SMILE EMPTY SOUL: Vultures

Dave's Take: Smile Empty Soul which hails from Santa Clarita, California released their second official album Vultures, a few months ago. You can consider it their third album if you count Anxiety, an amazing effort which I think is their best album that featured one of their best songs "Holes", but was never officially released to the public due to issues with their label Lava. You can find it online, either for download or on EBAY, however, if you look hard enough. Though this album has some tracks I don't think it stacks up with their previous two efforts. In typical Smile Empty soul fashion their is a lot of anger, angst, and hopelessness present in the music and lyrics. The difference is that with Smile Empty Soul you are left with the feeling that they really believe what they are singing about and not just writing about it to sell a record. While most of the standout tracks are slower in tempo, "The Hit" is more of an up-tempo number which takes lyrical jabs at the music industry and landlords:

"Hey record company
do you need a hit
cause I need a hit too
to keep me from hitting you
just being in the same room with you
makes me want to get high"

It sounds a bit poppy by their standards but it is definitely one of the songs on the album that gets stuck in your head easily and having it as the lead single makes a lot of sense. "Loser" is a typical self-deprecating angst ridden Smile Empty Soul type song that many people can identify with at one time or another.

"Give me something good and I'll fuck it up
All my life I've tried but never had much luck
To be happy but I guess it's just not meant to be
I'm gonna die a loser"

"The Freaks are Coming" is possibly the best track on the album with its haunting verse structure and soft guitar picking that explodes into the crunchy chorus. In this song SES attacks parents sheltering their children too much:

"Never questioned anything about the way that you were raised
Keep your life so plain, everything the same
Every Sunday take your kids to church just like your folks did
Don't let them complain and never go insane
You're scared of the changing world round you
But you know what to do
[chorus]
So lock your doors and shut the blinds
Cause you know that the freaks are coming"

A few tracks later we get the dark but melodic "Here's to Another" that vies for the best track on the album. This song is one of their strongest lyrically as it deals with alcohol addiction. My two other favorite tracks are "Disease" and "Vultures" which musically are quite different but both deal with being fed up with world in different ways. "Disease" starts of with a very interesting rapid guitar strumming that runs into the beautiful angst ridden vocals in the chorus:

"As I hold you
I'm drowning too
I'll hide my tears
To help you through
But inside I'm screaming for some healing
Never felt so empty
And I'm telling you
It's slowly killing me
Bleeding for some meaning
I need to know there's something more to living than this horrible disease"

The CD closes with the title track "Vultures" an acoustic song which happens to be my favorite on the album. The guitar strumming is simple but lovely and goes perfectly with simple but powerful lyrics. You can hear the pain in Sean Danielsen's singing on this track as he cries

"That's why I hate the smiles and I hate the flies
That buzz around the bullshit
I can't wait to die so all the mouths
Of the vultures can be fed"

While this CD contains some of the more powerful Smile Empty Soul songs to date I still think it's their weakest effort to date. It's too bad their real second album got shelved as it puts this one too shame. Nonetheless this is another solid effort from Smile Empty Soul and is worth picking up are at least buying the better tracks.

OVERALL RATING: 7/10 (Too many mediocre tracks to give it a high rating)

SOUNDS LIKE: Saliva, Linkin Park, Three Days Grace, Alice in Chains

BAND BIO: Smile Empty Soul returns stronger & smarter than ever and ready to take their rightful place as alt rocks kingpins. Equal parts hardcore, punk, metal and melodic rock, this Southern California band doesn't shy away from any topic or pull any punches. Boldly going forth lyrically where even Captain Kirk himself would fear to tread, Sean Danielsen's lyrics deal with every hot-button issue you can think of - politics, drugs, the corporate poisoning of the music industry and so much more.

The band's new CD. VULTURES, shows Smile Empty Soul at their brightest and best. Young men in control of their own destiny, making the record that "represents (them) 100%. We did this one OUR WAY," says Danielsen.

After reaching the heights of the music biz with their #1 smash single, "Bottom Of A Bottle," in 2004 the band went on to play over 250 shows packing venues from coast to coast with everyone from Janes Addiction to Puddle Of Mudd to The Deftones. Gold record firmly in one hand and the might of their true conviction in the other, the band's unreleased music prior to VULTURES went about ruffling some fairly important feathers at some of our country's most influential religious and corporate organizations. The lyrical content of what was to be their first single (called "Holes") caused a 30,000 piece avalanche of protest-mail that scared their label and ultimately gave Smile Empty Soul their freedom back. It was a glorious emancipation, with fire and artistic credibility fully intact.

Smile Empty Soul is now Danielsen and bassist Ryan Martin along with two new members - guitarist Mike Booth formerly of the band COLD and drummer Jake Kilmer of the band THE FLIPPER BABIES. The band is stronger than ever, and ready to reclaim the chances that should have been afforded them after their first release.Their subsequent partnership with one of the fastest growing independent labels in the industry, Bieler Bros. Records - home to Skindred, Nonpoint and others - allowed the band to create freely, with the knowledge that their record company was behind them 100%. The resulting album, VULTURES, hit stores on October 24th. The album's first single, "The Hit" manages to be both a vitriolic stomp over the corpse of their former record company experiences, as well as an anthem for rebellion against the norm, bosses, nagging partners, and screaming landlords of our day-to-day existence. It gives a voice to everyone's frustrations.

On 10/18 the band embarked upon an extended bout of roadwork behind VULTURES. Don't expect the shows to be carbon copies of the album; more than ever SMILE EMPTY SOUL is bringing their ultra- frenetic approach to their live performances.

