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The Hush Sound – Goodbye Blues

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Goodbye Blues

Artist: The Hush Sound
Album: Goodbye Blues
Label: Fueled By Ramen
Purchase: Fueled By Ramen
Release Date: March 18, 2008

Overall: 8.5
Music: 9.0
Lyrics: 8.5
Production: 8.0

Don’t bother rechecking the artist of the Goodbye Blues album, this new sound is indeed The Hush Sound. Lovers of Like Vines (2006) and So Sudden (2005) may be shocked by what they hear–or who they do not hear. Greta Salpeter noticeably carries the album, singing lead in 9 out of the 13 tracks with Bob Morris, Darren Wilson, and Chris Faller sinking into a rhythmic chant in the background. Aside from the plethora of estrogen, The Hush Sound have also adopted a darker and sassier tone, thanks to the primarily minor tonality, and are noticeably more emotionally connected and confident with their songs than ever before.

While fans will be surprised to find that they have altered their style, they will also appreciate the immense maturity and depth heard in the instrumentation. Salpeter’s voice has lost its airily sweet tone from Like Vines, and now resembles that of Regina Spektor and Fiona Apple. Although two very large names to measure up to, she exceeds expectations with her sultry, bluesy flavored vocals and soulful piano ballads. She sets the haunting tone for the rest of the album with “Intro”, but no other songs seep with such sincerity and heart-wrenching passion as “Hurricane.” Although her range has undeniably expanded, she does occasionally push her voice to resemble a genre that it simply is not. Bob Morris thankfully leads as well, yet all three songs have the same theme and tone. Starting with “As You Cry”, a blunt break-up song, Morris croons two more teenage angst numbers with the same lyrics of insensitivity towards the same lyrical ex-girlfriend. However moody these are, they provide a refreshing change from heavy Salpeter songs and highlight his musical maturity.

Although the album mainly consists of brooding vocals, it does have its share of upbeat songs. “Medicine Man” stands out from the album as the most mainstreamed and has been featured in commercials for the hit TV show “House”, yet the first ragtime feel appears in “Love You Much Better”, where vocals spring energetically over the show tune piano and cadenced clapping. “Molasses” is another relief from the others, yet there’s no milk and sugar to be found in this song with Salpeter sassing her way through the melody of swanky backings and lyrics. “The Boys are Too Refined” has Salpeter competing against “the boys” and their electric guitar slides, and portrays obvious promiscuity with her sultry vocals of “And if the timing is right / to sneak off into the night / I’ll let myself to be taken just for the thrill.” This is just one of the songs in which Salpeter displays her subtly increased sexuality, adding a new deflowered flavor missing from the previously chaste albums.

Have an open mind while listening to Goodbye Blues, as it may take a few tries before the rich songs do not leave you with a melancholy feeling. This underrated band may have taken a different path than expected, but hopefully it is one that will result in the recognition it deserves. So Sudden and Like Vines were the cautious young albums of wistful and poppy lyrics, seemingly searching for something. Whatever they were looking for, they definitely found it in Goodbye Blues.

Track Listing
1. Intro
2. Honey
3. Medicine Man
4. The Boys Are Too Refined
5. Hurricane
6. As You Cry
7. Six (Interlude)
8. Molasses
9. That’s Okay
10. Not Your Concern
11. Love You Much Better
12. Hospital Bed Crawl
13. Break The Sky

Advent – Remove The Earth

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Artist: Advent
Album: Remove The Earth
Label: Solid State
Purchase: Interpunk
Release Date: February 12, 2008

Overall: 8.5
Music: 8.5
Lyrics: 9.0
Production: 9.0

The sun disappears and the clouds infused with grey emerge. A gentle breeze turns into hurricane winds, armageddon seizes citizens by the wrists. Lightning breaks through the sky, dividing the giants from the helpless. The clouds rain down fear and desolation with each droplet charged with crimes against humanity. The earth trembles, shakes till the houses come down and the soil comes towards the heavens. Hypocrites and hoards rush toward bunkers, but the earth knows the cost of such cowardness.  Armageddon is here.

Advent, hailing from North Carolina and featuring members from Beloved, debuted their full length from Solid State records entitled, “Remove The Earth” on February 12th, 2008. Since the release of their demos, the anticipation for the record had been rising, cascading in expectation of this angry, yet hopeful debut. The ten tracks are aggressive, filled with riffs that will knock you down, lift you to your feet, and slam you against reality. Joe Musten’s vocals are in your face, powerful yells that run hand in hand with the music.

