EDIT: The April 2012 Indie Overdose free mp3 issue has expired. Please check out the latest issue here: http://www.indiemusicreviewer.com/indie-overdose-may-2012/
The taxman may take our money, but IMR is here to give something back; fifteen new tracks for your listening enjoyment. Each month we are inundated with submissions, and while we have received some amazing stuff in previous months, this month has been the best yet.
It gets harder and harder each month to come up with just fifteen, as there are some really good songs that just can’t get on because of the amount of good music we keep receiving. If you have sent in music and not made it onto the Dose yet, do not be discouraged. The competition is just that tough.
IMR readers are the ones that benefit from this. Please, as you download these songs, please remember that these artists are giving you a gift. We at IMR cannot say this enough. If you like these bands, go support them. They need our help to continue making this great music we all love.
And now…your April, 2012 Indie Overdose artists:
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Basement Banshees – “Brains”
Location: Woodstock, GA
Genre: Indie
Band Members: Katie Leaman, James Farrell, Mike Talkovich, David Spence
Website: www.basementbanshees.com
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/BasementBanshees
This quartet recently played the IMR pre-festival showcase at the Five Spot in Atlanta and blew us away. Leaman’s vocals will haunt you on this track and Spence under-plays the guitar to perfection on this track. Farrell and Talkovich carry the back line nicely and the backing vocals are nice contrast. This is a song that will take forever to get “right out of your head.”
Ginger St. James – “Devil Dance”
Location: Hamilton, Ontario Canada
Genre: Rockabilly/Blues
Band Members: Ginger St. James, Snow-Heel Slim, Darrel Lascelles, Andre Tellier, Greg Brisco
Website: www.gingerstjames.com
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Ginger-St-James/23758696704
That rockabilly guitar, stand up bass, and that seductively dangerous voice. It won’t take long to get you to do the dance of the devil after listening to this for a few minutes. St. James and crew represent the great big north well and will get you thinking of the Stray Cats (Google them youngsters).
Joe Price – “Hornet Nest”
Location: Decorah, IA
Genre: Alt. Country/Blues
Band Members: Joe & Vicky Price
Website: www.joepriceblues.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Joe-and-Vicki-Price-Blues-Blues-Blues/167541966603806
Let’s take it back a moment; back to the days of Muddy Waters and Robert Johnson. Close your eyes for a moment and listen to the slide guitar. Feel the beat and imagine it was a century ago. It isn’t hard when you listen to this track. The Prices channel old school blues with ease and make us remember where great music came from.
Cole Powell – Stay (Begging You)
Location: Jayess, MS
Genre: Alternative
Band Members: Cole Powell, Nick Smith, Marvin Curtis III, Tyler Bridge, Greg Stewart
Website: www.colepowellmusic.com
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Cole-Powell-Music/288618601150424
We’ve covered Cole Powell on IMR before and our very own Kerri Curtis gave him 4/5 stars. His emotionally charged track has us all wanting to run back to him; especially if we get a little more of those killer keys and guitar riffs.
Eastern Phoebes – “The Strait of Magellan”
Location: Long Island, NY
Genre: Indie/Pop
Band Members: Ry Smith, Meg Bayley
Website: HTTP://EASTERNPHOEBES.COM
Facebook: HTTP://FACEBOOK.COM/EASTERNPHOEBES
Another band we have covered before on IMR, Eastern Phoebes creates a sound reminiscent of the 60’s. There laid back melodies and harmonies take you back to the days before everybody was using electronic samples, over-dubs and auto-tunes.
Sunsets North – “Break the Mold”
Location: Lehigh Valley, PA
Genre: Power Pop/Rock
Band Members: Warren North, Adam Hritz, Derrick Stair, Dan Braccio
Website: www.SunsetsNorth.com
Facebook: www. Facebook.com/SunsetsNorth
Strong guitar work and vocals are the name of the game with Sunsets North. This is one of those summer top down songs that you scream along to. You can tell this is one of those tracks that just needs to be heard live. If they are playing in an area near you, go find out and let us know if we were right.
Hot Mess – “How Far Would You Go?”
Location: Nashville, TN
Genre: Indie/Pop/Rock
Band Members: Storey Condos, Marcus Anderson, Ryan Maker, Hypatia Runcie, Tom Myers
Website: www.hotmesslovesyou.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/hotmesslovesyou
Listen to this song and tell me when you have ever heard a lap steel played like this? Combine that with Condos channeling Debbie Harry and you have an eerily seductive tune that will punch you in the jaw if you don’t pay attention. This song is the perfect example of why we do what we do here at IMR. Hot Mess brings something different to the table and they do it damn well.
