 Aqualung Memory Man 4.5/5 Who It’s For: British rock fans Sounds Like: A mix of Coldplay, Radiohead and just a dash of U2 When Matt Hales – Aqualung’s one and only official member – was interviewed about his new album Memory Man he said: “I hope (the album) is truthful, candid, grownup, sometimes beautiful and occasionally a bit strange.” Not only has Hales accomplished this feat but he has also, strangely enough, made an album that is also marketable. With songs that have been picked up by advertisers and television shows across Britain and North America, Aqualung’s music proves that that the public is hungry for grownup tunes that fully satisfy our anti-sugar coated pop cravings. Memory Man is an accomplishment that should not be missed. With flowing beats and a range of vocals that capture every emotion, Aqualung enthrals us to the same degree as Coldplay did with their first successful album. An enticing ride from the first note – definitely a must have for British rock fans. - Julie Hunter  Clouds Legendary demo 3/5 Who It’s For: People in Cameros. Sounds Like: Speedealer, Bronx, and Priestess What’s this? Another ZZ Top loving boogie rock band has just come out of the woodwork? You don’t say….. Here we have Boston’s Clouds: A full-tilt, machine tight “rawk” band using a dual vocals/guitar approach to their sound. I bet they wear bellbottoms too. But seriously, Clouds aren’t all that bad. Their main problem is their biggest asset: short, fast, and loud songs that don’t stay around long enough to make an impact. They may be the oddball band on Hydrahead’s roster, but they do tend to ride the middle of the road musically. They seem to have the talent; they just need to stop wallowing in the music their older brothers had blaring through the walls while they were growing up. That being said, they’re still better than Wolfmother. - Spencer Lavigne  The Handshake Murders Usurper 4.5/5 Who It’s For: Those that like their adrenaline rush from heavy, aggressive, technical music to be intense Sounds Like: Coalesce, Meshuggah, The Ocean Some of the most technical and brutal music this side of the Acacia Strain’s The Dead Walk , The Handshake Murders has come to pound you into a bloody pulp and they wont think twice about doing it. Top to bottom, Usurper is aural punishment, that is, if you like heavy music. Expect a staggered beat down from the moment you press play. As much jittery and pounding as bouncy and groovy, The Handshake Murders mean business. With the low end low and the guitars sharp, this album switches from fast to slow at a moment’s notice. Polyrhythms and breakdowns are the order of the day and they are served fresh! Although the band takes some obvious cues from their influences, the album’s sound and direction has been twisted just enough in the fashion of The Handshake Murders that you’ll be addicted as if the band was a powerful drug you’ve never tried before. This album is a great soundtrack to a work out to or to chop up bodies to, your choice. - Michael Kopko  House of Fools Live and Learn 4/5 Who It’s For: Fans of softer, indie music. Sounds Like: Talented music of the indie-rock persuasion. I don’t often admit that I’m wrong even when I am, but I was wrong when I reviewed House of Fools’ self-titled EP earlier this summer. After I wrote that their songs were repetitive and that adding tracks wouldn’t “bring much more to the table,” they proved me wrong with the release of Live and Learn. House of Fools use beautiful musical arrangements combined with solid vocals and lyrics to put forth track after track of listenable music. There isn’t a song that seems like it’s out of place and they shed the repetitive feel of their EP much to my delight. It’s always good to hear a band live up to their talent level. - Dan Bilicki .JPG) The Junction S/T 4.7/5 Who It’s For: Everyone Sounds Like: The Shins trying to out-rock Ok Go! Driving into Brampton, Ontario, the hometown of the Junction, the sign reads “All roads point to Brampton” only when it lists all the roads, it fails to mention the one this trio’s been riding and that’s the road to success. With jingly- jangly pop hits like “Components of Four,” “Frequencies” and “Drop The Hammer,” this is the dangerously contagious indie pop album that the GTA has been dying to produce, but normally takes a warmer oceanfront city to produce. Having signed to Universal, hopefully this gem doesn’t find itself lost amongst the big label and gets the push it deserves to drive it up the charts where it belongs. - Dan Hamilton  Make Good Your Escape Never Look Back Here Again 3.6/5 Who It’s For: People who like to get into good bands before they become too radio-friendly Sounds Like: Robert Smith from the Cure co-fronting Angels And Airwaves covering early U2 More rewarding than you might expect, Never Look Back Here Again is packed with great ideas that just aren’t watered down to the point of platinum sales. Songs like “Waiting” and “Real” are the sort of slightly epic indie rock that benefit from not being all over the FM radio, peppered liberally with appealing guitar work and memorable choruses. There’s a very