Music Review - Float the Witch

The mid-90's was really an epic time for the female fronted alt-rock band. Blake Babies, Belly, Juliana Hatfield, Liz Phair...the list goes on. Float the Witch seem to very much want to carry on in this vein and their self-titled EP really sets the tone.

The immediate grab starts on the first track, "Meridian" with a lilting, almost celtic voice that wouldn't be too far from many of the vocal performances heard on the radio program Thistle and Shamrock. That all changes as you realize this band can actually rock out. It's not all simple acoustic ditties. The energy (and guitars and bass and full kit drums) are whipped out right in the next track, "The Abyss Gazes Back". This is a straightforward rocker, compared to "Le Miroir" a french inspired (and vocalized) surf rock song.

If there is one drawback to Float the Witch it is the seeming lack of direction. The music is eclectic, which is not bad, but can seem scatter-brained, even within the structure of a single song. The production value is decent for a first recording and the sincerity is apparent in every song.

This being a valiant effort, hopefully we will see a full length soon from Float the Witch.

Where to find them:

• Bandcamp
• Their Website

RIYL: Juliana Hatfield, Decemberists, Swans

Music Review - Coheed and Cambria

It's tough to go back to something that was once so great. Remembering the first listen through of The Second Stage Turbine Blade or In Keeping Secrets of the Silent Earth 3 and the jolt of originality and fresh ideas, this is what was hoped for in Coheed and Cambria's latest release The Afterman: Ascension.

For those of us keeping score on the storyline, Afterman is the first part of a two-part album (the second half is promised in February 2013) and is the prequel to the story of the characters Coheed and Cambria and their children. I know Year of the Black Rainbow was also a prequel, but the story has a definite end...so apparently now we must find the true beginning.

It's seems as time has passed, Coheed has become overly polished. The story is definitely more concise, and the playing is on point, although it seems we've moved further from roaring guitars with keyboard accents to more of a keyboard focus. It would be a good sacrifice to lose some continuity in order to get some edge back. After going through the tunes of Afterman it seems these albums have become formula. Starting with a somewhat instrumental tune ("Hollow", parallel to "Keeping the Blade" on Good Apollo or "One" on Black Rainbow), followed by the big anthemic song ("Key Entity Extraction I: Domino the Destitute", parallel to "Welcome Home" on Good Apollo or "The Broken" on Black Rainbow), and the obligatory slow jam ("Subtraction", parallel to "Wake Up" on Good Apollo or "Pearl of the Stars" on Black Rainbow)...we begin to see that there is a pattern. This may be the intent of the story teller, but if so, we are losing out on better music in order to ensure a pocket pattern is formed.

Unfortunately, this is not the triumphant return of Coheed we may have hoped for...but hope still shines...perhaps they can break the chain in February with the second part, The Afterman: Descension.

Where to find them:

• Their Website
• iTunes

RIYL: The Protomen, The Used, Rush

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Music Review - The Dirty River Boys

A lot of folks bandy about the words "Americana" or "New Country" these days. Few groups are able to capture that pure Appalachian zeal. The Dirty River Boys have no problem finding that down home, cottage porch sound though. No problem at all.

From the opening track of their latest effort, Science of Flight, The Dirty River Boys take us to a simpler time in music, a time when it wasn't about raucous distortion, but it was about the story itself. There are complexities and inter-workings in the instrumentation that make it seem like they've just picked up together at the local music stand to play a few standards, but the songs themselves are anything but standard.

The mastery of the instrumentation here is what's important. The scratchiness of long lost Grand Ole Opry recordings is missing, but that's about it. Too polished? Not necessarily, the jangle and back beat make you forget this isn't some digitally remastered coal mining hill band. Guitars move us along, fiddles are well played, and the vocals make you feel like you know these folks, you'd be willing to sit back and have a beer with them after a long working week. Let's hope they put more out for our listening pleasure soon!

