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Posts in category indie

Sleeping in the Aviary – Great Vacation

Mar05
2011 Leave a Comment Written by J-Sin

Sleeping in the Aviary is a band that is chameleon having morphed from indie folk-rock to pop-punk to this sort of odd pop storytelling rock opera flavor. The process for songwriting is, well in a word, different. One song was written with Elliott Kozell, the singer/guitarist, and his girlfriend. At a graveyard at 1am. Another found Kozell in a parking lot in North Carolina with sudden inspiration, while yet another was written with a drunk guy named Chase who had a dog named Banjo after a show in Jacksonville, Florida. Yeah very odd I know but it worked. The songs are fun tales that are totally uppers – and yeah I don’t care if the song’s about death or whatever, they’re still damn too fun to be Debbie Downers. Surprisingly addictive, “Great Vacation” is a singer/songwriter’s paradise of inspiration.

Posted in folk, music reviews

Kissing Party – The Hate Album

Mar05
2011 Leave a Comment Written by J-Sin

Sugar-sweet vocals that mix female and male vocalists with surprising alacrity and stout harmonies, “The Hate Album” is one of the more tender albums you may hear out of the Denver scene. Kissing Party writes songs that remind one of Mates of State in a way though done with less sophistication, which is not a bad thing just a commentary on how stripped down and simple they make their brand of pop songs. Indie pop has become a very big thing in the latter part of this young millennium and groups like Kissing Party are taking the genre to new and disparate places. You can hear influences from ‘80s and early ‘90s groups like the Cure and Smiths among others. Percussion is tight and straight-forward without too much pizzazz. Guitars and synths are used to construct the main elements of the songwriting as the vocals add a dimension that is smart and directional. Very well done and highly recommended.

Posted in modern rock, music reviews, pop music

Elk City – House of Tongues

Mar05
2011 Leave a Comment Written by J-Sin

An issue that has plagued me and probably affects many other people when listening to bands, is not being able to get past the vocals. I hate to say it but when I get it into my head that I don’t like a certain singer, whether because of the sound, the style, or what have you, I can’t move on past it. Elk City unfortunately falls into that department. If only singer Renee LoBue would be just a bit better, I would love this band. Her voice is quite distinct and that’s perhaps her downfall, if it was middle-of-the-road I guarantee this band would be huge. The supporting cast surrounds her very deft songwriting and lyrics with a bevy of alternative rock that is pop-oriented but also belies an affection for sophisticated jazz, psychedelic rock, and folksy soul.

Posted in music reviews, pop music

Breathing Blue – Breathing Blue

Mar05
2011 Leave a Comment Written by J-Sin

New Jersey group Breathing Blue croons over catchy and melodic indie rock in the vein of Circa Survive. Guitar-wise it’s sensational while the rest of the music seems to catch up nicely. And before you think that’s me ripping on the rest of the members of the band, that couldn’t be farther from the truth. It’s just that the guitar work is SO DAMN GOOD. Vocally they hit all their notes without relying on auto-tune. Energetic songs that demand your fullest attention and promise to keep the blood pumping as you are guided through interesting adventures via their intriguing lyrics.

Posted in music reviews

Just Surrender – Phoenix

Mar05
2011 Leave a Comment Written by J-Sin

Produced by Lou Giordano (Plain White T’s, Taking Back Sunday), “Phoenix” is another notch in Just Surrender’s belt. As a group that has explored the nuances of pop-punk and emotional hardcore over the past four years as they have toured relentlessly with two releases that have sold upwards of 40,000 copies, Just Surrender put their laser focus on crafting an album that would further expand their fanbase. With both vocalists featured throughout with perfect layering, “Phoenix” is an admittedly guilty pleasure of the type of emotional rock that now dominates the Warped Tour. While other bands seem to stall amid the clichés and mall-punk normalcy, Just Surrender seems to shrug that off.

