Pop punk is a genre that has an international reach. The Shout, a four-piece band comprised of Colm Cunningham (lead vocals/guitar), Gavin Elmore (drums), Darren Carlisle (lead guitar) and Dermot Hughes (bass), hail from Ireland but have the characteristics of pop punk from anywhere else in the world. The Shout have done their homework when it comes to knowing what will appeal to the masses. Their recent release WRITE-DELETE-REPEAT contains radio ready songs a younger audience will eat up without much hesitation.
The album starts with “Wait For Me” which is a solid opener that has everything you would want to appeal to fans of the genre. It contains a rumbling energy that starts with a drumbeat that holds everything together. Guitar and bass are strategically placed and the vocalist has a recognizable voice that feels familiar to the genre. The chorus hits fast and hard with crashing drums, soaring guitar and effective vocal harmonies. The young band’s ironic song “When We Were Young” contains old Green Day style power chord progression that combines with a lot of the tropes you would expect from 2015 pop punk.”The One” is an exuberant, upbeat song that bursts with optimism. The band has some of their best moments when they display some unconventional changes during the verse. As with most modern pop punk it's not unusual to have at least one emotionally grandiose ballad. There is no exception here with the closer “Where Do We Go From Here.” They implement orchestral strings and reach for the heavens. WRITE-DELETE-REPEAT is a perfectly produced record that never deviates from what you would expect. The Shout is talented but often seem to be relying on a formula they all but perfected. The fact is that this is such a popular genre and there are so many bands who sound similar to The Shout that the competition will be strict. I would encourage the band to start experimenting outside of their comfort zone and look for the X-factor that could distinguish them from a genre that is already past its prime.
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Ben Benton, Callum Lausberg and Tom Cullinane make up the band Lionhouse. Their recent debut Inches of Ashes showcases a rock band that is in the embryonic stage of their development and shows some potential. There aren't too many unique elements in the music at this point but you can hear influences from bands from the late ‘70s to the mid ‘90’s.
The biggest issue with this release is the recording quality. Suffice it to say there are many things to be desired. Inches of Ashes sounds like a live recording where there is little clarity and separation. On top of that the songs are at different volumes which is problematic when trying to listen to the release all the way through. The EP starts with “Screwball” which sounds like certified ‘70s hard rock. I enjoyed the crunchy riff and vocals. That being said the vocals are so muddy and unclear I could only make out a couple of words here and there. There is a hint of Queens Of The Stone Age during a couple of different sections. Be warned that the second song “Truth” is about 4 to 5 dbs louder than the first! That being said the song is a decent effort and I enjoyed the overall vibe and feel. For some odd reason the third song “Big Sur” drops in volume and also drops the 70’s vibe that the previous songs had. There is a contemporary 2015 mainstream rock feel to this song. “Isn't That A Boys Name?” has a bit of funk mixed in with the hard rock. As the album progresses the songs are hit and miss. You can occasionally hear inspired moments on songs like “Kindred Spirit” and “Beautiful Disarray.” The band is currently working on a full length and I hope this time around they are recording in a professional studio or working with an engineer. These songs were unequivocally held back in a number of ways. Musically, the band wears their influences on their sleeves and a majority of the songs were well-written if predictable. The band has a lot of work to do if they want to compete with some of the best we have in music today. Hopefully, the band will be more realized on their next effort.
The Upsides, consisting of Alec Chen (vocals, guitar), Daniel Hornett (guitar, backing vocals), Michael Morelli (drums, backing vocals) and Tyler Piehl (vocals, bass), is a four-piece band that recently released a four-song EP entitled Triathlon. I’ll get to the point quickly that the band has some decent ideas but are going to have to do something about the quality of their recording quality.
The band kicks things off with “So Saccharine” in which the instruments have zero separation and end up sounding like a blanket of white noise. It’s a decent if predictable punk song but the recording quality makes it unlistenable. The second track “Untitled is a Title” starts with a lone guitar. Out of nowhere the lead singer belts out a melody that is completely off-key and grating. The song becomes listenable as it progresses. More instrumentation is added and the band's best moment comes at about the three-minute mark. “Chautauqua” contains buried indistinguishable vocals and is in desperate need of compression. Out of the three songs this one had the most potential but still fell short because of the recording quality. Far and away the best sounding track is “Hand in Hand.” The recording quality is at least that of the demo and demonstrates why the band has some potential. Luckily the band is in the embryonic stage but still have a lot of things to do in order to compete with some of today's best music. The vocalist is often hitting wrong notes and his tone isn’t exactly flattering with. He often sounds drunk and unfocused while he sings but occasionally shows promise. The music itself doesn’t display many original aspects but hopefully the band will improve with the next release.
