The Strange Boys 'Live Music' album review (for kevchino.com)

If indeed you can, imagine if The Strokes grew up in Texas… The results may have sounded a lot like Austin band The Strange Boys. With an ever-present country twang, quirky crooning vocals, surly guitar riffs and a side of harmonica all rooted solidly in old blues and R'n'B the band offers up an eclectic range of tunes on their latest effort 'Live Music'.

Opening with a cute piano-based pop ditty entitled 'Me and You' the album is off to a promising start. Tracks such as 'Punk Pyjamas', 'Omnia Boa', 'Mama Shelter' and 'My Life Beats Me' follow through with an upbeat country feel and great blues guitar riffs which show that not all country/blues artists' baby's have left them, nor are they down and out - at least not all of the time. And 'Omnia Boa' has a fantastic locomotive drum beat that makes you feel you've just hopped a freight train heading straight to the Mississippi delta.

Other tracks like 'Walking Two By Two', 'Saddest' and 'Over The River & Through The Woulds' follow a true slow surly country style, and the vocals on 'Right Before' are reminiscent of a lowly hound dog howling his blues at the moon.

I've never been averse to a bit of country and The Strange Boys certainly breathe some much needed new life into the genre. It may take a few listens, but 'Live Music' is a good little album bringing the old school to the new school with it's mix of blues piano, gritty country tones and subtle indie twists.

Holy Ghost! 'Holy Ghost!' review (for kevchino.com)

See the original article posted here: http://kevchino.com/review/holy-ghost!/holy-ghost/2281


Holy Ghost! are a duo from NYC comprising of Nick Millhiser and Alex Frankel. The two met in Elementary school and started out as part of a hip-hop group called Automato. When things went awry with Automato Millhiser and Frankel paired off together to become Holy Ghost!, releasing their debut single 'Hold On' in 2007 and becoming label mates with the likes of LCD Sound System, Hot Chip, The Rapture and many more.

It therefore comes as a sorry surprise that, surrounded by so much talent, they can succeed at being so musically bland. All the elements are there - an 80's electro-pop feel with steady, funky beats, ear pleasing vocals and simple, relatable subject matter. But once it's all put together they come out with basically a whole lot of nothing - a dance music puzzle with many pieces missing. All the songs sound the same - a steady walking beat that merely changes tempo from time to time, the same tired old 80s synthesizer sounds that have been sampled over and over again within an inch of their lives, and plain, uninspiring vocals and lyrics that simply fade into the background. Upon listening to the album it feels as though you may have mistakenly put the soundtrack to 'The Wedding Singer' in by mistake. The only 2 stand out tracks are the single, 'Hold On', which contains an excellent deep electro bass sound and a less 80's feel, and the following track 'It's Not Over', which is a lot more up-tempo than the rest of the album and features some nice tribal drum overlays.

Other than that it's an album you'd put on at a party just to have some background noise that no one really listens to. There's hints of Cut Copy, MGMT, Mystery Jets and even Phoenix in there, but in the end nothing seems to stand out. The album lacks backbone and personality barr the 2 aforementioned songs, and I live in hope that with time and more performances this duo matures into a much more creative and inspiring act - for the sake of both their careers and our ears.S