BEST SONGS: THE HIT, LOSER, THE FREAKS ARE COMING, HERE'S TO ANOTHER, DISEASE, VULTURES

VIDEOS/SONG SAMPLES:



PRESS STANDALONE PLAYER BUTTON TO PLAY

"HERE'S TO ANOTHER" VIDEO


BAND LINKS:

http://www.myspace.com/smileemptysoulmusic
www.smileemptysoul.com
Wiki page

HONEYCUT

Dave's Take: To be honest I have only heard snippets of a number of the songs on Honeycut's "The Day I turned to glass" but I saw them live at popscene-sf up in San Francisco in between 3rd and 4th street at a show that Sugarcult was headlining. Another review I was reading describes their sound perfectly: a combination of Gnarls Barkley and the Gorillaz. The track that really caught my attention live was Shadows. It has a very intersting bass guitar line with sort of an 80's synth feel to it as well. But by and large this band plays pretty cool jazzy and soul type music. You can find their album on Amazon or Itunes.







RATING: 8/10 (Not my favorite genre of music but they are very talented)

SOUNDS LIKE: Gnarls Barkly, Gorrillaz

QUOTES ABOUT BAND:

"Honeycut will drop its debut on DJ Shadow's Quannum Projects label at the end of September: an excellent endorsement for a new group.The CD, The Day I Turned To Glass, is credibly eclectic without coming off disjointed as the band flirts with quirky hip-hop loops and balances on the edge of rock and soul." - SF Weekly

"Only occasionally do you find a group or album that manages to incorporate diverse influences into a unique sound and still remain absolutely accessible, be it to the casual radio listener or the diehard record collector... the band weaves its way through soul, funk, rock, bossa nova, and electronica without ever stopping firmly on one, instead creating something that's very much their own.... giving Honeycut an almost unclassifiable vibe about them that makes them entertaining and danceable while retaining their musical integrity." - ALLMUSIC.COM

In a 40-minute set Honeycut appealed to every aspect of an unsuspecting crowd. Mixing Davenport's glam like performance and a vocal range that was equal parts slick and resonating, Salters beat out funky high-energy sounds on three keyboards. Sevener's live drum programming made the performance of the locally popular single "Shadows" feverish, audience members dancing in their seats as easily as they would in any club." - The Owl Magazine, (live review Apple Store SF performance)



BEST TRACKS: Shadows, The DAy I Turned to Glass, Tough Kid, Butter Room




SONG SAMPLES/VIDEOS:




CLICK STANDALONE PLAYER BUTTON TO PLAY

SHADOWS VIDEO


LEAD SINGER ACOUSTIC GUITAR SOLO


BUTTER ROOM VIDEO


TOUGH KID VIDEO


BAND LINKS:
http://www.myspace.com/honeycutmusic
honeycutmusic.com

SICK PUPPIES-EP

Dave's Take: I can't quite remember the series of events that led me to find the Sick Puppies on myspace but
I'm glad I did. Their song "All the Same" was used in a touching video that displays all that is right with the human spirit.(See the video and story below). There have been over 7,000,000 views of the video! The song itself is a slow acoustic number for the most part that bursts into the emotive electric guitar driven chorus:








"I don't mind...
I don't care...
As long as you're here
Go ahead tell me you'll leave again
You'll just come back running
Holding your scarred heart in hand
It's all the same
And I'll take you for who you are
If you take me for everything
Do it all over again
It's always the same"

It's just a song that maks you glad to be alive. Two of the other standout tracks from their five song EP are "My World" and "Asshole Father" which deal with lonliness in two different ways. "My World" draws the listener in both lyrically with its "heart on your sleeve" lyrics,

"Welcome to my world
where everyone I ever need
always ends up leaving me alone
another lesson burned
and I'm drowing in the ashes
kicking... screaming"

and its crunchy guitars. "Asshole father" like "All the Same" starts off with beautiful acoustic guitar plucking with the Shimon Moore melancholy singing:

"I waited for you yesterday
I waited and missed the last train
I waited to say that I’d fallen in love with your way
I waited for you yesterday
Eventually walked home in the rain
I waited to see if you felt the same for me"

Then his anger and the quick staccatto electric guitars come alive in the chorus:

"But you don’t,
and you won’t
go against your asshole father
Going broke, quitting dope for your folks why did I even bother?
Why did I?"

"Deliverance" is more of a straight ahead radio friendly rocker but it still has a great sound to it. All in all the Sick Puppies leave you panting for more with their captivating lyrics, soaring heartfelt vocals and nice balance between acoustic plucking and a more straight ahead rock sound. Oh, and as an added bonus for the guys out there they have a cute female guitar player.

BAND MEMBERS:
Shimon Moore: lead vocals, guitar
Emma Anzai: bass, backing vocals
Mark Goodwin: drums

BAND BIO:

Sick Puppies are a guitar fuelled rock three piece band who now stand on the threshold of achieving their singular goal: the global release of the album they were born to make.
The band carries an awesome presence on stage with a staggering sound fronted by the fretwork and awesome vocals of guitarist and singer Shimon Moore. Conspiring in the sonic stew that is the Sick Puppies is bassist Emma Anzai who has been justifiably dubbed “the female Flea”. Uniting the band in rock bliss is the airtight pummeling of drummer Mark Goodwin who is truly one of the hardest hitters around.

The band was born when the two greatest outcasts of Mosman High School met each other in the only safe haven either of them knew…the music room. Shimon Moore and Emma Anzai began jamming on Green Day and Rage Against The Machine songs until the urge to make their own sound took over and they began penning the loudest and most powerful songs that they could play. Just months later, the Puppies beat out 3000 other bands in a demo competition run by the only national radio network in the country. As a direct and rapid result the Puppies were thrust into the limelight, and with their first recording experience behind them.

