 Roy Peak Reviews Afton Wolf Afton Wolfe Kings For Sale Grandiflora Records Emotional and Rough-Edged Jazzy Country-Blues Afton Wolfe released his debut EP in 2020;. Petronius’ Last Meal and was full of jazzy Country-Blues and rough-edged vocals, with a batch of well-written songs. Kings For Sale reprises that formula; while kicking it up a notch with a colorful production by Grammy winner Oz Fritz that includes plenty of horns and some winsome pedal steel to go with Wolfe’s gruff, evocative voice. The cover image shows Wolfe seemingly looking backward and forward at the same time, his inner thoughts reflecting on his outer self? A good primer for the music it accompanies. The lead off track, “Paper Piano,” is a rocking delight complete with a perfectly matched horn section and rollicking piano. The risqué “Dirty Girl” has a New Orleans flavor, making broad use of Wolfe’s sandpaper rough vocals and some simmering blues by his studio band. Click here to read the rest of the review!
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 4 Poems by Charlie Robert Like Heathcliff on the Moor He comes in the worst part of the night. The moon has either set or never risen. There are no intelligent constellations anywhere. His Mother rips off her dress as he slides fishlike from her V. His Amniotic Sack. The Caul of Good Fortune. His eyes. Dark and bright. She names him Judas because she likes the name. When he is twenty-two he will Win the War. Across the hall someone else is born and lives three minutes. The air. Filled with a high pitched keening. Like Heathcliff on the moor.  Fragments of a Revolution Author, Seb Doubinsky by Naomi Ulsted Seb Doubinsky’s novel, Fragments of a Revolution, plunges the reader into a world of violence in the first few pages. The reader will come to find the nuances, quirks and beauties within our narrator, Lorenzo’s memories of this failed 1969 revolution in Mexico, but Doubinsky makes sure the reader can’t forget this is no joke, an idealistic adventure, but not without violent consequences.
 Gardening During Covid by Jarad Johnson If you know anything about Julie and Jarad, it’s that they love plants. In fact, they are plant obsessed. So, what did they do during quarantine? They gardened. They planted, and they dug around in the soil to find some sanity in an otherwise topsy turvy world. Good grief, this time last year, we feared for our democracy, were sheltering in place, seeing people in masks felt apocalyptic instead of normal, and everyday the news reported more and more death from a virus with no vaccine and seemingly no end. We lived (and live) in dark times. The only solution the two of them knew was to garden. It’s a source of solace, a cure for depression, and provides a sense of fulfillment.
 Pink Moon in Scorpio You Wouldn't Understand Anyway by Lane Mochow Pink Moon in Scorpio
I count how many times the moon yanks on her trickling blondes it may only be two, but the tunnel divides himself, unlit by viscose cellophane or irradiated glass last night, I forgot her face. instead, the black is now split by oil lamp one spotlit steel toed boot at a time hovering above a miner's floorboards. I choose to clutch hope's burlap, holding right is right and left is nothing but a hopeless chimera, its body but a mutilated yellow jacket who stings until light rolls the sky. I suppose I will never truly, unapologetically hold my own fate.  The Seeds Author, Ann Nocenti and David Aja by Roy Peak The Earth is dying, perhaps on its last dark days. Humanity goes on, as it does, fractured, tenuous, some grasping at hope, many ignoring the inevitable. A city is divided physically by a wall patrolled by armed guards who are easily bribed to look the other way. Across the wall is a vast wasteland where dwell those who have thrown their tech away—no phones, no cameras, no electricity—in anticipation of the coming world's end.
 Vanessa Peters Modern Age by Roy Peak Music Editor Vanessa Peters latest endeavor is an album of fun rock songs played by an ace crack band recorded in four countries during a worldwide pandemic. And for being recorded in such a haphazard manner, it sounds clear and fantastic. This warm and punchy recording leapt out of the new Pioneer speakers I recently installed in my old work van. I felt like a teenager again, blasting the songs while flying down the highway! If that ain't praise, well...
I first heard Peters with her album Foxhole Prayers, which was jangly and rocking, but it was her all covers album, Mixtape, which set the bar a bit higher in that she took a few chances and it paid off well. So what about the songs on this new album? I'll say that so far I like this album better than her last two, so there is that. 
Safe and Sound Brian Walker of A Day Without Love BS Productions by Roy Peak Music Editor "If we can't breathe in our art and expression, then how the hell are we ever going to breathe?” is a question that Philadelphia musician Brian Walker explores in the upcoming documentary Safe + Sound being released July 23rd, 2021.  English Majors Are Bad Drivers by Jarad Johnson *Note- Before we begin, you may be wondering, "Why is there a random picture of a cat stuck here? Well, allow me to explain. Cats are, by nature, rather irritable and, shall we say, ornery. In this post, I am rather crotchety myself, and since cats and I share a kinship in that regard, I felt it was appropriate. You may commence with reading this post now!*
On the days that I’m not working my regular job, I sometimes drive for DoorDash. Every single time, I feel like I’m taking my life into my own hands. I’ve scantily avoided multiple wrecks, most of them caused by some plebeian texting instead of driving. And every time this happens, I think, “Astonishing, isn’t it, that you aren’t the only person on the road?” This is a problem, that in my view, stems from pedestrians walking down the street looking at their phone. I know a story of someone my age who was holding their phone facetiming someone and then was shocked when they found themselves wrapped around a pole. Hope that conversation was worth it for them! Before I was terrified of them given me a viral plague, I sometimes let random people run into me. Just to make a point to them that there are other people around, you self absorbed twits!  Four Poems
Ahmad Alkhatat Silent Cry Desire to Die Cold Coffin Unforgettable Beauty Silent Cry The full moon rises over the metropolitan It reminds me of the head of the combatant He was formerly surrounded, his people and his enemy, whom they sentenced him to death by hanging, he died his people became candles. When your heart stops beating, you will think that your last wounds will burn your weak breath My logical sense said that “go brighter then burst”. Nobody but you and my mental health knows that I composed my happiness and autumn sang my grief. |
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