Warpaint

Warpaint is a female four piece LA band that is made up of a collection of the cities' typical arty type actresses and musicians. In fact, Shannon Sossamon (the 'A Knights Tale' babe) was the groups original drummer. That probably explains at least partly how they became fashionable among LA scenesters like Heath Ledger and, the one that prompted me to give them a listen, John Frusciante. In fact, he mixed their 2009 debut EP 'Exquisite Corpse' (which you can find below) and the result sounds not unlike an Ataxia session with Cat Power crooning over top. The songs are pretty but have muscle, droggy and yet grounded. The centerpiece of the release is a reinterpretation of the 1964 Robinson penned hit "My Guy", but when Warpaint sings "nothing you can say can take me away from my guy.." it sounds a lot more like they are enticing you to try than practicing true devotion. The result is a seductive, psychedelic jam to get lost in. Even if the whole outing isn't quite as memorable, there is a lot on the disc worth hearing. If nothing else, it sure makes me look forward to the LP dropping soon in 2010.

"Elephants", 2009


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Kevin Gilbert

One of the more interesting short-lived musicians from the 90's, Kevin Gilbert was a multi-instrumentalist, singer, songwriter and producer who collaborated with everyone from Michael Jackson to Madonna to his then-girlfriend Sheryl Crow. His real love, however, lied in creating theatrical yet attractive sounding music that blended his own American pop sensibilities with mid 70's Genesis, a combination of approaches which is rendered perfectly on his 1995 album Thud, a testament that would prove to be the only solo album he would ever do before his death in May of 1996 from autoerotic asphyxia at the age of 29. Sadder still, his body was discovered on the day he was scheduled to have an audition that could have landed him the position of becoming lead vocalist of Genesis, as Phil Collins quit the band earlier than year.

In any case, the music here covers a lot of ground, from the angular bluesy rock of 'Goodness Gracious' to the dusky jazz of 'Joytown' to the punk-opera-prog. centerpiece 'Shadow Self' without so much as a single snag or note out of place. Wry lyrical content and a unique, distinctive delivery also do Gilbert a lot more credit than he ever got during his life, and its a shame that we'll never know just how far he could have gone. If this work was of any indication, the sky certainly would have been no limit.

Links to buy and try are below, as well as a 'Shadow Self' stream to appetize the skeptical and impatient alike. Enjoy!



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Sense

A little known bunch from Quebec who generally play at small venues and occasionally spacious clubs, Sense are a band that fall squarely into the progressive rock genre, but with a very high emphasis on vocal harmony (they sing in English) and crafting gorgeous, catchy arrangements that soar just as deliciously as your favorite Sigur Ros or Mew album.

This particular record, Going Home, was released back in 2007 and has five tracks, three of which edge slightly past the 10 minute mark. To summarize, there's a lot of flute and insanely fluid guitar work eased in between a swamplike pounding bass that works even better when the synths come stabbing in like knives. Whether being aggressive or pastoral, these songs are simply fantastic!

Should appeal to fans of any kind of music really, even if prog. isn't your bag. Listen to 'Stone In The Sky' below, where the links to Amazon and mediafire are also. Enjoy!



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