I’m sure you’re wondering: who releases a double album in this day and age? The last time I was aware of any kind of double album was Michael Jackson’s double album release with HIStory. Here’s a little scene to help illustrate their intent:

“Is it too late to talk you out of a double?” asked the owner of one of Castlemaine’s finest music venues, worried that in the age of digitally diminished attention spans…“Nobody has the brain space for a double”, to which Castlemaine resident, and Mighty Horse singer/songwriter Tony Jackson dusted down his velvet smoking jacket and proclaimed “we are the f#%king resistance!” True story, except for maybe the velvet smoking jacket.
Rewind to January 2020, Mighty Horse are about to enter the studio to record their 2nd LP when the big C virus shuts down the planet. Fast forward a few years and as the world is released bleary eyed from its prison cell Mighty Horse are faced with an existential crisis. Forced entrapment has produced another swag of songs and now they have two albums to record. “How many times in one lifetime will you have the chance to make a double LP?” questioned a wise voice from the sidelines… “Good point that, let’s get to it!”

Road Movie Dream was also recorded live at Soundpark Studios in Northcote Melbourne, with overdubs and production trickery added at the band’s own studio in Castlemaine. Much like their intimate and explosive live performances, the album is a diverse journey held together by distinctive energy and chutzpah.

Let’s get into the album!

Upon listening to the first half of the album, I can’t help but synthesize this release as the culmination of a lot of alternative rock acts from the early to mid 2000s. The mastering is extremely crisp, but the genres that float throughout this act do not necessarily deviate from musical genres that already exist, facing me with a slight crisis as I don’t think it has enough musical variability. However, I admit that’s just my personal bias. I think the excitability factor will definitely resonate with a lot of people who need music simply to let loose and catch a vibe with others.

There’s fragments of all known rock genres littered throughout the composition of all of these songs, with certain bass clips analogous to 80s rock, some melodic quirks will also remind you of the grungy-kinderwhore aesthetic, and in that sense, it gives the listener a bit of an exciting game to play while listening to this.

In the middle of the album, there’s a switch to dub, which is interesting, but to my ears, it isn’t that revolutionary. I think the gist and marketing arc of this release deals with the INTERSECTION of multiple genres, and I have to commend the artist(s) for executing this perfectly with no real offense, but I don’t particularly hear any compositional innovation to necessarily wow me. Perhaps my standards are a bit too picky, and I acknowledge that while still acknowledging the band’s competency.

If this band wants to stand out, I definitely do recommend employing different quirks that don’t make their music necessarily pigeonholed to a particular aesthetic or varying things like time signatures and grooves. It’s good music, but to my ears and relative to the scope of music out there, it doesn’t necessarily stick out.

However, if you’re simply looking for music that helps you to connect with a variety of stories and emotional troughs while retaining an essence of edge and folkish roots to it, I think this is definitely the album for you. It has tenderness and ferocity mixed into one, a great trait for alternative music acts to display. There is also a lot of competency within the individual instrumentalists, and you can hear that within the solos of each songs and how the instruments blend well with each other- that is the strength of this album.

SCORE/Excellent: Even though I’ve elaborated a lot on the predictability of this release, I still think that ROAD MOVIE DREAM is a wonderfully passionate album that strives to stand out with quality rather than its unique qualities. It has an appeal to people who are definitely looking for alternative/rock music with more safe yet eclectic qualities.

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He hopes to seek to relate with everyone through his music, appealing to people’s senses and seeking common ground with their feelings and moods. Part of his methodology involves the belief that if his music comes from him personally with his authentically lived self-experiences, he can connect with people with the same level of authenticity through originality and personal touch as well.

Adding to his repertoire is his newest single titled ‘Come Back To You’. It is described as a dance EDM track which he has extremely high hopes for. It is a melancholic yet energetic track that is about the passionate burning love you feel for a specific person in your life. It’s intended to be relatable but still deliver with its classic EDM punches and emotional arc.

The song starts off promising and positive, with tender and shiny synth nodes in position with the arrangement of the kicks. The melange of synths that follows through is extremely intense, but bears a huge positive motif- I want to categorise it akin to the sounds of uplifting trance, but unfortunately, it stays within the realm of generic EDM.

I understand the hypersaws and the ‘eruption’ associated with songs like this, but it really comes off as a homogenous electronica track.

