Tuesday, April 26, 2011

Fucked Up- Ship of Fools




Toronto Hardcore punk rockers Fucked Up have dropped another track from their forthcoming LP, David Comes To Life. This latest track “Ship of Fools” features a noisy hair metal/ new wave crunching of guitars, and fist pounding drums. If this provides any indication of what the next album sounds like one thing for certain is it won’t disappoint.



Fucked Up - Ship of Fools by Consequence of Sound

My Morning Jacket- Holdin onto Black Metal


Circuital, My Morning Jacket’s upcoming release hits stores on May 31 and to continue tickling their fans musical taste buds they’ve decided to drop another song from the album. “Holdin onto Black Metal” a soulful choir-laden funk grazed cut that acts as the prefect follow up to the albums epic title track that was released a few weeks ago. You can listen to “Holdin onto Black Metal” on the bands facebook page. The only exception is that you have to click “like” in order to listen to it.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jr.- Morning Thought



In a little over a month (June 7th to be exact) Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jr. will be releasing their forthcoming LP Corporate World. After their highly successful EP Horse Power which was pretty damn catchy. “Morning Thought” is the current single from Corporate World; it’s pretty laid back and kind of has an electronic Beach Boys vibe to it. This little taste from the new album is a clear indication that this is going to be one album that you are not going to want to miss out on this summer.





Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jr. - Morning Thought by Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jr.

Monday, April 25, 2011

Joywave- 77777


These days mixtapes are a dime a dozen, some will blow you away while others just crumble and eventually become fodder for the toilet. However every so often there is a band that rises to the occasion and produces a mixtape that is solid from start to finish, and even incorporates their own sound and originality into the newly crafted song. What Joywave, the five-piece band from Rochester, NY, has done just that with their mixtape 77777 that can be described as a musical journey across the universe.

The album starts out with heavily James Blake influenced track “Winnipeg,” that’s seductive, and filled with flavorful static at the beginning that adds an intriguing dynamic to singer Dan Armbruster’s brilliant falsetto vocals, followed by choir dubbed electronic keys, fizzled sounding drums, and solemn piano chords. The album soon jumps into a more upbeat tempo with “The Launch” a track the mixes The Flaming Lip’s “Do You Realize?” with MGMT’s “Kids” what makes this a sold remix is that the band makes it entirely their own by sampling the first three words of ‘Do you realize” with Armbruster responding with “That we’re fortunate to be alive.” The album then takes on a more electronic/club sound with “Titan” that opens up with an orchestral overdub that sounds like something out of a James Bond film, then moves into an edgy disco beat, followed by a flanged bass, and a jazzy 80’s horns and sax accompaniment.

The album then moves into the stellar and strongest track on the album “PM” where Armbruster belts out “No I won’t even try, to be alone” in a repetitious fashion, with the sparkling sound of spacey keys, pan flute electronics, and a very focused and interestingly layered percussion flows like a shooting star through the cosmos. Then comes the interesting cover of Limp Bizkit’s “Rearranged” the song is haunting an mesmerizing and features Armbruster’s vocals modulated by a vocoder, that sounds very similar to Imogen Heap’s “Hide and Seek.” The comes the stunning track “Betegeuse” which samples Miike Snow and LCD Soundsystem, here you can really feel the raw emotion and isolation that is present as Armbruster belts out “all my friends are ghosts.” The electronic samples that are present are solid and come at you like lustrous waves that keep the listening on their toes absorbing every beat and vibration. The albums closing track “Spacewalk” is very laid back and features samples by Beach House and OneRepublic, while highlighting the feelings of isolation that occur not only within the concept of space travel, but also that which plagues life as well. Here both samples are intertwined effortlessly with Armbruster’s vocals dubbed over.

If you happen to be in the Rochester, NY area on Thursday, May 5th Joywave will be performing 77777 from front to back at the Bug Jar.


JOYWAVE - 77777 Mixtape by JOYWAVE

You can download Joywave’s Mixtape here

Friday, April 22, 2011

Ryan Adams & The Cardinals- Class Mythology


Ryan Adams has had a busy past few months back in December he released III/IV, which was recorded with The Cardinals in 2006/2007 during the sessions for Easy Tiger. On April 16th Adams’ released Class Mythology a double 7” containing four tracks that were outtakes from 2008’s Cardinology,


The first track “Go Ahead and Rain” differs greatly from the digi-single version that Adams released 2009. This new version is stripped down and features Adams’ vocals in a falsetto that can be compared to that of Neil Young, featuring Neal Casal on backing vocals. This is one of the more emotional and seductive songs on the album and is very accessible and relatable while the last twenty-two seconds of the songs conclusion features and overdub of a thunderstorm. “Invisible Red” features a foreboding guitar rift at each refrain followed by the thunderous boom response from Brad Pemberton on drums. Followed by a chorus that lightens in mood as Adams wails out “I Think I’m Falling in Love with You Again.”


