Songs From The Sandbox begins with Warcry. The inclusion of this track is important as it provides listeners with a microcosm of the styles and approaches that they will encounter on the entirety of the album. The intensity of this aforementioned track provides a quick momentum which Furthermore, a dynamic is created between the guitar and vocals that pushes each constituent element to a higher plateau Songs From The…
Coming across as a low-rent version of Jeff Ott, Steve Towson’s first release is a jangly, sixties style guitar (which displaces the normal acoustic found on these albums) and a snotty, Joe Strummer meets Mike Ness-style of voice. Highly charged emotions are laid up without much ornamentation by Steve, striking the listener all the harder when they realize exactly what ey is committing to the disc. From “Madness of…
Hey Steve has actually updated the production quality of the CD face, a nice little touch for someone who is fairly busy in the studio. The production and mixing of “Arbeiter” is still almost painful to listen to, with the first track on the disc, “Rock Me In The Bombshelter” made virtually unlistenable by the continual, cheesy distortion that Lieberman loves. Achieving an Ozzy-like inflection vocally for “Rock Me”,…
Dark Blu is from Georgia, but the specific type of metal that is whipped up could easily come from any one of the eastern European countries. There is a tradition that is adhered to during tracks like The Enemy and Stand By Your Side. These efforts unite a disparate array of metal genres into something heavy, memorable, and ultimately is unique from what other acts have done. The dedication that…
Diary of a Blue Collar Cracker is an album that immediately introduces itself to listeners; Break, the album’s first track is inspirational and gets listeners excited about what will ultimately follow. Working Class Hussys have the ability to turn on a dime stylistically; it is this eclectic flair that fuels Diary of a Blue Collar Cracker. Somewhere You’re Smiling has a John Denver meets Simon and Garfunkel; there are…
What Yochanan Sebastian Winston does on The Kabbalah Suite is expand the ideal of what music is and can do. There is a narration that is weaved through each composition presented here that requires no vocals; the interplay of distinct elements solo and in tandem provides a more cogent story than even the most narrative-heavy band. These compositions require a listener to give their full focus; Winston’s subtle evolution…
The high-powered energy of Addison Station makes them a lock for big things. I feel that their Suit Up EP is a perfect introduction to the act. Few bands are able to create a full-feeling effort in the EP format, but the five salvos that the band issues will make listeners stand up and join in. Burn is an amazing effort on the EP and ties together electronic, pop-rock,…
The honest tracks that are so prevalent during Home are precisely the reason why Valentine shines so bright as an artist. Make sure to check out his website and see what stops he may be making through the end of 2012 and into 2013. Between Those Lines is a careful bit of acoustic rock that marries together intelligent arrangements with an alluring set of vocals. The bluegrass and folk-heavy…
Your Future Lovers are an act that set out to capture the world with their latest effort, Eat. Play. Leave. The twelve tracks unite to make one cohesive statement about the band’s styles and influences, but the disparate approaches that are taken ensure that listeners will never truly know what to expect from the band. There is a sub-plot that is presented during an arc on Eat. Play. Leave that…
When the Sun Goes Down is the introductory track on What You Gonna Do?, and it paints Crankshaft and the Gear Grinders as an act that is influenced by sixties pop, surf rock, and folk rock in the vein of Creedence Clearwater Revival or Neil Young. The infection energy that bubbles throughout this track will have listeners eagerly anticipating the next track. Boomtown speaks much more to the band’s instrumental…
I’ve always been a little troubled that little was made of the fact that Rage Against the Machine, a rock band that was known for scathingly anti-corporate lyrics (even heading down to Wall Street for their, well anti-Wall Street rant “Bulls on Parade” video), chose not to turn to an established independent label to release their music, or even take the Ani Di Franco/Fugazi route and start their own label,…
Though the UK ska band Madness may always be trapped in 1982 for many of their U.S. fans, thanks to the wildly popular “Our House,” the two-tone group has continued to build up their resume since reuniting in the early 90’s. Though the success has mainly been limited to Europe (they were tapped to play the closing ceremonies of the 2012 London Olympics along with a number of festivals), the…
Stereotyperider plays an interesting brand of emo/indie-rock. Their first track on “Prolonging The Inevitable”, moves between rejoicing in odd arrangements at one point to rocking out in true emo-rock style throughout much of “Down As”. Immediately impressive are the guitar solos found on the aforementioned track, which move from sizzling guitar tracks that are slightly sloppy to some of the most impressive angular-technical that the genre has ever seen.…
The band Stella Maris plays a brand of pop-indie rock that will recall The Fray just as much as it should tie the band to older acts in that style like Fuel and early Goo Goo Dolls. The style is not emo but rather attempts to create a sound in-between rock and indie that has links to both styles. “Faces on Screens” is the break out track of the…
Sudden Victory is the latest effort from Baltimore’s The Perfects, and each of the cuts presented here provide considerable insight for listeners. The album begins with a titular opener; the new wave styling of The Perfects seems vital and current with each subsequent note. The track acts as a microcosm of the styles, genres, and approaches taken during the whole of Sudden Victory. Control is a sub-three minute effort…
Steel Train is a band that seems to be a more electrified version of Vetiver, looking back to the entirety of the American music tradition, with tracks like “Road Song” looking back to both the average Country and Western band and The Beach Boys, all while infusing their own sound to the mixture. The entirety of “Prairies of the Sun” works underneath a very leisurely pace; this is not…
With a strong dose of John Melloncamp and the raspiness of a Bob Dylan, the Steel Pier Sinners bash through this extended EP almost too quickly to affect their audience. “Essex Road” shows the ebb and flow of the band, in that the twinkling of the high hats provided by Tony flow in perfectly to Ryan’s bass and Meagan’s guitar. Not immediately able to be categorized, Steel Pier Sinners would…
I always thought that Stavesacre was a much harder band than what is found on “How To Live With A Curse”. The style is something that is a blend of Deftones and P.O.D.; Stavesacre open up this album with a radio-friendly track that echoes throughout whatever room individuals are playing the CD in. The guitar work that is present during the opening minutes of the track hides behind the…
There was no escaping Peter Gabriel’s seventh album in the mid-80’s. Released in May of 1986, you could not turn on Top 40 Radio, and for some songs college radio as well, any given day without hearing “Sledgehammer,” “Red Rain,” “Big Time,” “Don’t Give Up” or “Mercy Street”. And MTV? The phenomenally creative videos for “Sledgehammer” and “Big Time” were like porn for the channel that at one time actually…
Michael Zapruder has created in eir latest work, Pink Thunder, a truly multimedia experience. The album is meant to be enjoyed alongside photos and poems. The myriad of different influences and styles that are broached during the 22 tracks on the disc unite to showcase the intricacies of a stellar musician. Zapruder is helped along the way by the efforts of 36 musicians (this list includes Tom Griesser, Ava Mendoza,…