The sweeping guitar riffs that open up “Suburban Hymns” seems to have put the perfect-pop of individuals like Rivers Cuomo on its head. The very virtuosic (but low-key) guitar that makes its way through “My Last Hostage” is just part and parcel of a larger desire by The Life and Times to skillfully cloak themselves with the fuzz of a bygone period in alternative rock. The shuffling beat of “Coat…
Mike Posner, singer, songwriter, producer, and recent Duke University graduate has announced his first headlining club tour, The Up In The Air Tour, produced by Live Nation and sponsored by Karmaloop.com. Fans can receive exclusive access to pre-sale tickets for The Up In The Air Tour when they pre-order 31 Minutes To Takeoff at MikePosner.com. The Up In The Air Tour will make 22 stops at premier clubs throughout the…
Lissie’s song “Bully” is now a single. The track, from her debut full-length album, Catching A Tiger, which will be released in the U.S. on August 17th via Fat Possum. Catching A Tiger, produced by Jacquire King (Kings Of Leon, Norah Jones, Modest Mouse) and Bill Reynolds (of Band of Horses), expands upon the resonant alt-country and haunting, soulful ballads of last fall’s arresting Why You Runnin’ EP (Fat Possum).…
“Shout” is the main track on this EP, and individuals have to understand that this is the height of Christian pop music; this is Mary Mary for 2006, and this rocks while still trying to say a message. For those fans of the song, there is no shortage in the number of times that individuals can tune in; for ten tracks, there are four cuts that are specifically “Shout” (with…
Multimedia superstar Reba will release her new album on November 9th. The follow-up to the GOLD, Keep On Loving You, released less than a year ago, will be her second for The Valory Music Co. Reba’s lead single from her upcoming album, “Turn on the Radio,” earned Billboard Hot Shot Debut status a week before it’s official impact date at radio. “Turn on the Radio,” a lively, modern day kiss-off…
September 28th, 2010 marks the release date of Jimmy Eat World’s highly anticipated new album, Invented. Recorded in Tempe, Arizona at the band’s Unit 2 studio, Jimmy Eat World reunited with Mark Trombino, the producer on the band’s breakthrough album, Bleed American, and their seminal earlier albums, Static Prevails and Clarity. “We’re very excited about Invented,” said lead singer and guitarist Jim Adkins, “it was great reconnecting and creating an…
Where “Rabbit Fur Coat” starts out in a very Allison Krauss type of style for “Run Devil Run”, there seems to be an infusion of that style with something that is much more acceptable in alternative rock. At the end of the track, one really hears more of a fusion style that looks toward Bitch & Animal’s “Drag King Bar” more than anything. “The Big Guns” continues slightly in this…
CODESEVEN have officially announced their return from their 2005 hiatus and are currently planning live shows to celebrate. “We are excited to announce that after five years, Codeseven is going to dust off the cob webs and start playing some shows again.” says guitarist Eric Weyer. The band is coming back and they want to make it clear why. Weyer continues, “The Reason? We miss playing these songs. No one…
Totally not what I would expect from Nitro Records, The Letters Organize play a band of hardcore-emo that is reminiscent of Refused and Converge. The riffs that lead the band are brash and seem to look back to late-nineties metal, most noticeably Clutch. To My Surprise influences Brent Jay’s vocals, and in such the band’s focus is pretty solid, even to the point of really limiting the different styles that…
Blood Red Shoes know you don’t need a whole string section to denote ‘emotional’, or a whole horn section to do ‘rousing’. They know rock music doesn’t need to be smothered in effects or laced with devious studio tricks to make an impact. There is another way, a way to make music that really resonates. It involves boiling songs down to their essence – just raw guitar riffs and drum…
Paper + Plastick Records is proud to announce the digital release of SPRING HEELED JACK’s out-of-print, third wave ska classic CDs Static World View (1995) and Songs From Suburbia (1998). Both albums are available for download through the Paper + Plastick webstore (http://www.districtlines.com/Paper-And-Plastick), as well as a FREE download of “East End Gangster,” the band’s first brand new song written in over a decade, recorded live earlier this year: http://tinyurl.com/SHJEastEndGangster.…
Chicago’s infamous “corporate grindcore” outfit HEWHOCORRUPTS are no stranger to weird releases: having formerly issued a credit card sized CD housed in a wallet, a NSFW split calendar, an EP packaged with shredded money, etc… but THIS one takes the cake. “Midi of Profits” is what it’s called, and a 1gb USB rubber bracelet is what it is. That’s right, Robotic Empire has released a rubber USB bracelet with MIDI…
Letter Kills starts “The Bridge” out with a funky guitar line, and “Lights Out” is a typical emo-rock track, replete with an active second set of vocals at odds with the lead. The first radio track is “Don’t Believe”, using ample high hats, emotive lyrics and a cohesive effort – the track may be lacking in innovation from “Lights Out” but it shows the band as dynamic, forever perfecting their…
James Jackson Toth, AKA Wooden Wand is your fearless friend, the stumbling guy that goes out and gets himself into some incredibly fucked-up situations but comes out shining and lives to tell you all about it, entertaining you safely and immensely. You should be grateful. His songs are beautiful, indisputably, both musically and lyrically, and they’ll give you joy if you listen to them. In my view, he’s a great…
The dreamy nature of Let’s Go Sailing during “Sideways” is fun and energetic, even if the band does not fill their music with bombastic beats or anything else that will pound listeners into submission. The band is not afraid to use repetition during their tracks, and individuals should not be afraid either, since the band is very capable and talented. There is little better that Let’s Go Sailing could do…
Songwriting sensation Danielle Ate the Sandwich was featured as You Tube’s “Spotlight Video” on July 6, which, not so coincidentally, was the date, her new cd Two Bedroom Apartment was released. That video “Public Property” has garnered nearly 500,000 views to date and helped propel Danielle’s “2Bd Apt” disc to the Number 5 position on the iTunes singer/songwriter sales chart literally overnight. Link: http://www.youtube.com/user/daniellesmagic Danielle “Ate the Sandwich” Anderson is…
The vocal shifting of previous times is present even as early as “City of Champions”. LetLive continue their intense assault on the listener that began with “Exhaustion, Salt Water and Everything In Between”. What the band really seems to have changed with their formula on “Speak Like You Talk” is a tremendous amount of use of differing time signatures. This is a direct comment on all the hardcore bands that…
Longrunning independent label Robotic Empire has teamed up with the Wellington, New Zealand band NEON BASTARD for the release of their debut album, “Meikhaus”. Comprised of 11 songs in under 22 minutes, “Meikhaus” is a total blitzkrieg of blasting punk rock, stoner riffs and pure noise. Two preview tracks have been posted (well, hidden) on the band’s hideous myspace page, here: http://www.myspace.com/NeonBastard About as far from “normal” as a band…
The term “Super-Group” describes a band rising out of two of the most creative bands of the past 30 years: YOSO is formed out of TOTO’s brilliant lead vocalist Bobby Kimball and the creative force of former YES members, Tony Kaye and Billy Sherwood, thus equalling the magic of YES with the voice of TOTO. However, YOSO is much more than a combination of two classic rock groups. The band’s…
Letlive is another band like Anatomy of a Ghost and Boys Night Out – a “new wave” of emo acts that intersperses both melodic “emo-core” vocals and screamed-out vocals to push their sound. While “Adjectives Might Work”, their first cut off of “Exhaustion, Salt Water, and Everything in Between”, is pretty much a sleeper, their second track is both much more radio friendly and catchy. “With a Mouth Sewn Shot”…