Author Archives: Ricky Stephens

About Ricky Stephens

Ricky Stephens is an independent musician and music reviewer from Tampa Florida.

[Cover] Saint Saviour- Midnight City (M83)

Posted by Ricky Stephens - March 26, 2012

Saint Saviour‘s latest offering is a cover of M83‘s smash hit “Midnight City”. The track is driven by a dual synth arrangement that feels right at home over a driven but simplistic beat that almost crosses into the realm hip hop with its punchiness. The breathy, high pitched vocals, delivered by a Ms. Jones do well to capture the feel of the song and are on point the whole time. This track should get the buzz going for Saint Saviour- set to release their new album, Union, and single “I Call This Home” in the very near future. Stream their cover of “Midnight City” below.

Midnight City (M83 Cover) Saint Saviour

’Midnight City (M83 Cover)
Saint Saviour’

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Electronic

[Indie] Roman Ruins- Homebuilding

Posted by Ricky Stephens - March 26, 2012

Roman Ruins is the solo project of 31 year old Graham Hill (Beach House, Papercuts). When the Oakland based singer/songwriter is not designing architecture or creating tangible landscapes in real life, he sets to work with music. Layer after layer is added to Hill’s tracks, queueing one another and tempting sets of tracks to become full songs. In February of 2012 the extent of hill’s work ethic was realized by way of a 10 song full length titled Homebuilding– a release that has been earning him a lot of deserved attention.

While the whole album flows from start to finish; songs like “Mighty Love”, “Wildflower”, and “Lights Out” really shine.

Roman Ruins – Wildflower

’Roman Ruins – Wildflower’

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Roman Ruins – Lights Out

’Roman Ruins – Lights Out’

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Roman Ruins – Mighty Love

’Roman Ruins – Mighty Love.mp3′

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Alternative/Rock

[Indie] Quiet Hounds- Night Parade

Posted by Ricky Stephens - March 26, 2012

Quiet Hounds are one of my favorite finds as of late. Their upbeat vocal melodies and indie pop nature make them a lot of fun to drive to. Take “Night Parade”, from their self titled full length, for example. The track begins with a quick draw of keys and broken guitar rhythms that, when paired with the percussion, keep the track flowing fuller than the Niagara. The unique tone of the vocals and use of tambourine give the track a value beyond the first listen and you can stream the whole record HERE

Alternative/Rock

[New] Big Baby Gandhi- Lurkin’ (ft. Fat Tony)+ Free Download!

Posted by Ricky Stephens - March 22, 2012

Today begins the 8 day count down until Big Baby Gandhi releases his new mix tape titled No1 2 Look Up 2, which he’s been promoting with banger after banger to keep the hype up. The latest single, called “Lurkin'”, features Fat Tony on guest vocals and has a huge production by none other than Hot Sugar. The thick beat has heavy emphasis on the bass, which is true of a lot of Hot Sugar’s work, and is met equally by the commanding deliveries of both MCs in stride. The mix tape will be the first release I’ve heard from BBG since his collaboration with Das Racist on “Blue Magic” and, if this track is any indication, its going to be worth the wait. Stream below:

Big Baby Gandhi- Lurkin feat. Fat Tony (prod. HOT SUGAR)

’Big Babt Gandhi
Lurkin feat. Fat Tony’

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Download the track via FADER.

Hip/Hop

[New] Bondax – All Inside

Posted by Ricky Stephens - March 22, 2012

Electronic production duo Bondax have recently put out their new single, titled “You’re so”, to promote their latest effort. As a sidekick to the single the group also released an introspective cut they’re calling “All Inside” to help keep up the hype. The track itself has a nice ebb and flow that is unified by persistent percussion. The chords that give the track its ethereal feel drift in and out of focus while the r&B/soul vocal samples take precedent during the song’s title-driven-hook. Its nice work for a pair that aren’t even out of their teens. Stream below:

Bondax- All Inside

’Bondax
All Inside’

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Electronic

[Dub] Imagine Dragons- Radioactive

Posted by Ricky Stephens - March 21, 2012

The Las Vegas quintet known as Imagine Dragons has, including their 2/14 release, four EPs under their belt. Having debuted in 2009, the releases kind of timeline the development and progression of the band- and hint at minor stylistic changes for the future. The Continued Silence EP actually lives up the the opposite of its name, if that makes sense, which is perfectly okay when you hear songs like “Radioactive”.

With “Radioactive” the band has taken a somewhat new approach and the track begins kind of mellow, smoothly played guitar licks frolicking over picked chord progression. When the first comes in though, the song taps into an unknown energy source that the band simultaneously controls and lets run wild in some wicked dance. The vocals are catchy, the drop is huge, and the track is sick all the way around. Check it out for yourself. (Or if you want to purchase the whole EP but having a tight budget, you can check out here for coupons on paid music streaming platforms)

Imagine Dragons-radioactive

’imagine dragons
radioactive’

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Electronic

[New] Cypress Hill + DeadMau5- Failbait

Posted by Ricky Stephens - March 20, 2012

Cypress Hill has been out of the game for something like two years now, so hearing that they were releasing a new track was a welcome surprise. More surprising, though, was that it was a track produced by Deadmau5. To his credit, Deadmau5 does the weed rap group justice by not-trying to fit their delivery over house music. Instead, he embraces their already established style in a raw, old school, feeling track with some very contemporary edits. The heavy use of samples, the textures, and the groove are all typical of his usual productions- but frame the track, titled “Failbait”, in a subdued way as to let Cypress really shine. Check it below:

Cypress Hill – Failbait (feat. Deadmau5)

’Cypress Hill – Failbait (feat. Deadmau5)’

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Hip/Hop