The most surprising song on the record is “Three Seasons” which starts off with an eerie sound followed by the repetitive beating of the drums. The vocals are distant, sounding far away and creating an eerie, dark feel to the beginning of the song. Everything slows down, eventually coming to a completely halt, only to erupt back into your eardrums. In the middle of the strong, there is a beautiful string arrangement that sounds like the last sounds of the notorious musicians on the failing Titanic. Gradually, it builds each second by adding the drums, guitars, and distant vocals. “Three Seasons” ends in the aggressive nature of the rest of the songs, but leaves that eerie taste in your mind, the taste of something dark and sinister like, but ultimately honest and realistic to our times.

“Remove The Earth” is an adrenaline shot manifesting into ten tracks of pure aggression. Instead of gulping down your favorite energy drink or shooting up your favorite illegal syringe-filled substance, this record will provide you with enough energy to consider enrolling in the Tour de France. The lyrics are straightforward, aggressive words yelled by Musten but not in the name of being dark, but for the sake of bringing attention to relevant issues that will only lead us out of the graves we’ve dug.

The debut record from Advent is everything that was expected, an impressive release that leaves their mark on your existence with sheer jolts of adrenaline and truth.  The only downside of this record is the fact that there aren’t more songs to get your blood boiling. Armageddon may be coming, but at least now we are more hopeful than before.

Track Listing
01. Blackout
02. Eulogy
03. Set Apart
04. Hanging The Giants
05. The Anger of Death
06. Reflection
07. Doubt. Fear. Desolation
08. Three Seasons
09. The Cost
10. I Am

Anti-Flag – The Bright Lights of America

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Artist: Anti-Flag
Album: The Bright Lights of America
Label: RCA Records
Purchase: Interpunk
Release Date: April 1, 2008

Overall: 8.0
Music: 8.0
Lyrics: 8.0
Production: 8.0

In true Anti-Flag-ian form, this piece will appear as a an album review and a commentary. Upon listening to The Bright Lights of America, as well as researching the band’s history and reading reviews of this album, many quandaries come forth into the mind of the honest listener. What criteria is set forth by the so-called music critic and should they be instead labeled as a cynic? It seems that those limber bones and elitist minds, which reside in front of the laptop’s screen inside a major music publication, technically debase each album that crosses their cluttered desks. Have they forgotten the emotive quality that even a simple piece of music can affect the listener? Even within the straight-forward motion of the punk genre, “critics” tend to pick apart arrangement, performance, and vocal flaws in order to devalue the artist’s work. Understandably, it is job to find the defects in the album. Often, the “critic” forgets their passion and connection which draws them to a life driven by a soundtrack. Were Black Flag, The Ramones, and The Sex Pistols creating technically sound albums? No, they were records driven by anger, resentment, passion, and heart. Some of these things, the honest listener may find in Anti-Flag.

The Bright Lights of America, Anti-Flag’s second major-label release, brings forth a new direction. Anti-Flag has made a career of creating leftist political manifestos by way of furious, striking punk rock. Yet, their newest album takes two improbable turns. First, Anti-Flag softens such manifestos for more personal “politics.” The songs tell stories and lyrics depicting social struggles, deterring from anthems against war and Bush-era policy. Subsequently, the album’s title track details society’s weight on the burgeoning youth and how “cutting” becomes a mean to cope. With the fierceness of “The Modern Rome Burning,” Anti-Flag pounds away with a message of how humanity is bred into a nation of imprisonment. Their gang-vocals chant away people’s struggle into dissent and the track is preceded by a commentary from Mumia Abdul-Jamal, a death-row inmate. Although the messages throughout the album are strong, gang-vocals and repetitive choruses run rampant. Despite the chant’s strengths, they sometimes feel counter-productive.

Anti-Flag’s second turn into a new direction appears as the expansive musical arrangements. Not to fret, The Bright Lights of America is chalk-full of mosh-inspiring, speed-induced anthems. Although, the album is vigorously flared by delicate intricacies. The opening track, “Good and Ready,” harkens an old-school punk vibe but concludes with a children’s choir providing a haunted call and response interlude. “Go West” is a rebellious ballad of adventure, highlighted by a harmonica intro. As well, cellos, brass, and other orchestral instruments shape the album’s integral tracks.

Anti-Flag’s The Bright Lights of America is a strong approach into a new direction. It strikes a similar punk rock chord alongside the likes of A.F.I. and Strike Anywhere. Ultimately, the listener’s journey through the record will define its final resting place.

