Emotive is the recent five-song EP released by Brad Rondeau. All of the five songs contain just his voice, a guitar and just enough pent up energy to not make the songs drag. The guitar playing isn't overly complicated and relies on basic chords throughout (although he occasionally utilizes some fingerpicking). What makes the songs work are his lyrics, which throughout add enough creativity to keep you interested as to what he might say next. As far as the overall mood of the songs it doesn't change much as he seems to be fine with a lugubrious tone that never seems to change.
He starts the album with one of the highlights “Emotive,” which overstays its welcome by a tad but still works. One of the best lines of the song is the first one in which he states “give me hair give me skin, give me all of your oxygen, give me skies give me open air take my hand and I’m never scared. “Look At Me” almost feels like a continuation of “Emotive.” It’s a solid song but Rondeau’s vocal delivery, his tone, as well as the guitar playing were similar enough that I had to make sure I wasn't listening to the same song. “I Don’t Care” had one of the best vocal performances on the album as Rondeau repeats the phrase “and I don’t even care” while the closer “Anything” has the prettiest guitar progressions on the album. What I appreciated about this album was the obvious heartfelt intention and raw emotion that was apparent not only in his voice but his guitar playing. The downside is that there weren't many flavors to choose from. I don't mind anyone doing their thing with a guitar and their voice but you it sometimes beneifical to vary the emotional landscapes to keep the listener on board with your creative vision. In the end the good outweighs the bad and Rondeau proves he has a lot of innate talent as a songwriter.
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Tom Heath is off to a decent start. His recent EP Who Fights Who Falls contains well-crafted songs with creative lyrics. According to Heath “the ultimate theme emerging is that of survival, with the middle two tracks based on relationships between characters in the books The Life of Pi (Take Anything You Want), and Battle Royale (Caged Lions)”. At its core it is folk music that is pop-oriented and relies on acoustic guitar and his voice (although there is some pleasant violin placed throughout). The recording was done on a laptop and consumer equipment and works fine when it is just his voice and guitar but when multiple instruments are introduced it is very noticeable. At its worst the mix sounds like it’s suffocating leaving no room for any of the instruments to breath. The album kicks off with “Unsettled” which gains more and more energy as it progresses. Heath’s vocal performance is confident and lays on top of the mix throughout. Unfortunately, it never truly shines because of the convoluted mix.“Take Anything You Want” works better with the minimal setup of guitar, voice, some percussion and violin. Heath puts everything he has into this performance as he plays his guitar aggressively and spews emotion into his lyrics. By the end of the song the band has locked on tight to a good groove and doesn't let go. “Caged Lions” is another solid song with some of the most engaging violin parts. Closing with “Settle Down” Heath saves the best for last delivering a dynamic vocal performance that showcases his range. There is no doubt that Heath can write a song but this EP has room for improvements. Beyond the obvious condition of the recording the performances sometimes felt forced. My hats off to Heath who still has plenty of time to refine his talents and grow as an artist.
I was beginning to listen to the Bud Collins Trio when "Jeff Lynne" came on. "I can't believe it's only Monday / I feel so tired already." There have been a few times in event memory when such straightforward lyrics have resonated so deeply within me, for it was Monday, and I was tired already. What else do these guys have to offer besides naked empathy? According to the Bud Collins Trio Facebook page, the musical entity isn't a trio but an ensemble of twelve (dodecatuplet?). Unless the page lists all of the alumni and not just the current incarnation, I didn't ask because I prefer to savor the mystery. Also, there is no Bud Collins in the band, rather the group is named for the sports journalist, whose name wasn't even Bud, it was Arthur. Again, didn't ask. Mystery. State Vector Collapse is full of the sort of offbeat pop you wish you discovered earlier in life. The music as a whole is something like Pixies breeding with those 90s garage bands whose albums wound up in the dollar bin. There are many fun instrumental and vocal harmonies to look out for, like head-noddingly good harmonies. The songs never seemed filled with sound, which is good because the stripped-down compositions work well in the band's favor. "Can't Stay Here" uses a super simple drumbeat to offset the crafty guitar work while light keyboarding filters through the fun. "Soapy Water" features very surfy guitars gently elbowing each other out of the way for your attention. "Robots Always Win" features crunchy guitar work with lilting male harmonies. It's all good stuff, pleasant to the ears and smile inducing because of how peaceful the musicians sound with each other. Lyrically this album has some awesome ideas. I already touched upon the ennui in “Jeff Lynne,” but then the Bud Collins Trio also explores man's relationship with electronics ("When did they start running cables through every space in your life"), reconciliation ("so pass around the drinks have a little for your health / because the past is just behind you, just stop talking about yourself"), and the future ("one day soon you know we're all gonna have those flying cars…living in the future we're all gonna live up on the Deathstar"). Obviously there are more themes but I grow wear of these parenthetical quotes. It's a low-key joy to listen to State Vector Collapse. The ruckus and rhythms produced by the Bud Collins Trio put me in a good mood, and frankly that's the bare minimum in what I look for in music as I become a bitter old adult. It took me all of five seconds to begin to enjoy Late Nights. The gritty blues opening lick on "Denver" plainly states, "You'll either like this or you won't." Luckily, I love the hell out of some melancholy garage rock, and despite Unruly Things' debut EP having only five tracks, they deliver what I love in spades.
