Forever the Sickest Kids – Self Titled (2011)
by chiggles on Feb.27, 2011, under Music
Forever the Sickest Kids have grown to be a sort of guilty pleasure of mine. The cheesy lyricism and undeniably catchy tone of their music is enough to grab attention, which is exactly what they did with ‘Underdog Alma Mater’, the bands debut full length back in 2009. In fact, the only thing that keeps this band just above the listenable peak is the amount of energy and fun they put in almost all of their music. Things have changed though, and everything that kept this band going through their previous releases has suddenly disappeared with the groups second full length, ‘Forever the Sickest Kids’.
Meant to be the second EP in a series of releases called the “Weekend” series, the band has claimed that they had enough music to put the idea to the side and just release a self-titled full length. One of the things you instantly notice here is a slight change in sound, some might call it maturing while I simply call it degression. Most of the songs featured on the album seem to have no effort put forth, containing bland and boring elements that never do the band any justice. The album opener turns out to be quite a tease as well, ‘Bringing Me Down’ does a great job at opening the album with a band. The song is freakishly catchy and so much fun to listen too, but when you move on beyond that is when you start to lose that level of fun.
A lot of songs on the record are indeed catchy, but filled with constantly recycled ideas that have already tired out, and hearing them being used again and again becomes aggravating. Following the first song is ‘I Guess You Can Say Things Are Getting Pretty Serious’, which does feature a good energy level, never does anything to make it stand out, which is the case for a good amount of songs here. ‘Life of the Party’ is an almost unbearable track lead by it’s pop influenced synth and dance song style and rhythm, it’s a perfect Disney Channel track designed for younger girls to dance around too in their bedrooms. From this point on, everything on the album just seems to fly by, it all blends together and becomes nothing more than background noise.
‘King For A Day’ features an easy to sing along to chorus, but backed with it’s terrible lyrics and boring musicianship, never really hit’s the level of excitement it should. The same goes for ‘BiPolar, Baby’, a song we’ve heard a thousand times before just recycled with it’s own little twists the band threw on it. My personal favorite track on the album, ‘Forever Girl’ is a layed back acoustic love track that does a good job at just being catchy. It’s nothing new, but it’s a fun song to sing along with and listen too every now and then. Album closer, ‘What Happened to Emotion (Killing Me)’ had so much going for it, since it’s actually not that bad of a song. At the same time though, it just seems to fall short of being noteworthy of any sort of attention.
Forever the Sickest Kids have hit a point with their Self-Titled album where it’s going to be hard to bounce back from. It’s either they continue to make laughable Disney inspired tunes like what’s to be found on here, or they attempt to do something for everyone and bring back that level of fun and excitement I think about when it comes to hearing this band. All we get here is a collection of really bad tracks, and with the two songs on the record I actually came to like, it still doesn’t help the obvious laziness that went into this album, and if this is the best the group can do, then best of luck to them.
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Transit – Something Left Behind
by chiggles on Feb.26, 2011, under Music
Acoustic music is designed to bring a listener through a wide range of emotions, whether it’d be a happy layed back song, or a little more on the emotional side, it’s easy to get lost in when it’s done right. Shortly after a year of their debut full length, Transit has returned to show a softer side of themselves with ‘Something Left Behind’. Containing nine newly recorded acoustic tracks, Transit has done a great job at creating an album that’s easy to listen too and fun to just sing along with no matter what kind of mood you are in. One of the things that save this album from being just full of random, no meaning acoustic songs is that range of emotions mentioned earlier. While the main lyrical topic of a song may be a little more personal and darker than the rest, it still focuses on catchy guitar work and rhythm to make it’s way through the song without losing your attention.
A major problem one may run into when listening to an all acoustic album is the blend of similarity between songs, and though it’s very easy to have this problem while listening to ‘Something Left Behind’, but when you look at each of the songs individually, you begin to notice the little things that separate them. ‘For the World’ is a song about the effect one person may have on someone else’s life, and features an amazing verse line; “To the world you may be one person, but to one person you may be the world”, which showcases just how well at times this band can write. While there are plenty of little moments which feature generic or cheesy lyrical moments, most of the writing does a good job at just being good enough acoustic lines that fit whatever mood the song may be capturing.
Tracks like ‘1978’ and ‘Something Left Behind’ are filled with catchy hooks and upbeat choruses, doing an amazing job at separating themselves from the rest of the crowd. ‘Castaway’ and ‘Please, Head North’ feature a little more of a softer, relaxed rhythm that just make them so easy to sit down and enjoy. ‘Something Left Behind’ is one of those albums that seem to feature everything you’d want to hear from a nice acoustic collection of songs. Easy to sing along too and enjoy, Transit never tries to hard too make something new or exciting, but sticks to the formula and creates a well crafted album deserving of more than a few listens.
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I See Stars – The End of the World Party
by chiggles on Feb.25, 2011, under Music
When a band approaches their debut album, they think of things they could do to attract an audience. You pretty much have this mind set of, what could we do to pull people in to our sound and support us through what we could do in the future. The easiest way to grab someone’s attention is to hit them with something they’re familiar with, yet enjoy at the same time. So when it comes to blending multiple genres of music together, you’re still in a tricky spot simply because so many bands attempt to blend this genre and that genre together in an attempt to create something fresh. When you come forward and show people that you can put two styles together and do it well, that’s when you catch the attention you want and therefore being to build upon what you have established.
With their debut album 3-D, they showed everyone that they can do something wholly unoriginal, yet throw enough surprises in there to make it stand out above the rest of the crowd. When you look back at 3-D, you think of how fun and catchy it was, and at the same time how well the band threw in their heavier moments without having any of those awkward seeming to try to hard moments. It all flowed together well and therefore became a refreshing experience. With The End of the World Party, I See Stars thinks they have their audience figured out, and does more of this than that and ends up completely blowing away that fresh excitement they started with only a few short years ago.
It’s not a major problem when you substitute something good with something else that could be good, as long as you make people believe that the replacement has enough power to equal out what you took away. While not completely removing it from their sound, the band has seemed to push away their heavier moments and spare them for a few select moments throughout the record. The problem with this for people like me is that those heavier moments, were some of my favorites from what the band has done before. I had actually hoped for more of it in this album, but those few moments were actually gifted with it are worth the excitement you receive when you hear them. Opening track The End of the World Party is a bit of a tease, because it’s a song that gets you anticipating what’s to follow.
