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Music by:
Blane – “Two Legs”
The Varsity – “Bandaids and Ice”
Archives for 2006
Southcott – Flee The Scene
Artist: Southcott
Album: Flee The Scene
Label: Less Avenged | Rust
Purchase: Smart Punk
Release Date: February 7, 2006
Overall: 7.9
Music: 8.1
Lyrics: 7.5
Production: 7.8
Southcott are finally here with their debut full-lenght album on Rust / Less Avenged Records. “Flee The Scene” is filled with pop infused hooks, kicking drums, and sing along lyrics. The NY based band deliver a full 10 songs that only slightly vary in style but overall are worthing of rocking out to.
With the intro track “Where The Tabloids Won’t Find Us” we are introduced to their upbeat and catchy style. You instantly know that you will be in for a fun album after the first track. Songs like “Sin City: Your Bed Sheets, My Legacy” are very upbeat but don’t technical follow the old school pop-punk most people would think this album is going to be. On “The October Tradition” the band lay things out a little better with more dynamics and range to their instruments. When I first heard “Red Lights And Rooftops” I wasn’t to fond of the way the vocals opened up the song, but you’ll find yourself singing them soon after. “Lifeboats For High Hopes” is a great catchy song where the band mix some upbeat parts with some laid back parts for a more mid-tempo feel. The album so far has been filled with catchy songs that do carry on the same sound but are fun to listen to none the less. The band change things up with an acoustic track titled “Friendly Fire.” Although the song is slow compared to the rest of the album it’s a good change and Penningsâ┚¬Ã¢”ž¢ vocals make up for it. Wrapping up the album is the track “We’ll Take This Outside, 1:17.” The band keep their upbeat style going on this track that doesn’t fail to impress.
Ever since I first heard these new songs I knew the album would be a great listen. Overall the album goes by way to fast at just 27 minuets and you are left wanting more. If your into pop-punk then this is a must buy for the year, you can rock out and even relax to the album, its all up to you.
Track Listing
1. Where The Tabloids Wonâ┚¬Ã¢”ž¢t Find Us
2. Sin City: Your Bed Sheets, My Legacy
3. Red Lights and Rooftops
4. The October Tradition
5. Lifeboats for High Hopes
6. Vengeance Isnâ┚¬Ã¢”ž¢t the Right Word
7. Post March Third
8. Weâ┚¬Ã¢”ž¢ll Take This Outside, 12:45
9. Friendly Fire
10. Weâ┚¬Ã¢”ž¢ll Take This Outside 1:17
Standout Tracks
“Sin City: Your Bed Sheets, My Legacy”, “Lifeboats For High Hopes”, “We’ll Take This Outside, 1:17”
Paramore Interview (2) February 17th 2006
Since finishing their run on the Warped Tour this past summer and releasing their stellar debut album, Paramore have constantly been on the road. I caught up with them at home in Nashville, TN to see how things are going.
Trevor: First off, let’s get the obvious out of the way. You’ve had two member changes since the last time I talked to you. How is that working out for you?
Josh: It’s amazing.
Hayley: It’s…terrible.
(Laughter)
Jeremy: It’s so good!
(Laughter)
Hunter: It’s the best thing that’s ever happened to Paramore.
Hayley: Jeremy was actually at the last show you interviewed us, watching.
Josh: He was there wishing he was back in.
Jeremy: I was the original bass player, and then I left and..yeah.
Zac: He does a lot of smart things like that.
(Laughter)
Josh: It’s been awesome, amazing, and incredible, so yeah.
Trevor: You’ve done a lot more touring since the summer. Now be honest. How much fun are you guys having on tour?
All: A lot.
Josh: We’re so blessed to be able to show up at a venue every day and do what we love doing.
Zac: It never gets old.
Josh: It never does, but it gets cold.
(Laughter)
Trevor: What are some of the new friends you’ve made while you’ve been touring?
Zac: The Lashes.
All: The Lashes.
Hayley: Forever Changed.
Josh: We didn’t tour with them, but we met up with them and got pretty close.
Hunter: Amber Pacific. My American Heart and Halifax.
Josh: Every band we’ve been on tour with.
Jeremy: Yeah, we’ve become close with pretty much everyone.
