Review: Silver Bars – Center of the City Lights

Adam Grundy Aug 27, 2019

Debut albums are rarely this immediately endearing, but when you make excellent dreamscape rock, such as what Silver Bars have created here on Center of the City Lights, it finds a way to pull you in. The Austin, Texas four-piece are led by vocalist and guitarist Paula J. Smith, and her confident vocal delivery allows the rest of the group to fill out the wall-of-sound that encompasses the majority of the record. Much like other dream pop-bands such as Beach House, Silver Bars have created sonic musical landscapes with cranked up guitars to help them stand apart.

The 10-track album is filled with lush sounding rock songs, and the band sounds as confident as ever in their delivery. Led by the single, “Lost You to L.A.” Silver Bars’ introduction to the music world allows the listener to come along for the ride with favorable results in the listening experience. The dual-guitar attack from Smith and Ken Hatten is the band’s real strength, as they know exactly when to crank up the sound, or allow a song to brood for a bit. Rounding out the unit is the ultra-talented bassist Stephen Thurman and drummer Johnny Wilkins.

Review: Sleater-Kinney – The Center Won’t Hold

Adam Grundy Aug 21, 2019

When setting out to record their ninth studio album, Sleater-Kinney began pondering with the idea of working with Wilco singer Jeff Tweedy on the follow-up to No Cities to Love. However, once S-K began the writing process and collaborating with St. Vincent, the band loved this new and exciting direction too much to pass up the chance to have St. Vincent produce the entire album. Once considered one of indie rock’s most reliable bands for their steady work ethic, Sleater-Kinney found themselves at a late-career crossroads. Do they make a similar sounding record to what their audience had come to expect, or push themselves to their creative limits by reinventing what their band could become? The latter is what came to fruition here on The Center Won’t Hold: an electronically expansive record that tinkers with modern sounds and state of the art production elements.

Review: Ra Ra Riot – Superbloom

Adam Grundy Aug 19, 2019

When preparing for their fifth studio album, Superbloom, Ra Ra Riot mentioned in several interviews their intention to create an album worthy of lasting impact and an enjoyable listening experience. Front-man Wes Miles co-wrote two of the twelve songs with former Vampire Weekend guitarist Rostam Batmanglij, and in doing so, helped expand Ra Ra Riot’s repertoire and sound in general. Miles mentioned in an interview that the band wanted a “DIY, demo mindset” to many of these songs, yet Miles decided these demos that were recorded in his parents’ house were strong enough to be considered the final versions.

One of the first things listeners will notice on Superbloom is how the simple song structures and sounds make for a great experience. This breezy collection of twelve songs are all well thought out, and make a lot of sense cohesively as an album.

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Review: Cowboy Diplomacy – The Get Down

Adam Grundy Aug 7, 2019

On the lead single from Cowboy Diplomacy, “The Get Down” rocks with the urgency of roots-rock bands such as The Revivalists and Nathaniel Rateliff and the Night Sweats, with mostly favorable results. The song itself is built around the guitar licks of lead guitarist Billy Boswell and lead vocalist/guitarist Ian Cochran, and some foot-stomping percussion from drummer Matt Whilden. After the introductory lyrics kick in, a blast of horns and good vibes fill out the single introducing Cowboy Diplomacy to the world.

Review: Of Monsters and Men – Fever Dream

Adam Grundy Jul 29, 2019

Now three albums into their career, Of Monsters and Men have all but abandoned their happy-go-lucky and charming takes on indie rock in favor of stadium-ready pop anthems on Fever Dream. The first lyrics on the LP are telling as lead singer Nanna Bryndis Hilmarsdottir opens with, “I see color/Raining down/Feral feeling/Swaying sound/But I don’t know what you want.” The entire record is filled with much brighter moments than we have come to expect from the Icelandic band, and this album turns out to be their best to date.