Leaning more on their older style with the opening track, were given an extremely catchy and hook driven track that people like me looked forward to hearing on the record. Blasting through comes Zach Johnson’s undeniably awesome high screams, backed with spacey synth and an awesome amount of energy. Ruining the experience just a tad bit though comes Devin Oliver, one of those people who can actually sing, but chooses to rely on the use of auto-tune to “amp” his singing voice. He’s a great vocalist, but ultimately drags himself down with that heavy use of electronics. As the album progresses beyond the opening track though, we’re hit with that morph in sound as mentioned before. Songs like Still Not Quite Enough and Home For the Weekend are ultra poppy, often cheesy tracks that point out the totally wrong direction this band is headed in.
Sure, those songs are catchy, but more is needed to really find a reason to enjoy songs like those which are found all over this album. I really found myself liking more parts of this album rather than whole songs, such as the ending of Wonderland, which hits you with an awesome breakdown. Of course, this is all following what I would call a decent track. It’s songs like The Common Hours II and The End of the World Party which bring that same smile back to my face that I had while listening to their first album. They’re catchy and fun, but do a great job of switching between that heavier sound and pop influenced styles. Such as in Wonderland, the track Upside Down isn’t a horrible track, but gets better when Zach Johnson enters and completely turns the song around.
‘The End of the World Party’ is a change for I See Stars, and one that just may manage to pull away some of that fan base they tried so hard to create. The only thing enjoyable here are the little moments, and whether you choose to hate them just as much as you hate the songs they’re in, that’s up to you and what you prefer. In my opinion, this band needs to sit down and establish their sound, because at this point, they seem more confused than anything.
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Destroy Rebuild Until God Shows – D.R.U.G.S
by chiggles on Feb.25, 2011, under Music
Reputation is an important thing in the music industry, whether it’s people knowing your name and your accomplishments, or all your mistakes. When you mess up in such a crazy industry, people know. The rumors begin and next thing you know, you’re on the wrong side of the fan base, becoming more of a disgrace than an idol. It’s people like me who look at Craig Owens with such a bizarre wonder, knowing whether not to find respect for him for what he’s done and what he’s been through, or completely toss him to the side as another worthless member in society. After being harshly removed from Chiodos for many unexplained reasons, Craig is back with D.R.U.G.S., (an acronym for Destroy Rebuild Until God Shows).
Containing members formerly of bands like Matchbook Romance and From First to Last, D.R.U.G.S is nowhere close to being a super group, rather a small combination of people from bands we’ve heard before. Compiling a small documentary about themselves before the release of their album, Craig and his group did everything they could to expose themselves to the public as quickly as possible. Following was the band releasing one song from the album everyday up to the initial release, and with those songs a little teaser video. With the band bringing so much attention to themselves, you’d think they’d put out something to look forward too, but that’s not the story here.
Their self titled debut album is a compilation of seemingly angry moments from the life of Craig Owens. Most of the tracks seem to be aimed at a girl previously in his life, as he sings about her having sex with other guys and doing everything else humanly possible. The one problem with most of the songs is that they all sound the same, featuring similar choruses and structure. It’s songs like Sex Life and I’m Here to Take the Sky that show the embarrassing side of the band, while others like Mr Owl Ate My Metal Worm and If You Think This Song is About You show hope in what this band could do and should move towards in the future. The big performance here is of course from Craig Owens, as he does a great job vocally on a few levels. His screaming is just as good as his singing, and while his nasally style tone does nothing to allow him to stand out from other vocalists, he’s still a great singer.
It’s really in the heavier tracks that show their true potential, in the second track The Only Thing You Talk About, we’re given a catchy chorus that follows the opening chant, and a few good breakdowns scattered throughout. It’s also with these songs we see just how poor of a lyricists Craig really is. In the song Mr Owl Ate My Metal Worm, the bridge line is, “I’d like to keep cutting, but I can’t let myself bleed”, which brings back memories to the old emo times which were at best, laughable. The song I’m Here to Take the Sky features an extremely catchy chorus, but is brought down by it’s extremely familiar pop-punk style that surely separates it from the other songs, but also shows the bands true lack of creativity.
Many looked forward to see what D.R.U.G.S could possible pull off here, and I was one of them. One of the main problems here is that it just comes out as whiny, and this band needs to seriously look back at this and think about what they could’ve done. Maybe if they weren’t so focused on promotion and attention, they could have created a memorable album, but for the very few listen worthy tracks here, this isn’t an album I’ll find myself talking about anytime soon.
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Revisionist History and Mister Twain
by Chuck on Jan.13, 2011, under Books, Featured, Pop Culture
Even as a writer and a soon-to-be English teacher, I debated whether I should join in this whole Huck Finn/New South disaster. Not because I don’t care, or some stroke of apathy having silenced the miniature Bradbury, which does most assuredly advise me of such things, not unlike Gazoo. The debate centered around whether or not my writing blog (or any other site this might end up) is the proper vehicle for my stance on something of a political nature.
Turns out, whether I like it or not, I have some duty to my forefathers, and to the literary cannon, and should those things come under attack, it is up to the “new” generation of people who don’t have their heads planted firmly and squarely into their rectal cavities, to defend them.
First, I think we should have ourselves a little vocabulary lesson, not so much on the words “nigger” or “slave”, even though those will be coming up. Let’s start with another word: Bigot. This is a word that gets thrown around a lot in this day and age, and people seem to have forgotten what it actually means.
It does not mean one is racist, but it can be a synonym for that. What it really means is: one who is, or appears to be closed minded.
This, unlike the ‘accepted’ definition of my peers can be applied to anyone, and not to merely ignorant people with sun-scorched necks. Now, if you need someone like me to explain to you how these words, which are seen as the same and interchangeable, really aren’t at all, I would suggest commenting on this publicly wherever you find it, and one of the nice Proctologists in the area will help you find your cranium. I would do it myself, for everyone, but you see I am a busy guy, and I do need breaks every here and there.
The word “nigger” in Huck Finn, and throughout Twain’s other works, as well as other works from the time, serves to capture the vernacular of a people, of a place; of a time, of a people. To take that away from those works because our society thinks that is best is like taking dead bodies off the beach in Normandy, like mandating all future wars be fought with paintball guns, and replacing the orphans in Dickens with kids from Campbell’s soup cans.
Why should the American people be alright with revisionist history in our history, when we can see from contemporary examples we aren’t as cool with it in other places? We shame Holocaust deniers, and people who think Elvis didn’t die at home on the can.
If we are so enlightened in this generation, why then do we seem all too willing to look back at history, safe behind our rose-colored-John-Lennon-glasses, and point fingers? Every day somewhere there is a history class calling Puritan men out for what they believe to be their control of their family. Somewhere, I promise you, some Women’s Studies major is out there bleeding from the heart for the plight of Puritan women.
I subject to you (because there are source documents to prove it) that neither is the case. That gender roles in those days were what they were, sure, but there was a rhyme and reason. Not only that, but most of these men adored their wives, and their wives sure seemed to think the sun shined out of those mens’ asses.
