MonkeyJunk
"All Frequencies"
Stony Plain Recording Co. Ltd
7-out-of-10
Another week, and another blues album has found its way into my pile of music. This time around I got to listen to MonkeyJunk and their third album "All Frequencies." MonkeyJunk is blues band coming out of Ottawa. When it comes to the blues genre they are pretty well established having won the 2010 Blues Music Award (USA) - Best New Artist Debut. The band followed that up by winning the Blues Album of the Year at the 2012 Junos.
So even though I am not big into blues music I can appreciate what MonkeyJunk brings to the table. "All Frequencies" was an enjoyable album. The one aspect of blues music that I can never get enough of is the sound of a harmonica. Thankfully there is plenty of that to go around on this album. Also on more the one song I was digging the blues guitar being played by lead guitarist Tony D. 'Once Had Wings' is a great song and lead singer Steve Marriner really shows off his vocals on the song. It was definitely the highlight of the album for me. Though there weren't any bad songs on the album just none measured up to 'Once Had Wings' for me.
For being a genre of music I am not completely familiar with, MonkeyJunk was good album to listen too for someone who isn't well versed in blues music. Slowly I am starting to like the genre more and more and "All Frequencies" is one of those albums that only will help my opinion of blues music. So if your a fan of blues this album is definitely a must have and even if you are not it is worth a listen. It never hurts to listen to something new, you might just like it.
-ADAM DANIELS
New Nobles
"Come On"
6.5-out-of-10
One of the cool things about reviewing albums, is for the most part I have no clue what I am about to listen when I turn on the music. So upon listening to New Nobles first album "Come On" I was pleasantly surprised to hear female vocals. I tend to like bands with female lead singers, just because there isn't a lot of them out it there seems. New Nobles were formed in Peterborough, Ontario, although the lead singer Jen Zentner is from Saskatoon. Jen has a unique voice that won't be for everyone but it worked for me, the vocals are solid throughout the album.
Being in the pop rock genre "Come On" has more than a few catchy tunes sprinkled throughout the album. One of those is 'Like Me'. It is up tempo and the lyrics are easy enough to sing along to and the guitar solo is pretty good. Though my personal favorite song on the album has to be 'Peter Peter'. The lyrics are well written on the song, and Zenter's voice really works for the song.
"Come On" is a solid album; there are no real weak spots in the bands performance. All three aspects vocals, instrumentals and lyrics are all performed nicely. This album isn't going to blow you away, but it is not going to leave you disappointed either.
-ADAM DANIELS
