Chris Stapleton has had a good year and it’s well-deserved considering he’s one of the most talented, prolific singer-songwriters hailing from Kentucky since Loretta Lynn (and coincidentally both are children of coal miners).

Recently nominated for three Grammy Awards – Best Country Album (From A Room: Volume 1), Best Country Song (“Broken Halos”) and Best Country Solo Performance (“Either Way”), his latest album, From A Room: Volume 2, is the follow-up companion to his highly praised From A Room: Volume 1, which debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard Country Albums chart. It still remains the best-selling country album of 2017 (Stapleton’s 2015 double-platinum solo debut, Traveller, is currently the second best-selling country album of the year). How’s that for some hell yeah?

But this ain’t your mama’s country music. Infused with blues, rock and roll, gorgeous ballads, and an ever so subtle hint of bluegrass, From A Room: Volume 2 is a soulful record that takes themes of loss, loneliness, excesses, gratitude, and friendship and delivers a powerful, barn-burning punch to the gut. There isn’t a song here that falls short; they all captivate the listener with their authenticity and simple, unpretentious production.

Stapleton has said that several of these songs are well over ten years old and include two covers (Kevin Welch’s “Millionaire” and “Friendship” written by Homer Banks and Lester Snell), as well as “Midnight Train To Memphis”, which Stapleton wrote with Mike Henderson when they were in the bluegrass band, The SteelDrivers.

Teaming up again with award-winning producer, Dave Cobb, (Jason Isbell, Sturgill Simpson), the album takes its name from Nashville’s historic RCA Studio A (the capital “A” in From A Room) where both volumes were recorded. Along with Stapleton on vocals and guitar, From A Room: Volume 2 features Cobb on acoustic guitar, Morgane Stapleton on harmony vocals, J.T. Cure on bass and Derek Mixon on drums.

“Hard Livin'” is an electrifying, visceral rock and roll tune following a honky-tonk man who “never thought it would happen to me, but this hard livin’ ain’t easy as it used to be/I looked a lot, but never found/a woman that could settle me down.”

Released two weeks ago, the single “Tryin’ To Untangle My Mind” is steeped in blues, and crackles hotter than a hickory fire, while “Scarecrow In The Garden” is a haunting ballad which looks at the difficulties of living and working on a farm when you’re at the mercy of unpredictable environmental conditions, as a scarecrow “that looks like Lucifer” keeps a close watch.

Powerful vocals, emotional and witty songwriting (including this fantastic rhyme: “My sister got laid off last fall/and I’ve got high cholesterol”) plus a fever-ridden, explosive delivery makes From A Room: Volume 2, one of the best albums of the year.

Rating: Iconic

Visions of a Life

Reviewed by Lauren Rosier

Wolf Alice’s last release, 2015’s My Love Is Cool, was met with critical acclaim and was one of the best indie records of that year. Before My Love, Wolf Alice was a folk band. Three extended plays later, they made the genre change. Visions begins where My Love ends.

The opening of Visions, “Heavenward”, is the fourth single. It’s an airy, alternative rock track with some grunge elements, that displays the band at its best. “Heavenward” pulls together ‘90’s-like guitar work over Ellie Rowsell’s dreamy vocals. Rowsell sings about a friend that recently passed away (“Your mum created you a small heaven/I was just there an hour/I could tell that you’d be leaving/so cruelly beyond our power”) making it a beautifully heartbroken song.

On “Beautifully Unconventional” and “Formidable Cool”, Rowsell and company take a modern psychedelic route, an escape from some of the other tunes on the album. On “Beautifully Unconventional”, Rowsell said in an interview with BBC Radio 1, that the song was inspired by the movie, Heathers. While on “Formidable Cool”, Rowsell’s gritty spoken word vocals and an incredible bass line that reminds you of those heart-pounding bass lines of the ‘60’s and ‘70’s.

The track “Space & Time”, rhythmic drums and Rowsell’s raw vocals blend the infectious indie rock of Arcade Fire with elements of ‘90’s alternative. One of my favorite songs on Visions is the melodious “Planet Hunter”; a song that blends the best of haunting guitars and Rowsell’s delicate vocals.