I subject to you that it is the kind of thinking which has been touched upon in these words, and not the language of Twain that is bigoted, and in dire need of alterations. What happens if we live by this line of thinking? Are all the whipping scenes in Roots going to be replaced with tickling? When the bondage of the slaves, tickled or not offends someone, will we cut that all together? Will we, again, remove names like James Baldwin and Langston Hughes from the pages of our anthologies? Are we so afraid to talk to, or fuck up our children that we will forsake our history?
Remember, bigot means closed minded. Now, you know the truth, and to quote a wise man: The truth is just what you make of it. It begins and ends with you.
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Like Moths to Flames – Sweetalker EP
by chiggles on Jan.03, 2011, under Music
Like Moths to Flames presents the return of Chris Roetter, who was formerly the lead vocalist of Agraceful. While Agraceful did nothing new for music, one of the best things about the band was Chris’s vocal talents, and that talent is the only thing that made me look forward to Like Moths to Flames. Recently signing to Rise Records, many will put this off as a simple-minded Rise band and most of you are correct. All high hopes anyone could have had for this band will be tore down, but only to a certain point. Like Moths to Flames has the potential to be so much more, but their repetitiveness and lack of originality complete tears them down.
Right from the start you can notice how familiar this band sounds to others in the genre. The first song ‘Your Existence’ opens with a guitar tapping, bass heavy breakdown that has been heard in so many songs before it. One of the things that saves this band though is their amount of energy, though every song is filled with these macho average breakdowns, none of the songs on the “Sweet Talker” EP slow down even for a second. Like Moths to Flames made the mistake of making each song sound alike, featuring similar guitar parts and choruses, even the breakdowns sound alike most of the time.
As I kept listening to the EP, I noticed the similarity in each song when I began thinking parts from other songs were going to come up in the song I was listening to. Most of the lyrics were dull and boring, featuring lines like, “the world is mine” and “I will bury you in all that you believe in” are just two screamed lines that lead into a breakdown. Fortunately, songs like ‘Dead Routine’ and ‘Bloodsport’ feature memorable breakdowns, they are nothing you’ve never heard before but they are crafted well. Drummer Lance Greenfield is great at what he does, but he never takes the time to use his talent. Most of the time he uses the same beats over and over again, but every now and then he pulls out something fun to listen to. The cymbal smashing build up to the breakdown in ‘Dead Routine’ shows his ability to mix things up, he just should’ve done it a lot more.
Most of the time the two guitars never do anything to impressive, though there are a few little memorable riff moments through the entire EP. One of the best things about this band are certainly the vocals, Chris screams a lot more here then he did in Agraceful, but he also shares singing duties with bassist Aaron Douglas. The choruses feature their two voices overlapping each other and doing all kinds of interesting things. My only complaint is that the choruses move quickly, and I was hoping for a few slower more singing based moments. Of course, that’s probably the only time you’ll ever hear me asking for slower moments from a band like this.
“Sweet Talker” EP was one of the late 2010 releases I was actually really looking forward to hearing. The few songs the band released were great to hear, but when put together with the other songs they do nothing to stand apart. Like Moths to Flames would be a great band to see live, and though their EP is energetic, it never does anything to make it more than average. The instrumentals are plain and boring and the vocals never have the time to become impressive. In order for the band to move on to a great album, they need to find some originality and mix things up a little bit, without destroying what they already have going for them.
So much potential all built up to be nothing! Whats your opinion!?
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Asking Alexandria – Life Gone Wild EP
by chiggles on Jan.02, 2011, under Music
One of the many things that bothered me during the few times I sat and listened to the “Life Gone Wild” EP was the fact that I don’t hate this band. Many people think differently, and while I can see where those people come from, I seem to put Asking Alexandria into my “guilty pleasure” list, simply because I enjoy them. I know they are one of those bands that give the genre a bad name or whatever, but I find their music most of the time to not be all that bad.
“Life Gone Wild” is a completely different story though, it’s a release meant to hold people over until the release of their full length this coming year, but it seems to do a better job of making me question why I ever got into this band. This 6 track EP features two Skid Row covers, three remixes from their previous full length one brand new song. To be completely honest, I only found myself interested in the EP to hear the one brand new track, since I heard some rough live versions and really got myself hyped up about it all.
If you look closely at the cover for the EP, it shows the band standing in what looks like a street, hair all down and around, wearing leather jackets. Maybe their just trying to get into the Skid Row mood? I also question, why Skid Row? Why embarrass such a historic figure in the rock age? Well, at least they didn’t destroy them too much. In fact, the covers are actually not bad when you compare to most of the covers made now a days. The band doesn’t really do anything to call it their own, they just kind of went and re-did them with an updated sound.
One thing that has also been brought to my attention more lately is the whole re-mixing thing, Bring Me the Horizon re-mixed their entire second album, and then released it for people to buy. Who would buy an album full of songs re-mixed, no idea. Bands all over the map are doing it, and Asking Alexandria seems to be just another one of them. Three songs from their debut album “Stand Up and Scream” are mixed and mashed here. The three songs are, ‘A Single Moment of Sincerity’, ‘Not the American Average’, and ‘I Was Once Possible Maybe Perhaps A Cowboy King’. Each song is re-done by someone unknown to me. Well, they do absolutely nothing for the EP or the band. Actually, I’d rather listen to the song then the re-mix, and I guess a lot of people would agree with me on that.
All of this brings me to the final song on the EP, ‘Breathless’, which will be on the upcoming full-length album. To pretty much sum this song up, it’s easiest to say that it’s the average, not so changed Asking Alexandria. The song features a few boring breakdowns, an average chorus and of course, boring instrumentals. In an attempt to “pump” people up for the album, they could have at least tried to make a song which makes the album worth waiting for. Instead, it will just make fans a little more nervous for whats to come. This is how the entire EP feels, like the band is trying to hard. They do covers and re-mixes, which seems like a bleak attempt to blend in with the crowd. In a genre where standing out is a necessity, others choose to hide behind black and white walls.
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I The Breather – These Are My Sins
by chiggles on Dec.10, 2010, under Music
It seems as if music has become literally molded into one sound. Depending on which genre you listen to, you experience a different mold than another genre. Metalcore is a tiring genre, and while it has it’s veterans much like any other, bands try to rip off one another and then attempt to call it their own. This is the biggest problem with metal core, there are so many different bands attempting the same sound that nothing ever has the opportunity to stand out above everything else. In this day and age every young band wants to be August Burns Red, and while they are a great band to mention when discussing metal core, they aren’t the only band out there that does a great job within their genre.
