Review of Deep Elm 2010

Muzik Dizcovery and Deep Elm Records are working together for the month of February to do a review of some of the best releases on Deep Elm Records from 2010. The label has easily become my favorite, with high quality streaming and MP3s of every release, excellent ownership, and of course, extraordinarily good bands. Les Sages, Goonies Never Say Die, I Am Sonic Rain, and She Bears are just a few of the bands that will be covered on this site throughout the next month. For now, everyone needs to go on the Deep Elm site and check out all of their bands. There's lots of stuff coming in the future for the label.

Forever The Sickest Kids New Album

I have a bit of a history with Forever The Sickest Kids. From buying their CD on the first day from impulse to seeing them for my first real concert, they will always have a little bit of my musical past. That past almost seemed worth forgetting after the awful The Weekend: Friday, but the latest songs they have put out have been quite an improvement. "Keeps On Bringing Me Down" is the best song the band has ever put out, and the single that they played over Stickam wasn't bad as well. I have moved out of most of this genre, but I will at least give this album one listen and hope for the best. This is make or break for Forever The Sickest Kids.  Their self titled album comes out March 1st. Stream "Keeps On Bringing Me Down" on Myspace here.

Gates

Everywhere you look, an ex-member of Lydia is in a new band. There's States, The Saturn Hands, Bears of Manitou, Leighton's as of now unnamed project with Matt Malpass, and Gates. So far, Gates is in the lead for the best band. Their debut release, The Sun Will Rise And Lead Me Home, was released on January 25th, and shows great hope for the band's future. The highlight of the band is their excellent ambient feel, reminiscent of Explosions In The Sky. The vocals, though at first a bit of a turn off, soon merge with the music to add a whole other dimension to the band. Other ex-Lydia bands, it's your move. Download the album for free on their website here.

Hailey, It Happens

Hey Owl City, The Ready Set, and the hundreds of other awful synth-pop bands. Listen to Hailey, It Happens. You hear those non autotuned vocals? Surprisingly, synth-pop doesn't need that. How about those honest lyrics that aren't about dentists and bugs? You can actually be serious in these songs. "But then their hooks obviously must suck." Wrong. Listen to "Saturday Night Fever Dreams". Tell me that isn't catchy. "Whatever, these songs will never allow you to get girls like my songs do". Just listen to "Song For The End Of The Night", as this extremely sexy song would instantly get the ladies all over you. "Fine, I'll take a listen to the band and try to make some decent music." Well, then you should go to their Bandcamp page here and download the album for free! And the band's new album is tentatively scheduled for release on March 1st.

Sky's The Limit Free Download (Pre-Mae)

Are you a huge Mae fan? Do you have every one of their records and enjoy them all? Before Mae, lead singer Dave Elkins fronted the band Sky's The Limit, which is pretty much what Mae would have sounded like if they had a record before Destination: Beautiful. In fact, "Skyline Drive" originated from Sky's The Limit, as the original version is on this self titled release. Although the band does not stand up to pretty much all of Mae's releases, it is still nice to see the progression from the start for Dave. And when Dave's new songs get released in the next week or so, it will be interesting to see what direction he goes next. For now, download Sky's The Limit's album on Bandcamp for free here.

Water and Bodies (Ex Kaddisfly) New Album And Free Download

It's no Kaddisfly, but at least it's something. All former members of the band but bassist Kile have joined teams to create the slightly different than Kaddisfly Water & Bodies. The band takes more of a rock form, removing many of the progressive parts and instead focusing on hooks and powerful riffs. It's still nice to be able to hear vocalist Christopher Ruff sing again for the first time in years. The album Light Year will be out February 2nd, and you can download the song Lonely Night on their website here.

Album Review: The OK Corral - Something American

Who?


The OK Corral is a band from the musical rich area of Northern Virginia, playing rock music with influences from Weezer and Kings of Leon to The Gaslight Anthem and The Hold Steady. The band's debut album, Something American, was released on December 21st.

