The guitar line that begins “Game Night†will immediately gain the attention of anyone that may be casually listening in, allowing for the more soft-spoken and slinky vocals to properly be appreciated. What results during this first track (“Find Your Wayâ€) is something that links together female performers (Kelly Clarkson, Pink) with a driving rock beat. Corrin Campbell & The Election are able to create a full sound with just…
“You Won’t Know Me†starts off “Suenos De Los Muertosâ€, and listeners will immediately hear bits of Cat Stevens, Elvis Costello, and even James Taylor in his delivery. The guitars enter into a Jackson Browne sound for the track, giving Brebner a hit off the bat. Where listeners will be bouncing along to this introductory track, “Tired and True†represents a shift in a bold new direction that marries together…
Gerina – S/T / 2006 Aim High / 14 Tracks / http://www.gerinamusic.com / Reviewed 31 August 2006 Hey, I guessed that Gerina would sound like the other singers on the market, probably a lot like Pink and Kelly Clarkson. I was right, as “Blind†mixes the two singers with the same middle of the road adult contemporary rock that is played throughout all cubicles in the United States. There are…
Noah Georgeson – Find Shelter / 2006 Plain / 12 Tracks / http://www.myspace.com/findshelter / http://www.plainrecordings.com / Reviewed 15 April 2007 The opening to “Find Shelter†is a track that feels almost as if Georgeson copped the music from a early sixties cowboy movie. In a sense, there are hints of Ennio Morricone tied to “The Sound of Musicâ€, which creates something that is brooding yet hopeful all at the same…
George Lesiw Band – Anuta Was Here / 2003 Self / 9 Tracks / http://www.georgelesiwband.com / glesiw@earthlink.net/ Reviewed 13 February 2006 This is music that is made specifically for elevators. Now, I’m not saying that to be flippant or in any way untoward with George Lesiw, but the music is near the same style that one would hear in elevators all around the United States. Chalk that up to the…
Genghis Tron – Dead Mountain Mouth / 2006 Crucial Blast / 10 Tracks / http://www.genghistron.com / http://www.crucialblast.net / Reviewed 05 June 2006 To say that Genghis Tron is intense is to give them the short end of the stick. The band may take a few seconds to start off “Dead Mountain Mouthâ€, but after they do start, there is a blind fury that fuels all of the tracks on the…
The Generators – Excess Betrayal….and our Dearly Departed / 2005 Fiend Records / 14 Tracks / http://www.the-generators.com / http://www.fiendmusic.com / Reviewed 07 March 2005 I first played The Generators on my radio show, and I was so blown away by “Roll Out The Red Carpet†that I had to go and review the disc. Immediately impressive about The Generators is that even two years after this album came out, the…
The Gemz – Blue is For Girls / 2006 StreetBeat / 13 Tracks / http://www.gemz.com / http://www.streetbeatrecords.com / Reviewed 24 July 2006 I’m still not sure exactly why this album was sent over for review. Sure, I can say that I tolerate acts like Hilary Duff, but the vast majority of individuals in that pop genre are just not very impressive. This includes Paris Hilton, Brooke Hogan, and Ashlee Simpson;…
The style of music that Geisha Girls start their album with is something that looks back to the first days of punk rock for influence. Of course, the band adds much more to their sound than being a copy of The Dead Boys, but one can hear 1977 in hints of tracks like “Traced Linesâ€. The shrill guitar work present on that track is a perfect example, and shows the…
Very few people that have not “made it big†decide to create a 2-disc set. Well, Tom Gavornik is not big yet (a google search only brings up 2,350 hits), but “Acceleration†is a 2-disc set. The music that ey plays on tracks like “Requiem For A Broken Swing†is a little bit of Americana and a whole lot of jazz music. What results is something like a toothless Frank…
The disc starts off in an odd way with “You All Everybodyâ€. There are different timer signatures in play in the early stages for Gatsby’s American Dream, even though they settle down and create something that blends in equal parts early nineties rock and a more current conception of emo music. The band has grabbed onto the same dance-emo aspirations as bands like Fall Out Boy and to a lesser…
I like this band because they do not feel content with rehashing the same general sound over and over. Each track is a tabula rasa, a fresh canvas, something new for them to write on. And unlike many of the bands who embrace a number of styles, Gatsby’s American Dream actually pulls them off. “A Manifesto of Tangible Wealthâ€, with an organ/keyboard not unlike that of “House of a Rising…
There is little present on the introductory track of “Small Songs About Us†besides vocals, guitars, and drums. However, there is a fullness to the sound that issues forth that sticks with listeners long after the track ends. There is a decidedly lo-fi feel to this first track that will be eagerly snapped up by fans of sixties rock, indie rock and even those that still have Simon & Garfunkel…
A synthesizer is omnipresent during “Yes, This is About Youâ€, and the nineties-influenced alternative rock of Gatsby’s American Dream is just merely a facet of the entire force of the band. The opening track mixes the Weezer-like rock that forms Gatsby’s American Dream’s base with pure cheese metal, and the second track, “A Conversation With The Devil†is influenced by doo-wop and fifties and sixties American rock. Nothing can possibly…
“Stay†is an average track on “The Spaces In Betweenâ€, and it immediately treats listeners to a carefully-crafted and very emotional set of instrumental arrangements. In this track, everything has its place, and Brooks takes a slow and steady approach to the creative process. Hints of country, Broadway and classic female pop can all be heard here. “Smalltown†continues with the momentum given the disc by “Stayâ€, shining a spotlight…
“Buffalo Jump†is how many individuals will be introduced to Stellar Vector, and the band is able to take a very strong step forward with the song. The act bounces back and forth between hard rock (Static-X, Him, MSI) and an electronic approach to thinks. These two sides give Stellar Vector a unique sound that is further expounded upon with each subsequent track on “A Flock of Cowardsâ€. “Lacking Self…
Wait, did I just hear The Cardigans? Or is it The Cranberries? Oh wait, it’s The Gathering, a band with a lead vocalist that ties together those two styles with a little bit of Siouxsie Sioux to make something that is bizarre enough to be famous. The fact that nothing more than vocal warbling can be a bridge on a track like “Shortest Day†shows the ability of the band…
Genghis Tron – Cloak of Love / 2005 Crucial Blast / 5 Tracks / http://www.genghistron.com / http://www.crucialblast.net / Reviewed 25 March 2005 Genghis Tron is really what I thought Ed Gein should have sounded like, a bi-polar band cpable of descending into the abyss that is hardcore just as easily as they can surface with very emotive, almost atmospheric compositions. Tracks like “Rock Candy†are perfect examples of this, and…
It happens during “Monument†that Gas Huffer closely parallels The Vandals, using the same vocal inflection and repetitious guitar riffs to get their point across. However, “Monument†is not a cut and dry copy of The Vandals, but rather has Gas Huffer taking up the rockabilly cause (Tiger Army, Nekromantix) for their other influence. Changing up again for their “Another Wafer, Please†Gas Huffer begin to take on the heavy…
Garrison is the type of band that can actually repeat the same 4 words over and over and make it into a three-minute long song – and have it work. While the guitar lines are relatively straight-forward and uninspired, the vocals by Joseph Grillo are clean and soothing on the eardrums. Joseph’s method of vocal delivery is along the lines of early-nineties Soul Asylum (think Can’t Even Tell, off the…