Trevor: How did you guys hook up with Shane C. Drake for the “Pressure” video?
Hayley: That was sort of John Janick’s idea. He knew him because he had done some stuff with Fall Out Boy and Fall Out Boy was with Fueled By Ramen. So he was like, “I’d really like to see what Shane could do with you guys,” and it worked out perfectly. We’re hoping if we do a new video, he’d be interested in doing it with us, because he’s incredible.
Zac: Yeah, now that he did us, it’s just going up from here. He’s doing Panic! now and we started him off on his career!
(Laughter)
Trevor: Who came up with the concept for the video?
Josh: We all kind of did. We sitting in the van and it was all kind of sprung up on us. It was kind of rushed, so we didn’t have much time to think about it. We love the video and how it turned out, but we’re just going to make our next one a whole lot better.
Trevor: I go into my school’s university center all the time, and they’ve always got MTVu playing. Almost every time I walk in there, the video is on.
Hayley: Oh weird!
Trevor:So how does it feel to know that your exposure is steadily growing away from the internet crowd and is slowly getting more mainstream?
Hayley: It’s really evident at shows. We’ve been able to tell the difference from the Warped Tour crowd last year, and even before that, the Bamboozle crowd. You can tell a lot by the way the kids we used to play for never would scream that much. Then the new kids, I don’t know; after we did the Simple Plan tour and on the Simple Plan tour, you could just walk on stage and everyone would start screaming.
Jeremy: It was like their eyes were going to pop out. They were like, “AAAAH!”
Hunter: Everyone’s just so much more enthusiastic. It’s a good feeling.
Trevor:Are you planning on releasing a new single any time soon?
Josh: We’re hoping to. We don’t know which song, but we’re hoping to some time soon.
Trevor: I heard you were demoing some new material.
Hayley: Yeah.
Trevor: Do you have a target date to actually go in and start recording a new full length?
Hayley: No, not really. I think we wanted to be able to record new stuff, but after we came back out on tour this year, we saw how much different the response was, and how much better it was. So we want to keep this record a chance to keep growing, because I think it’s only going to get better from here. We’re actually going to play two new songs tonight.
Zac: Yeah, we play the new stuff, because there’s no set thing for it. Maybe after Warped Tour, though, we’ll play a whole new set.
Trevor: Since the summer, a bunch of fan sites have popped up and they’ve got really, really rabid readers that contriubte something every day; whether it be pictures, videos, or whatever. Did you guys ever think that would happen to you?
All: No way!
Josh: They’re crazy man. They bring us stuff to shows. They brought Jeremy a pinata for his birthday and filmed us breaking it. The brought him cake.
Hayley: Oh! What about the girl that brought us gingerbread cookies that looked like us?
Zac: Oh man, those were good!
Hunter: There’s so much candy and everything.
Zac: For some reason, I guess we’ve done interviews like, “What’s your favorite food?” and I say, “Candy I guess,” so they read it. Then they’re like, “I heard you guys like these!” and we’re like, “Thank you!” They bring the candy you like and you’re like, “Oh gosh!”
Josh: I guess it’s just hard to fathom that someone you don’t know will buy you your favorite candy just because they like your music. It’s awesome, but at the same time you’re like, “Why are you doing this? I don’t deserve this.”
Jeremy: It’s cool, though, because I love it.
(Laughter)
Zac: I swear, they’re going to put poison in it one time and I won’t care, because I love to snack!
(Laughter)
Trevor: How often do you catch yourselves wishing you were home?
Hayley: Uuuh…(laughs) I think..I think..ah..too often.
Josh: I think towards the end of a tour, everyone’s anxious to get home, but then when you’re off for a week, you’re itching to get back out on the road again.
Jeremy: Yeah, it was like today. We got here at 6:30 in the morning, we all went to sleep, and then like, we all met up for lunch. We all hugged eachother and were like, “I miss you!”
(Laughter)
Jeremy: I mean, seriously, we were hugging eachother and were like, “I saw you like what, five hours ago!” I’m not even kidding, it was the weirdest thing ever and we’re all like, “Aaah!”
Hunter: You hang out for every second of every day and then you’re gone for two hours and you’re like, “I’m so happy to see you!”
(Laughter)
Trevor: What have you been taking out on tour that keeps you sane and occupied on the road?
