Music Reviews of Punk, Indie Rock, Emo, Ska
Band Spotlight
Chiodos
Perhaps no one can explain the sheer ferocity and timid quietness it is better than when vocalist Craig Owens says “we don’t want to let the kids down” when discussing the group’s intense vocals live at shows. Well they never let a single kid down with their vicious assault on the ears and grip on the jugular...
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Current Top Ten Chart
Skinny Puppy - Mythmaker
Converge - No Heroes
The Graduate - Anhedonia
Death By Stereo - Death Alive
Comeback Kid - Broadcasting
The Snake The Cross The Crown - Cotton Teeth
Dear and the Headlights - Small Steps, Heavy Hooves
The Geeks - Every Time We Fall
Limbeck - Limbeck
WinterKids - Memoirs
03.09.2007 by J-Sin
Music Reviews of Punk, Indie Rock, Emo, Ska
The Canvas Waiting — In Search of Beginnings... Buy it at Amazon
Aren’t we all in search of the start of things? If not, we’d all be rather boring creatures who could care less about the ‘now’ but more interested in the ‘future’. Granted regardless when we explore a folk’s past we find out what’s in store as well as what’s happened. The Canvas Waiting is a three-year old social experiment of talented musicians wanting to try their collective hand at crafting special pop songs. Their success has found them playing Cornerstone, SXSW, and showcasing in other venues. Dynamic songwriting melts into pop-heavy melodies in an indie rock/pop-punk format not too unlike Jimmy Eat World. Clever on so many levels.
- J-Sin
The Agency — Turn Buy it at Amazon
South Florida’s music scene is one that seems to breed pop-punk and indie rock bands left and right. The Agency’s members grew up in that musical zone and just like that scene’s propensity for sharing members, this group is no exception. Featuring drummer/vocalist Mike Marsh of Dashboard Confessional and Seville along with fellow Seville member and bassist/vocalist Chris Drueke and guitaris Klaus Ketelhohn, The Agency makes their mark with infectious harmonies, pop hooks, and rhythmic melodies. Bouncy indie pop-punk that is as close to Jawbreaker as you can get without sounding like a copycat.
- J-Sin
Loren Dent — Empires and Milk Buy it at Amazon
Relaxing melodic overtures sweep over top of your body and weep alongside of you as your mourn the last suffering notes from the last band who inspired you this much. Almost sounding like a psychedelic version of a Saturday morning cartoon speed down to the point of abrasion, Loren Dent’s “Empires and Milk” is a vibrant tale that simply must be explored by every single person who has ever heard music before. Ambient music and post-rock this damn clever deserves to rest its laurels as it prepares to lick its chops for the next big bite.
- J-Sin
KTP — KTP Buy it at Amazon
Straight forward punk rock from the heartland of America? Could it be possible? KTP hails from Kansas, a small town at that, and sounds like they’re straight from the dirty punk pubs of London or New York City. Grimy and greasy riffs are soaked in kerosene rhythms. If you’re a fan of the way punk used to be, than this is for you.
- J-Sin
The Tiny — Starring; Someone Like You Buy it at Amazon
Perhaps a little less abstract and divergent than their prior release, The Tiny’s “Starring; Someone Like You” flows with purpose and grandiose vision. Slimmed down instrumentation that is still as rich and lush as it was before makes for an album that critics and fans will wag their tongues at. The Tiny boasts cello, piano, vocals, and electronics richer than any other indie pop band on the current circuit. Pick it up for sure.
- J-Sin
Das Oath — Das Oath Buy it at Amazon
Noisy grind-punk that gives power violence new meaning, Das Oath’s latest on the seminal Three One G is powerful, alluring, and fucking messed up. Imagine all those kids who sucked down a gallon of gas fumes before shop class being in a band where they all smoke, drink, and do meth and have no real interest in that thing called ‘melody’. You’d get a hardcore punk group that still doesn’t have the balls to match up against the mighty Das Oath. I remember reading about awesome bands like this in Thrasher years ago but I didn’t know they existed outside of California as Das Oath hails from The Netherlands and New York.
- J-Sin
Triggers — Elude the Suits Buy it at Amazon
Pittsburgh natives Triggers leave behind their previous venture in Monarch and signed on to California-based Northern Records. “Elude the Suits” finds the group shrugging off the chores of an everyday bar band and finally finding a voice among thousands. Fortunately for them, they expel an effortless vocal-majority garage punk-rock tone that seems to address all the concerns of interested fans. Different and exciting.
- J-Sin
The Dirty Novels — Pack Your Pistols Buy it at Amazon
Albuquerque’s The Dirty Novels write ranging garage rock numbers that threaten to shake a house and its hitches but little else. Not a lot of truly visionary creativity is present nor is a clear path to something wholly different visible. You get tired of this within the first ‘breakdown’.
- J-Sin
My Teenage Stride — Ears Like Golden Bats Buy it at Amazon
Well aren’t bats blind and have super-hearing? Because if you’ve stepped from normal bats and graduated to ‘golden bats’ and are relying on their ears yet somehow produce something this nasal and gravel-in-the-knee-cap inducing, you’re off to a wrong step.
- J-Sin
Malajube — Trompe L’Oeil Buy it at Amazon
‘60’s oriented indie pop that bubbles well above the surface in a Modest Mouse fashion, defining what the origins are and what direction that rock ‘n’ roll choruses should migrated towards is but one minor key that Malajube hits with accuracy on their enigmatic and often uplifting album “Trompe L’Oeil”. Montreal-based indie band Malajube knows that they need to embrace the Internet’s affection but also be endearing to those music critics who heard of them via the old fashioned word of mouth. But they do this effortlessly with chorus-riddle song synopsis’ and clever songwriting. Huge vocal harmonies are but a mirage when you consider the full weight of awesome song talent contained within Malajube. Stunning!
- J-Sin
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