Manchester Orchestra
Pretty mandy download for you Manchester Fans get itt,
new live album Live @ Park Ave.
Read MoreTRY EP: MANCHESTER ORCHESTRA – LIVE AT PARK AVE EP
Buy / MySpace
The Bravery
I’ve been listening to this album for about two weeks now, and I haven’t been able to write a word about it for a few reasons. Although I am familiar with The Bravery I’ve never listened extensively to more than the opener of their self-titled debut, the song “An Honest Mistake.” In reviewing Stir the Blood I attempted to rectify this by getting my hands on copies of their debut and sophomore releases, but to no avail. As well as my general lack of knowledge of the band, Stir the Blood plays like one 35 minute electro-rock track, and I often found myself at the beginning of a Bright Eyes album (the next in my iTunes library) and unsure how I’d gotten there. So this review is steeped in my ignorance of previous releases and based upon only what they’ve done in 2009. Fresh angle or lazy reviewer?
So I found myself staring at my iTunes library wondering what to do. From my limited knowledge of the band I am expecting heavily synthesised rock tracks laden with screaming guitars and somewhat distorted vocals… needless to say this album cover catches me off guard. Through the first play of opening track “Adored,” everything returns to within my realm of understanding. A crackling bass line reminiscent of The Prodigy launches into a romanticized ballad of togetherness through the hardest of times. Sound lame? It’s not. “Every single day / I can feel it chip-chip-chipping away / if only we could run-run from this swine / oh baby we are wasted in this time,” bridges the verse to the chorus of a truly great album opener.
From here, however, the album meanders through a very formulaic set of tracks. “Song for Jacob,” the first single “Slow Poison,” and all the tracks following through until “The Spectator” could simply be extra verses in the life of the tragic romance of the opening track. Though it is here, at track seven, that there is a discovery of ingenuity, or perhaps the influence of some outspoken Bravery member. Although the familiar electronic drum kit kicks the listener statically along, an acoustic guitar and rhythmic “ooh / oooh / ooh” overlays and attracts attention that may have wandered away since “Slow Poison” or “Hatefuck.” It seems to speak of watching the world of one man, as well as the existence of mankind, as it crumbles around his and our feet. The song is easily the highlight of the album, as it obviously speaks of something close to the band with true emotion and honesty. “And the bells go / chime chime chime / ticking ticking time / I am a spectator / I am in this world but not of it / I am a spectator,” regards a disposition of one objectively watching this world as its days count down.
Stir the Blood is The Bravery stretching the limited combinations of their keys, synths, and drum machines to a breaking point. The closing tracks of the album return to fast paced distortion and ear piercing electronics, slowing for the finale “Sugarpill” which is more a, “Shit how do we finish this album?” than actual finale. There are some great dance-rock tracks on the album, and there are songs that merge balladry and synthesizers, but none of this flows in what could be regarded as a culmination of the intervening years since their last works. It is more like 11 different tracks for 11 different compilation albums. Although the New York boys might have bent several genres when they first appeared on the scene in all their shiny new vigour, several years down the road there needs to be some digression from this method and maybe ditching the synths and distorted vocals on a few tracks could do just that.
Artist: The Bravery
Album: Stir The Blood
Genre: Alternative/Indie Rock
MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/thebravery
-Track Listing-
1. Adored – 3:40
2. Song For Jacob – 3:23
3. Slow Poison – 3:32
4. Hatefuck – 2:56
5. I Am Your Skin – 3:01
6. She’s So Bendable – 2:22
7. The Spectator – 3:49
8. I Have Seen The Future – 3:14
9. Red Hands And White Knuckles – 3:25
10. Jack-O’-Lantern Man – 2:50
11. Sugarpill = 3:26
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The Starting Line
In 1999, a band was formed in Churchville, Pennsylvania (near Philadelphia) that managed to have sustained success and made pretty good music in their time, but one you may not have heard of. Why? Because despite loyal fans, ambition and good music, the major record labels are in such flux that two major label album launches fell through and that left The Starting Line literally living up to their name.
A decade later, they are breaking up because the system that should have made them successful for doing what all bands who deserve to be successful was punished with the opposite by executives who only know money and do not know or love music. Somebody’s Gonna Miss Us is a farewell concert now issued in a solid DVD/CD set. As energetic as ever, the band performs their most popular songs from their three studio albums including:
I had only heard of the band in passing prior to this release, but here, you can see a band that is a real band. When they come together, they are this band and the chemistry they have is like the best bands. Good musicians with good showmanship, this is a band that cares about their music and their fans. You can see them really connect with the audience and this set (especially the DVD) captures that. Kenny Vasou (vocals, Bass), Matt Watts (guitars), Mike Golla (guitars, backing vocals), Tom Gryskewicz (drums) and Brian Schmutz (keyboards, backing vocals) are playing music that is about relationships and works better than most of their contemporaries in the same period. I have a feeling they are going to be appreciated later when they should be appreciated now. This set will hopefully bridge that gap.
The anamorphically enhanced 1.78 X 1 image is a little soft, but it is still not a bad digital video shoot and the color is not bad. The Dolby Digital 5.1 mix is not bad, though DTS would have been nice, but the PCM 16/44.1 2.0 Stereo on the CDs are also good, but the recording can be rough at times. Surrounds on the DVD’s Dolby mix are not bad. There is only one extra and it is great. We get a documentary on the band form its formation, to its rise as a band, to its two very bad encounters (maybe too typical) with two of what now is only four major record labels left and its eventual decision to fold.
