No One Sphere – Twin Coasts
Genre: Indie Rock, Alternative Rock
People in alternative-rock bands are, usually, either those for whom everything in life comes easily, or those for whom breaks never come at all. They’re extreme in their ideas because their existence forced them to embrace lateral thinking.
At their most naive, and breezy, the alt-rockers are people of which to be envious. They make music by drifting in and out of various influences. They work in a breezy, cheerful way. And, they subvert expectations without even trying very hard. They’re the cool kids with a cool place in which to hang out.
No One Sphere’s Twin Coasts sounds like it was made by cool kids with no particular place to go. Their music is a collage of sounds poured on top of a sturdy rock backing. This is relaxed, but starry-eyed music nonetheless. No One Sphere might be on a journey, but they’re in no rush to get there, and, anyway, they don’t really know where they’re going.
No One Sphere might be on a journey, but they’re in no rush to get there, and, anyway, they don’t really know where they’re going. This is Alt77’s review.
Amacio Favor – Hate to Love
Genre: Hard Rock, Grunge
Similar artists: Alice In Chains, Nirvana, Sound Garden
There are some music fans, young and older, for whom the history of rock music stops in April of 1994. And, this is not entirely an overreaction. The Seattle groups that became global superstars, were some of the last rock groups to have such an impact. They were also highly innovative. The industrial metal, alternative metal, nu-metal, and punk-pop groups also fared well for a while. But, their statues have not yet been erected.
There is a reverence with which the likes of Layne Staley, Kurt Cobain, or Chris Cornell are viewed. I’d like to think that this is not merely due to the tragic passing of those singers. Instead, perhaps, their vocal tone, their way of dissembling and repacking sounds, and their words struck a powerful emotional connection with millions of fans. I’d prefer to think that their music remains a living thing.
Amacio Favor takes grunge back into the world of the living with confidence and acrimony on Hate to Love. The song serves two purposes. It is a demo of Favor’s considerable abilities. Secondly, it is an attempt to communicate one’s own dark truths in the hopes that others will feel the same. It worked for the original grunge singers. And, it can work again for new generations.
