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LOS 009CD
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"As the years stretch on and amplifiers cease to invoke the terror and horror that once seemed their calling cards, bands that carry on the quest for overdriven sonics either focus or fall flat. The wall of noise just doesn't seem enough in itself anymore. Tasteless licks and bland distortion settings are now the most potent of insults, the calling cards of hamfisted hacks and unschooled novices. How ironic then, that a band named Heavy Hands has moved into hard rock pole position with an album of proto-metal power and simplicity wed to the deftest of melodic turns. With every hook in its place, and a place for every hook, Heavy Hands manage to reach across the years to create a sound all their own."
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LOS 010CD
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"Like a would-be soundtrack to some forgotten Wagnerian saga, Mythical Beast's debut full-length unleashes sonic elements akin to trudging minions in an epic struggle for tonal supremacy. This bloodless battle is for hearts and minds though, and is shot through with majesty and pathos. It's no wonder that a trio commanding this type of simple yet nuanced compositional energy would risk life and limb crossing the New Orleans 'security' perimeter one month post-Katrina to rescue their gear from a semi-ravaged practice facility. The fact certainly provides insight into the spirit behind their dread progressions of guitar, bass and vocals. Mythical Beast's music is dank, grim and heavy as hell, but at its heart lies an indestructible momentum and spirit in no small part due to Corrine's Valkarie-esque presence. All this is an elaborate way of saying that Mythical Beast wield power and majesty with equal acumen. Come join the struggle."
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LOS 007CD
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"That Silver Summit is a New York band is undeniable. The darkness and frenetic claustrophobia of NYC ebbs from every sonic pore of the band's debut long player. New York City is nothing, though, if not trace elements of the globe's disparate cultures (made uniform through earth and steel and flesh). Multiculturalism (a dreaded word, I know) informs Silver Summit's sonic character as much as the blackened brownstone facades, hidden public gardens and slumbering subway commuters must. Where else than to seek unmitigated conflations of metal, dream-pop, oriental, British folk and other harmonious dissonances than in the band's own musings? The musical layers are infinite, as are the listener's chances at discovery. Silver Summit is: David Shawn Bosler (electric/classical/acoustic lead guitars, percussion, backing vocals); Sondra Sun-Odeon (vocals, slide/rhythm guitar, baglama saz, mandolin, keys/piano, cymbals, percussion)."
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LOS 008CD
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"Much is made about the lack of originality in music. 'Everything has been done, and done to death' people decry. This is a very modern attitude, and perhaps more than a bit flawed. Music has always been a continuum. Styles and traditions are passed from one generation to the next to be cherished, replicated, altered or reinvented. Just as one individual looks to another for identity and support, so one song looks to the last for meaning; a place in the grand structure. Noa Babayof does what many before her have done. She is a folk musician in the singer-songwriter tradition. She pays homage here, stretches boundaries there, and most often plays within the structures formed by the greats that preceded her. This in itself is not an easy task. Very few have what it takes to make it on a stage where what separates the weak from the strong is neither record sales nor charisma, but the greatness of the songs. This is something, I'm sure, Noa is reminded of each time she picks up her guitar to meet the challenge."
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LOS 006CD
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"Light is nature's guiding force. It fills the coffers of nature's bounty, providing every living thing with its own particular sustaining essence. Blood. Blood that shadow dwellers take with a savage thirst. Where sustainer and desanguinator co-mingle, lays the discrete border to the territory of Lights, a swath of land bathed in transformative moonglow and the illusory. Here, for every virginal vocal harmony a vampiric riff lies in wait, each dulcet tone risks transformation into snarling beast, and ghost-like apparitions infest the rafters, unseen but duly felt. Lights embody the mixture of pop beauty and psychedelic horror that has compelled millions to shiver in fright and ecstasy. Join us."
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