Where to find them:

• Their website
• iTunes
• YouTube

RIYL: Mumford & Sons, Ten Cent Howl, Johnny Cash

Music Review - Sledding with Tigers

Sledding with Tigers are nothing if not prolific and ever-evolving. When we first experienced this band, it was a solo acoustic punk act with a teenage angst that was real and palpable. But we all get older and change a bit. We leave college, get jobs, change tastes...it's part of a social evolution called "being a grown up".

Along comes the latest album from Sledding with Tigers, Being Nice is Still Cool, where we see a move away from the punkier tunes of their earlier days into a sweeter, more rounded punk/Americana sound, self-described as "I'm not punk enough for punk and I'm not folk enough for folk". Imagine The Descendents decided to soften a bit and go acoustic, add a fiddle...picture it. Now you have the lastest Sledding with Tigers album.

No need to worry...the relatable lyrics are still there, the raucous, rolling guitar hasn't left, the group-yell choruses have remained intact. What is added is some saavy to using the fun stuff in a studio. Distortion on vocals ("A Floppy Disc Worth of Singing"), a straight-up pop song ("Homeless"), and mix of everything to kick the whole thing off ("Quit Yr Job"). All this gets put together to make for the best SWT has to offer thus far.

Where to find this album:

• SWT Website

RIYL: Ben Lee, The Descendents, American Stories

Music Review - NoFX

For nearly thirty years now, NoFX has been entertaining and shocking audiences and fans around the world. No one can ever question their dedication, their drive, their ability to make dick jokes, or their stance on issues, be they social, political, or pornographical. And after nearly 30 years, they still have it.

Their twelfth studio full length and latest in a long line of releases that includes EPs splits, special 7" records, and various compilations, Self Entitled is a reassurance that they have in no way lost their edge after all this time. The guitars of El Hefe and Eric Melvin are still fast and loud, Fat Mike's voice is still that perfect punk rock crappiness that says "I can sing, I'm just not that good at it"...and then there is Smelly.

FULL DISCLOSURE: Eric "Smelly" Sandin is one of my favorite drummers of all time. I seriously put him up there with the likes of Max Roach, Buddy Rich, Max Weinberg, and Bobby Schayer. But he's faster. He makes Travis Barker look like a flashy poseur. And on the new album, he proves that speed can be interspersed with breakdowns to make diversity.

If there is one thing that stands out as a negative on this album it would be that it sounds more polished than most NoFX albums. The production is clearly high-end, or at least higher-end than we've come to expect from a punk rock album.

It's hard to pick the stand-outs on this album. It has a great flow to it, starting with a kick in the face on "72 Hookers" (an actual solution to bring about world peace?) right on through the hilarious yet poignant "Ronnie & Mags" to my personal favorite, perhaps because of the spoken word portion praising Fat Mike for being right, "My Sycophant Others". This album is a complete package that is most reminiscent of White Trash, Two Heebs, and A Bean.

Where to find them:

• Fat Wreck Chords site
• iTunes
• Amazon

RIYL: Bad Religion, The Descendents, Rancid

Music Review - Bloc Party - Four

It's been years. There were solo projects (for Kele at least)...there were reunion shows...there were interviews and radio reports and everything. But next week, we will have the long awaited new album from Bloc Party, Four. Now that it arrives next week, it's easy to see the wait was worth it.

With a week left before release, Bloc Party has elected to stream the entire album on their site, a great boon to fans who just can't wait another week. It may not be what some people were expecting. The sound is cleaner than their first two albums, yet more characteristics of those albums than Intimacy, an album that carried the same Bloc Party edge and angst but was a bit over the top noise wise.

So where does Four find our foursome? A little more mature...a little darker...in a place where antics meet adulthood. The edge is still there, there is still anger and something to feel strongly about. There is no better example of this than "Coliseum", a song that starts of with a country twang before attacking with a full on hardcore blitz, lyrics searing throughout with bitterness at the established and the longstanding.

