Lulling listeners into a false sense of security with the fairly calm opening to their first track on “Harpoon”, Philadelphia’s Snack Truck come forth with a musical assault that vacillates between FBTMOF and your typical indie-rock band. The mastering of “Harpoon” offers a clean slate for the band; the guitars are clean, being distorted just enough to make for a nice sound but not enough to crowd out the…
“Patty Hearst Syndrome” is one of the earliest tracks on Smoke or Fire’s “This Sinking Ship”, and this song makes me think of a more poppy blend of Strike Anywhere and Rise Against. This means that there is a punk type of tempo and bouncy beat, while there is a more emotional set of vocals that at times achieve the register of bands like Yellowcard. Even with a new…
All I have to say about this disc is wow. Imagine Queens of the Stone Age with a little harder sound, and you have a vague idea of what Smoke Follows Beauty sounds like. While the disc is continually plagued by weak-sounding vocals, the instrumentation is simply amazing. In fact, as I continued listening to the disc, I found it easier and easier to tune out the vocals and just…
Coming out with a sound that is reminiscent of the very first days of the 1990s on the West Coast, Smogtown really knows how to write a punk anthem. If it isn’t the Gilman sound of times back, some of these tracks would seem just as proper on a GBH or Exploited album – really, the songs are anthems enough to stand the test of time, and the mass…
Very few cover albums really work. Where it is common for an act to include a cover on an album or on a single, few individuals have the chops to really come out with an album that is just covers. While a person like Tori Amos creates beautiful original tracks, eir foray into a cover album (“Strange Little Girls”), ultimately ended in disappointment. Patti Smith is an individual that…
“Never Going To Kill Us” is perhaps the best beginning to any disc to come out this year; there are equal amounts of rock and punk mixed together that is imbued by The Smashup into something that is completely their own style. The three and a forth minutes of “Never Going To Kill Us” shows an AFI type sound, but one that looks equally to the earlier punk days…
“Her Fantasy,” the highly praised lead single––and dare we say summer anthem––gets a very fitting video treatment. Director Tommy O’Haver’s video for “Her Fantasy” takes us on a journey through bizarre sequences of debauchery and seduction with a hint of humor, as he pays homage to Avant Garde filmmaker Kenneth Anger in a self-described “mash-up”. Also, check out the Australian producer Tornado Wallace’s remix of said single. Beams is available…
Who are you and how long have you been active? Cedric Streeter aka C.E.D. (Cash Every Denomination) and I am CEO of Kaos Records, LLC. Been in business for roughly 6 years. What or who do you think will be big in the next year? Indie artists will dominate the industry next year, period. What’s your setup? How does a track move from initial thought to finished effort? The…
Dreamy indie-pop comes through on Smallspace’s disc, in the vein of The Flaming Lips, Grandaddy, and most of all “Kid A”-era Radiohead. However, it is during “Right Here” that Smallspace really begins to distance themselves from such an obvious tag; this is due to the electronic sound that burrows its way through the track. This version of electronic is not that type which is present in a number of…
Using a banjo to peddle eir wares, Josh Small makes for a very American and alternative look on what is traditionally folk music. Not subscribing to the elitist feel of a number of Devendra Banhart-related CDs, Josh Small has the feeling on eir first track “Pushing Boulders” of one of the dime-a-dozen acoustic guitarists. What is different for me is eir heavy use of profanity in eir tracks; instead…
Starting out “The Pieces We Keep” with some of the most tight playing I’ve heard on a disc recently, we are assaulted by sizzling guitar licks. Covering the same type of topics that numerous bands have covered for years, A Small Victory still yet tears down the paradigm of the post-punk or “emo” band to resurrect it on their own terms. Mark’s vocals roll out on the disc like…
The Mississippi septet Rosco Bandana are the product of teenage rebellion and its consequences; of lost love, false starts and, above all, lasting friendship. They’re what happens when a group of kids take a chance on a long shot and – against all odds – it pays off. There’s also a Blur cover thrown in for good measure. The group began – spiritually, if not specifically – when principle songwriter…
Houston’s own king of genre-bending noise, Michael LaCour AKA Blackie is fresh off a 15 city international tour of France and the Netherlands, three blistering shows at Toronto’s legendary NXNE and one massive performance in Montreal (where he was welcomed with open arms after his two raucous shows at Pop Montreal 2011). The New York Times rightfully picked him as one of five Texas artists to watch for at SXSW…
The trippy and strung-out atmospheric indie music that begins The Barrens’ self-titled LP is much denser than listeners would think. The band has tied together a number of layers that yield different things each time that a listener begins the title. Far from being a single-oriented band, The Barrens make this title much more of a cogent thought than an exercise in episodes. Bottom of a Well has a…
The high amount of energy that begins Vox e Tenebris will immediately draw listeners in, while the band’s alt-rock sound touches upon some of the best acts of the last twenty years. The titular track has a walking bass style that matches the vocals perfectly. The dark/light sound of this interaction opens up nicely to a brash and bold guitar/drum dynamic. The fluid nature of Radio Fallout makes each…
Ringing is a track that immediately ties together the inorganic with the human. The electronic sequencing works at a level alongside more traditional piano lines. What unites these two unique elements is Chou’s vocals. This three-minute introduction to Chou will work perfectly on pop, EDM, or indie rock radio stations. I Know A Place has a similar sun-baked feel to Soak Up the Sun. Shame is a very heartfelt track…
It’s summertime! And French label extraordinaire Kitsuné is celebrating the best time of year with a solar mixed CD selected and mixed by Gildas Loaec & Jerry Bouthier out July 2nd. Packed with sun-drenched vibes to die for, Kitsuné Soleil Mix is a musical invitation to relax by the pool with a cocktail in hand and enjoy the moment thanks to an astute selection of hot new tunes curated by…
Seattle’s ANHEDONIST is set to embark on the Descent Into The Sepulchre West Coast Tour with DEAD CONGREGATION and GRAVE MIASMA this July. The band is touring in support of their full-length debut, Netherwards, which is out now on Dark Descent Records, with vinyl treatment coming soon from Parasitic/Nuclear Winter Records. Check out a stream of the song “Estrangement” at BrooklynVegan.com. Featuring over forty minutes of mesmerizing doom sliced up…
Starting out as the most well-mixed and catchy CD that Lobster has released since “One For The Kids”, Georgia’s A Small Victory have improved their already solid sound for “El Camino”. The vocals of Reppard come out as bombastic as the sizzling guitar solos found on the first track, “Limousines and Cheap Cigars”. The inclusion of an odd time-signature and arrangement push the track from mediocrity to something forever…
To say that Small Arms Dealer is eclectic is to only give a fraction of the picture. There are so many different styles and influences that make themselves known during the band’s opening track on “A Single Unifying Theory” that individuals are just as unsure about where the band is going to take them as they were before even putting on the disc. To their credit, Small Arms Dealer…