Rating: Listenable

Out

Reviewed by: Bryan Culver

Joseph Hirabayashi is a Montreal-via-Vancouver upstart that goes by the moniker Jo Passed. The singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist’s debut EP, Out, released via Craft Singles, cranks out energetic guitar distortion, ethereal vocal melodies, and assertive crashing drums to piece together a concise template of Hirabayashi’s neo-psych sound.

Previous to Jo Passed, Hirabayashi was in a Vancouver-based outfit Sprïng, which ultimately disbanded after releasing their solitary full-length record Celebrations in March 2014.  Post-breakup, it appears Hirabayshi was determined to reconcile his differences in artistic vision by hitting the road even harder and collaborating with wider swath of musicians across a vastly larger geographic scope.

First and foremost this album speaks a flavor of grunge that predominated college radio airwaves in the late ’80s and early ’90s.  You can’t listen to this record without hearing a nod to Dinosaur Jr. and Sebadoh, Husker Dü, or one of the numerous noise rock projects that makes up Steve Albini’s seemingly endless catalog.  There’s a punk spirt to this record—and perhaps it comes from Hirabyashi’s propensity to adhere to similar DIY ethics, recording in a wide array of studios, both professional and make-shift, and collaborating with a rotating roster of like-minded musicians—conquering the quest to find his creative voice all his own.

His wispy vocal melodies are particularly reminiscent of some of those indispensable lo-fi records.  Perhaps the lyrics just aren’t meant to be the centerpiece of his music.  Perhaps Hirabayashi wanted to give the record an overall haunting effect.  Nonetheless, this is a guitar rock album, and distortion and feedback dominate his sonic landscape.

When browsing Jo Passed’s Facebook page I couldn’t help but notice they’d made a post declaring their admiration for American post-punk originator’s Pere Ubu and their iconic 1978 harshly abstract debut Modern Dance.  While I wouldn’t go quite so far as comparing Out to a Pere Ubu record (for better or worse), there’s certainly a taste for experimental abandon, and a jeering propensity that’s both distraught and unsatisfied.  This music is raw, and the tone is dead serious despite having song titles like “Lego My Ego” and “No Joy (I’m Not a Real Girl)”.

Perhaps at the end of the day you take this album as a starting point.  Indeed, I hope this is merely an introduction Hirabayashi’s noise-injected world.  If you’re into the harsher side of ’90s alternative, this record certainly fits the bill.  Otherwise, this one might be a bit deadpan.  Nonetheless, this is a highly listenable record, and I’m glad Jo Passed is constantly on the road because I’d love to see these songs manifest themselves on a stage in Philly.

Rating: Listenable

All Odds End

Reviewed by: Max Miller

The Mantles have long sat atop the picket fence across which garage rock and beat music chat neighborly. The five-piece hail, as so many of their contemporaries do, from California — San Francisco, to be exact. Their third full-length, All Odds End, is a concise testament not just to the Mantles themselves, but to the sun-kissed shimmer and seaside joy of the Golden State’s throwback guitar pop.

Opening cut “Island” sets the template the band follows for the majority of the album’s 30-minute runtime. Guitarist/vocalist Michael Olivares lays down a jangly chord progression over which guitarist Justin Loney might interlace some subtle melody lines or chiming arpeggios. Bassist Matt Bullimore adds in a bouncy bassline to compliment drummer Virginia Weatherby’s tight, urgent rhythms. In the background, Carly Putnam inserts keys that never stray into the sonic realm unleashed by the advent of the synthesizer.

Sometimes, the formula yields results like “Lay It Down” and “Police My Love,” which feel like lost ‘60s gems along the lines of the Knickerbockers’ “Lies.” More often, though, Loney’s lead guitar lines have a particularly ‘80s indie feel that reminds simultaneously of Johnny Marr, Peter Buck and Bob Stinson. Also reminiscent of the Replacements is the acoustic ballad “Lately,” which sounds like it could snuggle up to “Unsatisfied” on a mixtape.