Hayley: Pillows.
Zac: Scooters.
(Laughter)
Josh: Movies and stuff.
Hunter: Steroids.
Josh: Haha, yeah, our daily vitamins. Hayley’s trying to get a little swollen.
Hayley: (Laughing) No! They make fun of me, because I take vitamins a lot.
Zac: Steroids.
Hayley: (Laughing even harder.) No! I just take vitamins a lot because I’m extremely paranoid about being sick.
Josh: She’s a health freak.
Trevor: I heard earlier in the week, there were a couple of rude guys at a show. So I guess I’m directing this at Hayley. How often do you have to deal with that, and when you do, how do you deal with it?
Hayley: Every night. Lately the way I’ve been dealing with it is just through our music. At the end of “Here We Go Again” we have this, I don’t want to call it a breakdown because we’re not a hardcore band, but I guess this musical outtro, and it’s pretty heavy. I just make up lyrics that kind of pertain to what’s happening. The other night, that’s kind of what happened. I just got super fed up with it. The only thing I can do is sing about it, because that’s the platform that I have at the time. I mean, I’ll say things back to them every once in a while. Like, that one night, I was like, “Why are you here?”
Josh: Yeah, she was like, “Do you even like our band?” and they were just like, “You’re hot!” and they don’t give up. So they kept on yelling and I was like, “SHH!” and they stopped.
(Laughter)
Zac: It’s cool sometimes, because like the other night we were somewhere like, Tucan, Washington or something..
Hayley: Tucan?
(Laughter)
Hayley: Tucoma.
Zac: Tucoma, Tucan, who cares?
(Laughter)
Hayley: Go on.
Zac: Somewhere in this world, we were playing, and this dude was like, “Hey play Skater Boi!” and Hayley just totally like killed him, dude. She was like, “Hey, no. We played that on our last tour.” Then the guy was like, Oh,” and at the end of “Here We Go Again” she just starts, “He was a boy, and she was a girl!” and we were on stage playing and we were like, “What is she doing?” I was like, “I’ve heard that before. Oh wait! That’s Skater Boi!”
Jeremy: You could tell that everyone was laughing at those dudes because she was like, “You should have been on that tour! It was awesome!” Then she’s like, “This song’s called Complicated!” and I was like, “What’s she doing?”
Josh: I’ve got one more story. That one night in Detroit, that was probably the worst night we’ve ever had, but they were like, “Let me touch your hand! Give me a high five!” and Hayley’s like, “You know what? No.” and everyone’s like, (All the guys) “Ooooooh!”
(Laughter)
Hunter: It was like 8-Mile.
(Laughter)
Hunter: We were there. The venue in 8-Mile.
(Laughter)
Hayley: I’m sorry, we’re definitely not sane right now.
Zac: We’re having a good time in Nashkill!
Hayley: For real, though. We’re just excited to be home, and you’re an old friend, so it’s just fun.
Trevor: (Laughing) So what are your plans for the summer?
Josh: We have Warped Tour. We’re actually going to Japan in about a week, then in April, we’re going to the UK. But yeah, after that it’s Warped Tour.
Trevor: Are you playing the full Warped Tour or are you just playing select dates?
Zac: I think a month.
Hayley: We’re playing South by Southwest also, next month in Austin Texas. That’s going to be cool.
Zac: Which isn’t the summer at all.
Hayley: Yeah, but it’s up and coming. I’m excited because Thursday is on that bill and I like Thursday.
Trevor: You’re going to get starstruck. You know you are.
Hayley: Oh, totally. (Laughter) No, see the thing is, we saw Geoff Rickley at CBGB’s when we played there last time. I don’t know, it was in New York, but he was there. We know people from labels that know him and I wanted to be like, “Hey, my friend says she knows you,” but I was so scared.
Zac: He’s a cool person, and he smells like cigarettes.
(Laughter)
Hayley: Yeah, but after that, we don’t know.
I’d also like to give a shout out to:
And to:
These kids work hard on these sites and feature the content from Driven Far Off, so I’d just like to thank them for that and tell them to keep up the good work.
Amber Pacific Interview February 15th 2006
This is my interview with Greg, bassist of Hopeless Records’ band Amber Pacific. Make sure to head to takeactiontour.com and learn about this incredible tour the band is a part of!
