The Low Anthem – Smart Flesh (CD)
The Low Anthem proves yet again why they’re critical favorites on their latest effort, Smart Flesh.
Category: Music Reviews
Jay Aura – iParty EP (CD)
“I Won’t Remember Much!” is the first track on the iParty EP, and it immediately will hook listeners of individuals like Jay Sean, Taio Cruz, or even Owl City. With a blend of electronic and pop sounds present, “Remember Much” will ensure that listeners stick with Jay Aura through all of the four tracks on this EP. At a svelte three minutes, this track opens the iParty EP nicely and…
Free Music Downloads Galore Via Bearshare
The Internet browsing experience is never complete without putting on some music. A rousing playlist, after all, sets the tone for not just your social networking activities, but for the entire day as well. The easy accessibility of music online allows you to get tons of free music downloads, and perhaps the most ideal source for such is Bearshare. Bearshare presents a highly functional, user friendly interface for you to…
Kiseleff – A Sound Seal (CD)
It seems almost as if a number of musicians and bands take a few tracks to introduce themselves and come to the creation of a hit, but Kiseleff’s first effort on “A Sound Seal” is downright jaw-dropping. This track, “Quicksilver Universe”, builds off of the work of bands like New Order and Depeche Mode even while possessing a tempo that would make acts like Tiesto and Daft Punk jealous. “Savannah”…
Daniel Masson – Frequencies (CD)
World music has a number of distinct sounds and styles that comprise the overall genre, but Daniel Masson stands tall as one of the most unique musicians in the format. This is particularly true in his new album, “Frequencies”. From the first track, “Bluecolor” all the way out to the disc’s concluding cut, “The Backwaters”, there is no limitation to the different approaches and overall styles broached by Masson. “Jam…
Billy Joel – Live at Shea Stadium (Legacy/Columbia)
Billy Joel’s decades long career has mirrored other pop musicians, most notably Neil Diamond: starting out a thoughtful writer/performer churning out one great song after another, before sliding into the over-produced slickness of the late 80’s, early 90’s churning out basic, paint by number radio ready hits with little effort or thought (“The River of Dreams”), laying low for awhile and finally hitting legendary status embraced by everyone from the…
Tools of Creation – Adventures in Chaos (CD)
The heavy bass line that begins “Adventures in Chaos” is reminiscent of Anthrax’s version of “Got The Time”. This properly-energetic track is the perfect introduction of the band to fans, and represents just one of the many high points that the disc has to offer. Intense vocals, splashy drums, and driving guitars all unite to create a track that straddles the line between rock and metal. “Bridge Too Far” switches…
Blues Magoos – Psychedelic Lollipop (CD)
I absolutely love when there is a good remaster or reissue of a forgotten disc. Sundazed’s 2011 version of the Blues Magoos 1966 classic is without fault. A quick glance of this 1,000-print limited edition disc showcases absolutely brilliant and vibrant cover art, while sticking the album into one’s player will show a similarly intense quality. This is due to the fact that Sundazed has procured the Mercury master reels,…
OFF! First Four EPs (4×7”)
After faltering in the late nineties and early oughts, it seems as if vinyl has finally vanquished one challenger (cassette) and is looking for a tag team victory with iTunes against the flagging CD format. This blend of old music format and cutting-edge digital representations of music is mirrored perfectly in OFF!. OFF! is the new project by Keith Morris (Circle Jerks and Black Flag), taking up residence with Dimitri…
The Joy Formidable – The Big Roar (CD)
A great many of the bands that come from the United Kingdom possess a certain musical pedigree that presents itself audibly during their music. It becomes an easy feat for a great many of these bands to succeed based on this pedigree along, but a special kudos has to go out to any sort of band that looks to break free of this style. I have to contend that The…
The Last Act – Still Standing (CD)
The Last Act is a bluesy, metal-based act that immediately assaults listeners with their own blend of Metallica, Motorhead, and Dimmu Borgir. While absolutely brutal in its execution, “Still Standing” is a track that will have listeners singing along after their first listen. With a head full of steam, The Last Act continues to kick ass with their “No Chance…Again”. Despite blazing through the track with a grim grittiness, this…
Wolfe Gang – Read the Fine Print (CD)
“Read the Fine Print” begins with an absolutely smooth bit of funk, blues, and jazz that will ease listeners into the unique sound presented them by the Wolfe Gang. With an absolutely lush production, the Wolfe Gang have a tremendous amount of momentum going into “Everyone”. “Everyone” changes things up considerably, with a bit of punchy percussion that allows for a sultry, almost Tom Waits meets John Morrison type of…
Disney Pearl Jazzseries: Volume 1 (CD)
The range of different styles broached during this disc is simply fantastic, and is even more impressive given the fact that all of the artists here subscribe to some sort of jazz music. The album begins with Roy Hargrove’s take on “Ev’rybody Wants To Be a Cat”; pulling deep from the Disney archives, I content that Hargrove is even able to reclaim the track for eirself to those that are…
Telepath – Crush (CD)
World music is such a cop out in terms of the musical styles and approaches contained within. If the music cannot be easily categorized into a major genre tag, such as rock, dance, or pop, it usually has a “World Music” label stamped on it. Telepath is Michael Christie, and despite being located in the United States, the fifteen compositions that compose this album showcase a truly world-wide mindset. To…
The Jayhawks – Hollywood Town Hall and Tomorrow The Green Grass (American/Legacy)
At a time when everyone from Collective Soul to Spacehog was able to garner a ridiculous amount of radio and MTV airplay for so little talent, just by tacking the suffix “alternative” onto their press materials, a band that truly defined “alternative” – The Jayhawks – never really got their rock star moment.
Revolution Mother – Enjoy The Ride (CD)
The angular sound of the the guitar and how it interplays with the drums during “Goodbye” makes this opening track sound like it was influenced by Rage Against The Machine. The set of influences of Revolution Mother also include heavy amounts of Fireball Ministry and a little bit of Coal Chamber. The band has a hard feel to them, but the one thing that individuals need to take into consideration…
Revelation Theory – Truth Is Currency (CD)
So, let’s see. Revelation theory mixes Nickelback with Disturbed. “M367”, the first track on “Truth Is Currency”, is created with the same bi-polar structure that without much warning busts into something much more spastic and loud. The paradox here is that the music contained on the track is sweet and sensitive; the acoustic interlude during the track sounds much more Finger Eleven than Slayer. While it is true that this…
John Reuben – Word of Mouth (CD)
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 – Scarlet Whore of War (CD)
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…
Retching Red – Get Your Red Wings (CD)
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…