The familiar and likable sound of Andy Hawk and his Train Wreck Endings makes a welcome return in the form of this, the band’s third studio album. Managing to combine rockabilly, folk and blues in equal measure, all the ingredients that made their previous releases such a success are all here in abundance. Hawk’s ever so slightly flawed vocals are more than complemented by a band that sounds like it could have been plucked straight from Bourbon Street. The somewhat slow and thoughtful "Baltimore" opens proceedings before the heavy blues sound of "Down So Long" provides a chipper interlude, despite the dark theme. "Another Storyline" has a summary feel to it with its to-tapping chords and pleasant harmonies thanks to the backing vocals of Emma Rowley and the marching beat of "Sunshine Street" reaches a crescendo of guitar and banjo as the song lives up to its positively named title. Like most of Hawk’s work to date It’s not all stomping anthems and sing-along lyrics, "Icicle in the Sun" mourns the passing of a good friend and is a fitting tribute.
With many bands that put themselves in the folk-rock and blues category the music can become samey and repetitive. This release, like the previous two does a great job of stepping aside from the rest and illustrates what can be achieved thanks to some great song writing and top class musicianship.
With the long list of global accolades that have followed their various musical releases to date, Australian sibling duo and pop/rock outfit Kotadama may be forgiven for feeling a little pressure with this their debut album release. After tinkering with international ballroom dancing and dabbling in the stock market in past ventures, these brothers now have global domination firmly in their sights in the form of “Dichotomy”. Following EP and single releases in 2009, Evan and Chris Brown have seen their music featured on a number of radio stations and press outlets around the world. “See You Tonight” was elevated to the lofty heights of number one requested song by the listeners of New York’s Kiss FM for a total of eight weeks and has featured in a string of band contests and seen them invited to a number of conferences and workshops for new artists from Japan to New Zealand and London to Canada. With “Dichotomy” they deliver eleven tracks of the distinctive electronic pop, soft rock hybrid which the brothers Brown have made their own as their musical style has grown up with them. They have also recruited renowned producer David Kershenbaum, he of Duran Duran and Bryan Adams fame, which can only be seen as a statement of intent in terms of where the guys want to go in the future. Along with the previously mentioned standout single “See You Tonight”, which makes a re-appearance here, “Endure” maintains the brooding and slightly haunting theme that forms the backdrop to this album throughout its entirety. Tracks such as “Earth Vs Man” and “As I Am” appear to wistfully lament lost love and insecurity whilst offering a middle finger like gesture of defiance to all concerned, with Chris describing the former as “a warning to mankind”. The atmospheric ballad, “Time and Tide” shows off the duos ability to sound like there are a lot more in the band than there actually are, mainly due to a powerful guitar spine tempered with sparkling keyboard accompaniment. There is genuine musical ability here, song-writing obviously comes naturally to these brothers who have been producing lyrics since day one and they are able to use powerful and emotive words to create decent pop songs. “Dichotomy” at times cries out for a little diversity though as some of the tracks are in danger of becoming a little one dimensional. Whether the ballad nature of most of the songs makes for a full-length album rather than an EP is debatable and will not be everyone’s cup of tea, though what is not up for debate is the raw talent this pair have to offer. The future looks bright for Chris and Evan and following this release they plan to head to The States and continue their work with David Kershenbaum. Hopefully the boys aren’t tempted back to the ballroom or lured by potential riches of Wall Street and return with a follow-up second album, as you get the feeling that like a good Aussie Chardonnay, Kotadama’s music is improving with age.
Those sensing a familiar sound to some of the tracks here may be forgiven as New York singer, songwriter and guitar guru, Brad Hammonds has combined some previously released and re-arranged titles with brand new material for this, his latest album.
The moody but melodic strains that have made his previous recordings so distinctive run deep once again despite this being a solo project following his successful Shoulders of Giants venture with Tom Crowley in 2010. The new tracks dovetail seamlessly with the revived pieces and still maintain that trademark Hammonds sound, mostly due to his distinctive guitar style, though this time with a more gritty feel thanks to his more industrial but organic vocal style. The polished production of "She's in Love" mean this track is always a highlight in any album and the picking guitar style and haunting vocals of title track “Code of a Mad Man” sound as good as ever. “Above the Crowd” illustrates the direction Hammonds has gone since writing alone with a slow starting yet carefully constructed combination of guitar, percussion and bass with the help of old cohorts Jason Di Matteo and Dave Wilkie, the song reaches a natural crescendo before fading gently into the distance. “Everyone Will Be a star” shows the ability of Hammonds to mix light and dark, with an tongue in cheek look at reality television in modern culture, even more ironic as some of his previous work has been used on a number of top rating reality TV shows. The curtain is brought down by the uplifting "Your prayers”, which incorporates the subtle use of cello that only goes to enhance the piercing sound of acoustic guitar which Hammonds appears to thrash out effortlessly yet still at a thunderous pace. The growing number of fans that have followed this New York performer, through bands such as Brazz Tree and Shoulders of Giants will not be disappointed with his latest efforts and will also be pleased to see that despite sailing the ship alone once again he is still able to produce the goods with a suggestion there is more to come.
The familiar and likable sound of Andy Hawk and his Train Wreck Endings makes a welcome return in the form of this, the band’s third studio album. Managing to combine rockabilly, folk and blues in equal measure, all the ingredients that made their previous releases such a success are all here in abundance. Hawk’s ever so slightly flawed vocals are more than complemented by a band that sounds like it could have been plucked straight from Bourbon Street. The somewhat slow and thoughtful "Baltimore" opens proceedings before the heavy blues sound of "Down So Long" provides a chipper interlude, despite the dark theme. "Another Storyline" has a summary feel to it with its to-tapping chords and pleasant harmonies thanks to the backing vocals of Emma Rowley and the marching beat of "Sunshine Street" reaches a crescendo of guitar and banjo as the song lives up to its positively named title. Like most of Hawk’s work to date It’s not all stomping anthems and sing-along lyrics, "Icicle in the Sun" mourns the passing of a good friend and is a fitting tribute.