This doesn't mean there aren't the expected songs of tragedy and love and growing together. It just seems that as time has gone on, the realization that the party isn't over but enjoyable without so much chemical stimulation has occurred to our not-so humble narrator. Songs like "3x3" and "V.A.L.I.S." demonstrate this clearly. It cannot be doubted that Bloc Party is just as tight as they have been in the past. Musically, everything flows together as a movement, driven by the drumbeats, the guitars and bass pull it all together to give the vocals are clear base to rise from.

With Four, Bloc Party has managed to move past many of their counterparts who were unable to grow even a little bit. This album is hopefully a taste of what is to come...hopefully there will be a Five.

Where to find Four:

• on their site
• Preorder on Amazon and iTunes

RIYL: We Are Augustines, Muse, Cloud Nothings

Music Review - Ten Cent Howl

Alt. Country is always an interesting line to tread. With a wide-open meaning, it's often hard to define the difference between Alt. Country and "real" Country and pop Country and whatever other country there is. Ten Cent Howl walks the line and toes is it quite capably with their new EP Down Time. These five songs represent some ways in which Country can be bent in order to make it an alternative to the norm.

One of the major stands out is the vocals. In turns dripping with emotion and lacking the sobriety to care, the words are only one part of conveying the message of each song. Pair that with a drummer who knows how to pace things in such a way as to couch each song and pare it down to an essential drive (or drone if it's necessary for the tune). This album also finds the band experimenting with new sounds, like heavier harmonicas and a great mandolin sound. As always, the guitars and bass are well balanced and support each other like the arms of lovers after a night that may have lasted too long.

The EP kicks off with a great song of past love born of drinking. Does it get more country than that? The title track is then a great shuffling didddy that seems like it might be positive, but in reality is a lament for the life of a musician. Here the backing vocals and new instrumentation really shine. The big take away, though, is the final track "Turning Away", a song of affirmation, decline, and the type of song that leaves you wanting a bit more. It takes all the pieces that have been put down in the previous tracks and puts them together in a perfect picture.

So...is this alt-country or Alt. Country or what? That is a question left to the listener. At the very least, Ten Cent Howl has proven music can be fun and fun to listen to, even while lamenting drunken lost loves and lives.

Where to find them:

• ReverbNation
• Facebook

RIYL: Wilco, Vox Humana, Tom Waits

Music Review - Grape Soda!

It seems down under they like to start 'em off as early as possible. This true whether the kid is a crocodile hunter or a musician. Grape Soda! supports this theory with their eponymous EP. This foursome of 16 year olds already have the chops to compete with the seasoned veterans of the indie pop world, it would seem.

With song architecture outside of the norm and leanings toward jazzier intentions, Grape Soda! is a breath of fresh air. Jangly guitars over a smooth, layered vocal, and rambling bass lines, all this held together with inspiring rhythms from a drummer looking to explore the sound space without abandoning the beat, these songs are accessible but still played with expertise. It seems they are also unafraid to bring out synthesizers to further blend the sounds and blur the genre lines.

Stand outs on this album tend to be the hopeful sounding "Omnibus to the moon" and "Nauseous", both of which ring true with both worldly optimism and youthful innocence. Hopefully this EP is just a taste of what might be a great Australian export to challenge the garage rock from Down Under in the last decade.

Where to find them:

• BandCamp

RIYL: The Stone Roses, Tokyo Police Club

MUSIC REVIEW - Returners

The 2012 self-titled demo by Returners shows us once again that Western New York has a thriving and eclectic music scene. The guitar driven jangle-alterna-pop is a reminder that things can be just as good (or even better) left of the dial.

With guitars directly in front, this album seems to want to grab you, reaching out with the strings and pulling your ears in to direct you to the guitar sound. The songs are rhythmically diverse, not simply the same driving beat over and over, but tempos and rhythms mixed with ostentatious fills and rolls to fill out the guitar pounding. Meanwhile, the bass serves as the anchor of each song. As the guitars and drums move of in spirals of cacophony, the bass keeps it all together. This melange serves for some well built songs.

One short coming, though, is the vocals. Perhaps it is because of the mix, but they are difficult to hear and, when one can discern the lyrics, it's usually something bland or somewhat cliché. Perhaps, as it seems the focus is not on the lyrics, the idea is to ignore them and keep the focus on the guitar sounds. The only other complaint is that the drums could be a little louder in the mix.

