Original Synth’s new six-song collection is a quirky pop album with progressive Judeo-Christian ideals, eschewing cheesy proselytizing for self-effacing satire.
Album Review
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Album review: ‘Nostalgia’
Throughout Auld Lang Syne’s 12-plus years of existence, the band has consistently written freshly melodic songs that draw from some of America’s richest musical traditions. But “Nostalgia” feels like its first bona fide rock ‘n’ roll album.
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Album review: ‘Gene and Ginny Volume I’
Alex and Alison Coté’s “Gene and Ginny Vol. I” ebbs and flows as if legendary country music producer Owen Bradley were calling the shots from the big chair.
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Album review: ‘The Melodic Line’
Reverso ‘The Melodic Line’ Out Note Records ryankeberle.com/reverso If I describe a trombone-centered album as the most dream-like record I’ve heard in years, you might imagine being jarred awake by a herd of elephants. But this trombone, expertly played by Ryan Keberle on Reverso’s “The Melodic Line,” explores the gorgeous, French horn-like side of the […]
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Album review: ‘Master Volume’
Teymur Phell ‘Master Volume’ Self-released teymurphell.com In the mid-1970s, Jaco Pastorius revolutionized the electric bass and brought it into the spotlight. Four decades later, emerging artists like Teymur Phell continue to expand the instrument’s range. On his debut album, “Master Volume,” Phell plays a six-string bass with a dexterity and fluidity more often associated with […]
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Album review: ‘Play Doh’
Carmen Sandim ‘Play Doh’ Ropeadope Records carmensandim.com If the title of pianist Carmen Sandim’s new album, “Play Doh,” suggests something malleable, it couldn’t be more appropriate. Like the children’s “clay,” jazz begins with a structure, but it’s up to the individual players to shape it, often spontaneously, into myriad forms. Sandim — who began piano […]
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Album review: ‘If We Ever Live Forever’
Longwave ‘If We Ever Live Forever’ Bodan Kuma Recordings longwave.bandcamp.com After a 10-year hiatus, Longwave — the NYC-based indie rock darlings with Rochester roots — return to the limelight with what could be considered their best record yet. Sure, “If We Ever Live Forever” possesses that indie concern and emotive response to everything. But there […]
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Album review: ‘The Hard Side of the Blues’
Tommy Grills ‘The Hard Side of the Blues’ Self-released tommygrills.hearnow.com Rochester expat Tommy Grills stands ominous, lean, and mean — with nothing but a big guitar between him and the rest of the world. Grills’s name may sound familiar to some blues aficionados; he’s the big brother of hometown bluesman Steve Grills. On Tommy Grills’s […]
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Album review: ‘Jazz Shabbat’
TBK Music Project ‘Jazz Shabbat’ Self-released tbk.org The Old Testament has a lot of rules but nowhere does it say Friday night services can’t swing. Tradition, you say? The Jazz Shabbat tradition is pushing 15 years at Temple B’rith Kodesh. And now the program, a collaboration with members of the Eastman School of Music Jazz […]
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Album review: ‘Blooming’
Candy Isle ‘Blooming’ Self-released candyisle.bandcamp.com Originally formed in 2017 as an acoustic duo by college friends Kat Bakrania on cajon and Lydia Dake on guitar and ukulele, Candy Isle now has an amplified, indie pop sound with the addition of its newest member, bassist Allison Froio. The trio’s new album, “Blooming,” shifts through all the […]
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Album review: ‘1979’
Motörhead ‘1979’ BMG imotorhead.com We could rave on and on about all the fan-friendly goodies in the new Motörhead box set, “1979,” and wait with bated breath as BMG plans on rolling out future releases. But don’t let the swag overshadow the music. It was Motörhead’s frontman and founder Lemmy Kilmister who once bemoaned that […]
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Album review: ‘The Fine Line’
Bob Sheppard ‘The Fine Line’ Challenge Records bobsheppard.net You may not have heard of saxophonist Bob Sheppard, but you’ve surely heard him play. He’s worked with Chick Corea, Freddie Hubbard, and Herbie Hancock on the jazz side, and Joni Mitchell, Stevie Wonder, and Steely Dan in the pop realm. Released last May, Sheppard’s excellent album […]