Coming off of two successful records in My Head is an Animal and Beneath the Skin, Of Monsters and Men could have very well made a similar sounding record for their third effort. However, never ones to be complacent with what they have accomplished before, the band took it upon themselves to push themselves to their creative limits on Fever Dream. Co-produced by the group and under the trusted tutelage of Rich Costey (Frank Turner, Foster the People), Of Monsters and Men have fully embraced the pop underlining that were embedded in their earlier work and made a record worthy of the size of the venues they are playing this fall.

Review: Night Riots – New State of Mind

Adam Grundy Jul 25, 2019

The state of the world we are living in requires many outside distractions to cope, live, and find a way to be happy in general. On New State of Mind, Night Riots provide plenty of lush musical landscapes to help remind us the beauty of well-crafted pop-rock songs with deeper meanings behind each track. Now that their new record has arrived, Night Riots seem poised for making a significant statement in the music scene with an album that sounds simultaneously professional, dynamic, and captivating all from the first listen.

Never a stranger to the darker tones and mystery surrounding the after-hours nightlife that were presented in their earlier material, New State of Mind is surprisingly bright. Led by the atmospheric album artwork that finds the cover model finding the beauty within herself, there are several songs with massive textural feelings and dual meanings within them. The album was co-produced by Eric Palmquist (Thrice, Bad Suns) and Night Riots, and the production elements showcase a band painting with broad, colorful strokes; never afraid of taking a calculated risk along the way.

Review: Sum 41 – Order in Decline

Adam Grundy Jul 23, 2019

On their seventh studio album, Order in Decline, Sum 41 wastes little time in describing the state of the world we are living in. And they do a great job of summarizing the feeling of growing up in a country where the leader seems to suck the life out of everything that we once held so dear. Sum 41 have delivered their late career masterpiece and they have never sounded better in this mixture of punk, metal, and rock that pulsates with immediacy and a strong call to action from their fan-base. The styles they have teased and tinkered with over their career come to full fruition on this record that finally realizes the band’s full potential.

Even from the first few riffs delivered on “Turning Away,” Sum 41 rock with a confident swagger found in scene mainstays such as Green Day, while still showcasing vulnerability and a human element behind their words. Deryck Whibley sings in the first powerful chorus, “I’m turning away/Because I feel like I can’t go on, while we’re living in this lie/And when all of my faith is gone, I don’t even want to try/There’s nothing that you could say, that could ever change my mind/And will all of these steps I take, it’s giving me back my life.” There’s a lot to unpack here, as we know Whibley nearly lost his battle to alcohol addiction and had a long road to recovery to fight for his life, much less his career as a touring musician in a successful band. Whibley sounds re-focused, refreshed, and doesn’t appear to want to let his new outlook on life go to waste any time soon.

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Review: 311 – Voyager

Adam Grundy Jul 16, 2019

As a life-long 311 fan, I approached Voyager with more optimism than most. I looked forward to each of their releases every other summer and would typically be one of the first ones to purchase their new music on the street date. Over time, even as my taste in music gravitated towards punk/emo-tinged rock, 311 remained a band I would find myself coming back to as spring came to a close. With multiple summer tours packing amphitheaters across the US, 311 have always benefited from a patient listening base. This album should do little to change their devout fans’ opinions on the direction the band is going. The fact remains that at thirteen albums in their career, they may have played things a little too safe on Voyager.

Review: Night Riots – Loyal to the Game

Adam Grundy Jul 11, 2019

The recently released single by Night Riots is a synth-laden and sonically expansive song called “Loyal to the Game.” The track comes from the band’s sophomore album New State of Mind that will be officially released on July 26th via Sumerian Records. The track is ripped right from the wheelhouse of electronica-styled bands such as The Neighbourhood and No Devotion, with mostly favorable results.

Review: The Covasettes – It’s Always Sunny Above The Clouds

Adam Grundy Jul 8, 2019

The Manchester-based indie rock band, The Covasettes come bursting onto the music scene with the brightly colored EP It’s Always Sunny Above the Clouds. With it’s Care Bear-styled cover art, I was initially unsure of what to expect from the band that I was introduced to. However, The Covasettes quickly won me over with the core influences of Arctic Monkeys, The Killers, and Coldplay that are felt warmly as they create a wonderful collection of songs. The four-piece band is comprised of lead vocalist/guitarist Chris Buxton, lead guitarist Matt Hewlett, bassist Jamie McIntyre, and drummer Matt Buckley, and their chemistry as a unit comes across undeniably on this record.