Stand out songs here are "Turn", which features a great mix of starts and stops on all instruments and a vocal peel of "do ya wanna?" that reminds one of Fred Schneider for some reason. Additionally impressive is "Mistaken Identity" which starts with a best that made me wonder, just for 3 seconds, if this wasn't a cover of "Billie Jean". Then the guitars come in and make you think, "Why did I ever think that? This is something all togther different, and better".

A good album, though it has more of an autumn feel than a winter or spring. Looking forward to hearing more (hopefully with slightly better mix production).

Where to find them:

• BandCamp (it's free!!)

RIYL: Bloc Party, The Stay-Lows, Superchunk

Music Review - Bruce Springsteen

Some songwriters are striving for vague outlines of ideas and concepts. Bruce Springsteen is (and always has been) a story teller. Some of these stories are upbeat, some tell of the horrors of the life of the forgotten or downtrodden. Wrecking Ball seems to be an album of stories where folks are looking for redemption in the face adversity.

Over the years, Bruce Springsteen has moved more and more away from the bar rock of his early career and more towards other more Americana elements. This album seems to be a blend country-esque rock mixed with a gospel feel. Repeated choruses with a big choir feel often blur that country/gospel line, none more so than the finishing lines in "Shackled and Drawn", where a preacher asks us to "stand up and be counted".

If you were looking for another Nebraska or Greetings From Asbury Park, NJ, you might be disappointed. If, instead, you were looking for a more preachy, mature Darkness on the Edge of Town, you should be more than satisfied. "Jack of All Trades" in particular harkens back to the Darkness track "Factory". The biggest standout, however, is easily the celtic (yeah I said celtic) ditty "Death to My Hometown", complete with penny whistles and jauntily sung truths about difficult lives lived.

The most notable aspect of this album, bar none, is the lack of saxophone (except on "Land of Hope and Dreams", a track recorded for The Rising). Some of the songs seem to be morose, sung by a man who has lost his best friend and longest collaborator. The significance of the loss of Clarence "Big Man" Clemens is hard to miss.

Where to find Wrecking Ball (pre-order, the album is out March 6th):

• iTunes
• Amazon

RIYL: Johnny Cash, Sinners Repent!

Music Review - Geron Hoy

Geron Hoy is a man who spent 13 years searching for the right chords and words to put together and call an album. That album, Soldier is now here, and it is a pleasant bit of folky indie-country-pop.

As far as production goes, this album is well constructed. The vocals are present and in the front, making the story telling nature of Hoy's voice in the songs. Guitars are nicely overlaid without running over each other like impatient school boys trying to get to the one girl who might give them the time of day. Instead, the guitars are mates, coalescing instead of converging. The drums are somewhat simple and mechanical, but that can be forgiven, as it would sound empty without any percussion at all. The bass lines remain simple as well, but this is nice as it does not steal away from the sound of the guitars and vocals, were the focus should be for this sort of music.

Hoy has experienced loss. This is clearly emoted in every song, but no more than on "Time Don't You Take It Away", a song so radio ready, it will be a prom theme or movie soundtrack single in no time. Other big take aways are the title-track and "Around You, I'm Me", both pleasant and a little less deliberate than some of the other tracks.

To me, the only drawback was the first track, "Lady Crow". Perhaps it was intended misdirection, or perhaps it was just bad placement, but this track was weaker than the others and probably wasn't well-placed in the number one slot.

Other than that, a wonderful album of loss and lament, the idea of staying positive in light of the worst.

Where to find it:

• BandCamp
• geronhoy.com

RIYL: Counting Crows, The Wallflowers, Jakob Dylan

Music Review - Rejouissance

Hardcore is not dead...

Furthermore, Post-Hardcore is not dead. In fact, both are alive an well in a shiny little place called Syracuse, NY, in the form of five lads who call themselves Rejouissance. I was recently lucky enough to play a show with these guys at a fine little gallery called Badlands and I can say firmly, while their EP, D-Hard Sessions is a great listen, the live show is much more fantastic. For now, though, we'll look at the EP.

