Mark Stone and the Dirty Country Band "The Sequel"

So this is going to be a unique review. Hard country rock band Mark Stone and the Dirty Country Band is about to release their second album - simply called The Sequel - sometime in June and if you pre-order the album, you get six tracks immediately, then when the album is released, those who pre-ordered the album get the other four tracks that will complete the album PLUS two bonus tracks exclusively to those who pre-ordered the album (so 12 tracks altogether.) The thing that makes this, what will be a review of The Sequel, so unique is that the second half of the album is so top secret that Mark Stone would only give me the first six tracks from the album (the six tracks you immediately get when pre-ordering the album.)

Turk Tresize "Soul Casino"

Artists like Australia’s TurkTresize are unique. At least as of lately they are. While there are a few artists that heavily wear their blues influence on their sleeve, Turk is different. With his mixture of some blues, some country, some soul and add in some total badass song writing, his appropriately titled album Soul Casino provides some excellence in originality and a fearlessness to step outside of the box.

The Bloody Nerve "Blue"

You may recall a couple of months ago, almost to the day, I wrote an article on a blues rock outfit by the name of The Bloody Nerve. They had released their three-track debut EP Red then and I had nothing but good things to say about it, only to find out soon afterwards that they were immediately working on a follow-up three-track EP called Blue. Of course, I had to get this EP to write up on again. Luckily for readers, I don’t have to go through the long introductory paragraph(s) this time around.

Ladies of the Canyon "Diamond Heart"

I first heard of Montreal’s Ladies of the Canyon from their cleverly placed YouTube advertisement a few months ago. Like everybody, I hate those advertisements, but I couldn’t help but find the song absolutely catchy. After a few times of hearing this commercial I finally decided to check them out so I went and looked for their new CD Diamond Heart (which I found out wasn’t entirely new anymore), to find it in the country section. I disagree with this placement and let me tell you why.

The Bloody Nerve "Red"

Nashville has famously been coined as “Music City” for years. It’s no surprise really. It has been the designated home for country music for decades; it got that nickname in 1950 and still stands tall to it today. It has always been the city for country artists to migrate to, just as Los Angeles was for rock music in the late 60’s/early 70’s. It is also the home of the Grand Ole Opry, which is essentially the Country Music Hall of Fame; and apparently the oldest music hall of fame also. But with such a reputation for country music, how would a rock band formed in this city sound?

Don Ray Band "Kickstands Up"

For some time now, I’ve had an acquired taste for country rock. Country and rock are two genres that have not been mixed in to one often enough. Two main bands that I can think include two of my favourite artists; there’s the obvious choice that are the Eagles, and then there is country legend Charlie Daniels. The former made a career, particularly on their first four albums, by releasing music more on the side of rock music but with a definite country influence at the heart of all of their songs, some songs even being closely classified to country. The latter artist, Charlie Daniels, made a career in contradiction to the Eagles, by making music more toward the side of country music, with a great deal of southern rock influence in a countless amount of his songs.