With Passion – What We See When We Shut Our Eyes / 2006 Earache / 10 Tracks / http://www.withpassionmetal.com / http://www.earache.com / This California band does not take more than ten seconds to start rocking the faces off of their listeners. The music that they play is a brand of progressive cum speed metal that is shrill, melodic, and orchestral all at the same time. The band can bring the…
Snatches of Pink – Love is Dead / 2007 Self / 15 Tracks / http://www.snatchesofpink.com / Snatches of Pink on their “Love is Dead†play a brand of sleaze rock that brings individuals back to the days of Spinal Tap and the New York Dolls. The lead vocals during “Rocks†(and extended to the whole of the disc) have more than a passing resemblance to those provided by Mike Ness…
OST: Quentin Tarantino’s Death Proof / 2007 Warner Bros / 16 Tracks / http://www.warnerbros.com / http://www.deathproof.net / Everyone knows that this soundtrack is for the movie that was Quentin Tarantino’s part of Grindhouse, “Death Proofâ€. The tracks here feel like they are taken from an earlier period. The first track on this score is Jack Nitzche’s “The Last Raceâ€. This track has the seventies orchestral heaviness present in droves, with…
Protest Hill – The City Echoes Our Hearts / 2007 Latest Flame / 11 Tracks / http://www.myspace.com/protesthill / http://www.latestflame.com / Protest Hill plays a brand of indie-heavy pop-rock that is similar to the work of a Fray, Ben Folds, or Jack Johnson. “All That You Need†is the first track on “The City Echoes Our Heartsâ€, and it blends Tori Amos ‘s style of piano playing with bassy instrumentation and…
Hotel Alexis – Goliath, I’m On Your Side / 2006 Broken Sparrow / 14 Tracks / http://www.hotelalexis.com / http://www.brokensparrow.com / There is little more to say about Hotel Alexis besides the fact that they play a brand of indie rock that has no time referent; tracks like “Soft Soft War†and “San Diego Backslide†paint a quiet yet nuanced picture of the band. “I Will Arrange for You to Fall…
Gallows – Orchestra of Wolves / 2007 Epitaph / 15 Tracks / http://www.myspace.com/gallows / http://www.epitaph.com / Gallows play a brand of hardcore metal that goes into the style of acts like Men’s Recovery Project and Agoraphobic Nosebleed at times. However, during tracks like “Kill The Rhythm†and “Come Firendly Bombsâ€, the band create a much more approachable sound than any of those two acts. This means that during a “Come…
The Electric Soft Parade – No Need To Be Down-Hearted / 2007 Better Looking / 12 Tracks /http://www.electricsoftparade.com / The Electric Soft Parade plays a very soft, looking-back style of rock during their “No Need To Be Down-Heartedâ€. This is moderated by the inclusion of a nineties alternative sensibility and a current electronic fuzz that makes a song like “Life in the Backseat†approachable by all. The band moves from…
Yoko – Open Your Box / 2007 Astralwerks / 14 Tracks / http://www.astralwerks.com/ono / Pretty much anyone that is into music will remember who Yoko Ono is. But, like me, I had no clue what music ey was currently making for an album like “Open Your Boxâ€. The tracks on here are all remixes of Ono’s work, from dance stars as storied as Basement Jaxx, Felix Da Housecat, Pet Shop…
The Pipettes – Your Kisses Are Wasted On Me / 2007 Memphis / 4 Tracks / http://www.thepipettes.co.uk / http://www.islandrecords.com / This British act is definitely copping style off of the sixties girl group acts, as well as those artists that followed in the same general style. This EP starts out with the really fifties-sounding title track, with a little bit of Donnas and Sounds thrown into the mix. The track…
The Orangeburg Massacre – Moorea / 2007 Pluto / 11 Tracks / http://www.myspace.com/orangeburgamassacre / http://www.plutorecords.com / Often time, I have to look and see what the website of a band is by going on Google and plugging in their name. I find interesting things sometimes: apparently, the band is named after an event that turned bloody after being a nonviolent protest at the only bowling alley in Orangeburg, South Carolina.…