Standout Tracks: “The Bright Lights of America”, “The Modern Rome Burning”, “We Are the Lost”

Track Listing
1. Good and Ready
2. The Bright Lights of America
3. Vices
4. The Modern Rome Burning
5. If You Wanna Steal (You Better Learn How to Lie)
6. No Warning
7. Spit in the Face
8. We Are the Lost
9. Go West
10. The Smartest Bomb
11. Shadow of the Dead
12. The Ink and the Quill (Be Afraid)

Thrice – The Alchemy Index: Vols. III & IV Air & Earth

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Thrice

Artist: Thrice
Album: The Alchemy Index: Vols. III & IV Air & Earth
Label: Vagrant
Purchase: Interpunk
Release Date: April 15, 2008

Overall: 8.0
Music: 7.5
Lyrics: 8.0
Production: 8.0

The Alchemy Index: Vols. III & IV Air & Earth marks the completion of Thrice’s foray with experimenting with the four elements of nature. Overall, the newest Alchemy Index displays Thrice’s explorations with instrumentation, rhythm, and feel. The album consistently moves from expansive arrangements into acoustic etudes. As well, Thrice delves into the world of blues, folk, jazz, and dance, while continuing to strengthen their trademark sound. The record, in its attempt to explore each element with an EP of six songs, contains many successes and a few failures.

Volume III: Air establishes a mood and feel most similar to past Thrice records such as Vheissu. This EP is definitely stronger than Volume IV: Earth and appears as a wonderful direction where Thrice may be headed. Air utilizes atmospheric guitar lines and effects, soft piano strikes, and a locked-in rhythm section beautifully depicting one’s serene flights on the edges of the sky. “Daedalus” stands out as a track with introspective guitar leads behind a story of a father losing his son. The track concludes with a touching verse displaying Dustin Kensrue’s ability to connect with the listener. Air reiterates Thrice’s skill of experimenting while not compromising their sound.

On the other hand, Volume IV: Earth feels awkward and beyond the capabilities of Thrice as a band. As expected, Earth takes an acoustic folk/blues approach to each arrangement. Most often, the songs feel clumsy and like an acoustic version rather than a creation. Earth appears that a possible statement into humanity’s continual disconnection with the natural world was squandered. The EP takes a more expansive approach when it should have taken a simplified stance. Although its limitations, “Come All You Weary” stands out as a well-played, bluesy track. Kensrue’s gravelly vocals cut deeply into this road-wandering song. Thrice made the right choice as it is their first single off this record. Volume IV: Earth does contain a few gems but, all in all, sounds like a misrepresented element.

Ultimately, The Alchemy Index: Vols. III & IV Air & Earth successfully continues Thrice’s approach into progressive and popular music. The strength of the album’s better tracks surely outweighs those of the weaker kinds. Thrice chose to venture outside of its safe haven and the listener will find worth in their exploits.

Standout Tracks: “Daedalus” and “Come All You Weary”

Track Listing
Vol. III: Air
1. Broken Lungs
2. The Sky is Falling
3. A Song for Milly Michaelson
4. Daedalus
5. As the Crow Flies
6. Silver Wings

Vol IV: Earth
7. Moving Mountains
8. Digging My Own Grave
9. The Earth Isn’t Humming
10. The Lion and the Wolf
11. Come All You Weary
12. Child of Dust

Jet Lag Gemini – Fire the Cannons

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Fire the Cannons

Artist: Jet Lag Gemini
Album: Fire the Cannons
Label: Doghouse Records
Purchase: Smart Punk
Release Date: January 22nd, 2008

Overall: 7.0
Music: 7.5
Lyrics: 7.0
Production: 8.0

The release of this record saw delays and hold ups. Originally set to be released in the fall of ’06 the album was pushed back to early this year. Nevertheless it was worth the wait! Fire the Cannons is an explosive release, that proves the group’s rock credibility and clearly shows that they have staying power. The opener, Run This City, is a familiar sounding catchy rock tune that illustrates Jet Lag’s pop sensibility. This track sets the scene, providing a polished landscape for the album. Seamlessly flowing into, Doctor, Please! A fantastic hook-filled song, which is my pick for standout track on the album. Bittersweet, offers the soon to be sing along line of the early half of this year. “And you can find it in a heartbeat, and leave it tangled in the bed sheets.” Cannons slows down perfectly in the middle with, Stepping Stone, including a breakdown that is reminiscent of Guns N’ Roses. The group dives into their punk rock roots with the snarled, Every Minute which is somewhat in the vein of The Matches.

Concluding with, Picture Frames, this quite closer illustrates more spectacular guitar work and wraps the record up in perfect fashion. These young Jersey rockers have all the chops and rock riffs to make a notable name for themselves. Be sure to catch them on tour now and on Warped this summer, you won’t regret it!