There is not much motivic variation or depth within this song, besides the slight modulation in the hypersaw’s chords and the vocals of the vocalist. It reminds me of some of the stock songs created for the ‘electronica’ section of the radio on Sims 4. It’s not an offensively bad song, by any means, but I feel like I’ve been spoilt with the depths of electronic music to where this seems almost superficial and soulless, contrary to what it is marketed to sound like.

I think this song would do well with people who typically favour music from people like Alan Walker. It bears the same level of positivity within the scope of his songs. If you’re used to songs with more depth, I don’t think this would appeal to you.

I think the artist should focus on adding more sonic depth to his music and also amend the mastering a little bit more, as the synthesis was a little murkier, sacrificing clarity for volume. Either way, it’s a great start to a long career in electronic music ahead, and there’s always time for him to hone his craft.

SCORE/Good: ‘Come Back To You’ is a typical EDM song that you would hear out in the mainstream these days. It has a definite positive motif to it, but it needs a little bit more dimensionality and depth. If you’re a fan of Alan Walker or NCT, you’d definitely adore this track.

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He was born in Manchester in 1956, and set his artistry in stone by being an eclectic composer drawing inspiration from a myriad of sources such as landscapes, nature, as well as historical events. His compositions span various styles and formats, creating distinct moods and atmospheres.

His repertoire also includes Concerti for Orchestra, Symphonies, chamber music, and vocal works. Notable works include the Double Concerto for Bass Tuba and Contrabass Tuba, the Bass Clarinet Concerto, Aubade Pastorale, and the Sanctus for female voices, strings, and piano.

In terms of recognition, he earned an award from the Paul Hamlyn Foundation in 2020 and was runner-up in the King Lear Arts Competition. He is currently working on this Third Symphony, which is dedicated to Sir James MacMillan, and future orchestral works. Naftel’s music has been praised and lauded for its eccentricity, individuality and distinctive voice in contemporary music.

The release this review will centre upon, ‘Orchestral, Chamber and Instrumental Works‘ marks as a showcase of his evidently eclectic compositional style. It houses 4 legacy recordings: Pascal’s Victim for Tuba Quartet, Song of Songs, Villancico for Guitar and Small Orchestra, and Aubade Pastorale for String Orchestra as well as 3 premiere recordings: Aphoristic Impressions, Naftel’s String Quartet No. 2, and The Folksong Suite for String Orchestra and Timpani, all of which will be expanded upon throughout the sequence of this review.

The music is accessible here for your listening comfort:

Pascal’s Victim for Tuba Quartet

It was composed for the North West-based Tubalaté, featuring three movements based on the Gregorian Chant Victamae Paschali. It starts off immensively pensive, before building up to a stable motif that’s marked with slight mystery and distrust. It is expectedly fragmented, but it also evokes the feel of a chaotic situation that envelopes you in- with slight chromatic notes sandwiched in it. The second movement reminds me of the midsection of the composition ‘Dance of the Knights’ by Prokofiev, with the slight mellowed-down motif apparent as opposed to the first one. It features gently shifting harmonies and peaks with a crescendo, before returning to its mellowness. The third motif amps up the motif of alertness, not straying from the compositional intent of paying homage to the chant. I think this movement itself is quite fascinating.

Aphoristic Impressions

It was composed in 2023 for the American pianist Haley Myles. It intends to capture the essence of various landscapes through five short piano pieces. These pieces intend to evoke images of the underwater church at Dunwich, Suffolk, the eruption of an Icelandic geyser, the indigenous wildlife of the Australian outback and Uluru/Ayers Rock, a peaceful night-time portrait of a Japanese garden, and Whirlpool Rapids Gorge on the Niagara River.

Approaching Bell: It gives off a very slight atonal feel, while still commanding presence with its compositional techniques. This segment is incredibly jarring, but also intensive and ‘pulls you in’, in a certain way, expecting more through the flow of motivic variation. It has a suspense-like filter to its approach, as the notes only get louder before going through a sequence of recurrent notes in various reiterations.

Mini Magma: Expanding upon the thematic feel of jarringness, matching the ferocity of eruption and magma, the notes of this piece hit you right at once going up in multiple transpositions. It is short, but it delivers its message and imagery effectively well.

Roo Awakening: This track, although in intent, is meant to mirror the indigenous wildlife of the Australian outback, reminds me of the superposition imminent within quantum mechanics. However, I see a similarity between the motor flexibilities of wildlife being expressed through sonic motifs and the fluidity of quantum mechanics- just as this track takes you through a journey of different melodic themes to what I interpret as the steadfastness and jumpiness of wildlife. It also reminds me of Stockhausen’s compositions.

