{"id":29228,"date":"2025-04-23T05:30:48","date_gmt":"2025-04-23T09:30:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/?p=29228"},"modified":"2025-04-21T08:31:03","modified_gmt":"2025-04-21T12:31:03","slug":"hundred-word-reviews-for-april-2025-rock-1","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/2025\/04\/23\/hundred-word-reviews-for-april-2025-rock-1\/","title":{"rendered":"Hundred-word Reviews for April 2025: Rock #1"},"content":{"rendered":"

More hundred-word reviews. It\u2019s rock this time.<\/p>\n

\"\"Ex-V\u00f6id \u2013 In Love Again<\/i><\/b>
\nStart with a punk sensibility, write songs with pop values, and deliver them with power, commitment and finesse. That\u2019s the recipe employed by Ex-V\u00f6id. Fronted by Lan McArdle and Owen Williams, the group leans heavily into the dual lead vocal approach (see also: Squeeze), but with male and female voices, the result has an emotional depth and intensity that sets it apart from the pack. The cover art might lead one to expect a goth-tinged affair, but the contents have more in common with the album title. Strong songwriting, razor-sharp hooks and uncluttered arrangements make this a rewarding listening experience.<\/p>\n

\"\"20\/20 \u2013 Back to California<\/i><\/b>
\nResponsible for classics like \u201cYellow Pills\u201d and \u201cGiving it All,\u201d 20\/20 was one of the greatest powerpop bands. They never got their due, though. 20\/20\u2019s original run lasted only from \u201879 to 1982, but their music lives on. Sadly, in recent years, most online chatter about the group has come from the band\u2019s original drummer \u2013 let go during sessions for their debut \u2013 ranting endlessly about \u201chis band.\u201d Don\u2019t let all that overshadow your enjoyment of Back to California<\/i>, the first new music in many years from the group. 20\/20\u2019s timeless sound \u2013 jangle, muscle and melody \u2013 is intact without sounding retro.<\/p>\n

\"\"Steve Robinson \u2013 Window Seat<\/i><\/b>
\nFolk rock of the British variant has always held a special place in this listener\u2019s heart. And it was a joy to discover that one quality exponent of that style lives not in the UK but in my neck of the woods, Western North Carolina. Steve Robinson\u2019s Window Seat<\/i> has flavors of Nick Lowe, Neil Finn, Gilbert O\u2019Sullivan and Badfinger (to name four). He understands the power of harmony, and employs is effectively across 11 catchy, memorable songs. Robinson writes lyrics that won\u2019t cause embarrassment during the inevitable singing-along. The participation of Dave Gregory makes an excellent album even better.<\/p>\n

\"\"Atomic Crumb \u2013 Atomic Crumb<\/i><\/b>
\nThis group describes itself as \u201ca small band with a big sound.\u201d That\u2019s quite accurate. Featuring for seasoned players \u2013 each with a sterling reputation in the Asheville and Western N.C. music scene \u2013 Atomic Crumb applies a subtle Southern sensibility to songs that combine pop sensibility with more musically ambitious ideas. The result \u2013 as showcased on this seven-song debut release \u2013 is pop with substance, hard-rocking and catchy tunes with soaring solos and memorable melodies. It\u2019s not impossible to assemble a group with great players, but Atomic Crumb showcases strong vocal harmonies on top of that as they create wholly original music.<\/p>\n

AND HEY:<\/span> You can (and truly should)\u00a0 go see and hear these guys. They’re playing Saturday, May 17 at 1pm @ Oskar Blues Brewery in Brevard.
\n<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"The On and Ons \u2013 Come On In<\/i><\/b>
\nShimmering, power-chording rock is a subcategory of pop music that yields endless enjoyment. The On and Ons make new music that conjures thoughts of \u201860s The Who and early \u201870s Raspberries. With the lead vocals of Glenn Morris, one might well think they\u2019re hearing new music from the late Tom Evans (so uncanny is the resemblance). And while texture and sound only get an artist so far, The On and Ons bring quality songwriting to the table. While many powerpop acts come across somewhat inauthentically, this outfit trades in the style honestly, making them among the best of the lot.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

More hundred-word reviews. It\u2019s rock this time. Ex-V\u00f6id \u2013 In Love Again Start with a punk sensibility, write songs with pop values, and deliver them with power, commitment and finesse. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":29233,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[49,55,62,65],"tags":[4444,5657,5659,5658,5656],"class_list":["post-29228","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-new-release","category-powerpop","category-rawk","category-review","tag-20-20","tag-atomic-crumb","tag-ex-void","tag-steve-robinson","tag-the-on-and-ons","cat-49-id","cat-55-id","cat-62-id","cat-65-id","has_thumb"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29228","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=29228"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29228\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":29318,"href":"https:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29228\/revisions\/29318"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/29233"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=29228"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=29228"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=29228"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}