independent thoughts on alternative music
There’s a pattern I always follow when starting an album review. When dealing with hundreds of daily submissions, an album usually only has a minute or two to catch my attention to make it onto the potential review list. Full exploration of the album doesn’t happen until much later, when a final version is submitted, … Read more ALBUM REVIEW: IN EARNEST – SELF-TITLED EP
Well before my time writing for East of 8th, I was a music lover. That led me to music festivals, and from there to the sometimes fun, sometimes educational, often horrifying world of music festival message boards. This back story is relevant to this review because it was in the pandemonium of a well-known Bonnaroo … Read more ALBUM REVIEW: ALL THEM WITCHES — NOTHING AS THE IDEAL
In these current times we are all looking for connection. We search for the things that bind, that make us feel like we’re all going through the same thing. Music is a tool for this, and Mabes delivers, meeting this longing with her new EP Keeping The Noise Down. Mabes came on to the scene … Read more ALBUM REVIEW: “KEEPING THE NOISE DOWN” EP by MABES
In a world riddled with uncertainty, one thing is always consistent for many of us: music. New music reminds us that no matter is happening in the world, time keeps moving forward; at times, music is a snapshot of the current state of the society in which it is released or which inspires it, … Read more ALBUM REVIEW: “RESONATE” by LETTUCE
Life offers up some great things from time to time—a true, full-length, proper album being one. Unfortunately, this concept is going the way of the dinosaur. Luckily for Lettuce listeners, this is not the case proven by their upcoming release Elevate, their first LP since the incredible Crush album in 2015. Lettuce’s originals are peppered … Read more ALBUM REVIEW: “ELEVATE” by LETTUCE
Some have said that rock n’ roll is dead. If you’ve ever voiced that particular complaint, you should know that you’re wrong. On their new album Don’t Go Out Tonight, Atlanta trio Bad Spell gives you all the proof you need. You hear it right from the opening notes of “Gotta Put You Down,” a … Read more ALBUM REVIEW: “DON’T GO OUT TONIGHT” by BAD SPELL
Some might say that we live in dark and troubled times, and, maybe those people are right. While a good funk-soul album may not cure all the world’s ills, it certainly can boost the mood for even the gloomiest of the doomy types–especially if it’s a live album like the latest from eight-piece British funk … Read more ALBUM REVIEW: “LIVE AT THE JAZZ CAFE” by CROWD COMPANY
Remember when you were in school and you had a crush on someone? You found yourself exhilarated whenever you were in the presence of that person. Well, crushes don’t have to be of the romantic variety. Musical crushes are a real thing, and with her new album The Gumption, Toronto-based R&B artist Tanika Charles just … Read more ALBUM REVEW: “THE GUMPTION” by TANIKA CHARLES
It’s been said that trends come and go, but that style is eternal. Los Angeles-based chanteuse Haley Reinhart has style in spades, which is beautifully showcased on her forthcoming release Lo-Fi Soul. With the album’s shimmering introductory notes, a veil is lifted and the listener is drawn into the experience like Homerian sailors unable to … Read more ALBUM REVIEW: “LO-FI SOUL” by HALEY REINHART
The word “move” is one of the most versatile of the English language. It can relate to change, motion, and emotional shift. It can be used with the same root meaning and still shift between positive and negative all based on context. Therefore, it is fitting that the heart of the upcoming double release, Moonlight … Read more ALBUM REVIEW: “MOONLIGHT BABY/AFTERNOON WITH CAROLINE” by THE DIG