Japanese Gardens: Immediately I can sense the scale it is played in- it is evidently Japanese and pentatonic, but bears compositional similarities to certain Indonesian and Ethiopian scales. It has a sense of serenity to it, but also a depth that is quite hard to translate into words- existential, almost, before it erupts into a wonderful flow of notes descending and ascending almost in a polyphonic fashion. I find this recording to be more complex than actually described.

Whirlpool Rapids: The initial dual-note motif helps to bring a sense of urgency to this track, with the occasional spars of notes to accent it in the beginning. It is intense, but also fluid, just like the gorge it intended to represent. It’s chromatic, but also stark in its delivery, and the juxtaposition makes it intensely delectable to listen to.

String Quartet No. 2

This piece was composed during the initial Coronavirus pandemic, reflecting the era’s tumultuous nature. It is a single movement but divided into 5 sections with an epilogue. From the first section itself, you can feel the inherent oscillation between tranquil static passages and furious, violent sections marked by intervals of a major 7th chord and a minor 2nd chord.

It starts off tranquil, almost, but goes choppy and intense with the drone of a string in the background, aiding the feel of anxiety and discomfort throughout the duration of the piece, reflecting the intersecting worlds of unsavoury emotion and bursts of solitudinal bliss in the midst of global consciousness ripping itself by its own shreds. The Allegro feroce is indeed, ferocious, but also overwhelming.

The Adagio Sostenuto that follows afterwards presents a solitary aftermath to the chaos of the previous movement, without sacrificing the underlying drone mechanism employed by the strings. It is a very airy composition that also makes you contemplate between each movement. It then transitions to the Prest Furioso, a return to the steadfast motif that characterises this piece. Each pizzicato helps to create an effect of pure shock and boldness, all while a series of cyclical notes color the timbre of the piece. The epilogue in return, closes out the track with a distinctly distant compositional feel with strings that feel airy and worn out, reflecting the state of society after having gone through such a terrible pandemic.

Song of Songs: Rhapsody for String Orchestra and Harp

This piece was intended to be an ethnic-flavoured rhapsody based on Hebraic chants and original material, featuring melodies like ‘Yigdal‘ and ‘Hatikvah‘. It begins with a very hijaz-esque melody through the strings, creating a source of mystery but also invitation as it goes on, with the harp sequence accenting its main melodic presence. The harp’s lone pieces give the track a feel of tangible sparkle, before going back to join the main stringed melody. This piece goes through a couple reiterations of the theme, almost like a delayed call-and-response, oscillating between motifs that are more surreptitious and serene. I have to say, there are a lot of similarities to my ear with the composition Valse Sentimentale by Tchaikovsky.

Aubade Pastorale for Strings

This piece is a short tone poem depicting a hazy day in the English countryside, using original themes inspired by the English Pastoral School, particularly Ralph Vaughan Williams. It is stated here, that ‘The association of music with landscape is essentially a Romantic phenomenon, a departure from the Classical conception of music as an abstract language concerned in a general way with the expression of feeling but with no particular relation to the external world.’ within the context of the music of English Pastoral. Likewise, I think this track thematical relates to the voices apparent within this movement- reflective, contemplative, impressive, all while transporting you into a world that is quite vivid and moving all at the same time.

This is all achieved by the wonderful segments of each stringed segment, some lending credence to the depth of the track while some sections play the motif of wonder and longingness- making you feel like you’re staring straight into the haze, eyeing your fate.

The Folksong Suite for String Orchestra and Timpani 

This piece draws on six English and Scottish folksongs, including John Peel, Early One Morning, Ca’
the Yowes, Loch Lomond, Dashing Away With The Smoothing Iron, and Lincolnshire Poacher. It is very vibrant, as with the tone and intent of most folksongs within that genre. It is separated into three movements, Rondo, Lament, and Country Dance.

Rondo: I find the structuring of this track quite unique, owing its dynamicism to the timpani section within the entire duration of the segment. It’s almost like a silent framework, giving it slight bass but also structuring each part with its intensity. The strings, once again, present a stellar soundscape.

Lament: This movement begins with a bit more seriousness than the other ones, making a scintillating piece out of the ups and downs that the notes go through within the sections of the strings. It has the most ‘unpredictability’ within all of the movements, changing its emotional tone pretty drastically throughout the track. It reaches a loud singularity at some point of the track, making sure to take you, as the listener, along on the emotional highs and lows of the track.