If the Mantles have a failing, it’s not inherent to their music, but instead their scene. There’s simply a glut of this kind of music that’s been steadily building over the past 50 years, and especially over the past decade. However, the creeping influence of ‘80s underground favorites gives All Odds End a unique charm that should help the group escape a destiny of fading away into memory alongside the California summers their music so vividly evoke.

Rating: Bad-Ass

There was a sea of hands in the air when the beat dropped at the Mad Decent Block Party at Penn’s Landing on Friday Aug. 8th.

Trap house was the music of the day. DJ Snake, Mac Diesel and Vic Mensa opened up the show and Diplo closed out the night.

At the entrance shoes and bags were checked, and bodies were patted down. The increased security was necessary since the drug related deaths and injuries at the tour’s Baltimore show. More than a few people were escorted out over the course of the day.

Fellow Chicago rapper Vic Mensa did a cover of Chance the Rapper’s “Cocoa Butter Kisses” but it did little to ease the pain of his abscence. The crowd sung along nonetheless and chanted “Chance, Chance, Chance”, hoping for a surprise appearance.

The sets with the highest energy were Flosstradamus and the evenings closer Diplo. During Flosstradamus’s “Mosh Pit” they had the sea of people spilt into two seperate tidal waves and crash against each other.

Diplo’s set left the crowd soaking wet. Those in the back were dripping with sweat after losing their minds when the beat dropped. Those in the front were hosed down by security. It was half rave, half water park near the stage.

The Philly staple will, of course, be back next year. As a Philadelphian it’s a summer experience you owe to yourself.

Background vocalist, now Sony soloist, opens for Josh Groban at Wells Fargo Center

“I hate this Country.” In a raw, spur-of-the-moment, unfiltered mutter, Season 4 coach, Adam Levine, extemporaneously summed up the disadvantage of being a contestant on reality television singing competition, sometimes the best does not win. On May 28, 2013, Top 8 contestant, Judith Hill, was eliminated from “Team Adam” after a nationwide vote. America… you were wrong.

Best known for being hand-selected by Michael Jackson, as his debut partner for “I Just Can’t Stop Loving You,” and backup vocalist for his international comeback “This Is It” tour, Hill subsequently closed the all-star memorial for Michael Jackson with “Heal The World,” backed by Jackson’s friends and family. Although Hill had received no mention in the handouts at the Staples Center that day, nor did she become “The Voice,” Hill has a voice, and her voice will not be silenced any longer.

 Five months since her television dismissal, after being featured in the documentary-film 20 Feet From Stardom, Hill is now signed with Sony Records and opening for multi-platinum singer-songwriter and actor, Josh Groban’s “In The Round” North American-tour. With five shows left, Hill and Groban visited Philadelphia’s Wells Fargo Center this past Sunday, November 13th. And every “Groban-cult-lovin’” middle-aged woman or grandma left knowing Hill’s name.

With a respectful nod to a gorgeous sampling of her The Voice performances, Hill began her set at a piano with a soul-aching medley of covers: “Feeling Good” by Nina Simone and Carole Kings’ “You’ve Got a Friend.” Properly placed in between, intertwining the lyrics together was “I’ll Be There” by The Jackson 5. A sweet and subtle tribute by a protégé missing her mentor, yet performing just as resolutely as his meticulous-talent would.

“Beautiful Life” thus invited the audience into Hill’s personal repertoire, as it’s featured on the Red Hook Summer soundtrack, the sixth film of Spike Lee’s “Chronicles of Brooklyn” series. Each words hung heavy in the “cavernous” arena [as Groban would later described the venue], as I couldn’t help but compare the lyrics to Jackson, “bright eyes and a smiling face, they all said you would fly to the stars;” there was just something magic in her attractive musicality.

Standing up from her piano, Hill alleviated the mood with the romantic “Harder You Fall.” Gently loosening up the stoic crowd, she leisurely circled the 360 degree stage, as her background singers snapped, and she charmingly clapped along to the Jazzy-inspirited melody.

