Severe Torture – Sworn Vengeance / 2007 Earache / 10 Tracks / http://www.severetorture.com / http://www.earache.com / Severe Torture has their influences all down, as the limited edition first pressing of “Sworn Vengeance’ has the band’s covers of Cro-Mags and Entombed classics. The first track on “Sworn Vengeance†is “Dismal Perceptionâ€, which paints the act as one that can play their brand of speed metal as fast as humanely possible without…
Alex Winston – By The Roots / 2007 Pratdral Records / 6 Tracks / http://www.myspace.com/AlexWinston / Alex Winston is trying to break it big. The first track on “By The Roots†is “Misunderestimate Meâ€, and it shows Winston as an individual that wants to go forth and fit right in with Avril Lavigne, Pink, and Christina Aguliera. There is virtually nothing that distinguishes Winston from these individuals, and this makes…
Sunday Drivers – Archetypes EP / 2007 Permanent / 4 Tracks / http://www.sundaydriversmusic.com / The cold, New Romantic style of Sunday Drivers during “The Sweetest Disguise†is meshed well with a little bit of dance punk and hints of emo music. This means that the style of music that the band crafts during the opening track is new and fresh, and allows for the act to create their own sound…
Movie Star Kiss – Sunset Junction / 2007 Self / 6 Tracks / http://www.moviestarkiss.com / The tidiness with which Movie Star Kiss create their introductory track on “Sunset Junctionâ€, “Just Can’t Have It All†virtually ensure some large fan base for the band. The band does not immediately link themselves to a specific set of bands and influences, but plays rock music with hints of emo music strewn throughout. “Just…
Bring Me The Horizon Present – This Is What The Edge of Your Seat Was Made For / 2007 Earache / 4 Tracks / http://www.earache.com / Bring Me The Horizon Present creates some of the noise-infused hardcore music that has been put forth by a number of acts in the current period. The first track on the disc is “Re: They Have No Reflections†does not give too much new…
Switches – We Are Switches / 2007 Interscope / 4 Tracks / http://www.myspace.com/weareswitches / “Lay Down The Law†is the first track on this EP, and it shows The Switches as a band that can create an angular rock sound that does not sound like the style crafted by many of the other bands in that style. This is done by incorporating a softer, more dreamy type of style –…
Alana Amram & The Rough Gems – S/T / 2007 Zealous / 5 Tracks / http://www.myspace.com/alanaamram / http://www.zealousrecords.com / “Blackest Crow†is the first track on this EP, and it showcases Amram’s work as something that can fit in well with the work of Alison Krauss or even the re-imagined folk genre of the current period (which has adherents including Akron/Family and Devendra Banhart). There seems to be a slight…
Pawbox – S/T / 2007 Self / 5 Tracks / http://www.myspace.com/pawbox / Pawbox does not immediately shoehorn themselves into a specific style of music. Sure, they play rock music, but it is hard to tell where exactly they get their influences during a track like â€O.O.T.N.I.F.â€. There are hints of HIM, Velvet Underground, and even the Stone Temple Pilots, but these only describe a fraction of the band’s sound. The…
Tom Savell – You Just Gotta Love It / 2007 Still Fumin’ / 8 Tracks / http://www.stillfumin.com / “Simple Game†blends together Karl Clang and David Bowie into something that is interesting to say the least. The arrangements present during the disc are solid, but it feels like the vocals are mixed a little too loud for comfort on this track. If another producer could come through and let the…
Autonomadic – The Missionary / 2007 Bleeding Ear / 7 Tracks / http://www.autonomadic.com / Apparently we had a chance to review a song from Autonomadic (“Pig Tailsâ€) when we reviewed the “Punks and Pints†compilation a few years back. The review given then is still accurate – Autonomadic play a style of punk music that is catchy as all get out. Unlike their “Pig Tailsâ€, it seems as if the…