Review: Two Door Cinema Club – False Alarm

Adam Grundy Jun 27, 2019

On their fourth studio album Two Door Cinema Club fully embrace the 80’s synth and colorful pop that they hinted at on 2016’s Gameshow. False Alarm paints the Northern Irish indie rock band as a group that is willing to take calculated risks and have a blast while doing so. Whereas other artists may find their comfort in a familiar sound from album to album, Two Door Cinema Club have little issue with experimenting with a variety of new ideas and fresh takes on their songwriting.

Review: Russian Girlfriends – In The Parlance Of Our Times

Adam Grundy Jun 25, 2019

In the birth of the internet, the ill-timed phrase, “this isn’t punk!” was uttered by way too many online accounts. Fast forward to today, and some people are still taking it to the web to defend against whether their favorite bands fit into one genre or another. The times have changed slightly as genre lines tend to be blurred as groups evolve and figure out their sound. Enter Russian Girlfriends, who make unapologetic, blazing punk rock that demands to be pumped through the speakers at the highest volume. For those unfamiliar with the band, Russian Girlfriends are a five-piece band from Albuquerque, New Mexico in the style of the melodic urgency of The Bouncing Souls, the political brashness of Anti-Flag, and the high-energy punk rock of The Explosion. Comparisons aside, In the Parlance of our Times is one of the better punk rock records to come out in the latter half of this decade.

Review: Bastille – Doom Days

Adam Grundy Jun 18, 2019

The list of accolades that Bastille have accrued over just three studio albums is what most bands can only dream of when they start their career. With over 9 million records sold to date, several number one singles, and many major music awards added to their impressive resume, Bastille should be able to kick back and celebrate a bit. Coming off of a successful sophomore effort in Wild World, that was packed with content surrounding the changing world around us, political ramifications, and dense metaphors about how the world as we knew it was spiraling out of control, it only made sense for their follow-up to be called Doom Days.

The hype surrounding this particular release was at an all-time high due to the success of their Top 40 crossover smash with collaborator Marshmello in “Happier.” Everything was lining up perfectly for Bastille to deliver their landmark album in their discography since they appeared to have so much going in their favor. Doom Days chronicles their rise to fame, as well as what the band described in a recent interview as a loose concept album regarding “the importance of escapism, hope and the preciousness of close friendships.”

Review: Red Hot Chili Peppers – Californication

Adam Grundy Jun 10, 2019

My memories surrounding the seventh studio album from the Red Hot Chili Peppers are flooded with great moments spent with this classic, late-90’s record on many Summer evening drives back and forth from the beach. Californication came at a time when my sixteen-year-old self was rapidly veering away from the pop that was dominating the airwaves of the radio, and I vividly remember when I purchased a CD copy of this album that I still hold in such high esteem to this day. As I look back on the 20th anniversary of this classic, I remember how I was immediately drawn into the world the band was describing in ways I never thought that I could be. I was transformed within an album from the very first notes. While my younger self may not have fully grasped all the themes that were being tossed around in the lyrics such as: death, suicide, globalization, and traveling, I could still appreciate every ounce of blood sweat and tears that the band had put into the classic LP.

Review: Mike Frazier – Where The Valley Kissed The Sky

Adam Grundy Jun 5, 2019

Let me introduce you to Mike Frazier, an ultra-talented singer-songwriter from Virginia who has a knack for showcasing the wide range of emotions that go into telling captivating stories through his music. Frazier wastes little time getting to the point he wants to get across in a brief, 9-track album called Where The Valley Kissed The Sky. The collection is a very loose concept album of Frazier’s time spent traveling from town to town and working different jobs in the valley. A lot of his observations through this album’s lyrical content show a changing economic landscape and how it impacts the average person living in these rural areas of the country.