Top 10 full length releases of 2017

Thorbjorn Risager & The Black Tornado
Change My Game

Released in early 2017 Thorbjorn Risager & Co. are one of the best Blues/Rock bands going around at the moment & are finally starting to get the recognition they're due. This album is the perfect mix of Guitar driven Blues Rock, Soul and Country. If you do not know this band track them down and everything they have released to date you will not be disappointed. They even won a Best Band award in this year's European Blues Awards

Tuber - Out Of The Blue

The band that introduced me to the "Stoner" genre Tuber released their 3rd full length album this year Out Of The Blue and it's everything I could have hoped it would be and more. For this album they have added some electronic elements and also stepped up their songwriting. It's a step up and beyond from where they were at with their last release Desert Overcrowded. Quite possibly my favourite instrumental band ever.

Petros Klampanis - Chroma

Petros Klampanis has come a long way since his 1st solo outing in 2011 Contextual. Chroma (meaning colour in Greek) further expands on the cinematic style of composition that Petros has been developing. The music on this release could be the Soundtrack to a movie that includes chases, nature and romance elements. The players that Petros has surrounded himself with on this release also deserve high praise as they are fantastic composers in their own right.
If this is what we can expect from Petros in the future then I am very much looking forward to what he comes up with next.

The Ivory Elephant - Number 1 Pop Hit

The Ivory Elephant are the "other" band of band leader Trent Sterling who is also the brainchild and driving force behind one of Melbourne's favourite afrobeat bands The Seven Ups.
A 3 piece Psych/Blues/Rock outfit that should be getting a lot more attention than what they currently are in my oh so humble opinion. This is their 1st full length release and is being distributed worldwide by the Kozmik Artifactz label who have also released albums by another Melbourne Psych Blues outfit Child if you are a fan of heavy blues psychedelia and are not familiar with this band then you should remedy this immediately.

OOLLUU - Deep Six

OOLLOU's music is very hard to pigeonhole/label. It has elements of Rock, Electronic, Prog and Retro Dance. Whatever label you choose to hang onto their music the one thing that is certain is that it will make you sit up and take notice as soon as you hear it.
Do not miss the chance to catch these guys live, their performances are a sight to behold

Electric Moon - Stardust Rituals

More overly long, self indulgent, psychedelic choonage here by a band who does it extremely well. Electric Moon are a band I only discovered this year thanks to fellow PBS-ian Chris Pearson who hosts Pojama People and who has been pushing their music onto an unsuspecting radio audience since he 1st started.
I may be slightly late to catch on but I have now caught on and am loving this band. The music presented on their latest release Startdust Rituals (and in fact on every other release of theirs) is about as far removed from your usual FM radio friendly pop music as you can possibly get and is probably best listened to in an altered state of mind

Banda Magda - Tigre

I absolutely love everything about this album. Clocking in at only around 35 minutes Banda Magda have released an album full of lush orchestration with Latin rhythms and Classic 60's era movie soundtrack like qualities.
None of the songs are sung in English but far from making the listening experience difficult I would say this just endears the music to the listener even further. Tigre is quite possibly the best world music release of 2017. 


 

My Dynamite - Otherside

Melbourne's very own version of The Black Crowes My Dynamite released their 2nd full length release this year roughly 5 years after they released their debut and it is everything you can expect. Catchy melodies, strutting choruses and more.
Immediately after the release of the album and the big launch show at Melbourne's Rock N Roll institution The Cherry Bar the band went on hiatus! Here's hoping the hiatus does not last too much longer and that they start playing shows again in the not too distant future.

The Teskey Brothers - Half Mile Harvest

The Teskey Brothers debut release Half Mile Harvest has been earning the band kudos from all over the country and with good reason. This album is a perfectly crafted Soul, Country, Blues record that is an absolute delight to listen to. They have been playing sold out shows all over the country in venues that international artists who visit our shores have struggled to half fill and their popularity shows no signs of slowing down.
Now that they have conquered Australia it's time for them to take on the rest of the world. UP THE TESKEY'S!

Samantha Fish - Belle Of The West & Chills and Fever

OK so I'm cheating somewhat with this one. Samantha Fish released 2 albums this year and each one is brilliant and unique. While Chills & Fever is essentially a feel good soul record Belle Of The West sees Samantha collaborating with Luther Dickinson of North Mississippi Allstars fame and has a definite hill country blues feel to it and she sounds right at home in both styles. See what all the buzz is about and track down either one or both of these releases and you will see that the praise that everyone has been heaping on Samantha is extremely well deserved. 

Top 10 Full length releases of 2016

It's that time again where we look back on the year that was and try to sift through the countless releases to try work out what we enjoyed most. This year was a little more difficult than others seeing as they were countless good releases which I enjoyed but I wanted to find the stuff that more than just good but a classic that will live up to repeated listening and at the end of next year I will still be listening to. So here it is the top 10 full length releases as chosen by one half of the Connections team:

Joe Bonamassa - Blues of Desperation

 Joe Bonamassa - Blues of Desperation

It’s Joe Bonamassa doing what he does best. One of the many keepers of the flame of so called modern blues he keeps championing the genre pushing boundaries and paying tribute to the masters and does it all effortlessly

Leonard Cohen - You Want It Darker

 Leonard Cohen - You Want It Darker

He gifted us with one last album just weeks before his death. Admittedly I have never been his biggest fan but this album is flawless from start to finish.

