CD Review: Great New Music From Rising Indie-Artists

Connecticut band Waking Elliot is releasing their new EP, “Weak Minded Like Me” on May 7. The six-song album has a great alternative, hard rock sound fronted by not one, but two powerful female vocalists. The album begins with the big, grand rock of “Lost Me At Hello,” but the band’s edginess and aggressiveness comes through on the title-song as they plead their case to the listener. They head to a more mainstream rock sound on “Breakdown,” before finishing the album with “Heavy Hearts Don’t Float” as they show a frailty to their voice on this ballad.

To find out more about Waking Elliot, please visit wakingelliot.com.

From Chicago comes Jackpot Donnie with a five-song EP entitled “Mayday!” The album was released back in March and has a great modern rock sound as displayed on the opening song “Juju.” They get a little aggressive with their delivery on the hard rocking “Hindsight,” before closing the album with the acoustic ballad “The Art of Mixing Colors.”

To find out more about Jackpot Donnie, please visit jackpotdonnie.com.

Singer/songwriter Bell Stray recently released her new “digital only” single “Roses Shade.” The piano driven ballad allows Bell’s voice to become the main focus of the song. Her voice has a very different quality that is not heard on mainstream radio. The dark, repetitive lyrics make their point amongst a piano/chorus backdrop.

To find out more about Bell Stray, please visit bellstray.com.

New Zealand alternative rock band Tablefox recently released their debut EP “Passenger.” The band’s sound draws strong similarities to Coldplay, band of Horses and The Cure. The new 5-song album begins with “Friendly Fire” as the song walks the fine line between grunge and U2-style pop/rock. The album’s current single, “Passenger” is built for mainstream radio with its mellow, humming keyboard backdrop highlighted by strikes of the guitar to give the song enough of a pulse. The band gets the blood flowing with the album closer “Call To Arms” as they bring their guitars to life. 

 To find out more about Tablefox, please visit the band’s facebook page at facebook.com/Tablefox.

From San Antonio, TX comes The Krayolas with their brand new album “Canicas-Marbles.” The new 8-song album mixes a classic 60’s jukebox sound (“Canicas”) with Mariachi rock band (“La Inundacion De Piedras Negras”) to create a truly unique, but very appealing sound. They also cover the Ramones’ classic “I Wanna Be Your Boyfriend” and pump a little Spanish flair into it. The album closes with the mellow folk sounding “Epitaph Street.”

The Krayolas have a couple live dates in their hometown of San Antonio, but will be heading north for a mini-tour in August. For more information on The Krayolas, please visit thekrayolas.com.