Reviewed by Harry Kaplan

Some really seriously good Americana music. Incredible song writing and composition by Scott Roddan, the driving force behind Roddan and Bleed 432. Roddan is the fulcrum of this project, but nothing gets done alone. It truly does take a village. In this case, it is a small village, but a village nonetheless. Roddan’s village consists of Gina Chavez, who sings absolutely stellar backing vocals. Like peanut butter and jelly. Two things together that actually create something completely elevated and unique. In this case, one plus one may equal three or four. The whole is greater than the sum of its parts.  (more…)

Reviewed by Harry Kaplan

Pure honky tonk gold. Fifty percent honk, and fifty percent tonk. And outlaw country, let’s not forget outlaw country. This feller plays country music like the classics, Jones, Cash, and Jennings. Speaking of Jones, I hear Mr. Jones on more than a couple of tracks on The Last Honky Tonk In Town. That is the highest compliment there is. (more…)

Reviewed by Harry Kaplan

Very nice collection of 13 catchy tunes. The songs are quite varied, but a common theme runs through them. the common theme is an uplifting quality to the songs. I would classify this as blues based rock. Another thing that struck me quite early is the precision of the playing. Extremely free flowing and seems to be played effortlessly. That is the caliber of musician we are speaking about here. Very skillful playing and singing. (more…)

Reviewed by Harry Kaplan

Very nice hard blues rock. I got some Skynyrd and Black Crowes influences on my radar. This is just stripped down,regular rock and roll. There is nothing fancy here or nothing particularly complex about the music. And that is perfectly fine. This is rock and roll, not Igor Stravinsky.  (more…)

Reviewed by Harry Kaplan

Wow, The Blacklist Social know how to craft a song. In addition to their musical skills, they also know how to make a song pleasing to the ears. If I can listen to the whole album and not think to myself, “well I would have done that differently”, then they have it going on. I am a tough critic when I am listening but I didn’t encounter anything that I would have done differently. They have some 90s alternative and whole slew of alt-country. (more…)

Reviewed by Harry Kaplan

Southern rock/70s metal is what I hear. Me likey. It has that heavy power chord thang happening in the background and a bit of metal lead vocals. Twenty years ago, I don’t think I would have enjoyed this, but today’s me really loves this album. I hear a little early Sabbath mixed in as well. (more…)

Reviewed by Harry Kaplan

Wow! My sweet spot for sure! This is self described as blues rock, but it is more. Definitely a double shot of atmosphere. This EP is definitely light and spacey. Just enough distortion and delay on the guitar where it is still peaceful and gratifying. Too much knob twisting can cause problems. The Jibs don’t have to worry because these folks have discipline. (more…)

Reviewed by Harry Kaplan

Very spacey and atmospheric. Yet, also very country in the good sense of the word. A little bit Chris Isaac and a little bit of The Byrds. A very healthy mix of country and psychedelia. J. Josef McManus is the singer/songwriter behind White Owl Red. This is the San Francisco based band’s second album. It is absolutely gorgeous. (more…)

Reviewed by Harry Kaplan

Alright, I admit it, I didn’t type the title, I copied and pasted. It’s just too long and copy and paste was so much easier. So now you know. The title is quite a mouthful. To tell you the truth, the album cover is so damn amazing that the title size changes very little. Just from the look and feel alone, this is absolutely beautiful on the surface. The million dollar question is does the music live up the the great visual arts? And the answer is a solid yes.  (more…)

Reviewed by Jonathan DeWoskin

Harry has sent me another rock album to review for y’all, but I’d consider The Last Days of Oakland (“Oakland” for brevity’s sake) more than just another rock album. This one is steeped heavily in the blues. My wife and I put the album for an afternoon relaxing outside having no idea what to expect and we were both amazed at Negrito’s vocal talent. Soulful and eclectic, Oakland has deep roots in black music across the album.  (more…)