Upon
listening to the opening riffs of their album,
Poison Arrow, I am instantly
taken away to a better time in the past, a past way before my time. With that I
mean the days of surfing glory in the 50s and 60s, and like I said before, I
never was really there.
I've never set foot on a surfboard, yet when I hear
this music, I feel that I have. With each track from their album, The Rebel Set
helps paint this picture of a beach off in the distance scattered with
teenagers and young adults enjoying the end of the summer by taking rides on
the waves with their killer surfboards.
As I listen to their psychedelic riffs
and captivating organ chords, I feel like I'm on this ride that doesn't end
until the last note is played on the last song on the record. I feel mesmerized
and even possessed with this soulful energy brought forth by this album's
ghostly and captivating tone.
I give it 4 1/2 out of 5 stars
The Paper Crowns-See You Tonight by Dan Hazard
Here it is, the debut Album from The Paper Crowns and if you are
a fan of Americana folk rock, it is a must have. It opens with ‘River Song’, which
is heavy with Jerry Garcia riffing for
you deadheads, it sets a nice traveling pace and immediately catches you with a
hook and never lets you go. It showcases their vocal harmonies and from there,
each song on the album moves you through a variety of emotional landscapes as
vivid and diverse as the American culture which seems to have inspired it.
The
3rd song, ‘Everyday Now’ has some wicked guitar reverb and echoes
with feedback that is perfectly set up by the thumping acoustic rhythms Every
song takes you someplace new but perhaps the most solidly out of place song happens
to be a number called Devil Got To Play, but not because of the songwriting as much
as the hard driven guitar style and psychedelic vocals, reminiscent of the Nirvanas’
rendition of Plateau, which is not necessarily a bad thing. By the time you get
to it, you’ve been taken through so many musical landscapes that you are ready
for it.
The one criticism is that the reverb and delay on that particular song is
a bit overdone on the vocals and for me, it covers the natural beauty of Nicole
Pond’s voice, but I can easily overlook that for the sheer epicnes of the
song. It’s hard to choose a favorite on this album but I particularly like the
tune ‘Death, Where Is They Sting?’ distinctly for its Tom Waits qualities, but that’s
not to say it is anything but an original composition, it is just inherently
creaky, rusty and full of pain set to a ¾ tempo. I like that.
Overall the duo
has crafted a mighty fine album which shows an amazing diversity and depth which
is sorely lacking in today’s music scene. If you like emotionally driven and
heartfelt tunes with excellent musicianship and some of the finest guitar
riffing around go and download this album right now
It earns a solid 4.75 out of 5 stars
Awesome reviews! 4.75 out of 5! I'll gladly take it. Thanks Dan!
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