Album Review
Rehya Stevens unwraps holiday magic with ‘Santa’s Takin’ Over The Town’
Rehya Stevens, an award-winning artist, has released a new Christmas album titled “Santa’s Takin’ Over The Town,” by Northern California producer Brian Steckler. The album features ten original songs that capture the essence of Christmas past and present, taking listeners on a musical journey through the diverse emotions that the season brings.
The album opens with the upbeat ‘Christmas is Near,’ followed by the mischievous ‘Don’t Be Late’ and the high-energy rockabilly vibes of the title track ‘Santa’s Takin’ Over The Town.’ However, the album also explores the bittersweet side of the season with ‘Early Winter,’ which delivers a poignant reminder of the melancholy that often accompanies the holidays.
The album also includes ‘Christmas Is Comin’ Again,’ which offers a stroll through the simple pleasures of the holidays, and ‘Me, Myself & I,’ which adds a touch of bluesy realism, depicting the lonelier side of Christmas. ‘Welcome One & All’ provides a spiritual moment, urging listeners to embrace compassion and widen the welcome table.
The album concludes with the uplifting ‘Spread A Little Love For Christmas,’ a rhythmic, island-infused track that encapsulates the spirit of the entire collection. The standalone single ‘Wonderful World Tonight’ is a festive anthem, capturing the essence of youthful holiday revelry.
Rehya Stevens aims to create lasting moments of joy with this album, infusing people with great fun, compassion, and appreciation for every person at the holiday dinner table, year after year. “Santa’s Takin’ Over The Town” celebrates the human experience, a musical journey that embraces the highs, lows, and everything in-between.
Connect with Rehya Stevens: Instagram
Album Review
Paul Terry, Aptøsrs & Cellarscape unite on bold new album “Alternative Piano Club”
Combining his three artistic alter egos, Paul Terry presents an awe-inspiring new 12-track album, “Alternative Piano Club,” written in collaboration with Aptøsrs and Cellarscape. This is an album-length voyage of music that blends acoustic, rock, and piano-driven cinematic sounds.
Torn between this complex emotional spectrum, all the while the piano remains at its core throughout. Paul Terry opens his “Memento Mori (Chromogenic Phase)” contemplatively, creating a solemn, reflective mood. Cellarscape’s “Three Years Of Roses“ is warmer, whereas Aptøsrs’ “Questionnaires“ is much more textured as a large, sculptural post-rock.
“Dave’s Theme,” written by Paul Terry, musically expands the narrative with a touch of cinematic elevation that aligns well. “We Shape The Clouds” by Cellarscape is fluffy and heart-warming, “Writers Behind The Curtain” is somber, more narrative. We are all together in “A Place We Made,” an honest, intimate, emotionally grounded space.
The project contains vocal warmth and cultural depth in the song “This Is My Home“ by Silas Miami & Lana Crowster. Proceeding in a totally different direction is the stronger emotional clarity of Paul Terry’s acoustic storytelling on “Any Time You Want To Fly” and “No Sleep Has Come.” Cellarscape presents a wide, spacious atmospheric moment in “Cygnus,” while Aptøsrs ends with “Rust Mountain (Monochrome Piano Version),” a simple gem that brings the project full circle.
The mixing of Sam Okell and Adam Noble, the mastering of Alex Wharton and Robin Schmidt have, in many ways, brought their polish to it while still making it feel human. “Alternative Piano Club” is a work entity, where three musical personalities met and talk mind in the same emotional language.
Connect with Aptøsrs on Website | X | Facebook | Spotify | Instagram |
Album Review
Mt. Kili Mt. Kili delivers quiet power and honest reflection on “The Noticer” (album)
Mt. Kili’s latest album, “The Noticer,” is a warm, contemplative acoustic folk album that finds beauty in the minutiae of life itself, as calm and bare as anyone would call it. Songwriter Rick Sichta of Asheville leads the project with delicate instrumentation and outspoken lyrics, bringing forth an experience that can be both personal and universal.
Recorded at Echo Mountain Studio in Asheville, the music is refined and mastered by Grammy Award-winning Julian Dreyer and David Glasser. The current lineup still embodies this vision, with Matt Shepard holding down a heavy rhythmic backbone and Laney Barnett’s violin and vocals rounding out the sound, creating emotion.
There is a story and emotion hidden within each track. The EP opens with “Don’t Start a War,” which opens contemplatively, begging for peace rather than war. The title track, “The Noticer,” exudes a sense of awareness and the beauty of watching life unfold. “The Rain Song” features a soothing, near-meditative vibe.
With a hopeful reflection, “The Road Isn’t as Long as It Seems” is about perspective and perseverance. “Her Song” is pretty much a musical love letter, and “Kyle” is defined by its character-driven narrative. With “The Weather Report,” the change of feeling is reflected, while “Scars “ and “Strawberry Fields” hint at memories and softening imagery. “All in Good Time” concludes the record patiently, a soothing sigh of comfort. “The Noticer” is a reflective album with a soft reminder that sometimes the smallest moments mean the most.
Connect with Mt. Kili on | Spotify
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