Right from the start this band throws you with hard hitting face melting riffs that take you by surprise. This straight forward riff sound is fading out to catchier tunes or more experimental antics and it’s very good that you can find a band that can deliver on that front .

The vocals are signature rock and roll vocals reminiscent of all the 70s and 80s rock bands. The vocals get high when needed and dominate the entire time which is perfect for this style of music.

The music itself is great. There are a lot of riffs that don’t hog all the attention and allow you to still enjoy the rest of the band as they hold it down and keep the song flowing smoothly .The songs aren’t all standard rock and roll pieces. The standard rock and roll is just one aspect that the band manages to keep. You’ll definitely find various influences from the rock world on the general mood of the music. This made me very happy as a listener. I can finally get a full meal of hard rocking tunes that I can bang my head to without feeling that a certain aspect was overdone.

Fate Strikes Twice is a great listen. This band is definitely a band I would like to keep my eyes on for the future.

Fate Strikes Twice will be playing live this Friday, June 24th at the Clash Bar in Clifton New Jersey.

Check out Fate Strikes Twice Facebook page to hear some of their songs: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Fate-Strikes-Twice/191546260896505

The first thing that caught my attention about this band was the vibe that they have. For the first time in years I felt like I was discovering Guns N’ Roses for the first time. Or when you’ve gotten into Led Zeppelin. You know that 70s rock feel? Well The Parlor Mob has a lot of that going on and I love it!

The second thing that I liked was the vocals. This band has a true rock vocalist on front man duties. It’s not just someone who is singing because some words need to be sung but rather someone who is singing because the world needs to hear and enjoy his singing.

Of course after making that comparison with Guns & Zeppelin I don’t think I need to go into a lot of detail regarding the music. It’s exactly as you would like it and expect it: big fat riffs and nice rhythms and high pitched vocals all over it. So get ready to head bang, sing along, dance along or just waive your hands in the air but you’ll have to do something because this isn’t a “sit calm & quiet“ band! You’ll find yourself grooving to this bunch that’s for sure!

The Parlor Mob is definitely a nice band and something that I haven’t listened to in a while. I’m glad that the true spirit of 70s & 90s Rock and Roll hasn’t died yet, and may it never do so.

The Parlor Mob will be playing live this Saturday May 28th at the Stone Pony in Asbury Park, NJ.

Check out The Parlor Mob’s web site to hear some of their music: http://www.theparlormob.com/

Check out their video for “Hard Times”:

The music is a bit alternative rock meets indie. It’s very rhythmic and bouncy and even hard and heavy at times. But at the same time it keeps up with the acoustic rock influences and elements. This really helps in weaving the songs together with dreamy interludes and groovy licks and helps hold everything together.

The music isn’t one sided or exclusively alt rock/indie. Joe’s sound is much bigger and more diverse drawing on elements from folk music. You’ll find some harmonicas and tambourines here and there and some songs are more folk and acoustic rock meets alternative and indie.

Joe Wilson is a very talented artist. He has many influences and a diverse sound that would please a diverse group of listeners. Check him out this weekend.

Joe Wilson will be playing live this Friday May 27th at the Clash Bar in Clifton, New Jersey.

Check out Joe Wilson’s Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/joewilsonmusicfeelingleftout 

Check out Joe Wilson’s video for “Stay Happy”:

They define their sound as Neo-soul / New Wave / Power pop on their MySpace page , but in my opinion their music is much more diverse. It has many elements of indie, acoustic and folk rock, with some funk and blues influences. It’s very hard to pin point a genre they belong to or just describe their sound in a word or two. In my opinion this is one of the things that makes good bands. Having the ability of mixing and eluding genres while creating something genuine.

Their sound is dominated by the guitars and vocals. That is where all the action is happening. There are many beautiful guitar riffs and licks with very nice lyrics and vocal melodies over it all.

The vocalist has a raspy bass-y voice which when combined with the indie like riffs and rhythmic music provides a new sound full of energy yet still pegged down with the big vocals. So you get the best of both worlds; rhythmic indie music with a ton of guitars but without the high pitch soaring vocals. Their sound is very similar to what would happen if The Editors and the Black Keys made music together.

Family Portrait is definitely a unique and original band in terms of musical output and very much something that you’ll enjoy even if you’re just a casual listener.

Family Portrait will be playing live this Saturday May 21st at Maxwell’s in Hoboken, New Jersey.

Check out Family Portrait’s Myspace page to hear some of their songs: http://www.myspace.com/officialfamilyportrait

Watch Family Portrait’s video for “Mega Secrets”:

Eyeswan has a very creative and unique sound. You can call it experimental, progressive or indie but no matter what you decide to classify their music as, at the end of the day we can all agree that it’s good music.

Very solid groovy drums back up rhythmic guitar riffs to be topped by beautiful lyrics and vocals. The vocals are a bit eerie but in a good way that gives you musical chills.