“Love Trip,” followed by “Abracadabra,” brought Hill’s infectious energy to a climax, as a brighter light display of yellows and hot pink followed suit. Once detached patrons, who quietly watched Hill with wary-intent, now couldn’t help but clap along as Hill danced around the circular-stage with her band one after another in unison.  Hill, placed in between two guitarist and two backup vocalists, did subtle choreographed moves, in syncopation with the lyrics and symphonic pulse. “Abracadabra” featured the two vocalists grabbing bright green French Horn-shaped toys for dramatic “solos.” There was also an instrumental section between both songs, as a royal blue spotlight reverberated to a club-beat prelude.

 “Till The End” stilled the pace again, uniquely apparent as the intense love ballad of Hill’s set. Both backing vocalist stood across from each other, mirroring each move, shadowed in a deep purple hue, as Hill poured her whole heart out on the stage, angelic in a bright white spotlight. Every sequin radiated on her vibrant blue form-fitted strapless mini-dress, as did the glitter shimmer on her eyelids.

Reminiscent of a Gospel-fueled call and response, Hill reprised “Beautiful Life,” as her closing number. Starry-eyed, yet fierce, her vocals were notes of compelling conviction. And with a modest, “thank you,” she humbly exited the round.

Robust in theatrical-performance, with the stage decked in damask-print banners and lit-spheres suspending midair, headliner and Popera megastar Groban took to the stage much more demanding, than that of Hill. With musicians placed on various lower level stairs, they each paraded to the stage after their respected solo, for Groban to then bombastically join onstage, with one of his more contemporary-rhythmic tracks, “Brave”, his lead single from his most recent sixth-studio album, All That Echoes.

Casual in a sports-coat and jeans, with a plain-white-tee underneath, Groban easily jumped language barriers for such melodramatic vocal feats as: “Un Alma Mas” performed in Spanish, and “Alla Luce Del Sol” in Italian. Groban not only showed off his vast language expertise, but also his instrumental dexterity, by commanding the piano for “February Song,” and drums for “Voce Existe Em Mon.” Oh, and he squeezed in a little “Baby, Baby, Baby… Ima-marry-you-girl” Bieleber moment too. The 16-song, almost 2-hour set, showcased that he is in fact, a baritone-man of many talents.

In moments of unabashed jokes with the audience, after manly catcalls: “pure masculine energy here tonight ‘In The Round’… you paid for your whole seat, but you only use the edge,” noting his loss of innocence after a sloppy kiss from the Philly Phanatic (with that “thing that comes out of his mouth,”) and an attempt to hit-on himself via the four double-sided jumbotrons above stage: “woah, hello, hey handsome… that is the douchiest thing that I’ve done on this tour,” it is clear that Groban is a charming goofball. Likewise, he followed the same engaging persona halfway into the show with a three-question audience Q&A: which covered such topics as: trading piano tips with sweet 9 year-old Ava O’Sullivan, and assuring his bandmates that “size does matter”… in regards to microphone-sizes, that is. O’Sullivan was supposed to cover her ears for that part.

Hill joined Groban for two awe-inspiring duets, his 2004 hit, “Remember When It Rained,” and “The Prayer,” first-famed by Celine Dion and Andrea Bocelli in 1999. With a 15-person orchestra including backup vocalists, Hill and Groban were effortlessly magnetic. Fusing the show full circle, it was difficult to not be consumed with pure emotion.

Hill, who played her first show in Philadelphia that night, was electric. She had herself to prove to a devout audience who’s staunchly supported Groban’s 25 million records-span of a career since 2001, and she did it. While Groban encored his 2004 #1 smash, “You Raise Me Up,” followed by Charlie Caplin’s “Smile,” I was not-so-patiently waiting for an impromptu encore by Hill. She’s just that good.

Hill will be returning to our tristate next month, on Tuesday, December 17th, at World Café Live at The Queen, in Wilmington, DE. Tickets are ONSALE now.

This is your second chance, America… take it.

Imps of Perversion

Reviewed by: Stephen Krock

If nothing else, Pop. 1280 has seen that screaming punk is not dead with their new LP, Imps of Perversion. Once you get past their cool band name, wicked album title, and truly electric opening track “Lights Out,” however, there’s little else to latch onto. While “Lights Out” is a great track, with the fun head banging antics blaring through the affected Brit punk vocals, it’s hard to say whether it stood out because it’s a great song, or because it was simply the first track. All of its successors keep the adrenaline equally high, but to the point that the entirety of Imps is rather static.