Unruly Things is a trio comprised of Nate Hutchinson on guitars and lap steel, Pete Albertson on bass and Brian Pelham on drums. All the guys share vocal duties. Their music is forlorn, raw and very, very contained. In garage rock, this usually spells disaster; you simply don't try to contain a style of music that excels in noisy hooks. This is not the case with Unruly Things, who give their energy into making forlorn, usually quiet numbers that almost sound like eulogies. I say garage rock because the sensibilities are there; the stripped-down instrumentation, the guitar-focused tracks, tough bass lines and of course the classic three-piece set-up. "Denver" is an excellent opener but I'd forgive anyone who also said it's the most deceptive cut on Late Nights. A fast-paced opener that relies on plaintive vocals and anxious guitars (regular and bass), the song boasts some pretty cool imagery: "Down in Denver all I did was die / kneeling on the grass I looked to the sky / blinded by the moonlight shining through the pines / all I did was die." It’s a pretty lengthy chorus that dominates the verses but it also shows the band's propensity for strangely infectious hooks, and the mood shift at the end where the instruments tone it down and the background vocal harmonies is a surprisingly welcome closing. The beginnings of the next track, "A Fool's Ballad," is equally surprising, what with its military rat-a-tatting percussion leading into a funeral procession of quiet flutes and constrained guitars. The restrictions follow up on "Worse Everyday" for the first half at least, until the boys let loose with much faster drumming and punchier bass lines. The final two tracks are similar in sound, though the closer, "This Highway," places much more emphasis on bass. The band continues their brand of intriguing melancholy before ending it all with a simply guitar lick and drum break. There's something creepy a foot that doesn't strike you until the end of the EP (hence why I'm mentioning it at the end of this review), a barely-concealed fascination of anxiety and foreshadowing that leaves you a bit uncomfortable. It sounds like garage rock; in fact several times I was reminded of a deconstructed Archie Bronson Outfit. But outside of "Denver," the EP's best track and the most straightforward rock song, the band blends in negative feelings that don't need several amps or scratchy production to convey their discontent. Late Nights is a different flavor of a familiar treat, and very recommended. Lenny Pinnix and Kris Gerheauser are two seasoned musicians who had their band break up and wanted to get back to their roots by playing original acoustic music. It didn't take much time for them to release their first record Honor & Lies under the moniker The Plot Against The King, which blends technically proficient guitar playing with subtle electronic elements that combine to make a rather relaxing and sometimes hypnotic album. Honor & Lies has a new age vibe to it at times which I didn't mind and at other times the music sounds like something you might hear on a Notwist, Hood or Air album. I preferred the material that contained intricate percussive elements and synths as it more often than not created a complex concoction of textures that burst with variation. The recording wasn't bad except the guitar sounded a little bit too metallic during certain times with not enough warmth. You may not notice on a consumer sound system but when just the guitars were playing it was noticeable on my headphones. The album starts off with a strong track called “Rookie.” I was immediately attracted to the warbly, vortex synths that reminded me of an Amon Tobin record. The drums are front and center on this track while the guitars create a spacious atmosphere. “Intelligent Design” sheds everything besides their guitars and is the track that makes you realize how technically sound these guys are. They go off with flamenco style picking that creates a cascade of soothing tones. “Your Face” is one of the highlights on the album that utilizes complex drum programming to add more ear candy to the great guitar picking. “Honor & Lies” is an instrumental album that had enough variation between the stripped down acoustic guitars tracks and electronic fused material to keep me interested enough to not miss vocals. The album is a solid introduction to the band.