Please introduce yourselves, what is your name and role in the band?
I’m Greg, I play bass and wiggle around on stage all wierd like.
Letï¿Â½s start from the beginning, you used to be called Follow Through, correct?
Yea, that was our original name, we had to change it cause some homeboy in NY would sue if we used it. He owned the rights to it, even though the band had broken up. I think they were a hardcore type band sorta like Bane, except it wasnt good haha.
You guys signed with Hopeless Records before doing any major touring, how has that played out since?
Well we have been touring pretty much non-stop since then. We learned fast and are still learning. We’ve definetly paid “dues” since we’ve started touring, maybe not as much as other bands but we have had our share.
Your first tour was the warped tour, I know you guys had a great experience with the tour, tell us a little bit about it.
HOT! haha it was a blast, it was tons of hard work, tons of fun, tons of hot, bright sun. Its something we will never forget, it was just an amazing experience. We were on it the year after that and will be on it again this year. Summer doesnt feel like summer anymore if we arent on warped, its like I’m missing part of me if we arent on it.
What was it like being fresh out of high school and touring the country?
Well we all did a couple quaters of college too, but its amazing. Its a dream come true for me, i know im truely blessed every night that i stop onto a stage and theres kids out there ready to have fun.
Your debut EP and Full-length were recorded with the same producer, what made you want to go back with him?
Yea we did both of them with Martin Feveyear at Jupiter studios in Ballard Wa. We went back with him cause hes the man, hes going to make anything we want sound the way we want it. He has a rad british accent and hes just an easy going guy and knows his stuff. His sound board is amazing too.
Your one of the rare Seattle bands to not record with Casey Bates, is there any reason why?
There’s no real reason. We found Martin when we were trying to record a demo/ep that wouldnt sound like it was recorded in a garbage can and he was able to do that in the 4 days that we had to do it. We knew he was easily capable of making stuff sound way better if he had more time so we went back. All of casey bates stuff sounds good, we just never really wanted to go with anyone other then our boy Martin.
How did you connect with your drummer, Dango?
One night we flew to Nashville and put a Big Mac under a net and waited for him to take the bait then we caught him and made him one of us.
Tell us about the recent departure of one of your founding members.
Jusin wasnt actully one of the founding members, Will is the only founding member in the band still. Justin just felt he was meant to go back to school and move on from the band. We all still love the guy, people just sometimes need to do what they want/need to do.
How is your relationship with Hopeless Records? How many more records will you be releasing with them?
We love em : )
You have an opportunity to be a part of the incredible Take Action Tour this year. How do you feel about the tour, the cause, and the other bands youï¿Â½ll be touring with?
We are so excited about it. Its an amazing cause, helping those in need when they need it the most. everyone should check out www.takeactiontour.com to see everything that its about. I think I’m most exctied about Paramore being on the tour cause we just did a tour with them and i love all of them, my brothas and sista from anotha motha, so it’ll be great to see them and go to dennys and all that good stuff. Im excited to hear the new stuff the early november and matchbook romance too. Im pumped to see the boys in Chiodos too, super rad guys and good tunes. Theres so many more awesome bands on this tour like silverstien too, everyone just needs to go to takeactiontour.com and see all the good stuff that is going on in and around this tour!
Tell me about the video you just shot, youï¿Â½re very discrete on the website, can you give out any more info on it?
Im not really sure why we are being so secretive about it… but i guess i should keep being hush hush so nothing bad will happen to me in my sleep haha. We are super happy with it though, we did with Morgan Phillips down in hollywood and it was so much fun and everyone that worked on the video was super nice and rad. All i can say is that the video is rad i guess haha… ohh and you should see it popping up on fuse and different places end of feb early march… thats all i can say for now…
Any last thoughts? Comments?
Please come out to any of the take action tour dates and support a good cause, we will be there hangin out like always so come say hi!!
October Fall – A Season In Hell
Artist: October Fall
Album: Albatross
Label: Decaydance / Fueled By Ramen
Purchase: Smart Punk
Release Date: February 21, 2006
Overall: 8.5
Lyrics: 8.0
Music: 8.9
Production: 9.4
It surely has been a season in Hell for October Fall. This Chicago band has had quite an amount of drama over the past few months. With the unexpected dismissal of their bass player and questionable tourmates, there’s been a backlash from their old fan base. However, their past few tours have been gaining them more and more fans, and with a stint on Fall Out Boy’s upcoming arena tour, the kids are gonna eat this up.