Sumerian Records picked up Maryland based I The Breather shortly before the band announced their debut full length These Are My Sins. The main purpose of I The Breather is to be hard hitting, all eleven songs on the album are fast and heavy. It’s very difficult to determine each and every single song on their own, since the bands main sound is the same through each song. This could be a good or bad thing depending on what kind of person you are. Since the same sound is heard all the way through the record, repetitiveness is an issue on more than one occasion. Whatever you have heard in the first 4 or 5 tracks, you will hear in the rest of the songs.
Breakdowns are heard plenty throughout the album, and with only one or two standing out every couple tracks, they kind of get tiring after a little while. To anyone who listens to the album completely, you begin to tune them out simply because you are so used to hearing them. This is one of the aspects of this album that will turn people away, so many bands worry about their breakdowns that they forget everything else that is important. One of those other big important things to worry about is keeping the listeners attention all the way through, which, unless your starting a mosh pit in your listening area, might be pretty difficult for some listeners.
Musically, this band has a lot of talent. While the drummer sticks to basics, the guitars are the biggest stand out element on the album. Their riffs are not only technical and fun to hear, but catchy at the same time. The vocals are very basic, but the range is terrific. Sometimes we hear more of a shouting, than all the way to a deep growl right after. He has the ability to capture a moment with his range, in some softer sections throughout he uses a yelling kind of vocal to build up to a heavier section. In other times his screams capture the energy and anger in a heavier section of a song.
These Are My Sins can be picked apart piece and piece and be criticized by every single one of it’s flaws. The thing is, I just don’t want to do that. This is an angry, hard hitting debut album that is great for those people who will attend the bands shows. Most of the songs on this album are very easy to move to at a show, but when sitting on your couch at home and listening, there isn’t much you can do besides bang your head, leading to one giant useless headache. So, get together and start a mosh pit in your dining room while playing this album, it’s easier than it sounds.
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Silverstein – Transitions EP
by chiggles on Dec.07, 2010, under Music
“Close your eyes/to fight the demons/deep within your mind/satisfy your worst extensions/I’m your sacrifice”
Silverstein are one of those bands that you can just never forget. Every single time they put out something new, it’s big. Preparing to put out their 5th full length record, Transitions is a hold over EP while the band finishes up their upcoming album. This EP features three brand new tracks, an acoustic song and a Nine Inch Nails cover. Though the last two track may seem random and out of place, it’s nice to hear something new from the band.
Of course the big news here is the three new tracks. Will they be in the upcoming full length? No idea, probably. All three of the tracks are great though, despite the fact that the band hasn’t changed one bit. Depending on who you are, that can either be a good thing or bad thing. The band has found it’s safe sound, but may be a little too scared to venture out of that safe spot.
‘Sacrifice’ is the heaviest of the three tracks, and certainly the best. The chorus line is featured under the album cover above, and it’s backed by some heavy guitar and drums. The screams are still here and Shane’s vocals haven’t changed one bit. ‘Darling Harbour’ features more of a pop-punk feel, as it is a song about a girl, and the entire vibe of the song just comes off of catchy. It’s a great song, and it shows some variety in the band’s sound. ‘Dancing on My Grave’ brings back the older Silverstein sounds, opening with Shane’s screams leading into a fast and hard hitting verse. A catchy guitar riff backs up the chorus as Shane’s clean vocals enter, leading right back into the screams.
Transitions is a great little addition to the bands discography, but it might fear some fans of the band for what will come in their full length. Though it features a promising sound, we have heard it all before from the band. Hopefully they will venture away from their safe zone from their upcoming album and show that they are still one of the strongest bands in the post-hardcore genre today.
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Adestria – Oh The Places You’ll Go EP
by chiggles on Nov.29, 2010, under Music
Over the last year or so, I’ve grown more towards unsigned, less known bands. Maybe because I love telling people about unknown talent or maybe because I have hope for up and rising bands to bring back what we all love about the genre. Adestria is a six-piece post-hardcore/metal core group from San Diego, California. “Oh the Places You’ll Go” is the bands debut, and it shows just how much talent the members of this band actually have. The EP includes 6 songs including an intro and intermission period, but it includes all the right elements and blends them together oh so well.
As ‘With the Wind At Your Back’ begins, were hit with every element right away. The guitar riff is catchy, the drums are fast and the synth is haunting. All this leads into what one may call an average breakdown, but the band executes it so well. Vocalist Matt (couldn’t find last name, I tried!) does absolutely nothing new or exciting, but he cans scream well and has a good range so it never really gets repetitive. His singing on the other hand is just okay, it’s very average but fit’s the bands sound. As the song comes closer and closer to the end, we realize that this band has got what it takes, and the ending breakdown to the song blows everything else away we’ve heard so far.
‘All My Friends Are Wild’ showcases the synth extremely well, and instead of it being used as a major part in the band, it compliments the songs with haunting background sounds. It varies from low sounding orchestra piano’s too quick violin type sounds, but it does such a good job of adding that little bit of variety to each song. Towards the end the synth gets a little more involved with a quick little dancy section, but that end’s quickly as the breakdown begins. ‘Concrete Eyes and Ivory Smiles’ shows the clean vocals at their best, yet we find nothing really new or different from the other 2 songs we’ve already heard. This is one of the biggest problems with this EP, every song sounds similar, which is usually a problem a band runs into with a full length. Because of the shorter length of the EP, the band should have enough creativity to make each song stand out from one another.
‘Dreamer’ is the best track on the EP, simply because it does the best job of combining all the elements heard throughout the entire disc into one song. The chorus is catchy, and the guitars compliment it with a very catchy riff in the background. While all this is happening, the synth sets a haunting mood over the entire song with a soft piano sound. The ending breakdown brings everything to a heavy ending, and does a perfect job leaving the listener with a sense of satisfaction.
With a bit of tweaking here and there, Adestria could be one of those bands to look out for. The only big problem is the fact that, if you run into repetitiveness while listening to a six track EP, imagine what happens with a 12 track full length album. They need to find a way to make every song stand out, if they can do that then they’ll be set. Overall, this EP is awesome, it’s filled with heavy breakdowns and stand out synth moments. I say check this group out, and hope for the best in what they move on to do.
Make sure you watch out for this group!
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Major League – The Truth Is…
by chiggles on Nov.26, 2010, under Music
I have this theory that people take music to seriously sometimes. Just because a band has a chorus similar to another or does some things that may be considered “cliché”, doesn’t mean you can’t have fun while listening to them. We pick apart songs and bands so much that eventually we lose what makes music mean so much to people like me, the pure fun of listening and singing along. Pop-punk is one of those genres that mean so much to me, because I can sit back and enjoy the pure innocence of it. New Jersey based pop-punk group Major League are one of those bands I can listen to all day, and never get tired of. “The Truth Is” is in fact the band’s first lengthy EP, and it really showcases what this band is able to accomplish.