Standout Track
Doctor, Please!

Track Listing
1. Run This City
2. Doctor, Please!
3. The Bad Apples
4. Bittersweet
5. Stepping Stone
6. Fit to Be Tied
7. Just Say How
8. If It Was up to Me
9. Every Minute
10. Keep This With You
11. Picture Frames

Ivoryline – There Came A Lion

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Ivoryline

Artist: Ivoryline
Album: There Came A Lion
Label: Tooth & Nail
Purchase: Interpunk
Release Date: February 5, 2008

Overall: 7.5
Music: 7.5
Lyrics: 8.0
Production: 8.0

Clean vocals with a hard rock edge ring out on Ivoryline’s debut Tooth & Nail album, There Came A Lion. I’ve always been a sucker for a rock band to have this exact criteria of good clean vocals with a harder edge and Ivoryline pull it off quite well. Stellar songs like “Parade” and “Bravery” are filled with catchy hooks and strong vocals that remind me of everything from Anberlin to Saosin. Its not all that often you find an album you can put in and enjoy without having to think about it too much, its easy to enjoy.

If you are a fan of Anberlin, Saosin, or the clean vocal / hard edge style I described above then this album should bring your ears some pleasure.

Standout tracks: “Parade”, “Bravery”, “Left Us Falling”

Track Listing
1. Days End
2. We Both Know
3. Parade
4. All You Ever Hear
5. Be Still and Breathe
6. Remind Me I’m Alive
7. Left Us Falling
8. And The Truth Will End This
9. Bravery
10. Hearts and Minds
11. The Last Words

Children 18:3 – Children 18:3

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Children 18:3

Artist: Children 18:3
Album: Children 18:3
Label: Tooth & Nail
Purchase: Children 18:3
Release Date: February 26, 2008

Overall: 8.0
Music: 7.5
Lyrics: 8.0
Production: 8.0

Tooth & Nail newcomers, Children 18:3, hail from the smallest of all places… rural Minnesota, however, that doesn’t have any kind of effect on the bands classic punk rock sound. This trio of siblings know how to work together to pull off song after song filled with punk rock hooks and balanced dual vocals. Upon first listen, your ears hear the likes of The Clash and other old school punk bands mixed with a dash of todays upbeat pop punk. This sound will draw you in for a repeat listen and even more as you get the beats bouncing around in your head.

Children 18:3’s debut album is not to be missed if you are in the mood for some new school punk rock that doesn’t ditch yesterdays influence.

Standout tracks: “All My Balloons”, “LCM”, “You Know We’re All So Fond Of Dying”

Track Listing
1. All My Balloons
2. LCM
3. You Know We’re All So Fond Of Dying
4. Search Warrant
5. Even Sleeping
6. Ditches
7. The City
8. Homemade Valentine
9. Samantha
10. Mock The Music
11. A Chance To Say Goodbye
12. Time and Wasted Bullets
13. Balloons Reprise
14. Final

New Found Glory – Hits

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Artist: New Found Glory
Album: Hits
Label: Universal
Purchase: Smart Punk
Release Date: May 18, 2008

Overall: 7.0
Music: 6.0
Lyrics: 7.0
Production: 8.0

New Found Glory, I remember when they were going by A New Found Glory and they were putting out some good music, also around the time Drive-Thru Records had good bands on the label. Now a few years have passed by, New Found Glory left Drive-Thru and went major. Then New Found Glory went back to Drive-Thru with their release From Your Screen To Your Stereo: Part II. I don’t know how that release went for them, but I have a feeling it didn’t to that great as Part I. Now they have a Hits.

I feel like I have the right to say that New Found Glory spiraled down when they went major, because I’ve been listening to them for quite some time now and I remember thinking “Damn, there goes another good band” when I found out they were leaving Drive-Thru. Drive-Thru may not be good now, but back in the day (4 or so years ago) they had Rx Bandits, The Movielife, Allister, Fenix Tx, Senses Fail and the Starting Line on there, but I digress. With Hits you get to hear what New Found Glory is all about, pop-punk from track 2-6 and another band gone major from 7-11. If it was up to me, I would have not put a “hits” album but rather a collection of New Found Glory songs from their first albums they’ve put out. If you want to listen to some good New Found Glory I say go get Nothing Gold Can Stay and New Found Glory.

