Sexy sexy. Yes. Twice. It’s a stunning retro-throwback to disco / funky R&B sexytimes that Sean Tilman, aka Har Mar Superstar, brings on his fifth full-length, Bye Bye 17. If you couldn’t tell, Mr. Tilman doesn’t take himself too seriously, but we certainly have to: he’s got great rhythm, good pipes and a great ear for songwriting. Check out choruses like “Restless Leg” and “Rhythm Bruises”; “Leg” is too fun to keep you from smiling, and “Bruises” hits the opposite end of the spectrum, the kind of melody that you have to sing along to and realize you’re just no good at it. Oh well,Read More →

Hi y’all!So we know we kept y’all in the dark on what we though were our top favorites of 2012. To be honest, we took a bit of a respite that year, so what we’ve compiled is a very, very brief list. In fact, it’s only technically a list, one with two entries. What were they?After a year of listening, we have to give our primary kudos to this guy: Pocket watch, anyone? The folksy, Dylanesque singer-songwriter who took it all to Chicago to record his first EP, Nation of Heat, and hasn’t looked back since. His 2012 full-length, The Great Despiser, is one ofRead More →

Andrew Medwed – Free ManSelf-Released-out now3.5 / 5 The cover may not look like much, but inside Ukranian Medwed debuts a rocking, stomping sense of musicianship. We appreciate the diversity of his songs, even if we don’t appreciate all of them, and the fact that he can go from garage-y swamp music to pop/rock in a track or two impresses us. We also appreciate the crafting of his songs: they’re full, they’re completely realized and written well. We’re going to admit, there isn’t anything here that surprises or astonishes us, other than the fact that this is a 100% self-release, but when we smell talent,Read More →

Admirers – Involuntary MemoryArdent Music-out now2.5 / 5 Electro-pop Memphisians Admirers debut their dreamy near-dozen. Now, you know we love ourselves some SVIIB and dance music, but dance music that doesn’t make you… well… dance? That we cannot tolerate. And yet Involuntary Memory is chock-a-block with tepid tempos, deflated beats, and just general averageness. These songs here all seem to borrow the same two-and-four beat, never changing, as reliable as the trains – moreso, jab at the MBTA. Which makes for exciting dancing, of course. The tragedy of it all is that “Return,” the opener-slash-single off the album, is really a great four-star bright popRead More →