Eat Sugar – S/T EP / 2007 Self / 4 Tracks / http://www.eatsugarmusic.com / The noisy, spastic type of electro rock that starts off this EP in “I’m A Carrier†virtually ensures that Eat Sugar will be what is blasted out at any indie club throughout the United States. The synthesizers, clap lines, and coke-addled speed of the track will whip anyone that is listening in into a frenzy, while…
Lek – Giant World Knowledge Bliss Control / 2007 Self / 12 Tracks / http://www.lekmusic.com / “Quixotic†shows a very trippy style of sixties music as the one played by Lek. What does not work for the band during this 7 minute track is the spoken lyrics that go beyond mysterious and into full blown parody by the second or third minute of the track. It behooves individuals to skip…
OST: Into The Wild / 2007 Lakeshore / 36 Tracks / http://www.intothewild.com / http://www.lakeshorerecords.com / For those that do not know Michael Brook, ey first made a splash in the music industry in 1985, when U2 used eir “Infinite guitar†to make the distinct sounds that were commonplace on their seminal “The Joshua Treeâ€. Brook also worked on Peter Murphy (Bauhaus)’s 1995 album Cascade, Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan’s 1996 work…
The Whigs – Mission Control / 2008 ATO / 11 Tracks / http://www.thewhigs.com / http://www.atorecords.com / “Like A Vibration†starts out “Mission Controlâ€, and the amount of styles that come forth from the first minute or so of The Whigs’ album is amazing, to say the least. Hints of psychedelic, sixties-rock, At The Drive-In, and even Social Distortion all play into the creation of a distinct and ufn track. The…
Sleeper Car – Love & Anxiety / 2007 Self / 6 Tracks / http://www.sleepercarband.com / “Lay It Down†is the first track on Sleeper Car’s “Love & Anxietyâ€m, and the use of strings during this track imbues the track with a folksy sound not far removed with that put out by a Banhart. However, Sleeper Car takes a different tack during “I Won’t Break Downâ€. During this track, the band…
Gary Allan – Living Hard / 2007 MCA / 11 Tracks / http://www.garyallan.com / http://www.mca.com / “Living Hard†is the eight studio album for Gary Allan, and marks the second time that Allan has reached #3 on the US 200 charts (eir highest showing). While “Living Hard†did not top the US country charts as “Tough All Over†and “Greatest Hits†had done in 2005 and earlier 2007, this higher…
Cake – B-Sides and Rarities / 2007 Upbeat / 12 Tracks / http://www.cakemusic.com / As individuals may be able to figure out from the title, the latest Cake release is a collection of all of the tracks that were either b-sides or did not make it into a finished form on any of the band’s CDs over the years. While the songs on “B-Sides and Rarities†may be scraps from…
OST: The Kite Runner / 2007 Decca / 21 Tracks / http://www.deutschegrammophon.com/kiterunner / The Kite Runner was the first album that was produced by Khalid Hosseini, in 2003. The movie adaptation of the book will likely be out after Christmas, and features pretty much the same story as the book – after spending a long time on the West Coast of America, Amir returns to Afghanistan to go forth and…
John Coltrane – Interplay / 2007 Prestige / 34 Tracks / http://www.concordmusicgroup.com / This 5 CD set covers a 3 year period in John Coltrane’s career, when ey played with the Prestige Group; these fifty-year old recordings are given a 24-bit remastering from the original tapes. This remastering allows the recordings, feature also feature Kenny Burrell, Jimmy Cobb, Paul Chambers, and Red Garland, to shine in a way that they…
D.O.A. – The Black Spot / 2007 Sudden Death / 16 Tracks / http://www.myspace.com/doapunk / http://www.suddendeath.com / While there are a number of fans of the music that D.O.A. has put out for the last twenty years, few individuals are familiar with the band’s work on “The Black Spotâ€. Originally released in 1995, this album marks a tempestuous time in D.O.A.’s life. This was due to the fact that this…