Track Listing:
1. Situations
2. Hit Or Miss
3. Dressed To Kill
4. My Friends Over You
5. Head On Collision
6. Understatement
7. All Downhill From Here
8. I Don’t Wanna Know
9. Failure’s Not Flattering
10. It’s Not Your Fault
11. Hold My Hand
12. Constant Static

StoneRider – Three Legs Of Trouble

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Stone Rider

Artist: StoneRider
Album: Three Legs Of Trouble
Label: Trustkill
Purchase: SmartPunk
Release Date: January 29, 2008

Overall: 8.5
Music: 8.5
Lyrics: 7.0
Production: 8.5

Car engines are roaring in the distance like uncivilized lions. A grey sky casts over the open road, everything dead and lifeless. The windows are down and the wind rushes by, making a howling sound to impress the lonesome wanders. My left hand sticks out of window, straight as the barrel of the shotgun nestled safely in the backseat. I feel bugs splattering against my hand, the guts leaving a gooey layer on the inside of my palm. The dusty road sends particles up in the air, creating a grimy haze of desolation. The sound of boorish lions grows louder as a little wooden shack approaches on the right side of the road. Outside in the parking lot, trucks are calm, bikes are impatient, and everything lifeless from this desolated strip of nothing comes back from the dead. Engine turned off and my muddy shoes start walking towards the shack with the sound of hell bursting through the windows in the form of the dirtiest southern rock you’ve ever heard.

StoneRider emerged from the ashes of Fight Paris, a band that was fast paced and sounded like a cheap imitation of everything else. “Three Legs of Trouble” is the debut album from a southern rock band that will paint more vivid images in your head than Da Vinci’s illustrated notebook. Ten songs filled with pure southern rock, with more authenticity than that Versace purse you bought your girlfriend on the streets of New York City.

The record will transfix you, transform you into an alter ego that rides around in muscle car and goes to shady looking shacks in the middle of no where. If you gave up drinking years ago because you were a ruthless alcoholic, well this record will bring back hallucinations of your better days. You’ll feel a rushing sensation in your veins for that cold beer, that bottle gripped between your fingers as you stumble between every busty girl in the bar. If you’ve never broken a law because you were taught to whole-heartedly respect law enforcement, well this record is going to make you shoot out the windows of your annoying coworker with the shotgun you just illegal bought in a back alley.

“Three Legs of Trouble” is filled with catchy guitar riffs and vocals that are memorizing your vocal chords to chug down a beer and sing along. The lyrics aren’t going to change your life, but they will make you forget about all those unnecessary problems you stress about constantly, whining away to anyone that is willing to listen.

The record is finishing up, the last track is almost over and my nose is bleeding from the punch some coward sent over. A brunette with a wedding ring is on my left side, rubbing my back while she takes shots of vodka from the bar. A blond with enough cleavage to excite the trousers of every middle schooler in a five-mile radius has her hand in my back pocket. They step inside of my car, laughing and mumbling to each other as I pull the shotgun out of the backseat. An overweight woman with a mullet is drinking beer on the outside of the shack, leaning against the wall. I snatch the beer out of her manly hands, guzzle it down, and feel the cold brew running down my throat. I load two shells into the shotgun and smash open the doors of the bar, looking for the son of a bitch that made me bleed my own blood.

Track Listing
1. Rush Hour, Baby
2. Back From The Dead
3. Ramble Down
4. Juice Man
5. Wild Child
6. Bad Lovin’ Never Felt So Good
7. Hair Of The Dog
8. Bite My Tongue
9. Breakout
10. Shut My Mouth

Driving East – The Future Of The Free World Is Riding On This One

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Artist: Driving East
Album: The Future Of The Free World Is Riding On This One
Label: The Militia Group
Purchase: Itunes
Release Date: January,15 2007

Overall: 7.0
Music: 7.0
Lyrics: 6.5
Production: 7.0

Before I start I have to be completely honest I had really high expectations for Driving East and their first full length on The Militia Group. A label who spawned the careers of bands like Rufio, Cartel, and many others. So it goes without saying Driving East have huge shoes to fill.

Well the shoe fits, but there is plenty of room to grow. Driving East has created a very cookie cutter version album of what pop-punk in this day and age is. Not to say that it is bad in any way, as there are some gems on this album such as the song “Somebody Get Me Out Of Here”. The song itself is probably the strongest one on the album as far as its composition, and lyrically. My big complaint on this record is the sound quality of some songs are too consistent with the others. Overall it is a good effort from the band, and I am expecting big things from them in the future.

If your down with this you’ll be down with..

Autopilot Off
Mayday Parade
MXPX

Track Listing
1. Hey
2. Get Back
3. Come On, Come On
4. Sing While You Can
5. Somebody Get Me Out Of Here
6. Baby (Just A Little Bit)
7. Backseat
8. Pick Up The Pieces
9. Blue Eyes
10. Away