Archive for May, 2006

(http://www.myspace.com/brasslungs) Brass – Set & Drift Self-released Alternative indie-rock that is well performed but lacks lasting appeal. I hate name-dropping “alternative.” But sometimes that’s all one can do to describe a band’s sound. Brass is that kind of indie rock group: an “alternative” one. Brass pulls off the alternative genre more effectively than most...
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Band Name: Airport Cathedral Album Name: Jetlag Best Element: Singular songwriting vision Genre: Melancholy Indie-rock Website: www.airportcathedral.com Label Name: Burning Building Records Band E-mail: andy@airportcathedral.com Some CDs are perfectly named. Albums like Ben Folds’ Rockin’ the Suburbs, Five Iron Frenzy’s Live: Proof that the Youth are Revolting, and Neutral Milk Hotel’s In the Aeroplane...
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Anything August Eh? By Nadine Ariate Canada- the country viewed as having perpetual winters, igloos, and infamous for the phrase “eh”. Canada is also the country most musically renowned for Avril Lavigne, Shania Twain and Sum 41. However, in the explosion of musical talent coming out from Canada and hitting international airwaves, are there...
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Band Name: Dropgun Album Name: Devil Music Best Element: The use of multiple vocalists Genre: Old-School Punk Website: www.dropgun.com Label Name: Ho Fist! Band E-mail: paul@dropgun.com Dropgun’s website header sums up this band wonderfully. It says “Dropgun, Filthy Rock and Roll”- and that is exactly what it is; filthy, disgusting, dirty old school punk....
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Band Name: Elijah Wyman Album Name: Why We Never Go Swimming and Other Short Stories Best Element: Unique songwriting style Genre: New-folk Website: www.elijahwyman.com Label Name: Blue Duck Records www.blueduckrecords.com Band E-mail: elijahwyman@gmail.com Like the wicked cousin of Sufjan Stevens, Elijah Wyman creates highly orchestrated folk songs augmented with a bevy of auxiliary instruments...
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Band Name: The Five Mod Four Album Name: Whiskers Best Element: Humble, affecting songwriting Genre: Indie-pop Website: www.fivemodfour.com Label Name: Contraphonic Records (www.contraphonic.com) Band E-mail: www.myspace.com/thefivemodfour Whiskers, the latest release by the Milwaukee quartet The Five Mod Four, is comprised of twelve bittersweet tunes. For the most part, the instrumentals of the Five Mod...
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Band: Forgive Durden Album Name: Wonderland (5-Song Pre-release) Best Element: Intricate song writing and I mention it is catchy as… well you know what. Genre: Pop-Rock Website: www.forgivedurden.com Label: Fueled By Ramen Band E-mail: band@forgivedurden.com This 5 song pre-release is just enough to give you a surface look inside Forgive Durden. Generally I prefer...
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Band Name: Gates Called Beautiful Album Name: A Glimpse of Innocence Best Element: Screaming Vocals Genre: Christian Screamo Website: www.gatescalledbeautiful.com Label Name: Album: Independently released. Band: Chaos Records Band E-mail: band@gatescalledbeautiful.com It’s screamo. The instrumentals are OK, the “melodic vocals” are annoying and the screaming vocals are good- your basic set-up for a screamo...
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Band: Last Falling Album Name: In Loving Memory Best Element: Variety, and it’s over one hour of music! Genre: Rock / Alternative Website: www.lastfalling.com Label: SNF Productions Band E-mail: band@lastfalling.com Hailing from Los Angeles, CA, probably makes these cats a little hard to notice, but with their recent release In Loving Memory, 3-piece Last...
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What about your old albums? It is pretty obvious that I am a huge advocate of new music. I love to search through bands on Purevolume and find small bands with 100 plays that are doing something new or great. But as much as I love doing that I also love going through my...
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