Label: Parks and Records Released: January 2008 I’ve seen Carcrashlander compared to Randy Newman and I can’t stand Randy Newman. After listening to the debut album (and first release by green-focused Parks and Records), one of two things must be true: Either the Randy Newman comparison is inaccurate or I need to reconsider my feelings about him. Or perhaps there… Read more »
Label: Geffen Records Released: March 18, 2008 A New Found Glory has always been a bit long on sappiness and short on edge, but when I bought Nothing Gold Can Stay, an album whose title is probably more a reference to S.E. Hinton than Robert Frost, it connected with me. It was an album that was geared toward kids 10… Read more »
Label: Yep Roc Records Released: August 6, 2007 Liam Finn has a Beatlesque knack for writing great pop songs. Perhaps that comes from his father Neil of Crowded House/Split Enz fame, but Liam walks his own path, making the connection to his father more trivial than musical. The singer-songwriter thing can be pretty limited, but Finn’s generally folky pop has… Read more »
Label: Spoonful Records Released: 2007 The Griefs channel the Who’s manic drums, big power chords and brutal loudness in a catchy package. Sometimes there’s fuzz and other times there’s jangle, but from start to finish, this is an album of loud melodies and rock n roll bombast that many have copied, but few have done this successfully. Throwing a Tempo… Read more »
Label: This Generation Tapes Released: March 4, 2008 There are two approaches to marrying rock and classical. The first takes the worst of both and dummies them down for the least common denominator. Trans-Siberian Orchestra and Metallica’s S&M have more in common with those old Hooked on Classics albums from the early 80s than they do with either classical or… Read more »
Label: Roadrunner Records Released: March 25, 2008 De Novo Dahl find themselves in the difficult position of following up their amazing Shout EP with a full-length release. Even if they were able to reproduce the exuberance of “Shout” (the best musical expression of joy since U2’s “Beautiful Day”) over the course of the entire album, I think it may well… Read more »
Label: Freestyle Records Released: March 24, 2008 The cover of Touch My Soul is a take-off on Small Faces’ Ogdens’ Nut Gone Flake. The song features Steve Marriott’s voice right out of “Afterglow (of Your Love).” But if you’re expecting Lack of Afro (aka Adam Gibbons) to be much like Small Faces, you’ve got another thing coming. Sure, “Afterglow” was… Read more »
Label: Astralwerks Released: February 4, 2008 Chuck and I tried this once before with Out_Circuit’s Pierce the Empire with a Sound. It went well enough that we decided to take another shot at it with Hot Chip’s latest, Made in the Dark. Things definitely had a better flow this time and I was surprised at how well we fed off… Read more »
Label: Lujo Records Released: November 6, 2007 If I tell you that a band reminds me of ELO in any way and you’re turned off, it’s understandable. When I say it this time though, don’t tune out, because you’ll miss something very cool. Here I go. Mouse Fire reminds me of ELO. Now let me allay your fears a bit…. Read more »
Label: self-released Released: 2007 Many bands take the Great Leap Forwards approach to modernization, taking an older sound and dragging it kicking and screaming through recent history into the present. Clams doesn’t take that road though. Their self-titled EP channels 70s hard rock without forcing anything unnatural to happen. Whether the rhythms are driving or more laid back, the riffs… Read more »