by Jane Lambert

‘Thoughts and Prayers’ is The Chad Sipes Stereo’s Most Powerful Album Yet

The Chad Sipes Stereo have dropped their new album “Thoughts and Prayers”, which has been described as “alternative rock with grunge hooks, tired hands and dirty looks.”

Pittsburgh Pennsylvania based, this four man group have been together since 2010. This new album was written and recorded between 2019 and 2021, with significant delays in the recording dates and rehearsals largely due to the Covid pandemic. Availability of the band also factored in for their final 2022 release.

The album is a collection of songs that has a definite grunge rock vibe, an album which lead singer Chad says will ¨resonate not only for thematic material, but for the impossibly catchy hooks. It is the album I´ve always wanted to make, and I´d really like for it to be heard.”

The opening track “Every Single Kid” is a good example of the band´s grunge rock style, with ethereal backdrop sounds and synths. The songs “New Prescription” and “Therapy” have a more catchy melody and chorus, with a sound similar to R.E.M and Weezer.

Songs like “Relapse” has a darker side and “Pill for That” shows their more fun side, with a brighter sound similar to Green Day. Overall, there is a mysterious element to this band.

About the Album, The Chad Sipes Stereo say:

“Thoughts and Prayers is about America’s relationship with pills. There is a storyline that weaves through the album, loosely focusing on one character. It was very important to me as I wrote this album that I didn’t come off as preachy or judgmental. My core message is, no matter who you are or what your background is, we are all going to end up on pills at some time in our life. But there is a hard truth. There are doctors, insurance companies, and CEOs out there that have so much skin in the game, and I wanted to address that side of it too.”

Listen here:

Stay current with The Chad Sipes Audio on their website and social media channels, Facebook and Instagram.

Stream music on Spotify and Soundcloud

04.28.22

by Jane Lambert

Angela Perry’s New Album is Beyond Beautiful

Angela Perry’s music shares the strength, heartache and joys of living life. Her melodies are invigorated with energy and honesty and her lyrics are beautifully crafted and meticulously written to be as open as possible. Her soulful voice takes her music to a higher lever as you can not only hear her passion for her craft, but for the meaning behind each song as well. Her songwriting gives a new perspective to the typical themes of nature and matters of the heart that we all know and love.

Angela newest folk and country rock album, 21 Dayz, boasts 9 stunning songs that showcase her Shania Twain and Bonnie Rait-esque vocals and her Joni Mitchell and James Taylor-like songwriting. She meticulously wrote each song to be as open and no-nonsense as possible. She doesn’t sugar-coat through any topics. For example, her song “Sister Cry” is about the disturbing amount of women who are murdered and go missing just for being their authentic selves. In fact, indigenous women are 10x more likely to get murdered or go missing. The lyrics of this song is juxtaposed with the more upbeat melody, implying our blind eye towards this. “’Sister Cry’ was written from the victim’s perspective as a plea to all of us ‘who look the other way.’ The word WHY in the song asks a question that can not seem to be answered not only by the victims but by us. They are crying for all who too blinded to see,” shares Angela.

Her song “Sunflower Child,” by far one of her best, is about strength, hope, and positivity. The sunflower is a resilient and adaptable flower as it can grow in any environment. She recently released the video for this song and dedicated it to the Ukrainian refugees. The song is about perseverance and standing tall against adversity, like a sunflower.

“Fallen” is another song that stands out. It’s more acoustic than the rest and represents everyone who has fallen from grace due to a decision they made. It hurts now, but time heals all wounds. The melody is both haunting and a little melancholic, though you can hear the hope in her voice as the song progresses. “The song was written underneath 150 year old cottonwood trees where the idea of time is so different from what we as humans feel,” shares Angela. “In the scheme of time, we are nothing more than just a speck and sometimes when we fail to see how things we view as significant are not. This song…reminds all of us that we are human and have human frailties and frustrations.”

Listen to the full album here:

Find Angela Perry via:

Website // Instagram // Facebook // Twitter // YouTube // TikTok // Spotify // Soundcloud

04.15.22

by Jane Lambert

Skylight Motion Picture’s Latest Cinematic Pop Album Reveals Their Depth of Sound

Skylight Motion Picture presents “Music from the Film”, a full cinematic pop album that will take you on a journey from start to finish.

“Music From the Film” is an homage to much of the ‘bedroom pop’ music that shaped chief songwriter, Ezekiel James Hampton, in early adulthood. Despite this being a mostly electronically-produced album, listeners can expect more orchestral instruments such as piano, glockenspiels, woodwinds, and strings. The formula of building on infectious hooks with rich harmonies has not changed. All lyrics to the album revolve around two themes: moving forward after being emotionally unprepared for a broken heart and spiritual evolution born out of the ashes of religious culture.

Skylight Motion Picture states, “All lyrics to the album revolve around two themes: moving forward after being emotionally unprepared for a broken heart and spiritual evolution born out of the ashes of religious culture.” They are highly influenced by artists such as The Postal Service, Copeland, and The 1975, which is what gives them the hypnotic vocals and melodies.

This passionate, and charming record can be your soundtrack to life, from “Opening titles” all the way to “Roll Credits.”

