Coming through with a very post-hardcore sound, mixing elements of Coldplay, Pink Floyd, the Weakerthans, and the entire early-1990s indie rock movement. Matt’s voice is quirky and at times inconsistent with the style of music that Evening plays. While the promo sheet for this release is littered with the praise of in-house writers proclaiming the originality of Evening, I really tend to find this disc par for the course in…
On his second release, Belly of the Lion, Texas native David Wingo – under the moniker Ola Podrida – delivers not quite a dozen beautifully written, sweeping tracks that evoke the desolate landscape captured on the album’s cover. Known best as a music composer behind movies like George Washington and All the Real Girls, it’s not surprising that Belly of the Lion sounds a bit like a movie score. Bringing…
The first track on the disc, “A Cross + A Girl Named Blessed†mixes together Alien Ant Farm, Tool and Dashboard Confessional in some unholy alliance that really shows an incredible amount of emotive force even if the instrumentation has a lock on the low end of things. “Stop + Say You Love Me†even furthers the Tool comparison further, seemingly taken line for line out of the Aenima album.…
Evaline plays a brand of emo music but their rub is something that is completely different from anything else that the mass of emo bands are doing. The arrangements present during “Postpartum Modesty†are miles beyond anything else that emo acts are typically known for. When the band starts off their EP with “La De Daâ€, the result is something so much more intense and full-bodied than the average emo…
“I’ve Got A Life†is a track that is destined to be played for gay dance clubs all through the country, as the campy vocal stylings on the track really tend to hearken back to the disco period. “Love Is A Stranger†brings listeners a few years later, as the hokey electronics played during the track really dates the track in a good way. The song feels as if it…
It takes Europa a few minutes, but the band shows that they can play their update version of The Outlaws during “Gods of War and Peaceâ€. I say updated, because there are hints of Ramones-like punk and other musical styles present during “The Filthy Cutâ€. In fact, “Passive Aggressive†starts off with a Ramones-like drum line before going into an ersatz blend of rockabilly, country, punk, and the Foo Fighters.…
There is enough swamp-rock present in “Back Against The Wall†to grill a whole mess of crawdads on the heat of the guitar and harmonica alone. For an instrumental track, “Back Against The Wall†tells an entire story in its relatively-short five minute runtime. Incorporating vocals into the Tina Dico-sung “Blue†makes Euphoria into an act that easily panders to the pop element of society, even if the instrumentation and…
Eugene puts together a very radio-friendly type of indie-rock that is reminiscent of Hayden, never far from a good guitar hook or full sound, even though this is a very Spartan band. Tracks like “Mr. Solitude†do not have a chronological date to them, so while there might be sections on the track that just screams sixties-rock, there are equally many that look at acts like Husker Du for relevance.…
Moving through a number of different sounds, from a Nico-like heaviness to eir voice to the simple fuck off attitude of someone like Fiona Apple, Eszter makes an album in “Mud†that is both chock-full of artistic cred while still being very pop-derived. With a heavy slant towards the more minimalist of composers, like Philip Glass in tracks like the more vocally-biased “Good Luckâ€, Eszter really makes a bold statement.…
Even though a few of the kids from this band have played one of my concerts, and they’ve had tracks up on their website since I first learned about them months ago, I’ve not gotten the pleasure to just sit down and give ’87 Celebrity the attention that they deserve. The mastering is a little rough, with the drums on “Bad Luck†sounding almost as if they were intended to…
“Karma Kingdom†starts off slowly, but when a track like “Ask ?’s†happens, one will start to see some of the enrgy that Eibol brings to the mic. The track is not just someone rapping, but really couching all the harmony of the track in an incredibly hooky flow. The inclusion of a saxophone during the track provides a nice vocal-sounding retort to Eibol’s distinctive style. The major thing that…
Listeners will be confused if they necessarily expect “Electro-shock Blues†from this album. This is something that is much more scaled back and intimate than that album, a move that benefits all the songs on this disc. For the performance, the band recasts each of the songs that have made them famous; this is essentially a remix album done without a turntable or a copy of Cakewalk. “Bus Stop Boxer 
I know that The Eels have been around for quite a few years, but the only song that I can place to them would have to be off their Electro-Shock Blues album, “Last Stop: This Town”. Lets just say that this album has nothing to do with this track, as the music captured on tracks like “Theme From Blinking Lights” and “From Which I Came” look more to different eras…
Chicago folk rocker Michael McDermott has been compared to everyone from Springsteen to Dylan over past 18 years that he’s been bumming around small clubs across the country.
It took 19 years and seven albums, but The Casualties – one of the few bastions of classic, aggressive punk rock – have released their most accessible and arguably best record to date. The 14 tracks that make up We Are All We Have are still as confrontational as the band’s earlier work and will still satisfy most of the diehards, but everything from the guitars to the vocals seem…
2002, Asian Man Records. Indie rock from the recesses of the scene that is definitely music to be listened to, although it doubles quite well for incidental music. One’s heart is taken for a ride during this CD, as feelings of emotions shine though, making it quite like the proverbial rollercoaster ride. Brilliant flashes of guitars and clashing drums give way to solemn, quiet instrumental tracks. Similar to el gigante,…
Ah, this type of amelodic hardcore/metal really brings me back to some of the earliest reviews I would put up on the website. While there are lines of semi-melody thrust into the music at different times during the disc, everything seems to be constructed on a whim, without any real decision on syncing up the band. When the vocals do come out in any of these tracks, the style is…
“Cain Station†starts out with some nice multi-part harmonies that seem to take use of Pennywise, Against Me, and even This Bike Is A Pipe Bomb, ensuring that listeners will sing along after a listen or two. “Drink Myself Into Oblivion†straddles the line between country, punk, and bar-rock. Fans of acts as wide as Mojo Nixon, Rehab, and even Hank the IIIrd will find something to caterwaul on about…
“Love Story†is a catchy bit of Latina pop that takes on equal parts of Shakira and Gloria Estefan; that is to say, both older and newer representations of the style are included. Rather than limiting herself to a smaller subset of fans, the overtures that are made here on this introductory track will ensure that anyone lucky enough to happen onto the album will be sticking with it for…
“Better Days†is the first track on Amanda Morra’s album, and it immediately strikes listeners with a sound that is familiar, but looks to take the pop genre in bold, new ways. The coy vocals of Morra’s are allowed to shine alongside a set of instrumental arrangements that properly highlight’s Morra’s vocals at all the right times. After this initial salvo, “Strike One†comes forth in a much more sultry…