The bands first year culminated in them being crowned the ‘Best Live Act’ at the Australian Live Music Awards. Since that time the achievements and highlights have flowed thick and fast, including tours with Good Charlotte and legendary bands Deep Purple and Midnight Oil during which many new audience members became converts and joined the ever expanding Sick Puppies fan base.

Amid the fanfare of all the Puppies achievements remained a burning desire to take their music to the next level. To that end a pact was made to take the band to the ends of the earth and back, beginning with the writing and recording of the songs that they knew would resonate with a worldwide audience. The band is currently in the United States making their record in Los Angeles, and the results speak for themselves. With a release pending later in the year, the Sick Puppies true arrival is imminent. Stay tuned…

BEST SONGS: All the Same, Asshole Father, My World

SONG SAMPLES/VIDEOS:



CLICK ON STANDALONE PLAYER BUTTON TO PLAY

ALL THE SAME STORY:

Sometimes, a hug is all what we need. Free hugs is a real life controversial story of Juan Mann, A man whos sole mission was to reach out and hug a stranger to brighten up their lives.

In this age of social disconnectivity and lack of human contact, the effects of the Free Hugs campaign became phenomenal.

As this symbol of human hope spread accross the city, police and officials ordered the Free Hugs campaign BANNED. What we then witness is the true spirit of humanity come together in what can only be described as awe inspiring.

In the Spirit of the free hugs campaign, PASS THIS TO A FRIEND and HUG A STRANGER! After all, If you can reach just one person...

"ALL THE SAME"



"MY WORLD"


LINKS:
http://sickpuppies.net (BAND PAGE)
http://myspace.com/sickpuppies

My Chemical Romance- The Black Parade

DAVE's TAKE:

"I drink for the horror that I'm in
for the good guys and the bad guys
for the monsters in our bed
Three cheers for tyranny
unapolagetic apathy
cause there ain't no way that I'm coming back again
and through it all
how could you cry
for me.........
cause I don't feel bad about it
so shut your eyes
kiss me goodbye
and sleeeeeeee eee eee eep"

Never has a band made talking about death sound so good, as the above lyrics from "Sleep" do on My Chemical Romance's new album: Welcome to the Black Parade. If you're a modern rock fan then you're probably familiar with some their previous hits off their last album, "Helana" and "I'm Not Okay (I Promise)". That same sound is definitely present on this album. Like Green day, they have gone with the Rock-opera type album focusing on a central theme and borrow heavily in the sound department from arena rock bands of old. Not suprisingly, Rob Cavello who also helped produce Green Day's: American Idiot, also co-produced this album. The Queen references are so obvious that they don't need mentioning unless you've never heard of Queen before. My Chemical Romance does at least put their own modern rock twist on the sound.

Nowhere are the Quuen comparisons more obvious than on the intro song "The End" which clones Queen right down to the song structure: A slow piano intro with sing-songy lyrcis followed by an over the top bombastic chorus that sounds all too familiar to "Bohemian Rhapsody"

Now just because My Chemical Romance borrows sounds of old does not mean this is a bad album. Far from it. Like Cobra in G.I Joe pulling DNA from all of the greatest evil leaders of all time to create Serpentor, My Chemical Romance seems to extract the best of old 80's and 70's rock sounds and modernize it.

As the front cover suggests with its gothic skeleton, lyrically almost of the songs deal directly about death or dying. But the album does anything but make you depressed due to the way the songs are played.

In fact, the super catchy lead single "Welcome to the Black Parade", starts off slow and explodes into rapid pace yummy rock goodness, has some of the most upbeat lyrics:

"When you're gone we want you all to know We'll Carry on,
We'll Carry on
Though your dead and gone believe me Your memory will carry on
Carry on
We'll carry on
And in my heart I cant contain it
The anthem wont explain it" 

After that track the album treads more on the ballad side of the road with superb tracks like "I don't Love You", "Cancer" and "Sleep", whose lyrics opened up this blog and my personal favorite track on the alubm due to the guitar work. Then there are the rockabilly sounding tracks "House of Wolves" and "Mama" that have Cherry Poppin Daddies bass type rhythms. "Teenagers" is hard to describe other than I'm sure I've heard the sound used somewhere before but just can't place it.

The album rounds out with another ballady type song "Disenchanted" with the following lyrics:

"If I'm so wrong How can you listen all night long
Now will it matter after I'm gone
Because you never learn a goddamned thing

It's just a sad song, with nothing to say
About a life-long wait for a hospital stay
And if you think that I'm wrong
This never meant nothing tooooooooo you"

THe album rounds out with "Famous Last Words" perhaps the most straight-up rock sounding song on the album and some of the more positive lyrics on the album:

"I am not afraid to keep on living
I am not afraid to walk this world alone
Honey, if you stay, I'll be forgiven
Nothing you can say can stop me going home"


But it still ends with a bombastic chorus. So Welcome to the Black Parade definitely borrows from other bands sounds, almost unabashedly so but it works due to the great execution and consistent musical performance on each song. The lyrics are quite admittedly over-the top overkill but

OVERALL RATING: 8/10 (Heavily borrowed sounds but played extremely well)

SOUNDS LIKE: Queen( How many times do I have to repeat this), 80's rock,


BEST SONGS: Welcome to the Black Parade, I Don't Love You, Sleep, Mama, This How I Dissapear, House of Wolves, Famous Last Words

SONG/VIDEO SAMPLES:
Rolling Stone Review page (listen to all songs)



"SLEEP"


"WELCOME TO THE BLACK PARADE"