The guitar riffs are nice and rhythmic and make you want to dance and bounce. Some solid work has been done in that area and it really shows. The overall sound of the band has been well planned and the elements that each member/instrument brings in is absolutely essential for the band’s sound. There is no pointless fillings and useless parts. This band makes the best out of everything they have.

This band is very catchy, creative and interesting. I had a very good listening session before I wrote this review and I’m sure you’d like this band too.

Eyeswan will be playing at The Court Tavern in New Brunswick, NJ on Friday May 20th.

Check out Eyeswan’s Facebook page to hear some of their songs: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Eyeswan/135841057471

Check out Eyeswan’s video for “Canal Day”:

Their sound is very interesting and their feel is friendly. There are nice guitar riffs holding the rhythms with the drums backing up the guitars 100% and helping to add that “we rock, yet we groove “feeling to this rock band. They know when to flat out rock- pedal to the floor- and when to keep it subtle and have it more on the groovey head nod side. When the band makes that switch to the more subtle side they keep the listener impressed and interested. You enjoy the intricacies of the music rather than focusing on the energy and enjoying the more heavy and rhythmic parts.

The lyrics are very interesting and the subject matter isn’t pointless or shallow. The vocal delivery is very clear and you can hear the lyrics clearly word for word which is very refreshing. The vocalist definitely knows what he’s doing changing from a rock vocals feel to a bit of a folk feel or at times a pop feel. This is all so he can properly craft the vocal lines to go with the overall direction that the music is taking at any given moment. Good attention is paid to these fine details and it definitely makes a difference and shows in the music. Check out Almost There this weekend and I’ll bet you’ll be hooked!

Almost There is playing this Saturday April 23rd at The Court Tavern in New Brunswick, New Jersey.

Check out Almost There’s Facebook page to hear samples of their songs: http://www.facebook.com/AlmostThereRock

The Waking Lights have a very distinct and original sound which I would describe as Funk Pop-Rock. The music really grooves and bounces and at the same time maintains the folk feel of strummed guitar patterns and storytelling lyrics. The vocals remind me of Cat Stevens; the entire band as an output is similar to that of Cat Steven’s more rocky tunes in terms of feel and energy yet it has a modern spin on it and a whole lotta rock.

One of the main things that grabbed my attention about this band is the catchiness of the vocal melodies. The well crafted backup vocals make you want to hum with them and the lyrical story is very intriguing. The vocal delivery is very rich in content and style and this makes for the main element that is responsible for the folk aspect of this band’s sound.

This band is extremely creative blending new styles together and throwing a lot of genres in the melting pot. The band sounds like they would answer the question to what would happen if The Editors, Coldplay and Cat Stevens decided to write music together. Waking Lights are a very original band that has all that is needed to make it big in today’s global music scene. This is definitely a group that we should keep our eyes on!

Waking Lights will be playing live this Friday April 22nd at The Clash Bar in Clifton, New Jersey.

Check out Waking Lights Facebook page to hear some of their songs: http://www.facebook.com/wakinglights

Watch Waking Lights’ video for “Our Time Will Come”:

Bern & The Brights are also very busy today which is lucky for you! You can catch Bern & The Brights at Tunes in Hoboken, NJ between 4pm and 6pm. Then go and catch them at Maxwells tonight in Hoboken at 8:30pm!

Check out Bern & The Brights web site to hear more songs from the band: http://bernandthebrights.com/

The nice thing about Darouge is that they have this indie feel to them but more with a hard rock twist. The vocals are my favorite part of this band, very rhythmic, melodic and heartfelt at the same time. The lyrics have very poppy melodies at times with the grunge and power of rock. This definitely makes things more catchy and the lyrics are highlighted and enjoyed more within these contexts.

Overall the bands sound is very tight. They know what they’re doing, when to be catchy when to rock it out and when to just lay back and smooth it out. Definitely a catchy sound and a great listen. Check out Darouge this weekend!

Darouge will be playing at The Stone Pony in Asbury Park, NJ on Friday April 15th.

Check out Darouge’s website to hear some of their songs: http://www.darouge.com/

Watch a video of Darouge at PK Shamrock’s in Belmar, NJ:

Nine Deeez Nite has a very nice vibe to them. Their covers are always grooving and the vocals are true to the original song, not too much over the top and not boring. Their covers vary from vary from Bush to Stone Temple Pilots. The band picks some pretty great covers and they definitely guarantee a good time. I love Nine Deeez Nite because they are obviously different then the 80’s cover bands out there and they’re also different from all the cover bands that play today’s hits. If you grew up in the 90’s then you will definitely enjoy this band! Check them out this weekend!

Nine Deeez Nite will be playing live this Saturday April 9th at Bar Anticipation in Lake Como, New Jersey.

Check out Nine Deeez Nite’s Facebook page here: http://www.facebook.com/ninedeeeznite?sk=info

Check out a promo video of Nine Deeez Nite: