Written by : Lisa Melograno

Quiet Time’s “Scheherazade“ is an electrifying, dance-punk anthem that reimagines the ancient tale of Scheherazade through a contemporary lens. As the second single off their upcoming EP “Everyone Is Having More Fun Than Me,” the Philadelphia-based emo band skillfully combines their unique sound with thought-provoking commentary on modern society. The song delves into themes of victimhood, power dynamics, and societal double standards, inviting listeners to question their biases and challenge preconceived notions of victimhood. Lead singer MaiAda’s lyrics offer a powerful critique of modern society, reimagining Scheherazade navigating today’s social media landscape, where public scrutiny and misinformation campaigns are all too common. Driven by gritty instrumentation and MaiAda’s incisive lyrics, “Scheherazade” demonstrates Quiet Time’s commitment to addressing important social issues through their music. MaiAda’s exploration of “feminine rage” serves as a poignant reminder of the ongoing struggle for equality and understanding faced by women today, both in the story of Scheherazade and in the present day. As Quiet Time continues to make their mark in the emo and punk scenes, “Scheherazade” stands as a testament to their ability to craft bold, introspective anthems that resonate with audiences. The band’s fearless approach to storytelling and their distinctive sound have garnered them attention and acclaim, positioning them as a compelling act to watch in the alternative music landscape. With their unique blend of engaging narratives and punk-inspired sound, Quiet Time proves that they are not only skilled musicians but also thoughtful storytellers, addressing pressing social issues through their art. As fans eagerly await the release of their upcoming EP, “Scheherazade” offers a tantalizing glimpse of what’s to come, cementing Quiet Time’s status as a rising force in the world of emo and punk music.

Quiet Time :

Instagram  | Spotify | Youtube | Bandcamp

Philadelphia band, Strand of Oaks, releases a new ambient album titled Ambient For Change in support of the Black Lives Matter movement.

He writes:

Sundara Karma

Loveblood EP

Reviewed by: Lauren Rosier

Sundara Karma is the latest mind blowing music discovery out of the U.K. Think indie rock anthems meant to fill arenas and stadiums. The four piece, consisting of Oscar Pollock (vocals/guitar), Haydn Evans (drums), Dom Cordell (bass), and Ally Baty (guitar), created a stellar five-song EP, Loveblood, that was inspired by Oscar Wilde’s short story, Lord Arthur’s Savile Crime.

The opener and title track is anthemic indie rock (think Kings of Leon meets The Griswolds) decorated with vibrant choruses, lyricism, and catchy melodies. Upon listening to this track, you definitely get the impression like they are going to be huge. Or actually, better stated, like they already are huge.

If you think the opener is solid, “Olympia,” knocks it out of the park with an ’80s indie-Springsteen vibe that puts them in a completely different league. This is stellar indie rock built for arenas.

“She Said” is an uptempo, vibrant song about a woman going out, having fun with friends, forgetting about “teenage love.” It’s just one of those fun, yet relatable songs because we all know we’ve been there.

Sundara Karma seems like they have all the pieces. Pollock has a singing voice that pulls you in and, paired with the slick musicianship of Evans, Cordell, and Baty, creates a sound that screams indie, yet mainstream. A frontman that has the voice, incredible musicianship, and a catchy sound is a formula for long lasting success.

The British quartet will be stopping by Philadelphia on Friday, November 18th for their first-ever visit to the U.S. on a co-headlining tour.

Rating: Bad-Ass

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

When you look at your young child, you wonder who they really are and what they will become.  You question what positive traits they inherited and whether they will avoid your life’s pitfalls while probably succumbing to their own.  You encourage and work to protect.  You share in the ups and downs.  You wonder what will be.

Philadelphia is a parent – always has been; dating back to the founding of our nation.  We boast founding fathers, founding mothers, and it should not be forgotten that there were founding youths along the way who were stronger and more mature than their years would typically require.

Today, Philadelphia has a musical son in Ben Kessler. He is mature, talented, casual yet serious, comfortable in his own skin, and taking-on the music industry one day at a time – which is probably the only way to do it.

photo by Howard Pitkow

I first experienced Kessler’s talent at World Café Live in Philadelphia a few weeks ago when he opened for UK’s Lewis Watson.  The songs were well-composed, guitar-playing strong, and the vocals refined with a youthful quality.  He helped fill the venue to capacity that night and endeared himself to Watson’s fans in a way that led to the opportunity to headline at WCL, which will occur on January 11, 2015.  This time, Kessler will be accompanied by a full band – recreating the material that can be found on his debut EP, So It Goes.

