The opening, self-titled track of The Capitol Years is very airy and wispy. The opening is not very substantive; when the band finally kicks into “Revolutionsâ€, individuals can feel as if they are getting something from the band. The mixture of styles in this track (the electronic sound of The Who and The Beatles) sounds odd at the beginning, but The Capitol Years smartly blend together the different styles without…
“Ticking Ghosts, Pt. 1†is a instrumental track that shows Capillary Actions a little confused at the opening gates, different lines crash into each other and muddle what is honestly a very intelligent and complicated track. The band gets back on track before the distortion kicks in, ensuring that the recording is powerful enough to really affect listeners of all sizes and shapes. The second part of Ticking Ghosts begins…
This is the first completely instrumental metal act that I’ve got my hands on. The tracks work really well for someone that is doing household chores, but there are only a few tracks that shine with any sort of intensity. Intensity does come during a track like “Accidents in Mutual Silenceâ€, but there still seems to be a few cobwebs present in Canvas Solaris’ music. If one is looking for…
Time has been good to Cannibal Corpse, as tracks on “Kill†(for example, “Barbaric Bludegeoningsâ€) come out first with the same fury that has been present through all of the Cannibal Corpse albums, and then expand the band’s palette to allow for a greater toolbox for the band to choose from.
The style of the title track is an update version of the light-instrumentation and violent raps of the gangster period, allowed a little bit of the nuanced DangerDoom/newer style. The anemic beats on tracks like “Majestic Mic Masters†might be created to properly show off the vocal styles of the act, but in reality the down-tempo of the backing beat gives the vocals a certain sluggishness that it would not…
With a minute-long introduction, the one thing that individuals will know about the band Canada on their “This Cursed House†is that they do not intend to have the most speedy compositions. In fact, after the minute or song introduction to “Beige Stationwagonâ€, what results is an indie rock marked by a jangly acoustic-sounding guitar and a more natural sound to the dominant vocals. When the bass and drums kick…
Before listening to this CD, the only track from CVB that I could say I was familiar with was “Pictures of Matchstick Menâ€, and while their last CD came out in 1989, I still feel as if I should have been better versed in the band. The tight style of the alternative rock that CVB places on “New Roman Timesâ€, exemplified early by “51-7â€, a track that ties together introspective…
The cover of “Another Page†would throw off pretty much anyone that looked at is, as the smudgy art piece on the front cover would typically indicate something along the lines of a throwback band. To counter this, Megan Cameron sounds at the top of her game, eliciting comparisons to Tori Amos, Natalie Merchant, and Alanis Morisette. Each song does not go too far out with experimentation, but one will…
Ahh, this band is named after a Who song. Psychedelic imagery is all over their disc, and they mention Led Zepplin in their press release. I’m afraid. Starting out their disc with the retro-rock that is all the rage, along with a spastic base a la flea’s work with the Red Hot Chili Peppers, what results in Call Me Lightning’s first track is something that should appeal to all listeners.…
The opening to “Illuminated Manuscript†are as twinkling as the stars on a clear night. While there are hints of acts like Death Cab For Cutie and The Postal Service present in eir “Pretty Boringâ€, Cale Parks is able to recast eir music into something completely different than what has been done in the past. The fact that there can be such a full sound with little more than a…
“Sunday†starts out with a very classic type of sound that shows The Cakes as a band that are very in touch with the bands that they listened to as kids. This means during “Sundayâ€, there are hints of Toni Basil, The Moody Blues, and even Styx. The production value of this EP is solid enough to allow for The Cakes to not be held back but anything but their…
The dreamy opening to “I Guess I Was Daydreaming†allows Cake on Cake to give individuals a foundation for which to base opinions of the album off of. There is a smart decision made by Cake on Cake at the beginning of the disc, as the first track barely cracks the two minute mark. Having such a short track opening up the album allows for two different styles to come…
I cannot give any information about this act, except that they played a local punk show about 4-5 years ago with other local Ohio acts, and that I picked this disc up in Columbus a few years back many months after they probably disbanded. While “Cooperate†has some serious problems, as it sticks to the typical pop-punk song, it has a very interesting sound to it. While they don’t thank…
Playing a style of rock that mixes together the smoothed-out vocals of Matthew Good with a Geddy Lee-style of voice and scruffy-distorted guitars, Cafebar 401 strikes at the heart of many a listener with their first salvo, “Full-pro Discoâ€. Slowing down the tempo but not removing the strong bass presence during “Many Left Here Long Beforeâ€, Cafebar 401 play a track that is the equivalent of a monotone – flat,…
The Caesars are known unfortunately because of their song “Jerk It Out”, which is annoying to say the least. What is more indicative of their music is a track like the one they opened up “Paper Tigers” with; namely, “It’s Not The Fall That Hurts”. The straight-forward rock sound of that track, with a twinge of eighties dusky electronics, really makes a play for an entirely new genre of music.…
13 songs, released in 2001 on BEC Recordings. Cadet is a 3 piece band whose CD clocks in a 43:20, or about 3:32 a song. Cadet is a very clear sounding Christian punk band who begins to impress with “Speed of Sound†using a synth and also laying the bass on heavily creates a toe-tapping song which owes more to the Presidents of the United States then anything.
This band from Detroit/Ann Arbor is a punky Monster Magnet/Corrosion of Conformity style band that has an extreme dependence on the amazing bass lines that are put out by Oliver Blades. Busy Signal is a very innovative band, playing a style of self-proclaimed punk that is totally independent of most of the current punk bands out on the market today.
I must admit that this was the first recording by The Business that I was lucky enough to receive for review. I was only informed about the band because of their split with the Dropkick Murphies.
With a very deliberate set of guitars starting off “Skateboards and Kung Fuâ€, Bury the Living really do not come into individual’s attention until the band kicks it into high gear during the choruses of the track. There is not this start-up time needed during “Your Brutality Has A Nameâ€, a track in which Bury the Living compresses a few minute long song into something that ends well before the…
The instrumental opening to “Save Yourself A Lifetime†is familiar to fans of emotive rock, but Burns Out Bright is smart in the sense that they include enough new material to distinguish themselves from the rest of emo. Coming out of the instrumental segment of their opening track with wailing guitars, Burns Out Bright ups the ante by throwing in double vocals at all the most important points for this…