There has been resurgence within the indie-emo genre lately, and these advocates of punctuation are taking cues from American Football and Sunny Day Real Estate.The A-side features Empire! Empire!’s, “If We Had Found You Any Later, You Would Have Drowned!” This murky track opens with a beautiful and bleak intro. A little over a quarter of the way into the song, Keith Latinen sings a drawn-out verse that suggests “…youth is wasted on youth.” The song is slow but well written.On the B-side, you’ll find Into It. Over It.’s fifth release in their, “Twelve Town” series. The first of two tracks is, “Brenham, TX.” An upbeat romp with catchy melodies and stronger vocals than Empire! Empire!’s track. The next song is “Buffalo, NY.” This is a mid-tempo number similar to something Death Cab for Cutie would write. It’s the weakest of all three songs.Both bands have something to offer with this split. Empire! Empire!’s side grows on you the more you focus on the guitar work. Into It. Over It.’s side grabs your attention quicker and gets you dancing. However, they leave you bored by the end. Read more
Could there possibly be any more strange a pairing than the two artists that participate in this split release? Sure, … Read more
At their heart, Buffalo Moon plays whimsical indie pop with a playfulness that is grounded by moments of straight-faced seriousness. … Read more
Dave Hause is no secret to anyone that listens to punk rock. He is known for being one of the … Read more
Back in 2002 a song appeared on a Give ‘em the Boot comp. from a band named Devil’s Brigade. The … Read more
Who ever said louder isn’t better? Joyce Manor have been breaking down the walls of every town they play up … Read more
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I, for one, was initially startled by The Mars Volta. Their melding of prog-rock and post-hardcore required the status of a level-32 dwarf. Maybe it was Cedric's multidimensional vocabulary or Omar's guitarscapades, but they got boring real quick. Simply put, the Mars lacked Volta. My replacement and newest musical addiction was run by a thousand engines and possessed by one word: Gospel. With previous members in 90's Level Plane type bands and their first release as a split with Kodan Armada, one might expect a screamy sound from Gospel. But these assumptions are immediately frozen on The Moon is a Dead Place as we hear eight songs of near nonstop mind-wandering rock. If talent doesn't scare you away and listening to dense instrumentation that doesn't wander down a tech metal … Read more
Having more than a passing appreciation for spaghetti western films, particularly the Man With No Name trilogy A Fistful Of Dollars, For A Few Dollars More, and the truly epic The Good, The Bad, And The Ugly), I am compelled to check out any band or group that carries any of that iconography or is themed similarly, if only to … Read more
Liam Singer plays the role of musical journeyman having been back and forth across the states playing with a multitude of different bands of many different types. He has a strong background in piano, theremin, and harpsichord among other instruments. These instruments let Singer provide a colorful and full backdrop for his calm story songs. After a few solo albums … Read more
Trouble in Mind is getting to the point with their cover art. The point is: let the music stand for itself. Or maybe it’s just a copout since they think everybody will download it instead. Anyway, with their fifteenth release, the label sticks to their favored style: Midwestern pop-flavored garage. Sticks N Stones may stick rather firmly to genre conventions, … Read more
At Our Heels is a young band coming out with a strong EP last year but never getting as much recognition as that EP probably deserved. They are certainly not a hype band or even getting any real talk outside of a few vague mentions. Strangely, this does more good than bad for them. What has resulted in this case … Read more
Seattle has always been a city with a vibrant and active music scene and it appears they survived the grunge attack of the 90’s and are beginning to really deliver some great new bands not stuck in the genre. Hotels is just one of those bands with a new wave inspired sound that brings me back to the days of … Read more
The only phrase that could describe my emotion right now is absolutely gushing, because “Inflatable Dream” is finally playing on my record player after years of obscurity as the “lost” Cave In song that blows away many other Cave In songs, and dear lord does its blasting goodness just make my 1999 barely twenty year old self scream like a … Read more
Motion City Soundtrack fans rejoice this EP simply titled #2 from Farewell Continental, is a side project of lead singer Justin Pierre’s. This is actually their second EP and contains six tracks of tunes available in two media choices, vinyl or digital download. This is one of the bands still pushing the vinyl media choice, their first EP was a … Read more
Hauntingly beautiful, The Crystal World is precisely that; and I seriously cannot believe that this almost slipped beyond my notice because Locrian has just simply blown me away with this record of harrowing soundscapes and buried melodies that coax your subconscious into a dream like state. I sincerely mean it; this record is one of those have to hear records … Read more
Bombay Sweets is a Minneapolis band consisting of Nathan Grumdahl (Selby Tigers, Dynamiters) and drummer Jeff Brown (His Mischief). Although the project has expanded beyond Grumdahl’s one-man-band vision, it remains his lovechild. Even with multiple instruments at play, the primary components remain Grumdahl’s guitar and voice. The project is heavily steeped in old 60s records, with R&B-derived rock at its … Read more
Have you ever listened to the record at the wrong time and have it just put you off on that record even though your reaction was not the record’s fault? Well, good for you if this never happens to you; but this scenario does occur to me from time to time, and, unfortunately, it can put my potential enjoyment of … Read more
Whiskey & Co.’s sound hasn’t changed, even if a couple members have. On their third record, the Gainesville band continues their old-school flavored country that spends as much time regretting past decisions as it does swilling beer at the corner bar. Like its predecessors, Rust Colors mines familiar themes- exploring the emotional gamut and adding a bit of boogie-down twang … Read more
Nahemah are a rather different band. Coming out of Spain a country not generally known for their metal and playing a style different than most. They play a style of metal that involves prog, post metal and death metal among others. While some might read that description and picture a band not being able to find a direction and coming … Read more
“To best enjoy this album… try new things” So starts one of the catchiest records this year this side of the Descendents and Rites Of Spring and maybe you do not fit the description given in this opening soliloquy set to music but that does not mean to stop listening by any means, but rather it puts you in the … Read more
Knowing full well this album was dropping this year (it was on my albums to look forward to in 2010 list last year), I was surprised by its release and caught unaware that it had finally dropped to the public; and this definitely affected the way that Recitation hit me for some strange reason. I sit here and say, “You … Read more
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