" Men are waiting patiently;
Remove me from the scene,
A sea of faceless souls in suits.
A sight for eyes, like thumbs;
Sore crooked and bow and foul relief.
You have, you have been exposed."
Venona - The Receiving End Of Sirens
Senses Fail - Still Searching
Senses Fail was known as the generic screamo band with its neverending pattern of sing-scream-sing-scream on their previous releases. The seem to have transcended their typical style on their second LP "Still Searching." This album has lyrics based on lead singer's, Buddy Nielsen's, life before getting off anti-depressants. This album is pure emotion, and it really shows as it is much less like their previous albums (OMG, my girlfirend jsut broke my heart) and much more real and relate-able. The CD kicks off with "The Rapture," a powerful yet slower song, with nothing too fancy or distracting: just a solid song. The next song speeds it up a little bit, and has amazingly well written vocals, and studly guitar work. The album keeps up the good work the entire way through. Some of their songs that standout the most are "Sick Or Sane" "Calling All Cars" "All Cowboys Have Daddy Issues." The vocals on this album are more unique than weve seen beofre from this New Jersey band. Everyone in the band sings at one point or another with the new "gang" vocals. The album flows very well, and many new things are tried during this album. "The Priest And The MAtador" has soft percussion parts along with an overall soft feeling. There are also other interesting things that go on during this cd like stoping noises and other things that are only heard on the 100th play of the song. This release is the most solid from Senses Fail so far, and I hope to see more good things coming from this band in the future.
Overall : 8.5/10
"We can all hang ourselves
from gold chandeliers,
and drink goodbye to all,
all the pain and fears,
loose lips have sunk this ship,
to a shallow grave
washed upon the rocks"
Senses Fail - "Can't Be Saved"
+44 : When Your Heart Stops Beating
This band, comprised of former Blink-182 members, Travis Barker and Mark Hoppus, have released quite possibly one of the greatest CD's in the year 2006. I don't know how they do it, but this ex-Blink band dominates the other ex-Blink band, Angels And Airwaves. This cd, full of energy, is one of the best ones released this month. The album kicks off with a catchy poppier song, Lycanthrope. The album changes its pace up in different parts, but keeps its unique sound throughout. You can see that there is still some Blink-182 powering this band, allthough it isnt the same. The vocals from Hoppus are better than on Blink-182's old cds. This punk-ish cd is full of excellent drumming and solid pop-hooks. These songs are pretty damn catchy at points, and no two songs sound too much alike. This cd is aq new sounds from Barker and Hoppus but I see it as obne for the better that shows their talent better than before. The cd thoguh just cant keep me hooked the entire way through, and some songs just really are too slow for my taste. I do enjoy how they have some new sounds in this cd like synthesizer and other oddities that jsut seem to complete the album. Overall a solid new release from +44.
Overall: 7.5/10
What can I say about this band? A friend of mine reccomended them to me a wehile back but i disregarded them as another "pop-punk" band but now after giving them a legit chance, they are one of my favorites. They're quite possibly the happiest emo band i have ever heard. This upbeat happy-sounding album is full of stories of betrayal, suicide, hate, anger and love. Hit The Lights does this in a way better than nearly all others. Catchy pop-riffs and melodies are prevelant throughout the entire cd. This band takes the genre of pop-punk to a whole new level. They layer the vocals amazingly well and it helps that the singer is pretty damn good at his job. This CD is flawless throughout and is an ideal pop-punk cd filled with infectious beats and memorable lyrics. Its hard not to sing along to every single song on this cd. Songs like "Bodybag" and "Talk Us Down" show us HTL's inner rage, but they do it in such a cheerful way. This new release by Hit The Lights contains 3 songs from their EP "Until We Get Caught." Allthough this band may not seem to be the most original band; they do what they do better than any other band. They write amazing songs that will for sure be on repeat for a while to come.
Overall : 9.5/10
A Change Of Pace’s second release “Prepare The Masses” is what other bands should aim for with a sophmore album. The new cd from this band is radio/MTV friendly. Catchy guitar is evident throughout the entire album, along with unforgettable vocals, and a damn catchy tune for every song. This album makes them appeal to the mass audience even more. Many of their songs deal with love one way or another. Whether iit is missing someone you love or finding someway to hurt the one who broke your heart, these lyrics are pure ACOP. The album begins with the sounds of soldiers marching and is followed by a song about Romeo and Juliet. ACOP does change up the style a little bit with some synthesized vocals to the third track "I'm Alive." and does go with a song that sounds very much like Bayside with "Safe And Sound In Phone Lives."
I found the album nearly flawless with one exception, the sore spot on the album, 'White Lines And Lipstick." This song isnt horrible, it just brings this album down that one notch. This album is sure to be one of my favorites for a while, and is sure to bring ACOP some much needed recognition.
Overall 8.5/10
11/28/2006
One last Chance to Reverse this curse,
you stole my heart but i had it first,
and now i see you've got nothing to lose
and something to prove
so let me tell you the truth.
-Escape The Fate, "Reverse This Curse"
Here it goes. #2
Novice: Interrupting The Scenery
This CD starts off with a very catchy song. The two different vocals really make this first song jump out. The pop-hooks drag you in as you listen, but this isn't stereotypical pop-punk / emo music. The lyrics may be emotional and talk about ex-girlfriends and broken hearts, but there is no talentless singer in this band. The first song is solid all the way through and is followed by a pretty solid, yet simila, second song. The third song is by far a standout, The Distance, an areana rock style song. A killer guitar intro leads into quite possibly the catchiest song I have ever heard. Then followed by another great song, which starts with catchy vocals, and is followed by an array of solid lyrics. They finish the rest of the cd with upbeat fast past guitar and hard hitting drums. The guys created a sound which is pure Novice, and is unique. The choruses don't dissapoint and after hearing a few are stuck in your memory for a while. Smooth lyrics are complimented with occassional screams that leave you wanting more. The guitar on this album is very creative and the bass lines are awesome. Overall a very solid CD that is sure to be on repeat for many months to come.
Overall 9/10
So for my first post I'm going to review a CD i recently downloaded.
Mayday Parade : Tales Told By Dead Friends.
This band kicks off the 6 song CD with a slower paced song, "Just say you're not into it." Personally, not my favorite style of song, and is one of my least favorite on the cd. The slow paced song has nocatchy chorus, or anything really to keep me wanting to listen to this song all the way through. I do like some of the drums in the song which is probably the only reason i listen to it at all. The Next song helps mayday parade redeem its self. From the very beginning of the song, the pop vocals pull you in. Then you get hit with a catchy-as-hell chorus. You catch some synthesizer between the chorus and verses and this only pulls you even further in love with this song. Catchy guitar compliments the great vocals on this track. Next comes another slow song, but unlike the first song, this one has a somewhat catchy chorus, but really nothing else specially to offer. Drums and vocals though are the started for the next song which brings the speed and life back to their album. The next few songs only go to show that mayday parade has limited originality.
Overall : 5/10
Notes: I like a few songs, but it fails to keep my attention for more than a couple tracks, as it seems as though i have heard this cd many times before, Oh yea! thats cause it sounds like SO MANY OTHER BANDS OUT THERE.