Country Dance: It finishes with a piece full of flair and velour, coming in strong with motifs that ooze pride as well as strong, deep-rooted culture. You don’t have to know much of the traditions of English and Scottish music to feel this particular song, it presents itself to you with so much gusto from the mixture of different types of modes of playing throughout the strings and the wonderful oversight of the timpani for structure and depth.

Villancico for Guitar and Small Orchestra 

This track aims to bridge the music of the Spanish Renaissance and Joaquin Rodrigo in a charming and lyrical Rondo form. It makes itself apparent within the first few notes of the Spanish guitar, and the oboe and the flute follow suit, expanding upon its motif. The flow of the track definitely follows suit with the rondo format, and I have to commend the attention to detail, especially with the snaps in the background. This track is quite beautiful if I must say so myself. It has a sentimental and romantic (not in terms of the musical movement) quality to it.

All in all, this album was a wonderful delight to listen to. It contained a large number of compositional influences and structural styles, leading credence to Frederick Paul Naftel’s repertoire for being an extremely eclectic and competent composer. Each track really played itself out as a wonderfully expressive attempt at trying to expand thematic motifs into full, engaging pieces and I think as a composer, he did it quite well. I also have to commend the great selection of people chosen to play these pieces as they truly helped to bring all of these compositions to life, being sensitive to every coda.

SCORE/Outstanding:  Orchestral, Chamber and Instrumental Works by Frederick Paul Naftel is a wonderfully engaging album that seeks to take the art of transforming an idea, scenery or motif into a full bodied piece of classical music very seriously. It oscillates between many different motifs, voicings and even scales to keep anyone seated and does not leave any space for inferiority. A work well done.

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Empty Chair is an album that holds its story and basis on Alex’s lived experience with Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD), unfolding by telling the story from his diagnosis to his treatment. The album is only an extension of his genre-hopping habit, intending to open with an epic, sensational instrumental track, before switching between hip-hop, musical theatre, pop-rock and everything and anything in-between. Usually, musical acts with this amount of multivariable aspects tend to be extremely exciting and non-conforming, leading to a listening experience that will definitely stick with you. The album also features a choir, multiple session musicians and even The Cape Town Philharmonic Orchestra.

Alex has also been quietly brewing this album, as it has been in the works since 2020. It is launching alongside an accompanying stage show of the same name, co-produced by the Phoenix Ensemble on March 14th.

Here is the Pre-Save link

Honestly, listening to this album, I completely understand why it is launching with a stage show to complement it. The album generally has the tone of a Broadway production, not necessarily in the way one would think of. It is not predictably dramatic, but it has a way of completely sucking you into the individual stories within each song. Some of the songs bear a symphonic quality, some bear a more pop-rock approach, but one thing remains consistent: Alex Smith and the other musicians’ unwavering desire to produce the best piece of art they could with each composition.

It oozes dynamics, all within a bed of competent mastering and excellent sound quality. At times it can even be whimsical in its composition, with certain quirks and the way the vocalist delivers his words. Even though it is quirky, it still has an authentic, non-commercial feel about it. The stories are delivered straight from the pain of existence, and a lucid mind to comprehend all of this.

I really have to commend the use of multiple genres within a singular song, and an unconventional use of song structure formats. It definitely helps to take us away from the monotony of life in general, and helps us to understand the situation behind the body of work itself- it’s autobiographical, but also as if it were a virtual reality in an auditory format. It’s extremely engaging.

These aren’t just songs sandwiched within this release, it’s little pockets of storylines with the visual imagery peeking out at you at every listen. Some bear an orchestral motif, some have the banjo playing to elucidate the sheer wackiness of the situation. Either way, I don’t think words could be strong enough to adequately describe the vivid imagery tucked into each composition.

I think this album is definitely worth a listen. It’s well-mastered to the point of musical universality, a metric that quantifies ‘how likely a person is going to connect with your music regardless of their own personal genre biases’, and I do think the stories and execution will resonate with almost everyone, even if they are unaware that they’d potentially connect with it. In everyone’s struggle, is a reflection that shines upon our own mirror, and it’s up to us to acknowledge it.

Score/Outstanding: ‘Empty Chair’ is a wonderfully delightful and dynamic journey into an auditory interpretation of the artist’s journey with BPD. It is well-mastered, and presents itself almost like a score to a film that engages audiences without losing anyone in particular. It contains a little bit of everything for everyone, and has enough spontaneous energy to spark almost every emotion within you. I think this gives it an extremely fascinating quality.

