No, rock and roll will NOT take a backseat to modern, mostly automated popular music. Rock and roll, with its rebellious and human-centric intensity, is here to stay – and Bongo Boy Records’ Kryp II Knight Vol. V presents another collection of the newest, best, and brightest artists this temporarily dethroned genre has to offer. Ready for a musical smorgasbord of the latest rock, hard rock, classic rock, and alternative rock tracks? Then let’s break out our ripped jeans, unearth our proudly garish (and VERY fluorescent) bandana, and take a listen.
Bongo Boy Records’ Kryp II Knight Vol. V kicks off with “Delivery Guy” by ARTIC BABA. It begins with a phasing guitar riff before launching into chugging, energetic chords. And then the soft but fabulously meshing female vocal kicks in; it doesn’t dilute the aggression, but adds emotional clarity and compassion. Great, kinetic, and immediately catchy first track.
Next, it’s Love & Opium with “Bloodflower.” This hard rock/heavy metal number immediately brings the anger and dense guitar chugging. And with a dusty, slightly diabolical lead vocal and an interesting midsection with staccato guitar strikes, “Bloodflower” remains adroitly drenched in grueling, sludgy, and indefinite darkness.
Bob Birthisel takes two spots on Kryp II Knight Vol. V with “What About My Reward” (featuring Johnny Gioeli) and “Take the Elevator.” The former starts with clean, delayed electric guitar strikes – a progression that, for some reason, reminds me of Bachman Turner Overdrive’s “You Ain’t Seen Nothing Yet.” And when the strong, character-filled voice kicks in, this classic rock-leaning track exemplifies and uplifts the blues/western rock it’s birthed from. “Take the Elevator” features electronic effects before breaking into a dusty, dirty rock ditty. Leaning on a little country but mostly authentic blues-based rock, this powerful, dynamic, and slightly humorous number cleverly embraces both aggression and finesse.
Bongo Boy Records staple The NEW Bardots present “Wasted Blind.” With gritty guitars and harmonica, this authentic rock track features The NEW Bardots’ trademark sound – a strong, purposely wavering lead vocal, unapologetically big and powerfully strummed chords, and a chorus that immediately propels this music from capable rock track to generational anthem.
Another Bongo Boy Records regular, Boys’N’Barry returns with “Never Surrender.” No, it’s not a lost track from the Dirty Dancing soundtrack – it’s a catchy, attitude-filled rocker with a snare-popping chorus ending in a clever falsetto-brandishing chord change. Good, good stuff.
The L&M Project Band presents “Devil’s Flame,” and deceptively, it’s a slower, more subdued number built on acoustic guitar, piano, and strings. Well, until the one and only chorus arrives: an explosive, fluttering electric guitar lead over more aggressive chords. And then, after retracting its fangs, it reverts to its more gentle nature. What an excellent, surprising track with a wildly swinging pendulum between two jaggedly meshed emotional tones.
And now, it’s OBLIVEA with “Black Sheep.” Brandishing their unique version of emotive metal, “Black Sheep” is a powerful guitar chugger with that characteristic, delayed, from-the-clouds lead vocal. It’s another dip into emotional darkness courtesy of Bongo Boy Records’ preeminent metal project.
KIKKER presents “Without You I’m Free” – it starts with acoustic guitar and a breathy, almost whispering voice before breaking into electric guitar and a celebratory classic rock sound. It’s the music of newly won freedom, and burdensome regrets long and gratefully buried.
E.G. Holmes, another Bongo Boy Records regular, presents “Pieces That Lay Broken” (featuring Timothy Reid). When I reviewed this song in late 2023, I said, “‘Pieces That Lay Broken,’ with its world music shake and Holmes’ whole-throat roughness, invokes a Peter Gabriel vibe; something that pits mankind against environs often untamed, but never insurmountable.” And upon revisiting, I stand by that review – it’s mechanical but still organic nature embraces modernity, nature, and mankind’s deepening conflict with either, or both.
Jose Calarco shares “Take My Breath Away,” and it’s blissfully heavy on cowbell. Rocking with a lived-in vocal, the chorus hits with a little floating psychedelia courtesy of delayed lead vocals and accompanying female voices. Think “Low Rider,” but with a harder edge and dalliances into flower power.
Closing out Kryp II Knight Vol. V, it’s “Sharpen Your Knives” by Maryann Stefanik. I hate repeating myself…unless I’m totally right the first time. When reviewing TIME, the album from which this angst-bubbling, rebellious headlock of a song exploded from, I said, “The album kicks off with “Sharpen Your Knives,” a gritty, guitar-driven track steeped in new wave punk. And Stefanik’s voice, with its ever-defiant character, truly drives home the rebellious, perhaps violent inclinations here. This is particularly punchy, rather raw, and positively packed with attitude.” And I fully endorse that statement. It’s electric, edgy, explosive new-wave punk, and the kind of song that keeps one’s head bobbing long after the music ends.
But is it good?
Don’t listen to the naysayers – rock is here to stay, and Kryp II Knight Vol. V is part of the counteroffensive to return rock n’ roll to its deserved seat of power. Bulging and bristling with new and familiar independent talent, this latest collection boasts various forms of well-played rock, and plenty of guitar licks and neck-jolting drum beats. Want to rock out, because it’s been too long and you’re hunting, furiously but unsuccessfully, for your next favorite band? The hunt is over – Kryp II Knight Vol. V is a kick-drum-filled collection curated just for you.
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BELOW: Listen to Bongo Boy Records’ Kryp II Knight Volume V and connect with Bongo Boy Records’ website and social media platforms. Please support Bongo Boy Records, and their artists, by visiting them online and playing, downloading, and/or purchasing their music. And, as always, thank you for supporting real music!
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