Pontus Gunve (who performs as PHWG) has just released his latest album, The Observer. Gunve has had countless compositions utilized for art installations, performances, and commercials. The Observer is a title that will showcase the sheer multitude of styles, approaches, and overall feelings present in Gunve’s career. Aside from acting as a retrospective, what The Observer feels like is an evolutionary step forward. With each track on The Observer,…
For those individuals that have been living under a rock for the last five years, Ruben Studdard was one of the American Idol finalists. This is actually eir second album; eir first album, “Soulful” had the catchy song “Sorry 2004”. However, this album starts out very weakly. The first track on “The Return” is the title track, which has the unfortunate tag line of “Of The Velvet Teddy Bear”. I…
I have had some major time spent with the heavy-ABV 24 ounce cans. Whether it was Steel Reserve or Camo Black Ice, there was much value to be had with one of these big boys. Four Loko has provided individuals with a heavy amount of alcohol and an ample amount of flavor to hide the alcohol bite. Phusion Projects, the company behind Four Loko, has created “Loko Margarita”. This means…
Usually, I would stay away from live recordings from smaller labels like TKO just for the fact that many of these bands really don’t have the equipment necessarily to make their live performance not sound like shit. Take for example the Leftover Crack live show from Reading, PA in which it is virtually impossible for an individual listening to the disc to actually figure out which lyrics are being sung,…
Nobody Walks concerns the relationship that Martine (Olivia Thirlby) and a Los Angeles couple, Peter and Julie (Rosemary DeWitt and John Krasinski); Peter has offered to do audio work on Martine’s initial film as a favor to one of Julie’s collegiate friends. The addition of Martine to Peter and Julie’s family is enough of a catalyst to get the whole family in a tizzy. Ry Russo-Young (The Color Wheel, Hannah…
Give Me Everything is a smooth track that could easily be played on rock radio rotation, where it succeeds tying in late nineties rock (311, Saliva) with a more contemporary feel. Where Do We Go has an absolutely furious instrumental arrangement that highlights the soaring vocals on the track. Hints of Foo Fighters and Maroon 5 can be heard in the vocals, with the track’s production tying together the…
When I was a child, one of my favorite books was a reference guide to all of the monsters and otherworldly creatures in H.P. Lovecraft’s massive bibliography. It didn’t matter that I had never actually read one of Lovecraft’s stories, the illustrations and descriptions of each oddity captivated my ten-year-old self in a way that few other books could. My fascination with animals both real and fictitious has continued to…
Cosmic Suckerpunch have just released their Breathe EP, a collection of five tracks that provide listeners with a sense of the band, their influences, and where they may ultimately go in the years to come. That Voice is a straight-forward rock track that succeeds because it blends hints of alt-rock and psychedelic into the overall Ramones / Cure / Strokes vibe that is established. The Breathe EP succeeds because…
Strike Fire Fall is an absolutely perfect emo-rock that hails from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The style of tracks like “Stay Awake” mixes acts like Amber Pacific with The Starting Line to create something that is emotionally deep but still holding of a musical intensity that can never be quenched. Each of the tracks on “Still Life” are just perfect for video games, music videos, or radio; another track that really…
“To Live in Discontent” is a collection of Strike Anywhere’s out of print EP and other 7 inch work – when the disc starts off with “Asleep”, one can hear the intense sounds of the band even if the mastering and recording is not necessarily up to “Exit English”-standards. Something that is immediately recognizable is the cohesion of sound that Strike Anywhere has created over the course of their post-Inquisition…