All situations aside, it’s easy for me to say that this is a well written pop album. That’s right. It’s a straight up pop album. If you try to classify this as anything else, you’re just trying to nitpick at it. Try to picture if you will, a harmony-heavy, adolescent Something Corporate and you’ll have a feel for October Fall’s sound.
“Second Chances” opens the album with a spacey synth part that is joined by the bands’ normal instruments of choice. The tame verse builds up into an explosive chorus and the song proceeds to burst through your speakers and grab your attention. Then out of nowhere, there’s a country part in the middle of the song. I don’t know what prompted the band to put it there, but it seems like it fits.
“Caught In the Rain” has a melody that makes me think of an older song that I can’t remember the name or lyrics for, but I know it sounds similar to something. The beat of this song actually kind of makes me want to dance. It’s not a dance song by any means, but it’s danceable. I know that sounds contradictory, but listen to the song and you’ll probably want to grab someone and start spinning around.
The third track, which happened to be the original title of this album, “Keep Dreaming Upside Down,” is my favorite track here. During the bridge, we can hear female vocals come out of nowhere. They’re from none other than Paramore’s Hayley Williams. We all know I’m a sucker for this girl’s voice. It mixes with Pat’s for an amazing harmony, and that helps this song stick out. The drums for this song pound away and are another point you’ll probably focus on when listening.
“Walking,” which was made available on Purevolume and Myspace last year, tones things down a bit and gets serious lyrically. It’s another strong track that if you didn’t hear it before, you’ll enjoy more and more with every listen.
“It Was Summer…(Baby Steps)” would be an ideal single if the chorus was as energetic as the previous songs’. This is radio-ready material right here. These guys can craft a damn good pop song. I really like this track and my only complaint is the lack of the explosive chorus it deserves.
A SoCo-song-worthy piano part leads off “Tounge Tied.” It’s slower than the other songs, but it’s not a skippable track. I absolutely love Pat’s voice on this song. He hits some great notes all throughout it. The chorus starts off whispered and builds up, and it’s a great display of Pat’s range.
For a long time, “Hey Hey” was the only song anyone had to listen to on Purevolume and Myspace. The album version has been slightly modified, but if you’re familiar with the song, you’ll notice some of the notes in the instrumentation have been changed. The lyrics and vocals are pretty much the same. The piano sticks out way more in this version than the demo.
“Here We Go From the Top” is more of the same. It’s another song with a strong vocal display.
“Keep It Comin’ ” hops around from traditional rock to electronic. It’s complete with the spiteful lyrics that the “Taking Shape” EP had.
The last two songs on the album were the only ones I didn’t enjoy listening to as much as the others.
Like them or hate them, October Fall have delivered a debut full of songs that showcase the band’s pop-sensibilities. Anyone can write a pop song. It’s hard to write ENJOYABLE pop-songs. That’s what these are. I enjoyed listening to this album. Couple the enjoyable melodies with the synth lines that are sprinkled throughout the songs, and the different instrumentation here and there, and you’ve got a nice departure from normal piano-rock. Pat has a knack for writing catchy, hook-filled songs. I’m a sucker for them. I’m a sucker for this album. It’s my new guilty pleasure. This band isn’t here for “scene cred.” They’re here to make something of themselves, and if marketed correctly, this album should get into the right hands to make these guys relatively big.
Track Listing
1. Second Chances
2. Caught in the Rain
3. Keep Dreaming Upside Down
4. Walking
5. It Was Summer…(Baby Steps)
6. Tounge Tied
7. Hey Hey
8. Here We Go From the Top
9. Keep It Comin’
10. A Part of Me
11. If We’re All Alone, Aren’t We In This Together
Brightwood – The Love Antidote EP
Artist: Brightwood
Album: The Love Antidote EP
Label: Independent
Purchase: Smart Punk
Release Date: February 18, 2006
Overall: 9.5
Lyrics: 9.2
Music: 9.5
Production: 9.7
Brightwood seemed to catch my attention almost out of nowhere. I checked out their myspace page on a link from a friend and was immediately attracted to their sound. When their debut EP â┚¬Ã‹Å“The Love Antidoteâ┚¬Ã¢”ž¢ finally made its way into my hands, I had only had one listen before I was ready for the full-length.