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Edward Phillips is singer-songwriter based out of Newark, NJ who plays psychedelic folk rock comparable to that of Kurt Vile, J Mascis and War On Drugs. His latest effort House of Natural is a complete lo-fi DIY effort that contains a surplus of well-written songs that fans of the aforementioned artists should enjoy.
There aren’t too many artists barking up the same tree as Phillips and that's why his music is easy to enjoy. That being said, I think fans of Kurt Vile in particular will see a lot of similarities not only in the way the chords were strummed but the vocal delivery. Phillips does a good job with a basic recording setup. Everything sounded pretty good although it is immediately obvious that it wasn’t from a professional studio. There were times I thought his vocals were too distorted and that some of the songs were noticeably louder which came down to an issue of mastering. The album kicks off with a highlight entitled “Crush.” It’s a simple guitar riff and vocal melody but it works well. The groove is easy to enjoy but there were times when the digital distortion was more than noticeable. “Is It Lonely” has an anthemic quality to it but after listening to the first songs it feels like some essential frequencies were missing. The vocal line holds the song together and is rather memorable. Phillips continues to pound out good songs as the album progresses with “Changing All The Time” and “Reminisces.” “Watermelon Sugar” is a laid back psychedelic dream that floats away while “Make Her Want To” has some Beatles-esque qualities. Overall, House of Natural is a very enjoyable album that is consistent in terms of quality songs. Phillips can write a tune and knows what works. The next thing for him to do would be to get the production and aesthetic quality to the next level. Phillips material with a good producer in a professional studio might be the way to go for his next release.
Benjamin Brekke is a solo artist who recently released a five-song EP entitled Be Not Afraid. Be Not Afraid is a mixed effort showcasing some solid performances and songs. Each song has a distinct flavor and shows a difference side to Brekke’s strengths. I should tell you now there are overt Christian themes within the music. Brekke is a bit more open about his relationship with that as opposed to someone like Sufjan Stevens. The symbolism and references aren’t ambiguous.
The EP starts with “Love Came Down” which sounds like ‘90s alternative rock and all the tropes that comes with that. That being said, there were some inspired moments that occasionally shine through. I thought the highlight of the EP was “Better Man.” How can you really resist the combination of tuba and ukulele? It really is pretty fantastic. There are also some other horns in the mix, which elevate the song. It’s an infectious song overall and arguably contains the best vocal performance. The next song “Little Things (St. Therese)” is a pretty infectious, upbeat song. It starts with a Penny Lane type vibe but gets a little lost along the way. The verse is solid but Brekke’s voice starts to break when he sings the line “I don’t have the strength for it all.” Next is the warm, acoustic based “Mercy.” It rides like a Goo Goo Dolls song with the soft yet kind of grandiose music. It wasn’t a personal favorite but possibly the most commercial sounding and single worthy out of the five. The EP ends with “Risen.” I’m sure even if you aren't Christian you can figure out what it’s about. Themes aside the song has a Matchbox Twenty vibe that sounds unequivocally ‘90s. Brekke is hit and miss on this song. There are some lines he hits and others that made me think he still needs to find his sweet spot. In all honestly Be Not Afraid will be hard to get down with if you aren’t down with JC. Brekke’s convictions to god are apparent and if you hold similar beliefs then I can surmise that you will be more inclined to enjoy this. Either way the song with the tuba and ukulele should be able to be enjoyed by people of all religious denominations and even atheists.
When a record is described as “the sound of Roy Orbison trekking through an ageless forest” you have my attention. The P∞rtals’ aka Lévi Soulodre recent release 1+1 = is a sample-based album that is a close cousin to Girl Talk. One of the main differences being Soulodre doesn’t use nearly as many samples of bands per song.
