Review: Taking Back Sunday – Taking Back Sunday

Drew Beringer Jun 28, 2011

No one ever thought the five guys who created the scene staple, Tell All Your Friends, would ever reunite. Too much gossip, too much pain, too many bridges burned. It just wasn’t going to happen, and it was just the world Taking Back Sunday fans learned to live in. After the band released the uninspired New Again in 2009, a lot of diehard fans took it as the last straw and started to jump ship for good. Never again would we be fooled into getting excited for a new TBS record – we’ve been burnt for the last time.

Then the (what we thought) impossible happened.

Bridges were rebuilt. Friendships were mended. John Nolan and Shaun Cooper decided to rejoin Adam Lazzara, Eddie Reyes, and Mark O’Connell in Taking Back Sunday, and just like that, we were back. At first it was hard to believe, but hey, if Jay-Z and Nas could bury the hatchet and collaborate on a song, then why not Taking Back Sunday (and more specifically Lazzara and Nolan)? And even though shows sold out quickly and recording updates teased, fans were still apprehensive. Could they recapture that Tell All Your Friends magic? Or would the hype and expectations crush them?

Drew Beringer Jun 21, 2011

Oh the places you will go, Justin Vernon.

What started as a small project – under the moniker Bon Iver – in a isolated cabin located in the north woods of Wisconsin has led to Vernon selling thousands of albums, headlining festivals, and smoking the stickiest of the icky with hip-hop goliaths Rick Ross and Kanye West in Hawaii. Add in various musical endeavors with Volcano Choir and Gayngs, and you’d have to suspect Vernon has accomplished more than he ever envisioned when he was heartbroken in Wisconsin.

His second full-length album, Bon Iver, Bon Iver is the result of these experiences. A more confident and trusting Vernon is present here, as he is armed with a remarkably talented full band instead of the minimalist approach he used on the debut. Together they have composed the most remarkable album of 2011.

Ryan Gardner Jun 7, 2011

Dallas Green is easily one of the most sophisticated musicians in the scene today. His main project, Alexisonfire, has proved to be one of the best aggressive bands around throughout the past decade. His acoustic side-project, City and Colour, proves he can create beauty on the other end of the spectrum, as well.

Back in 2008, Bring Me Your Love was a soft, ambient, and ultimately poignant release, perfect for a fall evening or cold winter night. Now three years later, Little Hell expands the sound of BMYL, mixing a few bells and whistles with a handful of upbeat tracks to craft the best record City and Colour effort to date, a record now fitting for summer nights.

Thomas Nassiff Jun 5, 2011

If you’ve ever seen The Wonder Years play a live set, you can probably agree with me when I say the Philadelphia-based sextet puts on quite an enjoyable performance. But as good as their live shows are, those only last one night.

Frontman Daniel “Soupy” Campbell, along with bassist Joshua Martin, guitarists Casey Cavaliere and Matthew Brasch, drummer Michael Kennedy and guitarist/keyboardist Nick Steinborn, are also well-known for giving their fans tons of attention, from hanging out before and after shows to posting on this website. But those interactions only last a little while.

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Review: Bruce Springsteen – Human Touch/Lucky Town

Thomas Nassiff Jun 1, 2011

The decision to release Human Touch and Lucky Town was probably the worst decision ever made in the Bruce Springsteen camp. Springsteen hadn’t been wrong about many things up to this point in his career, but whoever okay-ed the decision to release one really mediocre record and one really good record on the same day clearly didn’t know much about marketing and the forever-lasting stain one would leave on the other.

It is with the synthy, glossy, overproduced and underwhelming memory of Human Touch that Lucky Town will forever be dragged down. Many people (definitely including me, until as recently as about three weeks ago) dismissed the latter of the two records because of how misguided the former is. Even in 1991, when Springsteen’s management decided it was okay to release the two separate records on the same day (Springsteen was the first artist to ever do this), fans appreciated the singles on Human Touch and little else.

Review: Taking Back Sunday – Taking Back Sunday

Review: Bon Iver – Bon Iver, Bon Iver

Review: City and Colour – Little Hell

Review: The Wonder Years – Suburbia, I’ve Given You All And Now I’m Nothing

Review: Bruce Springsteen – Human Touch/Lucky Town