This band should be huge. Seriously. Not with late-twentysomethings with a two year old kid like myself but (rather) with the teenage MTV crowd. Let me explain. First, Every Avenue sounds almost exactly like a cross between Fall Out Boy and Cartel. On their latest album Shh. Just Go With It, Every Avenue churns out catchy and mid-tempo peppy, poppy, punk-ish rock music that is safe and polished enough to have mainstream appeal. It is a little too vanilla for my tastes, but that is why it should be huge.
Therein lies the problem. Every Avenue is actually good. Despite the overstyled press photo you get when you open up the CD (which is evidently what kids look like these days), the band has talent. Maybe the studio has been kind to them, or maybe I'm a sucker for pseudo-pop-punk hooks, but the band is tight, on point, and ultra-melodic. The record's thick and crystal-clear production make it sound like a million bucks; I mean, this is how big rock records are supposed to sound.
It is all fine and well as the album blazes along until the tenth song on the album, "Between You And I." WTF is this? Why does every single pop-punk-rock band (EVERY SINGLE ONE OF THEM) feel that it is necessary to include a shitty piano ballad or whiny acoustic song near the end of their albums? Every single one is a waste of my time because they are never as good as the rest of the record ("Hey There Delilah" notwithstanding) and just add another layer of predictable suckage to the album.
All ranting aside (however) Shh. Just Go With It is a pretty solid debut album from Every Avenue and head and shoulders better than the EP I heard from them last year. Even if some of the lyrics and songs are a bit ordinary (or maybe I'm just too old and jaded), Every Avenue is better than so many other neo-pop-punk bands out there (see my review of The Frantic here).
New Jersey's One Win Choice spits out fast, balls-to-the-wall melodic hardcore (punk) that is easy to love and impossible to ignore. Their new album Never Suspend Disbelief is gritty, passionate, and full of optimistic energy. It is solidly played, but with just enough of a rough/sloppy edge that makes the band sounds more like friends than just punks with razor-sharp rhetoric (though they are that too).
Never Suspend Disbelief was released last fall by our friend Jeremy and his Jump Start Records label. We've known Jeremy a long time (does anyone remember No On 15?) and this may be the best record he's released yet. As for One Win Choice, their ferocious attack puts them in a category of like-minded (and sounding) groups such as Strike Anywhere, Bigwig, Kid Dynamite and any number of other bands in that genre. In simpler terms, they aren't reinventing the wheel. Don't misread this though; that's not a knock on the band. This is the type of punk that has been part of my steady diet for almost 15 years now. It makes me feel a little bit younger and that my friends, is a great thing.
Just imagine the purple orange sky setting above you as a languid summer breeze blows through your evening backyard barbecue. This chilled out vibe is kinda how Red Grapes In The City sounds. It is the new EP from The Sugar Oaks from Florida. The EP is brief but clamors with softly swelling folk rock hat is graced with a touch of charming country twang and hint of sultry blues. Something like Iron & Wine covering The Eagles and even a little like Sky Blue Sky. Don't complain; just kick back, relax, and enjoy the sounds. Red Grapes In The City is available now.
I've been sitting on this one for awhile now, but figured this was as good a time as any to type this out. In addition to being the recent former home of Kelvin "The Cheatin' Snake" Sampson (the man who tarnished the record of Indiana basketball), Bloomington, Indiana is also the place that Defiance, Ohio calls home. Their latest album The Fear, The Fear, The Fear made my top 50 of 2007 list because I loved its frantic lo-fi folk-punk anthems that are wonderfully catchy and melodic but lovingly unpolished and unrefined.
The male/female vocal tradeoffs that are often layered to an effect that makes the Defiance, Ohio's message sound urgent; as if their manifest must be heard…now! Guitars, banjos, pianos, and violins collide into a ramshackle rhythm section in raucous fashion as if all the band members were in a basement drinking cheap wine, playing their songs, and getting out of control. It sounds almost as if they are having such a good time playing that if they fuck up, the song will go on and be just fine.
The Fear, The Fear, The Fear is a spirited and honest record that is available on vinyl or CD on the always awesome No Idea Records or (like all of Defiance, Ohio's releases) for free in MP3 format from their website. How fuckin' punk is that?
Can you believe it? 50 songs down and about 250 to go. To recap, Vol. 1 featured 10'000 Maniacs, Inspiral Carpets, Beck, Weezer, and Adina Howard. Vol. 2 featured Rage Against The Machine, Everything But The Girl, Los Del Rio, Haddaway, and Aerosmith. Vol. 3 featured Screaming Trees, White Zombie, MC Hammer, Skee Lo, and The Proclaimers. Vol. 4 featured Buffalo Tom, Paula Cole, Third Eye Blind, Shanice, and The Rentals. Vol. 5 featured Deep Blue Something, Pearl Jam, Crowded House, Eagle-Eye Cherry, and Salt-N-Pepa. Vol. 6 featured Rusted Root, Jamiroquai, Meredith Brooks, Cher, and Bobby Brown. Vol. 7 featured Elastica, R. Kelly, Mr. Big, The Heights, and Filter. Vol. 8 featured Fiona Apple, Aqua, New Radicals, Smash Mouth, and Shaggy. Vol. 9 featured Bone Thugs 'N Harmony, Stereo MC's, Lush, Alice In Chains, and Gin Blossoms. Check 'em all out.
I'm fairly sure that just about everyone (even if they don't love it) at least respects Bob Mould's pioneering work as the front man of Minneapolis punks Husker Du. And as great as Husker Du was, I loved the early 90's power-pop of Mould's trio Sugar even more. It is hard to believe (and equally amazing) that Bob Mould has (now) been making music for almost 30 years. Not just any music, but music that is always relevant; music that shows he isn't content resting on his laurels.
