The style of “Aeolian” is fairly undistinguished during “The City and The Sea”. Sure, there is some point where an individual has to go back and say that “yes, this is metal” but beyond this, what else does The Ocean bring to the table? In fact, what The Ocean seem to bring to the table on “Aeolian” is a very long and drawn out approach to creating metal that stays…
The snotty, Fred Schneider-style of NVS’s vocalist Walter is in no way what I expected from this band. “The Beast Within” has a straight-forward punk type of sound, but a very emotive type of style that does not necessarily mesh perfectly with the music laid down. The band has been around for seven years, so there is some maturity floating around on this album. With this point, a song like…
The bit of industrial and electronic music that comes issuing forth at the beginning of “Bullet Ride” primes listeners for what is to come. Fast, slow, intense, and more meandering sections all mesh to create a microcosm of the genre. While an instrumental concoction of Dylan, “War Parade” is nevertheless a track that has tremendous narrative qualities. Deftly integrating synthesizers, guitars, and drums into one coherent expression, Dylan gives listeners…
The 100 seconds that “Train” occupies at the beginning of the “Awake” EP are tremendous important, an insight in which listeners can gain their first glance of Intended Creation. What they will immediately learn from “Train” is that the band operates on a number of distinct levels. This means that while Intended Creation can come forth with a tremendously compelling interplay between drums and guitar, that the act looks to…
We here at NeuFutur were lucky enough to get a copy of the Nexcyx debut EP a few days back, and we would like to give this release some love. What the act does for pop music is nothing less than impressive, and I’d personally like to get in at the ground floor. Take a listen to the band’s first single, “Take A Minute”, and you’ll see what I mean.…
“In The Back of My Mind” is slated to be released in just a few days, and “I’m at War” is early evidence why listeners should be lining up to purchase it now. This is because that there is such a unique set of influences working throughout this introductory track that fans of all stripes can appreciate it. The horns take on equal parts jazz and ska, while there is…
It is always difficult to come forth with a cover of a track that is as storied as Mac Davis’ “In the Ghetto”. Performed by as wide of a swath as both Elvis and South Park’s Cartman, it stands to reason that there is little that performers could do to otherwise make this track their own. Adam Rader, a singer-songwriter, looks to imbue the track with just a little bit…
I had seen a lot of Paolo Nutini posters around campus in the last few months, so I thought “why not review this EP”. This EP has live versions of four songs from three locations, which provide individuals with an introduction to Nutini. For those individuals that already have the LP, “Live Sessions” allows fans to hear different versions of their favorite album tracks. “Jenny Don’t Be Hasty” is the…
Nural come out immediately from the gates with a brutal, driving brand of rock that cannot be classified as emo or punk, but rather in the vein of other genre-straddling bands like the All-American Rejects and Local H. And hell, with all this great instrumentation, the band has placed a tremendous weight on the vocals, making them the key purveyors of “The Weight of the World’s” infectious, Nickelback-like harmonies. The…
Placing together some of the indie rock of the early nineties with a Weezer-like pop sensibility, Number One Fan is able to weld their strengths into a contraption that is held together with the sauter of talent. Not holding themselves to traditional power-pop/indie-rock song lengths, Number One Fan really uses the extra time that they give themselves for an expansion of their sound, making sure aurally that no stone is…
Starting out with an electric beat reminiscent of the typical Amp-fare of the mid to late nineties, Null Objct takes influence from Squarepusher and Plastikman and mixes it with rock, in a way that is molded by and surpasses Fatboy Slim. Opening “The Blind Clockmaker” with a track the works in Dick Dale-style surf guitars to what can only be described as a late eighties cop drama’s them, “False Positive”…
There are very few bands or acts that can get away with just sequentially naming their tracks. Bracket was one of the first bands to show me that one does not have to be an egotistical jackass to do this, as their “Requiem” was a solid disc throughout. Was “Interpretation” going to be an album that is full of egotistical bull, or something much more mind-blowing. This is a King…
I like a lot of rap acts, and I have no problem whether the raps are coming from major or minor label rappers. The one thing I have a problem with is when the band self-censors their own music. While it is hard to tell, it sounds like this happens a few times on the first track of “Ahora O Nunca”, “No Quieren Na”. However, this track is one of…
While the snotty vocals that hit the listener hard throughout all of “Canyoneer”, one cannot do anything but hear quite a large Sum 41 influence to the band. It is true that there are hints of both Strike Anywhere and Rise Against in tracks like “Neon National Park”, but this is couched in a much more pop-acceptable sound. With songs that are the epitome of polished riffs and pieces fitting…
No Second Troy is an act that has not broken it big at this point in their career. This is not a major issue at all, as they still have a long time to go before they will have to pack it in. The first track on “Narcotic” is “Feint”, and it blends together independent rock and emotive arrangements with hints of electronic arrangements and the like to make a…
I don’t know how good I feel about bands that make a number of pop culture references during their tracks. For example, much of what the Barenaked Ladies sucked, and when Billy Joel tried to do the same thing, that sucked too. However, No More Kings drop pseudo-ironic phrase in a way that will not make one grimace like all of the latest links back to the eighties pop culture…
“60%” is a nice opening for Nofx, a song that is still smirky while being pointed and fun; this trilogy of distinct style is something that has fueled Nofx for years and even fuels them now. “Leaving Jesusland” shows Nofx at an interesting point, with a stripped-down style that only comes out of its shell during the chorus. The vitriol present during this track is something that is not heard…
“Never Trust A Hippy” contains a few unreleased tracks and a few new songs that will be on NoFX’s next full-length, “Wolves in Wolves Clothing”. The first track on this album, “Seeing Double at the Triple Rock” shows a harder edge to NoFX than is typically heard; one is reminded of the hardcore punk (The Germs, Agent Orange) that came out of California than the goofy-punk that usually is present…
Overall, this is a typical punk compilation, with a few standout bands. However, there are some interesting difference on this disc that really move it away from the typical compilation and really put it into the land of the bizarre, such as placing a Goth band on it (Deep Eynde). The punk that is played on this disc is usually loud, boisterous music that is really no apologies, and is…
“The Coast is Clear” is an interesting way to start off the disc. Drawing on the same elements for the entirety of the track, the song really doesn’t feel as if it is a good gateway into the rest of the disc. The incorporation of differing elements at about 2:30 really begins the disc and adds percussion to further quicken the heart and get individuals interested. When vocals finally find…