Self-described â┚¬Ã‹Å“Brightwood is a four-piece aggressive melodic rock group based in the Portland areaâ┚¬Ã‚¦a modern blend of raw, yet intelligent, melodic rock laced with soaring guitars, passionate vocals and intermittent tasteful screamsâ┚¬Ã‚¦Ãƒ¢Ã¢”š¬? I will boldly state that no band has made an impact on me this much since my first listen of Copelandâ┚¬Ã¢”ž¢s â┚¬Ã‹Å“Beneath Medicine Tree.â┚¬Ã¢”ž¢
Brightwood takes the tone of artists like the Goo Goo Dolls, and Rookie of the Year and puts their own spin on it. The EP begins with incredibly produced programming that doesnâ┚¬Ã¢”ž¢t overrun the bright toned guitars and vocal melodies. Vocalists Andrew and Stephen complement each other, and until reading the liner notes of the cd, I couldnâ┚¬Ã¢”ž¢t discover why until last names were mentioned. Drummer and Guitarist, this combination of brothers are bringing a vocal combination rarely found in todayâ┚¬Ã¢”ž¢s music. Adding Benjamin Hawkins on guitars and Matt Fosket on bass, this four-piece has collectively stumbled upon a formidable sound.
The third track â┚¬Ã‹Å“In Memoryâ┚¬Ã¢”ž¢ reaches the peak of acoustic splendor that I would expect from a band who denotes their concentration on it. This track establishes their range as a group. From entering with acoustic guitar, following with piano and blending in distorted guitars and booming drums, this epic ballad sings â┚¬Ã‹Å“you carried my heart in the midst of this battle, in your hands, And Iâ┚¬Ã¢”ž¢ll wait for you.â┚¬Ã¢”ž¢ As I stated earlier, I am waiting for a full length and to see the incredible things this group can achieve.
Brightwood has written, recorded, produced and mixed an EP that will remain a staple on my playlist for as far as I can see. These six songs sound as though they were done with an endless budget, yet this independent band, about to embark on a west coast tour is seemingly â┚¬Ã‹Å“do-it-yourself.â┚¬Ã¢”ž¢ Expect great things from these guys and BUY THIS EP!
Track Listing
1. My Reply
2. Sit Still
3. In Memory
4. The Futile
5. Superfire
6. Unspoken
Standout Tracks
The Entire EP, literally
Pistolita – Oliver Under the Moon
Artist: Pistolita
Album: Oliver Under the Moon
Label: Montalban Hotel
Purchase: Smart Punk
Release Date: February 7, 2006
Overall: 7
Lyrics: 6.5
Music: 7
Production: 7.5
In March, Pistolita will embark on a lengthy tour with scene veterans Saves The Day, Canadian rockers Moneen, and Circa Survive. Before my knowledge of this tour I had never heard of Pistolita, nor their music. In thinking of other piano-rock type bands, Pistolita is in the same vein as Something Corporate and Melee, unfortunately, theyâ┚¬Ã¢”ž¢re just not quite there yet.
Upon my first few listens to this debut full-length, what sticks out to me as a major weakness is the vocalist. While Connor Meads is a solid pianist, his voice does not hold the passion that the music demands. At times it seems he is right on the verge of a brilliant melody, he drowns off with moans expected of a high school screamo band. I can only imagine how much my opinion of this record would change with Jason Gleason behind the microphone. Disregarding voices for the time being, this is quite a catchy and solid record. With hooks that contain the intensity of much heavier groups like Moneen, and piano lines that saturate with harmony, this band has the potential of any piano fronted group I have ever heard.
