Artist of the Day: Funeral for a Friend

Let's face it: there are days when you don't know if you want to smile, cry or break stuff in a fit of rage. That's when you stick in your headphones, scroll all the way down to "F" on your iPod and throw on Welsh rockers Funeral For a Friends' simultaneous smile-maker and heart-breaker, Hours.


Known for usually relentless post-hardcore, Hours is an odd but cohesive jumble of emotions coming from the typically heavy outfit. "Streetcar" lays down adrenaline-spiking guitar riffs and a gutsy vocal performance, but the track's true piece de resistance is a breakdown where two lovers declare, over and over, "I can't feel the same about you anymore." It's the kind of song that will bring a tear to listeners' eyes even while they throw their fists emphatically into the air. That's less apparent on "Drive," the record's one true ballad. It's a soft, mournful tune, but one that still burns with passion, albeit a darker one.

Interview with Josh Scogin (The Chariot)

The Chariot has always been a band that's challenged preconceived notions about genre, but their newest record, One Wing, kicks down more boundaries and relentlessly refuses to conform to the metalcore formula with some of the band's most aggressive material to date. Josh Scogin, lead singer for The Chariot, answered some questions for Muzik Dizcovery about track titles, the upcoming One Wing short film, samples, touring with Every Time I Die and Letlive. and plans for the future.

Artist of the Day: LCD Soundsystem

For all of the dry wit and droll lyricism that marked his career as the man behind electro-punk LCD Soundsystem, James Murphy's love affair with music only lasted for three albums. But full of heartbreak, psychological analysis and enthusiasm, what an affair it was. Two of his works, Sound of Silver and This is Happening, are modern day masterpieces. The other, his debut self-titled album, is bitingly sarcastic and lustful for life.

Album Review: The Chariot - One Wing

Album Rating: A-

Metalcore isn't dead, but it's definitely been knocking on the door for a while. It's become a stale, formulaic genre: heavy screams in the verses, shrill clean vocals in the chorus, big, heavy breakdown, rinse and repeat. Besides a handful bands, including Buffalo's southern-influenced metalheads, Every Time I Die, everyone's been doing it wrong and sticking to a failing plan. Metalcore doesn't need a breath of fresh air. It needs a kick in the teeth for a wake up call.

Artist of the Day: Brandon Flowers

The Killers have run the gamut of musical influences, from the electronic heavy pseudo-Brit pop of Hot Fuss and Americana roots rock of Sam's Town. But frontman Brandon Flowers has always preached from his own gospel, one that's neon-soaked and leaving last call in the rain after closing time for Las Vegas's last bar. He's a non-confrontational lover, a self-professed sinner, one of the last of the great jukebox romantics. He's got soul, but he's not a soldier.

His first, and only, solo album is Flamingo, an open love letter to his native Sin City. His best works are almost psalm-like in nature: "Crossfire" is a hymn, complete with a wailing chorus and slow, pulsing synthesizers. "Only the Young" dazzles with ethereal radiance and "Magdalena" is a Latin-tinged love ballad.

But Flowers isn't solely religious on his solo effort. He's still infatuated and enamored with the American West. "Hard Enough" has a subtle country twang and even "Playing With Fire" has its roots stuck in sepia toned nostalgia. Not all of the memories are fond, but Flowers keeps listeners enraptured by his troubadour act. Barring Hot Fuss and half of Sam's Town, Flamingo is some of the Killers' best material, even if it wasn't recorded as a full-band album.

Flamingo is Brandon Flowers' sermon on the mount, if the mount was a sleazy Las Vegas Strip casino. It's a look at the creative force that drives the Killers, and if it's any inclination, Battle Born should be one heck of an album.

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Album Review: The American Scene - Safe For Now

Album Rating: B

Let's clear the air and get one thing out of the way: The American Scene's new album, Safe For Now, sounds like Transit. Heck, if Transit dropped Tim Landers for A.J. Perdomo on Listen & Forgive, The American Scene would almost be a carbon copy. But it's unfair to pigeonhole a band as emotive as the Berkeley band, even if their emo-influenced leanings sound somewhat familiar.

Album Review: Such Gold - Misadventures

Album Rating: B-

Set Your Goals' Mutiny! is a hallmark pop-punk album. It's an album at a crossroads with its influences, caught somewhere between the aggression of melodic hardcore and traditional bouncy songwriting of more sugar-coated pop-punk. It's a record as unyielding in emotion as it is easily accessible. It's as raw in production as it is crafted for crowd surfers and sing-alongs at barlight-soaked dive bars.

Artist of the Day: Toh Kay

Streetlight Manifesto embodies everything that's right about ska-punk. Their brass section is bold and brash, drummer Chris Thatcher is relentless behind the skins and although they will never one up modern ska classic Keasbey Nights, the band has motored its way to an impressive discography.

Album Review: House of Heroes - Cold Hard Want

Album Rating: B-

House of Heroes is not a band that's short of ambition. Their 2008 record Suburba fell somewhere between the spectrum of Relient K's pop-rock tendencies and Queen's delusions of grandeur. The group even tackled the Beatles, the kings of bombastic power chords, on an EP. So why is Cold Hard Want an album that's lacking in heart?

