Into Color – ‘White Lies’ [Review]
What do you get if you cross Brandon Boyd’s lyricism, an idiosyncratic yet familiarly contemporary male pop vocal, a touch of Biffy Clyro’s more commercially-oriented song structures, and a little Jon Gomm-esque acoustic work? Well…this. Into Color manage to take so many disparate parts and fuse them into something appealing in a pop sense, yet sufficiently inventive to attract the praise of the most hard-bitten muso. Once again, they deserve massive respect for another solid step in the right – and a fresh and exciting – new direction. Read more…
Off-kilter electronica, bottomless grooves, elegantly plaintive vocals, soul-based yet uniquely emotive vibes – Trust/Lust is a prime Submotion Orchestra cut backed up by the sparsely luscious Swan Song. Together, these tracks combine to form a perfect teaser package that drops on November 17th, one week ahead of third Submotion Orchestra LP Alium. 
Although Guildford’s alternative music venue is called the Boileroom for a reason, few bands heat it up as quickly as Bare Jams do. For band and crowd alike, this show was very sweaty. 
Although I’m a huge fan of Project RnL, and TMMP is all about negating musical boundaries, my first reaction to Expiration Date was something along the lines of “Just what the hell is this?!” 
And now for something completely different.
Last night was a reset-hitting moment for a venue whose continued survival was confirmed just over 24 hours previously. Vintage swing music played in the background while earlycomers gathered around a table laden with instruments, effect boxes, microphones, an iPad, and even fairy lights to await the arrival of first act, A R T E L S. 
In an era when musicians with great songs are a dime a dozen, going the extra mile and digging out something exceptionally creative is essential. By combining poppy catchiness with jazz fusion’s labyrinthine intricacy and top-drawer musicianship, Morning Bound stand head and shoulders above their commercially-oriented contemporaries. I Did Fine – only song #2 from this New York-based trio – combines vocal loops, heartfelt lyrics set to epic melodies, and a hell of a rhythm section performance into five-plus minutes of awesomeness. 
As a music blogger, I get through a lot of songs over the course of a day. Very few make it through to the point where I feel compelled to write about them – and 99% of the time this is because the songwriters and performers in question are either too afraid to really open up and express themselves, or haven’t developed to the point where they’re capable of getting the point across in the manner they obviously intend. 
Once again, I almost missed an opening set due to The Boileroom’s super-effective soundproofing. Fortunately I did make it out of the beer garden just in time to catch…