There are moments when it seems like the action will take a fun, new twist. Such as in what could have been a mellower track, “Nailhouse,” and “Do the Anglerfish,” which starts off much funkier than its brethren. Both songs, however, devolve into the same pumping, pounding guitar riffs that made that first track so great. Things finally settle down for the closing “Riding Shotgun,” and by then we deserve the rest. It’s a nice enough song, but too little, too late. Pop. 1280 is undoubtedly a fantastic live band, you can’t help but stomp your feet and throw yourself back and forth to them, but the interchangeability among the set list hurts them in the long run.

Rating: Semi-obnoxious 

Anthem

Reviewed by: Lexi Bisonnette

The brother are back with their newest album, Anthem, which continues to deliver the same upbeat and good natured sound as their previous works. Fans of the pop band have nothing to let them down with as brothers Isaac, Zac and Taylor produced and wrote the album completely on their own.

The album is filled with exactly what got the Hanson brothers to the top all those years ago. Fun, upbeat and iconic of the pop genre, this album delivers. The songs have quirky lyrics that speak of love and passion, for all things. An evolution in their style can be heard, though. The songs speak to deeper topics and have the addition of a rock feel that has not been present before, the brothers focused more towards pop/alternative sounds in the past.

The starting track, “Fired Up”, keeps you on board with a strong drum beat and fun-loving lyrics. Perhaps the most intriguing track on Anthem is “I’ve Got Soul” with the addition of a jazzier sound from the piano than the other tracks. But if you’re missing some of the classic sounds that made Hanson what they are, “Cut Right Through” brings back more of the alternative pop feeling.

Rating: Iconic

Infinity Pool

Reviewed by Andi Bricklin

You know when you walk into a Steven Starr restaurant or watch a CW show when a scantly clad 20-something slithers through a chic upscale lounge with her eyes on her evening prey?  The music that usually accompanies those experiences is this electro dance pop that can be found on Infinity Pool by When Saints Go Machine.

When Saint Go Machine starts the album with “Love and Respect” featuring Killer Mike.  The band provides a digitally funky track that compliments the raps from Killer Mike that kicks off the record with a coolness that carries through the album. Infinity Pool uses haunting, ethereal sounds with sweet rhythms to create a mysterious vibe that keeps you hooked into the album.  It kind of plays likes a soundtrack to whatever it is your doing, and it’s one of those albums that should be listened to for the full 44:13 that the music plays, not one track at a time. So when your ready to get deep, put on Infinity Pool, make yourself a martini and enjoy.

Rating: Listenable

Obsession II

Reviewed by Stephen Krock

When reviewing indie and alternative albums, one stumbles upon a lot of “dream pop,” which I’ve found is just industry lingo for hipster elevator music. The arrangements are all pleasant to the ear, the vocals wispy and incoherent, but it takes a rare band to rise above the mood-amplifying background noise. Moon King is such a band. They reach for the stars, if you’ll excuse the pun, and create a dream from which you would never want to wake up.

In a continuation of the 2012’s Obsession I, their newest EP, Obsession II, brings a multiverse of layers to each song in a satisfyingly chaotic manner that I found reminiscent of 80s David Bowie. A higher compliment, I do not have. It would be easy for such an approach to come off as sloppy, but Moon King makes it work. And they achieve something which a lot of dream pop promises, but fails to deliver: the urge to move. I found myself handbangin’ and toe tappin’ the entire time; from the killer opening track, “Violence,” to the more subdued and hypnotic, “Almost Blue.” The standout for me, though, was “Appel,” with its insistent electric guitar strums meshed flawlessly amidst futuristic bells.

The vocals are standard for the genre: perfectly fine, but more wafting and incidental than a driving force for the sounds that surround it. In the case of Obsession II, the vocals are the least interesting part of their tracks’ many layers, but an integral layer, nonetheless.