Album Review: Maker - Self Titled EP

Album Rating: B-

When a band releases an EP following their debut full-length, it usually gives an indication as to what direction they're going in. Will they maintain the sound they've already established? Or will they try something a little different? In the case of Maker with their self-titled EP, they're definitely trying to incorporate some variation, but whether the change is positive or negative is very much up for debate.

Album Review: Gifts From Enola - A Healthy Fear

Album Rating: B+

The Mylene Sheath knows exactly what they're doing when they sign bands. They look for eclectic, interesting artists that could strike it big in their genre - and it turns out that they usually do, thanks to masterful production and promotion, as well as incredible musical talent from the artists themselves. Gifts From Enola is certainly no exception, having been on the label for over 3 years, and now having released 3 albums with Mylene. The newest record is something of a shift for the band, but looking at their history, it seems as though their sound isn't ever truly solidified, and they always look to improve or change their music in a way that their listeners don't expect. A Healthy Fear brings a degree of dissonance and tonal experimentation that works in an inspiring way that sets Gifts From Enola apart from the rest of the world of music.

Artist of the Day: Michelle Branch

As pop stars get younger and younger by the day, it's easy to forget Michelle Branch, the 16-year-old who burst onto the airwaves in 2001 with her ubiquitous hit "Everywhere." Eventually forced into retirement by the birth of her children, Branch was able to record 2 albums of her own before the age of 20. Despite her youth, Branch displayed surprising maturity with her song writing and vocals. Although songs like "You Get Me" made her inexperience and age a little more apparent, she hid it rather well. It's easy to compare her to Taylor Swift due to her country influences and focus on relationships but that would diminish the power of her music. It's entirely unique- pop music rooted in naivete rather than risque themes or revenge. It's wholesome, but not sweet as saccharine. "A Drop in the Ocean" showcases a girl wise beyond her years who doesn't shy away from metaphor (albeit basic) when writing.

Her debut, 2001's The Spirit Room is even across the board, with no songs engineered for commercial success, just for expression. It's music for the sake of music, the way that little kids dream pop music is. Although 2003's Hotel Paper saw a drop in quality, it still produced lasting songs like "Are You Happy Now?" Frankly, it's not that Hotel Paper is a weak album as much as it is The Spirit Room was a pop radio gem. Her subtle twang, crisp backing band and charming persona made Branch into a phenomenon in the early 2000's and it's a shame that she seems to have been left behind in the new decade. Look for a new album from Branch next year; perhaps she will be able to replicate the success from her teens.

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Album Review: Storm The Beaches - Hemisphere

Album Rating: B+

Through their short three-year career, Storm The Beaches have seemed to do everything they can do to be "new," and as a result haven't attracted a large amount of attention. They've released two EPs independently through Bandcamp, and now are part of a small record label (Apparition Records, responsible for three bands) that has handled the promotion and releasing of the group's debut full-length, Hemisphere. The producer for all three of the band's releases has had only one other major project as a producer for pop-rock band You, Me, And Everyone We Know. At the time of this writing, Storm The Beaches have fewer than 3500 likes on Facebook and their most popular YouTube video, which was not posted from the band's official channel, has around 3800 views, more than every video on the band's official channel combined. And yet, something seems to suggest that Storm The Beaches will be garnering some serious recognition for their first album. They've been covered on major sites like Alternative Press and AbsolutePunk leading up to the release, and their fan base has been growing exponentially as the release date of Hemisphere has approached

Album Review: Enei - Machines

Album Rating: B-

A lot of people would argue that the drum & bass scene has been a little too safe the past couple years. Producers like Andy C, Noisia, Friction, and Cause4Concern have dominated the genre for much of its 20-year lifespan, and as a result a lot of sounds in the genre have been used over and over again. It's one of the reasons why new faces are especially welcomed in drum & bass, and Enei is no exception. The young Russian producer (Alexey Egorchenkov) started making waves in 2007 with his first major release on Fokuz Recordings. After becoming the first and only producer to sign exclusively with Critical Music, one of the biggest techstep/neurofunk labels in drum & bass, Enei has been pleasing people left and right with a series of singles and EPs that take elements from both classic jungle DnB and more modern techstep drums and distortion. He's been so successful with his songs and performances that his debut album has been hyped up to levels akin to legends Calyx & Teebee's new full-length, a startling fact considering that duo helped shape the origins of the genre way back in the '90s and are two of the most famous producers in the world. And, although Enei had previously only released up to four songs at a time, no one doubted that he would be able to continue on his hot streak with Machines.

