John Reuben has been a major factor in the Christian rap scene for over five years now, and “Sing It Like You Mean It” is an interesting track. The backing beat for that track is similar to the surf music of the sixties, without much in the way of current instrumentation to keep a current sound. Reuben continues almost the same flow of “Sing It Like You Mean It” during…
Retching Red take no time creating their signature song that catapulted them into the hearts and minds of all true punks during their last album. “Get Your Red Wings” was a great album, but “Scarlet Whore of War” improves on even that. The recording is even better, allowing the guitar and Cinder Block to put forth different sounding outputs even if they at some point are similarly aligned (at the…
Snotty, loud pseudo-crust punk from California. How could one go wrong? With the first track “Battery Acid” barely cracking one minute, immediately people have to think of M.O.D. and all those thrash-punk bands from the late eighties. Every single lyric is screamed out, the music itself faster than shit, and the mastering surprisingly solid for a band of this type. Each track is fast, unrelenting, simplistic and yet catchy as…
Muted and quiet compared to their performance, The Retainers still retain that punk nature, even down to the loud, hating-of-authority lead singer. Running over the guitar lines like the earliest days of Darby Crash’s music, The Retailers play a short, succinct style of punk rock. Overly distorted guitars lead the tracks, being as present as the vocals – the drums hide themselves throughout the tracks. “For The Rich U Die”…
Starting out “To Force A Fate” with a more powerful version of The Anniversary and Rilo Kiley, the vocals laid down by Elizabeth and Sean mesh together, even in some places (Bottle Rocket Battles) achieving one cohesive sound. The jangly, loud guitars belie some deep-seeded like of punk, and Steve’s playing on the disc does much to further this thought. Breaking out of the rigidity of the punk influence, tracks…
Starting out “The Great Leap” with a very pop-alternative sounding instrumental opening, recalling The Minutemen and Husker Du, shades of Dick Dale are infused with this shambling behemoth as the first strains of vocals come out. Moving more in the Patti Smith / Nico vein of things during the second-half of the first track. Moving away from the earthy and dark sounds for a more emotive and electronic mood, the…
In what is the most insane rap album of 2003, Relm busts through with a city-themed album that I could actually understand. With the major amount of his tracks about Ohio or Columbus (Veteran’s Memorial, Buckeye City, O.H.I.O.), this album definitely approaches the high level of David Banner’s Mississippi or Outkast’s ATLiens. While the tracks are tricked out with bells and whistles enough to go up with the big dogs…
Reindeer/Tiger Team play a brand of indie rock that has been popular in one style or another for the last decade or so. The first track on the disc, “Boy + Chief” is more along the line of the “emo” music put out by Deep Elm pre-2002, and the minor modifications to what would be a traditional time signature really allows the track to shine. It is primarily the nuanced…
The amount of polish that is on the average track on “Not Happy” is absurd. This is Josie and the Pussycats-level manipulation, and you know what? It sounds damn fine, probably because the sextet that is known as Reel Big Fish have been around for almost 15 years and have been privy to a myriad of different influences. “Drinkin’” looks back to the earliest days of the Barenaked Ladies and…
The gritty vocals of Glen are not new to the genre; in fact, they are par for the course. However, they fit in perfectly with the hard hitting guitars and drums of the rest of the band. The result is something that is radio friendly while still punk as fuck; individuals can pogo and mosh as well as sing along with each line that Reducers SF throw out. The disc…
Red Light Cinema are loud and fast, as is evidenced by their “Pandemonium”. This track ties together disparate genres, whether it be by having influences like Interpol, Billy Talent, or even the Red Hot Chili Peppers. All of this is linked together in a rock sound that is very easily to glom onto and love; Red Light Cinema play their songs with an ability and a talent that should catapult…
“So Much Drama” really isn’t that dramatic, once someone listens to more than one track by the band. Ashley’s vocals on tracks like “Samantha Brown Get Down! Get Down” and “Red Knives And Plastic Wives” are atonal and really do not extend beyond eir just infusing eir talking style with the slightest bit of melody. In fact, the only memorable moment of the first third of “So Much Drama” comes…
The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus follow in the vein of bands like Amber Pacific and Sum 41. The band blends punk and emo music to create something that is hard hitting while still being tremendously melodic. There is also a smart use of arrangements during tracks like “Face Down” to allow for the band to change gears quickly and accurately. The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus even throws a little bit of new…
Even though The Receiver start their “Decades” off slowly, the repetition of the opening compositions on “Sober Hands” will give listeners some starting ground. The depressing arrangements that are commonplace during “Sober Hands” feel like an expansion of the music during Peanuts’ specials. There are hints of indie rock that are placed in the hopper as well, but the one thing that is most dominant during the early stages of…
Yet another hardcore/emocore band, but one in which the yin and yang of hard and light, metal and emo are blended equally well, a la Avenged Sevenfold and The Black Maria. Everything is arranged perfectly on The Reason’s opening track, “Reclaiming the Throne”. The odd tempos and staggered drum beat of “The Joke & The Gentleman” allows for a very emotive, almost acoustic-rock styled track to blossom into an incredibly…
While the promo information about The Real McKenzies tour them as a mix between the Sex Pistols and Scottish folk legend Robbie Burns, I just don’t happen to see this connection. Sure, if you want to call the Sex Pistols and the McKenzies related because they both play a fast style of music, sure. However, I would say that as a whole, The Real McKenzies have a sound that draws…
Enough bands across the world do the style of emo/hardcore that Razor Crusade so faithfully reproduce on “Infinite Water”, but Razor Crusade’s music should not be dismissed as wholly unimaginative and mediocre. Rather, the pop-influences that Razor Crusade show on a track like “Our Planet is Intimate” shows a distinctive move towards a different sound and set of influences than most of the other bands to don the emo-hardcore tag.…
There are only four tracks on this album, which usually means that individuals will have a hard time trying to figure out exactly how a band like Raze To Ashes operates. A number of individuals (such as the previously-reviewed Cody Marks) have been able to go forth and create something coherent in four tracks, but by large, this is not something that typically happens. Raze To Ashes start off their…
In the last few months I have been inundated with middle eastern-influenced material, whether it be Reza or the new Jon Hassell album. Raquy and the Cavemen’s “Jordan” album is another album that can be categorized as such, and the fusion track that opens up the disc “Graovsko” mixes progressive rock to the ancient forms of music that come out. The only problem about “Graovsko” is the incredibly long track-length…
Marcus Miller has been on eir own for about thirty years now. 2013 marks the 30th anniversary of eir debut, “Suddenly”, while “A Night in Monte-Carlo” captures eir live side. While there have been more famous recordings in Millers career (one has to remember that ey did stints with both Miles Davis and Luther Vandross), I contend that this is eir most soulful and affecting. A track like “Blast!” speaks…