Kylie Auldist - Family Tree

  Kylie Auldist - Family Tree

Everyone’s favourite funk/soul songstress goes 80’s pop on this release. What’s there not to like about this…? released just as This Girl (which is actually a Cooking on 3 Burners tune, let’s not forget that) was becoming a mega hit the timing could not have been more perfect

Justine Yap Band - Let Love

Justin Yap Band - Let Love

Soulful blues from local Melbourne band this album is an absolute pleasure to listen to and has been getting regular spins ever since I got my hands on it.

Matty T Wall - Blues Skies

Matty T Wall - Blue Skies

While many of todays blues artists leanings are much more towards the the rock side of the blues, Matty’s are slightly more geared towards the funkier side of the blues. A very strong debut release which has been getting noticed the world overfor good reason

Dr Albert Flipout's one CAN band -
Don't you call my name

Dr Albert Flipout's one CAN band -
Don't you call my name

My favourite one man band does it again. Look past the initial novelty factor and you will quickly realise that this is a great songwriter who knows his craft & can write some serious choons 

Full review here

Marta Ren & the Groovelvets - Stop Look Listen

A funky soul release that sounds like it could have been released n the STAX label sometime in the mid 60’s. The Italy based Record Kicks label continue to release fantastic records that will fill the floor with people doing their best Northern Soul dance moves

Oz Noy - Who Gives A Funk

Oz Noy - Who Gives A Funk

Collaborations abound on this release by Oz Noy who’s guitar virtuosity is up there with the best of them but he still knows the golden rule of “The Song Is King” Oz is a jack of all genres & a master of all of them. The title of this release says it all

Child - Blueside

 Child - Blueside

Psych blues rockers Child pick up where they left off with their debut release & it’s everything you could expect it to be. If they continue releasing music of this calibre it won’t be long before they start getting noticed in a big way outside the land of OZ

Back In Blue - A Blues Tribute to AC/DC

 Various Artists - Back In Blue - A Blues Tribute to AC/DC

A who's who of somewhat lesser know Australian artists (i.e. you won't find them being played on mainstream radio or on Sunday morning music TV programs) come together to pay tribute to perhaps the best known & best selling Australian album & all for a good cause.

Full review here

Well that's my list as it stands today, ask me tomorrow and it may be completely different. There's more than a few "honorable mentions" I could list but that may be a list for another time. 

Top 10 full length releases of 2015

Okay so there's still some weeks left in the year but why wait? Here's my (Chris) Top 10 releases of 2015.
These are releases that will not be appearing on the PBS end of year Top 10 list as they were not featured albums but which I believe deserve to be shown some love.

Well this was an unexpectedly pleasant surprise. Melody Gardot decided to explore some new territory on this release going down the Blues and Gospel path and oh boy are the results jaw dropingly awesome!

 

My favourite Swing band from Europe The Speakeasies Swing Band release their 1st full length album & it is everything I was hoping it would be. Full review here

Snarky Puppy performing with a full orchestra...? What were the chances of this not being brilliant. Funk, Cinematic, Jazzy and... well... a whole lot of awesome.
Highlight would definitely have to be the 20 minute closing track The Clearing. They were our feature artist just last episode http://pbsfm.org.au/taxonomy/term/782/2015-11-23

Why settle for one genre when you can cover many at once & yet still make it sound consistent?
These sister albums from Glasfrosch should be considered to be the measuring stick for any other Artists attempting to do the same thing (i'd like to see them try).
Full review here

Warren Haynes of the mighty Gov't Mule can do no wrong. Going down a slightly more folk path which usually I would not be a fan of, the songwriting here is absolutely top notch & each song really paints a picture.
I'm even finding myself listening to the sounds of banjo and finding that *gasp* I'm actually enjoying it!

It's Samantha Fish doing what she does so very very well.
Review available here

So Beth Hart appeared on my 2014 Top 10 list also & if she releases something in 2016 odds are her name will appear in my 2016 Top 10 as well.
She has said that she was asked to write from a more positive point of view for this album which is interesting seeing as I personally find this album to be a much more melancholy sounding album. Am I the only one who found this?

HEAVY, DOOMY, SLUDGY, RAWKING, RIFFING, GEETAH DRIVEN CHOOOOOOOOONS!!!
Get it from https://outoftheearth.bandcamp.com/releases
and don't you dare type in €0 when you are naming your price!

Suze DeMarchi of The Baby Animals doing a covers album produced by Shane Nicholson... Couldn't possibly work out right? Wrong! Worth the asking price for the track "Homeless" alone which was written by Mick Skelton

Joe Bonamassa seems to bring out the best in his collaborators & Mahalia Barnes is no different. Another covers album this time featuring the songs of Mahalia's "muse" Betty Davis. Oozing sassyness & attitude I would say Mahalia really found her footing with this release. Now if only the footage from the Melbourne & Sydney Launch shows would be be released as either DVD or Blu Ray then you'd have a very happy radio host