Jukebox: Chemtrail - Poison Bag

About six months ago, I released a spotlight on Chemtrail's newest EP, Sounds Like Ghosts, raving about their technique, and how evocative they can be with B-side cuts that sound unrefined in a genre that harps over refinement. There's one song that stuck with me since then, though. "Poison Bag" might be the song of the year in my book; it has everything the post-rock genre has to offer, and more. It's a window into Chemtrail's creative process, a sad story told on a rainy day, a metaphor for passing beyond life, a retrospective of regret - you name it, the song applies. It's just that good.

The song opens with this riff on clean guitar that is played with vibrant clarity, but is pushed down by a hovering riff by another guitar that steals the spotlight, one that'll come back to haunt the listener in choruses to come. The clean guitar is persistent, and plays throughout, forming the backdrop for the melody. Eerie wails echo overhead as the drums push the melody through the verse, aggressing towards the end of each as the hovering distortion comes back as a phantom again and again, growing each time it's played. The bridge is a calm respite, an eye in the storm; there's plenty of tension, but it's not being acted upon, quite yet. However, as post-rock usually does, it begins to expand outwards, more and more, building up after the bridge, until a pre-chorus before the outro re-introduces the distorted riff once again, and a feeling of heavy oppression push the song through an ending that is so powerful that it numbs all emotional centers; as the distorted riff grows, more elements and layers are brought in, and the outro brings on an intense wave of sound, filled with guitar-centered nuances that make it something beyond simply a song. It's a message of power, and of sadness. And it does an excellent job of communicating that message.

If you haven't already picked this EP up, you can do so for free on Chemtrail's bandcamp.

Artist of the Day: Main Attrakionz

Main Attrakionz love dreaming. The cloud rap duo specialize in ambient soundscapes, carved delicately to provide proper backbone for the MCs' lyrics, and the combination works really well. However, none of us would know about Main Attrakionz if the Internet hadn't bent over backwards for them.

Artist of the Day: Bombs and Bottles

Sugary-sweet pop with bass seems to be all the rage these days; at least that's what it appears from the large ambient/experimental rock I live under. It's effectively the first sub-culture beneath the wastelands of One Direction, Justin Bieber and all similar forms of hell spawn. Simple enough, really: it's catchy, fun and sometimes even quite inventive. Also, being a sub/counter-culture and all, a lot of affiliated artists like to release a chunk of their music for free, which is jolly nice of them.

Bombs and Bottles is one of these jolly nice people, and he makes music very similar to what I previously described. Think Weeknd-esque vocals over chirpy melodies and the kind of organic, "drop the" bass lines that were really popular about a year ago and you'd be very close. It's closer to dance than volume-worship, however, so what bass is used is often kept to a restrained, catchy level, and do you know what? A lot of what Bombs and Bottles has to offer is really, really good. Sure, there's not much to it, but it's just plain, vanilla enjoyment, so there's nothing to really complain about. The perfect stuff to celebrate with for those who can now get baked legally.

Official Website: I'd personally recommend Tonight and Numb and Young.

Album Review: Liar - Strange Love

Album Rating: 

It shouldn’t of been so much of a surprise that Strange Love was such a personal retelling of Liar’s romance; but it was. This dark garage-house sound doesn’t often strive for intimacy, instead taking a much more detached and reflective outlook, and even when artists like Holy Other and oOoOO defy this it always tends towards generalities more than anything else. In an interview with Earmilk, Liar sets out his objectives, ideas and hopes for the album: revealing the unhealthy levels of love and lust that inspired it.

Artist Of The Day: Baauer

In today's EDM world, trap has taken hold of the hearts of millions. The big-bassed sound, the sluggish hip-hop beats, and the heavily distorted upper end make any club go crazy at the mere hint of anything trap. Artists who create this big-bodied sound seemingly make their careers overnight, and both huge bro producers (Dillon Francis) and serious "dark side" DJs (Hudson Mohawke & Lunice, a.k.a. TNGHT) have taken a stab at the genre. That being said, a name to look out for on the dance side of things is Baauer. The 23-year-old has already had releases with Diplo's Mad Decent label after gaining a huge following on his own merit on Soundcloud, and although he's only released a few songs so far he's seen huge support come his way already. A good example of the talent he displays on a consistent basis is his remix of "Rollup" by Flosstradamus. A rap sample and very short vocal clip fall on top of extremely heavy kicks and typical hip-hop claps, and it's clear that it's a song made for one purpose: to destroy dance floors. All of Baauer's songs have accomplished that feat, and it's clear that he'll be going places in the near future.

