EventsRodrigo y Gabriela
This post is somewhat of a departure from most of our other reviews on this site. Pretty much all of the others are for a rock/metal band or hip hop act. Rodrigo y Gabriela are a Mexican acoustic guitar duo with a background in metal.
Mabool | Orphaned Land
Orphaned Land is an Israeli progressive metal group that, not surprisingly, is heavily influenced by middle-eastern sounds and Jewish themes.
Idmen | Indukti
Indukti wastes no time grabbing the listener’s full attention in this album, and they continue to develop their dark, haunting sound and wide range of influences from around the globe.
Indukti
One of my favorite discoveries of the past year was definitely Indukti. Read ahead to learn about their upcoming album and the band in general.
Flight of the Conchords
OK fine, so they’re not amazing composers, instrumentalists, or singers. But they do play an impressively wide variety of musical styles. They’re also liable to make you laugh out loud often. If you’re a fan of their show on HBO then you already know what I’m talking about.
S.U.S.A.R. | Indukti
S.U.S.A.R. - Suspected Unexpected Serious Adverse Reaction - at first it just sounds like a nonsensical and possibly contradictory phrase, but it’s actually a real medical term. It’s also an album by the Polish prog rock band Indukti; an album I thought was good after the first listen, but after the subsequent few listens it just seemed to get better, and better, and better.
Street Signs | Ozomatli
Using over three languages to compose their verses and stanzas, Ozomatli sounds like an international band and rap group. But they are actually from our good ol’ state of California. The 10-piece band, composed of multi ethnic members, use their family cultures and languages to compose their music. Ozomatli to me is the best collaboration of rock, hip hop, jazz, funk, and salsa that I’ve ever heard in my life. And I’m generally not a fan when an artist even tries to mix 2 genres. If only latin influenced music sounded more like Ozomatli instead of reggaeton, how different would the world be?!?
Self-Titled | Avial
“Politically-aware and ideologically driven” was how Rave, a top Indian music magazines described Malayali rock band Avial in its October 2006 issue. Without really having a clue of what they are saying, I actually fell in love with their musical skills and talents. Glad to know that if I did understand the lyrics, I would like the whole package!
Buck Fever | Estradasphere
WARNING: Estradasphere is not for the faint of heart and is for Obnoxious Listeners only. This band crosses and mixes more genres than any other I know. One song could start out with some of the most non-sensical, heaviest metal you’ve heard and smoothly transition to a classical jazz piece followed by Icelandic salsa. Ok, I made that last genre up. But it’s no exaggeration when I say Estradasphere is the most unique band I’ve yet posted on. To the common listener, this music may be immediately brushed off as silly or a joke, but to a musician or Obnoxious Listener who understands the purpose behind it… they just might see pure brilliance.
From One | Ra
Perhaps it’s just me, but I feel like Nirav and I have been giving the impression that good new rock music falls into some sort of new obscure sub-genre. That might be true for the most part, but there really are some bands that we love that can only be classified as rock.