Listen here:

Find Skylight Motion Picture via:

Website // Instagram // Facebook // YouTube // TikTok // Spotify // Soundcloud

04.05.22

by Jane Lambert

We Are Running in Circles Over Sunrise and Ammunition’s ‘Triangulum’

Triangulum is the new EP out by Sunrise and Ammunition and we are psyched for the Psychedelic Rock aspect of this album! Sunrise and Ammunition have many elements floating around their primordial soup in a young world of sound. It is a sound that has lineage tracing back to progressive, experimental, and psychedelic music of all kinds. With no rigid boundaries it’s a collective of porous minds, absorbing an eclectic sound pallet made accessible to kids of the internet age. The band formed just after its members finished intermediate school, and over the years they have developed a musical chemistry that borders on telepathy. Sunrise and Ammunition released their first EP, Aquarius, in 2010 and have focused on creating immersive sounds ever since, including their album, Tesseract, produced by Jesse Cannon at Found Soundation. The combination of these three childhood friends’ creativity creates a whole larger than the sum of its parts.

“We like to explore sounds and moods, so people may connect to each song in a different way or they may like one that resonates with them most. We see writing songs as building worlds with their own unique mood and archi-texture!”

Their opening song, “Movers” pushes the boundaries of ear candy and sends your brain on a rollercoaster of highs and lows that makes me feel like I should be some kind of high. “Luca” is a bit more commercial with flows of EDM and mixed with mariachi feels. “Vulcan Dome” is dark and edgy with heavy electric guitars and drums. Finally, “Mt. Fuji” is reminiscent of an old Beatles tune mixed exquisite harmonies over flowing rhythms.

Listen here:

This progressive rock band is taking over the new age market and we are excited to see what comes next!

Connect with Sunrise and Ammunition via:
Website // Instagram // Facebook // Twitter // YouTube // Spotify

03.18.22

by Jane Lambert

Craig Norris Byrd Premieres His Debut Solo Album, ‘Remissions’

Craig Norris Byrd has no problem writing songs about the trials and tribulations that life throws at us. The folk-rock singer/songwriter takes the personal and makes it relatable with his conceptual music and lyrics. His debut album, Remissions, gives us a look at his passions and values. The 10 track album is heavy with a cathartic artistic statement where he purges his pain and struggle into his music. “I am not so interested in publicizing what I have done, but I am interested in sharing where this album comes from,” shares Craig . “This album is a personal statement I had to get out of the way before I could move on.”

Remissions pulls from many different folk traditions, and harkens us to the likes of Paul Simon and a little bit like Johnny Cash. It was solely composed, arranged, and produced by Byrd, but features a bevy of ace musicians supporting his fine songcraft.

The songs on the album take on darker themes. His song “Your Bud” is about his father’s descent into dementia and how he never got to fix their relationship. “He died with much regret and never got the chance to meet my two sons,” Craig shares. “His mental acuity steadily diminished and he met his death in a hospital when he woke up from back surgery and did not know who he was and what was going on. He was unrestrained and proceeded to tear out his sustenance and medication tubing and get up to try and leave. This resulted in physical trauma from which he never recovered.” He sings “And I was wrong to let the pain I went through/keep us so far apart until just now,” trying to grapple and cope with the memory of his father.

Not every song is as heavy as “Your Bud” and “Gina Rides a Tiger,” a song about his sister’s death by breast cancer. He also has a few love songs, like “Consuelo,” which is sung entirely in Spanish and dedicated to his wife. It even has a bit of Latin influence in the way he plays guitar. The song “Merge” is a conceptual take on love going beyond the physical and thinking more about the emotional and mental aspects.

Listen to Remissions:

https://soundcloud.com/cnbyrd/sets/remissions/s-zjdEMp2EwqJ?si=ac6d8097262443bd8bc9ca4be5e87bd1&utm_source=clipboard&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=social_sharing

Needless to say, each song is vulnerable, raw, and poetic. What separates Craig from the pack is his openness and love for what he does. He writes music with a meaning, hoping to affect the lives of others in a positive way.

Find more on Craig Norris Byrd via:

Website // Instagram // Facebook // Twitter // YouTube // TikTok // Spotify // Soundcloud

02.08.22

by Jane Lambert

“Click Here To Prove You Are Not a Robot”, An EDM Track Released by Downupright

Downupright is the artist name for Bill Boulden, who hails from Buffalo, NY. His brand new track called “Click here to prove you´re not a Robot” is the most unique EDM track to be released, with its mix of electro-rock, EDM and pop.

Downupright´s mission is to provide an outlet to explore the challenges of mental health, as well as helping others. “Click here to prove you are not a Robot” sounds a lot like their main influence The Faint, but carries some elements of commercial pop as well.

Vocals are heavily engineered in this track, as the lyrics explore the artist´s now lifelong journey of depression, anxiety and bipolar:

“My lyrics spring from my adult lifelong battle with depression, bipolar, and anxiety- I make music to exercise those feelings from me and put the sadness out into the world so I can be free of it. I want people to feel like depression, anxiety, and bipolar are identifiable and conquerable things when they listen to my music. I want them to feel like they are understood and not the only one who feels this way.”

The album of the same name continues to explore these themes, as well as different genres of pop, EDM, electro-rock and more:

“I borrow from KMFDM, Sleigh bells, She Wants Revenge, and more. I have been a musician since I was about eleven years old tinkering in Cakewalk Pro 8 (at the time). Of course, I´ve upgraded my rig a few times over the years, and now use Ableton.”

After attending the Hyperbits Masterclass in 2019, Downupright changed a lot of things and improved his music, switching out his name and throwing away 20 years of material to focus completely on a brand new sound and identity. Downupright was born.