  If it’s a band with the talent to soar from songs full of catchy hooks, powerful vocals, toe-tapping rhythms, dashes of scathing polemic wit and lyrical prowess to soft-spoken, beautiful ballads you’re after, San Diego’s Delta Spirit are the band for you. Their second full length studio album, History from Below was released at the start of June, and certainly does not disappoint.
I’ll admit to being a relative newcomer to their music; I was recently introduced to their previous album Ode to Sunshine (2008) and spent a good few days obsessing over it – tracks like “People C’mon” and “Trashcan” defining their sound for me – different, upbeat, vibrant, but I know this is a band I will be listening to for a long time. History from Below launches into brilliance with the more politically charged “911″ KEEP READING →→
If you’re a fan of Harvard, you should already know some things about Jesse Clasen. To name a few, he has an incredible voice and knows how to use it, he plays piano, and occasionally, he will play some horns. What Firewood immediately teaches us is that Jesse had a hidden talent up his sleeve. Sure, he played acoustic guitar on The Inevitable and I, but the guitar on Firewood is much more intricate and it draws you into the song immediately, catching your interest and allowing Clasen to do, well…all the other things he does really well. Don’t come here looking for the pounding drums, groovy bass lines, or dizzying guitars that can be found when listening to Harvard. Just sit back and introduce yourself to the truly one of a kind talent that is The Bear Romantic. KEEP READING →→
The opening to Stegosaur’s Adventure 7″ sounds out as a welcoming conversation starter, a casual greeting to you, the listener on the other side. Jerid Reed Morris, the man behind the vocals, speaks to you of picking the attention of record executives and as you feel part of the conversation, it’s surely hard to wonder how this foursome could evade the kingpin dream-makers of the recording industry.
From first impressions alone, Adventure is a charming creature. The wailing energy of “A Headache”, after the steady intro, chimes familiarly toward that of The Strokes’ Albert Hammond Jr.’s solo work. The bubbling beat makes for perfect body thrashing material. KEEP READING →→
Mountain Man start their unique debut album, Made the Harbor, by asking you to ‘follow, follow follow’ and indeed, the voices of Amelia Meath, Molly Sarle, and Alex Sauser-Monnig, like the three sirens of Greek mythology, seem to grab you by the hand and lure you into their ethereal, beautiful world; their songs seduce and enchant you.
When listening, there was nothing to do but lie in silence, to be active felt as if I was doing the music a great disservice, and by the third track, I was utterly enthralled and in love. Like waves, Made the Harbor washes over your mind and pulls you to its depths. KEEP READING →→
 
I have been following Parades for quite some time, always amazed by their releases. Finally, after months of waiting, their debut album Foreign Tapes has been released and it does not disappoint. The Sydney sextet has gone through many incarnations, changing names and styles left and right, with the final result being a fresh new approach to music and a stellar debut album. Foreign Tapes is what I would describe as being post math rock, having quiet ambient build ups and jolty textbook math rock movements much to the likes of Foals. In short, Parades has produced a standout album which is a tremendous display of Australian innovation and creativity, reaffirming Australian music as some of the best in the world. KEEP READING →→
 When MGMT released their first studio album, Oracular Spectacular, back in 2008, they basically placed themselves on the the Indie/Alternative map as a go to band for great dance (“Electric Feel”, “Kids”), ballad-y acoustic (“Pieces of What”, “Weekend Wars”) and just totally weird, eclectic tunes (“4th Dimensional Transition”). I myself loved the album, and MGMT has been a favourite of mine ever since, so when I heard that they were working on their second album, I’m sure you can imagine my excitement. It was a tough wait, but finally Congratulations is upon us. KEEP READING →→
 
Brooklyn quintet Fang Island has created a 30 minute sonic journey of positivity and inspiration. Imagine winning the lottery…your first kiss…getting the girl…winning the game just at the buzzer…getting a promotion…having all your dreams come true. If your life were made into a movie, Fang Island would be playing very prominently in the background during all of those moments.
It comes out tomorrow and will cure any post-Vday blues. (Check it out!)
Dreams of Dreams
The first track starts off with the popping sound of fireworks. Anticipation. It’s the start of something great. In comes some Nintendo-esque guitar. It starts to get a bit churchy toward the end with the very inspirational “they are all within my reach, they are free” gang vocals over an organ, but, this doesn’t ruin the mood at all. In fact, when I first heard that Fang Island has three guitarists, I thought it would all be just noise…They’re definitely a guitar based band but they don’t overdo it or leave other instruments out. KEEP READING →→
When I first heard about New Order members Bernard Sumner and Phil Cunningham’s new band Bad Lieutenant, I thought, ‘Wow, are they going to sell any albums? Music is totally different today…’ This is probably because I wasn’t around in the 80s, (and I’m also not even old enough to remember Nirvana!) so the only New Order song I know is “Blue Monday,” which is pretty much Sumner talking to great music. Not hearing a synthesizer right away and actually hearing Bernard Sumner sing was a big and pleasant surprise.