The final track, â┚¬Ã‹Å“Panicâ┚¬Ã¢”ž¢ which clocks in at an epic 7 minutes, 25 seconds, is easily my favorite song on the whole album. I feel like they finally achieve the dynamic theyâ┚¬Ã¢”ž¢ve been striving for with the swelling bridge, the tension is breathtaking, and makes me wonder how the live show ends. â┚¬Ã‹Å“China Dolls,â┚¬Ã¢”ž¢ a beautiful mid-album piano-rock ballad, chimes in at only two minutes, definitely a creative decision as it is the only real break from the aggression filling the rest of the record. Without track tags, I might believe that â┚¬Ã‹Å“Killjoyâ┚¬Ã¢”ž¢ was just a Moneen song left off of â┚¬Ã‹Å“Are We Really Happyâ┚¬Ã‚¦Ãƒ¢Ã¢”š¬Ã¢”ž¢ Regardless of the music and production the same problem taints this whole record. The vocals, just do not reach the height of the music. An instrumental record would better suit my tastes with this band.
Although I might come off as a little harsh with the vocals of this record, the truth is itâ┚¬Ã¢”ž¢s quite well-written. The recording is transparent, the instruments connect and complement each other, and the lyrics are excellent; this is just not the record for me. If you are a fan of piano-driven music, give this record a shot but donâ┚¬Ã¢”ž¢t keep the bar as high as past artists have set it.
Tracklist:
1. Age
2. Big Shot
3. China Dolls
4. Cupid
5. Fadawhite
6. Killjoy
7. Metronome
8. Oliver Under The Moon
9. Panic
10. Papercut
11. Pity Refrain
12. Voicebox
Standout Tracks
“Killjoy”, “Panic”, “Cupid”
Fivespeed – Morning Over Midnight
Artist: Fivespeed
Album: Morning Over Midnight
Label: Virgin Records
Purchase: Amazon
Release Date: January 24, 2006
Overall: 7.7
Lyrics: 7.5
Music: 8.0
Production: 8.0
After reviewing Fivespeed’s Bella EP this past summer I was actually looking forward to their full-length. Overall I was pulled in by Jared’s voice as it’s nothing short of spectacular. On Morning Over Midnight Fivespeed unleash a flurry of new songs that pick up where their EP left us hanging. “Fair Trade” opens the CD to a powerful and vocally ear pleasing song. Jared’s voice is not something you can ignore on this track leg alone this CD. The band bring along their powerful style and sugar sweeten it with lots of melody throughout this whole album. On the title track “Morning Over Midnight” the band slows things down just a notch to more of a radio friendly track. The band has overall polished their sound since their EP but have they done it a little bit to much? Both “The Mess” and “Vegas” have been carried over from the bands EP to this full-lenght. These songs have more of an old prog or grudge feel to them compared to their new tracks. Besides the emotion that “Touch Of One” gives off the rest of the tracks are rather disappointing. They slow things down way to much for what I was expecting this album to be. You can rule out this as being a great hard rock album and throw it in the not what you expected pile.
I think the band was either pushed or thought for themeless that they should streamline their sound to be radio friendly. Their EP showed a lot of originality where as now they are floating down the mainstream rock river. I hope the band takes things up a notch on their future releases and doesn’t follow the radio friendly major label way.
Track Listing
1. Fair Trade
2. The Mess
3. Morning Over Midnight
4. Blame It On You
5. Vegas
6. Lights
7. Touch Of One Listen
8. Drive (Field Guide)
9. Wait Forever Listen
10. Misery Loves Company
Standout Tracks
“Fair Trade”, “Touch Of One”, “The Mess”
Blood On The Tracks – Blood On The Tracks
Artist: Blood On The Tracks
Album: Blood On The Tracks
Label: Em Dash
Purchase: Smart Punk
Release Date: November 10, 2005
Overall: 6.8
Lyrics: 6.6
Music: 7.2
Production: 7.0
Hailing from Santa Clara, CA, Blood On The Tracks is an up-and-coming three piece rock outfit who have plenty to show for their existence of less than a year. The bands influences come from bands like Muse, The Mars Volta, Jimmy Eat World and U2 and their sound comes from a mix of those bands as well as a sound like that of The Strokes and even Green Day.
On the bands debut 6 song EP they define their sound with mild to up beat songs. On the track “Tonight” the mix of indie guitars and a soft bass line flow through the speakers along with soft vocals. “Love Is Dead” is a catchy track with a nice chorus and some guitar effects to add depth to the song. On the track “Perfect” they mix in some piano and a stronger bass line for a song that differs from the others on this EP.
