2011 Whalie Award Winners

TOP CRITICS AWARDS:

ALBUM OF THE YEAR
 Above/Below "Two Sides"

URBAN ALBUM/MIXTAPE OF THE YEAR
 Erik Lamb "Shoot Everything"

INDIE/PUNK/ALTERNATIVE ALBUM OF THE YEAR
Sodium Lights "Transtulit"

SOLO ALBUM OF THE YEAR
Matt Gouette "Emeline at the Moontower"

RECORD OF THE YEAR
Gone For Good "The Bright Lights"

SONG OF THE YEAR
Gramz "I Have Arrived"

BREAKTHROUGH ARTIST OF THE YEAR
 Camacho

PEOPLE'S CHOICE AWARDS:

BEST ALTERNATIVE
The Facelifters

BEST AMERICANA
The Rivergods

BEST DJ
The Swagger Jackers

BEST HARDCORE / METAL
End All Suffering

BEST URBAN / HIPHOP
N.M.E The Illest

BEST INDIE / EXPERIMENTAL / DANCE
 Brava Spectre

BEST PUNK / SKA
The Hempsteadys

BEST ROCK
The Reducers

BEST SOLO SINGER / SONGWRITER
 Matt Gouette

BEST MUSIC SERIES
The Sinners Circle

BEST MUSIC VIDEO
Matt Gouette "Opinion"

CRITICS CHOICE AWARDS:

BEST ALTERNATIVE PERFORMANCE
 Straight to VHS "Patchwork City"

BEST CONTEMPORARY FOLK / BLUEGRASS PERFORMANCE
Dogbite "Electrified"

BEST BLUES / COUNTRY ROCK PERFORMANCE
 Franklin Brothers "New London Blues"

BEST HARDCORE / METAL PERFORMANCE
ight In May "Modern Modifications"

BEST HIPHOP / RAP PERFORMANCE
Gramz "I Have Arrived"

BEST URBAN ALTERNATIVE PERFORMANCE
Erik Lamb "Shoot Everything"

BEST DANCE / ELECTRONIC PERFORMANCE
The Fears "Closer"

BEST INDIE / EXPERIMENTAL PERFORMANCE
 Get Haunted "Crimson Ribbons"

BEST PUNK / SKA PERFORMANCE
Sadplant "Codependence"

BEST ROCK PERFORMANCE
Gone For Good "Ride To Nowhere"

BEST SOLO SINGER / SONGWRITER PERFORMANCE
Steve Elci "Dance With You"

CD Review: Chris Castle - The Firelands EP

CD Review by Adam Wujtewicz

Originally from New London, Ohio, (can you believe that?!), singer/songwriter/musician, Chris Castle, is now calling New London, CT his second home. He's been planting seeds here for couple years, playing frequent sets at Hanafin's Irish Pub, as well as the Blue Collar Happy Hour. You may have seen Chris playing as part of the latest Sinners Circle which took place last Saturday (May 7) - and he's even shared the stage with New London favs Matt Gouette, Daphne Lee Martin, Brian Skidmore and Sandy Allen... just to name a few.

More recently Chris has been recording his latest EP The Firelands, which he worked on right here in New London. Fittingly, Chris has joined forces with New London record label Cosmodemonic Telegraph to release it.

The Firelands EP starts out in the standard neo-folk finger picking guitar and softly sung song of love... but the second song is where things start to get interesting.  Think New Orleans setting for a film noir that was narrated by 1973 Tom Waits.  From there it gets a little Ben Folds-y and a little southern pop.  There’s gospel organ and blues guitar and soulful bass.  It’s a fried chicken and Arnold Palmers at a picnic after church, it’s joyous in a very laid back way. 

The EP ends with a downtrodden piano ballad which is kind of a quick drop, but still an extremely well written song.  The EP built up to such a fever pitch before that; the come down is a little harsh.  The Firelands EP will most certainly leave you wanting more.  This is a super polished and complete product that Cosmodemonic should be honored to have under their banner.

7" Review: Ferocious Fucking Teeth - Hounds

CD Review by Adam Wujtewicz

There is certain comfort in a big riff. Knowing that simple string notes can convey a powerful emotion is probably what a psychiatrist would tell you it is.  Being a guy who grew up listening to my father’s Black Sabbath albums I’ll tell you that it has much more to do with repetition and the ability to bang your head in time.  Keep it simple, turn it up, and do not think twice; Hounds, the new 7” by Ferocious Fn' Teeth, lives and dies by those 3 rules.

FFT take the Melvins approach to stoner rock song writing with Sleep’s huge transitions and inject it with a sort of 80’s hardcore punk vibe to jolt the beast awake.  This means a fair amount of speed and enough distorted guitar to turn most stereo’s to rubble.  This, despite the connotations of the stoner rock genre, is still standard procedure.  

The biggest break from the norm is the instrumentation of this band.  The baritone guitar and standard guitar give FFT some extra flexibility without causing the bleed that a two guitar combo could cause.  Steve and Sgott, the two drummers in FFT, add to the attack of the beat or allow fills that one drummer couldn’t do.

Coming from a band with members of Brava Spectre, Total Bolsheviks and Trillion Gallons of Gas, there is a surprising lack of noise on the record.  The songs are all straight ahead and all put together in small manageable bites.  The tempo slows gradually through the EP. The last song and title track “Hounds” has a droning quality but it only lasts 4 ½ minutes – and to call a song “drone” which is that short, would be pushing it.  I don’t understand the spoken word monolog on the track - it’s distorted and back in the mix so it’s not clear what’s being said. It’s a non melodic vocal track which should push to be more of a focal point.  I still don’t know what the attraction to poetry over the top of heavy music is. My vote for best track on the EP is the second song “Handsome Creeper”.

Hounds is like comfort food to the metal enthusiast.  It’s loud, it’s simple, the riffs are cool, there’s yelling and screaming and it’s short.  It’s not boasting a lot of nutrients or intense preparation but it always tastes good.