I recently discovered Michael Rossback music on thesixtyone and I do not know why I haven’t heard him before, his acoustic rock songs along with an impressive voice, similar to Chris Martin’s, just made me buy all 4 of his independent albums… with no regrets. Micheal Rossback spends most of his time in the studio producing other artist but that has not stopped him from recording his own music. Although most of his songs are comprised of acoustic instrumentals, his songs have a heavy rock influence. In addition, some of his songs have an experimental foundation that combined with his heavy but soothing rock voice, makes you compare him to popular bands like Radiohead and Coldplay. Micheal has taken me by surprised and I hope he does the same to you. I have included one of the most experimental sounding songs from him titled “In Dreams” from his album “In Dreams” released March of last year. “Carry My Weight” is a poetic, slow rock song from his album “Angels in Between the Lines
” released independently February of 2008. It is emotionally powerful enough to appear in a soundtrack of a TV show on some type of romantic farewell scene. On the same album, there is a much mellow, acoustic guitar, soft song titled “Best Dreams” that’s lyrics are as gentle as they sound sincere. I probably like this song a lot due to its lyrics that go “Give love away, live your tomorrow, today” a phrase that  everyone should try to live by.

In Dreams
Download audio file (In_Dreams.mp3)
Amazon – Website - Myspace

Carry My Weight
Download audio file (Carry_My_Weight_for_You.mp3)
Amazon – Website - Myspace

Best Dreams
Download audio file (Best_Dreams.mp3)
Amazon – Website - Myspace

On my path to discover new music albums, I can’t help but tell you about the amazing alternative rock quartet from Sydney, Australia – Sparkadia. Since the release of their album “Postcards”, they have gained an enormous amount of attention in Australia and the UK touring and opening to bands like Jimmy Eat World, and Vampire Weekend.

Their upbeat catchy rock style and the constant incorporation of different musical elements into each song has made their album “Postcards” a must-listen. The Album starts off with “Too Much to Do”, which has a relaxed and rhythmic guitar riff that provides the vocalist Alex Burnett the foundation for his harmonious vocals to soar and glide through the entire song just as gracefully as those guys with wing suits jumping off a mountain. “Connect” is a another very mellow/melodic song in the album that compliments “Too Much To Do”.

My favorite song start at track seven, titled “Animals”, with an explosive, hard-hitting intro on the drums as a fully reverbed guitar plays a tiny solo; the solo merges into verse one where the atmosphere settles down a bit and a tightly coordinated rhythmic guitar riff sets the tempo for the rest of the song – or so you think – until the song throws another soothing surprise at you.

However, I consider the catchiest song in the album to be “Jealousy”, with its heart-felt vocals screaming the very title of the song with an interwoven guitar progression that is simply uplifting. If you enjoy listening to Coldplay you will certainly enjoy this song a lot.

Postcard was only released to the UK and Australia during the summer of 2008. Although there hasn’t been a USA release announced, you can still buy their albums through iTunes and Amazon.com.

“Animals”

Download audio file (07%20Animals.mp3)

“Jealousy”

Download audio file (10%20Jealousy.mp3)

“Too Much To Do”

Download audio file (01%20Too%20Much%20To%20Do.mp3)

Official Web Site - MySpace - Buy