Atlanta’s Campaign has arrived onto the scene with an EP that, at first bite, attacks you with no preparation. No rising sounds, no gentle intros, no beguilement. Just a full on seizure of wrists and into the pit for a tumultuous ride. Track one of the EP is “Rock Bottom Summer”, a threatening powerhouse of an introductory that sets you up on an adrenaline rush. The ominous drum beat stands poised and ready for attack, provoking the listener to thrash along with this thunder-beat.

KEEP READING →→

Seattle’s Minus the Bear are back with the follow up album to 2007’s Planet of Ice with Omni, a record that, despite its uber catchy melodies, I’m in two minds about. To put it totally bluntly: I just don’t get it.

I know this review will probably sound schizophrenic, but I can’t help it. I’m divided. I also know this is Positivexposure, and I’ll get to the positivity, I promise, but on the one hand, I have to be honest. With Omni, I feel that the band have morphed into a more generic direction – rather than taking the opportunity to refine their individuality and take a more unique step, Omni is kind of faceless – at one point I really began to doubt if I’d bought the right record. KEEP READING →→

The latest piece of electro-dance goodness from James Murphy, the brains behind LCD Soundsystem, is This Is Happening, the last release under the name that has seen him release two other albums,  LCD SoundSystem and the wonderful Sound Of Silver.

Dance Yrself Clean
“Dance Yrself Clean”, the opening track of the album, is a interesting listen.  It begins with the group of band members along with Murphy singing together against a simple drum beat, with bits of synth coming in and out as they progress. Just when you think that the whole track will proceed like this, the current beat is joined by an incredibly funky synth dance piece, accompanied by Murphy’s signature wailing vocals. It’s a good track, but at 8:58, it can certainly drag on. KEEP READING →→

Darwin Deez released his first two track EP, Radar Detector, at the beginning of this month, April 10th to be precise. I really enjoy Darwin’s song writing style, he seems to have been able to get fun distilled down to a sound and then combine that with some great pop beats and simple but enjoyable guitar bits. On his new album he’s toned down the ‘happy-go-lucky’ themes and some of the resulting tracks are some great, sometimes chilled out, listens. KEEP READING →→

Cloud Cult’s Running With The Wolves EP is available today! It’s a digital-only four song EP that includes one brand new song from their forthcoming album, Light Chasers, which will be available in August. The three remaining songs are from 2006 and 2007, so I think that current fans will like the trip down memory lane, and the potential fans (like me) will have a chance to play catch-up and get a brief history of the band’s sound throughout the years. I think this album has a great selection of songs on it, they’re all different styles but you can tell they’re by the same band. I think it’s important to be able to change up your style but stay distinct, and that’s an ability Cloud Cult has shown on this EP. KEEP READING →→

From the opening track you can hear how the Fall of Troy’s musicianship has evolved. This is a band that continues to be unpredictable, meshing multiple genres together and jumping between genres effortlessly. It is a familiar sound, keeping fans happy, but the band have pushed themselves once more to create an album that challenges the lines between genres. The album flows from one track to another, showing how all these songs can stand both by themselves but also work as a package.

Running guitar lines and walking bass lines keep this musician happy and give me faith once more in a music scene where there are actual musicians who can appreciate writing music that isn’t just chord progression after chord progression. The Fall of Troy deserve to be commended for the brilliant composition of their songs.

But perhaps their greatest trait is also their biggest downfall. As a whole, this album is a struggle to sit through. Songs start to blur as it becomes difficult to keep focused on what I’m listening to. Perhaps I’m just not an avid enough fan of the Fall of Troy. As single songs, they don’t fail to entertain. Listen to just one song, and it’ll have my full attention for the four or so minutes, but when I’m constantly having to give it my full attention my thoughts start to wonder and I can’t focus on the music.

Initial thought: The Fall of Troy have a knack for pushing boundaries, would this next record continue to do so, or will they sit back and just stay with a formula that they are familiar with? Also, the album art is suburb.

Now: The Fall of Troy has managed to write another record that pushes both the boundaries of music and themselves. It’s a relief to know that there are still real musicians in the scene who can write [...]

Talk about a pleasant blast from the past! This album could hold its own on a shelf next to my mom’s 80s pop records. Singer Sarah Guild has a great vocal range and she sure knows how to use it. Listening to Invisible Embraces really almost sounds like I’m listening to a modern, more upbeat Blondie album. The energy is great, I think it could easily be thrown on at a dance club or be sung on a road trip with friends just as easily. The main thing that makes this album so enjoyable is that while there are obvious throwbacks to the 70s/80s new wave explosion, it is not a complete rip off and manages to blend 80s influences with a modern dancey sound and a burst of ingenuity.
A side note is the album art. It’s very 80s and I believe that if I were browsing CDs in a store (come on kids, you remember cd stores, don’t you? The buildings that you actually had to walk into when you had to wait for a cd to be officially released?) it would catch my eye. The bright blues, yellows, and pinks make it a really easy thing to spot.
Back to the music: bottom line, it’s fun, it’s catchy, it’s unique in today’s music world, and it’s very well done.

Initial Thoughts: I really expected this album to be a total wanna-be 80s record that had absolutely no originality or real thought put into it. I was pleasantly surprised by what the album actually was, though. While it is something I have heard before it’s not overdone and it’s beautifully pulled off.

Now: I’m really glad that this album landed on my desk because since I was born in the last eleven days of 1990, I obviously didn’t get to experience any part of the 80s—the good or the bad. I was raised on grunge and alternative rock, so for me, this is a breath of fresh air even though people who listen to the good dance music of the past, they may prefer that.

Best Track: “I’m Losing”. The vocal melody of the chorus is really fun to sing along to and it has lyrics that are easy to relate to. The synthesizer is really upbeat and makes it a great song to dance to.

Drops [...]

Let me start off by saying this album isn’t bad. These are good musicians creating good music. It’s just that nothing about this album doesn’t give me Deja Vu. I understand that a band started thirteen years ago may have roots and influences in early rock, but I wish that they had incorporated their influences in the music and created something more original instead of just playing like those influences. I will admit, the guitar on “Sand Hill” is redemption for the whole album. It has a great, authentic, old timey feel to it.

For an album that seems to have been done time and time again, Super 400 has pulled it off quite well.

Initial Thoughts: This is definitely not my cup of tea. I don’t care much for the vocals and I feel like I’ve heard this many times before.

Now: I realize that for a concept that’s not original or ground breaking, it’s very well done.

Best Track: Sand Hill. The guitar is great and I think the song will translate really well live. This song is [...]