BAND WEBSITES:
www.myspace.com/mychemicalromance
www.mychemicalromance.com

LAST WINTER

Dave's Take: Due to time constraints I have not updated this blog in about a week, but expect some awesome bands this coming week and today. The manner through which I learned about Last Winter is a bit embarrassing. There were a couple songs I heard on MTV's Laguna Beach (yes I am probably dumber for watching that show) that I wanted to find out more about. Interestingly two of the former Blink182 boy and current Plus 44! members, Mark and Travis, are responsible for a lot of the music choices on Laguna Beach which explains why a lot of the bands they choose to use are from the modern rock genre. Well one of the bands I discovered was a band by the name of Last Winter, a relatively undiscovered, absolute gem of a band. Their music could be described loosely as "space-rock"; highly melodic atmospheric emotional sounding music. The CD Transmission Skyline starts off with a highly delayed, echoed guitar riff on the song "Girl Next Door" that instantly describes the sonic texture at work throughout the entire album even though that specific song is only available on the Japanese import. This song like a number of the songs focuses on love not realized:

"Just say you love me, just say you love me. I'll always be here waiting. You were always so much more than the girl next door. Just sew your arms around me know"

The lyrics are rather simplistic but they emotion and skill with which they are sung makes for up it. Just two songs later we get crunchier guitars on one of the signature tracks both lyrically and musically "Starlight Drive"

"Ignorant and dreaming on Starlight Drive. Ignorance is bliss now so let it go"

The next track is the beautiful "chasing light" with quick staccato guitar chords. What really makes this track is the vocal range displayed in the chorus "now I've given up. Wouldn't you. We gave it time but you took over. You'd say we wasted our time I gave you mine you left me nothing" "Summer in Illinois" is one of the weaker tracks but it gives way to "Vela to Norma" which is one of the harder rock songs on the album. The lyrics match the sonic mood of the album on this song as the lead singer Cameron sings:

"cascades burn as they light the way to open hearts. celestial eyes unfold. map the stars from left to right, miracle my eyes stay closed and i wait for so long a brilliant fading spinning off into the amber sky a gentle sting above horizons"

"Don't Forget to Write" is an acoustic song that I think anyone would like even if they didn't like the musical stylings used in the other songs. This is the song that I heard on Laguna beach and it fit in perfectly for the scene they used with the bittersweet vocals and lyrics:

"Im barely alive. Though miles may come between us. You're always and forever on my mind. When you go dont forget to write. You're the best that ever happened, I never would imagine you would change my life"

The balladish "December" once again uses imagery of the sky in the lyrics:

"The sky fell between my Young and careless eyes
Braiding myself in The red December sky
I remember Last December
Memories never change "

Maybe Tomorrow, For all Times, and Autograph round out this amazing CD. Their sound isn't completely original but then again who is nowadays? I can't remember hearing a CD with such a prominent atmospheric space like quality to it that was done so well. What matters most is that the sound is amazing and present on every single song on the album.



SOUNDS LIKE: Mae, Story of the Year, Switchfoot, Forty Percent, Pulse Ultra

CD Rating: 9/10 ( About as perfect as you can get for a first CD)

BEST SONGS: Girl Next Door, Chasing Daylight, Starlight Drive, Vela to Norma, Don't Forget to Write, December, For All times

SONG SAMPLES/WEBSITES:





CLICK STANDALONE PLAYER TO PLAY

All 14 Full songs all available at www.purevolume.com/lastwinter

Myspace page: www.myspace.com/lastwinter

BAND MEMBERS:
:: Fro ::..Guitar..
:: Josh ::..Guitar..
:: Cameron ::..Vocals..
:: Chris ::..Drums..
:: Bo ::..Bass

BAND WEBSITE: www.Lastwinter.com

NEVERTHELESS

Dave's take: I'm really on a Christian music kick as of late as today we take at a look at
another very new band from that genre: NEVERTHELESS. It's suprising that their label is Flickr records instead of Tooth and Nail, home to many Christian rock themed bands. The first track of their first album, Live Like We Are Alive, "The Real" is a song of despair yet also one of hope as Lead singer Josh Person proclaims:

"So it is sometimes That I feel this life Is far beyond repair But I know that You are there tonight (Tonight I won’t give up) Keep on breathing Don’t you let this take you down Don’t stop believing"

The song itself starts off with instantly memorable upbeat quick paced guitar transitions. This leads way to very subtle mellow verses and back into a similar guitar laden chorus. However the problem is that the CD starts off with the best track and seems to go steadily downhill form there. Thematically though it represents this album to a tee. Most of the songs are about God helping one get through life despite hurt and heartache. Another standout track following this theme is "Live We're Alive"

"So here I stand. I’m ready for anything. Just a man, but I’m giving everything. We’re here only for a second and then we’re gone when we least expect it. So do more than surviveLet’s live like we’re alive!"


All in all a decent effort from a band following a familiar formula. It's too bad the second half of the album fell a little bit flat for me.

