Blacktop Mojo’s Ongoing Success Continues With Its New Self-Titled Album

Courtesy: TAG Publicity

Things have picked up lately for Blacktop Mojo.  The band recently launched its latest tour and its new self-titled album.  Released Friday, the 12-song self-titled record is another successful offering from the independent hard rock band.  According to information provided, the album is already at #5 on the iTunes Rock Albums chart and at #30 on iTunes’ Top 100 Albums Chart.  No doubt the two singles that the album has already produced – ‘Tail Light’s and ‘Wicked Woman,’ which close and open the album respectively do their own part to help with that success.  Those two songs are only a part of what shows the album’s strength.  ‘Do It For The Money,’ one of the album’s later entries, does well in itself to support the noted statements.  It will be discussed shortly.  ‘Rewind,’ which comes early in the album’s run, is another example of what makes this album worth hearing.  It will be examined a little later.  Much the same can be said of ‘Stratus Melancholia,’ the album’s penultimate entry.  It will also be examined later.  Each song noted here is important in its own way to the whole of the album.  When they are considered along with the rest of the album’s songs, the whole proves to be one more of this year’s top new hard rock and metal albums.

Blacktop Mojo’s new self-titled record (its fourth overall album) is another successful new offering from the independent hard rock band.  That is proven in part through the late entry, ‘Do It For The Money.’  The song features a heavy, crunching guitar line and equally heavy, rich bass and drum line that is instantly comparable to some of the best works from Black Label Society.  The fullness and richness in the arrangement (including the vocals) makes the arrangement so engaging and entertaining.  It is just one part of what makes the song stand out.  The seeming commentary about understanding what is important in life featured in the song’s lyrical content adds to the song’s impact.

The noted inferred theme is presented right from the song’s outset as James sings in the song’s lead verse and chorus, “How much for your soul?/Is it for sale to anyone?/What’s the price of being loved?/Which bank do you owe?/Is it worth its weight in/Is it worth its weight in/Is it worth its weight in gold?/Do you do it for the love/Or do you do it for the money?/The poor die young and the rich get lucky/Cash is king and you’re the jester honey/Do you do it for the love/Or do you do it for the money?”  The song’s second verse continues that inferred theme as James sings, “He left you in the hole/Did you know the deal was wrong?/Did you sell it for a song?/It’s your blood on the note/Oh he cleaned you out/What will you pay with/What will you pay with/What will you pay with now?”  All of this seems to really infer a discussion on the familiar topic of deciding what is really important in life, money or our pride and simply more important matters in life.  The infectious nature of the song’s musical arrangement will ensure even more that audiences get that seeming message.  The two elements collectively make clear why this song is such a strong addition to the album.  It is just one of the many songs that make Blacktop Mojo’s new self-titled album such an impressive new offering from the band.  ‘Rewind,’ one of the album’s early entries, is another example of the record’s strength.

‘Rewind,’ like ‘Do It For The Money,’ stands out in part because of its arrangement.  This song’s arrangement is another work that tends to stray from Blacktop Mojo’s more familiar heavy, southern rock approach.  Rather in this case, what audiences get is a song that exhibits influence from Creed and (interestingly enough) Lifehouse.  The guitar-centered composition really comes across as a hybrid of songs from those two bands.  That is exhibited through the harmonies that it and the bass line create.  The addition of the vocals (which here really conjure thoughts of none other than Scott Stapp) adds even more to that sense.  Of course the song’s musical content is just one part of what makes it stand out.  The song’s lyrical content ensures its own appeal.