Posted in music reviews, punk - Tagged , ,

La Dispute – Somewhere At the Bottom of the River Between Vega and Altair

Mar05
2011 Leave a Comment Written by J-Sin

Screamo that isn’t obnoxious and packaged for the mall rats, La Dispute churns out hardcore riffs amid soul-searching lyrics and hypnotic compositions. Frantic melodies lend an air of chaos that the vocally shouted, said, and uttered lyrics only make more urgent and hyper. Contemplating songs that beg one to decipher the strong song structures and well-written musical structures that are beguilingly deliberately removed from the standard verse/chorus/verse mentality. Pressing and obsessive, “Somewhere at the Bottom of the River Between Vega and Altair” seems to emerge as a flame-retardant for those of us with psychological issues and our hearts on our sleeves.

Posted in hardcore, music reviews, punk

Canby – Rat

Mar05
2011 Leave a Comment Written by J-Sin

Scott Yoshimura is a singer/songwriter and predominantly a drummer but with Canby, he also played the guitar, sang, and wrote. His music is pop-fused indie rock with songs that are borderline endearing and yet tension-rich. “We Will Go” has perhaps the best guitar licks, clean and claustrophobic, lending a creepy and eerie backdrop. Given that he has a full-time gig playing drums for The Envy Corps., some may cast this as Yoshimura’s simple side project, they’d be missing out on how pensive and sublime Canby is. “Rat” is a very good debut for an artist people should pay attention to.

Posted in music reviews

Child Bite – The Living Breathing Organ Summer

Feb27
2011 Leave a Comment Written by J-Sin

Okay pretty much any band can have my immediate attention when they start their album off with huge tom and snare rolls. “The Living Breathing Organ Summer” just gets better from then on, improving on avant-garde indie punk. Boasting a surprise around each corner, Child Bite sucker punches you with a funk-oriented soul that is so quirky you can imagine this being a band that is frequented by the likes of Mike Patton and The Jesus Lizard. Eclectic and freakin’ weird, Child Bite is certainly going to be an acquired taste for many people. The Detroit-based band is yet further proof that a crappy economy can have profoundly good effects sometimes – only unemployed maniacs who are craving the prescription drugs they can no longer afford would put pen to paper and come up with lyrics this fucking maniacal.

Posted in experimental, music reviews - Tagged , , , ,

Ojos Rojos – Disappear

Feb27
2011 Leave a Comment Written by J-Sin

Hypnotic guitar-driven emotional rock punctuates “Disappear”, the album by Ojos Rojos, a group that has found it plausible to write even more druggy psychedelic music than we heard in the late ‘60s. Gifted with a knack for writing staunchly well thought-out tunes, Ojos Rojos invites you to be guided on a journey that is both colorful and alliterating. Acid rock for the Internet celebrity age? You betcha. Interesting if not outright special.

Posted in music reviews - Tagged

Dorena – About Everything and More

Feb27
2011 Leave a Comment Written by J-Sin

Those of you searching for the score to those dreamy indie flicks you’ve seen cinematic unknown geniuses conjure up over the years – well this is it. “About Everything and More” is the sophomore follow-up to the fantastic “Holofon” by Dorena. An outfit based out of Sweden, Dorena carves their niche with superb and intelligent instrumental indie pop music that seems simple but quickly becomes holistically visionary and diverse. Deep Elm Records, once again, has defined the movement of instrumental pop music by having the likes of Moving Mountains, Dorena and Goonies Never Say Die on their roster. Guitars pop and weave like a bantamweight division champ in the middle of the ring. Melodic nuances dance patterns in the icy wintry cold that Dorena evokes. And in case you were wondering – there are lyrics and vocals spotlighted throughout “About Everything and More” but this is certainly an instrumental-first approach as the vocals are just another instrument that helps move along the emotional enormity of each song’s structure. The odd and quirky synth pop of “We’ll Never Meet This Young Again” is just incredible as it then cascades into a bedroom guitar plucking only to be then re-cast as a symphonic journey that lights the way for the downtrodden and misguided. Fantastic songwriting with a strong sense of purpose and a calm wit about it, “About Everything and More” is a definite must-have for any music fan.

Posted in music reviews - Tagged , ,
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