Reviews

Albums, singles and shows, reviewed.

567 stories · Page 7 of 29

MusicDEBR4H – “The Court Of Richard II”“This isn’t the normal, like, girl-joins-the-band story,” DEBR4H’s Jed Murphy tells BandWagon.Kevin Johnston · Apr 19, 2021MusicAlbum Review: Ellsworth – EllsworthDenver’s Ellsworth has struck a vein with her eponymous 11-song LP, traversing anxiety, self-doubt and lost love in gorgeously graceful strides. Soft but with immense conviction, her quiet tone conveys intimacy, like an earnest conversation meant for one person’s ears in a crowded room. “When we push away our feelings of sadness or anxiety, we are in fact pushing away a part of ourselves,” says Ellsworth. In just a handful of masterfully crafted folk songs, she taps into the shared trauma of a generation.Gabe Allen · Apr 7, 2021MusicAlbum Review: A.J. Fullerton – The Forgiver & The RunawayColorado’s A.J. Fullerton is a roots, blues artist with a reputation for slick, fingerpicking guitar and bottleneck slide talent.Chick Cavallero · Mar 19, 2021MusicAlbum Review: Bones Muhroni – Boom Snap ClapBones Muhroni, aka Crew Rienstra has done a lot over the years to find ways of making interesting music. While folk rock was always at the center of the breadth of material Rienstra (along with many other talented musicians) released under the Bones Muhroni name, there was always something bizarre and out of place happening underneath. Packed with nuance and texture, Boom Snap Clap is Rienstra letting go in a lot of ways, creating something that bounces between electro, R&B, grunge rock, even a metal tune.Laura Giagos · Mar 11, 2021MusicAlbum Review: Wolf van Elfmand – All BlueColoradan songwriter Wolf van Elfmand’s music has always had a western flair. This remains true in his newest album All Blue released in February, but he also incorporates what the title suggests: the blues. Cool and steady like a long lost J.J. Cale gem, van Elfmand incorporates improvisation and musical playfulness between the melody and simple chord structures, leaving comfortable spaces for harmonica, pedal steel and lead guitar to add conversational nuances to the texture.Valerie Vampola · Mar 8, 2021MusicAlbum Review: Shwarma – Loveworthy LiveOn (yes) Valentine’s Day, Colorado’s funky genre-hopping Shwarma continued their saga of madness with the Loveworthy Live EP, debuted as a live stream. In the video, the overtly-silly mix of tightly-arranged funk jams and melodramatic ballads is accompanied by a revolving door of meticulous costumes, sets and effects.Gabe Allen · Mar 5, 2021MusicSingle Review: Plume Varia – Hold On To MeA haunting tune, “Hold On To Me” is like a nighttime journey through the southwest, channelling the late night cold of the desert.Laura Giagos · Feb 9, 2021MusicAlbum Review: Yung Lurch – B ALL INDenver based multi-instrumentalist Brent Somermeyer, under the name Yung Lurch, is not an artist tied down by conventions.Laura Giagos · Feb 8, 2021MusicAlbum Review: Isadora Eden – All NightIsadora Eden’s second EP, the vulnerable ‘All Night,’ opens like a dark, reverberated flower in your headphones. Eden’s young, muted alto offers sad solidarity to those who will listen, while she and bandmates Sumner Erhard and Corey Coffman carry her shy messages on the shoulders of stately guitars, dignified drums and echoey atmosphere.Kevin Johnston · Feb 6, 2021MusicSingle Review: Andy Sydow – “Piece Of The Valley”Andy Sydow enters 2021 with “Piece of the Valley,” a raucous and bombastic single that pulls no punches. Leaving the mark of someone with a clear ear for what they want, Sydow shoots for the fences as one of Colorado’s most notable working songwriters.Laura Giagos · Feb 5, 2021MusicSingle Review: Retrofette – Photogenic2021 is going to see Denver’s best synth pop outfit Retrofette become one of the biggest bands in Colorado.Laura Giagos · Feb 4, 2021MusicAlbum Review: Jess Parsons – Hear Me CallingStop sifting for obscure ‘70s soft-pop on Spotify playlists like “candle-lit living room slow dance” and buy Jess Parsons’ “Hear Me Calling.” Denver’s Parsons knows well that charm and honesty go a long way.Kevin Johnston · Feb 3, 2021MusicAlbum Review: The Crooked Rugs – IT!On their debut LP IT!, Colorado quintet The Crooked Rugs take the compulsory ingredients of modern rock band instrumentation and create something wonderfully foreign. Echoes of psych, prog and garage rock resound, but each song is clearly the result of diligent experimentation. IT! was recorded this summer in Durango, and for an album made in a barn in rural Colorado, it’s anything but folksy.Gabe Allen · Jan 13, 2021MusicAlbum Review: Fresh Fruit! – IndependentlyThe groovy, Denver-based soul band Fresh Fruit!Valerie Vampola · Jan 8, 2021MusicAlbum Review: Nick Sanville & Timo Massa – Eat Out Culture, Vol. 1For listeners looking to skip the drive-thru, Eat Out Culture, Vol.Diego Felix · Jan 4, 2021MusicAlbum Review: Alright Alright – CrucibleAlright Alright’s new album Crucible is an intimate experience with dreamy orchestration and relatable lyrics, something for which they are already known. But here, that intimacy is closer than before, like the genuine musings of a close friend.Valerie Vampola · Dec 14, 2020MusicAlbum Review: Musketeer Gripweed – More Than EverMusketeer Gripweed released “More Than Ever” late last month, taking their bluesy Americana sound and infusing it with gospel and soul. Gospel and soul sounds are appropriate for a project that was brought back to life after it was halted by COVID-19.Valerie Vampola · Dec 8, 2020MusicSingle Review: Enzi – “Mad Chemistry”As with all of Enzi’s music, her full-throated vocal performance on “Mad Chemistry” carries the track. She croons through a hooky chorus while calling and responding to a many-layered harmony of her own voice. You get the feeling Enzi is jut getting started.Gabe Allen · Dec 7, 2020MusicVideo Premiere: The Sickly Hecks – “Four Years”Good music waits for no man, and pandemics make shit times for everyone, so what better time to release a sad-boy pop punk album?!Laura Giagos · Dec 4, 2020MusicSingle & Video Review: The Beeves – Mercy BeOn “Mercy Be” the Beeves leave behind their beloved flailing antics, revealing their influences to be just as loyal to the Flamingos, The Beach Boys and Elvis as they are to The Vines and The Strokes. The accompanying video is a slo-mo-rodeo prom night dream. Its beautifully shot, beautifully sequenced simplicity masks The Beeves in more intrigue; the kind of dark mystique indicative of Princes, Bowies and Mercurys.Kevin Johnston · Nov 23, 2020