Northern State celebrate the release of their third LP with a mini Northeast US tour. Their up and coming stunner “Can I Keep This Pen†out on Ipecac Recordings (Aug 28th), has already received new heights of critical acclaim.
The Aggrolites – Reggae Hit L.A. / 2007 Hellcat / 15 Tracks / http://www.aggroreggae.com / http://www.hell-cat.com / The disc opens up with “Work Itâ€, which uses a reggae sound that has been digitized to give the overall sound a tweak that has not been done to my knowledge. The rest of the track is fairly normal reggae fare, with a slow beat, bassy vocals, and a laid-back arrangement style that…
Jesse Harris – Feel / 2007 Secret Sun / 14 Tracks / http://www.jesseharrismusic.com / http://www.velourmusic.com / The front cover of Jesse Harris’ “Feel†does not give individuals much of an idea how “Feel†will ultimately sound. The front cover is largely white and features the artist’s name and the title in a slightly nuanced style, with a “tail†of different colors running down the bottom center of the liner. What…
The InterActivist #30 / Free / 28L / [email protected] / The InterActivist is a zine that I have never seen before, but this is probably due to the fact that I do not make it to Athens, Ohio all that much. This issue reminds me a lot of the now-defunct Clamor magazine, which means that there are a lot of social justice pieces. While it seems like some of the…
Piebald – Accidental Gentlemen / 2007 Sideonedummy / 12 Tracks / http://www.piebald.com / http://www.sideonedummy.com / Piebald starts off their “Accidental Gentleman†with “Openerâ€, and the band settles into an Offspring-type of sound. This means that there hints of rock along with punk, coupled together to create an energetic sound that will get individuals singing along. “A Friend of Mine†blends styles to include acts like Weezer, The Aquabats, and The…
Magic Bullets – A Child But In Life Yet A Doctor In Love / 2007 Words On Music / 10 Tracks / http://www.myspace.com/magicbullets / http://www.words-on-music.com / The band starts off “A Child But In Life Yet A Doctor In Love†in much of the same style as a number of New Romantic bands did (calling forth New Order most clearly), and while the instrumental and vocal seem to oppose each…
On Wednesday, July 20th, live on stage, in front of 20,000 roaring fans at the infamous Earthshaker Festival in Rieden, Germany, heavy metal heroes Testament inked a recording deal with Heavy Metal Record Company Giants Nuclear Blast.
Blue Skies For Black Hearts – Love Is Not Enough / 2007 King of Hearts / 10 Tracks / http://www.blueskiesforblackhearts.com / http://www.kingofheartsrecords.com / Blue Skies For Black Hearts start off their ‘Love Is Not Enough†with “Here Comes The Rainâ€. The band wants you to imagine them as a seventies pop act, and the smoothed-out, half organic half electronic sound of “Here Comes The Rain†does a lot to solidify…
Auto Interiors – Let’s Agree To Deceive Our Best Friends / 2007 Ryko / 11 Tracks / http://www.myspace.com/autointeriors / http://www.rykodisc.com / The Auto Interiors on “Let’s Agree To Deceive Our Best Friends†seem to have a sound that blends the darkly catchy music of Interpol and The Editors with the emotive, earthy emo music of the mid to late nineties. What results on tracks like “Window Shopping†is that a…
Los Angeles, CA – Mr. J Medeiros is an eloquent hip-hop artist on a mission to create massive social change through music, in more areas than one. In keeping with the release of his debut solo-album “Of gods and girls†on July 24th, 2007, Mr. J officially launches his anti child trafficking campaign “IamConstance.org†in Los Angeles today; a website that relates to the non-traditional, “hit†single off the album:…
Hilary Duff – Dignity / 2007 Hollywood / 14 Tracks / http://www.hilaryduff.com / http://www.hollywoodrecords.com / Hilary Duff has changed eir style quite a bit since eir last few albums. A song like â€Why not†was something that could make it easily onto any Disney soundtrack, where songs like “With Love†may be pandering to a slightly older fan base. This is not really surprising, as the fan base that liked…
John Taglieri – Wide Awake & Dreaming / 2006 Leap Dog / 15 Tracks / http://www.johntaglieri.com / “Wide Awake & Dreaming†is John Taglieri’s fourth album; with a number of accolades already under eir belt, I have high expectations for “Wide Awake & Dreamingâ€. “Starring Role†does not completely live up to these expectations, as the pop music that Taglieri plays is nothing different from a number of artists on…
To help commemorate Metal Blade Records 25th Anniversary Cannibal Corpse, The Black Dahlia Murder, The Red Chord, The Absence, and one more guest to be announced have teamed up for a full US tour to begin September 6th in New Orleans, LA at the House of Blues.
Plumbline – Recollection / 2007 Self / 10 Tracks / http://www.plumblinemusic.com / Plumbline play a hopeful brand of Christian rock that is safe without breaking completely free of the established artists in the genre. The disc’s first track comes in “This is a Song of Hope’, and while the band does not rattle the cage or otherwise try to go in a style that has not been done before, they…
Amy Cook – The Sky Observer’s Guide / 2007 Root House / 10 Tracks / http//www.amycook.com / http://rroothouserecords.com / “Coming Home (The Eclipse)†starts off in a slow style, the guitar being pretty much the only thing that bolsters Cook’s vocals. The vocals of Cook are nothing special, coming forth as somewhat poppy, somewhat rocky. The anemic flow of “Coming Home†means that the only thing individuals can really get…
Onsidezero is currently supporting their recently released Ulrich Wild (Static-X, Stabbing Westward, Taproot) produced sophomore album, which was released through Corporate Punishment Records.
Drawing Voices – S/T / 2007 Hydra Head / 6 Tracks / http://www.hydrahead.com / For those not in the know, Drawing Voices is the culmination of forces including artist Craig Dongoski and Isis’ Aaron Turner. So, typical Hydra Head-types of individuals join forces to craft a six-song album. “Being Born Broken†is a short introduction to Drawing Voices, and there is more atmospheric sounds present to the track than anything.…
Alice Donut – Fuzz / 2007 Howler / 12 Tracks / http://www.alicedonut.com / http://www.howlerrecords.com / I had known of Alice Donut for quite a few years, and their cover of “War Pigs†is one of my favorite covers of all times. However, I did not know what their sounded like beyond that. “Madonna’s Bombing Sarajevo†is the first track on the CD, and it blends together the strung out sounds…
Khlyst – Chaos is my Name / 2007 Hydra Head / 8 Tracks / http://www.plotkinworks.com/Khlyst/KhlystMain.html / I must admit, I am not completely behind the work of Khlyst at the onset of this disc. I mean, I like noise in my music, but fucking around on a guitar and just screaming out without any rhyme or reason isn’t that impressive to me. The band does start to become more coherent…
The Hidden Hand – The Resurrection of Whiskey Foote / 2007 Southern Lord / 10 Tracks / http://www.thehiddenhand.com / http://www.southernlord.com / God, I love grunge. I love bands that revel in sounding like they’ve just had sex with their Corrosion of Conformity, Helmet, and Morbid Angel albums. “Purple Neon Dream†is the first track on “The Resurrection of Whiskey Footeâ€, and it shows that the band loves crafting some of…