Music Reviews of Unsigned Bands, Demos, Promos
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 Unsigned Bands, Demos, Promos
Shrapnel — Album Sampler Buy it at Amazon
The name of the band probably gives away its sound. This is metal. This is hard rock. Welcome to Austin, Texas who boasts perhaps the best and most important music scene in all of America. So for this band to really make it in that scene would be not just difficult but a hefty task. Vocally they’re nothing to brag about with more higher pitched singing that growls or screams that seem to dominate most of hard rock these days. They’ll bring about a collage of early Ugly Kid Joe with maybe some Urge Overkill to boot. Nah, I’ll pass.
- J-Sin
Alan Whitfield — Summer Sun [Single] Buy it at Amazon
Alan Whitfield’s newest song “Summer Sun” is a good step in the right direction with mixing levels slightly better than his previous solo efforts. “Summer Sun” is a bouncy upbeat track that matches conceptions of the subject. The guitar is the centerpiece here and never fully overtakes the track allowing the smooth cigaretted vocals to coast through.
- J-Sin
Alan Whitfield — Colour Overload Buy it at Amazon
As if the title didn’t give it away, Alan Whitfield is a Brit singer/songwriter who after spending much of the ‘60s touring with his band has gone entirely solo. Lyrically he’s more than up to snuff, but the production is low quality and will probably have most people skipping off to something more polished. His music is genuine and worn directly on the sleeve though and that’s what makes it enjoyable—there’s no façade here.
- J-Sin
Alan Whitfield — End of an Era Buy it at Amazon
The sound is very fuzzy and gives it that sort of dorm/apartment studio feel. It’s at times overtly distracting. The songs are crafted with more emphasis on the lyrics and melody than 100% all instrumentation as is evidenced by the lame electronic percussion and occasionally really bad synth work. Alan’s voice is good though and could easily be considered the savior on an album that many would pass by the second or third track.
- J-Sin
Anna Freitas — Demo Buy it at Amazon
Anna Frietas has a powerful punch behind that cute and almost coy grin. Her voice is a well-orchestrated back-drop to her strong guitar playing. At times it seems almost rightfully placed in the anti-folk crowd but without all the tepid and almost embarrassing clichés that are wrought in that scene nowadays. Lyrically it’s tender and catchy, with the only distraction being the recording, which lends a muted quality to otherwise explosive indie rock. After solving the recording process, she no doubt will be an even bigger force guaranteed to dominate more than her local Boston music scene.
- J-Sin
Dan Vaillancourt — Chicago, IL 5.16.04 Buy it at Amazon
This live CD was recorded after following a band called Frankenixon who apparently took most of the crowd with them in Chicago. As Dan Vaillancourt strums away on his custom ten-string guitar, you can hear the sounds of the intimate club that he was performing in. Despite being only 23 years old he lends an ear of maturity and a knack for entertaining folks with his funky folk style. After all, who else could bust on the previous band’s mode of transportation right after following them and not sounding like a pompous ass. I think this live presentation is probably the best representation as it lends well to his unique style.
- J-Sin
Lunacy — Lunacy Buy it at Amazon
Lunacy is a quartet out of Canada who performs power metal attempting to bridge the gap between a Dream Theatre and Metallica. Unfortunately the sound quality is pretty bad and forces the spotlight on a bad job of melodically sung vocals. They claim to have exposed local post-grunge alternative bands “as a tired genre”. Well rehashing Metallica growls is just as tired and when it’s done this poorly the only true thing exposed is shoddy recording that focuses too much on a singer who can’t stay on key.
- J-Sin
Acidjaz — Soulful Ocean Vol. 1 Buy it at Amazon
This is a weird album, it almost at times sounds like it was recorded at one tempo and then played back at another. Keith Williams is the man responsible for Acidjaz and adds beats, loops, synth, and other instrumentation to the album. The mix and production are muddied by a reverberated sound with abbreviated percussion. If you wanted an album to listen to after a long acid trip as you were coming down, then maybe this is what you’d want but it’s so slowed and watered down not to mention just completely awkward that it might not be worth getting up and walking to your CD shelf.
- J-Sin
Kevin Zugschwert — Over the Limit Buy it at Amazon
Instrumental progressive rocker Kevin Zugschwert adds more fantastic guitar solos than he has consonants in his name. The lead guitar is by far the spotlight on the album while the drum machine wanks out some rather hum-drum (no pun intended) percussion portions. Anybody with a guitar and amp and a love for guitar acrobatics would by far want to listen in.
- J-Sin
The Kites — Liquor & Poker Buy it at Amazon
Two American pastimes, “Liquor and Poker” (though one would think their meaning is slightly different here, ie. lick her and poke her) are the subject for the new album by the UK’s The Kites. Their knack for writing good UK garage rockers is well noted. What will bring people to pick up the album on a whim is no doubt the cover art work provided by the nice modeling job of Rachael Couch but what will keep people listening is their nu-school approach to the classic garage punk rock theatre.
- J-Sin
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