fine line between good and bad here, and Make Good Your Escape could easily fall by the wayside next time, but Never Look Back Here Again is the sort of grower that suggests they could become a valuable commodity in the future. Definitely one to hear and one to watch. - Kid Lupin  Only Crime Virulence 4.2/5 If Only Crime was born on To The Nines, Virulence is their first day at school. On The band's previous effort there was a feeling that some kind of tug of war was going on. It could have been that all the members were trying to not sound like themselves but on Virulence the band has truly worked into something that is their own. Touches of Black Flag timing and aggression mixed with early nineties so-cal melodies and vocals that make me wish I was in the front row screaming along. I can't wait to see what happens next with these guys. - Josh Fucking Last  Pretty Ricky Late Night Special 2/5 Who It’s For: Freaky teens. Sounds Like: Babies fantasizing about making babies. Reviewing R&B CDs can be a bit tricky. You can spend a lot of time criticizing the explicit lyrics of contemporary R&B but a lot of the appeal of this genre is its unintentional hilarity. Stepping out from the sunny confines of Miami is Pretty Ricky, a four piece featuring one singer and three rappers. Much like R. Kelly, Pretty Rick are either terrible or geniuses in the way that they are able to work sex into any situation. While the album does fall for all of the same clichés of modern R&B (unsubtle lyrics about things like Internet sex, using honey as a metaphor for sex, a ridiculous ballad for the ladies on an album dominated by sex jams), it is tightly produced and is actually a concise listen. - Andrew Chin  Red1 Beg for Nothing 3/5 Who It’s For: The heads! Sounds Like: An underground West Coast hip hop gem. It’s hard not to get behind Red-1’s solo album. As one third of The Rascalz, Red-1 has done so much for Canada’s hip hop scene. Besides bringing collaborations early on with artists like K-Os, Kardinal Offishall, and Choclair, Red-1 has also shown his militancy through actions like boycotting the Juno Awards for under representing Canada’s hip hop community. On his solo debut, Red-1 continues to represent the Van City. He revisits past triumphs with his collaboration with Barrington Levy on “No Fuss” and fills his album with funky West Coast beats. However, Beg For Nothing clocks in at 20 songs and 76 minutes and you can’t help but feel a bit tired near the end of the album. Chop off three or four songs from this disc, and this album would’ve been a 4/5. - Andrew Chin  Since The Flood No Compromise 3.5/5 Who It’s For: the tough guy of the household Sounds Like: Buried Alive, Crowbar, Hatebreed A tough guy style hardcore band on Metal Blade? Who would have thought it? This band may not be revolutionizing hardcore, but they are keeping the Boston/ New York/ Connecticut tough guy hardcore sound alive. No Compromise features dead on production that makes the sound raw and appealing all at once. The album is a concentrated, brutal hardcore affair beginning to end. Intensity is an understatement when it comes to describing the upbeat thrashing and half time breakdowns. No Compromise is a very solid listen all the way through (big thanks to the production), but the monotony can be a bit overwhelming, especially to those without the trained ear to differentiate between the tough guy clones out there and even to those it is undoubtedly difficult. No Compromise is exactly what the title suggests, hardcore with all the stops pulled out. Since The Flood may not be terribly unique, but they do what they do very well. This is the soundtrack to mosh pit destruction! - Michael Kopko  This Moment Star<Parallel 4/5 Who It’s For: People who like a bit of “tough” in their “tech” Sounds Like: Zao. Zao & Z..er….Martyr AD Usually, when we think of punk/metal bands from Southern California, we get two answers: the metalcore (Thrice and Atreyu) and the pop (Green Day, NoFX). Well, This Moment is neither. With the sonic power of metal core and the toe-tapping, almost danceability of modern rock, this band is truly unique to their surroundings. Picture My Chemical Romance doing their very best Zao impression. I must say This Moment is very refreshing in a time when bands are either all or nothing, weather it be metal or emo-dance-rock. This Moment is definitely worth a listen, that is, unless you’re a complete wuss. - Spencer Lavigne |
