Category Archives: Listen

07.11.22
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Comedian Jeff Hilliard Releases His New Satirical Single and Video

If you haven’t heard of Jeff Hilliard, you may be missing out on a unique talent. This professional comedian, who trained under the folks at Second City in Chicago, has always been interested in being an entertainer and knew from an early age that this was his calling. He’s been in a few indie films, including Paul Schrader’s Dog Eat Dog film starring Nicolas Cage and Willem Defoe, Officer Banks, in Bernard Rose’s award winning film Frankenstein starring Danny Huston, Carrie-Anne Moss, Xavier Samuel, and Tony Todd, and recently starred in Traveling Light along with Stephen Dorff, Tony Todd, and Danny Huston.

His provocative point of view on the dark, twisted reality of modern-day society proves his creativity knows no bounds. His controversial music videos have garnered millions of views and have won numerous awards at many film festivals. His new video and single, “Abandon,” showcases his multi-genre musical ability and genius songwriting.

“Abandon” takes gender norms and flips it on its head. The video depicts a sad and lonely guy stuck in the past, still living with his mom, who’s obsessively calling a woman he hooked up with, Vivian. It immediately points out what society deems as normal, typically a man initiates a one night hook up and he’s generally married while the woman is calling him. He’s also making fun of the toxic masculinity often seen in the 80’s metal culture. He’s looking for love and actually singing about his vulnerability rather than trying to be a “man” like the metal ballads of that time.

Lyrically speaking, the lyrics are funny and made for a visual medium. They easily get stuck in your head as you find yourself singing the chorus doing mundane things. He sings “I ain’t no pump and dump/ I believe in the power of love/ one night is not enough/ how could you abandon our love,” as he’s dressed in outlandish outfits reminiscent of what metal bands would wear. This sad character really thought that he found love. While he’s creepy and not someone you want to hang out with, you do feel a little sorry for him too.

Watch here:

Follow Jeff Hilliard via:
Website // Instagram // Twitter // Facebook // TikTok // YouTube // Spotify

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05.20.22
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We Love Being Struck by “Lightning” from The Impliers

Dan Hartman and Charles Ingram began making music together at age 15 united by a bold desire to explore the outer limits of alternately tuned guitars. The pair had an immediate intuitive connection, and hunkered down in a storage shed to home in on its avant-garde aesthetic. They emerged as Phantom Zell, a weird indie-punk band that specialized in curious guitar tunings and abstract and abrasive musicality. “We played punk shows, but we were the only band in the scene that broke the punk rules by not playing that typically fast and aggressive sound,” says Charles. By age 17, Dan and Charles’s songs were earning placements on compilations alongside diversely popular acts such as Of Montreal, Fugazi, Jawbreaker, Dillinger Escape Plan, and Converge. 

Eventually, the band drifted apart, the scene changed, and Dan and Charles began to also go their separate ways. Though not actively creating together, the guys set out on parallel artistic paths finding inspiration in the synergy with films and soundtracks. And there were other uncanny connections. Over the years, they were bonded by unique correlating circumstances, including near death experiences such as near fatal car accidents, dying in a house fire, being struck by lightning, and escaping armed robberies. 

“I had a 10-year relationship end, and, out of the blue, after a few years of not being in touch, Charles called me and said his marriage had ended at the same time,” Dan recalls. “At the time, I had completely stopped playing and creating music.”

The eerily similar life circumstances, the guys’ parallel creative paths, and the telepathic musicality they once shared made a powerful case to continue the musical dialogue. Inevitably, Dan envisioned a cohesive project and sent Charles that fateful text to start the impliers. 

They just released their 3rd single, “Lightning,” which features their iconic experimental music with atonal sensibilities and playful nature. Their vocals provide a Beach Boys harmonic quality to it while their music provides a David Bowie meets Pink Floyd sound.

“Lightning” is chaotic in nature, with an ever changing tempo and a melody that’s just out of grasp. The music shares a story of the chaotic mind. They share yet another story with this song as they both were diagnosed with Bipolar Disorder. The song is a beautiful reflection of that experience through their atonal music and gripping lyrics. “While ‘Lightning’ constantly shape-shifts in mood and genre, it has its roots in a part of a song Charles made in 2005,” shares Dan. “While writing the concept for our upcoming record ‘cocoon,’ the lyric from that old riff came to mind and surprisingly; the entire idea for the rest of the song came as if it was always there. In about an hour, the bones of the song were written and recorded (the verses recorded that day are in the final version). By sending recordings back and forth, we traded disarming forks in the creative road, sending the song down a meandering but distinct path and arriving at the final version in the following weeks.”

