Antoinette Michael Thornes: Issues – Music review

It used to be that female rock singers were a dime-a-dozen. For the most part they imitated GRACE, JONI, PATTI, BONNIE, SUZI, DEBBIE and JOAN and repeated with little variation. The 80s rise of Alternative music and the 90s Riot Grrl gave us a few more unique voices, but not too much depth. Once in a singer such as ANTOINETTE MICHAEL THORNES comes along and reinterprets a classic style in an original way and with a lot of heart.

The rocking “For Keeps” kicks things off with great style and panache. A gritty, bluesy track with a haunting melody in the chorus really show cases her vocal prowess. She has a breathy, tough quality to her delivery that is neither thin or contrived like many modern singers. There is a lot of cool, intricate guitar work going on, from the restrained undercurrent of soloing in the verses to the bridge notes before the main solo of the track. “Fortune’s Fool” is uptempo and direct, a jamming rocker. The rhythm guitar and drumming really standout and give your ear something to grab onto. There are some cool notes that Antoinette holds on to for effect that really hit you. She also a gift for some out of the box melodies. Third track “Falling Down’ is the highlight of the record. The urgent riffs and impassioned singing really pull at your heart and gut and the track pulls off being classic and modern all at once.

The rest of the album ebbs and flows somewhere between badass tunes and introspective ballads. Tracks like “Are These Tears” and “Detroit Hustle” would get any crowd to bop and pogo around. They are fun songs that get the blood flowing musically. Heartbreaking cuts like “Between You and Me”, “Gaslight” and “Someday” have different personalities to them like wounded ingenue, bluesy mad woman, defiant and lovelorn. “Someday” is an emotional roller-coaster and chill inducing singing and lyrics four-plus minutes. The album is very deep from top to bottom with no weak songs.

Issues is definitely an album to pick-up if you like singer-songwriters with a whole lot of soul. We’ll be looking out for ANTOINETTE MICHAEL THORNES on tour in the near future.

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For More Information Visit:
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http://www.bandmix.com/antoinette-michael-thornes
http://www.reverbnation.com/antoinettemichaelthornes

Author: Keith Chachkes