theirs. The Washington Post carried an article on Gooch and can be found (here).

The background story regarding Ryan 'Gooch' Nelson is both moving and humbling. That said musically Gooch and the Motion are featured here, not out of sympathy, but because they are such a fine band, and the forthcoming debut album is quite stunning. There's a mixture of blues rock orientated tracks and the title track is just a 'toe in the water' regarding the sheer variety that is included. Everything from vocals to musicianship has a truly natural blues feel, it really does have 'Cajun Sparkle'.

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Wednesday Double: Mind The Journey - Angela Burns

Mind The Journey - Rose Colored Glasses.

Background promo - Raised on a tranquilising shoreline in Connecticut, Spencer Sabo spent his youth learning the drum set, making crazy films with his brother, and exploring his creativity. In high school Spencer found like minded peers and started playing drums in a band. Here he began his journey of learning the ins and outs of audio production, recording and mixing the songs they created. It wasn't until the age of 17, when Spencer began experimenting with an old keyboard, that Mind The Journey was born. He made sure that what was in his head was the exact way his creation came out.

This lead to Spencer releasing his first dreamy 8 song EP, of which gained buzz both on line and locally, with him playing shows in the New England area. Years later in Boston, a now almost-man and adrift introvert, Mr. Sabo is releasing his first 12 track album, entitled Colour In The Gray Machine, which was entirely created in his makeshift basement studio. Release date: January 5th, 2016.

'Rose Colored Glasses' quickly builds into a psychedelic maelstrom, before cooling off into a gentler synth and vocals piece. It's the sixth of twelve tracks on this intriguing album. There's a mixture of psychedelic rock (and pop) that at times seem to be suppressing the desire to break out into drum and bass. Original ideas meet retro styles, that make for a pretty cool album.

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Angela Burns - All Together.

Background promo - Raised in the suburbs of Austin, Texas, Angela grew up listening to 90s grunge, pop-punk, and post-grunge bands circa 2000s. Her biggest aspiration being acting, she wrote her first song at age 9 and began playing drums in a band with her two sisters, Kathryn and Carolyn. After working as an actress and playing local shows in Austin, she graduated early from high school and subsequently relocated to Los Angeles with the goal of seeking out more opportunities as an actress and musician.

A multi-talented and surprisingly experienced 21-year-old, her work can be seen behind the scenes in film (Richard Linklater's "Boyhood", Robert Rodriguez' "Sin City 2"), in front of the camera, and on her first musical effort,  "So That You Can Feel Better". Her uniquely dark and emotive take on the genres is largely a result of her punk and underground rock leanings, and can be heard on a new eight track mix tape HERE.

'All Together' is the first of the eight tracks, and makes as good a starting point as any. Angela's music certainly demonstrates her punk and underground leanings, but those genres don't dominate the music, and she certainly puts her own style and ideas at the forefront. There's a link above to hear all eight songs, if you like the featured one, your in for a very pleasant surprise.

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