How Is It?

Our Fair City

There's quite a bit of snow outside today, and many of the songs on Our Fair City's A Most Clever Disaster fit that mood. Reminiscent of Lydia on the lighter parts of songs and Manchester Orchestra on the heavier parts, Our Fair City has an extremely polished sound for such a young band.  The production allows the excellent specific instrumentals to stand out on their own, creating a strong final product. Although they may be signed, Signal Records is an extremely small label, and the band would probably fit extremely well on No Sleep or Run For Cover. For now, you can download A Most Clever Disaster on Bandcamp here for free.

Razia's Shadow In Theater?

In an email exchange with Forgive Durden's publicist, she mentioned that Thomas is currently working with a theater in New York in order to create a stage rendition of Razia's Shadow. This is currently the only project he is working on. Although I would love a new Forgive Durden album, I am pumped to see what he can do with this. Razia's Shadow was one of my favorite albums, and I would definitely see this if I could. Image of the email after the jump.

Pay What You Want The Graduate B-Sides EP

The Graduate released one of the best albums of last year, and one of the most unique. Their ambient rock combined with honest lyrics won over the ears of many people, as pretty much anyone who heard the album really enjoyed it. In order to release the extra songs recorded for Only Every Time, The Graduate released a pay what you want B-Sides album containing two songs that were previously bonus tracks and four extra unheard songs. All the songs are excellent and could easily have made the cut for the album had it not been so superb. Although you can download the album for free, I suggest paying as much as you can for these excellent songs. You can download/buy the album on their Bandcamp page here.

Interview With Stay

Stay may have been a band you have seen on Purevolume or AbsolutePunk over the past few years. From being on Purevolume's Unsigned Bands of 09 to being on AP.net's Absolute 100 of 2010, Stay has gained quite a lot of love from pop-rock lovers everywhere. The band is in the process of releasing their new album, American Cherry Bomb, which should be out in Spring. Guitarist Steve Ackles took some time to answer a few questions about the new album, the band's progression from EP to album, and the band's future. Check it out after the jump.

U.S. Royalty Album Stream

If you look in a mirror, you know what you are expecting to say. Oddly, U.S. Royalty's new album Mirrors is a release in which you won't know what is coming. With songs that could have easily been by The Black Keys ("Hollywood Hollows") or Local Natives ("Equestrian"), U.S. Royalty has created an excellent album that is sure to launch them to stardom in the indie and alternative scenes. If this intrigues you, go stream the album here. Believe me, you will at the very least love "Equestrian. The album comes out tomorrow.

Hartford - Room 207

Open the door to Room 207, and expect to see a party inside. Hartford is another fun pop-punk band with catchy hooks and powerful riffs that leans more towards the poppy side in the vein of Phone Calls From Home or I Call Fives. "It's Not Too Late, It's Never Too Late" is the best representations of the band, with solid harmonies supporting the infectious chorus which will be extremely difficult to get out of your mind. The simple riffs that that sound right out of a 70's classic rock song could have been improved, but they do not take away anything from the song. If you are listening to Hartford, you are not looking for anything groundbreaking. It's enjoyable music to rock out to on the way to school or practice, which is exactly what some people need. Check out Hartford on their website here. Also, the band posted Room 207 for free download, which you can download here.

Panic! At The Disco New Single and Album Release Date

It's been quite a while since we've heard an album from Panic! At The Disco, mostly because of a split in the band that had one of the major creative forces, Ryan Ross, leave the band. A return to the Beatles influenced style of Pretty. Odd should not have been expected due to the takeover of that by The Young Veins, and "The Ballad Of Mona Lisa" confirms those beliefs. Fans of Fall Out Boy should be happy to hear this song, as Brendon's voice sounds eerily similar to Patrick Stump's, and the chorus could have come right out of a Fall Out Boy song. However, it still has that customary P!ATD theatric feel. Although the song has not been officially released yet, you can still find it by searching on Youtube. The new album, Vices and Virtues, will be out March 29th.