Steve Bertrand – Pain Is A Megaphone / 2007 Icon MES / 9 Tracks / http://www.stevebertand.com / Steve Bertrand starts off “Pain Is A Megaphone†in a pop-rock way. The first track on the CD is “The Last Mile Is The Longestâ€, and it shows influences as wide as Bon Jovi, Matchbox 20, Semisonic, and Bryan Adams. Most times on an album it feels as if the music and the…
Sherwood – A Different Light / 2007 Myspace / 13 Tracks / http://www.myspace.com/sherwood / http:/www.myspace.com/myspacerecords / Myspace Records is finally getting some energy to them, with the release of Sherwood’s “A Different Light’. The Disc itself starts out with “Song In My Headâ€, and “Song In My head†is a track that gradually gains energy after a slower, quiet start. The band still feels restrained during the track, so hopefully…
Against Me! – New Wave / 2007 Sire / 10 Tracks / http://www.againstme.net / http://www.sirerecords.com / Long time individuals know that I’ve had a relationship (or at least feelings, since I’ve only met them once) with Against Me! for quite a few years. I loved the work that they did on the destroyed full-length album and the “Crime†EP. I still liked their work with “Reinventing Axl Roseâ€, but the…
V/A – Distortion on the Dance Floor / 2007 Universal / 13 Tracks / http://www.toucancove.com / Josh Harris is the individual that mixed up this compilation, which features tracks by The Killers, Chicane, Tom Jones, John Digweed, Saving Jane, and a few other acts. I was not familiar with Josh Harris up to this point, but individuals that religiously read the Billboard dance charts may remember eir. This is because…
Les Hatepinks – Tete Malade/Sick in the Head / 2007 TKO / 7 Tracks / http://www.myspace.com/leshatepinks / Les Hatepinks may be the most well known of punk bands coming from France in the current period. Speaking as an American, they may just be the most famous French band that I know of currently. This EP starts out with “Sexual Liberation is For Animalsâ€, and it shows that the band is…
Sean Na Na – Family Trees or Cope We Must / 2007 Dim Mak / 12 Tracks / http://www.seannana.com / http://www.dimmak.com / Man, Sean Tillmann can do a lot of different styles. Sean is the mastermind behind Sean Na Na, and musicphiles may remember the name from the noisy rockers Calvin Krime. Couple Sean up with already-diverse Dim Mak, and individuals will definitely have an interesting album. “Family Trees or…
No Hollywood Ending – Everybody’s Talking / 2007 Merovingian / 14 Tracks / http://www.merovingianmusic.com / http://www.nomilkrecords.com / No Hollywood Ending starts their “Everybody’s Talking†with a very orchestral sound. The disc’s cover looks nothing like the heavy, earlier style of metal that the band plays. Despite the earlier metal (Iron Maiden, Emperor) that the band seems most influenced by, the act comes out on a track like “ATM†like a…
Keke Wyatt – Ghetto Rose / 2007 TVT / 2 Tracks / http://www.umrg.com/artist.aspx?aid=473 / http://www.tvtrecords.com / For those individuals that are not familiar with who Keke Wyatt is, all one needs to know that ey was a member of Destiny’s Child for a time, when they were still called Girl’s Tyme. Keke has done music on eir own for the last half-decade, and this track marks the first single off…
V/A – Putumayo Presents A New Groove / 2007 Putumayo / 10 Tracks / http://www.putumayo.com / Putumayo had a solid album on their hands with “Gypsy Grooveâ€. That album was memorable because it blended together the traditional east European sound with a more current dance sound. This time, Putumayo seems to come out with a more normal type of dance mix. Normal is an ill-fitting word here, as the first…
The Aggrolites – Reggae Hit L.A. / 2007 Hellcat / 15 Tracks / http://www.aggroreggae.com / http://www.hell-cat.com / The disc opens up with “Work Itâ€, which uses a reggae sound that has been digitized to give the overall sound a tweak that has not been done to my knowledge. The rest of the track is fairly normal reggae fare, with a slow beat, bassy vocals, and a laid-back arrangement style that…