[We rank singles, EPs, and albums on a scale of Poor, Mediocre, Good, Excellent, and Outstanding]

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The album is described by the artist as having written in a dark dystopian future by his future self, sent back in time for him to release it now as the most important moment in our history. It’s also described as a call for those who can hear and for those who can see. As quoted, ‘Separation is illusion. There is only One. Merge with Nature, NOT technology. Find the balance.’ With this album, he presents his bare, naked soul.

The album honestly is appealing but concerning in a multitude of ways. It definitely is fresh in the sense of a revival of a style of rap that is no longer popular in the mainstream, but in terms of musical composition, it lacks any new motifs for it to be revolutionary or new.

I admit though, that that statement itself may cause some issues between the artist and I. I understand the intent of the album is much deeper, as the lyrics suggest, but one has to ask about the lines between depth and empiricism at some point. When songs become the sonic allegory to books, should all books be read because it’s in the form of a book?

When you consider the reasoning and truth-value of some of the songs aside, they are very adequately produced and executed. The artist has a bold voice that paints the narrative in most of these tracks, setting the foundation for the soapbox on which he metaphorically stands. I think the album could do with a little bit of newer production techniques, but that would thematically go against the artistic value and intent of the album itself.

the techniques and delivery within this album also reminds me of a lot of big acts associated with the old New York rap scene, such as characters like Ol’ Dirty Bastard. I think people who grew up in that era and reminisce on such musical acts would definitely revel in this album as a ‘return’ to their roots, and what they feel works.

I do have to commend the artist on his vocabulary. Rap albums are often meant to be judged on the linguistic prowess behind the work, instead of the music as an isolate- and I do have to say, he uses a higher standard of vocabulary and probes deeper into certain hypotheses compared to acts today. The branding behind the artist also helps to seal the deal, especially within the context of this release.

SCORE/Good: If you’d like to re-live an era of conscious rap without the need for an overreliance on race politics, this album is definitely for you. It’s chock-full of concepts and thematic tropes that will fuel your imagination, or ‘open your ‘eyes’. I don’t mean to hate, and please do not take this the wrong way, but the lack of innovation within the composition does not make this exceptional.

[We rank singles, EPs, and albums on a scale of Poor, Mediocre, Good, Excellent, and Outstanding]

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He was involved in several live bands starting from the early 90s and into the late 2010s, and then had a hiatus from the music scene. Fret not, though, he regrouped his forces in early 2024 and put all his efforts and focus into his own songwriting, transforming the eons of experience with other musical acts into works that he could truly call his own. This initiative resulted in a selection of new songs that were ready to be recorded, and his newest pre-release, ‘Perfectly’, is the fourth song leading up to a full album release expected in 2026.

Dominick Keath is a multi-instrumentalist, vocalist and songwriter whose foundation in music can be traced to classic rock within bands such as Deep Purple, Whitesnake and Van Halen. He is not one dimensional, though, with his tastes sometimes going towards funkier, older acts such as Tower of Power, Mother Finest and the Neville Brothers. He also ties the grand quilt of influences together with vintage melodic-pop acts such as ABBA and Chess The Musical, always presenting their artistry with strong melody hooks and well-thought out lyrics.

Going back to the present, Perfectly is described as an uplifting and catchy rock song that is characterised by its heavy rock guitars and funky bass groove. The song also has a slight latin-pop vibe, adding more dimensions to the typical notions of classic rock. Thematically, it’s a song about experiencing the good side of life to the fullest- but, without the right person by your side, it could never be entirely complete. The song is composed and performed by Dominick Keath himself, with the producing done by Johan Snöfeldt.

The song is also available for pre-saving and listening here in order for it to be added to your Spotify account on the release day, 21 February 2025.

The song is instantly promising from the moment it begins, with the futuristic synth arpeggiation leading the way. The guitars come in with a strong presence, gracing the track with a bit of ferocity. It is then accented with strings. The chords and arrangement between the guitar and the strings really remind of a lot of compositional techniques within Japanese music. This motif gets extended even further as you listen to the song, with the bass and the notes chosen really reminding me of anime theme songs and some Japanese city pop.

The track is definitely very well-mastered and dynamic, with a lot of variables going on at the same time, making the song sound extremely interactive, full and pleasing. It is in essence just like a classical music piece, just with non-classical instruments. The solo is placed at a very crucial point of the song, showing that a lot of thought has been put into the songwriting itself. The track is a true testament to a high level of competency.

