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…
There are not many artists that do a reggae style that have made it big in the last few years. The style of Akon is moderated through a number of other styles, and Shaggy has been in the public eye for well over a decade. Rankin’ Scroo, even though this is an album from six years ago, is trying to make it big in this day and time. The disc’s…
Randy is a band that has been around and they seem to change up their sound with each subsequent disc; if individuals were looking for a style approximating The Mars Volta (as evidenced by the similar artwork, they will be disappointed). Randy starts off “Randy The Band” with a pop-punk track that is influenced by bands like The Dickies and The Lillingtons; that is to say, music that is perfect…
Three guesses about what The Randies sound like. I’m guessing either pop punk in The Donnas way, indie rock in the post-Garbage way, or (just possibly, and I sure hope that they sound) like The Sounds. Of course, this is just looking at the CD itself; “Freezerburn” is the first track on the disc, and the band has a rock sound to them. There is not any definite link to…
The style of folk that Ramblin’ Jack Elliott plays during “Engine 143” is something that reminds me of Pete Seeger. There is little to the tracks on “I Stand Alone” besides the distinctive vocals and the guitar, which is decidedly a second fiddle to the aforementioned vocals. The vocals on each track are those that individuals could sing along with after just listening to the CD two or three time.…
It is immediate that one hears a mixture of Franz Ferdinand and Joy Division in The Rakes’ first track, the self-titled “Retreat”. What results is a high-energy rock track that has enough aural presence to really make a strong case for inclusion on the radio. The intense chorus, spoken rather than sung out will drive itself like a hammer into one’s mind, never to release itself from one’s memory. The…
I think that Raised Fist might just be the most obvious band out on the market as we speak. This means that when “Sound of the Republic” starts up, individuals know what band is playing from the get-go. The blend of hardcore and punk that Raised Fist has been created the last decade or so is really mastered during this disc, and “Sound of the Republic” should be a blueprint…
If the band does not have a Franz Ferdinand album amongst the two of them, I would be surprised. A heavy electronic focus mixes with an angular sound to make something that is danceable while being aloof at the same time. However, this is not always the fancy free sound of Franz Ferdinand, as tracks like “Amen” has a darker, Ministry-like feel. The vocals are the same through the first…
For me, Joshua Radin really came out of nowhere. I think I had vaguely heard of his name before, but I could not place any sort of track or style to eir face. From the opening of “Sundrenched World”, one can hear that there is some panoply of interests that coalesce into Radin’s distinctive style. To try to lump Radin in with the styles of individuals like Dave Matthews or…
Racecar makes me sad, especially when I was looking forward to some hard-rocking, emotional-fury. Racecar plays a brand of indie-rock that begins with “Out Tonight”. “Out Tonight” reels in listeners through fickle feelings that allow Nick, Alex, Jimmy and Rich to jump to the limits of alternative rock with the greatest of ease. The coaching of emotional fury in what would be some of the most sedate-sounding tracks (“George Washington”)…