“Sink or Swim”
This is probably the most pleasant opening on the album. It’s the catchiest song on the album, but of course it’s catchy, it’s Bernard Sumner and Phil Cunningham we’re talking about here. It’s obviously the single for a reason and a great choice for the first track. It’s energetic and immediately grabs your attention and doesn’t let it go.
“Twist of Fate”
The bass and guitar lines of this song make for an energetic song that will probably be the easiest to translate live. “Twist of Fate” has the pleasure of having some of the heaviest drums on the album, giving it a little bit more energy than the rest of the songs.
“Summer Days”
Bad Lieutenant’s great mix of throwbacks to great music and new influences really shows in this song for me. The bass is prominent and funky, and the guitar is loud without overpowering everything else that is great about the song. It’s definitely Sumner’s best vocal performance on the album other than the chorus of “This is H0me.”
“This is Home”
This is a runner up for best song on the album. The opening sounds a lot like something The Cure would have written and the bass line definitely reminds me of a softer Elastica, who were pretty much the gods of bass lines. If I am not mistaken, Jake Evans sings this song. His voice is a lot deeper than I would have imagined! I would have liked hearing more of Jake on the album, but maybe on the next album. Not only are the chorus lyrics beautiful, so is the vocal melody. (“I want you by my side, girl I’m doing it for you, gonna open your eyes, I’m gonna take you higher than a bird can fly, girl, I’m so in love with you.”) I like how this song manages to be soft and upbeat at the same time. From the words that I can decipher, this has sappy love song potential, but Bad Lieutenant have avoided that with the happy sounding guitar and high harmonies. Synthesizer strings and pad were the perfect touch to the ending of this song. So far, this is a great album to sing to, something very important to me because I don’t just listen to music, I want to experience it.
“Running Out of Luck”
A nice and steady bass line keeps this ultra-soft song going strong.
“Dynamo”
The keyboards definitely sound like The Who’s “Won’t Get Fooled Again,” but since when is that a bad thing? [...]
Newborns on the music scene, fun. are the bubbly indie pop trio formed by The Format’s Nate Ruess. After listening, there is no doubt in my mind that fun. have indeed produced one of the most essential albums, pop or otherwise, of 2009. The band’s name itself is enough to give music listeners reason to pick up Aim & Ignite, but curiosity shouldn’t be your only reason for checking out the group’s debut album.
Aim & Ignite is an infectious, melodic, and outright brilliant album, from start to finish. Listeners shouldn’t shy away from the “pop” label the band has been given – in reality, their pop influences lie in the same vein as the Beach Boys, Queen, and in some cases, 50s doo-wop. The album is really a confection, and every slice of the cake is better than the last. No filling in this pastry, the entire thing is legitimate. As fun. says, “She brings me a cake/we celebrate/I have arrived.”
Initial Thoughts: Lowercase spelled, improperly punctuated, and indie pop labeled? I can’t say I was impressed or looking forward to fun. With those stats, I was expecting yet another cranked out, commercially successful side project.
Now: This really is indie pop, the very definition of it. fun. legitimates the genre itself.
Best Track: Light A Roman Candle With Me. Incredibly tough decision, and I only picked this because it was the first one that stuck out [...]
When’s the last time you’ve hear a pop-punk band talking about good grades? A Clear Blurr, the teenage quartet from New Jersey consisting of honor students and even a golf team captain, is getting ready to release their second studio album, Trigonometry. Yes folks, Trigonometry. A Clear Blurr’s infectious melodies and poppy bass take me back to the good old days when New Found Glory had just dropped the ‘A’ from their name.
If you’ve been lacking some quality old-school late ’90s/early ’00s pop-punk lately, pick up a copy of Trigonometry when it drops in September and quench your cravings quicker than you can say, ‘What’s a CD?’
Initial Thoughts: At first, as I was coming off of an all-I-want-to-listen-to-is-NFG bender, I thought that this was just another bunch of teenagers trying to copy bands like New Found Glory and Blink-182.
Now: I then realized that they weren’t trying, they were comparable on the same level as NFG and Blink and that, if I didn’t know they were fresh out of high school, I would never have guessed.
Best Track: Brain Dead. It’s an energetic song everyone can relate to.
DROPS [...]
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