“Thanks for the Gametes†is a vocal-heavy track, with instruments entering into the equation during all the right places; while little more is present here than a guitar and light percussion, the resulting track is substantive and compelling. The band gives the instrumental side of things a little more time in the sun with “Far As Sky Can Tellâ€, a track that is one great example of the band’s dynamic…
“Unsure†seems to exist in a weird space between the eighties New Romantic movement and the current backing instrumentation that signers like Britney Spears and Lady Gaga. Mirana’s vocals further establish Theory of Tides as a truly special act, one that can use the widest possible swath of approaches to create the music heard here. “Karaoke†is Theory of Tides’ first bone fide hit, with cohesion abounds between the instrumental…
Shaky DeVille has a refreshing sound that uses styles that have been beaten down in the previous few decades (Irish punk, Rockabilly) and has tied them together in a new and fun arrangement. Nowhere is better to hear than during “M.V.T.â€, a splashy, fast-paced track that still finds enough time to throw in a sizzling bit of guitar work. The act may seem a bit discombobulated at points, but there…
“The Good Man†has an uptempo enough drum beat opening the track, while the guitar that enters into the equation soon after sets the stage for an odd little bit of alternative music, comparable to Cake, Devo, and Pere Ubu. There is a richness to “The Good Man†that is simply not present in any of the aforementioned acts; in that sense, it feels almost as if Audio-OK had taken…
John’s vocals provide a interesting contrast to the smooth bass and guitars found on the beginning of this track, seemingly a mixture of David Byrne and Daniel Ash. The effect one gets out of The Factory Incident’s disc is one of increasingly impressive instrumentation and a coolly detached singer laying eir vocals willy-nilly over this music. Muse and Palcebo make their ideological entrance during the beginning strains of “Said and…
I was a little curious getting this CD because I didn’t really know Face to Face all that well; pretty much all I knew was the disc’s opening track “Disconnectedâ€. It sucks that I hadn’t tuned into them earlier; each of the tracks on “Shoot The Moon†is really essential for bridging some of the best bands of the eighties (like the Descendents, Husker Du and The Replacements) with bands…
“Home For An Island†begins painting The Exit as a brooding, intense rock act that takes a little bit from a number of genres. “Don’t Push†uses Police-like reggae to really amaze listeners in the first few minutes of the disc, while the vocals present will be enough to melt listeners’ hearts. This reggae-like sound is continued throughout the disc, the same template used again for “Back To The Rebelsâ€.…
The diverse array of sounds that The Exit play is more of a commitment to the musical eclecticism of the bands that they were influenced by than anything. On the opening track “Don’t Pushâ€, The Exit have a dominate college-rock meets The Police like sound, with some of the reggae of bands like The Clash flavoring the track at times. So many things are going on at any one given…
8 song tape of Death Metal/HC from Glendale, AZ. Throaty vocals mix perfectly with extremely speedy guitar and drum beats. The recording on this tape is a little muted, but the pure aggression that this band is capable of is definitely noticeable. Existi has times where the guitar riffs find a little harmony, moving into the Goth/Black Metal subgenre. The bass is very pronounced on this album, playing around during…
It is so nice to see that a relic of the punk rock days has not eschewed the style that made eir a legend and went into something exponentially more boring (I’m looking at you, Lydia Lunch). Exene Cervenka and the Original Sinners come up with a bouncy, fresh punk track that really does not have any specific dating to it . “It Ain’t Supposed To Be†has a punk…
It’s a bit surprising Different Light, the 2007 sophomore release from Sherwood didn’t help make the California band a household name. With their Pet Sounds-era harmonies and a sound the evoked everyone from the Beatles to ELO, the album was pretty damn close pop rock perfection. Their latest, Qu is almost as good. It’s a bit cliché to talk about a maturing sound in record reviews, but it’s true with…
Okay, I’m thoroughly surprised with what I hear on this disc. I was expecting very tepid, warmed-over pop-punk, bu I get this really well done indierock. I always whine about how I don’t review CDs in a timely matter, but I’ve had this CD for about a year and a half. I’m horrible. The band really seems to switch styles between a Osceola/At the Drive-In sound and something near what…
The tracks on “Alternation†fittingly alternate in style and length, with some tracks being over six and seven minutes while some struggle to get to the two minute mark. At every point during “Alternationâ€, there is a very different sound that Excepter is trying to cultivate. There are hints of sixties pop, alternative, surf, and about fifty other styles that all blend together to create a sound that is specifically…
Evolve plays a very atmospheric brand of music that takes quite a few minutes to fully appreciate. “August Moon†is the first track on the disc, and before the beat goes into something approximating “From Your Mouthâ€-era God Lives Underwater, little can be felt about the band. Slow, Evolve finally comes into a storytelling type of music when the instrumentation settles down. No vocals are needed during the opening of…
Every Time I Die Gutter Phenomenon Ferret Records Killing the music…in the best way possible! I have two questions for each and everyone of you reading this. Question 1: Are you pissed at the world at this present moment? Question 2: Do you like to dance? If you answered yes to either one of these questions you are a perfect candidate to go out and purchase the new cd from…
The Everyothers play a style of rock that is not immediately reconcilable to the rest of the rock bands out on the market. For example, during “Too Farâ€, there is a definite psychedelic influence that makes itself known but the bulk of the track is a blend of the B-52s and The Offspring. This interesting blend makes for something that is new and fresh for the music scene, something that…
The band starts off their self-titled disc with “Meat Marketâ€, a track that is interesting to me as it seems as if the band is holding back some of the energy and fury that should be present. What results is a track that has a very current type of indie allure but is based heavily on the rock of the sixties. Hints of “That Thing You Do is present throughout…
From the liner, this mini cd was created “using two guitars, two tape recorders, our voices, found objects and the environmental sounds that surrounded usâ€. The lyrics are truly created on the spot, so don’t be shocked if a song (like “in the cityâ€) just consists of whatever the songwriter sees. The recording leaves something to be desired, but the two individuals that created this CD intentionally recorded like this,…
If any 90’s band warranted the anthology treatment it’s Morphine. It took a decade, but Rhino has given the Boston-based “low rock†band the treatment and the result is a wildly impressive look at band’s output. The refreshingly original band – name one other alt rock band from that era that sounded so good with a saxophone – ended suddenly in 1999 when singer Mark Sandman died of a heart…
While different styles dominate during the first track of “Naked on the Black Floorâ€, most notably electronic-metal in the vein of Fear Factory and the nu-metal push of bands like Disturbed, what comes forth much more clearly on the disc is a more classic style that taps bands like Queensryche. The blend of styles is essentially what Event Horizon is; where “Everything that begins must end†begins the disc and…