When I ask Kessler about his amazing 2014 he states, “it seemed kind of slow but, in hindsight, it was actually pretty fast.  After a while, you don’t even realize how fast things are moving.”  In reality, Kessler performed at least sixty times in 2014 with much of that activity happening toward the later part of the year as momentum was built.  His current schedule for 2015 does not necessarily reflect that level of activity, but shares that there is a method. “I’m trying to plan performances out strategically so that it all makes sense from a business perspective.  I don’t want to be over-exposed,” he says.

As for new material and future releases, Kessler says, “The EP is still relatively new and I don’t want to take way from the material that was meant to introduce me to the scene.  Something could come later this year or early next year depending on how things go.” He already has plenty of new material, but wants to allow each release to have its time to project and reach his audience as it is and is still becoming.

You also need to keep in mind that Kessler has yet to graduate from high school and enroll in college, which he intends to do.  “I love Philly, it’s my home and has been sort of an incubator for me, musically, but I will probably go somewhere else for college.  But it will have a music scene of its own,” Kessler assures.

Tickets are still available to see Kessler with his full band on Sunday night at World Cafe Life. As his hometown, we need to support him, wish him well, welcome him back when that time comes, and continue to be a positive source of inspiration as he progresses through the mine-field of the industry.

Reviewed by: Jane Roser

Listening to Amenti Rover’s self titled debut EP was a nostalgic blast from the past and took me back to my late 80’s high school days when my friends and I used to hang out listening to Grateful Dead and Jethro Tull records (as in vinyl, as in those were the good ol’ days).

Recorded in guitarist/producer/engineer Chris Baker’s home studio, Amenti Rover released their first single ‘Jezebel’ last month and it’s wicked fun. The song starts off like a bullet from a gun and just rocks out for the entire track. The album has a classic rock feel, which is no surprise given their influences include such 70’s rock icons as Led Zeppelin and Black Sabbath (and I pick up a tinge of Cream and Jethro Tull, as well). But while you can really hear the influence these bands had on songs such as “Jezebel” and “Tired Of It”, which is a cool bluesy, “Dazed And Confused”-esque number, make no mistake that Amenti Rover marches to the beat of their own unique drum. All five songs on this album deliver and then some. I’m excited to hear what’s next for this band and I can only imagine what an awesome time a live show must be.

Would I drive from DC to Philly to catch these guys live? Absoeffin’lutely.

Rating: Bad-Ass

 EP

Reviewed By: Lexi Bissonnette

Football, Etc and Plaids have released a split released and both will be putting out a full album later in 2013. A short, three-track split, the first belongs to Footballs, Etc and the remaining two are from Plaids.

Football Etc’s track, “Down the Field” is filled with a melancholy sound and soulful vocals that grab you from the start. The track lingers more towards the alternative side than the indie rock but is beautiful and the vocals really pull you in.

Plaids are the opposite spectrum producing more energetic, punk rock tracks. Both tracks are loaded with strong guitar riffs from the beginning to the end as well. The vocals are not nearly as soothing as they borrow from the yelling style that is associated with harder rock music. While a little rough to understand the vocals do not detract from the quality of sound the band is producing.

Rating: Listenable

When you start naming bands from the late 80s, you come up with a list that sounds something like this: Bon Jovi, Warrant, Def Leppard, Poison, , Motley Crue and Skid Row. This was a time when metal was king and these guys ruled the airwaves. Now, we are far away from those care free days of the youth gone wild. When you think about these bands today, some have become constants, other have ended tragically, and some, like Skid Row, continue to make the best music that they know how.

Today marks the release Skid Row’s EP United World Rebellion – Chapter One, which reignites the youthful energy Skid Row is known for. Rachel Bolan, founding member, co-songwriter and bass player for the band Skyped in from the UK tour to talk about Skid Row, metal, the new EP and coming home to New Jersey. In a very un-rock ‘n roll-like fashion Bolan contacted me at exactly the time we discussed, exuding “cool”, pride and excitement for the latest project from the band.  He informed me that they were just finishing up some shows in the UK and were headed to the Czech Republic before heading back to the States and then down to Mexico.  I asked him how the metal scene was in the UK and he enthusiastically stated that the UK loves metal!