OVERALL RATING: 5/10 (An album good for buying the single tracks)

SOUNDS LIKE: Mae, Further Seems Forever, Needtobreathe, Sanctus Real

Reviews better than mine:
http://www.absolutepunk.net/showthread.php?p=4761938
http://www.jesusfreakhideout.com/cdreviews/LiveLikeWereAlive.asp
http://www.drivenfaroff.com/2006/09/18/neverthess-live-like-were-alive/
http://www.christianitytoday.com/music/reviews/2006/livelikewerealive.html
http://www.the-trades.com/article.php?id=4797




BEST SONGS:

1. The Real
2. Live Like We are Alive
3. Time
4. Patience and Devotion

SONG SAMPLES/VIDEOS:



Tracks

01. The Real	Listen: [rm]
02. Patience And Devotion	Listen: [rm]
03. Time	Listen: [rm]
04. Live Like We're Alive	Listen: [rm]
05. Lover	Listen: [rm]
06. Losing Innocence	Listen: [rm]
07. Let It Fall	Listen: [rm]
08. Perfect Chemistry	Listen: [rm]
09. It's Me	Listen: [rm]
10. O'Child	Listen: [rm]

CLICK ON STANDALONE PLAYER TO PLAY


"THe REAL" VIDEO:



BAND LINKS:
http://www.myspace.com/neverthelessband
neverthelessmusic.com
www.purevolume.com/neverthelesstn
Amazon page

HELLOGOODBYE

DAVE's TAKE: Normally I wouldn't put a CD on here on the strength of one moderately decent song but HELLOGOODBYE's "Here in your arms" is a very catchy electro-pop song with the emphasis on the electronic portion. Even the video is awesomely hilarious. If nothing else the song will have you dancing to it and would be a good part of any dance mix. Unfortunately the rest of the album, sans a few tracks, sounds very different and is nowhere near as catchy. This album definitely harkens back to the electro-power-pop days of the 80's when "New Wave" was dominating the airwaves albiet infused with a bit of modern emo spice. "Here in Your Arms" may be enough to propel this group to another CD but I don't see enough standout material on Zombies! Aliens! Vampires Dinsoaurs! to have any reason to believe that HELLOGOODBYE is headed for any kind of signifigant stardom.

SOUNDS LIKE: Panic at the Disco, Motion City Soundtrack, 80's new wave

OVERALL RATING: 5/10 (Not enough standout tracks for me)

SPOTLIGHT REVIEW:

From Tony Pascarella at absolutepunk.net

Hellogoodbye seems set on recalling the glory days of 80’s new wave fifteen to twenty years too late to be relevant. The genre’s window of fame died out before many of their rabid fans were even born, yet Forrest Kline and friends want to suck that musical teat dry with their first full album. Their debut EP, the Hellogoodbye EP, has soared beyond 85,000 units with their appearances on the MTVU tour, Warped Tour, and MTV. They are currently the band bridging the independent-to-mainstream gap on Drive-Thru Records, and Zombies! Aliens! Vampires! Dinosaurs! is a bit of an experiment for Hellogoodbye’s debut full-length.

Danceable beats and random spurts of distorted noise highlight the album’s opener, “All Of Your Love.” Hellogoodbye presents naïve relationship-based lyrics (as we grew to expect from their debut EP) that ultimately shift the focus onto the flagrant overproduction because the song lyrically won’t do much for listeners. “Here (In Your Arms)” is the lead single, but unfortunately it fails to stand on its own two feet. With lyrical gems such as “I like where you sleep/When you sleep next to me/I like where you sleep/Here,” it will give previous fans cause to question whether Hellogoodbye might just be a one-EP wonder. Musically, you will still want to throw a dance party and include this song, but just hope no one actually cares about the incredibly one-dimensional lyrics. “All Time Lows” opens with a keyboard intro reminiscent of Motion City Soundtrack’s latest album, spurring the Hellogoodbye dance craze. This song doesn’t plod along, and sounds like it would be right at home on the Hellogoodbye EP; I consider it a standout on this subpar album.

Switching back to the terrible, the band offers up “Stuck To You.” It is perhaps one of the few songs in which differentiation between instruments is possible, but Forrest’s vocals are appalling and almost unlistenable. There is enough distortion already, but he sings in a high pitch for part of the song (while being accented by lower instrumental parts), and the final product sounds atrocious. Hellogoodbye can pull off the songs when they don’t overproduce them or distort them to some sort of unintelligible alien language known only to 13-year old girls.

You won’t need your MTV decoder ring to see the difference when you get to “Homewrecker” and the acoustic-tinged “Oh, It Is Love.” While many heard the “Homewrecker” demo ages ago, the band’s official release of the song marks a turning point for Hellogoodbye. Straightforward songs with mushy hooks that glint in the sunlight are the band’s strong point. “Oh It Is Love” has a bit too much of a cutesy feel to it, but instrumentally it shows a side of the band we have rarely seen. I would liken it to an experimental track (“Jesse Buy Nothing…Go To Prom Anyways” from the EP) with a completely unexpected music style. The final five songs of the album are a mixed bag of tricks. Only “Touchdown Turnaround” is memorable, and “Two Weeks in Hawaii” turned out downright boring. “Figures A and B” reminds me a little bit of a bloated, synth-happy Relient K.

Zombies! Aliens! Vampires! Dinosaurs! is a definite mixed bag of tricks. It surely is not the worst album out this year, but the music could be much, much better. It lacks a handful of true standout tracks, and that may hurt Hellogoodbye in the end. Drive-Thru will push to get the band on MTV and I anticipate them being successful. If the band can pick up more fans with the new album than they will lose, they can deem it a success. Frankly, this album will not rocket Hellogoodbye to the superstardom they so desire (and from the EP seemed destined for). When they decide to focus a bit more on instrumentation over digitization, I am confident they can write a record to please both sides of the aisle. Until then, Zombies! Aliens! Vampires! Dinosaurs! is one of my major disappointments of 2006."