Clap along towards the end of “We the People.” I’m sure it won’t be one of the only songs that will be leaving you hanging on to your chair by your fingernails. Mortigi Tempo is made up of Christopher Fallo (guitar/vocals), Nicolas Allen (guitar/keys/vocals), Marz Leizureman (drums) and Jason Clift (bass/vocals). Remember these names; remember the album title, which has a flare of igniting an engine on fire or in this case my own brain, Bob Your Head Suzie. Once some time had passed with shows being played and with writing songs, this band decided they should record an album. The third track “Shun the Light,” vibrates a raw inducing coma, which could make your tongue numb by the number of plays you’ve recounted. While the distortion has a wall of sound, the melodies do not become lost inside of the ordeal. Promptly it’s the other way around, this successful blend of casual jamming and teasing riffs allow their influences to run wild. They have two songwriters after formally joining together the band The Lucky Strikes and Mortigi Tempo, the shared powerhouse of rock n’ roll phenomenon has risen in a chanting tone. This ten-track album has songs well over the five-minute mark, but you won’t even notice. You know how some albums, you end up waiting for that next song to play, no don’t worry about that with these guys. The song “I’m No Genius” creates this beautiful varying hint of psychedelic blues that makes wandering in a desert a visual past time. It incorporates keys and guitar together, which sometimes can come off as a love song with a hair metal twist. Lucky for us, this track has all the traces of a connection made between the heavenly strings and keys that are supposed to sound ethereal as you continue to listen. Then, as if this doesn’t already feel like a storybook, flipping the pages to the next surprise. As the “Interlude” plays peacefully into the space, “Come On In” feels close to a mixture of early punk inspired ideas that have led you down the right musical path. “Feelin’ You” just confirms my previous statement. Muting of the guitar chords adds a sinister approach with lyrics that want to feel you, justifying that there is a difference between actually knowing how to manipulate their instruments instead of just lightly strumming or patting them. “You Led Me On To Believe” has to have been a conversation that took place between Iron Butterfly and Jimi Hendrix while they watched King Crimson perform “21st Century Schizoid Man.” Then just like that, with a snap of your fingers, the last track “Tired Heart” feeds you as if it were mother’s milk. Words that puncture towards a climax which exceeds half way through the song; depicting a story of mind and time and it is with this album alone, I would travel to Utah to see this band play live.
What began as a creative partnership between musicians Andy Delisi and Dan Sadler of Kingston, Ontario became a four-piece after the pair moved to Toronto. With the additions of Pat Daniher and Joseph Mcdonald, the band took the name Art & Woodhouse and played their first show in March of this year. A month later, they released their first EP entitled "A Sides.” Now, they're back with the five songs that make up Dream in Disguise. The songs on the EP were primarily written by singer Andy Delisi, with the exception of "Elephants," which was written by Delisi and Dan Sadler together. Delisi also arranged the strings and extra non-band instruments that make up a lot of the ambient aspects of the music. The band recorded at their apartment in Kensington Market as well as Hive Studios and their producer's studio in Toronto. First impressions of Dream in Disguise were that these guys have spent a lot of time listening to Paul McCartney's work with Wings. Everything from the arrangement to the orchestration in the opening track "Dream In Disguise" screams of McCartney. The band is equal parts Barenaked Ladies and the artist-formerly-known-as-Cat-Stevens in "Elephants.” The Wings comparison comes in strong again with "Goodbye, Goodnight" a song that reminds me of the feel of the London Town album. It's also the shortest song on the EP and begs to be played a few times through before moving on to the next track. "GreenHouse" is kind of more of the same as the rest of the tracks. It's more Barenaked Ladies than Cat Stevens but it still sits in that general vein and does so well. The band is anything if not focused. They close out the song with a live recording of a song called "Mrs. Stevens" which shows that the band is just as in tune with each other live as they are in the studio. This is a very old feeling EP. The ground that Art & Woodhouse is covering is very well trodden and it's trodden by some very big shoes but the band manages to fill those shoes with a surprising amount of grace. These guys are talented and have a definite ear for what their predecessors did with music.
