Well,
I don’t really know how to approach this one. Genie pretty much makes upbeat,
life affirming, new-agey type music. Not exactly the sort of thing yours truly
listens to on a regular basis, although I do like artists like Enigma, Sarah
MacLachlan, and Air that are in the neighborhood. The instrumental backing is
mostly piano and other quiet instruments, sort of like Enya. The disc says
“file under peaceful music” and that’s a pretty accurate description. Genie’s
vocals are excellent, and you can’t fault her playing, or that of her husband
Troy Nilson. The lyrics are sincere but so relentlessly positive and free of
irony or humor that they seem a little bit corny to me. Maybe that’s just
because I’m a cynical old bastard, but I gotta call ‘em like I hear ‘em.
Regardless, since all the profits from this CD are being donated to charity, I
hope that anyone who likes this sort of music will check it out. It’s all just
a little too nice for my tastes, though. For more info, visit Genie’s
website. (Bob Ignizio)
It’s
hard for me to believe, but King Diamond has been around for over 20 years now.
Like any artist who’s been cranking out music that long, he’s had a few so-so
albums along the way. ‘The Puppet Master’, however, ranks among his best.
While I doubt anything King does will ever equal for me his first two full
lengths as vocalist for Mercyful Fate, this is at least as good as his best solo
albums like ‘Abigail’ and ‘Them’. As is almost always the case with King’s solo
albums, ‘The Puppet Master’ is a horror story put to music. In this case, the
story concerns a mad puppeteer who makes life size puppets out of human beings.
The story is backed up with some of the best music King has had in a while.
Also, the addition of female vocalist Livia Zita on a few tracks gives this
album a different flavor than anything King has done in the past. This is
especially true on the song “So Sad”, an honest to goodness love song, albeit
one with overtones of the macabre and supernatural. As for the vocal
performance of King himself, I think this is one of his best. He doesn’t
overuse his falsetto or demonic growls. Instead, he sings in a more
straightforward mid range voice most of the time with the falsetto used more on
the backing vocals. It’s not like you’ll confuse his voice for someone else,
it’s just that the more unique vocal stylings King employs are utilized more
sparingly for impact. The story and the music also feel more organically
combined than on some of King’s albums. The songs have more of a groove and
flow to them, without quite so many stop and start moments. (Bob Ignizio)
Paradox
One – ‘Escalators To Mars’ (Neurosis Records)
This record is like
listening to Martians talk while also being in an elevator. What I mean is that
it sounds like elevator music mixed with weird space noises. I'm all for weird
stuff, especially noises and all that, but to be honest, this album is really
boring. It's twelve tracks full of sound effects, cheesy synths, and....well
actually, that's about it. It's 12 tracks too long. Sorry to this artist, but
this isn’t good to listen to. You might wanna use it as background music on
Halloween. That was a compliment.
www.paradoxone.co.uk (Eddie Fleisher)
Akron's Dave Rich is a
refreshing surprise in a state of mediocre music. His 4 song EP is some of the
best music I've heard in a while, local or national. His guitar playing mirrors
that of Red House Painters, or any of Mark Kozelek’s solo offerings, and his
voice is a beautiful blend of emotion, rasp, and moodiness that resembles
artists like Hayden, Neil Young, Elliott Smith, and at times sounds like Nada
Surf's Matthew Cawes (especially on "Our Favorite Ghosts"). The standout track
is the emotionally driven "Waiting For You", in which Rich states his
unhappiness for giving away too much, but not getting anything back in return.
His voice and his lyrics are easy to relate to, and he makes you feel every
word he has to
say. The album relies mostly on acoustic guitars, but is also sprinkled with
drums, electric guitars, harmonica, and some moving piano as well. Dave Rich
could easily be big in the world of indie rock/folk if he continues to make
music like the songs on this record. If you are looking for something that is
musically satisfying, as well as deep and heartfelt, then "Four Songs" is the
best choice you could make. For more info, visit Dave's
website. (Eddie Fleisher)
Well,
I don’t really know how to approach this one. Genie pretty much makes upbeat,
life affirming, new-agey type music. Not exactly the sort of thing yours truly
listens to on a regular basis, although I do like artists like Enigma, Sarah
MacLachlan, and Air that are in the neighborhood. The instrumental backing is
mostly piano and other quiet instruments, sort of like Enya. The disc says
“file under peaceful music” and that’s a pretty accurate description. Genie’s
vocals are excellent, and you can’t fault her playing, or that of her husband
Troy Nilson. The lyrics are sincere but so relentlessly positive and free of
irony or humor that they seem a little bit corny to me. Maybe that’s just
because I’m a cynical old bastard, but I gotta call ‘em like I hear ‘em.
Regardless, since all the profits from this CD are being donated to charity, I
hope that anyone who likes this sort of music will check it out. It’s all just
a little too nice for my tastes, though. For more info, visit Genie’s
It’s
hard for me to believe, but King Diamond has been around for over 20 years now.
Like any artist who’s been cranking out music that long, he’s had a few so-so
albums along the way. ‘The Puppet Master’, however, ranks among his best.
While I doubt anything King does will ever equal for me his first two full
lengths as vocalist for Mercyful Fate, this is at least as good as his best solo
albums like ‘Abigail’ and ‘Them’. As is almost always the case with King’s solo
albums, ‘The Puppet Master’ is a horror story put to music. In this case, the
story concerns a mad puppeteer who makes life size puppets out of human beings.
The story is backed up with some of the best music King has had in a while.
Also, the addition of female vocalist Livia Zita on a few tracks gives this
album a different flavor than anything King has done in the past. This is
especially true on the song “So Sad”, an honest to goodness love song, albeit
one with overtones of the macabre and supernatural. As for the vocal
performance of King himself, I think this is one of his best. He doesn’t
overuse his falsetto or demonic growls. Instead, he sings in a more
straightforward mid range voice most of the time with the falsetto used more on
the backing vocals. It’s not like you’ll confuse his voice for someone else,
it’s just that the more unique vocal stylings King employs are utilized more
sparingly for impact. The story and the music also feel more organically
combined than on some of King’s albums. The songs have more of a groove and
flow to them, without quite so many stop and start moments. (Bob Ignizio)
This record is like
listening to Martians talk while also being in an elevator. What I mean is that
it sounds like elevator music mixed with weird space noises. I'm all for weird
stuff, especially noises and all that, but to be honest, this album is really
boring. It's twelve tracks full of sound effects, cheesy synths, and....well
actually, that's about it. It's 12 tracks too long. Sorry to this artist, but
this isn’t good to listen to. You might wanna use it as background music on
Halloween. That was a compliment.
Akron's Dave Rich is a
refreshing surprise in a state of mediocre music. His 4 song EP is some of the
best music I've heard in a while, local or national. His guitar playing mirrors
that of Red House Painters, or any of Mark Kozelek’s solo offerings, and his
voice is a beautiful blend of emotion, rasp, and moodiness that resembles
artists like Hayden, Neil Young, Elliott Smith, and at times sounds like Nada
Surf's Matthew Cawes (especially on "Our Favorite Ghosts"). The standout track
is the emotionally driven "Waiting For You", in which Rich states his
unhappiness for giving away too much, but not getting anything back in return.
His voice and his lyrics are easy to relate to, and he makes you feel every
