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Heard For The First Time - Reviews by Art Scotch
1/14/18

Hello Whirled / Joseph Alton Miller / James Booth & The Return / Kristy Chmura / Luvlite

Hi,

I'm Art Scotch, well not really, but I've made too many enemies in the scene to use my real name.

Lazlo has convinced me to write some first thoughts on various singles he sent me.

He wants me to do this regularly.

We'll see.

The only rule Lazlo gave me, was not to completely trash a song or artist. I told him I'd just write no comment [editor's note: we left out any song where Art wrote "no comment"]

So let's get this over with

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Hello Whirled - "Moonlight" (from "Heaven Doesn't Send Its Best")

Lazlo gave me info which each song and says Hello Whirled is a guy named Ben Spizuco, who somehow finds the time to put out new music every week or two, about as often as I have a bowel movement (don't ask).

Lo-fi was born out of necessity, but in 2018 anyone can make a hi-fi sound cheaply, so lo-fi is a choice now. In this case it helps the song sound less pop punk and more indie rock, so I approve.



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Joseph Alton Miller - "The Death Of Eric Garner"

Bob Dylan may be the master of folk protest songs, but many came before him and even more have come since.

Some are powerful examples of poetry sung to expose & expound on a subject, more often they just sound like shitty Dylan-esque clones...barely palatable...a folk variation on everything wrong with top 40 music. Joseph Alton Miller's song comes closer to the former, and mostly eschews the latter.



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James Booth & The Return - "Gnomes" (from "In The Gardens Of Knight")

Holy shit! I want whatever psychidelics these guys are on! This song could be the soundtrack to the hallucinatory scene in Dumbo...if Dumbo was drinking LSD instead of alcohol. By the end of the song I was picturing the whole band melting before my eyes. I'm freaking out man...get these gnomes off me!!!



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Kristy Chmura - "Nothing's Right" (from "Stained...Glass Heart")

This one's destined for easy listening & NPR stations. A ballad where the main instrument is harp...I can already hear Ira Glass doing a story about it..."today on This American Life, how the harp became a major force in modern music..."



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Luvlite - "Close Enuff" (from "Insomnia / / Close Enuff")

I really wanted to hate this song. So called, "Bedroom Pop", isn't really my thing, but I did find myself swaying my head back & forth in rhythm with the song so I guess I didn't hate it.



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That's enough for this one.

- Art Scotch


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