Late last year I picked up a copy of Bob Mould's recent concert DVD Circle Of Friends. It is an excellent document of a live show that spans Mould's entire catalog and actually got me really excited to hear his newest album District Line. I'll admit that I sorta lost touch with Mould's music after the demise of Sugar in the mid 90's, in part, because he stopped making music for a few years, but also because I'd moved on to other bands; other genres. I was a fickle teenager at the time but weren't we all once.
Fast forward to 2008 and as I'm listening to the first song off District Line I can't help but think about how much energy the music has. I think about the fact that Brendan Canty (of Fugazi) has been playing drums with Mould recently. I think about the unabashed emotions that Mould pours into these songs. I think about how little difference there really is between (say) "Stupid Now" and "A Good Idea." Bob Mould has still got it. Whatever it is, he has it. Certainly though there are changes. We are all older (if not any wiser) and many things have changed in the last 10 years. Mould has incorporated electronic and dance music and combined it with power-pop moments as well as more introspective ones.
The bottom line (however) is that District Line is great. It isn't Copper Blue or Zen Arcade, but it is still great. I don't know if a 15 year old kid would love this the way I loved Copper Blue so many years ago, but (at this point) I don't think that Bob Mould is making music to satisfy anyone but himself. And if that means more records like District Line, I'm fine with that.
Now on this Friday evening I should actually be at Chicago's Metro to see Bob Mould live, but due to a number of factors (mainly work and being sick and exhausted) I didn't make it downtown to catch the show. So instead I'm sipping some green tee and watching Mould's Circle Of Friends DVD; and wishing I was at Metro.
It might be hard to believe that before getting their latest album Brighter Than Creation's Dark (on a friend's recommendation no less) I had never listened to anything from Georgia's southern-fried country-rock superstars Drive-By Truckers. Actually, it might not be hard to believe since now (more so than ever before) there is so damn much good music to listen to and so much more access to it.
Years ago kids could rely on major magazines like Rolling Stone, MTV, small fanzines, and word of mouth for info about new music. Now you have the Internet, myspace, and blogs like this as well. I'm sure I would say that the proliferation of new bands and the deluge of associated media coverage has over-saturated things, but it's close. I spend most days listening to new music and passing judgment on that rather than spending time with old favorites and getting to know new records.
Back when I was in high school, I remember spending hours listening to new albums and pouring over the lyrics and liner notes. Now it is a digital download from eMusic or ripping a promo CD to my iPod. It is as if we have sacrificed everything for convenience. That isn't necessarily a bad thing though. For example, having 60GB of music available to choose from on road trips is a much better alternative to loading up 30 of your favorite CD's into a CD wallet and stuffing them into the glove compartment. With a few "D" batteries and a portable speaker system, you can also have your entire music library available almost everywhere, and what could be better than that?
Ok. Back to the Drive-By Truckers. Their latest album Brighter Than Creation's Dark was recently released and if you like bands like Centro-matic, Lucero, Skynyrd, or The Allman Brothers, you should definitely check this (and the rest of their catalog) out. Since hearing this album, I've gotten two other Truckers albums. Listen to the songs below and then go get this record. "Do it!" They will also be on Late Night With Conan next week (March 11th).
Originally released back in 2005 on vinyl only, The Measure (SA) in conjunction with Team Science Records re-released their album Historical Fiction on CD last year. This Brunswick, New Jersey quartet serves up DIY-spirited jangly pop-punk that has just a hint of Americana flavor. The band also features both male and female lead vocals courtesy of guitarists Mike Regrets and Lauren Measure whose sloppy (but lovable) vocals and messy ramshackle guitars are simply irresistible. Historical Fiction is the audio equivalent of walking along the boardwalk with some cotton candy and a hot dog as saltwater breeze washes over you and whomever you're holding hands with. It could come from nowhere else but Jersey.
More recently (however) The Measure (SA) has gone through a few lineup changes but has released a split on Chunksaah and have about a million other 7" records due out soon. RIYL: Bomb The Music industry!, Plow United, Discount, etc...
I was born and spent my formative years in Ottawa. Not the capital city of Canada but (rather) a small town in central Illinois at the confluence of the Illinois and Fox rivers. Even still, I feel a bit of a connection to Ottawa, Canada despite never having been there. That might have been an unnecessary and long-winded introduction, but I think it ties nicely into my review of Canadian singer-songwriter Andy Swan's latest album Andy Swan's Ottawa. It is a bit country and a bit folk; a little stomping and a lot subdued. At times Andy Swan's Ottawa even recalls a little Jeff Tweedy and old-school Wilco-isms.
It is a charming and low-key affair from a great songwriter that no one (yet) seems to know about. His twangy country pop is sentimental and languid but also playful and spirited. Andy Swan certainly surprised me with this heartfelt album that also reminds me of destinations much further south such as Nashville or North Carolina (the Avett Brothers come to mind as does john Strohm). Andy Swan's Ottawa is a fitting soundtrack to the lengthening days and the approaching thaw.
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This band should be huge. Seriously. Not with late-twentysomethings with a two year old kid like myself but (rather) with the teenage MTV crowd. Let me explain. First, Every Avenue sounds almost exactly like a cross between Fall Out Boy and Cartel. On their latest album Shh. Just Go With It, Every Avenue churns out catchy and mid-tempo peppy, poppy, punk-ish rock music that is safe and polished enough to have mainstream appeal. It is a little too vanilla for my tastes, but that is why it should be huge.