 A Static Thought Trenches 3.5/5 Surprise! A band on Hellcat that sounds like they listen to Rancid. But wait a second, these guitar leads actually sound like Rancid. And this guy's vocals sound like Life Won't Wait era Lars Frederiksen. That's the thing about A Static Thought; they are really good at sounding like Rancid. I'm so stoked for the new Rancid album to come out, that I'll give this a decent review, just because it's going to hold me over until then. - Josh Fucking Last  Explosions In The Sky All Of A Sudden I Miss Everyone 4/5 Who It’s For: Fans of Sigur Ros, Godspeed! You Black Emperor and Friday Night Lights Sounds Like: Explosions in the sky (there’s no false advertising in their name folks) Here it is, the CD that everybody has been hotly anticipating for the past couple of years, and it’s not likely to disappoint. As far as instrumental post-rock bands go, EITS is held in that upper echelon with the likes of Godspeed! and Do Make Say Think. However, with their twin lead-guitars driving the way through epic walls of sound (though not nearly as epic as their previous release The Earth Is Not A Cold Dead Place) EITS have a more mainstream sound that allows for even the casual listener to find something to latch on to. Whether it’s the powerfully aggressive chords of opener “The Birth and the Death of the Day” or the calming, first nine-minutes of “It’s Natural to Be Afraid,” the band makes you really wonder why anybody sings anymore nowadays. - Ryan O’Shaughnessy  The Higher On Fire 3.5/5 Who It’s For: Fall Out Boy/Pop punk fans Sounds Like: Fall Out Boy/Pop punk There are approximately one million bands that sound like The Higher out right now and it pisses a lot of people off that these type of band are getting record deals. I could slam on them for playing this type of music, but what’s the point? They do what they do and damn if they don’t do it really well. The songs are infectious. They make you want to dance around. They get stuck in your head for hours on end. The album does kind of lag off at the end and even the Patrick Stump remix song isn’t that great compared to the strong opening, but that isn’t really an issue. There are probably four tracks on here which could be solid hits on MuchMusic/MTV if The Higher play their cards right. Soon enough time will tell if The Higher can catch onto the craze that has started for this genre. - Stephanie Joudrey  IAMTHETHORN You Are The lamb 4/5 Who It’s For: People who think the Cursed aren’t slow enough. Sounds Like: Crowbar, Cursed, Eyehategod Well, they’re from Seattle, but they sure aren’t grunge. And this is a good, good thing. Specializing in their own unique brand of start/stop down tuned metal, Iamthethorn are a breath of fresh air in today’s musical climate of emo-pop and ironic rock bands. Technically inclined and unrelentingly heavy, Iamthethorn come at you and don’t let you come up for air. Listening to this EP kind of feels like being tied to a rock and thrown into the ocean; the deeper you get, the darker it gets. The only thing that really works against this EP is the fact that it is, an EP. By the time it really starts to suck you in, it’s almost over. What a shame. But it does give us a ton of hope for what’s to come. - Spencer Lavigne  Lovedrug Everything Starts Where It Ends 4.2/5 Who It’s For: Fans of independent bands who have talent. Sounds Like: Progressive indie rock. With the release of Everything Starts Where It Ends, Lovedrug has come to find a happy medium between piano-driven indie rock and louder grunge influences. This album runs the gamut from harder, power songs like “Pushing The Shine” to softer, orchestra featured songs like “Everything Starts Where It Ends.” Lovedrug does a great job with lyrical content and tell stories well within songs and the album as a whole. There are points where “chief protagonist” Michael Shepard’s vocals don’t fit as well as they should range-wise, but more than makes up for his few shortcomings with the amount of times he nails his spots. While Lovedrug may not be big stage performers, they may very well be one day. - Dan Bilicki  My Brightest Diamond Tear It Down (Remixes) 3.5/5 Who It’s For: Fans of Bjork, Portishead and Imogen Heap, people who hate Sarah MacLachlan Sounds Like: Nico collaborating with The Postal Service On one hand, Tear It Down is a very ornery collection of remixes of Shara Worden’s back catalogue. On the other, it’s an excellent showcase for her Beth Gibbon-esque yearning vocals, as the scrawling digital haze buzzes, if not in the background, the certainly submissive to her aspirations. There’s a trip-hop vibe to much of Tear It Down, so it’s at its best when it strays from this, like the strings -v- trash can tones of Stukka’s take on “Disappear,” or the blazing techno-tronica of the remixes of “Freak Out.” About a third of Tear It Down would have been better a capella, but its sort of the nature of the business. If you don’t know MBD, this is a fair place to start - not too much thought required, and enough depth if you go looking for it. - Kid Lupin  Elvis Perkins Ash Wednesday 4.2/5 Who It’s For: People who prefer their post-indie-folk to be about quality, not quantity Sounds Like: The missing link between Will Oldham and Sufjan Stevens There’s plenty to say about Elvis Perkins and Ash Wednesday before you even listen to the album. Elvis is the son of Anthony Perkins (SSKRRRREEE! SKRRRREEE!) and his mother, photographer Berry Berenson, perished in one of the airplanes flown into the Twin Towers. Ash Wednesday has been a work in progress for 5 years now. If that’s not a load of pressure on it to be good, or have some artistic value, then I don’t know what is. Unbelievably, Ash Wednesday is actually as good as you would wish it to be. This is long nights with the ones you love, red