The vocalist’s voice is also powerful and steadfast throughout the duration of the track, leaving no room for any weak notes or off-tune- he delivers his vocals with a lot of prowess and situational awareness within different aspects of the track. Lastly, I like the accented piano in some segments of the track, adding on to the already rich level of musical variability within this song.

I genuinely think the genre crossovers with multiple other genres can give this song a boost in terms of resonating with multiple groups of people, and each segment of the track is also EXCELLENTLY mastered, making it where you can experience this song as it was meant to be interpreted. It surpasses the status of a song in some ways, being an all-immersive experience instead. Bravo!

SCORE/Excellent: ‘Perfectly’ is a wonderfully immersive track that blends the past with the future, through an encapsulating and powerful musical experience that is very universally competent. It’s hard to find any flaws within this track. It is well-mastered, and an enjoyable experience for anyone who truly appreciates music.

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Today’s review will surround a novel release that attempts to mix the traditions of jazz with classical music and Greek traditional music, promising a soundscape that is both sophisticated and dreamlike.

‘Asterismyth‘, the release in question, is the newest concept album by pianist and composer Stefanos Kozanis. It was released on October 25 2024 across major digital music platforms including Spotify, Apple Music and YouTube. The album was entirely crafted by the eponymous band, inviting listeners through a journey of 12 captivating and mystical tracks. Each piece in this album is inspired by a different constellation, as well as its mythical counterpart from ancient Greek lore. It blends intricate melodies and atmospheric soundscapes, evoking a sense of celestial wonder and telling timeless stories about the stars.

The album also features a talented ensemble of Athens-based musicians, including Katerina Konstantinou on vocals and lyrics, Dimitris Margaritis on violin and poetry, Stefanos Kozanis on piano and composition, Kostas Patsiotis on double bass, and Nikos Sidirokastritis on drums.

I have to say, this album is an absolute delight and pleasure to listen to. Each track is filled with such delicate melodies and playing, accented and juxtaposed by the complexity of each subtle instrument cementing their place within each composition. It has a dreamy feeling, but I’d say that this album definitely creates a niche for itself by breaking the stereotypical mold of what a ‘dreamy’ body of work has to offer by presenting more emotional tones and a glittery, golden silver lining through the timbre of the melodic fragments of each song composition.

It has many, many emotions wrapped up in one, with some possibly being multicontextual as well. There is sorrow, there is wonder, there is hope, there is contemplation, there is complexity… good art typically has the notion of being subjective and open to many interpretations, like the way onlookers busk within a picture of Mona Lisa in the confines of their vision. Likewise, I think this body of work needs to be experienced and dissected every single time you listen to it to get the most value out of it. It is tender and truly moves like a very cinematic body of work.

Another thing I’d have to point out is simply how engaging the tracks are, with their high level of musical variability and no real monotony as the notes within each composition pass on to the next. You might hear a recognisable motif or two, but the way its sandwiched within wonderfully glistening arrangements has to be adored and studied. It is very well-written and very well-mastered.

I think this album deserves all of the acclaim that it gets. There are no real flaws within this album, as each song take you on a wonderful journey that will keep you enthralled and excited to travel through the cosmos. Each time you listen to any song on this album, you’ll be met with a boost to your senses and a way for you to open your mind by visualising how accentuated and expansive it is. Highly recommended.

Score/Outstanding: Asterismyth is a body of work that truly blew my mind with how neverending and captivating it is. It makes you feel many, many emotions at once, without sacrificing the technical aspects of music. It is very amazingly arranged, and each motif sandwiched within each song bear a tenderness that is very hard to describe within logocentrism. This album should be a hallmark to anyone intending to perceive music with a deeper meaning and feel.

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There aren’t too many revivalist acts of this time period, to my knowledge, but it is a trend that is growing. As the years go by, we want to bring back sounds that are closer in our consciousness compared to things ‘beyond our time’. Today’s act comprises of a release that delivers exactly that, with a couple of surprises.

Who is it? Well, it is MJayNumberOne, a producer and rapper from Hartford, Connecticut. He presents us with his newest release, titled ‘SUMMERtime POPsicles‘, an apt title for an album filled with summer pop, hip-hop, and R&B influences. This project is meant to celebrate youthful energy, summer vibes and motivational themes.

