While historically European jazz leaned toward a classical music sensibility or avant-improv excess, these days a pop-infused aesthetic is re-energizing the genre. Sweden’s e.s.t. (Esbjorn Svensson Trio) is prominent among the forward-forging groups, applying its collective genius to meld jazz’s lyrical tradition with a fetching sonic palette of electronica, rock and Bartokian chamber music. […]
J Moss’ 2005 Grammy Award-nominated and multiple Stellar Award-winning debut positioned him as gospel’s next big thing, and his follow-up surpasses those already lofty expectations. As partner in the three-man hit-manufacturing machine PAJAM, Moss continues to prove that no one knows his singular, irrepressible talents better than he and his compatriots. These past masters […]
Timberlake’s previous single, “What Goes Around . . . Comes Around” lived up his reputation as rhythmic-pop’s main man, and “Summer Love” is no doubt destined to be fourth in line from his album “FutureSex/ LoveSounds” to ride to the crest of top 40. However, while the track offers cunning instrumentation, Timbaland’s heavy production hand […]
Budding adult-contemporary artist Lisa Palleschi is a bit of a paradox. While “I Wanna See You Cry” is a penetrating, keenly produced prototypical power ballad, there are occasional glitches in the quality of her vocal — moments where she simply misses her mark. Repeated listens endear it to the ear, particularly given its melodic […]
Soulful songstress Sunshine Anderson had early success with 2001 gold debut “Your Woman,” but has not matched sales with second effort “Sunshine at Midnight.” New single “Force of Nature” exposes Anderson’s masterful songwriting, as she muses over love for a man who doesn’t match the standards of her overachieving parents. Listeners can relate to placing […]
With enduring radio hit “Chasing Cars” still ringing in our ears, U.K. quintet Snow Patrol hands over a new track from the “Spider-Man 3″ soundtrack. Understanding that with great power comes great sensitivity, “Signal Fire” reveals Spidey’s vulnerable side, and all the humanity hidden behind the mask. A powerful love song written in the first […]
Among the million or so “American Idol” finalists to score on various charts, season five’s Chris Daughtry is the only one to be embraced by so many formats with first single “It’s Not Over,” including rock, for the first time. The band’s follow-up, “Home,” fires up another anthemic rock power ballad, with a lyric dedicated […]
Rock quartet Nicola could make Evanescence bow in reverence, given the grit and grimace of lead singer and band namesake Nicola. Despite fist-waving bravado, she offers a distinguished brag sheet. After graduating from New York’s Fiorello LaGuardia School of Performing Artists, Nicola worked in Nashville and Argentina as frontwoman, guitarist-for-hire and Broadway performer. “Lighthouse” trades […]
Sheryl Crow, riding aboard a bus that uses biodiesel fuel, is on an 11-stop college tour to raise awareness about global warming.
Accompanying the Grammy-winning singer is Laurie David, who produced the film on climate change, “An Inconvenient Truth,” which won the Oscar for best documentary earlier this year.
Each stop on the tour will include […]
Live Earth concerts will be held July 7 in cities around the world, including London, aimed at raising climate change awareness.
Madonna, the Beastie Boys and Black Eyed Peas will headline the concert at Wembley stadium in London. They will be joined by the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Keane, Foo Fighters and others.
Headliners for the U.S. […]
Kings of Leon add a new dark and dreamy dimension to its signature brand of dirty Southern-fried rock on the follow-up to 2005’s “Aha Shake Heartbreak.” The tone is established from the get-go with the moody echoing guitars driving the seven-minute baby-daddy epic “Knocked Up,” the menacing screech reverberating through “Charmer” and the haunted […]
Chayanne has always been masterful at selecting just the right material to fit his voice and the tastes of the times. Here, as usual, he mixes big ballads like “Si Nos Quedara Poco Tiempo” with uptempo fare. But the album is also a departure in its incorporation of reggae (”Juicio Final”) and samba (”Rio”). […]
Because so few are truly greater than the sum of their parts, we’ve learned to be wary of “supergroup” projects. But Hellyeah is one of the rare, and welcome, exceptions. Comprising Damageplan’s Vinnie Paul, Mudvayne’s Chad Gray and Gregg Tribbett, and Nothingface’s Tom Maxwell and Jerry Montano (who’s also part of Danzig), the quintet rocks […]
The marketplace for adult-driven popera has created high consumer demand in Europe and the United States, with hit product from the likes of Il Divo and Josh Groban. Pioneering the female side of the genre is soprano duo Sasha & Shawna, whose melodramatic musings cross the borders of multiple genres, from Radiohead’s “Street Spirit” […]