Brief Album Review: The Get Up Kids - There Are Rules

The Get Up Kids aren't kids anymore. I mean, it's only been seven years since their last full length release. However, that growth may split their fanbase, as anyone who was expecting another Something To Write Home About will be drastically disappointed. The Get Up Kids have ditched their emo-indie sound and have added plenty of reverb and electronics to make a whole new sound for the band.

Roosevelt Radio

A good, catchy synth part can lure me in almost instantly. By the time the first few seconds of "Midnight" came in, I was hooked, thinking the band would almost sound like Zolof The Rock And Roll Destroyer. This would not be the case, but the instrumental parts were always excellent from that opening synth line, to the ambient guitar and keys of "Order in The Chaos", to stuttering guitars of "Antique Heart". The vocals of both the lead male and the supporting female vocalists are both very solid, and the hooks are surprisingly contagious. Roosevelt Radio shows some strong talent throughout their self titled release, and could be a band to watch for very soon. Check out the band on their website here.

Mansions Album Announcement

I was a bit late to the party in finding out about Mansions. Thanks to Rdio, I've been taking listens to albums that I had heard good things about. Mansions' latest full length New Best Friends is absolutely exceptional, as an emotionally driven rock record similar to a more upbeat The Republic of Wolves or Brand New. How coincidental is it that I found out Mansions just announced that their new album, Dig Up The Dead, will be out April 5th. I am anxiously awaiting a new song to see if my current Mansions kick will continue throughout the year. Follow the band's process on Myspace here.

Aria Novos

Reminiscent of a young Circa Survive or a more technical Deas Vail,  Aria Novos adds another dimension to their music with a female singer. However, unlike most bands with female singers, the vocals are pretty much split between male vocalist Gerard Sison and female vocalist Audrey Sinead which Sinead playing keys as well. The six minute "Telematics" has Sinead taking the lead, while adding her keys in with the crushing riffs to create a spectacular effect. Aria Novos is definitely a band whose next release will be something worse listening to, as the band should be able to fine tune their sound and great something that could end up on an end of year list. Check the band out on Facebook here.

Iron And Wine New Album Stream

If you want to see the transformation of Iron and Wine from the debut to his newest album, Kiss Each Other Clean, just look at the album covers. From light, sepia tones on The Creek Drank The Cradle, to the forest colors of Our Endless Numbered Days, to the brightness of The Shepherd's Dog, to this psychedelic, multicolored madness. That perfectly explains the stylistic change of Iron and Wine, from the folky to the unpredictable, creative journey throughout Kiss Each Other Clean. "Me And Lazarus" sounds like it could have been written while on drugs, with the bassy beat and subject matter. There is synth aplenty throughout the album, taking different shapes in different songs. "Monkeys Uptown" is one of Iron and Wine's more upbeat songs, with a swing feel at times, while "Big Burned Hand" sounds like a jazzy soul song right out of the 50's or 60's. To those that thought Iron and Wine was boring before, such as myself, this album should throw all those beliefs out the window. As of the writing of this post, this is my favorite album this year, and the creativity throughout the album promises for it to end up on many end of year lists. You can stream the whole album here.

A Common Year

I'd like to welcome Lara to the mix in posting. She will be posting a few times a week on some of her favorite bands, which I know that most of them are great. 

"2011 is, in fact, a common year." Indianopolis-based unsigned band A Common Year released their debut LP Between Cities a year ago and I thoroughly enjoyed it. It's a consistent, emotional, honest album, from start to finish. The first half more energertic and upbeat, the second half more laid-back and acoustic, with keeping the theme of confusing relationships and heartbreak throughout. But don't be fooled - it's not an album of sappy love songs. The lyrics hit hard and we can all relate and make it our own. Take the chorus of "Don't Take Me Seriously" as an example: 'Don't take me seriously when I'm acting like a fool, it's a state I'm going through."