Stephen Hunley's Debut Album The Other Side of Never

Stephen Hunley's Debut Album The Other Side of Never

Stephen Hunley released his first national album, "The Other Side of Never," October 7th, 2014. The Knoxville, TN native’s stylistic vocals and sophisticated fusion of blues, rock, jazz, and soul with a contemporary edge is quickly seeping into the hearts of critics and music lovers.

“We only use twelve notes in the Western world of music, so you can only be so “original,”” Hunley says. “I hope people hear something recognizable, but with original flair.” We do. Stephen Hunley is refreshing and a needed artist. He is unlike other contemporary singer- songwriters. Some performers he’s compared to are Marc Broussard and Jason Mraz. He reminds me a little of John Mayer on "Continuum", but more elegant. Hunley music is sophisticated, but approachable.

As you would add drops of water to scotch to open up the flavors, I feel the album really opens up as it goes along. The whole thing is beautiful in its honesty. That is one thing you will really connect with as you listen. As the third track begins, the album wakes up. I’m rapt and intrigued by his voice and the music. I see this playing in the background at the end of the day as you’re making dinner with friends but also dancing to keep the beat when you see him live. The third track is “Love You in the Dark,” one of my favorites and one Hunley describes as “easy on the ears.” Hunley is described as a natural poet leaning towards more abstract expression. He challenged himself to combine “some of Nashville’s more logical” songwriting techniques. It’s still plenty complex, but maybe also the water that unlocks the flavor profile.

I also really enjoyed “Speakeasy,”” I’m Not Who You Think I Am,” and “Call Me Baby.” They are juicy blues numbers that harken that appropriate in public sensuality that blues does. While he has his “fun” numbers, in “Pictures in Her Mind” he also turns his writing skills to communicate the pain of witnessing addiction and how it affects everyone involved. If you love blues, jazz, and rock or you’re looking for something new and refreshing, check out Stephen Hunley’s The Other Side of Never, available on iTunes and his website.

Kasabian Stay Big on 48:13

Kasabian Stay Big on 48:13

When Tom Meighan and Sergio Pizzorno heard “I Wanna Be Adored” for the first time, their brains must have turned into pools of ecstatic goo. Everything their band, Kasabian, has done since their breakout 2004 self-titled debut has been about reaching for the biggest of everything, the hugest hooks, bombastic personalities, the strongest drugs, the stuff of rock gods. Mad ambition is their thing, always swinging with everything they have.

Their latest album, 48:13, follows that ambition to its logical end, with some songs reaching those Stone Roses and Primal Scream heights, and a small minority arriving with a thud. A massive synth rock sound builds from silence on opening overture “Shiva” and comes roaring to life on “Bumblebee,” a stadium slayer with gargantuan “Hey!”s and a trippy, wandering vocal melody from Meighan that inspires head rolling – not head banging, mind you, but an oozing psychedelic call to action.

The problem with the minute-long “Shiva” is its inspiration for other half-songs on the album, like “Mortis” and “Levitation,” that don't amount to much. They don't flow into their successors with the same power and instead come off as lackadaisical filler. Kasabian is better than these songs, and their chops are on display on “Treat” – which features a synth line that plays like a beefed up version of 50 Cent's “In Da Club” – and “Bow,” a contemplative dance floor filler which brings to mind a good version of mid-period Linkin Park, with a groovy breakdown and synthetic sleigh bells proving strong companions.

But the crown jewel of 48:13 is album closer “SPS,” an end-of-the-party comedown that sounds like a Rolling Stones cover by melancholy-era Beck. Slide guitar and restrained keys sound like the sun is coming up. People are passed out on the floor, half-drunk bottles perilously close to spilling on the carpet next to them. Meighan is one of the few still awake, bleary-eyed but triumphant, having had a wonderful time. He feels bittersweet about the moment, mentioning the fleeting nature of time, but he's glad he experienced it nonetheless. It's a mature, halfway sober look back at immature, not at all sober behavior from a band that has filled its glass to the brim and shotgunned it time and again. 

Kasabian's new album, 48:13, is available now on iTunes, Google Play, and in stores.

Frankie Ballard Heats Up Joe's with "Sunshine and Whiskey"

Frankie Ballard Heats Up Joe's with "Sunshine and Whiskey"

Frankie Ballard’s “Sunshine and Whiskey” tour was what Chicago needed on a chilly Friday night. The Michigan native baseball player who would ask his coach if he could take the guitar on the bus (the answer was no) delivered an energy packed show at Joe’s on Weed Street that made them forget about the wet cold and any worries from the week that may have plagued them.

Joe’s is an intimate venue tucked away off North Ave, perfect for acts to bond with fans. Audience members get to make eye contact with performers who sell out larger venues and get a feel for how their music and presence felt when they were performing bars and coffeehouses. Nick Sturms, a Nashville resident and very talented songwriter, opened the show. Frankie took the stage with an assertive presence that jolted the crowd awake. He played three songs in a row to get blood pumping and feet moving. “He’s got a grittiness to him,” someone near me said. Yes. This country music rocked with a power that was not going home quiet.

When I interviewed him, Frankie said performing live was all about the energy and the relationship he developed with the crowd. He over delivered on both. After the high octane warm up, his song “Don’t Take Much” had a haunting, almost menacing air. You could feel the fictional small town, blue collar chins rise and chests broaden behind the words. The eager crowd waited for “Sunshine and Whiskey” and pounced on it as soon as he started, singing it as loud and as clear as he did. Frankie had control of the crowd’s energy at all times. He performed two covers, Johnny Cash’s “A Boy Named Sue” and the Wallflowers’ “One Headlight”. The crowd mellowed and played along with “Sue” and bellowed down memory lane with the Wallflowers, shooting the energy back up. Country Weekly got it right when they called him a “true guitar hero” with “an elegant, supple style of playing rarely seen in these days hard rock country.” From an eloquent solo to decorative riffs that added to the song instead of distracting, Frankie is a very good guitarist. He showed his blues influences opening “Sober Me Up” with languid licks, the type that make you feel drunk and want to lean against someone.

Frankie’s a Bob Seger fan. He almost brought down the house when he dove into “Old Time Rock and Roll”, jumped offstage, got up on one of the bars, walked across it, and jumped down into the crowd. He meandered around the crowd continuing the song. The crowd centered with “Helluva Life.” It’s a song everyone can relate to and make their own. Many of us know “the bad times make the good times better” as the song say, but it’s nice to know someone else does too. Frankie put into words what so many of us feel, showing he gets it. Whether he’s onstage or on a bar about to hop into the crowd, he’s one of us.