“You Name is On Fire Tonight” is energetic and upbeat while highlighting the overall sound of the cardinals, and is in a similar key as the Cardinology track “Go Easy.” Where “Future Sparrow” is a little bit on the slow side. What is interesting about all four of these tracks is the fact that they were left on the cutting room because they feel as though they should have made it on the final tracklist for Cardinology. However the fact that we get to hear them now makes up for it, in that they seem to work better being released as a double 7”

Bob Dylan in Concert: Brandeis University 1963


Recorded in May of 1963 and was essentially unheard for almost forty-seven years, Brandeis University 1963 offers the final glimpse of an unknown Bob Dylan just weeks before he became a pop culture icon with the release of The Freeeheelin’ Bob Dylan, sending the young singer on a musical journey that would lead him away from performances in college gymnasiums to the public and alienating concert halls.


At this point in Dylan’s career, he was in his early twenties had released a self-titled record, which hadn’t sold as well. What makes this one of the most important recordings of the period between 1962-63 is that it is one of the few surviving recordings of a pre-famed Dylan who strikes a chord with his audience that is well balanced. The set opens with the incomplete recording of “Honey Just allow me One More Change,” a song where Dylan’s vocals are fill with intensity showcasing his enjoyment in his performance, followed by an eruption in applause from the audience. “Talkin’ John Birch Paranoid Blues” features flavorful lyrics that jeer at the anti-communist scaremonger and war profiteer, provoking Dylan’s audience to laugh at his bold satire. These same issues once again are tackled in a more serious manner on “Master’s of War” and “Bob Dylan’s Dreams,” where the solitude of his strumming and mournful cries of his harmonica provide a small sense of hope for a society that has been consumed by madness.


While some would claim this set-list to be lackluster at best, it however should not be taken in this light. This is an artist who is in the early stages of his career, speaking of the issues that are plaguing his society at that particular point in time: the supposed threat of communism and the after effects of the Cuban missile crisis. While each one of the songs that were included in Dylan’s set would now be considered as deep cuts, the fact that they survive in a live medium should not be taken lightly as they are a important part of folk music history and are just as relevant today as they were back in 1963.

Thursday, April 21, 2011

Cold Cave- Cherish The Light Years


When cold cave released their 2009 debut Love Comes Close, there was a distinct presence of the 80’s new wave sound that was reminiscent of The Cure, New Order, and Depeche Mode that contained a seductive quality that appealed to pop music at that particular time. What Wesley Eisold did on Loves Comes Close vocally bring about the rebirth of the vulnerable crooner, who spilt out his heart in the many John Hughes and brat pack movies conveying the awkwardness of the life and drama of teens.


Fast-forward to 2011 and Cold Cave’s latest release Cherish The Light Years, once again builds that emotion and feeling up to a whole new level. As soon as the opening track The Great Pan is Dead, the wailing of guitars, screams of synths, and the pulsating beats from snares and cymbals almost takes you back for second due to how intense it comes at you. Eisold soon responds in a manner similar to that of Robert Smith, but in a way that sounds more emotionally desperate than Smith could ever be. When listening to the opener there is a clear distinction that this is a band that has solidified its sound, and is more mature, and even at times seems on the verge of reaching out to the mainstream audience.


What makes this record remarkable is the concise precision that went into making these songs, each one stands out in its own unique memorable way. Confetti has a more subdued yet delicate synth-line followed by reverb-filled guitar that rolls like molasses. As Eisold sings the phrase “I feel so good on the outside” you have the same miserable feeling that The Smiths and The Cure embraced that it makes you want to take a step back from the rest of the world and slowly fall apart inside.


One thing that the songs on this album do is they don't fall into the trap of sounding all the same. For instance Alchemy And You throws a trumpet into the mix that adds flavor to the overall production and sound, where Burning Sage contains dark ominous brooding bass lines, that follow the same experimental stylings similar to what The Cure did with 1987’s Kiss Me. What Cold Cave does with Cherish The Light is tap into the hearts of those who constantly crave the depressive and bleak romantic sounds that seems almost long forgotten, but also sets the stage for what could be their biggest album yet that breaks on through to a wider audience.