Rejouissance features 3 guitar players, one bassist, and a drummer. The 3 guitars gives the songs on this EP an interesting sound. They are at times at war with each other, still holding to the main line but moving in different directions, other times they are so tight and in sync it's as if they have discovered the ultimate chorus pedal. Always, one of the guitars is holding down the main line and keeping things flowing seamlessly with the driving bass lines. The drums (while a little quiet on the recording) are driving and really nail down the ground work for the intensity of each tune.

The standout track of the three is "State of Arrest", and it stands out for one big reason: a well-executed, half-time, classic hardcore breakdown. It makes the song nostalgic and modern all at once. The other two tracks, "Stutterer" and "Hollow Tower" also shine in their own ways, but "State of Arrest" was the grabber here.

The only negative here is that there are only 3 songs. Let's hope there is a full length in the near future.

Where to find them:

• MySpace
• lastFM
• Syracuse, NY

RIYL: Snapcase, Braid, Alexisonfire

Music Review - Noise & Rhythm - 1848

Noises & Rhythm started as a three-piece band, but has since become the solo project of Ryan Schumann. The sound itself is similar to the low-fi sounds of the mid to late 70's, mixed with some influence from the post-new wave era. 1848 is a collection of the work Ryan has completed, with the assistance of a revolving set of musicians, over the last six months.

"Tongue in cheek" are the first words that come to mind when considering the lyrics of Noises & Rhythm. "Let's Go to England" stands out as having that feel of watching someone or something else being insulted facetiously, but being in on the joke. It isn't the cruel kind of call out either, it's more a shared deprecation. On other songs, such as "Occupy Oscar", shots are taken at current events and society in general, showing Schumann is more than one-dimensional.

Instrumentation on this album seems to range a bit. The vocals are always well done, the keyboards and bass hold up their end as well. Guitars (with the exception of "Eat Our Oranges") seem a bit basic and not as strong when compared to other instruments. The drums and percussion hold-up but just as a simple back beat. This isn't much of an issue as the music is pop and has a rhythm of dancing, making the need for percussion less a necessity to emphasize the movement of the music and more relegated to being a supporting actor.

A very fun listen!

Where to find them:

• Noise & Rhythm site has the album as choose your own price. Always a way to give a talented group or individual a leg up!
• The album is now available on iTunes
• On Spotify in February

RIYL: The Kinks, Beck, Nick Lowe

Music Review - American Stories

American Stories is not the expected output of Buffalo, NY's punk and indie rock heavies Tim Nixon and Jesse Rejewski (Sleepy Sparrows, Dr. Dirty Sanchez), but that said, it is a pleasant sort of unexpected. Their new release, Prelude shows diverse song writing mixed mith lyrics of life and loss.

If we were to follow the liner notes on this, American Stories is "americana", but this label misses a lot of what their music actually has to offer. There are still elements of punk rock and just the hint of the Emocore songs of the late 90's and early 2000's. The songs are well crafted melodies put to the words of a musician observing his own life from an outside perspective.

This album was recorded with a good deal of care towards striking a balance between guitars, bass, drums, and vocals. The sound itself is blended excellently, and the songs leave a listener yearning for something a little bit better than their day to day, humdrum life.

There is some americana on this album, next to the more punk-esque songs, with tracks like "War Profiteers" and "Day Jobs and Sunsets". Standing next to these country tinted songs though are stand outs "Halfmast", "Forgetting the Clock", and "Happy New Years". These are nice combinations of the upbeat melody juxtaposed with lyrics of loss without redemption (hey...just like real life).

When all is said and done, we need to hope Tim and Jesse will continue to put more American Stories out soon.

N.B. special thanks to Scott Howard for letting me know about these guys

Where to find them:

• BandCamp

At the moment it's pay what you want...which makes it only fair to pay at least something.

RIYL: Sledding with Tigers, Paul Westerberg, Sinners, Repent!