I Am The Avalanche start out this self-titled disc with an intensity that reminds one of Vinnie Caruana’s previous band The Movielife. The overall sound of the disc’s beginning track “New Disaster” is still inexorably linked to pop-rock and feels groomed for popular radio, but there is no denying that the music of “Dead and Gone” has a certain edge to it that just was not found in Vinnie’s previous…
I Am Ghost – We Are Always Searching I Am Ghost – We Are Always Searching / 2005 Epitaph / 9 Tracks / http://www.iamghostmusic.com / http://www.epitaph.com / Reviewed 14 October 2005 Coming out much more like the Eurhythmics than the Nekromantix, the smooth vocals really provide a contrast with the rapidly increasing fuzziness of the instruments during “The Dead Girl Epilogue: Part One”. When the band actually gets into their…
With all the energy of the Ramones, The Hypstrz seem to “Englishify” the original Ramones sound enough to re-cast all their tracks in a favorable veneer. With tracks crashing into each other all willy-nilly like, the live songs here have a studio sensibility to them that belies their freshness and spontaneity. Crafted in such a way that ensures listeners will not be tired, the average Hypstrz track hovers right at…
With a rushed style to it, The Hybrid, a local band from Greencastle, Indiana, comes out with their first disc. Coming through with 13 tracks, of which two are original songs, we mainly get a view of The Hybrid as a band that does a lot of covers. This isn’t necessarily the case, as the band is getting a number of originals, but certain things can be said about their…
Thin tendrils of music start off “Country Falls”, with dreamy vocals doing much more for the construction of a musical identity than the furthering of certain lyrical ideas. “Summertime Cowboy” shows Husky Rescue re-cast their sound, sounding much like a sixties girl-group than the dreamy-pop that opened up the disc. Therein lies the most interesting fact about the band; they can completely change their style up in the space of…
Hush’s true introduction to this disc (“Hush Is Coming”) is pretty impressive, bringing a nice flow and coupling it with a rock backdrop and one of the most recognizable rappers in the game, Nate Dogg. The tinny blips that “let It Breathe” has really provide a higher tone against which Hush’s vocals really shine. The incorporation of seventies/early-eighties style of synthesizers to the track further differentiate the track from the…
This is one of the only new hard rock bands that does not take the sound of acts like Disturbed and 10 Years to heart, deciding to mix a little Tool and Kenny Wayne Shepherd for something that weaves its way around genres for five and a half minutes (“Rapture”) before sputtering out. The track is diverse enough to really be able to connect to a large segment of the…
“Falls Apart” is the first track on “Vol. 1” and it is a track that mixes together all of the disparate styles of radio rock that have made it big in the last fifteen years. The track shows that Hurt loves acts as wide as Live, Tool, and Linkin Park while not just rehashing each band’s style. In much of the same way, “Forever” shows Hurt as a band that…
Pretty much everything that Andy Cabic and Devendra Banhart get their hands into is going to have some larger implications for the music world. If it is not Vetiver or Devendra’s solo music, it is Jana Hunter. Where individuals throw fits about the fright that artists like Marilyn Mason and Alice Cooper instill in youth, my vote would have to with Jana Hunter’s music on “Blank Unstaring Heirs of Doom”.…
Christian rappers can be good. For examples, Cross Examination and KJ-52 both are pretty solid rappers, even when one takes the Christian element out of their music. Hunter Brown is interesting, and to say that ey is good or bad is a little confusing. The backing beat that is present during the title track is something that is solid, a beat that takes on the instrumental style of a number…
Hundred Year Storm comes forth on their “Hello From The Children of Planet Earth” with a rock style that takes emo into consideration pretty seriously. The type of emo that the band likes to play is of the type that was famous in the nineties, not the sort of watered down pablum that is currently infecting the airwaves of today. What results on tracks like “00:01” is something that is…
LA, by way of Alabama, musician Beth Thornley may have turned in the first record of 2010 that is simply too impossible to cram into an easily definable genre. And that’s a good thing. Her third album, Wash U Clean, is at times Power Pop, singer songwriter and indie pop and often all at once. Rather than sounding sloppy, the effect is refreshingly brilliant. From the quirky album opener and…
This is not the punk band that I was expected when I first put the disc into the players. Instead, what comes forth during tracks like “Get To You” is something that is much more metal influenced. There are no immediate ties to other acts, which is a good thing, but individuals will be confused with where exactly the band is going to go by the time that “Get To…
While I was disappointed in the fact that “Springtime She Waits” actually had that title instead of “Sometime She Waits”, what is coming to me as a Warrant song, The Human Value are actually pretty nifty. Lead by a set of female vocals during “Give Me”, what results is a style that blends industrial with surf and rockabilly music. This music is no Vampire Beach Babes, as The Human Value…
Indie-rock has as of late not been the flavor du jour of your average band, so when a band like Humans Bow Down come forth with their Radiohead and Middle Eastern influences, the result is surprisingly refreshing. The impressive thing about Humans Bow Down is their ability to go and fill to the brim a five minute plus track, allowing for both the track to incorporate a common thread throughout…
The sound of the disc’s first real track “In Tech Knee Color” is similar to the jangly alternative rock of times gone by. There seems to be a little bit of a too-episodic nature to this track, as the band continually goes back to the same few arrangements time and time again through its runtime. The chunky bass of “How’d You Find Me” really is reminiscent of Albini-produced Nirvana, while…
Christian Scott is a young face in jazz that could conceivably bring a blast of fresh air to the genre. The sheer amount and scope of collaborations that ey has done in the last few years is impressive, and includes a whos-who list in music (Mos Def, Prince, and DJ Muggs are just three). Instead of merely resting on eir laurels, Scott has just released eir latest album, “Yesterday You…
When I saw that this album was on Hopeless Records, I immediately assumed a few things. First off, I thought this album was an EP. I was wrong, as this is a full length album by The Human Abstract. Secondly, I thought that The Human Abstract would be an emo band in the vein of Amber Pacific and All Time Low. I was wrong again, as “Nocturne” starts off with…
Houston Calls are you on the other end? If you’re looking for thoughtful lyrics, upbeat songs, and an all out dance party then when Houston Calls you should definitely listen up. Hailing out of Rockaway, New Jersey Houston Calls delivers a gem with their new disc, A Collection of Short Stories. The bands debut release on Drive Thru Records offers listeners a fun, and happy release from a world of…
“Dancing On The Moon” is a rich entry to the world of Lisa Bell, as her vocals marry together all the strengths of artists like Sheryl Crow, Feist, and even Shania Twain. The instrumentation works nicely in the creation of compelling and alluring music, all while allowing Bell’s vocals to shine the brightest they can. “No Time” is a confident track in the sense that it clocks in at four…