Tag: new music

Music Review >> Kimberly Caldwell – Without Regret

A word that comes to mind upon hearing the name Kimberly Caldwell is drive. Caldwell was a contestant during season two of American Idol in 2003. Now, eight years later she’s gearing up to release her debut album, Without Regret.

“I’ve been a performer my entire life and everything I’ve done has led up to this moment,” Caldwell stated in a press release.

Caldwell grew up in Katy, Texas where her love of country music and desire to perform led to her appearing on the original Star Search as a child. She won five times. When she was 12-years-old, her family moved to Branson, Missouri after Caldwell landed a gig with a singing revue called, “Country Tonite.” Three years later, when she was 15, Caldwell was ready to head back to Katy, and be a normal teenager.

American Idol had an audition stop in Texas during their second season of the singing competition. Caldwell auditioned and made it all the way through to the Top 7 in that season’s competition.

Caldwell’s album, Without Regret was produced by Marshall Altman, Tommy Henrikson, John-Mark Baxter Seltzer, and MachoPsycho.

Without Regret overall is a pretty good mix of music. The standout tracks on the album include “Mess of You,” “Heart of Mine,” and Caldwell’s single, “Desperate Girls & Stupid Boys.”

Continue reading Music Review >> Kimberly Caldwell – Without Regret

Video: Sirk and The Dirty Minds Live at The Viper Room

This past weekend I was in LA with a group of friends, and Sunday night we checked out this ~new band, Sirk and The Dirty Minds. Okay, not that new of a band.

If you’ve been keeping tabs on Kris Allen this past weekend, you know that he and his awesome band played a not-so-secret midnight show at The Viper Room on Sunday night.

Can we say kick awesome?

I’ve never been to The Viper Room before, and it was just amazing! I just love small venues like that, because the show is more intimate and personal.

I have to say that Kris and the guys were just on fire. The show was such a blast. My friends and I had the best time. Seriously, good times all around!

I did bring back presents to share with everyone! Check out videos below of Kris’s new untitled track that we’re calling, “Shut That Door & Keep That Devil Out” and “Leave You Alone.” Enjoy!

I love the bluesy feel of “Shut That Door & Keep That Devil Out.” I really hope that Kris really embraces that sound on his next album, because he sounds great!

What do y’all think of the new songs?

Ear Candy >> Tim Halperin – “I Wanna Fall In Love”

American Idol season 10 Top 24 contestant, Tim Halperin appeared on Kidd Kraddick’s radio show yesterday, where he sang “Bridge Over Troubled Water” as apart of “Idol Got It Wrong.”

As an exciting bonus, Tim performed a new song off his upcoming album! It’s called, “I Wanna Fall In Love,” and you can check out his performance below!

What do y’all think? I’m liking it a whole lot! Is it September, yet?

For a free download of Tim’s song, “The Last Song,” click here.

Also, check out Tim’s Kickstarter page and get involved with the making of the music video for “The Last Song” and to support the fight against breast cancer.

Don’t forget to check out my interview with Tim from last month! Part one // Part two

Music Review >> Yellowcard – “For You, And Your Denial”

It’s been four years since Yellowcard released their last album, Paper Walls, and this spring the band (Ryan Key, Sean Mackin, Longineu “LP” Parsons, Ryan Mendez, and Sean O’Donnell) are releasing When You’re Through Thinking, Say Yes. Key said that taking a break before releasing this album was, “absolutely the best possible choice we could have made as a band.”

“The fact that we had that time to refocus and recharge individually made working together for the first time in two years so much more exciting. The possibilities were endless again,” he said.

The band signed with Hopeless Records last fall, before heading into the studio to record with Neal Avron, whom Key referred to as the sixth member of the band while putting together an album.

The result of Yellowcard’s hard work is their forthcoming fifth studio album which features the band’s latest single, “For You, And Your Denial.”

The track has a familiarity about it. The guitar work has similarities to the band’s huge hit, “Ocean Avenue,” which to my ears isn’t a bad thing. I definitely think taking a part of what made your original hit big and building on it from there is what makes this new song work.

“For You, And Your Denial” is upbeat and catchy, which makes you want to listen to the track over and over again. Musically, the band sounds fantastic and Key’s voice sounds stronger than ever. Overall, I think that the song is a great re-introduction to Yellowcard and their music.

“For You, And Your Denial” is available on iTunes and Amazon now. When You’re Through Thinking, Say Yes is due out March 11.

For more information on Yellowcard, check out their official website.

Originally posted on BlogCritics.

MWK Release The Sanctuary Live Sessions

Neal Tiemann and Andy Skib from MWK (Midwest Kings) tweeted earlier today that The Sanctuary Live Sessions is now available at MWKMusic.com.

The band has done something pretty cool with the cost, and they are allowing fans to pay what they think is fair for the nine-track download.

The track listing is as follows:

1. “‘Til I’m Blue”

2. “Circles Anthem”

3. “Waterside”

4.  “A Scarlet Letters”

5. “Heaven or Worse”

6. “One True Thing”

7. “Railway Reality”

8. “Undertow”

9. “Make Me”

There is also a free download of “Under The Milky Way” at the very bottom of the page.

Go to MWKMusic.com to buy and download The Sanctuary Live Sessions.

Let me know what you think of the album in the comments.

Definite Download: “Make Me”