Singles Roundup: Sophie Lloyd & Lzzy Hale, Blink 182, DMJ, & Kat Kennedy

This week has a treat, and a nostalgic crisis:

Sophie & Lzzy – Imposter Syndrome

Collaborations can be difficult, since you never know how two artists are going to work together. Take, for instance, Lzzy Hale's appearance on a song by Avatar. I love Lzzy's voice to death, but that song was perhaps the most boring she has ever sounded. This time, she is working with guitar-slinger Sophie Lloyd, and the results are entirely different. With a song more in her wheelhouse, Lzzy's voice shines, and her melody soars. Yes, it might sound a bit too much like a Halestorm song with a flashier solo, but who cares? You get a great vocalist and a great guitar player on a very good song. That's a win no matter how you slice it.

Blink 182 - More Than You Know/One More Time

I'm glad I don't have heaps of nostalgia for Blink 182. Sure, I liked "Enema Of The State" back in the day, but I checked out before all of the drama ensured, so they were never that important to me. Why do I say that? Because with these two new songs, we learn we really can't go back again. The first thing to realize is that none of the Blink members have really written fun music since "Take Off Your Pants And Jacket", so these songs are still rather dour. The other thing is that Tom's voice is completely gone, and if they didn't make a big deal about him being back in the band, I would never know it was him. He's so bad, it hurts whatever affection I still had for the band to hear them like this. Ouch.

D'Virgilio, Morse, & Jennings - Anywhere The Wind Blows

These three are back for a second album, and I'm still not sure what to make of them. I should have loved their first album, but I found myself getting bored with it very quickly. This song follows suit, with Neal Morse leading an acoustic ditty that wouldn't sound out of place on his non-prog albums. I do like it, but I still wonder what there is about this approach I'm not connecting with. It's a fine, breezy little song that I do enjoy. I suppose I'm guarding myself from getting my hopes too high for the full record.

Kat Kennedy - Never See Me

The latest bit of 'Daria rock' from Kat Kennedy has arrived, and once again it's a meditation on how the dark side can shimmer in the right light. This song is a pop song at heart, played in a somber style that Kat's voice is made for. She understands that you don't have to belt to make a statement, and it's the soft tone of her voice that makes the realization that the character in the song is going to regret his choices cut all the deeper. Having someone mad at you shows they still care. Having someone sound resigned to your absence is gutting. The day there are enough of these songs to put together into a full album is going to be a good one. Kat has mastered the sad day.