If you have ever used YouTube, Andy McKee’s name will no doubt be familiar to you. Perhaps right now you’re already playing his music in your head; perhaps that music is accompanied by the visual element of that viral hit; or maybe the name rings a bell but you don’t quite know why. If you fall into the latter category, click the link above before continuing. Read more…
And we’re back! After major heart surgery, a round of Type-A flu, acute appendicitis, and many other less-than-fun experiences, The Musical Melting Pot is finally back online and ready to bring you even more epic new music.
Needless to say, the past several weeks have been brutal, difficult, and not a little dark – but there were moments of positivity and clarity scattered about as well. One such moment was the release of this EP – a Facebook news feed discovery that yielded many hours of blissful escape from windowless quarantine rooms and slowly healing surgical wounds. I owe a debt of gratitude to RedTower simply for existing; some intangible quality separated Afterall from its peers in terms of sheer immersive potential, providing many much-needed periods of relief. As TMMP’s archives demonstrate, my musical tastes are nothing if not eclectic; therefore, that this EP consistently topped the entire contents of my iCloud library and Spotify’s bottomless catalogue for seven full days is testament to the existence of some potentially imperceptible x-factor.
But what might it be? Read more…
When you come across an album titled What Just Happened?, it’s going to get your attention. But from an artist’s perspective, giving your album a name like that is a pretty risky proposition. The amount of expectation automatically placed upon a release called What Just Happened? is going to be immense; if you take that leap, even the slightest flaw is guaranteed to result in a critical backlash so fierce that your best course of action will be to go into hiding. Such a lifestyle change might well suit an undercover secret agent or investigative journalist, but for a performer it’s pretty much the kiss of death.
If an album called What Just Happened? had been released by almost any other band or artist, it would likely have ended in tears. But for the debut long-playing release from an acoustic virtuoso whose playing has, for a long time, been soundly praised by worshippers the world over, What Just Happened? is a spookily fitting monicker. Within the first five seconds of opening track Boogie Slam, Dawes instantly proves his worth as not just a guitarist, but a musician, drawing the listener helplessly (and willingly) into a deep, warm, and luxurious musical world. Before long, this album’s title becomes an almost meditative mantra as Dawes drags several instruments’ worth of parts from a single guitar, not letting up for a moment yet steering well clear of the “notes for the sake of notes” territory frequently occupied by his peers.
Track two – Dawes’ globally renowned rearrangement of Gotye’s hit Somebody That I Used To Know – is, as the reputation that precedes it suggests, mind-blowing and heartbreaking all at once. At the time of writing this review, I’m having heart surgery in a few days – and I’m considering pausing this track and calling the hospital to make sure I should really be listening to it. The standout element of Somebody That I Used To Know absolutely has to be the dynamic mastery on display here: Loud notes pop out in all the right places, while in the background soft comping glides by so consistently that you would absolutely swear that either this tune is multi-tracked, or Mike Dawes is some kind of lizard-person / alien hybrid sent to Earth to take over the acoustic fingerstyle world. In short, Somebody That I Used To Know may make you start taking David Icke seriously. Approach with caution. Read more…
I’ve said this before, but it’s always worth repeating: If your music would fit into a Tarantino or Rodriguez soundtrack, I’m going to love your music.
CeCe’s Framework EP definitely fits this bill. Read more…
In the depths of a freezing winter, even the smallest fragment of sunshine can be refreshing. With their new EP ‘Beautys’, Guildford-based acoustic duo Bare Jams offer a full day’s worth of shining light and upbeat vibes – and all listening ears are better off for it. Opening track ‘Good Times Roll’ is a fat slab of nicely orchestrated and funky acoustic pop that shifts gears into reggae for some satisfying variation; ‘Carry On’ is a backbeat-heavy tune made to make heads bob and necks relax; ‘Chase The Sun’ positions Bare Jams in direct opposition to the face-to-screen iPhone obsessed lifestyle so ubiquitous in modern British culture; and closer ‘Going Up’ features earthy acoustics and lyrics offering a level-headed take on youthfulness and the inexorable forces of aging. Read more…
The last couple of months have been a little quiet on the live review front – but this show marked the ideal moment to get back into the swing of things. As the Boileroom’s contribution to Independent Venue Week, it was guaranteed to be a stunner before the doors even opened; and it really goes without saying that the night was incredible, from start to finish. Read more…
As regular readers will know, Jamie Lenman is a big deal where I’m from. My Facebook feed literally blew up with the release of the double-A-side Fizzy Blood/Pretty Please, news of his secret set at The Boileroom in Guildford, and the dates for his Heavy / Mellow Band’s recently completed tour. On top of all that, of course, there is this album. Not just a standard-length LP, but a 70-minute double album that takes in so many styles that I felt compelled to delay this review and let it all sink in and mature for a while. Now, however, it’s ready to go. Read more…
Welcome to Part Two of The Musical Melting Pot’s Guide To Project RnL! Click here for Part One, where we looked at Project RnL’s YouTube-based output to date. This time around, we’ll be looking at the extracurricular work of Project RnL’s core members: keyboardist Eyal Amir, and vocalist Ray Livnat. Read more…
Opinion
Given his day job as live keyboardist and backing vocalist for alt-metal titans Three Days Grace, it’s safe to say that Dani Rosenoer is a busy guy. It’s equally safe to say that he can hold his own as a world-class musical talent; and Whoa Whoa Yeah, despite its (ironically?) clichéd title, simply serves to cement this assumption as a stone cold fact. Read more…