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Jason Tate
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FEATURES, BLOGS, & REVIEWS

The Damned Things – “Little Darling” (Song Premiere)

The Damned Things
Jason Tate

By now you know that The Damned Things have a new album coming out on December 14th, right? And you’ve probably read Drew’s great review of the new album dubbed “a modern take on the classic rock record. No gimmicks, no frills, no bullshit, this is just a straight up rock and roll takeover.” And you may have even heard a song or two from the band’s myspace. But you haven’t heard “Little Darling” yet. Now you can. Check the replies for the world premiere song stream and a message from Keith about the song.

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Review: Manchester Orchestra – Mean Everything to Nothing

Manchester Orchestra - Mean Everything to Nothing
Jason Tate

Quick note to the rest of the albums coming out this year: The bar has just been set.

Over the years there have been a select group of artists that have become so well respected within our community that they have reached almost hallowed ground. Their recordings are considered by some as the pinnacle achievement of what our little music scene can create. These bands top many “all time favorite” lists – and even years later their influence and replayablity dominate the eardrums. I’d like to present to you the next candidate for admission: Manchester Orchestra.

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First Impressions: New Found Glory – Not Without a Fight

Jason Tate

The new New Found Glory is an interesting album. It sounds a lot like their self titled album, a more raw production with straight to the point – in your face – pop-punk. If anything, it reminds me of when I first listened to Less Than Jake’s GNVFLA album. It’s an album that is a “return to form” from a band I loved in high-school, basically sounding like it would have if released when I was in high-school. So it’s a strange feeling – it’s very nostalgic, but at the same time I definitely enjoy the album. I would recommend it to any pop-punk fan – especially a NFG fan. There’s no reason it shouldn’t be in your collection.

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Review: The Starting Line – Direction

The Starting Line - Direction
Jason Tate

This summer reads like a pop fan’s wet-dream.

We find July bringing the trifecta of “must-own” summer albums to a close. For those who lean toward the pop persuasion, The Starting Line will come as a fitting end to a two week burst of purchases that is sure to include multiple trips to the record store in search of Yellowcard and MxPx. This gives you two full weeks to play both of the aforementioned albums – because once you’ve purchased Direction, it’s unlikely to leave your stereo for quite some time.

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Review: Yellowcard – Paper Walls

Yellowcard - Paper Walls
Jason Tate

Let us face the facts: not many music critics want to admit to liking pop-punk. Not even I, the great pop-punk apologist, can say the negative connotation associated with the genre is undeserving. Think about it – from the young and extremely vocal fans, to the piled on guy liner, to the outrageous media stunts – it’s easy to see why the genre has become the leper colony of the music world.

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Review: MxPx – Secret Weapon

MxPx - Secret Weapon
Jason Tate

Without MxPx this website would not exist.

I’m not aiming for overdramatics to spice up the opening line of my review, I’m being dead serious. It was MxPx that pulled me out of my junior-high years of Pantera and Metallica. It was MxPx who were (along with Blink 182) one the first bands covered by the original AP.net. It was MxPx who, upon first listen so many years ago, drew me into the melodic world of fast drumming overlaid with lyrics mostly about (failed) relationships.

Now – almost 12 years later – I’m still listening.

This is a band that has been around for over 10 years and released over seven full-lengths, four EPs, three compilation CDs, and one live album; almost all of these with the same three members. They’ve written songs from each end, and just about every level in-between, of the pop-punk spectrum. Fast and raucous to extremely poppy – they’ve done it. This foray through an assortment of styles has left the band with a blend of fans. Most vocal are those who pledge allegiance to the sound of the band’s roots and have been wishing for a repeat of the Life in General and Slowly Going The Way of the Buffalo era. For me, my favorite song has always been “Doing Time” and my favorite album Slowly Going the Way… – so while I may be in the minority for having enjoyed all of the band’s releases, it’s been a while since I’ve genuinely loved one.

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Review: Paramore – Riot!

Paramore - Riot!
Jason Tate

Oh, how I wanted to hate this album.

After the release of their debut, All We Know is Falling, I sat back and watched this band become the talk of our little website. I guess when you have a large enough group of pubescent boys together, any female immediately becomes a discussion topic. This phenomenon has led to countless threads discussing the lead singer of this band (a girl for those not in the know) and her dating habits, relative “hotness,” fashion sense, and just about any other topic not related to her band’s music. So when this album arrived in my mailbox, I was, to put it mildly, not in the mood to give it the time of day. So I did the rational thing: I ignored it. I hid it on my shelf and pretended it never arrived. Didn’t even open the CD case once. Mature? I know.

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Review: Cary Brothers – Who Are You

Cary Brothers - Who You Are
Jason Tate

“Zach Braff-core.”

That has a nice ring to it, doesn’t it? I think I may just coin that phrase.

The term is not only applicable because Cary Brothers (first name Cary, last name Brothers) has had tracks appear on famed Zach Braff projects such as the Garden State Soundtrack (“Blue Eyes”) and the Last Kiss Soundtrack (“Ride”), nor is it only applicable because my first introduction to the artist was via a karaoke scene in Scrubs (Season 4: Episode 4 – “My First Kill”). No, the term can be used to accurately describe the sound of the artists deemed worthy of its association. I think you know what I’m talking about — moody, emotional music — maybe a little too mainstream to be indie yet a little too indie to be mainstream. The kind of music that fits the soundtrack to a movie so perfectly because you can also picture it as the soundtrack to your life. It’s the music that plays in your head before that first kiss with a new crush, and the music that radiates in your ears as you walk home after they break your heart. It’s the kind of music you can tie to memories so vividly that repeated listens conjure the smells, the tastes, and the other sensory images of the best (and worst) days of your life.

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Review: Fall Out Boy – Infinity on High

Fall Out Boy - Infinity on High
Jason Tate

The only way to open this review is to be honest about my intentions. Everyone knows I’m a fan of this band. My website has followed their career closely over the last few years and I have a personal relationship with some of the band members. It’s not often you hear a reviewer admit their bias, but I am doing just that. I’m a fan of the band, always have been, and probably always will. The reason I’m doing this is because I’ve come to the conclusion that there will be very few reviews (public or personal) on this album that, if the reviewer is honest with themselves, are completely objective. It seems everyone has a preconceived notion on how they feel about this band. The truth is — it’s their third (official) full-length, by this time you know if you like what they do or not. If you’re already a hater: don’t try and fool anyone into thinking you really thought, “you just might like this one” – because you won’t.

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