The lyrical content featured in this song seems to take on the all too familiar topic of a relationship matter.  This is inferred through the song’s extensive lead verse and chorus, in which James sings, “Rewind/To yesterday morning when/We were fine/Before we knew the world would end/If I told you/We could go back to that moment again/Would you drop everything/Take my hand, and follow?/Would you choose yesterday or tomorrow?/Sunshine/Morning light creeping in/White Lies/I don’t know what to say again/Is illusion/Better than the promise we give/When I love you for some reason seems hollow/Would you choose yesterday or tomorrow?/Don’t speak now live in the moment babe/One wrong word and everything’s changed/The second hand could tick and we lose everything we know/Fight back tears as the tape plays/It comes unwound and goes in and out of phase/The stereo is screaming and the song don’t sound the same anymore/Rewind the track to way back before we knew the words.”  The song’s second verse infers even more that the song’s theme is that of a potentially broken relationship as James sings, “Inside/I think I know the answer you’ll give/In your eyes/I can tell you’re barely holding it in/When I met you/We radiated light from within/But we chewed that up and now it’s time to swallow/Would you choose yesterday or tomorrow?”  The heartfelt feeling in the song’s arrangement, while thankfully not the typical oh woe is me approach, still does well to complete the picture of this seeming theme.  It adds even more to the song’s overall emotional impact.  Together, the two elements show clearly why this song is another positive addition to Blacktop Mojo.  It is just one more of the songs that makes the album in whole prove so enjoyable, too.  ‘Stratus Melancholia,’ the album’s penultimate entry, is yet another way in which Blacktop Mojo proves its success.

Right off the bat, the musical arrangement featured in ‘Stratus Melancholia’ evokes thoughts of the grunge sounds of the 90s.  Speaking more specifically, the song’s heavy, plodding arrangement likens itself to works from Soundgarden and Alice in Chains through the downtuned guitars, bass, almost mournful vocal delivery style and heavy drums.  At the same time, BTM’s own familiar influence is present, too.  It is just blended well with the other noted influences here to make the arrangement in whole such a unique addition to the album.  That arrangement does not work alone here, either.  The lyrical content that accompanies the song’s musical arrangement makes for its own interest.

The almost nihilistic approach to the song’s lyrical content adds even more to that noted grunge approach.  The song opens with James singing, “Black sun burn a hole in the clouds/The world goes cold the grass turns brown/Heart turning inside out/Open up and swallow me down//Blind darkness closing in/Whisper nothings, sweet as sin/Echoes now were they a dream/In the end they don’t mean a thing/Love won’t keep you safe/Love will slip away/Love won’t keep you safe/Love will slip away.”  The song’s second verse is just as brooding as it states, “All alone in my own head/Rotten smell/Is something dead?/Crawling on my hands and knees/Beg the darkness/Let me breathe.”  This comes across as someone in a dark place.  It is a fully relatable situation for every listener.  That ability to connect with listeners lyrically as well as musically (the song’s musical arrangement does very well to enhance the mood set by the song’s lyrical theme, too) shows even more why this song stands out.  The whole makes even clearer why this album is such an impressive new offering from Blacktop Mojo.  When it is considered along with the other songs examined here and the rest of the album’s songs, the whole makes the album in whole a fully successful new offering from Blacktop Mojo that continues to help cement the band’s place among the current generation of young rock acts.

Blacktop Mojo’s fourth album, Blacktop Mojo, is yet another strong offering from the band.  Its musical and lyrical content alike does well throughout to make it fully engaging and entertaining.  Each of the songs examined here serve in their own way to support that statement.  They and the rest of the album’s songs show a continued growth from the band.  When they are considered along with the album’s existing singles and the rest of the album’s songs, the whole makes the album overall one more of this year’s top new hard rock and metal albums.  Furthermore, it continues to cement the band’s place among the current generation of young rock and hard rock bands.  Blacktop Mojo is available now.

The band is in the midst of the tour’s first leg of its tour. The band’s upcoming dates, including those for the second leg of the tour, are noted below.

