I don’t know what I was thinking, but I was assuming some sort of indie rock when The Flaming Tsunamis opened up their “Fear Everything†with “The Ritalin Conspiracyâ€. What really awaits listeners is an eclectic style that mixes noise with odd breakdowns (as is the case with the Big Band interlude present in the first track), in a way that would make Men’s Recovery Project and Agoraphobic Nosebleed proud.…
Alternative Tentacles releases the weirdest shit. I’ve been able to get quite a few albums from them, and they never fail to amaze me. This time, The Flaming Stars come through with a Peter Gabriel meets Daniel Ash brand of brit-pop that has more than a passing gaze to the halcyon days of the 1980s. The first track, “She’s Goneâ€, uses a strong guitar presence and bass-laden drums to work…
Where fellow label mate SLA created a style of psychedelic/dingy-rock for their album, The Flakes have a Who meets Monkees type of sound; the first track even throws a little surf guitar into the mix for good measure. “C’Mon and Swim†continues this same general sound, but scales back the explosive nature of “That’s All†for a more balanced sound. In a sense, the style of music that The Flakes…
The Flairs start off with “Poison Loveâ€, and the style of music that they make is a punkish, rockish blend that can be compared to acts like The Donnas, The Eyeliners, and Bif Naked. The tracks are created with catchy choruses, the power chords are many, and the band just feels as if they will make it to the big time in just a few months. The second track on…
Mixing the aural attacks of Axl Rose, Jon Bon Jovi, and a whole legion of incredible, over-the-top singers, Fixer cuts through the shoegazing, new-rock of New York hacks The Strokes, as well as the The Vines, Jet, The White Stripes, and all of the other acts that circle jerk over the memory of bands that they have no where near the talent level of. Whether it is the aforementioned vocals…
Hey, this is slightly different than most of the fare from Broken Bonez Records. This time, listeners are treated to a bouncy, punky brand of ska that hasn’t been heard in popular music since The Spitvalves cut their last disc for Victory. Mix in some Bad Religion-esque riffs and Fixed Idea’s form starts to coalesce. Some of the instrumental interludes found on the disc (during Tomorrow, for example) begin to…
The mix of punk and ska music is something that is hard to do successfully and without your band sounding like utter ass, but Fixed Idea know how to do it right. Tracks like “At The Side of the Park†work because the horns do not try to do something unheard of for punk music; at their best moments, the horns replace the bass in providing a deep sound to…
AC/DC is one of those bands where there is very little fence sitting. You either love ‘em or hate ‘em and I just happen to fall into latter category. The argument that always gets trotted out in discussing AC/DC is that the band sounds the same on just about every song on every album. Well… you’re right. They found a formula very early on that works: big crunchy power chords…
“Big Star†starts out with a piano line that sticks with listeners long after the track ends, while the vocals here are influenced by strong female singers like Joan Osbourne, Sarah McLachlan, and even Sheryl Crow. The production during “Big Star†is perfect, bringing out the vocals without dwarfing the rest of the instrumentation present. “The Sun†looks to continue the momentum first garnered during “Big Starâ€, with Cameron’s own…
While The Bramble Jam is an act that is centered into the younger set, I feel that the act’s musicianship is so stellar that fans of all ages can appreciate what is put forth on “Move Your Bootsâ€. “Going To A Party†is catchy as all get out, with both sets of vocals bolstered by a vaguely tribal agglomeration of bongos, percussion, and other instruments. “Pancakes†has a slower, funkier…
“Fair Trade†starts off “Morning Over Midnight†with a mixture of the new-rock sound with the proper amount of punk influence. Fivespeed thus comes out as a band that is tremendously influenced by Alien Art Farm and Incubus, while still having the current sound associated with acts like Three Days Grace. However, the immediate hit for the band has to be “The Messâ€. The song has everything that is required…
This is an electric-infused brand of folk rock that envelops all facets of a listener’s senses. The swamp-rock riffs that are such a major part of “I Hope You’re There†is a perfect introduction to Fite’s world, as the shambling sound of the track shows the diversity of sounds that influence Fite throughout. The infusion of a generous synthesizer to “No Good Here†brings one more dimension to Fite’s music,…
The blend of styles that were present on the one-sheet for Fisher made me more curious about how ey would eventually sound, and if it was a possibility that ey could unite all the styles without the resulting music sounding like a Frankenstein’s monster. However, all of my fears were assuaged by the time that “Song For Joel†kicked in. The horns of the track are fun, while the backing…
Coming through with a sound not unlike a mixture of Ten Foot Pole and JFT, break-neck guitars come through with the benefit of pushing the emotive lyrics of Andy even more quickly through the track. With the same sort of spirit that surrounds bands like Brookside, First Class puts two and two together and comes up with a mish-mash of two of the most well-liked off-shoots of punk rock: pop-punk…
Speeding through their first track, Firegarden has a straight-forward, intense brand of punk-laced rock. Very clean in their style of music, “Last Words†starts out their 2164. Very cognoscent of what hooks listeners in, a multi-part harmony cuts through the fuzzy guitar of the track, and a sizzling, squealing guitar solo consequently cuts through the vocals. “Don’t Run Me Over†is a track that is full of whistles and bells,…
Hey, someone actually got a press release right when they compared a band to other, more famous ones. Indeed, Fire Divine does sound like Weezer, no fooling about it. Where Weezer would like to go and make pop tunes based off what has been popular in the past, Fire Divine experiments with the general sound and the popular “screamo†sound of the day to make an interesting take on Frankenstein’s…
Hey Stevie Nicks? I think we’ve found your long-lost daughter in Sasha Bell. Starting off with an unabashed witchy-woman styling not unlike the great Nicks, “Reno†only differs from a Fleetwood Mac track by the more electronic arrangement of the instrumentation. Keeping the rich sound of the sixties and seventies alive in the following track, “Hairâ€, The Finishing School has a keyboard solo that would make Manfred Mann jealous. The…
The style of music that The Finals play is not anything that is tied down to a specific section of music, but rather pulls directly from different styles to craft a distinct sound from all of the clippings. “They’ll Never Know†is a track that draws heavily on a mid-nineties alternative sound, but the inclusion of synthesizers during the chorus brings The Finals into the realm of music previously inhabited…
Final Conflict start out their “No Peace on Earth†CD with an introduction to “Burning Bush†that seems much more proper for a rockabilly CD than the roughshod punk rock that is the common style on the disc. There is present in Final Conflict’s construction of punk music a sound that is tremendously influenced by acts like D.R.I. and the Circle Jerks. Songs like “Where’s The Threat†take up the…
For a band that has such a post-modern look to their album cover, this is some old-style, looking-back Irish sounding punk rock. The first track has a compelling, almost-lounge arrangement that clicks along as the sometimes-gruff vocals dominate. This lounge type of sound recalls Momus and other fancy-free artists in the vein of Cat Stevens; in fact, a track like “Neverkind†seems to be much more in this vein than…