Label: self-released Released: January 13, 2009 Copper Sails seems like one of those bands that could be poised for the big time. I mean, this thing they’re doing worked for Coldplay, didn’t it? Hiding Place is carefully thought out, constructed and performed. They steal form all the right indie and alt bands on both sides of the Atlantic. The melodies… Read more »
Label: Ares Records Released: June 24, 2008 The Feelings Mutual take off where 90s alt rock left off, adding some hard rock riffs to hints of both darkness and pop gloss around each turn. They open with the riff-heavy rock of “Monolith,” but quickly scale that back into slower guitar-driven pop. At times they hint at Queens of the Stone… Read more »
Label: The Secret of Life Records Released: June 24, 2008 The Violent Femmes return the favor to Gnarls Barkley (who covered “Gone Daddy Gone” on 2006’s St Elsewhere) with this EP containing a cover of “Crazy.” The trouble with Gnarls Barkley’s offering was that it left the song entirely too intact. It sounds fine, but simply does too little to… Read more »
Label: Rhino Released: April 22, 2008 Love is a second rate band, but at perhaps the creative peak of rock music. They existed at a time when the old marriage of R&B and C&W that was rock n roll was experimenting with a lot of new partners. Love was a part of that. At times, the result was brilliant, making… Read more »
Label: MVD Entertainment Group Released: January 22, 2008 This is the story of the Smiths through the eyes of Mike Joyce and Andy Rourke. Who you ask? The guys who sued Morrissey and Johnny Marr a few years back. Oh yeah, they were also the rhythm section of the Smiths. Under the circumstances, I expected Inside the Smiths to a… Read more »
Label: Break a Leg Entertainment Released: October 24, 2007 Going into this review, I was under the impression that Helsinki’s Hellcity 13 was just another Scandanavian glam band, but unlike the rest, they don’t just want to revive hair metal, they want to revive the 80s almost as a whole. There is hard rock bombast that runs throughout the album,… Read more »
Label: Action Rezults Records (Available from CD Baby) Released: 2007 To some extent, D’Edwin can get away with his unabashed mimicking of Morrissey, because he hasn’t graduated into the big leagues yet, but there has to be some substance to his music beyond a good Morrissey impression. On No Prognosis, that substance is erratic at best. The opening track, “Secret… Read more »
Label: Rhino Released: September 18, 2007 There are a few points in rock n roll time and space where everything just comes together and something new is born. Memphis in the mid-50s gave us rock n roll. New York in the mid-70s gave us punk. Seattle in the early 90s gave us grunge. All of these local scenes were the… Read more »
Label: Sandbar Music Released: May 2006 According to Mars Hill’s Myspace page, they are “one of the most original and finest bands of the 21st century” and they are “genre-defying.” The former is beyond a stretch. No offense, but they aren’t even close. The latter, however, is pretty accurate. The list of genres touched significantly by Mars Hill is longer… Read more »
Label: American Recordings Released: October 16, 2007 If you enjoyed Dan Wilson’s band, Semisonic, than you’ll enjoy his solo work as well. You’ll also have to explain to all your friends why you like music that sucks, but that’s beside the point. If you had the good sense to hate Semisonic than you’ll likely hate this also…mostly. Dan Wilson takes… Read more »