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
Julie Loyd — All That You Ask For Buy it at Amazon
Her fourth album is a live one and is captured both as a recording and as a live visual on DVD as well as audio CD. Julie Loyd’s music is your typical singer/songwriter acoustic affair but her voice separates her from the pack as she sings with such emotional fury that you can hear each note drip with fierce emphasis. Folk-rock that is daring, courageous, and is perfumed with female rock nostalgia—you could hear so many long past female artists’ struggles evoked in every hook it’s scary. Nice touch.
- J-Sin
Bad Brother — Demo Buy it at Amazon
Weird electronica act Bad Brother is comprised of the Madhatter known simply as Dan Buescher. Based in the nation’s capitol, Bad Brother throws caution to the wind upon each mix as he tweaks and turns knobs with wild abandon not ever relinquishing one particular melody for another. Acid lines loop around and swirl, almost gushing at the seams in an effort to tangle with the MIDI-laced percussion. It’s ear candy for the E generation who is now tired of hearing throbbing beats of Oakenfold and wants instead to sit in the cool down lounge and space out with brown acid and magic mushrooms to coalesce into a misshapen twat who believes that fate, Buddha, and the enlightenment of drugs are the only true conversation starters. A weird orchestrated electronic movement that simply demands your full attention. Brilliant.
- J-Sin
Griddle — Klimty Favela Buy it at Amazon
Packaged with its own bizarre comic book, “Klimity Favela” is probably a band that John Frusciante listens to when he first wakes up and does his morning dose of heroin (oh I’m sure he’s sober now!). Surreal free jazz and operatic rock overtures are just some of the asides that this eclectic album explores. Today’s adventurous music fan would no doubt find this an interesting listen—but it might be hard to get past the vocals which are often sung slightly off at times. Not bad but I think it tries a little too hard to be weird.
- J-Sin
M2B — Signs Buy it at Amazon
Leaning back against a backdrop of atmospheric pop-rock, M2B deliver catchy hooks that are riddled with superb songwriting. Michael Katz writes compelling lyrics and sings them deftly. Ballad pop-rock that fuses radio-friendly hooks with intelligent writing. Good singer/songwriter pop!
- J-Sin
The Wasted Freaks — Fright Rock Buy it at Amazon
Long Island rock band The Wasted Freaks have a dense guitar sound that is rife with distorted melodies. The production is your standard garage band type of thing with much of the sound being lost. Randy Pike is responsible not only for promoting the band but he also sings, plays guitar, bass, and drums. Busy guy, maybe he needs to spend some more time writing slightly more memorable tunes though. Not the worst thing in the world but it isn’t as polished as it ought to be—there’s plenty of work to do but a good foundation to work from.
- J-Sin
Broad Noodles — Broad Noodles Buy it at Amazon
Groovy rock ‘n’ roll with a ton of vocals and thick bass. It’s not the greatest or the most inventive ship sailing the seas. It almost has a vibe of hardcore and nu-metal somehow due to the vocal delivery which is rhythmic talking and crew shout-outs. Fair enough I suppose but not very inspiring.
- J-Sin
T. Hallenbeck — Packrat Buy it at Amazon
Spotless acoustic folkster T. Hallenbeck’s third offering “Packrat” builds on the budding genius of his “Doubting Thomas” with a new album simply called “Packrat”. Well what this brooding singer/songwriter packrats is simply a myriad of melodies, catchy hooks, and crafty lyrics. The instrumentation can sound as complex and organic as an orchestra at times and other times it sounds like a stripped down coffeehouse joint. The devilishly talented Hallenbeck not only sings and writes all the music but he also plays all the guitars as well as the dulcimer, mandola, cello, bass, viola, keys, and mandolin. To utter “impressive” would be almost oxymoronic at this point. Perfect is perhaps more fitting.
- J-Sin
Illusion of Joy — The Forever Syndrome Buy it at Amazon
Over seventy minutes of lo-fi pop rock with shaky vocals and MIDI instrumentation. Can you tackle it? “The Forever Syndrome” is peppered with dramatic overtures that are more fit for the stage. Saying this is “bad” would be a complement. This makes me think that the terrorists won.
- J-Sin
KC Booker — KC Booker Buy it at Amazon
Hip-hop, blues, rock-n-roll. It’s all no match for the extreme suckiness of KC Booker. I could believe that he’s played alongside Rage Against the Machine, Jamiroquai, and Beck—because that was most likely one show. And his last. We all can hope at least. This is terribly spun rock tales of stupid hotel hijinks with terrifically horrid rock hooks and so-called urban beats to provide backdrops to the vomiting of the century. Kid Rock did this horribly already, why did KC Booker feel compelled to drive the nail further into the coffin?
- J-Sin
Organ Failure — All Over Buy it at Amazon
You’ll be wishing for Organ Failure in under 1 second flat upon the initial experience of this band. There’s really nothing other than that proclamation. This is the worst thing to happen to ears since explosions. Just keep your fingers crossed as it soon will be "All Over".
- J-Sin
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