Driven Far Off

The latest on the indie, alternative, and rock music scene including news, music, contest, interviews, and more. Best described as your favorite place to find new bands.

Madina Lake Off of Warped Tour

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Madina Lake has pulled out of this summers Warped Tour. The band is suppose to be announcing new tour dates in the future. A message from the band can be read below.

Im afraid we have some bad news about Warped.. in short we’re not on it anymore. its kind of complicated but here goes…

We wanted to do the entire tour but there were only 3 weeks available to us. so naturally we started looking for other tours around those warped dates to jump on so we could continue to tour the entire country. turns out warped, like most tours, has certain policies about bands playing the same markets within a certain amount of time of the actual warped dates and unfortunately this is what forced us to drop off. we will be announcing a huge tour in 14 days that will allow us to hit the entire country in july, august and september with some of our favorite bands in the world. we sincerely regret not being able to play this years warped and apologize to anyone who was looking forward to seeing us on it but trust me this was out of our hands.

For now were preparing for GIAN Fest. is london and birmingham, BAMBOOZLED in nj, SUPERSONIC in japan and a headlining run in may/june with EMANUEL, FIGHTSTAR, and FIRESCAPE. this tour will rule and the tickets will be cheap! we love you forever and hope you accept our apologies about warped tour.
xoxo

madina lake

No Way Jose- Rice, Beans & Rock ‘N Roll

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No Way Jose

Artist: No Way Jose
Album: Rice, Beans & Rock ‘N Roll
Label: Pee Shy Records
Purchase: Smart Punk
Release Date: 2007

Overall:7.5
Music: 8.0
Lyrics: 7.0
Production: 8.5

It took a while for No Way Jose to get this album in the mail, but all things set aside this album is actually good. No Way Jose, hailing from Southern California is comprised of three members who create a sound of “Spanglish Punk”. They have created a 7-song disc entirely new and different to me, but yet their sound is still familiar to some of the bands I listen to.

A little while ago, I had wanted to start listening to some “Spanglish Punk” bands but just never got around to it until now and I’m glad that they are the one to introduce me to this style of music. One of my favorite songs from “Rice, Beans and Rock ‘N Roll” is Motherfucker. Yeah I know, the title may seem a little bit harsh, but don’t judge a song by its title. The song just has the “yeah, ok, whatever, leave me alone” type of vibe, not only that but you can hear their Spanish influence in it. I can see people hearing this song and singing along to it proudly in the privacy of their own space. In their album, you can also tell these seven songs represent them and the pride they get in creating their style of music with making no compromises and following no one voices but their own. With songs like “Stripper”, which has a Spanglish version, “Wanna Be” and “Martha” you get to hear their own mix of Southern California punk and Tex-Mex. While listening to this CD in my Ipod I often create a playlist so I can listen to their CD with one of Catch 22 CDs, just to give you a perspective on how they sound. Oh, and they were selected to play on last years Hot Topic Kevin Says stage at Vans Warped Tour so you know they have to be good.

Tracklisting
1. Wanna Be
2. Don’t Worry
3. Marta
4. Te Extrano
5. Stripper
6. Stripper (Spanglish)
7. Motherfucker

Chiodos Post New Song

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Chiodos have been hard at work, demoing up their new album titled Bone Palace Ballet, tentatively slated for release in Late Summer / Early Fall 2007. The guys plan on hitting the studio in May with Casey Bates (Fear Before the March of Flames, Gatsbys American Dream) in the producer’s chair. As a ‘thank you’ to the the fans who have helped sell 150,000 copies of their latest album All’s Well that Ends Well, the band has decided to give them a taste of what’s to come by streaming an as-yet-untitled demo from the new album on their MySpace page.

Inspector Owl – Life Finds a Way

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Inspector Owl - Life Finds a Way

Artist: Inspector Owl
Album: Life Finds a Way
Label: Third World Industries
Purchase: Inspector Owl Store
Release Date: March 27, 2007

Overall: 8.0
Music: 8.5
Lyrics: 6.5
Production: 8.0

What do you expect from new music — that is, a first listen to a band recommended to you by a friend or acquaintance? I expect it to be good, certainly, but I also want it to be new. If they sound just like the six Cure albums I’ve got, I’ll probably enjoy it, but won’t listen to it much in the future because, hey, I’ve already got my beloved Cure. When I get my hands on something different and refreshing I’m far more excited. Inspector Owl is just that; it was recommended to me as a “dancey indie-rock band” playing an eclectic style of music with the styles of the Faint, Polyphonic Spree, and They Might Be Giants thrown in the mix.

Sounded good to me, and after listening to the EP Life Finds a Way a few times through, it still sounds good. The opener right away caught my attention with the String Quartet (famous for their cover albums) style violin – that is, cleanly played traditional-rock parts (transposed from parts) on the violin. The band’s signature dance synth is foregrounded on “Save Me” while the darker “Sharks That Feed on Dreams” is matched by more charged lyrics. The Modest Mousey popping guitar rhythms which kick off “The Gentleman’s Duel” are coupled nicely with some intro horns, but not as well with the belted, Thom-Yorke-esque vocals. Heavy synth beats and a cute little riff set the potential for “Clever Girl” from the get-go, but again, the vocals flop what could have been a massive pop hit. The band slows it down with “Fisticuffs,” which unfortunately despite some soothing “ooh’s” and a interesting bridge, is not the most memorable closer. Overall, I’m quite pleased to have learned of this band and will continue to listen to them in the future. I will most likely remain disappointed, however, in the weak lyrics and vocals.

Paramore Release Riot Track Listing, Album Art

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Paramore has released the track listing and album art for their new album, Riot. You can pick up the first single, “Misery Business,” on the Fueled By Ramen store.

Paramore - Riot

Tracklisting

01. For A Pessimist, I’m Pretty Optimistic
02. That’s What You Get
03. Hallelujah
04. Misery Business
05. When It Rains
06. Let The Flames Begin
07. Miracle
08. crushcrushcrush
09. We Are Broken
10. Fences
11. Born For This

Via: AltPress.com