Reviews – RCRD LBL

May 30, 2022

May 30, 2022 Mew Zikwryder

Review: ELIS NOA share production rich R&B album

Image credit: ©pleasedontsearchme

ELIS NOA have shared their latest album I Was Just About To Leave, and it’s guaranteed to make you take a second look and assess whether you are truly happy with the people that surround your daily life. Released via Las Vegas Records, the album shares eleven emotionally evocative tracks.

Stream/Download: I Was Just About To Leave LP

‘Weights’ is a production-rich track that features a delectable blend of percussion instruments and electronic elements. Emotionally bare like ‘Mad About You’, the track is a refreshingly honest message about factors that canweigh you down in every relationship.

‘Make Me Think You’ incorporates somber and rich downtempo elements with a sultry R&B tone and vocals that are addictive from the start. A song about reminiscing about love that was and is no more, it is a heartwrenching track about heartbreak but sweet-sounding nonetheless.

‘I Don’t Like It Here’ is a song that reflects on playing pretend with people and concealing your true feelings. This track took us by surprise the most with its composed and attitude fuelled vocal delivery and tempo.

Follow ELIS NOA:

Website – Facebook – Soundcloud – Youtube – Instagram – Spotify

May 17, 2022

May 17, 2022May 17, 2022 Mew Zikwryder

Review: Singer NAVA shares beautifully juxtaposed EP

Image credit: Matteo Strocchia and Marco Servina

Attention commanding musician NAVA has shared her latest four-track EP NAFAS. The Oyez! release also features the charming but daring track ‘GAZ’ which speaks on the struggles of being an artist and woman in the modern world. The rest of the EP shares other thoughts on relationships and loyalty with confidence and an avant pop glow.

Stream / Download: NAFAS EP

Pounding drums and bold synth elements open the track ‘Senti’, which mixes foreign languages with English. The result is a beautiful juxtaposition of languages and sounds that playfully collide with each other. Featured song ‘YEK’ is as bold as its capitalized track title suggests. Packed with dark electronic elements, there is an eerie element to its mood but it still maintains a composed and fierce tone like the rest of the EP.

The final track ‘Respiro’ has otherworldly qualities with aired-out synth notes and a gentle beat. The entire track is sung with conviction and poise that is highly addictive.

Follow NAVA:

Facebook – Twitter – Soundcloud – Youtube – Instagram – Spotify

March 4, 2022

March 4, 2022March 4, 2022 Mew Zikwryder

REVIEW: Classical composer Olovson shares exuberant album Storytelling

Image credit: Eliot Lee Hazel

Emerging artist Olovson has finally released his long-awaited album Storytelling via 1136 Diamond. Olovson is the moniker of part Grammy Award winning musician Jacob Olofsson. The album features the familiar track ‘Labyrinter’ which calls to mind early silent films with its whimsical, inviting yet mysterious tone throughout. This is the ideal track to reminiscence with or just enjoy as is with its comforting mood.

Stream/ Download: Storytelling LP

‘En Mi Lado’ is a gentle yet lively track with cascading piano notes that divert toward a more playful direction. A track for all the children at heart that can appreciate a classical tune or two.

‘Ruth’ surprised me the most, it’s one of the most toe-tapping tracks I have heard in a while in terms of classical sounds. Other acoustics collide with the signature piano structure to create this exhilarating track – brilliant.The final track ‘Leaving Home’ creates an equilibrium of sadness and joy with its instrumental dips and rises, which definitely sums up the feeling of leaving the nest.

In conclusion, this album is an exuberant listening experience for young and old souls looking for a listening oasis to absorb themselves in for as long as needed.

Follow Olovson:

Website – Facebook – Soundcloud – Youtube – Instagram – Spotify

August 20, 2021

August 20, 2021August 20, 2021 Mike change

Review: synthpop duo At 1980 create nostalgia for time past

Image credit: Nima Elm

Atmospheric and lighthearted are some of the words that can be used to describe the synthpop band At 1980’s new album Late Night Calls via NewRetroWave. This duo consists of pals Adrian Quesada Michelena and Josh Dally, who have said that the ‘80s will never stop being influential to their sound. They have cited names like Bryan Adams and The Midnight as huge inspirations to the music they create today. The vocals somewhat call to mind a radiant and younger Bryan Adams, maybe this could be the re-incarnation of the man himself?

Stream/ Download: Late Night Calls LP

With track names like ‘Maria’, ‘California Nights’ and ‘We Were on Fire’ we can already sum up that this album has substance and will add value to any playlist that is open to explore an undiscovered love for the ‘80s for some and may just leave others thinking back to simpler times in their life. The album theme of having a lust for life runs through each track like clockwork, whether it’s the sentimental lyrics of ‘We Were on Fire’ or the more upbeat tone ‘Nothing Left To Say’. This album will be a hit amongst those who love ‘80s adventure films in which the hero wins in the end.

Each song on this album is as good as the next, but ‘We Were on Fire’ leaves us feeling as soft as putty. You cannot help but daydream, as you think back to your days as an adolescent and all the adventures that you joined in on with your mates – some memories may make you feel giddy and perhaps cringe for a few seconds. But then you think about all the fun that was had and within an instant, you feel appreciative for those times.