BLACK TOP MOJO ON TOUR        
8/15 — Joliet, IL — The Forge 
8/17 — Nashville, TN — The End
8/18 — Memphis, TN — Growlers
8/20 — St. Louis, MO — Red Flag
8/21 — Hutchinson, KS — The Red Shed
8/22 — Lubbock, TX — Jakes
9/24 — Fort Worth, TX — Rail Club
9/25 — Enid, OK — Fling At The Springs
9/26 — Fort Smith, AR — Temple Live
9/30 — Biloxi, MS — The Cannery Bar & Grill
10/2 — Destin, FL — Club LA w/ Nonpoint
10/3 — Lake City, FL — Halpatter Brewing Company
10/5 — Orlando, FL — Soundbar
10/7 — Charlotte, NC — Amos
10/8 — Greensboro, NC — Blind Tiger
10/9 — Jacksonville, NC — Hooligans Music Hall
10/10 — Virginia Beach, VA — Elevation 27
10/12 — Brooklyn, NY — Kingsland
10/13 — Syracuse, NY — Lost Horizon
10/15 — Marietta, OH — Adelphia Music Hall
10/16 — Harrisburg, PA — HMAC
10/21 — Providence, RI — Alchemy
10/22 — Hampton Beach, NH — Wallys
10/23 — Hartford, CT — Webster Underground
10/24 — Albany, NY — Empire Underground
10/26 — Buffalo, NY — Mohawk Place
10/28 — Flint, MI — Machine Shop
10/29 — Indianapolis, IN — Emerson Theater
10/30 — Battle Creek, MI — Music Factory
10/31 — Ft Wayne, IN — Pieres
11/3 — West Dundee, IL — Rockhaus
11/4 — Peoria, IL — Crusens
11/5 — Wichita, KS — Temple Live
11/6 — Texarkana, AR — Crossties

More information on Blacktop Mojo’s new album and tour is available along with all of the band’s latest news at:

Website: https://www.blacktopmojo.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BlacktopMojo

Twitter: https://twitter.com/blacktopmojo

To keep up with the latest entertainment reviews and news, go online to https://www.facebook.com/philspicks and “Like” it.  Fans can always keep up with the latest entertainment reviews and news in the Phil’s Picks blog at https://philspicks.wordpress.com.

The Sounds, Statements, Sequencing Of Superbloom’s New Album Will Appeal To Fans Of 90s Alt, Grunge Music

Courtesy: Earshot Media

For many people out there, the era that was the 80s is neither dead nor gone (sadly).  Ironically, the 80s is not the only era in which many people choose to live, even though it has passed.  There are also those who choose to remain in the 90s, even though that age is gone, too.  Among those individuals who apparently choose to live in the 90s, even now in the 21^st century are the members of the independent alt-rock band Superbloom.  That is evidenced in the band’s album, Pollen.  The 12-song record, scheduled for release Tuesday, is a full-on musical trip back to the 90s, but one that is welcome.  Those musical arrangements that make up the body of this record will be discussed shortly.  The lyrical themes that accompany the songs, while difficult to decipher at points without a lyrics sheet, also play into the album’s presentation.  They will be discussed a little later.  The sequencing of that collective content rounds out the most important of the album’s elements and will also be discussed later.  Each item noted is important in its own way to the whole of the album’s presentation.  All things considered, they make Pollen a surprisingly enjoyable nostalgic trip back to the 90s that any fan of that era’s sounds will enjoy.

 Superbloom’s forthcoming album Pollen is a surprisingly enjoyable musical trip back to the 90s.  More specifically, it is a welcome trip for those who were and still are fans of the grunge and alt-rock movement that was so prevalent during that era.  That is proven primarily through the record’s featured musical arrangements.  Right from the 42-minute record’s opening, audiences are treated to an arrangement that is comparable to works from Foo Fighters in ‘1994.’  Ironically, it was only a year later – 1995 – when Foo Fighters released its self-titled debut album.  Nirvana had released its finale album, In Utero only a year prior in 1993.  It sounded nothing like Foo Fighters’ album, which would of course come later, either.  To that end, maybe the arrangement is meant to sort of highlight the bridge between the two bands.  That is of course just this critic’s interpretation. 

Moving on from ‘1994,’ the alt-rock and grunge sounds and styles continue from there.  ‘Mary on a Chain’ bears a stylistic approach and sound that is just as comparable to works from Silverchair and Nirvana as to some of the alt-rocks bands that rose to fame during the 1990s.  That is evidenced through the sound and style of the vocal delivery, guitars and bass here.  Even the sound of the drums, thanks to the production, gives them the sound of drums used in so many records during that era.  It makes for an interesting presentation in its own right.