Listen here:

Find The Impliers via:
Website // Instagram // Facebook // Twitter // YouTube // TikTok // Spotify

04.08.22
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Premiere: Brittany and the Blisstones Debut “La La Love”

The island pop duo Brittany and the Blisstones specialize in heart-crafted and smooth songs that sit in your soul, bringing love and serenity to any listener. Their musical style is unlike anything else with an expansive artistic palette of pop, orchestral, rock, jazz, reggae, ska, Latin, new wave, and beyond. Brittany Bliss contributes sultry vocals, jaunty ukulele playing, and co-writes the songs alongside her partner Reid Givens, an accomplished drummer and percussionist with an expansive command of rhythms and a keen sense for the healing power of good grooves. 

The duo has started recording their debut EP, La La Love. “The pain that comes with living is inevitable, and it can breed fear that may stop us from daring to dream. Our songs are about finding the courage to face these fears, and being vulnerable and evolving,” shares Brittany. Reid adds: “These songs are born from our collective experience. There are uplifting vibes here, and when the songs are sad, they are there for solace.”

Their first two releases from La La Love, which are now streaming, took listeners by storm, setting them into a state of mindfulness and calm. Their new release, “La La Love,” the title track, continues the island vibe and reggae beat utilizing trumpets and other horn instruments. The song is about love, romantic and otherwise. “We believe that love is something that is always there, it’s ever-present, but it’s on us to recognize it and invite it to be part of our lives,” Brittany and Reid share. “That realization and invitation is what ‘La La Love’ is all about.”

“La La Love” carries almost an Alanis Morrisette meets Susan Tedeschi vibe. There’s a jam feeling, but also a deliberateness behind the music and lyrics. Brittany’s voice carries a separate, yet cohesive sense of peace and love as she sings “Love is what’s left over when the fighting’s through.” 

Listen here:

Love exists even in pain and fear. It’s that part of our lives we can’t see that it’s the most present. “La La Love” is entrancing and hypnotic. You’ll be bound to replay the song over and over again. 

Find Brittany and the Blisstones via:

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

04.05.22
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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

01.26.22
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AP Tobler’s New Music is Authentically Them

AP Tobler uses their own life as a guide for their music. Unlike many musicians out there, you can hear their passion and intimacy with the music, not just the words. We can hear their rawness and vulnerability in their work, allowing the listeners in and feeling along with them. AP Tobler is authentic and that’s what makes them, and their music, so amazing.

Their newest single, “Eclipse” was too big for a single song, so they gave us “Blunt Force,” the single that lives on the B-side. “Blunt Force” is the perfect companion piece to “Eclipse,” a grungy rock song that sounds like Nirvana meets Green Day. “Eclipse” This song is a personal one for AP that most people been through. It describes the way trauma affects our minds and bodies in the music. “Eclipse is about the mental block that comes with suffering a past trauma,” shares AP. “I wrote this song while I was replaying painful events in my head. I was sick of feeling upset over things that had happened years ago. When I write music about personal experiences, the lyrics and melody tend to come together very quickly. This is the case with Eclipse. I was actually on a phone call with friends and started feeling anxious. In the middle of the call, I opened my Notes app and started typing fragments of lyrics about how I was feeling.”

The companion piece, “Blunt Force,” is about a time in which a close friend to AP just left, suddenly and unexpectedly. There was no notice, they were just no longer friends with no explanation. This grunge song depicts this experience and the repercussions it had on AP. “After two years without resolution, I finally wrote a song to express the lingering emotions I was feeling,” says AP. “One night I picked up my guitar and wrote a cord progression that I liked. I started to write the lyrics and within 30 minutes I had a melody and lyrics to represent the emotions of this painful experience. I refined the song over a few sessions, adding layers to fill it out. The writing process was cathartic, as I had encapsulated this traumatic event into a song.”

Listen to “Eclipse” and the B-Side “Blunt Force” here:

You can find AP Tobler via:
Website // Instagram // Facebook // Twitter // YouTube // Spotify // Soundcloud

11.23.21
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The World Appears the Same, But Things Have Changed in “Every Passing Mile”

Christian Parker is a seasoned singer songwriter, recording artist and guitarist from Canton, New York, United States. His new single, taken from the album of the same title, “Every Passing Mile” is a beautiful, emotional song with wistful lyrics and a haunting electric guitar hook.

Parker has been recording music for the last thirty years. Notably, his songs center around themes of the stories of others he knows, as well as the things that we all deal with. Worries, trials, successes, tribulations. The ever-changing ups and downs of life.


“Every Passing Mile” is the story of a relationship now gone. With the passing of time, the feelings for a love gone become more haunting, more memorable in some ways. There is a lovely bridge with the electric guitar, and a lilting chorus that complements Parker’s vocals.

Although melancholic and written with minor chords, this song has an uplifting chorus. There is rhythm, a unique sound to the electric guitar, and an overall musical sound that is profoundly memorable.

Listen to “Every Passing Mile” here:

You will want to listen to this song again and explore more of Parker’s music as you go.


Stay current with Christian Parker on his website: http://www.christianparker.com
Stream “Every Passing Mile” on Soundcloud, Spotify and YouTube music.