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