Kate Kennedy plays a very guitar-heavy type of looking-back rock. The new-folk of a track like “The Blues Are Exhausted” has Kennedy singing in the vein of Suzanne Vega and other nineties alternative singers, as the acoustic guitars play a folk-style that screams 2006 looking back at 1936. The guitars play interesting harmonies during “The Blues Are Exhausted”, and this is only helped by the inclusion of percussion during the…
The echoing of Kelley’s vocals during “High Boots” is interesting. The rarities aspect of this disc means that the tracks are collected through the entirety of Kelley’s life. The production of some of these tracks are a little suspect, but one can hear early that Kelley has an ear for this music. One of the things that individuals can see immediately with “Some Sucker’s Life” is that the tracks are…
While Keep of Kalessin is fast, individuals actually can understand what the hell that the lead vocalist is singing. This is a plus, for sure. While I am not sure if this is a plus or minus, the vocals cxrack and show some strain from out of the gate. It sounds almost as if the lead singer is going hoarser with each subsequent line that ey sings on “Armada”. As…
From the bands they’ve played with (Dillinger Four, Oneida), one would never expect The Keep Aways to kick so much ass. Still, here they are playing a brash brand of punk that draws equally from different times and movements in a fresh way. The snotty vocals of Mindy look towards other female-led punk bands like The Avengers and more current acts like Retching Red, and the quick start-stop of the…
Keane has been around for a few years, and they have not broken it big in the United States yet. I have no doubt that they will when copies of “Under The Iron Sea” start flooding the United States market. The sweeping electronic atmosphere that is first present during “Atlantic” fit the title sea well. There is a compelling pop-rock set of vocals on the track, but what really cinches…
“P.R. Song” starts off “Modern Primitive Punk”, and Kcuf comes forth with a style that lends itself well to the thrash-punk that hit it big during the early part of the eighties in places like California. The simplistic riffs of the track smash listeners upside the head and show that the band does honestly not give a shit whether individuals call them repetitive. What one will immediately hear about Kcuf…
While all the Brits are extolling the virtues of Kava Kava, the United States haven’t had the ability to get their new album, “Maui” until now. Starting off with intense dance-music (ntense as in Junior Senior, not the 300bpm dance marathon tracks), Kava Kava’s rich instrumentation and solid production ensure for a tremendous experience. The tracks on “Mauyi” are mini-epics, using the extended lengths of some of the longer pop-dance…
With immediate influences to Converge and Hidden In Plain View, Kane Hodder does the light/dark dynamic of vocals impressively, with the light set of vocals capturing all the harmony and melody of Ryan (Yellowcard) as well as Serj (SOAD) and the dark set being fairly par for the course. Moving perilously close to the insincere arena rock of later-day U2 in the late minutes of “Last of the Anti-Fascist Warriors”,…
This may just be the first progressive metal band that I have heard use a pitch changer; this occurs first on “March of Mephisto”, which is a Middle Eastern influenced romp that gives the opening of “The Black Halo” proper energy. The band speeds things up considerably during “When the Lights Are Down”, mixing crystal-clear guitar work with breakneck drumming and a set of vocals that approximate early-nineties Iron Maiden…
“Raindrops” starts out slowly, but Kalli seems to bring more and more elements into the track without losing anyone along the way. Still, by the time that the track gains a little steam, all that is needed is a guitar and drums. The vocals come in in much the same way as a Melissa Etheridge or a Joe Cocker, all while the driving instrumentation lifts the vocals to a new…
Kaddisfly plays a wide-open, atmospheric style that puts them off from all other bands that are on the market. The band has had a few albums with which to create their own sound, but songs like “Summer Solstice” put them off in a completely different direction. “Campfire” is a track that conforms much more to the conventions of emo music. In this track, there are nods to acts like Coheed…
This band is more like a laid-back Against Me! than even I would care to admit. Where Against Me! is more political, Just a Fire tends to experiment a greater deal with general sound, moving from electricjazzfunk in “Hot Export” to a slowed down tempo in “Graduation”. Everything is here for the amateur listener to say “Well, there is not a real tie to any genre, any general sound, and…
I had heard a lot about The Juliet Dagger, but did not have the ability to review them until I received this single in the mail. This single (which I am not sure if it will be released to the public) has as its’ A-side “Saturday Morning”. This track is very synth led, and will remind individuals of the shoegazer pop of acts like The Red Hot Valentines, although blended…
Juggernott is another of the Greencastle band that really are more intense and impressive in a live session. The mastering and recording on “Necessary Evil” is top-shelf, but even it is not able to proper re-create the fury that Juggernott brings to each venue they play. The guitars, laid down by Barry Bollinger, are given an equal stake in the process, something that really is hidden at times in the…
There is a certain type of rest-filled sound to Kaddisfly; everything is not done with the burning intensity that is present in many other emo bands. However, there seems to be some syncretism with more sedate, “stoner” types of rock (Pink Floyd, Sublime) to create a sound that comes closer to At The Drive In and 311 than anything. The one thing that this change of style really does for…
“Get Your Green On” is an eclectic track. In the course of only four minutes, One World (R)evolution are able to take on distinct musical approaches from the seventies, eighties, nineties and today. The overall rock style is a funk-filled one, with a number of gear changes that keep the track interesting. “Stop The Insanity” continues furthering this rock sound, but puts the slightest bit of country into the track.…
“Not Long For This World” is a track that showcases the eclectic nature of “Cole Porter’s Blues”, with a number of distinct genres and musical styles broached in the course of four minutes. With listeners properly prepped for what is to come on “Cole Porter’s Blues”, Michel Ackermann creates a more expansive and slower tempoed track in “How Long?” The vocals and instruments here unite to create something ethereal, airy,…
“Whiskey & Cocaine” is the first track that listeners will sink their teeth into when they get their copy of Thee Nosebleeds’ self-titled release. This is an absolutely balls to the wall type of track that comes forth from the early eighties heavy rock / metal style of Iron Maiden, onward through the thrash-laden riffs of speed bands like Anthrax, and even comes forth to the current brutality preferred by…
Eighties synthpop, ambient, dance, modern classical music – these are all different words that fit appropriately to how Me, Three begin their “The Space Race”. Despite the act’s unique sound, the act is able to create a lively narrative in this track that will have listeners following the songs out to its post-four minute end. The band is able to avoid the pitfalls that a number of more experimental acts…
There is a lot present in JR Ewing’s style that I feel has its precedent in other famed acted. The first track on “Maelstrom” matches with the title of the album perfectly. The brutal guitar and drum interaction that happens during the average second of this track is nothing to scoff at; the inclusion of an acoustic guitar at points bring the band into an At The Drive-In meets Fugazi…