The band has come very far since the change of vocalist a while back, their big single ‘Hometown Heroes’ has been played on multiple Phillies game and their management team has done some huge things for them including them playing on MTV. All this hasn’t gotten to the bands head though, for the music they create is undeniably catchy and so much fun to listen to. This is all apparent with the first song ‘I Don’t Like You What So Ever’ which begins with a small clip of ‘Hometown Heroes’ and fades right into a fast and catchy guitar section. As you listen to the song, you notice how easy it is to get into these guys. The great vocals, gang shouts and easy to sing along with chorus makes this a great set up for the rest of the EP.
‘What You Make of It’ and ‘Take Me’ both feature extremely catchy choruses and show just how fun this band can really be. The music is fast and to some may sound like the majority of pop-punk bands out there, and maybe they do here and there, but it’s fun and that’s reason enough to ignore any flaws. ‘Six Ways to Lie’ starts out slower and keeps a slowed down pace throughout, but it’s one of the best songs on the EP. The lyrics are easy to relate to, the chorus is big and it shows that the band can slow things down enough to still make it fun. ‘Head Up Kid!’ is an anthem to people like me who love to live their life and have fun. The energy in this song is amazing and it would be so fun to listen to live.
‘From States Away’ and ‘The Truth Is’ do a great job of closing the EP. ‘From States Away’ is a little slower than anything we’ve heard yet, but features a great chorus and guitar riff to back it up. ‘The Truth Is’ maintains what has made the rest of the EP so fun, high energy and a great amount of fun through the entire song. My biggest problem with this EP is the fact that a few times through the listen, I found myself thinking about how repetitive some of these tracks can get. You can never deny fun, but a lot of moments throughout sound the same and that makes it very difficult for each and every song to stand out on it’s own.
Beyond that one problem though, Major League has a lot going for them. “The Truth Is…” is such a fun listen through and through that it really makes me wonder what the band will do with any future releases. They will go far, and they’ll do it with style, but I really feel honored to know that I’ve watched this band evolve into what they are and forever will fans like me, and their home state of Jersey be there to back them up in whatever they do.
New Jersey Pop Punk! Support!
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A Day to Remember – What Seperates Me From You
by chiggles on Nov.25, 2010, under Music
What Separates Me From You marks the fourth full-length release from pop-punk/hardcore group A Day to Remember. The Ocala, Florida boys are back, this time with New Found Glory’s Chad Gilbert in the recording chair. The band has come a long way since their debut “And Their Name Was Treason”, one of the major moments being the loss of guitar player Tom Denney to an injury which forced him to leave the band after the recording of “Homesick”. Taking his place is former Four Letter Lie singer/guitarist Kevin Skaff, and this album marks his first with the band.
A Day to Remember has always been labeled as pop-core, to keep it short. This is the combination of pop-punk influenced choruses mixed with hardcore breakdowns. While ADTR has always been good at this, with each and every record the band seems to get a little bit softer. “Homesick” was certainly a little more punk-pop influenced then “For Those Who Have Heart”, but the band kept Jeremy’s screaming vocals a big part right along with the breakdowns. This time around, his screams are heard less and his singing is used more.
The album opens with ’Sticks & Bricks’, one of the three heavier tracks on the record. The song is designed for fans of their older, heavier material. The song features fast verses, a catchy chorus and a hard hitting breakdown, but it’s such a misleading track. After hearing this track, it kind of gave me hope that this would be what the rest of the album is like. Right away that furiousness goes away with ‘All I Want’, the first single off of the album. Tracks like ‘All I Want’, ‘It’s Complicated’ and ‘Better Off This Way’ feature choruses that are easy to sing along with and are undeniably catchy, but besides the catchiness of a chorus or two, the songs are easily forgettable.
‘This is the House That Doubt Built’ does the best job at combining the heavier and softer side of the band, while it has a heavy sound to it and shows both the screaming and singing talents of Jeremy, the chorus is slower and bigger than anything else on the record. ’2nd Sucks’ is the second song on the album that could be considered as heavy, it is the only song in the history of A Day to Remember to feature absolutely no clean vocals at all. It’s the perfect sound for the band, the song never lets up from start to finish and features a breakdown that could only be described as awesome. ‘You be Tails, I’ll be Sonic’ is the last chance on the album to hear the heavier side of the band, and even though it features the same basic premise as the other two heavier tracks, it’s still a great song which brings back that old school ADTR feeling.
The ending of the album seems to lose all energy that was built up throughout, while ‘All Signs Point to Lauderdale’ is easy to sing along to, it’s so basic and predictable. The same goes for ‘Out of Time’ and ‘If I Leave’. This is the main problem with both this band at this point and this album, they create catchy music that’s fun to listen to, but it’s so simple and sadly generic at times it’s pretty disappointing. A Day to Remember is one of those bands that need to realize who they are and what sound they’re going for, and stick with that. They seem to do better with the heavier stuff.
“What Separates Me From You’ is one of the most complicated albums to rate for me. Simply because I have so much fun listening to it, and love singing along right with it, yet it doesn’t feel like A Day to Remember. It’s disappointing, that’s a fact, but it features some very fun and catchy songs which makes up for all the flaws heard throughout. A Day to Remember has hit the low point in their career, it’s time for them to wake up and realize who they are before they get left behind like the towns they sing about in their songs.
What do you think of the new “sound” from the band?!
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Unstoppable. Yeah it’s a train, and it ain’t a stoppin’
by Chuck on Nov.22, 2010, under Uncategorized
So let’s face it, a movie about a runaway train is… well, it’s something you don’t see every day.
The movie starts slow and speeds up, and doesn’t stop. Finally something from Hollywood that lives up to it’s name. No one’s taking home an Oscar for this, but in a movie season of crap, crap, crap, and wait, what’s this? More crap? Yeah, this movie manages to stand out on the merits of it’s a train, and it isn’t gonna stop. If that isn’t sad enough for you, then remember, this happened in 2001.
You know I went into this wanting to hate it. Come on, it’s one of those feel-good-with-Denzel movies, which is pretty much all Denzel Washington movies, so yeah it had strikes against it. However it actually has some tense moments, and I caught myself leaning forward or holding my breath a time or two.
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Call of Medal of Honor of Duty
by Chuck on Oct.15, 2010, under Video Games
EA is doing what EA always does. Jumping in too late, with an unpolished product into a saturated market. Way to go biggest game company on earth. Logic does not apply to you, I take it?
