It Came From ReverbNation #9; Featuring Prezident Brown, A Ton of Blues, iNFiNiEN, Kathryn Caine, Hanna Barakat, and Jolly

From April 4^th to June 4^th The Ripple Effect ran a campaign on the excellent online music website ReverbNation (www.reverbnation.com).  This campaign allowed any artist or band registered with ReverbNation to submit their music to The Ripple Effect for possible review on the site and airplay on The Ripple Effect radio shows.  When all was said and done we had received 4,799 submissions!  Incredible!  The purpose of this column is to highlight those artists and bands whose musical submissions I accepted as being worthy of consideration.  While these are not reviews per se, I’m going to provide a brief rundown of what to expect from each artist/band, a sample when available, and a link to check out more on their corresponding ReverbNation page.

Prezident Brown – Hey waveriders.  Do you know a genre of music that I have incredibly little working knowledge about?  That’s right, reggae!  I can tell you however that I find the song submitted by this Jamaican artist and his three musical cohorts to be quite good.  It sounds earthy and hypnotic and I think the vocals really accentuate the whole affair.  Check it out.

ReverbNation Page – http://www.reverbnation.com/prezidentbrown

Song Sample – “My Confidence” 

A Ton Of Blues – Apparently I need to visit Worchester, MA because this is one heck of a mean blues quartet.  They use the template set down by classic artists like Buddy Guy and The Fabulous Thunderbirds and drench it in attitude.  Just a flat out dirty, glorious sound these guys produce.  I dare you to listen and tell me I’m wrong.

ReverbNation Page – http://www.reverbnation.com/atonofblues

Song Sample – Live @ The Bull Run Restaurant

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iNFiNiEN – Now this submission was something totally different!  This four member outfit (with guest musicians) bills themselves as rock/psychedelic/experimental.  The tune I listened to was a very trippy Indian flavored affair that underwent a pretty serious musical shift around the 2:30 mark to become more atmospherically heavy.  I totally dug it!  Plus, name me another band that counts Bjork, Radiohead, Mahavishnu Orchestra, and Tool as similar artists.  Go ahead, I’ll wait.

ReverbNation Page – http://www.reverbnation.com/infinien

Song Sample – “Aquatica”

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Kathryn Caine – You know, I’m always surprised by how much I like listening to well-done bluegrass music.  This lady out of Charlottesville, NC is just what the doctor ordered if you need a shot of the good stuff!  Her song submission was fantastic.  A couple of her other songs I listened to were great too showing that she casts a wide musical net incorporating a more traditional country sound, some southern rock, and even a hint of soul.  Recommended.

ReverbNation Page – http://www.reverbnation.com/kathryncaine

Song Sample – “The Last Thing On My Mind”

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Hanna Barakat – Two things stood out to my ears while listening to the song submitted by this young lady from Beirut, Lebanon.  First of all I really dig the whole Middle Eastern hard rock/metal sound the song has going for it.  Second and more importantly this artist has supreme control over her voice, and she uses that control to great effect.  If you like Amy Lee’s voice you’ll really dig this powerful vocalist.

ReverbNation Page – http://www.reverbnation.com/hannabarakat

Song Sample – “Cycle”

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Jolly – You know, the four men in this picture sure look focused and intense for a band named Jolly.  Want to know something else?  If you like your rock progressive you should really check out this Howard Beach, NY quartet.  They name drop Porcupine Tree, Karnivool, and Faith No More as similar artists.  That sounds right to me.  Also they scientifically engineered their music to elevate your self-awareness.  Seriously, I’m not kidding.  Hear for yourselves.

ReverbNation Page – http://www.reverbnation.com/jollyband

Song Sample – “The Pattern”

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--Penfold

Oak is Keeping – Animal Style

Throughout mythology, there have always been bizarre creations, amalgamations of disparate elements that should never be able to exist together. The part-man, part-bull Minotaur; the part human, part horse Centaur; the complete mishmash of animal parts that is the Griffin. Compelling for their juxtaposition of animal parts, these creatures have captured man’s imagination. In music, rarely does such an incongruous hydra come about, fusing completely disparate elements into one living, breathing, beautiful creature.

Oak is Keeping is one such hydra.

With a body sturdily composed of riff-heavy, bass massive Black Sabbath, a brain derived from the harmonious melodies of the Beatles, and two thunderous paws, one crafted from Seattle grunge a la Alice in Chains, the other bearing the beefy imprint of swirling psychedelia, and a tail composed of the best distillation of post punk indy rock, Oak is Keeping is a band to capture the imagination.