Cambridge is a band from Fayetteville, Arkansas that was recently formed in early 2013 by Ryan Faires. I'm not sure how they could have already released an impressive ten-song album entitled Solar Plexus. For starters they sound like the far distant cousin of the band Vampire Weekend and they have recorded the album on their laptop instead of in a professional studio. The songs are minimal, often have some tasteful percussive elements and are vocally focused songs. Throughout the songs are good - the only major distractor being that the album was recorded three different places (Paris, TX, Fayetteville, AR and Watercolor, FL). This normally wouldn't matter but there is a substantial difference between quality and volume throughout that could have been rectified during the mixing and mastering stage but wasn't. The album starts out with one of the strongest songs called “Carmen Sandiego.” A clean guitar, handclaps and other percussion elements make up a spacious, rhythmic canvas for Faires to sing over. The song is extremely catchy. His vocals seep with a childlike tone that fits the music like a glove. “You’ve Gotta Tell Me” isn’t too shabby but isn't quite as well put together as “Minette.” While Vampire Weekend references may be obvious on this one it doesn't take away much from the song. The song feels like being beachside and from start to finish the song acts like a dose of relaxation. “Lashes Are Up To Bat” is a solid song but texturally inconsistent with the previous song “Minette.” The EP closes with “Honey, the Sweetest,” which has enough of a long reverb on Faires’ vocals that make him sound as if he is singing from the mountains. Faires considers this album a demo but what's impressive is that this demo sounds better than a lot of DIY indie records. Don’t get me wrong that are still areas of improvements, particularly in engineering, that would have benefited the fluidity of the album but there is without a doubt some good material on this effort.
Stan Hulsey has been involved with music for a while. For the past 17 years he has played in various bands (including CHETT), performed in hundreds of shows and even has had his music used for television. As a drummer he decided he wanted to explore new territory so he started a solo project entitled Standby for Transmission. He recently wrapped up his first effort The Disconnect, which is a diverse album of indie rock songs that he recorded and mixed himself. There’s a mixed bag of songs on this album. They are well written but often suffer from production issues (nothing major – his vocals seemed to lay on top of the mix at points, the guitars were sometimes lacking some mid-range and the low end was a bit muddy).
Hulsey often rocks out but some of the best moments on the album are the ones that are the most subdued. Take for instance the title track “The Disconnect,” which sounds a bit similar to Local Natives in the way that he combines reverb-laced clear guitar and vocal harmonies to form an attractive lush landscape. Another solid number is “Get Out,” which successfully combines electronic and organic instruments. The song starts off sounding like something you might hear from The Postal Service and eventually mutates into a rock song. Hulsey delivers some of his best vocal melodies on “Dance” when he sings “Promise me, that you won’t break my heart / Dance with me, I won’t waste your time.” Some of the songs such as “Rain” and “Crazy” that called for distorted guitars and were taking up lots of frequency space weren't working that well with lo-fi aesthetic. Besides some production issues on a couple of songs The Disconnect contains a surplus of tunes that are well-thought out and worth your time to listen to. If at first you don’t succeed, make your own rules. This is the mantra that Louisville band The Colours of Kings uses for motivation and it’s a theme that you can hear throughout their debut EP Up. Much of the charm that accompanies this album and offers a sense of perspective comes from the band’s witty, honest description of themselves and the music they sought to make. Up takes the theme of human nature and cloaks it in easily digestible new wave pop rock tracks that grasp the mind and get stuck in your head for days. “My Heart is a Drum Machine” kicks the EP off with a layered rhythm of keyboards and simple drum track. The lyrics are clearly written and the vocals are perfectly suited for this style of music. I found myself humming along to the chorus fairly quickly, and enjoyed the electrified guitar solo halfway through. The second track is titled after the band’s name, and seems to serve as an autobiographical song. The lyrical content of this song is deeper than the preceding track; the metaphor describes a person pretending to be grandiose but is simply hiding behind a mask of lies. “This Year’s Hometown Hero” starts with an impressive low end that supports the song. Here, we find more attitude and hear a more raw representation of the music being played. The vocals get stronger and stronger with each successive track, and nicely take turns with a swirling melody. The EP closes on a more heartfelt note with “We’re An Archipelago.” Though it follows a similar composition and overall musical style to the other songs, this one sounds a bit more mournful and sad, almost wistful. It ends quickly, opting to close things out with a bang rather than drawing them out. In the context of the album as a whole, it’s a fitting close. This is what you want from an EP: enough similarities between songs to give a good idea of the band’s general sound, but enough differences to give a sense of range and keep things interesting. I love that though the songs sound upbeat and poppy and are easy to listen to, the lyrical content is deep and well written poetry; it provides a contrast of expectations that is a lot of fun to explore and hear. This is a great debut piece, and it will be interesting to see how this band grows and to hear where their music will go from this point forward.
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