I played through the single player campaign last night (note: four hours max) there is some replay for the level specified achievements one might have missed while doing this. They aren’t clearly defined, nor are the chapters clearly named unless you’re in chapter select mode. Look through the achievement list, and wing it the first time. Even if you rush through, as I did, you should come out with around three hundred gamer-score you didn’t have before. This is around twenty achievements.
As with everything, a good chunk of gamer points are tied up in the multi-player, which in this game does a piss poor Call of Duty impersonation. All the way down to unlocking weapon gadgets. There aren’t very many, though.
It looks like most of the achievements for the online stuff can be earned without much heartache, which is great, because this game answers the question: what would Call of Duty look like if it had a terrible frame rate, dull colors, and set spawns? Which is a shame because the game, provided it had slightly bigger maps, and a generals style spawn system, could have been a strategy gamer’s new wet dream.
Final summation? This game is nowhere near worth sixty bucks.
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Abandon All Ships! – Geeving
by chiggles on Oct.07, 2010, under Music
Nobody will ever change what a band does. That’s a fact. The members can notice that people don’t like this or that, and will do whatever they feel from there, but never will your opinion change them fully, make them a completely new band. Honestly, as a fellow reviewer it’s ridiculous when a band gets trashed for being like someone else, or sounding like this band or that band, let them do what they want, if they bring out fans and sell cd’s where does your opinion fall. Whether you like them or hate them, or just fully refuse to listen to them, Abandon All Ships! Are one of those bands that will always be hated for what they do. Do they care? I don’t think so.
Geeving is AAS’s full-length debut, and fans of the band will notice that a majority of this record are re-recordings of older songs from the band. I don’t find this a problem since I like most of those songs, and I guess the band just wanted to play it safe it’s first time around and make a record full of songs people already know and love. If your still wondering what the giant rant above was about, then obviously you haven’t heard Abandon All Ships! Breakdowns, auto-tune and synth just about sums it up. They do it in a fun way though, on tour they represent fist pumping more than they should and they love to make people dance, whether it’s rave dancing or tearing up the pit at a show.
This is a band all about fun.
Bro My God opens Geeving as one of the heaviest songs on the album, and you learn everything you need to know about the band in this song. A minute in the song slows down to an auto-tune filled singer surrounded by synth dance beats, picking back up to a catchy chorus. This is one of the things this band does so well, utilizing between the heavier moments and the synthy dance sections. A majority of the songs on the album follow the same basic formula and contain the same elements but it’s varied enough to keep the songs fun. Megawacko 2.1 was originally just named Megawacko on the band’s previous EP, but the reason for the slight name change was because of a typo on the album, so I hear. “Even if it rains and the sun won’t shine/whatever the weather she’ll be mine” are the opening lines to the song, and expect many generic lyrical lines like this all the way through the record.
As you continue to listen on through the album, you soon notice that every song sounds almost exactly the same. This is because of the bands lack of formula, every song on Geeving has a breakdown, a synthy dance section, some singing and maybe a few little things in between. One of the best moments on the album is in the song When Dreams Become Nightmares where a violin plays in the background of an awesome 1, 2, 3 breakdown section. It’s easily one of my favorite moments on the record and it’s so easy to just imagine a crowd going wild over it. Family Goretrait has found itself as my favorite track off the album, simply because from start to finish this song never lets up one bit. It’s fast, it’s heavy and though it may be forgettable to some, it’s the best track off the entire album.
Most of the songs that end the album are a lot alike, all of them leading up to Take One Last Breath which was the big single off the album. A music video was released for it way before the album and it’s probably the catchiest song off of the record. All in all, Abandon All Ships! Has made the biggest mystery album of the year for me in terms of rating. I like it, yet hate it. It’s catchy, yet generic. It’s easy to hate, yet hard to not listen too. I like this record, as well as hate it. This will probably become one of the most hated albums of the year and though it’s very unfortunate, it’s bound to happen. For me, it stays as average, yet fun.
3 stars out of 5
(I noticed how long this review was after I finished it and I’m sorry.)
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Bring Me the Horizon, Chiodos and Abandon All Ships! reviews on the way!
by chiggles on Oct.05, 2010, under Music
So! I’ve been a little slow on reviews lately, and this is a poor poor thing! Today I had the pleasure of buying a few new albums that were released and reviews will be up within the next few days for each! Stay patient with me while I destroy your favorite bands.
Bring Me the Horizon – There Is A Hell, Believe Me I’ve Seen It, There Is A Heaven, Let’s Keep It A Secret
2.5 out of 5
Chiodos – Illuminaudio
4 out of 5
Abandon All Ships! – Geeving
2 out of 5
Reviews will be up soon.
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Case 39
by Chuck on Oct.02, 2010, under Movies
Case 39 starts out benign enough. A case worker for a county in oregon that may or may not exist is over worked, and she gets handed an extra case. This case swallows her attention like a handful of No-Doz, and it is the only case the film shows her working on. Her obsession starts with a visit to the home, and a conversation with the parents (done through the mother, in whispers from the father) and ends with the case worker busting down the door and heroically saving the little girl from her monster parents.
When a kid in the little girl’s group therapy kills his parents with a tire iron, the case worker begins to sense there is something rotten in the state of Oregon, and not just that outhouse smell at Third and Ankeny. When the cops begin to investigate the deaths, they discover inconsistencies that back up her thinking.
As the case worker’s sanity devolves, and she discovers the girl’s parents may have been right all along, she has to face a horrifying decision.
I don’t know why people bag so hard on horror movies. There are conventions to these things, and they are (for better or worse) mostly followed. No one seems shocked that all romantic comedies are pretty much the same, or that buddy comedies, black comedies, and pretty much anything short of Oscar season in this country smacks of formula and repetition. So, why is horror treated with such harshness?
This movie won’t be winning anything come award season, but it doesn’t come close to being as bad as people seem to think it is. The little girl’s performance is creepy, and well, Zelwigger is there, too.
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Music Video Monday!
by Sean P. Ferguson on Sep.27, 2010, under Music
As usual, we like to mix things up, here on Music Video Monday. This week we have videos from guys well on their way to reaching rock legend status, Alice In Chains, we get to see what Good Charlotte’s been up to with this Cardiology album we’ve been hearing about for so long, new videos from Envy, Eels, For Today, Comeback Kid, In This Moment, Owl City, Stacy Clark, and The Young Veins, to name a few.
Did you ever think you’d hear John Legend and The Roots covering Arcade Fire? Yea, we have live footage of them doing one of our favorite songs, “Wake Up.” Also, the first video from Hawthorne Heights’ upcoming album, Skeletons, is here as is the first video from Jimmy Eat World’s Invented closes out this week’s batch. And don’t forget, Invented hits stores tomorrow, so check that out!
