Reviews

VEVO

VEVO is a premium music service with over 7500 artists and a large library of videos, exclusive clips, top charts, top playlists and the work. There is also an original music programming feature within the app. VEVO is a joint venture between Sony Music Entertainment, Universal Music Group, and Abu Dhabi Media, while record label EMI licenses its content to VEVO without charging any ownership royalty fees. The videos of VEVO are channeled through the internet and the total advertising revenue is shared between Google and VEVO.

Snowmine: Laminate Pet Animal

Seldom do you encounter a band that has a distinct music palette, but Snowmine delivers more than that. Released last May 3, Laminate Pet Animal is made up of nine genre-bending tracks that live up to the band's eclectic music. Hailing from Brooklyn, the five piece collective composed of Grayson Sanders, Austin Mendenhall, Alex Beckmann, Jay Goodman and Calvin Pia have captured the attention of culture bloggers with their beautifully-arranged music. The kind of music that reminds you of The Smiths and the Yeasayer.

MechWarrior 4 Mercenaries

Make way for heavy duty gaming action with MechWarrior 4 Mercenaries. This game belongs to the very popular and widely rated MechWarrior franchisee, and the publisher is none other than Microsoft Game Studios; developed by FASA Studios. The game brings you a good dose of adrenaline pumping action with loads and loads of machinery thrown-in everywhere. Developed with the help of Mechwarrior 4 engine, it looks gorgeous to say the least.

Rozwell Kid: The Rozwell Kid LP

Rozwell Kid is the brainchild of Jordan Hudkins, a drummer from the band The Demon Beat. For this LP, he took a break from his drumming and tried out his hand at creating alternative electro noise pop. Listening to it now, it seems he's stumbled onto something here. This is his first foray into the solo route and it's proving a success. The Rozwell Kid LP comes with 10 tracks and one bonus single. According to the artist, his goal for the album was "to create the kind of music I love listening to, release it into the wild, and hope it finds an audience who can relate to my passion for thick, noisy power-pop.”

F.E.A.R Combat

Gear up warriors, it is time to join the team, load the guns, buckle-up, head for some intense killing and feel the "F.E.A.R". Yes, we are talking about the highly-popular F.E.A.R franchisee with the spine-chilling action that takes the FPS genre to a whole new level. Developed by Monolith Productions, F.E.A.R Combat is a multiplayer online game being offered as a freeware. The game takes the entire queue from the other F.E.A.R versions and fans will immediately notice the similarities, once the game has shot-up and the mouse starts controlling the gun.

The Miracals: Hermosa (EP)

If you miss the days of surfer rock music, rest assured, you'll be able to relive the nostalgia as you listen to The Miracals. (Yes, their name spelling is a bit weird but their music is quite pleasant.) All four members are college students from Southern California. They initially called themselves, "The Smiles" but for some reason changed it to The Miracals. They like to describe their music as "beach rock" or the more quirky "tropical grunge," gathering influence from one of the bands that shaped the genre, The Beach Boys. Hermosa EP is a nice compilation that screams of summer fun. Even in the dead of winter, it's perfect for bringing some sunshine to dreary mornings.

HandBrake

Own a portable multimedia device, but are downright annoyed and confused about transferring videos in the perfect format? Well, Handbrake is the solution you should be looking at to sort out all your multimedia needs and fixing them up perfectly. Developed by the Handbrake community, the software has advanced over the years and has churned out some very neat features, making it easier and simpler for users viewing their HD movie collection on various devices.

California Condors: Calm Carnivore

The California Condors is not just the name for the largest North American land bird, but also the equivalent of a 3 piece West Coast crew that plays some infectious contemporary indie rock along with a slight 60s/70s touch. These Orange County natives count The Beatles, Willie Nelson and Neil Young among their influences. Indeed their distinctive sound echoes with this influence.