Artist of the Day: Polar Bear Club

Some bands were made to excel in the studio. The Story So Far put together a high octane whirlwind of a pop-punk record with Under Soil and Dirt, but their live show isn't as clean cut. They put on an energetic display at best. At worst, it's all over the place, frenetic and put to shame by their pristinely produced album.

Polar Bear Club is one of those lucky bands whose concerts transcend the solitary pleasure of listening an album. Like their namesake, the Rochester punk rockers plunge headlong into their performances with reckless abandon. Deep cuts like the anthematic call-to-stagedive "Living Saints" and "Burned Out in a Jar" pepper their sets with hardcore edge, but Jimmy Stadt and company have never sounded better than when they're blistering through tracks from last year's Clash Battle Guilt Pride.

Album Review: Dikembe - Broad Shoulders

Album Rating: B+

A conversation with a friend about bandwagon genres brought up an interesting point: the Twinkle Daddies movement feels like the next jumping-off point for the same following of fans that latched onto last year's pop-punk trend. For a genre with a name that sounds like an off-brand version of Twinkies, the bands that have taken up the moniker are surprisingly abrasive. This year's Twinkle Daddies are the stepsons of early 2000's emo revivalists. American Football and Cap'n Jazz would listen to their jangly guitars and chaotic vocals with pride.

Artist of the Day: Ben Nichols

Ben Nichols can usually be found howling with boozy swagger as frontman for the alt country rockers of Lucero. While the group's bluesy and rambling Women & Work stacks up against the year's heavyweight records so far, Nichols' best work lasts for seven songs and 27 minutes, sans the energy of his backing band. No rollicking drum fills. No raucous jukebox brass bands jumping into tracks. No jaunty barroom piano chords. Just an acoustic guitar, the occasional harmonica and a wide-open landscape of heartbreak.

Artist of the Day- Paul Simon

August marks the 25th anniversary of Rhymin' Simon's landmark solo album, Graceland. There's a strong possibility that there hasn't been a better album released since the record hit shelves.

Paul Simon always had an ear for hooks and choruses, especially when paired with partner in crime Art Garfunkel. But Graceland stripped away his acoustic guitar, a crutch for some of his more underwhelming material and dropped him into the heart of South Africa.

Opener "Boy in the Bubble" starts with a moody accordion solo, and while Simon strums his acoustic guitar, it gets lost between haunting synthesizers and constant rat-a-tatting of snare drums. "Graceland" opts for bluesy steel guitar riffs and background vocals from the Everly Brothers, but it's Simon whose softly-sung choruses and rambling verses absolutely soar.

Album Review: Mixtapes - Even on the Worst Nights

Album Rating: B

Even on the Worst Nights is not a life-affirming record. In ten years, no one will ask you where you were when Mixtapes released it. Let's say pop-punk bands are like grapes. Fireworks and The Wonder Years matured into fine wine with Gospel and The Upsides. But maybe Mixtapes doesn't want to be a Pinot Noir or a Merlot. Maybe being cool and refreshing grape juice suits them just fine, thank you very much. And really: who doesn't like an ice-cold glass of grape juice in the summer?

Album Review: Motion City Soundtrack - Go

Album Rating: B

Motion City Soundtrack is no stranger to dark albums. My Dinosaur Life was just that, from the aggressively attacking guitars on "Disappear" to the moody synths of "Delirium," an off-kilter tune with lyrics about battling substance abuse. Much to the chagrin of an outspoken number of fans, Justin Pierre and company have flexed their pop writing chops as well. Even If It Kills Me is almost entirely a straight-up pop record. Would piano ballad "The Conversation" fit on I Am the Movie? How about wedging goofy "Calling All Cops" onto Commit This To Memory? Probably not.

Artist of the Day: The Hold Steady

In 1974, music critic Jon Landau saw a 25-year-old hotshot Bruce Springsteen performing on the heels of The Wild, the Innocent & The E Street Shuffle. He famously remarked, "I saw rock and roll's future, and it's name is Bruce Springsteen." The same could probably have been said for The Hold Steady. The barroom rockers claim more influence from The Band than The Boss: Lead singer Craig Finn and guitarist Tad Kubler dreamed up the band while watching The Band's 2004 concert film, "The Last Waltz." But their crunchy, Americana-tinged roots and Finn's lyrics about the hopes and heartbreaks of fast-living youths reads straight out of the Springsteen songbook.

Album Review: Right Away, Great Captain! - Church of the Good Thief

Album Review: B+

Every trilogy has its clunker. The Fellowship of the Ring drags its furry hobbit feet along slower than its glossier Lord of the Ring counterparts, and God forbid I stop pretending that Alien 3 doesn’t exist. And that’s without mentioning the Star Wars prequels. But the plaintive poetry of The Church of the Good Thief is probably the best installment in its series. In fact, if Andy Hull hadn’t written I’m Like a Virgin Losing a Child, this would probably be his opus. It’s not fair to stack his solo efforts with Right Away, Great Captain against his prolific work with Manchester Orchestra, especially since his full-band works lean toward grandiose tendencies. But Right Away, Great Captain is meant to shy away from the spotlight. Instead, it’s just one man, a few instruments, and a story to tell.