wine, candles, comfortable silences. Elvis has honed the lyrics and clever instrumentation into a perfectly balanced dish you’ll want to dip into again and again. Touring with World Party and now My Morning Jacket was no coincidence; people who love music (not ‘music’, you know what I mean) will wear out many copies of Ash Wednesday through the rest of their lives. - Kid Lupin  The Reason Things Couldn’t Be Better 4.1/5 Who It’s For: Everyone who has been waiting since September. Sounds Like: Modest Mouse (if they had grown up in Hamilton) Since the band finished this album in September, there’s probably nothing to be said about the Things Couldn’t Be Better that hasn’t already been heard. Many of the tracks have been played live during the bands fall and winter tours, and “All I Ever Wanted” has been on their Myspace player since November. I could write how the band has departed a bit from their heavier sound in favour of a more melodic sound with more vocalized harmonies, but you probably already know that. I could tell you that “We’re So Beyond This” (the duet with Sara Quin of Tegan and Sara) is a heartfelt, charming track that could possibly aid in bringing in a few new fans that may have not considered listening to the band before, but you probably already know that. I could also tell you this CD comes out on March 6th and is definitely worth purchasing, but odds are that you’ve got the date marked on your calendar. I guess things really couldn’t be better for The Reason. - Ryan O’Shaughnessy  Jill Scott Collaborations 3.5/5 Who It’s For: People who are in the mood for some smooth. Sounds Like: Jill Scott collaborating with other people. After every studio album, Jill Scott seems to mix it up by throwing in a retrospective. After her debut, she released her live album and now she’s out with this low-key collection of collaborations. The fear with these types of duet albums are that they often come off as disjointed, but Scott has done a great job creating a cohesive disc that highlights her strengths. She shows off her great skill of adding a touch of sophistication to hip hop tracks plus also spotlights her husky voice on her jazz songs. Scott also throws in a few curveballs by doing a gospel track with Kirk Franklin and adding a soulful hook to Will Smith’s nostalgic song, “The Rain.” A great album to chill out too, Collaborations completes its mission by making the listener hungry for Scott’s upcoming studio album. - Andrew Chin  Stones Throw Records Peanut Butter Wolf Presents Stones Throw 10 Years 4/5 Who It’s For: Crate diggers and lovers of funk. Sounds Like: Yesterday’s soul of tomorrow today. It’s hard not to get behind an underdog story like Stones Throw Records. Created by DJ Peanut Butter Wolf in 1996 after the tragic death of his partner MC Charizma, Stones Throw has been devoted to keeping the open minded spirit of 1980s hip hop alive as the genre has struggled with rapid commercialization. A haven for future minded artists like J Dilla, Madlib, and MF Doom, Stones Throw has been on the vanguard of the underground hip hop, funk, and soul scenes for years. Celebrating their tenth year anniversary with this collection of hits, rarities, and remixes, you can’t help but be swayed by the impressive diversity of one of the most forward thinking indie labels out there today. - Andrew Chin  Wu-Tang And Friends Unreleased 3/5 Who It’s For: Dedicated Wu-Tang completists Sounds Like: Solid but not spectacular B grade Wu Is it possible for a compilation to be both disappointing and promising? This is the contradiction of the Wu-Tang Clan, a crew that blazed a trail through hip hop in the early 1990s that still hasn’t even come close to being met. On this collection, Wu-Tang DJ and producer Mathematics compiles some unreleased tracks and re-mixes to whet the appetites of Wu fans. The problem is that Mathematics is the second most well known Wu-Tang producer and this collection mainly features the secondary stars of the Wu constellation. While most of the songs get the job done, you can’t help but hope for more, especially when the main members of the Wu-Tang drop by to show the world that nobody can quiet match the mystery and mayhem of the original 9 Mili Brothers. - Andrew Chin Archived Reviews: February 15, 2007: Bloc Party, Crush Luther, The End, Fall Out Boy, Kenny Wayne Shepherd and more... February 1, 2007: Daughtry, Dustin Kensrue, The Good The Bad And The Queen, The Shins and more... January 15, 2007: Brian McKnight, Tom Waits, Youth Group and more... December 20, 2006: Isis, Justin Nozuka and The Holiday Review Section December 1, 2006: Brand New, Incubus, The Pixies and more... November 15, 2006: Deftones, Lady Sovereign, Matt Mays, The Prize Fighter Inferno, Robbie Williams and more... November 1, 2006: My Chemical Romance, The Rasmus, Sparta, The Tragically Hip and more... October 15, 2006: Evanescence, The Killers, K-Os, Seemless and more..... October 1, 2006: John Mayer, Helmet, Method Man, Ryan Star and more.... February 2006 - September 2006: A-F G-M N-S T-Z © 2007, All Rights Reserved |
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