BEST SONGS: Here In Your Arms, Touchdown Turnaround, Figures A and B, All Time Lows

SONG SAMPLES/VIDEOS:



CLICK STANDALONE PLAYER TO PLAY





"HERE IN YOUR ARMS"

LINKS:
www.myspace.com/hellogoodbye
http://www.hellogoodbye.net/
Amazon link

SIZE 14

Dave's Take:

Today I bring you a defunct band that went by the name of Size 14 and came out with one self titled CD in 1997. The only reason I happened to hear about these guys was one in of life's random events that comes your way. Back in the preinternet days I just happened to be listening to a "Cage match" on a raido station and these guys won for about a week with the only track you've proably ever heard from them: the hilarious "Claire Daine's Poster" that Bowling for Soup attempted unsuccessfully attempted to cover ( see the video below). Their songs are funny and nonsensical sort of in the vain of Bloodhound Gang but without the sexual innuendoes or references instead choosing to make fun of other things such as death metal rocker's in "Death Metal Steve" where they switch to a funny death metal riff at one point in the song. In the awesome pop-punk "Rollin in the 510" they make fun of thier car. The only song with major sexual overtones is the funny "Sleepin in the Wet Spot." The fast up-tempo "Shane", "People get really drunk in Las Vegas" and the semi-ballad "Superbabe 2000" about "a punk rock Sharon Stone" which has a sweet wah-wah guitar chorus round out the first half of the album. The second half of the album falls a little bit flat but I'm suprised these guys didn't get more attention back in the day when pop-punk was just starting to get heavy airplay. All in all a CD with a unmber of fun highly listenable tracks.

SIMILAR BANDS: WHEATUS, WEEZER, BLINK 182, MXPX

RATING: 6/10 (Second half of the disc falls flat)

BAND BIO: With punk-inspired guitar-poppin' antics, Hollywood-based SIZE 14 put out their debut CD in 1997. Named after the singer's shoe size, SIZE 14 - Linus (lead vocals, guitar), Kevin Danczak (guitar), Robt Ptak (bass, background vocals), Dave Armstrong (drums) - became infamous a few years back for their humorous yet honest account of "Claire Danes Poster."

BEST SONGS: Claire Daine's Poster, Rollin in the 510, Superbabe 2000, Death Metal Steve

VIDEOS/SONG SAMPLES:

1 Claire Danes Poster

3:00


2 Sleeping in the Wet Spot

3:20



3 Shane



3:16



4 Superbabe 2000

4:21


5 Rollin' in the 5-1-0

3:14



6 People Get Really Drunk in las Vegas

3:01


7 Agostino


8 Death Metal Steve

3:54


9 Let's Rob a Bank


3:14


10 Earthquake


3:46


11 Formula Guy

2:20


12 Prototype


3:55


13 I Touched Her Ass

4:07


14 Jimmy Whalen

2:59






CLICK STANDALONE PLAYER TO PLAY (ONLY CLAIRE' DAINES POSTER IS FROM CD)



BOWLING FOR SOUP TRYING TO COVER SIZE 14's CLAIRE DAINE's POSTER




LINKS:

www.myspace.com/sizefourteen

BUY CD from Amazon

RED

DAVE's TAKE: Well I bring you another band that can loosely be classified as "Christian Rock" though unless you knew this by reading a band bio you would likely not realize just by listening to Red and thier new CD End of Silence. Think of this CD as Linkin Park part 2 as they use a lot of strings and musical elements that you would expect from the aforementioned group. Take for example the hit track "Breathe Into Me" it opens up with some discordant violin string music and then explodes into the crunchy downtuned guitars we've come to expect from "nu-metal" groups like Chevelle and Linkin Park. Songs like "Breathe Into Me" and " Already Over" to repeat myself would fit perfectly with any Linkin Park album with. Therein lies part of the problem, a completely unoriginal sound: hard rock layered with classical insturmentals. This could be forgiven if the entire CD was full of good songs but the CD is only 10 songs deep with one essentially being a remix of the same song. Still the hits are done well enough to make those songs on End of Silence worth a listen and make for a promising start for Red.

SOUNDS LIKE: CHEVELLE, LINKIN PARK, BLINDSIDE

DAVE's RATING: 6/10 (A few great songs)

BAND BIO/REVIEWS:



Anthony – Guitar
Randy – Bass / Vocals
Michael – Vocals
Jasen – Guitar
Hayden – Drums


"Passionate vocals. Gnashing guitars. A potent message. These are the elements that make Red — both live and on their mighty debut, End of Silence—one of the most buzzed about bands to crash through the Christian rock world in recent memory. "We’re passionate about our live show, but sometimes we get a little too excited," says bassist Randy Armstrong. He’s just stating the facts. Or more to the point, the injury report. Head contusions. Emergency rooms. Stitches. And that was just their last tour. "Anthony swung his guitar around his body and smashed it into Michael's head causing the guitar to break and Michael to get seven stitches." It’s more than just good theater, though. There’s conviction fueling the onstage bonfire, an inferno that burns brightly on the band’s first proper album. "We’re intent on connecting with the crowd," Armstrong explains. "We’re there for them. They’re not there for us." One might disagree. After all, over 21,000 MySpace "friends" in just over a year online speak to a devoted following of fans. One that should only grow with the release of End of Silence. It’s a long way from their days growing up in Pennsylvania playing to area youth groups, performing popular contemporary Christian music covers. "We were pretty sure we were breaking copyright laws," says Randy Armstrong with a bit of a laugh. "It was fun. But for me personally, you grow out of pop music. I mean, you always like it, but something about somebody screaming in your face gets people pumped up and makes them want to listen. Something about that edge makes you feel a certain way." As contemporary Christian rock continues to push boundaries of what a band can say with its music, bands like Red are on the forefront. Having personally dealt with tragedy, regrets, addiction, and a litany of past mistakes, Red looks real issues right between the eyes on End of Silence and refuses to blink. Guitarist Jasen Rauch hopes his past difficulties can have a positive impact on listeners. He wants to remind everyone that, "No matter where you’ve been, the endgame of salvation is still the same." "People are hitting on subjects that are deeper and darker," Armstrong says. "I think it’s just a sign of Christian music evolving. But at the end of the day, no matter what the message is wrapped in, the music is still about redemption. How people got out of their struggles and into their relationship with God." First single, "Breathe Into Me," perfectly sums up this approach. Armed with angular, staccato riffs and Michael’s throat shredding yet melodic vocals, the song is a fierce lament about looking back and not liking what you see. "This is where I lose myself when I keep running away from you," Michael’s shouts. His redemption comes in a chorus backed with mournful strings and a yearning, almost pleading cry for God to "breathe your life into me—I still need you." Such heavy messages risk being overpowered and singed by the churning, often brutal instrumentation, but it’s a risk the band was willing to take. "Rock bands aren’t always very well received in the Christian world," says Armstrong. "But you look around at what bands are popular right now, and I think the kids are paying attention. It’s a fine line, but I think we walk it pretty well." Red’s duality—fiery, yet poignant—is best exemplified in the flip-sided duo of songs, "Already Over" and album closer "Already Over, Pt. 2." The first version is led by a dark, lilting piano and relentless snare before exploding in pure metal fury. Lyrically it documents a downward spiral, a running or falling away from something good. "Pt. 2" is the antithesis. A stripped down happy ending of sorts, where the lost soul finally finds its way home. After so much angst and upheaval, it’s a fitting final resting place for what should go down as one of the most powerful debut albums of the year. "