Much the same can be said of ‘Hey Old Man,’ ‘Leash,’ and honestly every other arrangement featured throughout the album.  Audiences are even treated to a Smashing Pumpkins style composition in the album’s latest single, ‘Pollen.’  As if that is not enough, listeners could just as easily argue that the band takes influence from (of all bands) in ‘Glass Candy Wrapper.’  The similarity between this song and Lifehouse’s hit single ‘Hanging By A Moment’ is uncanny.  Whether that similarity was intended is known only to Superbloom’s members.  Regardless, it is an unavoidable comparison.  Taking that into account along with the other arrangements examined here and the rest of the record’s compositions, the whole makes this album appealing for any alt-rock and grunge rock fan if only for its musical content.  Of course the musical content is only a portion of what is deserving of attention.  The lyrical content that accompanies the songs’ musical content is also of note.

The lyrical content featured throughout Pollen is difficult to fully decipher at points without a lyrics sheet to reference.  Though, there are some points at which the lyrics can at least be understood partially.  One of the songs that allows for at least some understanding is the early Nirvana-esque ‘Spill.’  Front man Dave Hoon sings in the song’s lead verse, “I want to buy/A crow of thorns/try it on/And poison my…” The final words here are difficult to decipher.  That aside, the very mention of the crown of thorns makes the song here perhaps about someone putting the weight of the world on their own shoulders.  At another point, Hoon can be understood to sing, “I wish I was someone else/So I redeem myself.”  He later adds, “I wanna buy your sympathy.”  This comes across as the same kind of angsty lyrical content that was so commonplace in music from the 90s in itself.  To that end, that seeming “oh woe is me” lyrical theme here couples perfectly with the sound of the age to take listeners back to the 90s even more.

Interestingly enough, Hoon and company do not just stick to the 90s in terms of the album’s lyrical themes.  Hoon explained in reference to the album’s single, ‘Muzzle, that it is in fact a commentary on the current state of the world.  He said of this song’s theme, “The lyrics for Muzzle were written at the end of summer I think of 2020 when everything was hyper crazy, and I’d always have the news on or be on Twitter or Reddit. So that was the environment Muzzle was written in. I think the song is about having something to say but choosing not to — for better or for worse.”  Those statements are illustrated well as Hoon sings in the song’s lead verse, “Save me from myself/Put me back on the shelf/I thought we understood/If I could turn back time, I would.”  There is even a mention in the second verse about the TV being constantly on.  What is really interesting here is not so much the lyrical theme, but the calm in how Hoon delivers the song’s words.  It’s kind of that hindsight being 20/20 sense, considering the calm in his delivery.  That ads even more to the impact in the song’s lyrical theme, making clear why it is just one more example of the importance of the album’s lyrical content. 

‘Whatever,’ the album’s penultimate entry, is yet another example of the album’s lyrical themes.  As with that featured in ‘Spill,’ this song’s lyrical theme comes across as echoing the angsty emotions so common in music from the 90s.  The song’s subject here seems to be addressing someone else, basically saying he/she is indifferent to being away from others.  That is inferred as Hoon sings, “Wish I was gone/When I come back/I feel a million miles away/Whatever.”  He even says in the song’s opening, “You ever been alone/You just enjoy the way/You like the way it sounds.”  This comes across as being one of those anthemic type of songs that angsty, grunge fans would like.  That is because it seems to present that desire of those young teen audiences to just be away and by themselves, brooding over everything because they like being that way.  This is certain to take listeners right back to that age as it repeats time and again throughout the song’s three minute-plus run time.  It makes the song just one more example of what makes the album’s lyrical content so important to its presentation.  It shows the clear intent of Superbloom’s members to connect with listeners through the album’s lyrical content just as much as through its musical content.