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Album Retrospective: Snowmine - Laminate Pet Animal

Album Rating: A-

How to make a sleeper hit in 2011.

Step 1: Give people the option of downloading your album for free. Everyone and their mother gets music for nothing nowadays, but they’re rather do it legally and tend to warm to the bands that allow them to. Step 2: Have an interesting and appealing album cover. The first opinion of an album is usually from the image on the front, so like it or not it’s aesthetics that decide whether you listen to something or not. Step 3: Make a fucking good album. That’s what Snowmine did.

Album Review: Motion City Soundtrack - Making Moves

Album Rating: A-

On a list of the bigger disappointments of 2012, you will probably find Motion City Soundtrack's latest album Go among the names. After the excellent 2010 record My Dinosaur Life expectations for Go were sky high, but even while there were gems such as "Circuits and Wires," "Happy Anniversary" and "Floating Down The River," the weaknesses outmatched the strengths and led to a very incohesive and unspectacular record. Luckily, Motion City Soundtrack is releasing a new 7" record as part of the band's Making Moves series, and the batch of songs recorded for this 7" immediately stand out as better than a large majority of Go, and is a fantastic cushion for the disappointing blow received back in July.

Artist Of The Day: K Será

I've written about K Será in this space a couple times now, and it's been a little over a year since we spoke with them. Since then they released a solid little EP titled The Cantos ii, and are now following it up with their first full length album, due out early 2013. For now, we have our first taste of studio footage, including some fantastic Casey Crescenzo (The Dear Hunter) mandolin playing. Crenscenzo produced the album, and from the clips we've heard so far, there's some definitely Dear Hunter influences on K Será's already cinematic sound. My one complaint from the EPs was that there didn't seem to be much variety in sound, but based on the clips, there seems to be a tad wider sound on this album, something desperately needed for a 10-12 song LP that isn't as important in EPs. We'll get our first taste of Collisions and Near Misses next week, but for now, you can watch the studio clips here.

Album Review: Reso - Tangram

Album Rating: A-/A

Today's brostep controversy has raged for a few years now, and hasn't shown any sign of letting up. There's an incredible polarization in the electronic scene between the mid-range crowd and the low-end crowd, and neither side seems to care particularly for the other. Almost all brostep artists have come under fire as "unskilled," "obnoxious," "not subtle," and "exactly what's wrong with dubstep today." With that being said, however, one of the few producers who's managed to evade much of the criticism other big names receive on a daily basis is Reso. It's somewhat puzzling that people can fawn over him and not be dismissed as "scene kids," while most of his dubstep does in fact have a certain focus on mid-range sawtooth wobbles. Maybe he's managed to avoid controversy because he's been producing that style of dubstep since he first made it big, back when a certain Sonny Moore was still lead singer of post-hardcore band From First To Last. Maybe it's because he doesn't limit himself to abrasive synth leads, as he's been known to delve into other tempos and styles of electronic music rather than stick with a standard 140 BPM tune. And maybe it's because the "real dubstep" fans recognize (to a certain extent) Reso's talents: his production is always graced with complex beats, an interesting low end, and other elements normally not found in stereotypical brostep.

Jukebox: Midnight Conspiracy & Cenob1te - Sentinel

Midnight Conspiracy and Cenob1te are both going to be names to watch in the EDM world in the next few years. Neither duo has been in the spotlight until about half a year ago, when the producers were featured on BT's Laptop Symphony with their song "The Eye," a huge electro house tune that was a good display of everything right in the "bro-house" world. The heavy sawtooth wobbles and pump-up drums of the song pushed both duo's first major-label single release to the top of electro charts around the world. And as much as neither Midnight Conspiracy nor Cenob1te are going to win any awards for subtlety (the latter's first major release came on Excision's notorious label Rottun Recordings, and the former is often grouped with producers like At Dawn We Rage thanks to a similarly abrasive style), it's not what either is going for. For what it's worth, the style of "brutal" house that "The Eye" used worked, creating mayhem whenever any DJ dropped the song during a performance.

