Loretto FEATURE

Ryan Ferrell and Zach Elliot have played in local projects together for fifteen years and for the last three have been playing and releasing music under the name, “Loretto.” This Jacksonville duo play an eclectic brand of rock that borrows heavily from indie and to a lesser extent, emo.

Their “heart-on-your-sleeve”approach to writing music is only enhanced by the fact that they’re writing music for themselves first and others second. This sounds counterproductive in the era of content creation but because of that mindset, their music is highly emotive and intimate.

This humble approach is being re-created on their third and forthcoming record, “No Cover”. On this album they’re going back to their roots and recording in a home studio with Ferrell at the helm. Their previous record, “Bowl Americana,” was recorded professionally but they decided to go back to DIY recording to allow the band to take creative liberties and experiment with more fleshed out ideas without any kind of outside pressure influence.

Their newest single, “It’s Like That,” is injected with an energy not found on their previous records that has elements similar to those found on a Front Bottoms track. If this single is anything to go by, their new album is going to be one you don’t want to overlook.

Make sure to check back tomorrow for my in-depth review of “It’s Like That” and please make sure to follow the band on social media for updates on music releases and other important information!

Instagram: @lorettofl

Facebook: @LorettoFL

Bandcamp: https://loretto.bandcamp.com/

Rohna INTERVIEW

Hi there, everyone. Thank you for joining us on the first episode of the Sunshine Underground Podcast. On this episode, we go in-depth with Tampa rock band Rohna on their formation, influences, DIY ethics, and the release of their new album. In the back half of the show, the band answers some questions from fans on their instagram. Enjoy!

Instagram: @rohnamusic

Twitter: @rohnamusic

Facebook: @rohnamusic

Rohna - The Beautiful Ordinary REVIEW

For our first review on the site, we have Rohna, a four-piece alt-rock outfit from Tampa, FL. Rohna have successfully genre-melded, pulling influences from neo-soul, indie rock, punk, and alternative to create something unique with their debut record, “The Beautiful Ordinary”. On this record they provide a lot to sink your teeth into, clocking in at almost 40 minutes with 10 tracks.

Something impressive about this album is the level of cohesion present, as all of the songs are thematically similar but branch off in meaningful ways that demand the listener’s attention. For instance, the drum breakdown in the epic and sprawling, “Rosewater” come to mind. This 7 minute track is the perfect showcase of the band’s creativity, as it includes an incredibly hard-hitting chorus, 80’s inspired synth passages,cacophonous but calculated energy, and an absolutely barn-burning payoff.

Speaking of choruses, that’s something this band does incredibly well. The third single, “We Both Know”, is a mid-tempo rocker with crunchy guitars and a slow burn. This track has an outstanding, singalong chorus that gets stuck in your head for weeks after. Throughout the duration of this song, and the record as a whole, you can feel a more intense energy lurking beneath the surface waiting behind the restrained vocals and catchy guitars. This energy pops up in short bursts and never fails to impress.

The interplay between the more restrained inflection and almost yelled vocals add even more layers to this already technically sound record. The vocals are firmly placed in the mid-range but that does nothing to deteriorate from the package as a whole, as variances are smartly placed and manage to switch it up when necessary.

There are also a few top-notch instrumental tracks, “Nothing Without It” and “Manifest”. My favorite of the two is “Manifest”. This song features noodly and winding guitar passages that would be at home on a Chon or Strawberry Girls record. This particular brand of math rock is something that I’m a big fan of so to see Rohna pull this off with ease is satisfying. They then ditch the noodly guitars for a more beefy tone and craft what I believe to be tied for the most exciting moment of the entire 40-min run time.

All in all, this album pulls from a lot of different influences and is all the better for it. They used the “throw everything at the wall and see what sticks” approach and most of what they tried their hand at was a resounding success. Each member of the band pulls their weight and it doesn’t feel like there was anything left on the table. The drum fills were slick and tight and excelled at giving the compositions a heartbeat. The guitar work was incredibly varied and you can tell that there was a ton of tinkering with effect pedals. This provides the listener with a listen that improves over time as you discover new guitar tones in songs you’ve listened to 20 times. That goes for the rest of the record as well. While enjoyable on first listen, there are many layers to peel back and analyze on this record and taking the time to do so is well worth it. I recommend listening to the whole album to get the optimal experience, as there is an intended ebb and flow to the tracklist that would be missed out on otherwise.

Thank you for checking out this review, please make sure to give this album a listen and go check out Rohna on social media. If you’d be interested in having your band’s record reviewed, please don’t hesitate to contact me using the “Contact” page and I’d be more than happy to help!

Instagram: @Rohnamusic

Facebook: @Rohnamusic

Twitter: @Rohnamusic