"The songs on their debut release deal with the struggles that all humans face, while leading listeners to a place of redemption in the midst of the brokenness. Red hopes their music impacts people in a way that causes them to not feel alone in their struggles. Randy explains, "I hope that our music has a profound impact on people. You never know what people are dealing with in their every day lives, but I am willing to bet that at some point, we all have experienced the same feelings of anger, sadness, confusion, etc. Our music talks about a lot of those times that we have struggled dealing with those feelings and the situations that caused them. I hope our music makes them feel like they are not struggling alone." Produced by Dove nominated producer Rob Graves and mixed by Ben Grosse, End of Silence releases June 13th. The band will be touring with Day of Fire this spring then playing at many major festivals this summer and will continue to hit the road throughout the fall."





A review from John DiBiase - Review date: 6/6/06


"Red is Essential Records' latest new rock band to join their ever budding roster. The band's debut album, End Of Silence, is a powerful and aggressive project that suffers solely from its obvious comparisons to such acts as Linkin Park and even Evanescence. The ambitious debut features a mix of string arrangements and synth melodies with emotional, often intense vocals and crunchy, rhythmic guitars that all serve as the band's groundwork, which was previously laid most popularly by artists like Linkin Park. And although no hip hop vocals can be found in Red's music, their sound retains a distractingly unoriginal feeling.


While an over polishing may deter the more avid hard rock fans from a record like this, it's the kind of sound that opens doors for string accompaniment. And while it may be used to excess at times, its beauty emerges in such tracks as the closer "Already Over Pt. 2." What saves End Of Silence from a quick trip to the bargain bin is its passion and sincerity. Many of the songs unashamedly address the Christian's struggle with temptation and an urgency for Christ -- something you definitely won't find in any of their mainstream counterparts. "Let Go" is an encouragement to cling to hope while "Already Over" (part one) examines the darkest struggles with temptation and its snare. The piano-driven "Pieces" seeks solitude in Christ in the midst of brokenness, displaying the band's strength in writing honest, transparent ballads void of genre clichés. Yet, a more stripped-down approach to the production may have added a more intimate feel, therefore giving it an even more powerful result.


It's hard for me to listen to End Of Silence and not find Red intriguing. However, it's also nearly impossible to listen to them and not wish the band owned the sound they're bearing. So many times, from intros to vocal melodies to guitar riffs, the songs remind the listener of music already done before, giving one the feeling they'd already heard End Of Silence long before their first listen to this album. But while it's easy as a reviewer to retreat behind the hope that "maybe the band's next album will correct these problems," Red is the perfect example of a band that warrants such hope. The band oozes talent and promise despite its formula, but just seems held back by the ever popular trend in Christian music to emulate the mainstream success stories. Could Red stretch their wings beyond the confines of familiarity?


While End Of Silence isn't all that it could be, it still isn't bad for what it is. Red's focus on brokenness and healing through seeking the face of Jesus is really what redeems the band's Essential Records debut. Rock fans will undoubtedly find things to love about End Of Silence, but for those of us ready for artists in the Christian realm to break molds and take risks, Red isn't what we've been waiting for."

BEST SONGS: Breathe Into Me, Already Over, Lost, Pieces

SONG SAMPLES/VIDEOS:

CLICK STANDALONE PLAYER TO PLAY SONGS







BAND WEBSITES/LINKS:
http://www.myspace.com/dropofred
redmusiconline.com
Amazon page