Critics besides us here at Music Review World have lauded the album for its ‘dynamic production’ and infectious energy. Bubbling with tracks that are described as entertaining, it’s also a celebration of upbeat energy. The album’s highlights are the tracks ‘Summatyme (Oh Yeah)’ with its carefree and fun vibe, ‘No Regrets’ showcasing his vocal delivery, and ‘While I’m Young/#Work’ being a standout motivational track with a focus on hard work and ambition.

MJayNumberOne himself describes this album as a testament to resilience and creativity, so let’s enter his spunky, exciting and fun-loving musical universe.

Unfortunately, upon the first few minutes of the album, it’s clear that this album suffers from some shortcomings when it comes to mastering, style and just general production. The sound selection is quite unpolished, with the vocals sounding honestly quite muffled and not in harmony with the rest of the track. A lot of refining honestly needs to be done in order for this album to pass through industry standards today. There is an interesting arc in trying to add minor and dissonant nuances to a song otherwise marketed for a good time and party, as it shows a level of musical variability within a compositional perspective, but overall, it just doesn’t gel. Vibes can be enough to salvage poor production, but I feel like someone of my generation would not be able to let it pass through. In the second track of the album, you can hear a very MIDI-esque sound selection when it comes to the strings. The bass salvages the track, and it presents a different style. A darker, edgier rap style. It’s interesting, but once again, needs to be rectified with mastering and the levels of the track.

I do not want to turn this review into a long seance of beratement, as that is not conducive to me, the artist, or even you, the listener. However, I find it concerning that only one song, Bad Girl, can stand the test of professional proficiency. And even at that, the muffled tone of the co-vocalist is quite apparent, with the mastering not done well enough to merge with the song. The co-singers within many of the other tracks have had their voice very poorly mastered, in a way that almost makes me wonder if they recorded their sung segments with an aged smartphone and somebody just mashed it in between the stems without thinking about the audio quality.

I know as a musician it’s very easy for one to think that all you need to do is mix the sum of your experiences, preferences, and ability into music, market it to people who you think would love it, pay certain other websites to give you a biased, positive review, and go off of that ephemeral high from thinking that your music vibes well with yourself and to some other people. It’s also easy to write this off as just a bad review from a pessimist. I make music too, but one thing no one has ever come to me with is a critique of the levels of the instruments of my songs or mastering. These grave flaws within this release are not pointed out for one to mock, I think it’s a serious matter and needs to be analysed and heeded with the utmost objectivity for MJayNumberOne to even break out into the mainstream, or the underground, in this day and age.

Another thing I’d have to say is if you intend to do a revivalist act of certain sounds with the intent of bringing back older musicians’ styles you need to add your own creative twist to it. You need to make it compelling and study the current market of music. That’s one key factor that I think is utterly missing within the ethos of this album- there is zero intent to make it original or niche enough to this time period. There’s elements of mid 2000s Kanye, there’s vocal quirks emulating will.i.am from 2005, but that’s just not enough.

Think of the song ‘Push 2 Start’ by Tyla for example. It takes the essence of wanting to make a party song from the 2000s (as evidenced by the influences in the music video) but morphs it with good mastering, good panning, excellent vocals, and musical quirks from today mixed with some chord structure similarities and motifs from early 2000s Afrobeats. In that sense, you can perfectly execute the style of music you’re doing without worrying about the poor effort detracting one from the message. Without keeping up with not only music but technology and mastering standards, you’re going to be left out in this time period. I write all of this, not to incite war or sorrow, but as a wake-up call to MJayNumberOne. I seriously hope you evaluate your musical releases without a negative emotional reaction and wonder why it’s being treated like a Turquoise Jeep Records release instead of a standalone piece.

Score/Mediocre: ‘SUMMERtime POPsicles’ unfortunately disappoints with its array of poor and aged sound selection, poor mastering, and methodically outdated style of music. It has potential if one took the time to master every single instrument and polish the vocals, but truthfully, it upsets me to see a body of work this unpolished.

[We rank singles, EPs, and albums on a scale of Poor, Mediocre, Good, Excellent, and Outstanding]

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The band consists of the founder and songwriter Joseph Demagore, who contributes to the band with his vocals, guitar work and through keyboard. Nathan Q. Scratch contributes to the band through his work in drums and percussion. It also consists of Jason X, who contributes to the band with his work in playing the bass and the keyboard as well as being the co-producer and sound engineer for their newest release, titled ‘Night’s Cross’.

