“Tragedy Holds The Hand Of Hope” was not very impressive; Monarch’s new self-titled LP starts out with a tad bit more promise. Dan’s vocals stand a little farther out from the instrumentation, and the instrumentation is a little more varied between tracks. This time there is a certain ability of the band that shows through: the ability to connect with their audience. Monarch’s music, especially the very linear “Apparition” could…
Most acts give listeners a few tracks to properly get their footing and understand where the band is coming from, but Ceramic immediately comes forth with two intense salvos. These tracks, “You Give More Than Enough” and “Who’s Gonna Guide The Night”, are ones that will tattoo themselves on anyone that listens in, and that is primarily due to the intricate musical arrangements that are present. Little more is needed…
Let’s admit it, Moments In Grace’s first EP was pretty weak. However, opening up “Moonlight Survived” with a radio-friendly and intense “Stratus”, the band starts off on a strong foot. Even though the breakdown seems a little too drawn-out and cheese-ball, the chorus meshes well enough with the instrumentation on the track that most mistakes can be forgiven. “The Patient” uses a lot of the same guitar lines that immediately…
Listening to “Taco Blessing’s” first track “Zero Kid” really brings individuals back to the heydays of Gilman St; Modern Machines come through with the intensity of a band like early Descendents while still having a pop-punk edge a la Pinhead Gunpowder and “Blue Room-era” Unwritten Law. The recording might be a little fuzzy, but the sizzling guitars and catchy lyrics of the band still shine through as bright as day.…
Sounding at times like Yellowcard and all of those emo-rock bands that are continually charting in these late days of the genre, Moments in Grace create a palatable sound that yet has little in the way of substance. Jeremy’s voice is remarkably similar to Rivers Cuomo, and in tracks like “Broken Promises”, the guitars swirl around to give the entire track more of a Tool track. While everything seems to…
Beginning “The Endless Retreat” with a straight-forward punk assault, albeit with more harmony than the early punk bands that influenced the track, the Modern Day Urban Barbarians spare no time into getting into fast melodies and ever more chaotic breakdowns. Moving from “T.V.” to “Waiting For A Break”, MDUB show over and over that their music is a direct descendent from the Stooges and the Velvet Underground, being strained through…
For those that may have missed it, Video Games Live is a set of concerts that were created by long time video game music composers Tommy Tallerico and Jack Wall. A performance consists of the orchestra providing their own take on music from titles as famous as The Legend of Zelda, Silent Hill, and Sonic the Hedgehog along with slightly lesser-known titles like Headhunter and Advent Rising.
There has only been a limited context in which American audiences have been familiar with KT Tunstall’s work. This experience has been tempered by the ever-presentness of eir lead single “Suddenly I See”, but Tunstall looks to create a completely different conception of eriself as a performer with “Tiger Suit”. “Fade Like A Shadow” is the disc’s first American single, bringing forth nods to other singer-songwriters of Tunstall’s ilk. This…
Very rarely do bands come forth with such a vibrant energy and intensity that defines the essence of whom they are and what they set out to accomplish. With tracks like “The Weekend War” and “One Step at a Time”, The Matt Burke Band do just that. “The Weekend War” has a very tropical feel to it that makes the dreary days of autumn melt away. Despite the track’s tropical-shirt…
“Revival Rock” is exactly that. The cuts from this album are such that listeners will feel that they are in a different time, but with a small twist. SweetKiss Momma is able to have the bluesy style of a CCR or Guess Who, but has enough talent to make current listeners fall in love with the band. By crossing over between two distinct sets of listeners, “Revival Rock” can speak…
Jackie’s initial track on “Someone Like You” is something truly special. It is a track that exists at the nexus of a number of distinct musical style. It could conceivably chart on R&B, country, or pop charts, and that is based more on the talent of Jackie’s voice than anything else. Don’t get me wrong – the instrumentation is great, but each nuance of Jackie’s vocal, each rise and fall,…
Just being able to have a new version of one of metal’s best known and strongest albums in a shiny and fresh CD is enough of a reason for individuals to retire their cassette tapes or vinyl. However, Capitol has added an entirely new disc of rare tracks for listeners to sink their teeth into. These tracks were pulled from Queensrcyhe’s November 1990 performance at the Hammersmith Odeon in London,…
Another very catchy batch of emo/punk sensibilities from this Indiana band that will drive your head into a frenzied bop that just wont stop. Every song on “The Record Play” is constructed in a linear fashion with nearly the same tempo, allowing an individual to more easily notice the subtle currents running through the entirety of the disc. “Nothing to Write” is the beginning of when the disc becomes something…
“The Highest Highs & The Lowest Lows” truly begins when The Jesus Rehab gets to “If It Feels Good It Is Good”, a track that immediately defies convention. It simply has something for everyone, whether they are fans of Weezer, The New Radicals, or even Eve 6. The Ben Folds-esque piano turns this track into something that would easily be on rock radio, ensuring the band a spot on the…
Settlefish’s newest album “ The Plural of the Choir” comes to a slow start and finally reaches the heights with “The Barnacle Beach”. The track benefits mostly from an interesting and innovative way of arrangement that staggers a myriad of vocals to draw all listeners along for the ride. Continuing the At The Drive-In esque vocals that marked their previous Deep Elm release, “Dance A While, Upset”, Settlefish ride the…
Mizar starts off “The King of the Stars” with a synthesizer track that mixes together Nintendo midis with traditional “gothic” and dance beats. However salvageable the beat was (for it was not the cutting edge of innovation), Mizar’s own vocals, overbearing and poorly recorded really cast the track further down in ignominy. “Out of Control” is an early track that shows a minor amount of movement to the positive end…
New wave music with the chirpiness of synthesizers in the vein of Wendy Carlos, and a voice that is almost painful to listen to. While someone like Atom and His Package can use a kitschy sound and synthesizer to make light-hearted music, Mizar loses any impressiveness from the intricately planned out synth lines with vocals dumped on each track seemingly with a $2 microphone. The lo-fi synth sound has been…
The style of music that The Mitchells play is indie rock that has more than its fair share of eighties influences (acts like Joy Division and Depeche Mode). Thus, a song like “Still Might Happen” is catchy, vocal-heavy, and full of angular guitar riffs that give form and structure to the track. The band starts strongly, but the opening song seems to have about thirty seconds extra music present that…
When I first started listening to Miss Violetta Beauregarde, I started thinking that eir website – Violettasucks.com – was something that showed that Beauregarde knew what ey was talking about. The style is something that is close to the work of artists like Peaches, but with a hint of the digital hardcore that acts like Lolita Storm created for their audiences a few years back. During “How To Use A…
One has to wonder about what Misstress Barbara was thinking by putting Sebo K’s “Too Hot” in the opening spot on this disc; the track has an interesting beat for 20 seconds and then repeats it for the next five minutes. This trend is ameliorated during Lorna’s “Feel Good”, but does not completely disappear. I understand the need for club albums, but even with repetitive dance rhythms there is still…