Lazlo, founder of BlowUpRadio.com (an online radio station based around New Jersey artists), shines a light on some of the many new releases from NJ based musicians each week with this column. This week Lazlo takes a look at releases by Rory D'Lasnow, Baron Praxis, Greg McGarvey & Friends, The Carousers, and retrohaze.
Rory D'Lasnow - "Real". Rory D'Lasnow returns with his first new release since 2021's "Songs From An Empty Room." From the opening notes of his new single he is letting you know that this singer-songwriter is ready to rock! "Real" is a high energy anthem that I have been playing on repeat. The song makes me smile. Can you really ask for anything more than a good feeling from a song?
Baron Praxis - "Ecodial". It all makes sense now why Baron Praxis called their last album, "Precursor". That November 2019 release was good, and showcased a sound their bio describes as "grunge metal band with 90's elements and psychedelic influences".
But now, almost 4 years later Baron Praxis return with a 5 song EP, "Ecodial", and the band has, for lack of any better way to describe it, have become more dynamic. The songwriting, musicianship, and production are stronger. The only thing that could maybe make this better is a full length album, but the adage is always leave them wanting more.
Greg McGarvey & Friends - "crickets surround - live in bucks county". In April of this year, Greg McGarvey & his friends went to Bucks County, PA to perform songs that will appear on his forthcoming album. He filmed the performances and turned them into a fascinating live film (which you can watch here). He also released the live audio as an album, which showcases and more sonically diverse sound than his last LP, "Count The Colors". Greg is clearly inspired by Neil Young, in pushing the boundaries of acoustic & electric music, but does so in a way that thankfully does not sound like Neil Young.
The Carousers - "The Future". The Carousers new single, "The Future", is a Pop-Punk Earworm!
retrohaze - "002". Psst... let me let you in on a secret. While retrohaze (Vic Fraternale)'s new album, "002", doesn't officially come out until June 25th, you can get it now from his Bandcamp page. Don't delay, get it today! This album showcases more of the singer-songwriter side of retrohaze's music. Vic himself described this album as being, "inspired more by soft rock - mostly Carole King - piano driven". I'll just add that he interprets those inspirations to his music masterfully.
That's all for this week.
Remember BlowUpRadio.com, plays these and many other New Jersey based artists on our internet radio station, so please check us out. #SupportGoodMusic - If you like any of the above artists, please purchase their music from their site. And if you would like to part of BlowUpRadio.com's New & Notable, please send downloads or contact Lazlo at Lazlo-at-BlowUpRadio-dot-com. We're also on Mastodon at https://mstdn.social/@BlowUpRadio