Jayne Kelli – “Wake”
Location: South Pasadena, FL
Genre: Indie Folk
Band Members: Jayne Kelli
Website: http://jaynekellimusic.com/index
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1234742140
The world just can’t get enough women with acoustic guitars. Kelli provides and upbeat, almost country feel to “Wake.” The lyrics are heartfelt and inspiring, and her voice provides the perfect texture to a tune like this. There’s no need to overdo it here. She’s got it.
The Sunsleepers – “New York”
Location: Melbourne, Australia
Genre: Indie Pop
Band Members: Wayne Cassar, Stacey Cicivelli, Amanda Norman, Stu Watts
Website: http://thesunsleepers.bandcamp.com/
Facebook: www.facebook.com/thesunsleepers
An infectious groove, 80’s-like keys work, and sweet vocals are on the menu for The Sunsleepers. “New York” is a party tune with a fun guitar riff that will get you up and moving.
Elkwood Moon – “It’s About Love”
Location: South Africa
Genre: Indie
Band Members: Adrian Constant, Elli Nicole, Craig Slater
Very little information came in with this submission, and an online search gave us very little to work on. However, we really liked this tune, so we are putting it on here anyway (hint: Elkwood Moon, send us some more information so we can send you fans). This song seems to alternate between dark and haunting, and upbeat and fun. It is an interesting play on this cool tune.
Conor Mason – “Misunderstood”
Location: Derry, Ireland
Genre: Alternative/Pop
Band Members: Conor Mason
Website: http://conormason.bandcamp.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/conormasonmusic
The haunting sound of the muted horns that starts this song gives way to a great little pop tune. The lyrics are smart, the groove upbeat and fun, and the horns are a great added touch. Mason has done extremely well here as it was one of our favorites.
The Design – “Burn”
Location: Raleigh, NC
Genre: Rock/Pop
Band Members: Kat Robichaud, Mike Yaeger, Keith Lewis, Jon Fleck
Website: www.thedesignmusic.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/thedesignmusic
This is a tear your face off rock song. Robichaud has one of those powerful voices that can punch you in the teeth one second and seduce you out of your drawers the next. She gives it all in this track and the boys backing her up hold up their end extremely well too. If you check out the recently released video for this track, you will see these guys put on a pretty good live show too!
Castlecomer – “Danny’s Den”
Location: Sydney, Australia
Genre: Folk Rock
Band Members: Bede Kennedy, Joe Kennedy, Tom Kennedy, Joey Neely, Pat Kennedy
Facebook: www.facebook.com/castlecomer
Do yourself a favor. Listen to this song. Pick up on the amazing harmonizing vocals these guys provide and then go find them on Youtube. This is one of my favorite bands that I have been so lucky to enjoy in doing this. I can tell you right now that the harmonizing these boys can pull off is just mind-blowing. Four of the five members are either brothers or cousins, and one can imagine what those family barbecues must sound like.
Rusty Shackle – “3AM”
Location: South Wales
Genre: Dirty Bluegrass Folk ‘n’ Roll
Band Members: Scott McKeon, Liam Colllins, James McKeon, Baz Barwick, Owen Emmanuel
Website: www.rustyshackle.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Rusty-Shackle-Official/285494328136999
Folk ‘n’ Roll is a great description for the Shackle. They bring a high energy to their music and are not afraid to show a sense of humor. Check out the video for this great track and you will see what we mean. Rumor has it there is a full length album coming in the near future from these boys and we can’t wait to hear it.
***** THE BIG DOSE *****
Twelve A.M. Flowers – “Drown Together”
Location: NY, NY
Genre: Indie/Acoustic
Band Members: Kevin McGinnis
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/twelveamflowers
This band is EXACTLY why we do what we do at IMR. The highest rated song yet for Indie Overdose, it combines intelligent lyrics, beautiful strings scoring and the perfect accompaniment of guitar/piano/ bass/drums. McGinnis creates a vulnerable soundscape as he puts himself out there to the lover he reaches out to in this song. This is a band that deserves more attention and hopefully we can help provide it. McGinnis does a brilliant job on this track and it needs to be heard.
There you have it. Our fifteen winners for the month of April. We are always taking submissions and will start working on May shortly. You want in? Email us at overdose@indiemusicreviewer.com.