And once they've captured you, they hang onto for dear life, ensnaring you into their drooling maw and carrying you off into a mythical sky of fierce, chugging, yet infinitely melodic and listenable rock and roll. Anyone who calls this stoner rock is stoned. Go beyond the power of the Sabbath riffs, lose yourself on the magic carpet ride that is the melody, sing along to the sweetness of the harmony vocals, marvel into the Alice-drops-down-the-rabbit hole psychedelic madness, that swirls and dances, yet never loses itself in its own madness. Melodic Psych? The Black Beatles? Who cares what you call it, labels are for small minds, and this music is all about expanding minds, erasing boundaries, exploding dimensions.. In the end, it’s just rock and roll and it’s simply marvelous.

“SiNk,” feedbacks and thunders it’s way into your consciousness before dropping into the mother of all Alice in Chains riffs, just as quickly to mutate into a snarling, beastly ugly Sabbath thud. Heavy? Hell yes, but it’s not metal. No way. Listen to the vocals as they come on, incredibly smooth, yet still impassioned. And what’s that he’s singing? By God, it’s a true melody, deep and, dare I say it, lovely. A melody that could easily grace one of the latter Beatles albums, married to the density of a Sabbath plodding footstep. Stuttering guitars, layered harmony vocals. Damn, what is this. It’s not prog, but it’s complex. It’s not metal, but it’s ominous and heavy. It’s not pop, but I’m singing along, joyfully, my soul rising with the soaring chorus. It’s a bowl-full of contradictions all thrown together, and I got me a spoon and I’m digging right in.

If “SiNk” didn’t fully ensnare me in the Oak is Keeping lair, “No Kiss,” completed the capture. Big, choppy riffs, stop and start like the thundering step of a mythological creature. Stepping heavy, plodding closer. Alice in Chains sounds heavier here, in the use of harmony vocals, the rising crescendo of the vocal bridge, the tone of angst as they sing, “They say that animals need their space/inside we’re cannibals/the human race/cut off our nose to spite our face.” But then that chorus comes along, as sweet and addictive as pop. Vocals soaring to higher registers, smoothly, melodically. The Oak is Keeping Griffin lives, many different parts all living together in perfect harmony.

Then “How We Treat Girls,” swings into gear throwing me for another, glorious, swirling ride into unexpected territory. The guitar tone here is pure indy rock, perhaps like the tone that we’d always hope The Killers would one day find. Sabbath is gone, instead the guitars shimmer and shine, the bass runs high up the neck, the vocals ride an intense melody highlighted by a hook destined to reside for years in my brain. The chorus is another masterwork of melody, a stark contradiction to the lyrics that spit and snarl with sarcasm and snot. More than any other, this song runs back to the past, like Spirit or Love, or some other psychedelic pop band that captured lighting in a bottle.

Getting the picture. This beast shouldn’t live, it shouldn’t exist, and it definitely shouldn’t be so compelling. Check out the knock em dead chorus of “Tell Me These Things,” with it’s choppy “Stab me in the front/don’t stab me in the back/stab me in the front/use a dull blade,” lyric. Not something you expect to find yourself singing out loud at two in the morning, but there it is. Arm it with an ugly Sabbath riff that mutates into a near Lizzy guitar attack, ending in a swirling maelstrom of double-fisted piano and you’ve got another winner. “Tempt,” then takes all this mythological fusing of elements and creates a beast that will forever exist in it’s own universe. Charging harmony guitar launches things forward into a neo Alice in Chains riff . . . but it’s not. The guitars swirl too much, like who? Early Cult maybe? I don’t know, but I do know that it moves quickly into a grungy chorus, before the whole thing builds and builds to . . a total drop out of all that is heavy. Suddenly the guitars are gone, piano trods delicately, the vocals floating into a psychedelic Beatles melody, for two measures before the guitars roar back, heavier than before. If this is an acid trip it’s one for the ages. Harmonics sing and dance. Counter vocals leak from separate earphone channels. Guitars swirl. Where is reality? Where is my desk? Who am I? Oh, yeah, I’m Racer, and I’m listening to some seriously intense, fantastically wild stuff. And the ride in this animal style is just beginning.

Come join me.

--Racer

www.myspace.com/oakiskeeping