Top 5 New discoveries of 2018

Ann Vriend is an artist with one hell of a set of pipes and some seriously catchy tunes. I found out about Ann while listening to the radio and heard her talking about her Australian shows. Her EP Anybodys Different was floating around PBS also so I grabbed myself a copy and was hooked.
Her tunes range from Pop to Soul to Gospel to Jazz to Reggae and more and goddam are they catchy!
Here's her song Real Love which I heard on the radio and instantly made me sit up and take notice.

The Hypnomen hail from Helsinki in Finland a country whose music scene is well worth looking into! The sound of this band is essentially Psych Rock/Pop but with Latin and Afrobeat elements on occassion. When I stumbled across them I knew I had to play one of their tunes on the radio but which one?! They're all pretty freaking awesome! Is was a tough decision but in the end I went with this one:

P.S. Even Heather of The Psych Ward liked them enough to play them on the radio that's how good they are!

Frank Sultana is a Sydney based Blues man but he is no stranger to Melbourne town. He makes the sojourn south of the border at least once a year to make an appearance at the regular Blues Roulette night at The Catfish and I finally managed to catch one of him playing this year and I will most certainly be keeping an eye out for his next visit south. Here is a video of him doing his thang:

Grainne Duffy is a Blues Singer/Guitarist of the highest order. The highest compliment I can pay her is that she has SOUL. The tunes are catchy, her guitar playing is flashy where it needs to be, chugs along nicely when needed and her slide playing is just... wow! Add to all this that her vocals have an almost whisky soaked southern USA drawl to them despite the fact that she hails from a small town in the North of Ireland and you have all the perfect ingredients for a blues player.
Discovered due to the fact that she was touring through Europe with another favourite Blues act Thorbjorn Risager And The Black Tornado (a 2017 top 10 inclusion) I figured if she has the tick of approval from these guys she must be good and I was not wrong. If only that double bill would head down to OZ! Song no. 1 from her live album, the 1st song of hers i heard

Grey River & The Smoky Mountain were recommended by good friend Mickey Pantelous who also happens to be a great bluesman. Bluesgrass, Americana, Sea Shanties is the labels which are probably most fitting labels for this band . They released their first full length album Captain Death late in 2017 and it is brilliant! If they weren't recommended to me I would likely not have discovered them as I usually am averse to anything labelled Bluesgrass so this was a pleasant surprise. And what a great album cover!
Song no. 1 from their most recent release which is the 1st song of theirs I heard

Album Review: Grey River & The Smoky Mountain - Captain Death

Grey River & The Smoky Mountain 

Well, well, well what do we have here? A bluesgrass/folk band out of Greece? OK I'll bite, let me hit the play button and see what they have to offer.
Now let me say that when I hear a bands sound described as Bluesgrass or Country I will usually run away screaming but this band was recommended by a friend whose taste in music I trust.
Captain Death is the first full length release by Grey River & The Smoky Mountain and it's a doozy! The album starts off with the sea shanty/Rum Swilling stylings of the title track Captain Death which will instantly have you swaying to it's rhythm just as if you were walking the deck of a pirate ship on the high seas. The song perfectly sets the tone for the rest of the album which is made up of 10 infectious bluegrass/americana tunes with choruses that you will be singing long after the 10 songs have finished and which may even inspire you to take up line dancing (you have been warned!).
While the album certainly doesn't have any low points the highlights for this listener are most definitely the songs which lean more towards the Sea Shanty style as opposed to the more straight forward country/bluesgrass style.
The Vocals of Rena Papageorgiou are nothing short of sweet nectar, while the contrasting voice of Sarantos Goumakos will at times bring to mind Nick Cave (especially on The King And The Crow which has a distinct Where the Wild Roses Grow feel to it).
Tasos Gousetis and Thanasis Giouleas round out the band line up on Fiddle & Double Bass to bring a sound that you you would swear has been created somewhere in America's deep south it sounds so authentic.
If you are a fan of the Bluesgrass/Americana genre you could most certainly do a lot worse than checking out this band and if (like me) you are not necessarily a fan of the genre... well... check out this band anyway, you may just be pleasantly surprised.
P.S. Credit also has to be given to the guest musicians on this recording who add some colour not heard on the debut EP and also the fantastic artwork of Jon Toussas which makes this record stand out on a record store shelf.

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. 

Album Review: Albert Flipout's One Can Band - Don't You Call My Name

Albert Flipout's One Can Band -
Don't You Call My Name

Albert Flipout’s One CAN band (aka Mickey Pantelous) has just released a new album and it is everything we have come to expect from an Albert Flipout release. Don’t You Call My Name is album 3 released under the Albert Flipout moniker and is perhaps the most accessible of all Albert Flipout releases to date with catchy melodies which at times hide some slightly darker lyrical content.
A one man blues band of the highest order these songs have an infectious groove that you just can’t help but want to get up and dance to. Don’t You Call My Name is an album intended to both make you think about the state of the world we are living in while at the same time give you a pick me up if you are feeling down. Mickey has managed to find a sound uniquely his own with a distinct country blues twang, with added harmonica and kazoo, which will have you thinking "this kinda reminds me of…” before you realise that there’s no one else going around that quite has the same sound.
Kicking off proceedings with a song that proclaims “See me hanging from the ceiling, Take my body down” which perhaps references the suicides caused by the ongoing financial crisis in Europe, the lyrical content runs the gamut of topics from falling in love with a prostitute, to failed relationships and many other topics besides. Despite the varied subject matter Mickey has still managed to put together perhaps his most cohesive album.
Independently released you can hear why Mickey has been invited to play festivals throughout Europe and even in America (even though this one didn’t quite work out in the end). An artist that should be getting much more attention than what he is, if you like your blues with a healthy dose of country and a dash of cabaret this is an album that is worthy of your attention and one which you will almost certainly have on repeat for long after it’s initial release.
Look out for the Vinyl release in the coming months