After a brief intro the album goes into “Lake Destiny” which is the song “L.A. Woman” minus Jim Morrison. Soulodre’s vocals are distorted and good luck figuring out what he is saying. I have to admit I was missing Morrison’s vocals. There just wasn’t enough manipulation, layering or anything else to make me think otherwise. It was more or less a glorified karaoke session. Soulodre cuts up the Crystal Castles’ song “Year of Silence” but more or less sounds like a CD skipping. Remember when that happened. Soulodre’s 101 production skills can’t seem to get past repeating measures of the songs. “Winged Woman” which actually sounds like Roy Orbison is a success. The sarcastic nature of the vocals had a Ariel Pink type quality. Soulodre’s vocals are somewhere buried in “A.F.T” while the “Distance” sounds like some mysterious Knights of The Templar ritual. “Distance” is a bit comedic is nothing else. “O” is a repetitive, chaotic mess that will send your grandma into convulsions but is perfect for a younger generation that ingested a bunch of Ecstasy and is at that point where they want to hug the speakers. Steely Dan would hate this. “Good Friday” is an atmospheric mood piece perfect for Centipede 3. “Azimuth/The Whole Political History Of The Church” sounds like a deteriorating sample that makes you want throw your cat out a window and start drinking all the WD-40 you have in the house. The ten-minute song “Blueberry Picking With Grandmère (Periphery II)” is the exact opposite of the harsh, eerie qualities of the last two songs .In fact “Blueberry Picking With Grandmère (Periphery II)” is by far the prettiest thing you will hear on this album. It feels like it could fall apart but that's where some of the beauty was. I’m not sure if “Blueberry Picking With Grandmère (Periphery II)” was a sample or not but if it wasn’t Soulodre should be playing a lot more guitar on his album. The songs on 1+1= are so individual and disconnected from each other it’s hard to even call this album. It feels schizophrenic and random to say the least. I’ve listened to the album a couple of times and still don't know how to feel about it. That could be a good thing or a bad thing.
Hailing from Calgary, Canada Tod Hughes known as Tod Hughes Project is a singer/songwriter who recently released a six- song EP entitled Changing Gears. His music is warm, easy to enjoy and contains a mix between country, folk and even reggae. Some of the songs feel like hopeful motivational messages you can use to start your morning on the right foot while others are more nostalgic and melancholy. Changing Gears also sometimes just combines hope, nostalgia and melancholy into one song. The prime example of this is the very first song entitled “Let’s Dance.”
The song starts with a twang-y clean guitar, driving drums and an overall festive country flavor. Some of his lyrics paint a slightly dismal reality such as “we should be together but were both alone” while others are poignant and introspective such as “The only thing that is real is the truth, only one for me since my youth.” The song revolves around the ubiquitous theme of lost love that has been around since about as long as music has been in exisitence. Some of the songs such as “Follow Your Heart” come off a bit hokey but if you have a slight buzz I think the songs will be pretty easy to embrace. Nonetheless the song is well written and festive. Hughes revisits the same theme of lost on “Brad’s Song” which contains creative, engaging guitar work and effective female vocal harmonies. Hughes sings about “drinking alone” but the upbeat, hopeful vibe creates an interesting juxtaposition. As the album progresses the one song that stuck out to me was “The Quiet” because of the overt reggae influence. It’s a solid song but it did feel a little out of place amongst the other styles. Overall, Changing Gears is a heartfelt album that contains a lot of tropes but still gets a pass because of the delivery. The songs in terms of quality are consistent and well written if a bit predictable.
Garage and surf rock are funny, loaded, layered and complex genres. They represent youth, wildness, recklessness, ferocity, and passion, almost by nature and certainly in light of the '50s and early '60s r'n'r that created the genre. Also, almost inherently, due to the aged source material, there is a sense of dreaminess and nostalgia that comes about, from listening to old records - the auditory equivalent of a Wonder Year's episode.
These dreamy and introspective tendencies are really brought to the forefront, when combined with the ethereal distance of dream pop, as is the case on Light Years a short and bomb pop sweet EP from Boston's Aüva. Things start off with the glammy she-bop of "Into Place", with a skiffling and lighthearted drum beat - reminiscent of other garage rock revisionists like The Vivian Girls. The sparkling, chiming guitar arpeggios, and greyscale paisley psychedelia reminds me of 4ad bands like The Cocteau Twins or This Mortal Coil. This foundation is fleshed out with Aüva's distinctive 3 part harmonies, which has earned them comparisons to The Mamas & The Papas, although their much airier and sweeter. Things get a little moodier on "Sunburn", which blends Dick Dale surf-twang guitar, with a go-go beat and moody churning burning organs, which makes it come across like SoCal surf rock coming together with some Texan roadhouse psychedelia, like The 13th Floor Elevator. "Sunburn" is a good metaphor for the whole record - a day at the beach sounds refreshing, idyllic, paradisaical, but at the end you're left - sun stricken, faded, nearly crazed. "Recollections" features some tasty lead guitar, over a quick disco-like beat that has real hit potential, with its Disney-like cooing wordless vocals. Light Years rounds out with "Nothing Else", the most subdued and reminiscent track on here, although still upbeat and driving forward. "Nothing Else" is the sound of driving home from the beach, with the giant orange sunset fading in the rearview. Light Years is so short, it's like a sun fever dream that's over almost before you can register that it's begun. You return, immediately, to the beginning, to double check and see what happened. Blending garage, twangy surf rock, and dream pop is not entirely a revolutionary concept, but it doesn't need to be. Calm down, it's only music! Drop a track or two, particularly "Sunburn" or "Nothing Else" on your summer sunset mixtape, and wait for Aüva's full-length, which is due out later this year. Sparkling, sublime stuff.