THE CLASSIC CRIME

DAVE's TAKE: Well I've been slacking a little bit on posting daily but I promise I will get back into full force starting with another new band that came out earlier this year called The Classic Crime with their CD entitled Albatross. I can't rembere where I found these guys first but I think it was just from browsing through artist on the Tooth and Nail record label. They provide a fresh twist on the current modern rock sound of melodic choruses followed by intense choruses. While not groundbreaking, they make up for it with excellent performances and good variety in the songs presented. Amid a few songs about unrequited love are consistent themes of building hope through relationships and living out convictions fearlessly, as clearly heard in the hard chargin opening track, "The Fight", continues with another great track about finding spiritual rebirth through grace "The Flight of Kings" where he sings "Do you know this songs for you. My heart goes out to the hurt you feel inside" followed my an awesome guitar scale solo. Then we reach one of the slow,soaring,amazing tune "Who Needs Air" about finding hope and peace through faith. The pace quickens again with the fourth track, "Blisters and Coffee", which features many change ups and a cool build up to the verses. The band's second single which really turned me on to the band and which I commented about when I was in Studio at LIVE 105, "The Coldest Heart" is one of the stand out songs on the album. Pretty much a prototype of what an awesome modern rock song sounds like. "All the Memories" has a catchy chorus, and a great build up to the end of the song. "Say the Word" takes a slight turn in sound with the verses but makes up up with a very emotional and passionate chorus where he screams "Are you differnent,can I be different too, nobody knows you like I do." "I Know The Feeling" is one of the only songs that you might consider skipping as it just sounds kind of derivative lyrically and musically. "The Poet" is the song that is most different from the rest with more discordant choppy guitars. Rounding out the album is the slow ballad "Headlights"

John Dukery from www.decapolis.com sums up the album well in this excerpt from his review:

"Lyrically the album has a mostly positive message on how life is changing, but to make sure to live it to the best of your ability; simple, perhaps, but a much needed message in today’s music scene.

Albatross is not here to re-create the wheel or revolutionize its use, but to take an old model and use it well. If a somewhat typical sounding rock based pop punk record with catchy choruses and good vocals sounds good to you, definitely pick this record up"

OVERALL RATING: 7.5/10 (Good modern rock with a lot of variety and very little filler)

SOUNDS LIKE: Anberlin, Third Eye Blind, Fall Out Boy, Jimmy Eat World, Brand New

BAND BIO:
Matt MacDonald – vocals

Justin Duque – guitars

Paul Erickson – drums

Alan Clark – bass

Robbie Negrin – guitars

What is the Classic Crime? History is filled with heroes that made the ultimate sacrifice and martyrs who died for their cause. Whether their actions were viewed as "criminal" in their day was irrelevant. From those fighting against injustice to those who stood up for the folks who don't fit in, dying for one's beliefs or one's art is the Classic Crime.

Fitting, then, that The Classic Crime (the rock band) hails from the Pacific Northwest, a region whose rich artistic history boasts perhaps the biggest rock n' roll martyr: Kurt Cobain. Not to mention the countless other denizens of the area whose music has turned a corner for underground and popular music, from Pearl Jam to Gatsby's American Dream.

"Music has a profound effect on the listener. It even has the power to lift spirits and change lives," reasons singer Matt MacDonald. "If we can see our music change a life for the better, than we've been paid in the kind of way we hope to be." The Classic Crime's new album, "Albatross," threatens to turn such a corner with the sheer expanse of its scope, conjuring the most brilliant moments of Brand New, Thrice and Third Eye Blind while alternately sounding refreshingly original. The vocals are unique, the lyrics are hopeful, and the boys' hearts are all in the right place.

An albatross is one of the most beautiful and complex creatures in the world. It has a wingspan of up to 14 feet, a lifespan of 80 years, and no natural predators. Perhaps best of all, it can travel 20,000 miles in 20 days. "That's what I wanted for this record and for our band," offers MacDonald. "Stats like that." And with their Tooth & Nail debut, they should get them. Beautiful and complex – that would be the band's eclectic mix of melodic rock genres. No natural predators? Well, their songs are unstoppable. And with the touring ahead of them, they'll travel 20,000 miles in no time… Maybe not in 20 days, but you get the point.

The Classic Crime is a new take on an old rock n' roll sound for a generation hungry to be heard. Producer Michael "Elvis" Baskette (Iggy Pop, Chevelle, Cold) helped The Classic Crime shape and hone their already considerably strong material into breath-taking anthems, proving how far they've come since their days as teenage pals.

Justin Duque wasn't one of the "cool" kids in school; never an outcast, but never quite popular. "I knew that high school was a big popularity contest and I never bought into it," he says. What high school did offer Duque was a chance to meet drummer Paul Erickson. "I grew up listening to mostly my dad's music," says Duque, whose father force-fed him a steady diet of Black Sabbath, Led Zeppelin, Aerosmith and Jimi Hendrix. On his own, the soon-to-be guitarist discovered Smashing Pumpkins, Soundgarden and Nirvana, and they changed his life. Duque and Erickson became fast friends and before too long they found themselves playing in a band called Orizon with bass player Alan Clark and singer Matt MacDonald, whose own parents confessed their love for Sabbath and Zeppelin in his teenage years. By the time guitarist Robbie Negrin came onboard, the time felt right to change the name.

The Classic Crime will leave their mark on the musical landscape with "Albatross." Don't worry about the over-saturation of bands out there. This album stands apart. "If we are mentioned in the same breath as the greaet bands of the Pacific Northwest then I think that we'll have done something right," Duque says with modesty. "I just hope to develop long-lasting, loving friendships with new people and see people's lives changed for the positive. And all deeper in love with life." "We have been given a talent to write and play music and it is my hope to give that to other people," adds MacDonald. "[We want] to inspire hope in other people who have dreams, doubts, and struggles. As Dustin from Thrice says, 'Every scar is a bridge to someone's broken heart.' And it is my hope that our scars can help heal hearts."

BEST SONGS: THE FIGHT, FLIGHT OF KINGS, WHO NEEDS AIR, THE COLDEST HEART, THE BITTER UPRISING, HEADLIGHTS

SONG SAMPLES/VIDEOS:

CLICK ON STANDALONE PLAYER TO PLAY



"THE FIGHT"



"THE COLDEST HEART"

BAND and SONG SAMPLE LINKS:
The Classic Crime website
Amazon page
www.purevolume.com/theclassiccrime
www.myspace.com/theclassiccrime