Two tracks that equal over fifty minutes. Here I was expecting a quick in and out and I am involved for a considerable length of time. However, “Cloudland” has a difference to it that really allows DAC and Jim to allow their songs to really shine. The first track, “Watercourse” really does not have an adequate title to it as the sounds elicited by the duo do not really have…
The style of music that Lullaby Baxter does on “Garden Cities of To-morrow” is something that has not been heard since Petula Clark was selling millions of records. Where individuals like Bjork have touched upon the style in previous years and acts like The Propellerheads have tied it into different forms of music, Lullaby Baxter’s style on this disc would fit in perfectly with the sixties. “Cardboard Armoured Car” is…
While some of the reviews out on this album has them being compared to The Replacements, a comparison which is valid, I completely see the general sound of the sprawling guitars and Ben’s vocals being more indicative of A Boy Named Goo-era Goo Goo Dolls. Each of the album’s 12 tracks spin through without any major shifts in the general sounds, embodying a cohesiveness that is hard to find in…
I had been looking forward to the new Lucero disc since I first heard about it, as 2003’s That Much Further West was one of the best albums of that year. “Watch It Burn” looks back more to bands like The Replacements and Husker Du instead of Uncle Tupelo, infusing each track on “Nobody’s Darlings” with more rock. The guitar work on tracks like “Anjalee” maintain the same aura of…
There is a heavy amount of country influence during the opening of “What We Whisper”. The composition that starts off the disc is “You Knew It Well”, and the country sound comes in when the lap steel washes over the composition. There is a hint more of country when Lucas sings; eir style is like a blend of Johnny Cash and Chris Isaak. The slow tempo of the first track…
I had heard snippets of this band for a decent period before actually laying my hands on the record itself. While everything that I’ve read about the band tags them as pop-punk wunderkinds, I would have to disagree. The music which Del Cielo puts out goes so far beyond the limitations of a loaded term like pop-punk into a term that is almost as derogatory : alternative. If they put…
The energy in which The Trolleyvox start out their “The Karaoke Meltdown” is pretty impressive, to say the least. “Just You Wait” is able to gain a little bit fro the punk spirit with its splashy drums and powerful vocals. The fact that the track is done and over with barely after the song hits the two minute mark shows further evidence for this link. However, the main stylistic influence…
The opening strains of “Big City Lights” start out a little nebulous, but rapidly fall into a hard-hitting indie rock style that has hints of Radiohead and the more emotive rock of Appleseed Cast and Fugazi present. There does not need to be any vocals at this opening section of the disc, as the instrumentation contains a vocal presence (the higher registers of the synthesizer) and the contributions are complex…
Low Flying Jets – Love Is In The Air / 2005 Self / http://www.lowflyingjets.com / Reviewed 09 January 2006 There is no limit to exactly how much Low Flying Jets sound like Interpol in the first track on “Love Is In The Air”. To be honest, this is a thread that weaves itself through a majority of the tracks on the disc, but the band really starts to make a…
The crunch of hard rock that hits listeners during “Mass Denial, Massive Guilt” seems to be much more in the vein of late nineties rock, but when the vocals kick in, something that is much more close to At The Drive-In is created. The vocals do hit a Dave Grohl (Foo Fighters) style at point, but for the vast majority of “Mass Denial, Massive Guilt”, the At The Drive-In comparison…
The beginning of a song like “Frantic” is fairly standard, but then The Lovely Feathers kick into high gear, almost taking a punk like approach to think. This mixture of emo and indie rock, a number of different vocals and styles make this song a perfect introduction to the band. There is just not a referent that individuals can latch onto; this is not an example of a band that…
Looking at the front of this album, I was assuming that this was more in the realm of Kill Rock Stars indie rock. However, the style of music that The Lovekill come up with for their “These Moments are Momentum”, especially on their “Palms and Gin”, is something that comes forth as a more poppy version of At The Drive-In. The double vocals that open up this disc give the…
Although this album was produced by the same producer that worked with Three Doors Down and the guitarist from the same band, don’t hold it against Love 45. Once deemed a Christian band, Love 45 has since moved away from that designation and sought fame and glory along the power-rock bands of the day. Imagine here, a mixture of “A Boy Named Goo”-era Goo Goo Dolls along with the power…
Sounding virtually indistinguishable from the rest of the new-rock that has found its way onto heavy rotation in seemingly every Clearchannel-owned station, Denver’s Love.45 sounds like Breaking Benjamin and Earshot, as well as Creed and Taproot with their opening track, “Way Down”. The music is very coherent and while the mastering has allowed for the distinguishing of every individual instrument, the track comes forth as if a band, instead of…
The disc starts off in a decent way but Love Equals Death really makes a play for the big time whern the second track on the disc (When We Fall). The driven sound of this track, coupled with the multiple harmonies that find their way to the fore at specific points during the track, should be more than enough to keep listeners focused in for a few minutes. Other tracks,…
“Sketch” is a track that shows The Love Drunks as a band that is looking backward for their influence In a sense, all bands look backward for their influences, but the ties are much more clear when The Love Drunks step to the play. For example, hints of fifties country, ZZ Top, and even Van Halen become prevalent during this three minute introductory course to the band. In much the…
The electronic opening to “In Red” really gives Lovedrug a different sound than what would eventually win out on “Pretend You’re Alive”. The slightly sterile sound of the first minute of “In Red” morphs subtly into something that is a treasure trove of emotion and shows Lovedrug as a band that is ready for immense exposure on mTV and similar networks. Following tracks continue Lovedrug’s interesting blend of eighties electric…
The cover to Lovedrug’s “Everything Starts Where It Ends” does not really inspired many individuals. Hopefully, it will be the case that people find the band through their Myspace. The introductory track to the album is “Happy Apple Poison”, and it shows Lovedrug as an act that is influenced by the early-nineties stylings of Jane’s Addiction with a much more current brand of emotional rock. This results into something that…
Wow, is it just me or does “Suture Self” remind anyone of early Descendents? Well, maybe not EARLY Descendents, but something that really would have had to come out circa 1987-1988. Anyways, comparing a band to the Descendents (and there’s a little nod to Rise Against, as well), should be seen as nothing less than a glowing bit of praise. The Loved Ones deserve this; their “Keep Your Heart” comes…
Love and Squalor is a perfect band to showcase for being utterly bouncy without fitting into one single genre or general sound. At times sounding like the Descendents and The Replacements with a little emo (Jimmy Eat World, Fugazi) mixed in, Love and Squalor don’t want their audience to get bored. Tracks like “Were I With You” really recall the sound of the earliest days of the Lancaster music scene,…