Live Review: Spiritualized, Hall 1, The Sage, Gateshead, 01/11/2012

Not many artists can get away with shunning their best album by a country mile, but by the same token few possess a catalogue as strong or expansive as Jason Pierce and Spiritualized. Hugely acclaimed both on record and on stage, the space rock master is noted for his tendency to shuffle setlists, though few who congregated in The Sage's main hall could have predicted such a drastic curve. He had a new record to exhibit in Sweet Heart Sweet Light, but even the most seasoned observers will surely have anticipated a level of reliance on 1997's Ladies And Gentlemen We Are Floating In Space; universally regarded his masterpiece and a high point of '90s music as a whole. As it was, only a solitary song, "Electricity," made an appearance - and that ended up being an unlikely trough in a show which predominantly focused on less familiar reaches of his discography.

Artist of the Day: Alcest

Music is, and always has been, about communicating a message from the artist, something they hold as a close personal ideal, to the audience. It's intended to be open to manipulation as the artist sees fit and send this message in as receptive a way as they can for the world to see. For Stephane "Neige" Paut, this message is a musical adaptation of memories of a far off country, "Fairy Land," that Neige remembers as a child. The point of Alcest is a way for the listener to be able to experience what Neige once had through his songs. The concept is hard for us to believe, feels so absurd - yet, whenever I hear Alcest, my mind wills itself to wander, and it becomes difficult to focus on the present. To me, this feels like solid evidence that whatever Neige has planned for his music, it succeeds at making the listener escape the world of today for something bigger than ourselves.

Artist of the Day: The Sheds

The Sheds are a band based out of California, whose style of music can best be described as being ska-core. This isn't the most well known of genre combinations, but it's one that works shockingly well where The Sheds are concerned. They put out an EP entitled Self/Doubt earlier this year, and I have to say, it might be the most refreshing release I've ever come across. The punk hardcore aspect of The Sheds is of the same caliber as bands like Balance and Composure, with heavy-hitting chord progressions/breakdown and vocals alike. But it's with the healthy dose of ska influence that really makes them stand out because there just isn't anything else quite like it. Every song on Self/Doubt, from start to finish, is intense, catchy, and infinitely listenable, which should mean a lot coming from someone who's avoided anything ska-related like it's the plague. And better yet, the EP is still up for free download, courtesy of Alternative Press. So, if by some chance you're still looking for something new to listen to, in spite of the obscene amount of music being released lately, I couldn't recommend these guys more. They're both working hard and succeeding at creating passionate and original music, and should be at the top of the list of bands to keep your eyes on in the future.

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Artist Of The Day: Dropkick Murphys

It's really no exaggeration to say Dropkick Murphys changed my life. They were essentially the first 'proper' band I listened to, coming along at a time when my CD collection was dominated by Busted (hell yeah!) and at a push the odd Chilli Peppers or Foo Fighters title. My musical tastes have developed quite a bit since then. These days, records like The Velvet Underground & Nico, If You're Feeling Sinister and The Midnight Organ Fight tend to hog my listening, but even so the Boston punks remain among my very favourites. I still attend their gigs, wear their T-shirts and eagerly anticipate each new release, and the recent announcement of an eighth studio LP set the entire process off again. Called Signed And Sealed In Blood, the album is set for release on January 8. and thematically at least will mark a departure from concept-driven previous effort Going Out In Style. "There's an upbeat, party vibe to it," claims bassist and founding member Ken Casey. "It's not that the last album wasn't fun - it was, but it gave me a couple migraines along the way. This time we cut loose." 

2012 may not be over yet, but next year already looks rich with promise, and it wouldn't surprise me at all if this winded up being its first highlight.

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Album Review: Menomena - Moms

Rating: A

One of my biggest flaws as a lover of music is being a sucker for just about any "diary entry" music.  I am such a sucker for honesty, self-loathing, emotion and romanticism that I often lose perspective on everything that has to come together to make music good.  My love for music that is heavily dependent on lyrics that sound like they came out of a diary means that I have never got the full picture, I have always been given a beautiful art gallery, but have always cut my own eyes out.  I have been taking walks with musical Picasso but have only been concerned about their back stories and not their actual work, I have been on the court with musical Michael Jordan's but have only been looking at their shoes,   I have been given a catalog of Utopia's but have only obsessed over the cover.  It has become clear to me, as I go through days upon days of the bedroom angst of Bright Eyes, the whines of Radiohead, and the pre-pubescent screams of Taking Back Sunday, that I not only need to let me self see the full picture, but that I need a musical awakening.  I was not only loving all sorts of "diary music," but I was becoming ignorant of all other kinds of musical beauty.  I was missing the entire musical stratosphere for one small musical dot and I was missing the entire rest of the musical body for one heart on the sleeve.  What album could possibly get me out of my narrow minded funk?