www.festizio.net
www.myspace.com/festizioband

After months of recording, mixing and production, our first full-length record is out! It took a lot of hard work (and many painful hours in the studio), but we’re more than ecstatic with our results. Also, we’re happy to announce that we’ll be playing our next show at Slim’s on May 30 (TICKETS AVAILABLE NOW!, and please join our Facebook Page to stay updated)!

Check out our new album on CD Baby or get a digital copy on iTunes or Amazon! ☺

San Francisco alt-rock band Festizio combines ambient sounds and driving rhythms in a landscape of intertwined harmonies. Listeners often associate its sound with bands like Radiohead and Muse, though the eclectic variation of genres that Festizio employs clearly distinguishes it as unique. With a diverse musical background, the band also collectively draws from a variety of influences ranging from dance rock to soul. Already garnering positive reviews from industry critics and Bay Area venues, Festizio’s popularity is spreading well beyond its local roots. With the release of its long-awaited self-titled album, Festizio solidifies its reputation by providing a fresh new sound to rock music.

Festizio is Keane Li, Ryan Scott, Gerald Pan and Nicholas Mitrousis.

www.thesleepoverdisaster.com
www.myspace.com/thesleepoverdisaster

The Sleepover Disaster – Hover

The Sleepover Disaster’s fifth release, Hover, may very well be regarded as their first. While previous releases were well-received, Hover presents the band on a new full-length album backed by the record label to which they recently signed. Stepping to new heights, the Fresno three-piece successfully solidifies a place within the West Coast indie scene with their take on shoegazey dreampop. Their wall of sound distorts reality with frequent pitch changes and cumulate ambient noises that almost make it difficult to believe the band doesn’t boast more members. It’s intoxicating and epic. This is the stuff that makes your eyes roll into the back of your head.

Hover opens with “Friend,” an uplifting atmospheric affirmation piece. The track elevates with a soaring chorus and a flood of saturated guitars over a fluttering of drums. The album continues with a variation of introspective tracks, such as the following, “Code Breaker,” and more upbeat numbers like, “On A Sunday.” The tracklist is not without its fair share of loveliness, reaching its pretty peak on “Make You Sing,” an immersing song touting the transformative qualities of even the simplest of acts.

The album concludes with “Songwriting for Dummies,” a somewhat melancholy track with a steady, marching rhythm that only adds to its demure progression. “It’s a losing fight, so turn this chaos into light,” Luke Giffen sings in an emotive close to the motion picture soundtrack that is Hover, foretelling the end of an era where one lost belief can breathe life to new hope. (Devil in the Woods)

www.thesleepoverdisaster.com

-Keane Li (more…)

www.myspace.com/malikaayane

I was recently introduced to Malika Ayane, a singer from Italy who was featured (apparently) on “One Tree Hill.” That her debut album comes half in Italian and half in English provides her strong international appeal (great for marketing given her website ufficiale doesn’t load). Of course, truly understanding music goes beyond recognizing the language of words, but rather understanding the language of emotion.

The haunting qualities of “Come Foglie” stick in mind. The song is graceful, soft-spoken yet strong. Although it can be quite epic at times, there’s an element of quiet poignancy that takes you to a more melancholy place… uninvited nostalgia floating like leaves from a summer you can’t have again.

I confess myself a fan, although I’m not sure how long I can listen to her guttural style of singing before my own tonsils explode. Who am I to complain, anyway, since I was an Alanis fan in the 90s. I should be used to weird noises from the mouth!

Leave it to the Italians to get themselves repeatedly stuck in my head…

Magari.