Night’s Cross is a collection of blues, rock and folk songs, with the common theme of contemplation of death emanating throughout these songs. Contrary to common interpretation though, a lot of these songs are not sad- some are even joyful. It displays the multidimensionality of the concept of contemplation of death, through various perspectives, similar to an act named Px3Kauppila we’ve written about on this platform before.

Immediately as the album begins, the strong blues pulsates throughout the beats and the melodic structure of the album itself. The main vocalist’s voice to me, provides each track with a psychedelic feel. His voice also has the tone of a weary storyteller, filled with immense excitation and wisdom with each word sung.

A lot of the tracks to me, deviate from the typical trend of Rosetta West’s albums, with a chunk of the songs on this particular release being quite upbeat, even if bluesy. This could definitely appeal to people who aren’t used to a more mystical and esoteric style of music. It honestly has a lot of range. It can range from being somewhat sassy to existential at the same time. This is a good sign of competent songwriting, and an example of musical variability. This ensures that the listener isn’t bored out of their mind with a repetitive style of presenting artistry, and it also displays the high eye for detail when it comes to executing the album itself.

Towards the second half of the album, after washing through scenes of spunk and dynamic situations, the album gets a little bit more hard-hitting and edgy. It also fits the whole aesthetic within Rosetta West’s artistry, with a tendency to get dark and folksy. There are also interesting vocal quirks between the background vocals and the main vocals, which can definitely get stuck in your head not only because of its catchiness, but because of its eccentricity.

In the midst of all of this are tracks that are also more delicate and sentimental, really taking you on an emotional rollercoaster throughout the experience of this album. One thing I definitely have to point out is the skill in mastering and sound selection, as I can hear techniques specific to certain songs and topics that accentuate it, instead of using an ‘all fits one’ approach to mastering. That honestly makes the album come to life, as if this wasn’t just an album but a soundtrack to a mental film that simply goes on as you convert the musical notes and information to sceneries.

Lastly, I can’t end a Rosetta West review without pointing out the slight usage of folk and tribal rhythms littered throughout the album. It adds on to the rustic, almost perfectly antique feel of the whole album and clings you to the songs. I think this aspect of this act is also extremely unique, as they utilize these rhythms without sounding too corny- in fact, they add their own twist to it, almost making a new genre on their own accord.

Multifaceted, engaging and eccentric- Rosetta West does it again. I definitely recommend this album even if you’re not used to the genre, as it will certainly broaden your horizons.

Score/Excellent: ‘Night’s Cross’ is an extremely engaging album that borders at the intersection of a lot of blues, psychedelic and folk music. It contains very dynamic tracks that display a lot of varying emotions, with a distinct knack for mastering. It definitely doesn’t disappoint.

[We rank singles, EPs, and albums on a scale of Poor, Mediocre, Good, Excellent, and Outstanding]

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His newest single, ‘A Soul Exposed’, is wrapped in crushing riffs, haunting melodies and powerful breakdowns. It’s about stripping back the layers, confronting shadows, and leaving nothing hidden. The track aims to delve into themes of vulnerability and self-reflection, merging raw emotion with melodic elements.

The instrumentation is accentuated with the depth of the lyrics, posing introspective questions about opening your heart and soul, exploring inner fears and truths about how exposed your inner self can be. With a compelling mixture of depth, metacognition and fiery instrumentation, let’s listen to the track.

The track definitely hooks you in within the first few seconds, with its thunderous drum pattern and mastering. The track oozes strength and a strength that can not only be written about but felt through the passion emanating from each note of the electric guitars and the vocalist itself. The vocalist glides through various questions, with the motif of the guitars and drums accompanying each stanza.

I think the drum patterns are extremely complex and unique, giving the listener a treat and a break from the typical structure of a rock song itself. It has a hook and a chorus, which can help connect audiences who are not familiar with the format of metal songs, but honestly, I think it pales in comparison to the musical variability and competency in the pre-chorus segments.

It’s extremely compelling and sucks me in as a listener. The potency of this song is something that cannot be denied, and is a hallmark of musical universality- the hallmark of a truly proficient artist.

Score/Excellent: ‘A Soul Exposed’ is a wonderful song that will definitely not bore you, presenting to you a piece that is filled with sheer emotion, intensity and high potency. It’s dark, but stylistically warranted. It is also amazingly mastered.

[We rank singles, EPs, and albums on a scale of Poor, Mediocre, Good, Excellent, and Outstanding]

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