TEE "The Earth Explorer"

TEE is a five piece flute front progressive rock band from Tokyo, Japan. Their so-called 'European' sound is unique considering their far-east origin. The imaginative tunes with complex ensembles and rhythms will definitely catch the attention of prog lovers all over the world. Their sound will remind you bands like Camel, King Crimson, Asia Minor or even Frank Zappa on some parts. The band was formed in 2004 when... more

Shawn PHILLIPS

At the kick off of his 2010 tour Shawn Phillips sat with us at a 24 hour diner in Davenport, IA to grant us a very special interview. At his insistence, it would be very informal. One should not expect otherwise from this splendid human being.

The hours prior to this meeting over midnight breakfast were now a recent memory, but...more

You may not know his name but you have definitely heard his music more than once or twice in your life. Maybe on HBO, or on MTV, or on VH1, Comedy Central, Discovery Channel. Doesn't ring the bell? How about American Idol Rewind, or Dr. 90210? We had interviewed Kevin Bartlett a couple of years ago when his second solo album GLOW IN THE DARK was released. Bartlett has been quiet since that time but but he has been secretly brewing new projects. A few months ago he had put a new song...more

Peter Hammill, founding member of Van Der Graaf Generator, released his 28th solo album " nearly 3 months ago. He recently got back home from a short tour covering North America, Canada and Italy. In the 70's when bands like...more

FRIGHT PIG Barque At The Lune *** REVERSAL OF GRAVITY Scuba Gear ***

VELVET RAZOR / THE RAZOR’S EDGE (The Garden Studio Sessions) EP

Velvet Razor is a rock band from England. They have a new EP titled “The Razor’s Edge”. The band is formed by 4 musicians: Dave Kent (Vocals and Lyrics; Lead Guitar; Rhythm Guitar, Additional Keyboards; Additional Bass, Mandolin, Programming); Martin Wise (Bass; Additional Guitar, Backing Vocals); Ian Pickering (Piano/Keyboards; Samples and Effects; Additional Guitar, Backing Vocals; Programming); Ian King (Acoustic Drums, Electronic drums and Percussion).

I would not categorize this EP as prog rock, because their style is more like alternative rock, closer to classic rock. The first song on the CD is the Beatles like “Tears Me Apart”. However the vocals carry it to a punk rock arena. Nevertheless, I couldn’t help but think “Love Me Do”.

The second song is “You Don’t Care”. It sounds like The Doors, and the musicianship is good, but the vocal lines are a little simple, and the reason for this is because the lyrics don’t really fit. Also the vocals on these two first songs are not as good as the last two songs on the CD. The vocalist has more like a punk or post-punk type of voice, and actually he sounds pretty good on the third song “The Castle”, kind of like Nick Cave style vocals, and I think he should keep in that direction, in my opinion. And finally the last song “Cherry Red” is more like a classic rock song with 80’s style lyrics. Over all, the musicians in Velvet Razor are pretty good, and most of them are multi instrumentalists, but I believe the lyrics and the vocals could have been better.

You can visit their website at: www.velvetrazor.com

STEPHANIE BUTLER