It has been quite a few months since Hopeless changed emo music with their release of the first Amber Pacific EP. How would All Time Low measure up to these emo stars? “Coffee Shop Soundtrack†is how All Time Low starts out this disc, and surprisingly throws in a heavy amount of rock with their Starting Line-style of emo rock. The band’s second track of the disc, “Break Out! Break…
Alli With An I is an example of what would happen if bands like All American Rejects or Taking Back Sunday had something called talent. Two-part harmonies happen in all parts of AWAI’s music, whether it be in the most obvious of places (vocals), or even with extremely complimentary guitars or even bass/drum lines. Tom and Matt’s vocals work perfectly in what is now being called screamo, and to my…
Everything you thought you knew about Allister should be thrown out the window. No longer just a pop punk outfit riding the coat tails of the movement, but a grown up multi dimensional band with a closet full of skeletons, in which they let pour out in their brand new release Before the Blackout. The album dishes out the tasty pop flavor of Allister that we’ve all come to know…
I don’t know many of the names of those individuals that are mentioned as the writers of the songs on this live set. Of course, Allison starts out with the B.B. King classic “Rock Me Babyâ€, a track that gets individuals out of their seats and bouncing around. The guitar work is absolutely amazing during this track, and the bass struggles to keep alongside of it.
Let’s see if I can explain what this album is. You see, GG released an album called “Murder Junkies†with Antiseen in 1991. It fluctuated in and out of print until 2003, when TKO re-released the album with an extra track or two. TKO decided that the first run of vinyl and CDs were not enough for all of the scumfucks throughout the world, so they decided to re-release this…
Danny Allen starts off “Howdy†with a very sedate, surf-influenced type of alt-rock track that really leaves eir listeners unsure of where the disc will go in the subsequent tracks. The second track “Scattergun†is much more decisive and works off a Cake/Beck framework, inserting a much more insistent set of guitar lines than would be present in either of the names previously dropped. Something that immediately comes to the…
“Change is Inevitable†is a marathon track in its own right. This is not necessarily the type of music that individuals will be filing into dance clubs to hear, but for those slower, more low-key house parties what Ian Allen commits to disc here might just be the ticket. What is nice on “Nova’s Lounge†is that there are a mix of short and long tracks; if individuals start to…
It’s been a few years since Alien Ant Farm last cut a new album. A number of different musical revolutions have happened in the meantime. Will Alien Ant Farm move toward Fall Out Boy, or still go with the same style that was cultivated during tracks like “Moviesâ€. “Bad Morning†is a track that comes out with a harder version of Alien Ant Farm than I remember; the band has…
Starting out “Watch Out!†with a fairly amelodic set of guitar riffs, Alexisonfire gets their fans on board with an all-encompassing whoa-oh-oh chorus and a chugging bass line. The bridge on the first track, “Accidents†stretches out for a little too long, and the echoed vocals of Dallas only weakly hold the power that the whoaed-out chorus may have. The assault by Alexisonfire is stuck right in the middle of…
A very sedate style of music that mixes together Radiohead, Neil Young, and David Bowie, Akron/Family begins their self-titled CD with a track that almost seems dated in its delivery. “Before and Again†is much more before than again, an anachronism that is fixed with “Suchnessâ€. The flittering flutes of “Suchness†afford the track some atmospheric relevancy – it honestly feels as if one is outside when listening to the…
The approach taken by Akron/Family during their “Meek Warrior†is interesting, to say the least. There still seems to be a down-home type of rock, but the title track is much more bouncy. The distinct vocals that come forth on this track are bolstered by the on-again off-again guitar track. This is not the most polished production that one can hear, but the cozy way that Akron/Family is recorded on…
Akercocke has a sound that no one can deny is hard, but there seems to be some caressing of the listeners on songs like “Verdelet†that really makes the argument of this disc into a bifurcated one. While there is definitely a thrashy, Slayer-like sound to the band, there is (and may actually be more present) a Paradise Lost meets Blind Guardian like sound to Akercocke’s style on “Wordsâ€.The band…
When I saw this CD I was expecting nothing but overbearing indie rock that would have me wanting to kill myself between the fifth and sixth track. I was wrong, as Mike Ness says, as tracks like “Ocean Close†show a nice mixture of the Doors, R.E.M. and the B-52s, all packaged together with a fairly convincing mastering. The overall tone of the disc is solidified with “Duke The Deadman…
Now, Air Supply has to be behind the 8 ball when it comes to “The Singer and the Songâ€. First off is the fact that the band has not charted in a meaningful way for about 20 years, and secondly, that this is an acoustic album. Acoustic albums usually only get picked up by fans of the group, of which there quite a few still around (175,000 attendance at a…
The electronic sound of “Bonus Jack†is not necessarily influenced by Devo, but it really comes out of a more current techno / electronic vein . The bass line of “Hectrometre†really casts Airport 81 into a different vein, Each of the tracks on “Put Your Squares Together†has a completely different set of influences; a song like “Low Speed Impact Test†really seems to be pushed forward by a…
I was amazed by Ahleuchatistas when I first was lucky enough to see them at AMC 2004, but their album goes just as far showcasing their Primus-like spurning of traditional chord and time structures. Allowing for a high amount of continuity between “Cracked Teeth†and “Ecstasy Combat Bootsâ€, Ahleuchatistas are impressive any way one sees the band, whether it be the Neil Peart like bass lines of Derek or the…
Very few artists come out of Iceland. However, those that are able to break it big internationally are able to achieve some modicum of success. This is the case with Agust, as there are very interesting compositions that mark tracks like “If You Leave Me Nowâ€. Know that this is not the Chicago track, but rather a track that blends together classical compositions with Agust’s love for acts like Jethro…
Wow, what can people say about Agoraphobic Nosebleed. In the time that it took me to write these words up, five or six songs have blasted by. This is beyond thrash, this is light-speed metal and don’t let anyone tell the band otherwise. Individuals would have to be on speed just to begin to comprehend the urgency in which Agoraphobic Nosebleed creates all of their music. It is serious as…
The style of music that The Aggrolites play is a classic brand of reggae and ska. The music is not the blend of ska and punk that Tim would have in Rancid, but rather something (that during tracks like “Thunder Fistâ€) recall the sixties more than anything else. The tracks are newer but each of the songs feel as if they should be a reggae classic. The production of this…
Wow, Agent Sparks really wants individuals to focus on them instead of their previous act. This honest demeanor really means a lot, considering one could easily float on the success of an act like Audiovent, or even somewhat on the fact that the act has siblings of members from Incubus. However, “It’s Not My Time†succeeds even though Agent Sparks has all these outs to become lazy. The style is…