Opening up “Samsara’s Grip†with one of the most far-reaching and impressive alternative rock songs, Bill Madden inserts bits and pieces of R.E.M., New Radicals, and the like to make a compelling and ingratiating song. Moving more into the Dave Matthews-brand of vocalization, some form of drive forces “Masterpiece†in a realm that is not usually traversed by the former’s music.
Pixieish rock that has as a vocalist a woman who tries her hardest as an Enya imitator, but really falls into the rut of having a lot of her acoustic guitar lines sound similar. As a result, the amazing singing that is done on the disc is really obscured by the repetitive guitars.
Hey, I was really wondering where Treble Charger went, and in Big Collapse, the punk/rock mix really works to the degree that the aforementioned band had. A super-group consisting of members from bands I’ve never heard before (Shift, Burn, Absolution, Die 116), Big Collapse creates their own brand of punk-influenced rock that is incredibly easy to bop around to. “Deliver Me†is the perfect example of what should be on…
Wow, “Sink†is intense in all of the right ways. Big City Rock are not big at this point of time, but they will be big in just a short period of time. Do you remember Vertical Horizon? Big City Rock mixes that band with The Killers to come up with a bouncy yet compelling brand of rock that all can find commonalities in. “All of the Above†is another…
“Honesty†starts off with “I’m Your Density…I Mean Your Destinyâ€, a track that will elicit emotions left and right. This is not the bold step forward that a number of emo bands tend to start off their discs with, but rather a much more sedate and nuanced style that will ease individuals into the sound that is Big City Dreams.
Benzos starts out their “Morning Stanzas†with a very Radiohead-influenced track in “All The King’s Menâ€. The style of music that Benzos plays shifts throughout the entirety of “Morning Stanzasâ€, with the shuffling beat of “It’s Amiable†being the most clear example of this. The sweeping guitars present on the track, coupled with a non-lyric set of vocals creates a haunting and yet oddly compelling ending to the track. The…
Imagine you pissed off an industrial kid off, and instead of turning into Trent Reznor they decided to create the hardest music they could with the instruments that they had. The Berzerker really seems to have one of those kids in their band. Instead of just being an aberration or something put in for shock value, tracks like “Follow Me†really have eir influences tied into the band at large.…
The Berserker – super-unintelligible CD from Earache Records, which is pretty much the prevailing style there. Tons of screaming, 160 bps drums, and very little melody of which to speak. Clips from an unknown movie are contained on the CD. I personally want to watch this movie, as it talks about raping a headless body. “Burnt” begins as a track heavily skipping, which is relatively interesting, but it moves into…
Bernard starts their “A View Beyond The Cave†with something nothing more special than a piano,m only adding a set of vocals to the mix when the opening section has run its course. This is not the vocal stylings of Ben Folds or Shayne Ward, but rather, the vocals move into more of an instrumental sound than anything. There is the same sort of cold electronic sound that crowds the…
The power which Berman starts off “Send Me To The End†is something that has not been heard since the days that Slash and Slayer ruled the earth. Of course, I had to pick two acts that are still present in the music scene, but it is true that there was a period in which they were the unquestioned rulers of their domain. Berman starts off their disc hard and…
I can understand the The Berg Sans Nipple are trying to craft their own sound even at the beginning of “Ghostâ€, but there are parts to this track that begin to grate on individuals’ ears after only the first or second repetition. This is fixed by having a number of different styles present during this track, but makes the album seem uncertain about whether The Berg Sans Nipple will be…
Friends of Suicidal Tendencies, Beowulf comes forth with music from twenty years ago that sounds as fresh and as new as today with the re-release of their S/T and “Lost My Head†albums, both on this single disc. The tracks may all sound a little fuzzy, but this fuzz is not anything that obscures the sizzling guitar lines and thrash sound of the band. “Drink Fight Fuck†is a track…
Bent Outta Shape really play with listeners hearts during the first track of their “Stray Dog Townâ€. At ties sounding like the band will flitter to a close before they’ve really even gotten stronger, the subdued intensity of “Disappointment Rock†really looks back to Paul Westerberg and Rumbleseat. The melodramatic vocals put on the disc are a constant in a time of differing arrangements and staggered arrangements (Greyhound Bus). The…
This CD shows off the much more chaotic aspect of emo music, and we could not have found a better band to show us this than benton falls. Intense burst of emotion force the listeners’ attention to be immediately directed to the CD itself, regardless of whatever the listener might be doing. I would say to literally drop whatever one is doing and plant themselves on a comfy chair or…
The straight forward rock sound of Benlavain works well with the slightly snotty lead vocals of Oren. With a healthy dollop of sixties psychedelic rock, Benlavain just as successfully blend the two disparate styles as either Ming Tea or Lenny Kravitz could ever. Later tracks like “Ain’t Got Love For Yo†move further back into the psychedelic realm, with enough distortion to take over practically all facets of a track.…
Starting out with indie gold in “I Need You Backâ€, Brooklyn’s Ben Kweller shows that ey hasn’t lost eir’s ear for successful, poppy yet chock full of indie cred tracks. Fred Eltringham and Mike Stroud, Kweller’s drummer and guitar respectively, are essential to create the perfect, free from the restraints of time sound of Kweller, sounding at times like an early Tom Petty or even current wunderkind Ted Leo. The…
There is a definite difficulty in trying to categorize or even talk about what type of band …Bender is. The closest thing I can come with is an ambient band that creates soundscapes, not ever conforming to what would be expected from them if they were a more conformational band. Vocals on tracks such as “Trouble Is†are not just to purvey a specific message but also to step in…
Dates in support of collaborative album Dark Developments include stop at Carnegie Hall for REM tribute night.
Yet another of the oddly-premised bands off of the Columbus-based label Diaphragm records, Behemoth plays a type of down-and-dirty punk music that reminds one of “Jesus Built My Hotrodâ€- era Ministry meets ZZ Top and Black Sabbath. While I am going purely by the cd liner notes, the band looks to have an average age of 35, and yet still rocks out more than kids that are 20. With guitars…
B.I.T.E.’s vocalist Adam sounds as if eir does not have English as a native language. This is not to say that ey screws up verbs and tenses, but rather the accents on some of the syllables on “No Direction†are a little odd compared to most American English speakers. The recording on “No Direction is a little rough as well, favoring a gritty/high end feel that gives much greater attention…