Blood On The Tracks are paving the road to a bright future. Their sound doesn’t compare to their influences as of yet but with some time on the road and more writing they can accomplish this task rather quickly. Check out this EP for a great indie band that isn’t following trends but rather making a new one.
Track Listing
1. Here Today, Gone Tomorrow
2. In Flames
3. Tonight
4. Love Is Dead
5. Perfect
6. Without You
Standout Tracks
“Love Is Dead”, “Perfect”, “In Flames”
Rocky Votolato – Makers
Artist: Rocky Votolato
Album: Makers
Label: Barsuk
Purchase: Barsuk
Release Date: January 24, 2006
Overall: 8.9
Lyrics: 8.8
Music: 9
Production: 9
As quoted from Rocky Votolatoâ┚¬Ã¢”ž¢s onesheet, â┚¬Ã…”Rocky Votolato is a soft-spoken, hard-working 28-year-old father of twoâ┚¬Ã‚¦Ãƒ¢Ã¢”š¬Ã¢”ž¢My dad was in a motorcycle gang based out of Dallas, TX called the Scorpionsâ┚¬Ã‚¦I remember the family trip to the state fair and my dad being handcuffed and taken away because of the pistol he always carried in his beltâ┚¬Ã‚¦Ãƒ¢Ã¢”š¬?â┚¬Ã¢”ž¢
To say the least, Rocky Votolato has had his share of life experiences, most of which occur in his music. After my first time seeing him play in the now re-invented Paradox Theatre in Seattle, I have not stopped supporting and listening to his projects. Touring with bands like The Get Up Kids, Rocky has made his way around the country, â┚¬Ã‹Å“Makersâ┚¬Ã¢”ž¢ is his third album; The first two released on Second Nature Recordings, and â┚¬Ã‹Å“Makersâ┚¬Ã¢”ž¢ under license to Barsuk Records.
The first track, â┚¬Ã‹Å“White Daisy Passingâ┚¬Ã¢”ž¢ is a beautiful and mellow introduction to a very well crafted record. His falsetto background vocals sing â┚¬Ã‹Å“passing white daisies taking turns, all those evenings on the back deck on our first apartment, they mean everything but the wind just carried them off.â┚¬Ã¢”ž¢ Rockyâ┚¬Ã¢”ž¢s metaphors are so well put I wouldnâ┚¬Ã¢”ž¢t dare tried to reword them. His voice is soothing, and full; White Daisy Passing is a perfect introduction into his best release yet.
Next is the other single, â┚¬Ã‹Å“Portland Is Leaving.â┚¬Ã¢”ž¢ This track reminds me of why I could listen to Mr. Votolato sing for the rest of my life. Harmonica melody and minor chords blend with his insightful lyrics, and often leave me contemplating his messages.
Rocky has taken a good step forward in his song-writing. On Suicide Medicine, some of the songs grabbed you quickly, and pulled you in to listen to the rest of the album. It seems as though he has abandoned the plan of writing the radio single, and stuck to his best formula; Rocky writes songs that require a few plays to understand. His sometimes-depressing topics, speak so honestly that I would think his age would be far past his late twenties. The title track â┚¬Ã‹Å“makersâ┚¬Ã¢”ž¢ describes the loss of a loved one, or so said metaphorically, and if you remember his last release, the topic is identical to Suicide Medicine. â┚¬Ã‹Å“Wait Out the Daysâ┚¬Ã¢”ž¢ talks about waiting for death to come. Apparently the human fate is a constant on his mind.
Rocky Votolato has created an album that in my mind should speak for itself. Well I donâ┚¬Ã¢”ž¢t doubt it make take you a few listens to come to the level of appreciation I have, he has again proven to me why he is one of the best solo artists in the music scene today. If you are a fan of angst-filled emo songs about losing your girlfriend, this album is not for you. If you are a fan of heart-felt, honest, and wise folk-rock, you have found your new favorite artist.
Track Listing
1. White Daisy Passing
2. Portland Is Leaving
3. The Night’s Disguise
4. She Was Only In It For The Rain
5. Uppers Aren’t Necessary
6. Wait Out The Days
7. Streetlights
8. Tennessee Train Tracks
9. Goldfield
10. Tin Foil Hats
11. Where We Left Off
12. Makers