The four-song EP Colored World has a very sentimental feel to it. Some of the album was first conceived of and recorded in a cabin in the remote Georgia mountains, as well as several other locations including Atlanta, but also as far reaching as Denver, Colorado. The impressive backing band, which Chaz A Chambers employs on Colored World is quite large and includes guitars, bass, synth and pedal steel to name just a few.
Colored World opens with an intro, entitled “Intro,” which builds beautifully and slowly with finger picked guitar and rhythmic drums. “Intro” goes on for about a minute, building to what is surely going to be something amazing, and then it bluntly stops. What begins then is a mild acoustic track with light hints of piano. Chambers then mutters something and then the words “Colored Walls” and the song then takes off into an orchestral fury of electric guitar and bouncy piano, along with arias of “hey” sung by both Chambers and singers Cody Sisco and Victoria Evans. It is reminiscent of “Wake Up” by Arcade Fire, and much like that song “Colored Walls” seems trapped in a moment of time, a relic, long molted from memory. However if the vocal parts were removed, the song would work well as the instrumentals are very powerful. Speaking of powerful instrumentals “Calming Pressures” is just that. It helps to showcase not only the separate talents of each musician in Chambers’ backing band, but it also showcases how well he is able to arrange large, wild, and free-flowing musical compositions. Moving from turns at alt-country to straight up rock, “Calming Pressures” is definitely a direction in which Chaz A Chambers should look to move toward Colored World sounds as musically nomadic as its conception was. And though changes of place can be muses, sometimes too many places just make things sound pieced together and not part of a larger whole. With Colored World Chaz A Chambers seems to have many roads he can follow. As he proves here he can write powerful songs in several genres, his problem being which genre to stick with.
Love, loss, Satan and Sex... what more could you need?
Her Despair are a doomy rock 'n roll duo from Berkshire, UK, combining elements of metal, punk and goth to create a sound that is chilly yet romantic, lush yet stark, that will get you through many, many dark nights. Hymns For The Hopeless is not as bleak as it sounds - it's actually a rather carnivel-esque good time, albeit a damned, haunted one. It kicks off with a falling piano refrain of "Dearly Departed". which sounds like a tense horror/thriller, ratcheted up to 140 bpm, with thick sheets of guitar and blastbeats. Her Despair flesh out their doom rock aesthetic - think The Doors or The Sisters Of Mercy - with flavors of black and doom metal, which helps iron out some of the cartoonish tendencies of Goth. Basically, to make a long story short, if you like goth, darkwave, horrorpunk but are occasionally turned off by the cheese factor, Her Despair will lift your spirits. James Riley's vocals have the classic Goth baritone delivery - think Andrew Eldritch from The Sisters Of Mercy or Type O Negative's Peter Steele - which can be a hard look to pull off, but Riley does it, with some help by badass instrumentation. As a former gothboy, I can judge this type of music pretty harshly, after listening to 1,000,000 bad cheesy goth records, so when I heard that chilly carbonite delivery, I froze, thinking I'd have to dredge the depths of my memory banks for a way to not be hideously insulting, but my fears were waylaid after a couple of songs. Even if they may SOUND like Type O Negative, they are not that. And, in light of some recent years camp explosion, most notably the band Ghost B.C., I've rediscovered an appreciation for this kind of campy, ghoulish, cartoonish romanticism. If you dig movies like The Lost Boys, or bands ranging from The Cramps to the aforementioned goth superstars, you'll love Hymns For The Hopeless. Her Despair are in the process of expanding from a duo, to put together a fully fledged live band, so they are one to keep an eye on, for sure. They've got aspirations.
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