Review: Fun. – Aim & Ignite

Drew Beringer Aug 25, 2009

When The Format went on hiatus a year and a half ago, many fans of their music cried tears (maybe even pastel colored tears?). But dry your eyes, because a musician as talented as Nate Ruess wasn’t going to be out of the music-making business for long. His newest project, fun., is a collaborative effort between Ruess, Andrew Dost (ex-Anathallo), and Jack Antonoff (of Steel Train). Their self-released debut, Aim & Ignite, is a ten track pop adventure with help from producer Steven McDonald, arranger Joseph Manning Jr., and contributions from other musicians.

Drew Beringer Aug 20, 2009

I must’ve been asleep when this takeover happened. The entire “genre” of techno/crunk/scream garbage just broke out overnight it seems. There was no warning, just one day “bands” like Brokencyde, I Set My Friends On Fire, and the like where picking up fans left and right. Not to be outdone is Breathe Carolina, who has unleashed their Fearless debut, Hello Fascination, to unfortunate souls.

AbsolutePunk Aug 12, 2009

As children, we are all prone to believing just about anything we see, particularly when a figure we idolize bears superhuman strength or the uncanny ability to shoot a basketball from space, hit it off the Statue of Liberty, off the St. Louis Arch, around the rim of the Grand Canyon and still get nothin’ but net. You see, when those we place on pedestals falter, it stings us on a personal level and recovery is crucial in order to restore our lost faith. So, if the case is your hero gets his dunk blocked or say, gives baseball a go when it’s obviously not his forte, their ability to continually prove why you put them on said pedestal will inevitably bowl you right over.

AbsolutePunk Aug 6, 2009

For a band that has gone through numerous member changes and only retained one original member, Underoath are doing pretty damn good. When the band lost their vocalist Dallas Taylor, it seemed like the end was near, but with continued fate, the group found a new vocalist named Spencer Chamberlain and they haven’t looked back since. The group has become one of the biggest bands not only in the post-hardcore scene, but the music scene in general. With every record, the band continues to push their songwriting abilities. After the highly successful album, Define The Great Line, the band went on lengthy tours and continued to work away at trying to topple their last effort. Knowing that this was going to take some time, they released the DVD 777. The DVD was mostly footage of the band on tour supporting the album, but it also included a short concert that was done for Myspace’s Secret Shows.

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Review: Anchor & Braille – Felt

AbsolutePunk Aug 5, 2009

You have to give Stephen Christian credit – the man is far from your typical rock star. Of course he is best known for his work with scene staples Anberlin, but Christian has a degree in psychology, has written a book, co-founded a non-profit organization, and is in general a supremely nice guy. So when he accumulated a pile of songs that didn’t quite fit what Anberlin was doing, it makes sense that Stephen wouldn’t take the easy way out. He could certainly tweak the songs enough so they could be peppered amongst future Anberlin releases, but rather than compromise the cohesiveness of those works and the integrity of these compositions, Christian instead decided to give them a proper release under the Anchor & Braille moniker. This was by no means some hasty, overnight project. It is a true labor of love that has been in progress (in some form or another) for almost a decade, and with the quality of Felt, it shows.

Gregory Robson Aug 3, 2009

Few music critics, and/or consumers, were expecting the self-titled debut from Nightmare of You (NOY), the braintrust of ex-Movielife guitarist Brandon Reilly, to be as engaging as it was. And yet in the fall of 2005, Reilly and his three friends: now-departed drummer Sammy Seigler, guitarist Joe McCaffrey and now-departed bassist Ryan Heil, churned out a near-flawless work of 11, literate, Smiths-inspired offerings. Equal parts creative and caustic, the self-titled was an auspicious effort that marked the start of something very special. Or so we thought. The Long Island quartet followed their shimmering debut with the brief, but sonically different Bang EP, a disc that geared more towards experimentation and improvisation. From the danceable title track to the off-kilter “Herbal Jazz Cigarette,” NOY seemed to push the creative boundaries a bit further than most were expecting. So it comes with baited breath, that the group has released their second and long-awaited full-length Infomaniac, without two of its founding members.

Review: Fun. – Aim & Ignite

Review: Breathe Carolina – Hello Fascination

Review: Thrice – Beggars

Review: Underoath – Survive, Kaleidoscope

Review: Anchor & Braille – Felt

Review: Nightmare of You – Infomaniac