As always, please feel free to let us know what you think, leave questions, comments, concerns, and requests. And of course, come back next week for another edition of Music Video Monday!
Stacy Clark – “Hold On”
Ok Go – “White Knuckles”
Owl City – “To the Sky”
Hawthorne Heights – “Gravestones”
Alice In Chains – “Lesson Learned”
In This Moment – “The Promise”
Eels – “Baby Loves Me”
Apache Beat – “Another Day”
Four Letter Lie – “Daymaker”
Comeback Kid – “Because of All”
For Today – “Devastator”
Envy – “Worn Heels and the Hands We Hold”
The Young Veins – “Take a Vacation”
Pegasus Bridge – “Ribena”
John Legend & The Roots – “Wake Up” (Arcade Fire cover)
Good Charlotte – “Like It’s Her Birthday”
Like It’s Her Birthday
Good Charlotte | MySpace Music Videos
Jimmy Eat World – “My Best Theory”
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Jimmy Eat World – Invented
by Sean P. Ferguson on Sep.26, 2010, under Music
If Vampire Weekend didn’t suck, they’d be called Jimmy Eat World. Nothing is more evident than with Jimmy Eat World’s follow-up to Chase This Light, their seventh album, Invented. Chase This Light was the band’s highest charting album, debuting in the fifth spot on Billboard’s 200 list, and Invented should be no different here, if not better. That isn’t to say that the two albums are the same, but it is just as accessible, if not more so.
Whether it be the lead single, “My Best Theory,” that showcases Jimmy Eat World’s ability to make a pop-rock hit with the effortless skill of a band in the business for decades, or the direction the band has taken with Invented, broadening their sound on more than just one or two songs, this album is sure to be the album that everyone should buy, but we’ll all forget it as the hype for My Chemical Romance’s upcoming album continues to grow. If you liked the song, “Hear You Me,” then Invented should send you running or clicking for the store, simply for the backing vocals of Courtney Marie Andrews, or just the slow ballad feel to a large portion of this album.
That isn’t to say that Invented is bound for teen romance soundtracks everywhere. There’s still the upbeat drilling rock of the lead single or “Action Needs an Audience” featuring lead vocals by Jimmy Eat World’s original lead vocalist, Tom Linton. But with an album only clocking in with eleven tracks at about forty five minutes total, and five of those tracks are slower with Miss Andrews’ pipes doing the backing vocals, it is a broader but softer album than we’re used to from this band as of late. Overall, Invented is a great album, just not a great Jimmy Eat World album. That doesn’t mean don’t get it, because you should get it. If for anything, the next to last song, the title-track, is wonderful, and really there’s only one disposable song on the whole album, which by today’s standards is pretty great (”Coffee and Cigarettes” is both redundant and repetitive).
Release Date: September 28, 2010
Order: HERE
Official Website: HERE
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Bring Me the Horizon Surprise!
by chiggles on Sep.25, 2010, under Music
Bring Me the Horizon may be simply known for the attention seeking lead vocalist Oli Sykes, but they may have made a new name for themselves with their new album There Is A Hell, Believe Me I’ve Seen It, There is a Heaven, Lets Keep it a Secret. Though the UK metal core act has never caught my eye in the past, the two new songs released from the new album have stolen my heart (well borrowed it). If you’ve never found a reason to enjoy Bring Me the Horizon, this may be your change in heart. The two new songs, ‘It Never Ends’ and ‘Fuck’ showcase the bands ability to make memorable music. Give them a chance with this one, cause if I am, you can atleast try here. The new album drops October 5th.
“It Never Ends”
“Fuck”
Bring Me the Horizon is a tricky one, so let me know how much you love or hate them! Comment!
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Motionless in White New Songs and Album!
by chiggles on Sep.23, 2010, under Music
Post-Hardcore/Screamo outfit Motionless in White already have an EP and album under their belts, but continuing on their path to take over the genre isn’t stopping there. They are set to release their second full length album entitled Creatures. Forget the not so original name for a few minutes and enjoy two brand spankin’ new tracks from their new album, ‘Abigail’ and ‘London in Terror’. The new album drops October 12th!
“Abigail”
“London in Terror”
Is Motionless in White set to take over the genre or do they fall beneath the scene? Comment and express your opinion!
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Final Destination 5; And you thought it was over.
by chiggles on Sep.23, 2010, under Movies
Just a little bit of advice, if your meant to die.. Make sure you actually die. Or else death will chase after you. Not just once though, maybe 5 times. So watch yourself.
The Final Destination series have done an excellent job at digging into our deepest fears. Airplanes, roller coasters, highway accidents and even Nascar sporting events. Though I don’t find myself that afraid of Nascar, the films have done a great job at digging into these fears and killing off the characters in the most gruesome ways possible. That’s what makes these films so great though, we get to see people killed off in completely ridiculous ways without feeling bad. That’s a good thing.
Of course, the first Final Destination ranks as the only good one, and from then on the series keeps on digging a deeper hole for itself. It’s latest installment messed around with the latest 3-D trend and ending up becoming one of the biggest failures of the year in film. While the movie was filled with gruesome deaths (above) and cool looking effects here and there, nothing the film did left the audience wanting more. We got what we expected and in the meantime blew $10 just to sit through it.
Steve Quale, the director of Final Destination 5 has confirmed that the film will be in 3-D. Right along with that, the opening scene will be a suspension bridge collapse, in which a bunch of co-workers were saved from, though they were meant to die on that bridge. Sounds pretty straight, I’m scared of bridges, and heights are terrifying so this might just work. If done right, this could be the best opening death scene of the series, but for now I will cross my fingers on that one.
The first thing that came to mind though was the opening scene from Maximum Overdrive, where a drawstring bridge opens because of malfunction, killing a bunch of people cause of the falling cars and such. Just a thought I’d get out there. Maybe a little inspiration for the filmmakers there.
Final Destination 5 is set to hit theatres next year, so prepare your eyes for the 3-D and avoid bridges as much as possible. Hopefully, the deaths in this film make more sense than before, since the only reason I’ll be seeing this film is for each of those little gory moments. Maybe they should hire Megan Fox and kill her off? While she’s naked? Running through sprinklers? Chasing after a Transformer? Trying to stop it from rusting from the sprinklers? Who knows in today’s world.
Whats your worst fear? Let us know by leaving a comment! I promise death won’t come after you! Unless your afraid of clowns, then it’s not death, it’s IT that will come after you!
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Stream “Na Na Na,” the New Single from My Chemical Romance!
by Sean P. Ferguson on Sep.22, 2010, under Featured, Music
The new album, Danger Days: The True Lives Of The Fabulous Killjoys by New Jersey’s own, My Chemical Romance, is due November 22nd, but here’s the first single! Let us know what you think!