While the musical and lyrical content featured in Superbloom’s new album goes a long way toward making the album appealing for fans of 90s alt and grunge rock, it is just part of what makes the album appealing for those audiences.  The sequencing of that content puts the finishing touch to the album’s presentation.  The sequencing shows a clear direction for the album’s songs.  It starts out with a certain fire in its musical content, but gradually pulls back in the pairing of ‘Leash’ and ‘Muzzle.’  From that point on, the energies (and by connection the styles and sounds) in the album vary from song to song and even within the songs.  This ensures listeners’ engagement in its own right.  It ensures that the album does not become monotonous.  Rather, it will keep listeners’ own emotions varying with those in the arrangements.  Keeping that in mind, the sequencing serves as its own strong point for the album.  When it is considered along with the album’s overall content, the whole makes this record a presentation that fans of 90s alt and grunge rock will agree is a welcome musical blast from the past.

Superbloom’s new album, Pollen is an interesting new offering from the independent rock act.  That is due in part to its musical arrangements.  The arrangements harken back to the alt and grunge rock sounds of the 90s, taking influence from the likes of Nirvana, Smashing Pumpkins, and Foo Fighters to name just a few similar acts.  That in itself is reason enough for the noted audiences to take in this record.  The lyrical themes seem at least to some extent, to harken back to the angsty lyrical themes featured in music from acts that were popular at the time, too.  The sequencing of that content puts the finishing touch to the album’s presentation, ensuring listeners’ engagement even more.  Each item noted is important in its own way to the whole of the album’s presentation.  All things considered, they make Pollen one of the best of this year’s new independent albums.  Pollen is scheduled for release Tuesday.

More information on Superbloom’s new single, video and album is available along with all of the band’s latest news at https://www.facebook.com/superbloomnyc.

To keep up with the latest entertainment news and reviews, go online to https://www.facebook.com/philspicks and “Like” it. Fans can always keep up with the latest entertainment news and reviews in the Phil’s Picks blog at https://philspicks.wordpress.com.

Hold On Hollywood’s New EP Could Help The Band Get More Hold On Mainstream Success

Courtesy: TAG Publicity

Pop rock band Hold On Hollywood returned early this with its latest studio recording Love Stories.  The four-song EP is an easy fit for any mainstream Top 40 radio programmer’s list.  That is proven through the record’s fully accessible musical arrangements and its lyrical themes, both of which will be discussed shortly.  The record’s sequencing notable in its own right, too.  All three elements are key in their own way to this latest offering from the up-and-coming outfit.  All things considered, they make Love Stories a work that will appeal to most pop rock audiences.

Hold On Hollywood’s recently released EP Love Stories is a work that, given the right support and attention could be a success with most of this nation’s mainstream Top 40 stations.  That is proven in part through the musical arrangements that make up the 18-minute record’s body.  From start to end, the arrangements easily lend themselves to comparisons to works from so many of the band’s more well-known counterparts.  The record’s opener, ‘Second Favorite’ supports the noted statements.  The arrangement at the center of ‘Second Favorite’ immediately lends itself to a comparison to works from Lifehouse, what with the harmonics from the guitars and bass, and the vocal delivery of front man Ian Dartez.  ‘Anything You Say’ meanwhile boasts a similarity to works from Theory of a Deadnan (albeit slight) in its heavier arrangement.  ‘Movies,’ the EP’s third entry, conjures thoughts of early Fuel and Puddle of Mudd, yet again taking audiences back to the early to mid 90s.  The Lifehouse comparison returns in ‘Too Late,’ along with a comparison to Daughtry, before the band takes audiences even father back in time with its cover of Eddie Money’s 80s hit song ‘Take Me Home Tonight.’  Looking back through these arrangements, it is clear that the arrangements bear strong similarity to works from so many of the band’s more well-known counterparts that rose to fame during the 90s.  Even with those influences, the arrangements still boast their own identity that will appeal to fans of those bands.  Keeping this in mind, it becomes clear why this aspect of the band’s new EP is so important to its odds for success.  It is just one of the elements that makes this record a potentially successful offering from HOH.  The record’s lyrical content adds to its appeal.

