Johnny Wore Black-Walking Underwater Pt. 2

Self-Release/Independent
2014

Originally issued back in November of last year, "Walking Underwater Pt. 2" is the second Johhny Wore Black recording to have been released in 2014. As it's title clearly spells out it is also the follow-up to the dark rock/melodic metal album, "Walking Underwater.". That album (which I also recommend) was well-received by critics, including yours truly(!), and it helped turn one-time A-list stuntman "Jay" into a legitimate rock and roll performer! As you might recall that album was produced by Grammy Award Winner David Bottrill (Dream Theater, Tool, The Smashing Pumpkins, Muse, Godsmack, Between the Buried and Me, Stone Sour, Coheed and Cambria, Silverchair, etc.) and the melancholy affair featured songwriting contributions & musical performances from Megadeth bassist/main-man David Ellefson. On "Walking Underwater Pt. 2" it's more of the same kind of dark magic as not only does this highly-regarded & massively skilled pair help Johnny Wore Black with the album's production, but David Ellefson handles most of the album's bass duties! Dave also co-wrote three of the album's tracks including the hit single in the making, "Firefly"! You can check out the video for "Firefly" here and (incidental) this huge rock song not only open's "Walking Underwater Pt. 2", but it's the Double A side to "Comfy Slippers"*! Dave's other songwriting contributions come in the form of  "A Cut Above" and "Gift of Desperation" and on Johnny Wore Black's second album the Megadeth's bassist proves just how amazing he is as a songwriter and musician! "A Cut Above" is actually the second track on "Walking Underwater Pt. 2" and these two wild songs alone ("Firefly" and "A Cut Above") are more than enough reason to recommend this alternative rock/metal-leaning album!!  Mixed by David Bottrill, "Walking Underwater Pt. 2" is everything that I enjoyed about Johnny Wore Black first outing only slightly tweaked. If anything though I'd say that part two is slightly stronger. It's every-bit as atmospheric as the band's debut was and just as dark theme-wise. With it's clever mix of dark metal, hard rock, nineties alternative rock, heavy rock, guitar pop, goth rock and electronic rock it captures your imagination and holds it a tight grip. Part two of the saga also happens to be just as hypnotic and spellbinding as part one was. If not more so. And yet there's something extra going on here that I can't quite put my finger on. Whatever it is it makes "Walking Underwater Pt. 2" the better album of the two and that goes way beyond the strength the album's first two singles, "Firefly" and "Comfy Slippers" and the aforementioned classic song in the making, "A Cut Above". For sure "Fallen Angel" is a sold rocker and the Dave Ellefson contribution "Gift of Desperation" is sad-sounding, but nonetheless splendid. So is "Whose Children" and "Noise"! Even the oddly funky "I Do Dissolve" is good and these various tracks do go a long way towards making this album something special. And yet there's still something else here. Maybe it's the fact that there are other guests on "Walking Underwater Pt. 2" beside just Dave Ellefson? Singer/songwriter Sara Renar guests on the strangely beautiful "Shine On" and soul-singer Loretta Heywood appears on the rock-steady  "Winter in July". "Shine On" is haunting in a oddly comfortable kind of way and that has a lot to do with the song's Croatian guest! The memorizing track is blessed ten fold by her outstanding voice and it stands in contrast to Jay's somewhat raspy style. It's both sad and seductive and it's a nice addition to album's overall vibe. "Winter In July" is similarly blessed by the appearance of guest singer Loretta Heywood and on this Bomb The Bass cover she joins hands with Jay in order to close the album on a high note. When looping the album, "Winter in July" creates a nice circle with "Firefly" and in the end Johnny Wore Black proved itself capable of producing the right kind of rock album to jump start a long-career. And let's hope that Johnny Wore Black does have a long career. As good as "Walking Underwater Pt. 2" is I know I'm not alone in wanting to hear more from this new alternative rock/metal sensation!  

You can catch the video for "Comfy Slipper" over at  Classic Rock Magazine

Duke Garwood-Heavy Love

Heavenly Recordings
2015


Just released this past February, "Heavy Love" is the fifth full-length solo album from impassioned singer/songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Duke Garwood. Largely unknown outside of his native country, South Londoner Duke Garwood is a graceful old folk singer trapped in the body contemporary bluesman and even though "Heavy Love" holds the distinction of being my first sampling from this stirring man there was an instant connection and it felt as if I finally found a long-lost kindred spirit! That might sound fanciful or come across as a leap of faith to some of our more cynical readers, but scratch just under the surface of this mournful LP and you too might just discover how those ghosts of yesterday are alive and well and speaking directly to you through Duke's imaginative voice! Though it often looks as if it has been stripped nearly naked the unassuming "Heavy Love" is remarkable deep and lovingly thoughtful as it's words and music slowly break down any and all barriers. As haunting as it might be Duke Garwood's latest release is also memorizing in it's own right and it stands out as a fully-completed work of art. There are no bumps along the path and there are no side-distractions to keep you from enjoying the breath and scope of compelling LP like this. "Heavy Love" could just as easily have been entitled Love Heavy as the heart of this recording seems eerily tied to Duke's own ghosts and the haunting way in which they still seem to want to strangle his soul. All told "Heavy Love" is a masterful work from an artist that London seems to have been previously hoarding. Now's the time for the U.S. market to stand up and take notice of Duke Garwood as this has all the makings of a mutually-beneficial relationship!

Pantaleimon-The Butterfly Ate The Pearl

Grass Girl Music
2013

"The Butterfly Ate The Pearl" makes album number five for England's Pantaleimon. And Pantaleimon is really "just" Andria Degens. Or for the most part. There are some guest musicians, but really this is the living and breathing art work of Andria Degens. This singer/songwriter is also a multi-instrumentalist and a talented/inspiring one at that! And Pantaleimon is her vision. Now, describing Pantaleimon is both simple and complicated. Simply stated this release, which was co-produced with Hugo Race, is psychedelic rock. Well, slowed down, progressive (or downright experimental if you want to be technical about "The Butterfly Ate The Pearl") and slightly dark and melancholy psychedelic rock, but still, it is what it is. When you slice into an album like "The Butterfly Ate The Pearl" though you get the sensation that there is so much more to the music of Pantaleimon. If only you could put your finger on exactly what that extra something is. It's there and it's not as if it is hidden, but putting into words seems like a rather fruitless endeavor. So the best hope that can be offered is that for Pantaleimon, who are rumored to have evolved into a different entity with "The Butterfly Ate The Pearl", psychedelic rock is a means to an end. Perhaps Andria Degens has taken Pantaleimon and helped it to emerge from it's own cocoon into a beautiful butterfly? That very well could be the case. I can't say for sure where Pantaleimon was prior to a release such as "The Butterfly Ate The Pearl", but where Andria has landed with album number five should be duly noted and yes, praised. Even-keeled and easy on the senses, "The Butterfly Ate The Pearl" (as both an album and a title track) had all the hallmarks of a lazy Sunday afternoon, mid-summer, where dreams and reality collide and you take in the beauty of nature while wishing that moments like that could go on forever. That isn't to say that "The Butterfly Ate The Pearl" is all "sunshine and lollipops". It should be stressed that Pantaleimon's latest work, while on the lighter side of psychedelic rock, is darkly romantic. It moves about at it's own pace and it does so without the need to add fake layers of glittery kitsch pop. And for that, a fresh approach at honest reflection, "The Butterfly Ate The Pearl" is all the more pleasing and warrants repeated listens!