The song is “Na Na Na,” featured in the trailer that they posted on the internet just a few days ago. You can see that in this week’s Music Video Monday by clicking HERE. The video features Grant Morrison of DC Comics fame playing the part of the bald and gray villain.
MCR Na na na by attentiondrain
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The Devil Wears Prada – The Zombie EP
by chiggles on Sep.22, 2010, under Music
Let’s face it, zombies have gone mainstream. Whether it’s movies or comics, action figures or stories, zombie’s are everywhere. We have George A. Romero to thank for that, he changed the world of horror forever. It’s about time that a band sat down to find a way to incorporate stories of the flesh eating dead into the music industry. Not too shocking to hear, The Devil Wears Prada have found a way to creatively insert zombies into their discography with the release of The Zombie EP, which is a benchmark for the bands career. With 3 full-length albums under their belt already, it seems that the five songs on the EP are some of the best songs the band have ever created. Musically and instrumentally, The Devil Wears Prada continues to get stronger with each release, and they don’t seem to be stopping anytime soon.
Ever since the band’s first release, Dear Love, A Beautiful Discord, every album from there have progressively become faster and heavier. The Devil Wears Prada have evolved into more of a metal group with The Zombie EP, though they still incorporate the breakdowns and synth elements within their music. There is not one thing to be ignored on this EP, everything from the guitar to the drums, even the synth play a huge part in the overall sound of the EP. The Devil Wears Prada have always used synth as a cool little addition to their music, but it seems to be used a little more carefully on the EP than before. James Baney, the synth player, incorporates movie like sounds within most of the tracks and creative piano parts scattered around as well. The synth is first noticed when ‘Escape’ begins, opening the EP with the sound of a storm and a film quality score to back it up.
Jumping right into things is vocalist Mike Hranica, who remains one of the strongest screaming vocalists in the genre. He improves greatly with every album and his range allows for some assortment of vocal deliveries throughout the EP. ‘Escape’ allows the listener to get into the groove of the new Prada sound which is heavier and faster than ever before. The guitars are fast and the drums are right there with it every single time. The high pitched voice of Jeremy DePoyster surprisingly fits in well with the music, and the band knows exactly where to put him for exactly how long. He never takes over the song, but stands out every single time we hear his voice. As a mainly breakdown based group, ‘Escape’ features four breakdowns within the four and a half minute run time, but instead of the breakdowns being average and forgettable, their hard hitting and actually really help out the song.
One of the breakdowns is led by the sound of a shotgun being reloaded, but instead of hearing the bang of the gun, we hear the collision of the drums and bass jumping into the breakdown. Of course, what would be a zombie album without the sound of a chainsaw, and that’s exactly how ‘Anatomy’ begins. The synth in the song is placed perfectly and makes for a great addition, especially in the opening moments. Though the EP is only five songs long, the band manages to make each song stand out on it’s own. ‘Outnumbered’ was the perfect song for the band to release before the EP dropped. It opens with a radio announcement about the zombies, which leads right into the song. The two strongest tracks on the EP are ‘Revive’ and ‘Survivor’, are the two closing songs.
‘Revive’ is complete madness from beginning to end while ‘Survivor’ finds itself a little more collected throughout. Most of the song tells the story of one man living against an entire world of the dead. He is a survivor, and this song is basically his story. Most of the song is a little slower and sorted, the end of the song being one giant breakdown which jumps around in speed. It is the best breakdown of the EP and is the perfect way to end it as well. The EP starts fast and ends fast, with so much in between it’s hard to not listen to it again.
The Devil Wears Prada have surprised so many people with The Zombie EP, whether you were already a fan of the band or not. Don’t be turned off by the fact that this is an EP all about zombies, for this album hits just as hard as a zombie apocalypse would. The Devil Wears Prada have shown everyone that they have the ability to stand out in such an overrun genre, and if they keep on this path they just might find themselves playing bigger shows and forming a larger fan base. Zombies just might be the thing TDWP needs to launch themselves farther into the genre, and lets hope they don’t stop here.
Don’t like zombies? Spill some blood in the comments!
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Brandon Flowers – Flamingo
by Sean P. Ferguson on Sep.21, 2010, under Music
By definition, a solo album is when an artist parts from his or her band and records on their own, often emphasizing on a particular sound that the band hit on in previous work. Success in such activity can be seen in Dustin Kensrue’s (of Thrice) Please Come Home and yet another upcoming solo effort, we’re sure of it. The list of solo failures is long and amusing, for example, Chris Cornell’s solo albums, primarily the Timbaland produced nightmare, Scream, from 2009. Usually the solo album is a public bullet through the heart of a band’s longevity, and Flamingo is no different. Rumors that The Killers are over and done with have run rampant, and given the egos that thrive in that band, it wouldn’t be much of a surprise, despite the band going on record adamantly denying such claims.
Without studying the liner notes and going strictly on sonic landscapes, Brandon Flowers is clearly the heart and soul of The Killers, especially when it comes to Sam’s Town and Day & Age, The Killers’ last two LPs. Flamingo smacks of Day & Age b-sides, with its poppy, 80’s throwback sound and over the top pie in the sky lyrics. Some solo artists experiment when they part ways from their band and do something completely different than what we’re familiar with, again we offer Please Come Home as a prime example. Flamingo, does exactly the opposite as Flowers plays it safe and simply redoes what we know.
“Welcome to Las Vegas” is an epic homage to the city in Nevada, the song itself playing second cousin to “Sam’s Town” with a country twangy-twist. “Only the Young” opens with the synth chord lifted straight from Day & Age ala just about every eighties slow dance song you’ve ever heard. The star of this album, however is the third track, “Hard Enough” where Flowers does a duet with Jennifer Lewis of Rilo Kiley fame, a ballad looking back on a crumbling relationship. This is the reason to buy the album or just the song if you’re so inclined. It encapsulates Flamingo’s sound; 80’s synth-pop with flourishes of pomp and country. The country hasn’t really been quite as prominent in The Killer’s work before, but it becomes pretty hard to ignore while Flower’s attempts to impersonate various legends including a flagrant attempt at playing Johnny Cash in “Playing with Fire.”
Day & Age appeared to be a huge failure for the band both in direction and commercial sales. There was a hope that they would return to the days of Sam’s Town and even Hot Fuss, their debut album. However, now with Flamingo charging forward in this horrid fashion, it is glaringly obvious that there’s no point in checking The Killers or Brandon Flowers out ever again, which essentially leaves one last thing to be said.
Way to go The Bravery. You win again!
Release Date: September 14, 2010
Order: HERE
Official Website: HERE
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BlindingLoud on the Web
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