The lyrical content featured throughout the body of Love Stories matches the record’s title quite well.  That is because all five of the songs featured in this record center on the topic of relationships.  ‘Second Favorite’ seems, in its body, to come from the standpoint of someone who has gone through a difficult situation and is pleading with that other person to not end the relationship, even noting in the song’s second verse about having been afraid to let go and that he will do whatever it takes “as long as you want me.”  There is even the mention here of making amends, so naturally, it can be assumed that this song focuses on a relationship that is on the verge of ending.  ‘Anything You Say’ seems to be much in the same vein as the record’s opener, with the song’s subject adding to the statement that days without that second person are that much more grey.  ‘Movies’ seems to take a different tone in its lyrical content than the lyrical content in the EP’s first two songs.  This work seems to be more upbeat than its predecessors, adding more of a positive, hopeful tone than those songs.  This time, audiences get a work that seems to be more about a relationship that is going well, and at a point at which the couple is remembering how the relationship started.  It serves as a good “break point” of sorts for the record, considering that it does change the record’s overall tone.  That happier tone only lasts but so long as the EP makes its way out of that song and into the more melancholy ‘Too Late.’  This song opens up with front man Ian Dartez stating, “Is it too late…You can just say what’s on your mind/is we’ll never do this again.”  He even notes later in the song, “Looking back/I should have told you/That I’m sorry/It hasn’t been quite as easy/As it seems.” Between these lines and the rest of the song’s lyrics, it becomes obvious that this song comes from the standpoint of a relationship that met its end, and now the subject is looking back in hindsight at how it came to its end.  ‘Take Me Home Tonight’ takes the exact opposite sire of the familiar mater of relationships.  This is a relationship that is not even at it’s beginning, but rather that earliest infancy.  That is clear in the very statement sung by Eddie Money, “take me home tonight.”  This is that early courtship stage.  Looking at this and the rest of the EP’s lyrical content, the band has covered here, pretty much every stage of any relationship.  The closer is that “infant” stage of the relationship.  ‘Movies’ is the late stage with the happier moments.  ‘Second Favorite’ comes across as a relationship on the verge of ending.  ‘Anything You Say’ is that relationship even closer to the edge, and ‘Too Late’ finds the song’s subject looking back at the ended relationship.  It’s definitely something interesting to contemplate, that in just five songs, this record reaches on the key points of so many relationships.  To that end, it will certainly connect with a wide range of audiences, especially when this aspect is considered along with the record’s collective radio ready musical arrangements.  Keeping all of this in mind, the musical and lyrical content featured in this record is only a portion of what makes the EP a potential success for the band.  The EP’s sequencing rounds out its most important elements.

Love Stories’ sequencing is key to address because it ensures the record’s energy remains stable from beginning to end of the production.  Even in the record’s more reserved moments in ‘Movies’ and ‘Too Late,’ the record doesn’t get but so reserved.  Rather the songs manage to keep the energy just balanced enough with their more melancholic vibes.  ‘Take Me Home Tonight,’ keeps the energy right at its key level where it remained through the rest of the record, again ensuring listeners’ engagement and entertainment.  That stability and consistency in the EP’s sequencing works with the songs and their companion lyrical content to complete the EP’s presentation.  All things considered, they make Love Stories a positive return for Hold on Hollywood that any pop rock fan will appreciate.

Hold on Hollywood’s new EP Love Stories is a simple and accessible record that will appeal to a wide range of audiences.  That is due in part to five musical arrangements, each of which is fully accessible for audiences and ready for any Top 40 radio programmer’s play list.  The arrangements’ accompanying lyrical content are just as accessible as said musical content.  The record’s sequencing rounds out its most important elements, ensuring the EP’s energy remains stable from start to end.  All three noted items are important in their own way to the whole of the EP.  All things considered, they make Love Stories a record that given the right support, could be a hit for Hold on Hollywood.  The record is available now.  More information on the EP is available along with all of the band’s latest news at:

 

 

 

Website: http://holdonhollywood.com

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/holdonhollywood

Twitter: http://twitter.com/holdonhollywood

 

 

 

To keep up with the latest entertainment reviews and news, go online to http://www.facebook.com/philspicks and “Like” it.  Fans can always keep up with the latest entertainment reviews and news in the Phil’s Picks blog at http://phispicks.wordpress.com.