We talked about how the metal genre has changed over the past few decades, specifically the lack of melodies in songs and the possible death of the power ballad. Bolan says that even though there are those bands that do a lot of screaming in the genre, that there will always be melody in metal as long as Skid Row is around. I asked what were some of his favorite up and coming bands and was delighted to hear that he was fond of hometown favorites, Halestorm.

The new Skid Row project is really interesting and breaks the rules of traditional record releases.  The title of the EP implies that a Chapter 2 is close behind. “The idea [of releasing EPs] really appealed to me” says Bolan.  The band plans to release a steady flow of music over the next 12-18 months, just right for the fast paced social media world we live in.

When asked what’s the most important part about songwriting and making music, Bolan stresses the importance of being yourself and doing what’s meaningful to you as an artist.  It’s good to know that his roots remain firmly in New Jersey, and that he hasn’t broken the 25-year-long promise he made to his mother to come home for Christmas every year.

United World Rebellion – Chapter One is available everywhere today!  Join the rebellion because Skid Row is back and better than ever!

Steve Ryan is as jovial as his music during our telephone conversation. I can almost hear him smiling on the other end of the line when he responds to my questions. I ask him how he remains positive in his music when often times it is so easy to dwell on the negative. “I think that’s a reflection of my personality,” says Ryan. “It’s really about just speaking from the heart.”

Not all of Ryan’s songs, however, are happy.  As there is good and bad in life, there are good and bad themes the artist touches on in his music. No matter what his message is though, fans are tuning in and anxiously waiting to hear what Ryan comes up with next.

Ryan does it all. From composing material for a variety of other artists to producing his own musical works, he has been more than busy the past few years. With plans to release his new album this spring, the Georgia native didn’t always foresee a career in the industry. Ryan was drawn to music at an early age, but determining that it would play a much bigger role in his life wouldn’t happen until later. “My father was a drummer and my grandmother sang, so music was always there in a sense,” says Ryan. “My family didn’t pass it down to me in that way though. Music was just a natural form of expression. I played it because I enjoyed it. If you would have asked me when I was young if I was going to be an artist or songwriter, I would have said no.”

The first big break Ryan received in the business was through his efforts as a ghostwriter. He spent some time during his early adulthood doing this and was recruited for the line of work through his poetry. “I actually became involved with ghostwriting through a bad experience,” Ryan tells me. “I used to go to spoken word and open mic nights at Apache Café in Atlanta. After a publisher heard my poetry, he invited me to his studio. I wrote a song and then found out later that this song was on an album. I said to the publisher, hey that’s my song. And he said, no it’s mine because I copyrighted it. I didn’t know anything about this kind of stuff. I was only 18.”

Misleading circumstances turned into learning lessons with Ryan maintaining an optimistic outlook. He continued to work with the publishing company, this time as an official contracted ghostwriter. “Instead of being hotheaded, I made the best out of the situation with the hope that it would lead to better opportunities,” says Ryan. “If it wasn’t for that bad experience, I wouldn’t be on the path I am now.”

Ryan is placing more focus on his own work currently, preparing to release his third album. He is still in the process of recording some of the new record’s tracks, giving himself a deadline that falls somewhere between April and May. “The album is over halfway done,” says Ryan, “it’s just a matter of me not being so picky. I’m rewriting some of the tracks and have a few more songs to add vocals to. The target release date is April 11th. I’m really excited about the record because it’s going to be a good one.”

“Your Stare” and “Real Time” were two singles put out earlier this year. Ryan is also in the midst of another project that has him working with the famous remixing duo, KlubJumpers. Through this collaboration he is planning to release an EP of original dance songs.

On top of his many talents and musical ventures, Steve Ryan is also a member of the Grammy Voting Academy. I talked to Ryan right before this year’s award show and tried to find out what nominees he was excited about. “I haven’t really been following anybody because I’m so busy,” says Ryan. “I’m guilty of not participating in that way but I did vote. Typically, I go for the underdog, the unknown artists, because I’m in that category too.”

As his career progresses further with each new project, it doesn’t seem like Steve Ryan will be unknown for long. With versatile music and infectious lyrics, this musician could be the next underdog on the Grammy ballot.

002

Reviewed by Chris Panico

Chicago’s Indie-Rock group Hidden Hospitals new release EP 002 is an evocative combination of atmosphere and rhythm. The self-release (which was produced with the highest industry standards in mind) is a five-track compilation that is reminiscent of what might be a more pensive 30 Seconds to Mars. With gorgeous background vocals, sophisticated harmonic structures, and complex rhythmic elements, the bands new material creates its own unique and somewhat unsettling world of sound.