It is a great untold story of the music business, reminds us of everything that is wrong with it and in combination with the concert, is one of the greatest testaments yet (intended or not) of how bad the music industry is with new music today and that to the detriment of us all, we have lost at least two generations of great music to insane business practices. In the Blu-ray and DVD era, maybe rediscovery and renaissance will happen. Somebody’s Gonna Miss Us is a great step towards that.
Artist: The Starting Line
Album: Somebody’s Gonna Miss Us
Genre: Alternative / Rock / Pop Punk
MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/thestartingline
-Track List-
01. Given The Chance
02. Greg’s Last Day
03. Almost There, Going Nowhere
04. Direction
05. Up And Go
06. Inspired By The $
07. Are You Alone
08. The Drama Summer
09. Ready
10. This Ride
11. Bedroom Talk
12. A Goodnight’s Sleep
13. Surprise, Surprise
14. Something Left To Give
15. Island
16. Somebody’s Gonna Miss Us
17. Photography
18. Best Of Me
Read MoreTry Album [Mediafire] | The Starting Line – Somebody’s Gonna Miss Us
Armor For Sleep
I don’t have a beef with Armor For Sleep. I think they’re good at what they do. They’ve found themselves a style, it may be a grossly derivative style consisting of little more than brightly polished recycled power chords of the drop D variety, but it is a style nonetheless. Like many bands playing earnestly banal semi-derived emo schlock they’ve connected with an audience of disaffected youth who find comfort in their cranked up pop music and simplistic lyrics. I imagine Armor For Sleep shows (all ages, of course) are largely comprised of 13 to 16 year olds with their eyes squeezed shut singing every word to every song as if it was extracted from their very soul with a pair of rusty pliers.
I’d even say that Armor For Sleep have come damn close to perfecting on What To Do When You Are Dead the formulaic torch that’s being passed around between Midtown, Spitalfield, My Chemical Romance, and Juliana Theory. The shouted choruses, hooky melodies, loud guitars, repetitive riffs have been polished to an immaculate sheen, all rough edges gone, sanded to a formica smooth slickness by producer Machine which is a bit odd since his knob twiddling is usually associated with harder bands such as White Zombie and Lamb of God. What separates What To Do When You Are Dead from every other record in this genre is that it’s a concept album.
It even seems a noble idea that Armor For Sleep is willing to put together a set of songs exploring a single idea. Of course this is before you hear the idea: a cycle of songs that explore the feelings, faded relationships, past regrets, and probable causes of (have you guessed it yet?) a dead guy. Perhaps said dead guy got that way through suicide or accident or something more malevolent, but the important thing is that such an emotionally obvious stage serves the shouted choruses and anguished verses of lead singer Ben Jorgensen very well. Every song seems imbued with some deeper meaning when it’s been sung from the perspective of a dead guy: singing to ex-girlfriend, visiting brokenhearted family, considering irreparable regrets. It’s not subtle, it’s more like a death by bludgeoning.
The thing that gets me about Armor For Sleep is the whole industry that sells such bands as some kind of punk or hardcore offshoot. Armor For Sleep is not punk. Armor for Sleep is not hardcore. It’s deeply insulting for websites, ‘zines, and publicity people to make suggestions that somehow the band has roots in those genres because the riff in the chorus gets turned up real loud. This is pop music, simple and focused. It’s aimed directly at a calculated demographic determined by thousands of dollars of market research. It’s honed to a fine point, loaded into the sling of proven results and hurled with alarming accuracy at the heart and soul of suburban junior high school kids. And it’s expected, nay counted on by the enormous metaphoric cash registers of the music industry, that this broad swath of impressionable ears will inevitably be taken in by the smoothest, shiniest stone left in their path. That stone coupled with an overly dramatic video, a tour with an already established band, and movie star good looks should equal many units moved.
Armor For Sleep tries to differentiate their music from that of their myriad brothers in arms by adding light touches of electric piano (“A Quick Little Flight”) and hints of electronica (“Basement Ghost Singing”) here and there. But despite these instances of creative instrumentation (well, creative for the genre) the music never really rises above the pedestrian. It’s true that not every record that comes out has to rewrite the grand old book of rock songs, but fer crissakes at least stop cribbing the same old pages. Don’t you know that you’re all going to have exactly the same answers? Someone’s bound to notice eventually.
All of this doesn’t mean that What To Do When You Are Dead is completely irredeemable. The artwork is good. The CD comes with a clever little booklet called “What To Do When You Are Dead: A Comprehensive Guide to Your Afterlife” that’s composed of hyper-realistic drawings of the type found in airplane seatback pockets instructing you towards emergency exits. It’s clever and funny and little bit creepy. If only any of those adjectives could be leveled at the music on What To Do When You Are Dead.
Review By Stylus
Artist: Armor For Sleep
Album: What To Do When You Are Dead
Genre: Alternative Rock, Emo
MySpace: myspace.com/armorforsleep
Try Album [Mediafire] | Armor For Sleep – What To Do When You Are Dead