Featured
Dwarves Return with “Concept Album”
The Dwarves return with a new eye-popping twenty tracks on an album entitled Concept Album. The rather unassuming title belies the thunderous creativity erupting from each of those twenty tunes as Dwarves Svengali Blag Dahlia teams with powerhouse contributors drummer Josh Freese from the Foo Fighters and Nick Oliveri, most famous for his bass playing with bands such as Queens of the Stone Age and Kyuss. It’s a thrilling trio.
“Feeling Great” should be a freaking single. It’s one of the best put-together cuts I heard on this album. Dahlia’s freewheeling sense of humor carries the day through the lyrics and his singing truly enjoys the moment as he has a raging band behind him. He’s got a great team beside him with Freese pounding out furious rhythms and Oliveri’s contributions coming through loud and clear as well.
“Terrorist” is a blast. Don’t go into this thinking Blag’s writing about Islamic terrorists. Instead, he takes our vision of what that word means and turns it on its head into a warped love song that I absolutely love. The payoff moment of the song’s key line makes it all worthwhile but, once again, Freese and Oliveri blast away clearly inspired to be working alongside this punk rock master. “Ages Ago” is one of the album’s best tunes. In the annals of “fuck off, you’re gone” love songs, this should rank high. His taut and unforgiving language finds a perfect musical setting in another of Freese’s and Oliveri’s whip-tight musical performances.
https://open.spotify.com/album/6zx6n3hhscN57tbd09epgN?autoplay=true
The Dwarves’ insane stab at surf music, “Dead to Me”, rollicks through another case of love gone bad. There’s plenty of humor in the tune, as usual, and the guitar playing is exceptional. The outlaw nature of “Nobody and Me” cannot be denied as the opening line “I’m leavin’ with the sunrise” further evolves into a steamrolling rock tune that the three band members exploit to its fullest potential. I love this tune so much it hurts.
But I love “Kill or Be Killed” even more. This is out-and-out aggression personified, take no prisoners, and yet highly musical. It isn’t an one-note musical exercise, however, as The Dwarves shift gears in the song’s second half with resounding results. “You Lose We Win” is a “band song” in the way that it’s about the band’s long-established identity and man, oh, man, it should go down like a house on fire in concert. It’s unapologetic as well, as it should be. It’s full-throttle punk rock with great “shout-out” moments from Blag that audiences will love as well.
“Come Unglued” is another exhausting but exhilarating blast of fun from the band. There’s no shift during this song where they vary the musical attack, but you won’t mind. Blag should burn out his voice singing the way he does here, but he never loses any energy, and neither do his bandmates. Ending it with a small bit where a young woman says she has a good Dwarves story and it’s pretty fucking good is a great way to sum up this album as a whole. It’s more than pretty fucking good though. It’s pretty fucking great.
Brent Musgrave
Artist Spotlight
Cheryl Craigie reimagines “What’s Going On” through a classic soul lens
Some songs belong to an era, and others keep talking to every generation. Cheryl Craigie’s cover of “What’s Going On“ is a prime example of the latter, imbuing a classic soul sensibility into a song whose themes of compassion, understanding, unity, and concern for others are as relevant today as ever.
Cheryl Craigie is an independent singer, songwriter, and musician, and she has a strong artistic purpose with this release. She does Marvin Gaye’s beloved original justice while letting the timeless message sing in her own voice. Craigie’s approach is to speak to the need for kindness and human connection.
“What’s Going On“ is rooted in a timeless identity that is soulful and classic in style, and emotionally it’s about reflection and empathy. This approach relies on the vocal performance, which injects a unique element that helps magnify the song’s bigger message. The production does not detract from the themes that make the song so long-lasting, but rather supports the release by reinforcing its classic character.
What’s particularly interesting about Cheryl Craigie’s release is the balance she strikes between respecting the source material and asserting her own artistic presence. She knows the power of a song already part of music history and uses her interpretation to reconnect listeners with its core ideas. For Craigie, “What’s Going On” is a manifestation of an artist in love with music, with emotional and social weight, and of using her voice to carry the ageless soul message forward.
Artist Spotlight
With “Who Am I Now” Intaluks explores identity, healing, and renewal
“Who Am I Now” is the Intaluks’ method of shifting the atmospheric emotion, an introspective melodic trance on loss, identity, healing, and the hard work of rebuilding when life takes an unexpected turn. The musical direction is a slow emotional journey, starting in darkness and gradually opening to hope and renewal.
This production frames that journey with expressive male vocals, emotional piano, and trance textures. “Who Am I Now” leaves its mark in the feel department through progression and atmosphere, not with a dramatic festival-type drop. The arrangement gives the song a reflective feel but still maintains the forward momentum of melodic trance.
The male delivery lends a human presence to the themes of uncertainty and self-reconstruction in the song’s vocals. The track tells of an inner journey, accompanied by the piano, the cinematic production, and the experience of confronting a changed reality, asking yourself who you are now, and slowly finding the strength to move forward.
Rather than relying on spectacle, Intaluks focuses on emotional development, letting the song’s mood build organically rather than through a traditional climax. The result is a trance piece so cinematic it feels as much about reflection as it does about forward motion, connecting electronic atmosphere with a highly personal theme. In “Who Am I Now,” Intaluks offers a release defined by transition rather than closure. The sound is its greatest triumph, reflecting that journey and making darkness the beginning of a brighter artistic path.
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