The artistic threads run deep, and still there are enough moments of melody and rhythm, along with intriguing, bizarre and memorable ideas, to keep it entertaining and holding tight to your attention right through to the end.
Rebecca Cullen
Rise becomes something much bigger than the band, and much bigger than the listener – it brings together all of us in a striking manner, and it speaks with both hard-truth and optimism in an ultimately uplifting manner.
Never an act to shy away from having a little fun when it comes to making music, United Duality’s latest single plays out like a short scene from a movie. The Spanish-inspired musicality offers a quickly entertaining sense of rhythm, then you get a series of lyrics – spoken dialogue & otherwise – and an unexpected structural progression that effectively places the composition in its own creative league entirely.
A band well and truly keeping the raw energy and passion of blues rock and roll alive and well. With original songwriting, uplifting ideas, compelling storytelling, and infectiously energizing guitar riffs and rhythms, their latest two releases see them pave their own way in the modern music world, and it’s a joy to be able to experience that journey with them.
You get a sense that Lux Thugs follows his own rules entirely, but does so with skill and consideration. These bars are thoughtful, clever, honest and reflective – the music meets the needs of this conceptual depth brilliantly.
Progressing through its near six-minute journey from quiet delicacy to the rhythmic embrace of a neo-classical, EDM-kissed contemporary dream, Ozone is an experience categorically designed to embrace and envelop its listener.
A well-written song is bettered only by a fitting arrangement, a magnetic performance, and a fine production job – in this case you get all of this and more. A timeless single, well worth a spin.
“Growing up in Israel shaped a big chunk of my musical taste. I was influenced by American music, of course, but also by Israeli, Spanish and Italian music and a lot of the European music that was played on the radio when I was growing up. Then when I moved to NYC I discovered Jazz, Classic Rock and Blues… So my music became a combination of all these styles.”
The aptly titled Tiger Is My Name takes you captive from the offset, providing the perfect half-hour environment in which your mind can wander freely and calmly to realms outside of the daily rat race.
“City of God is my favorite movie, I feel like I related to a couple of the characters coming from the background I’m from. When I heard that beat, it gave me that dark story-telling feel.”
Tony Beyond has let the creative muse run free with this collection, and this is why it seems so genuine – refreshingly heartfelt yet still in tune with what works and what sounds good or satisfying musically.
Better Than You speaks on moving forwards and not looking back. There’s a sense of accomplishment in the lyrics and indeed in Angelle’s delivery of them. That vocal has believable swagger about it, meandering effortlessly through these notes but also hitting with impact rather than simply and softly whispering the ideas.