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Review: Stars – In Our Bedroom After The War

Stars - In Our Bedroom After The War
Drew Beringer

Music brings out all sorts of different emotions in us. And when an artist or band can convey all those emotions into their music, something special is created. It touches you, inspires you, and you can’t get enough of it. Finding albums that can achieve this can be a daunting task, but with the (early, digital) release of their fourth album, In Our Bedroom After The War, Stars have damn near perfected it. 

With previous releases such as Heart and Set Yourself On Fire setting the bar for Stars, In Our Bedroom After The War continues that progression and takes it even further. The chemistry of vocalists Tourquil Campbell and Amy Millan is stunning throughout the album, as each voice is always complimented nicely by the accompanying instrumentation. Such beauty is achieved on the track “The Night Starts Here,” with Evan Cranley’s bass grooving over Pat McGee’s steady drumbeat as Chris Seligman’s keys bring a sense of enchantment over the song. 

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Review: Days Away – L.S.D.E.P.

Days Away - L.S.D.E.P.
Adrian Villagomez

Days Away’s self-released disc the L.S.D.E.P. is an out of print rarity today, but collection fanatics need not worry – every track of the EP is recreated on the band’s debut album Mapping an Invisible World. Still, it’s nice to take a look back at the promise held by the best songs of the EP.

The soothing sounds of “Stay the Same” are a wonderful start to the L.S.D.E.P. Even with the instrumentation at its heaviest, Keith Goodwin (guitar/vocals) keeps a lazy pace with his placid singing. “Stay the Same” also introduces the band’s simplistic yet poignant approach to lyrics, a fitting compliment to Goodwin’s vocal style.

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Review: Yellowcard – The Underdog EP

Yellowcard - Underdog EP
Adrian Villagomez

Before basking in the mainstream success that was Ocean Avenue, Yellowcard were just another bunch of underdogs plowing through releases and member changes. The Underdog EP, which features members Ryan Key (vocals/guitar), Warren Cooke (bass), Sean Mackin (violin), Ben Harper (guitar), and Longineu W. Parsons III (drums), will regrettably remain unexplored by more casual fans the band has picked up in recent years. But those who do take the time to dig through Yellowcard’s back catalog of music will be pleasantly surprised by The Underdog EP.

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Review: Name Taken – The Silent Game

Name Taken - The Silent Game
Adrian Villagomez

The welcome voice of bassist/singer Chad Atkinson singing a cappella at the introduction of “The Safety of Routine” gives The Silent Game an undeniably powerful start. Atkinson’s vocals are so confident and adult that it’s hard to believe that he, along with the other members of Name Taken (drummer Bret Meisenbach and guitarists Ryan Edwards and Blake Means), were mere teenagers when they created the EP.

This trend of youthful maturity continues with “For Sunday” in which Edwards and Means shine. Ignoring the uninspired power chord conventions of their scene they chase each other across their respective fretboards forming tightly woven patterns to set the dark mood of lyrics such as ‘And God why do I blame them? / I’m begging you to forgive me.’ During the breakdown the guitar duo alternate riffs from the left speaker to the right culminating with a frenzied message from Chad made all the more urgent by the fast paced rhythm courtesy of Meisenbach. If Chad’s striking vocals in “The Safety of Routine” are the initial draw, the instrumentation on “For Sunday” is what leaves the listener begging for more.

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Review: Silverstein – Arrivals and Departures

Silverstein - Arrivals and Departures
AbsolutePunk

To say I have a slight interest in Silverstein is somewhat of an understatement. It started with When Broken Is Easily Fixed. Back then, we saw a much more volatile band — perhaps verging more on screamo bands of the past like Heroin or Indian Summer rather than adhering to the number of other growing styles within the genre at the turn of the century. Despite this, there are some dead-set on railing these guys for various things simply because of their association with Victory. I’d love to sidestep into that crowd, but I can’t erase that feeling of “oh, this is something” I had when first hearing the song “November”. Come time for a third proper full-length, however, Silverstein are significantly more comfortable in the scene they’ve gradually become a staple within. Veering away from the seemingly no-limit hardcore the band grew up getting a feel for, they’ve instead implanted a sort of pop/post-hardcore venture within the confines of Arrivals and Departures. 

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Review: Boys Night Out – Boys Night Out

Boys Night Out - Boys Night Out
Drew Beringer

How do you follow up a concept album about a man losing his sanity and going on a killing rampage? Why, you write an album about drinking, suffering, and despair! At least that’s what Boys Night Out did with their third album on Ferret Records. The self-titled album follows up the band’s 2005 moderately successful concept album, Trainwreck, and it takes parts from that album and 2003’s Make Yourself Sick to piece together Boys Night Out. This album features the addition of guitarist Andy Lewis, the departure of Kara Dupuy, who played the synth and sang on Trainwreck, and the return of original drummer Ben Arseneau. What we find on these eleven Lou Giornado-produced tracks are intensity, catchiness, and repetition throughout. 

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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: Straylight Run – The Needles The Space

Straylight Run - The Needles The Space
Drew Beringer

Straylight Run has always frustrated me. Ever since hearing those 6 self-released demos in 2003, I have been waiting and waiting for this band to awe me, to release a great record. But 2004’s self-titled release, which had a handful of great songs, was too produced and unfocused, while 2005’s EP “Prepare To Be Wrong” was a step in the right direction, but too short to have any lasting impact on me. But with their second full-length (and major label debut), Straylight Run have finally wowed me. 

The Needles The Space displays the new musical direction Straylight Run have gone in. Instead of drowning their songs with piano-heavy melodies seen on past releases, they experiment and dive into using different instruments to create a fuller, richer sound than ever before. Produced by the band and engineered by Bryan Russell and Mike Sapone, Straylight Run achieves the sound they’ve been aiming at throughout their career. While some fans may complain about the production (similar to how many complained about the brilliant production on Thursday’s last release), it is the sound the band wanted, and if the tracks were produced anymore than what they are, I believe it lose the luster and impact each track possesses. 

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Review: The Swellers – My Everest

The Swellers - My Everest
AbsolutePunk

For many, the high temperatures and blaring rays of sunlight of the summer solstice mean a couple things: parties, water and pop-punk music. I know for me, many summers meant I would be riding around town, windows down, stereo turned all the way up, blasting blink-182 or New Found Glory. As long as it got the girls in the car with us or down to the bonfire, we didn’t care.

As seasons change and my age has taken me out of my carefree teenage years, I find summer lacking the same energy as it once did. While I still enjoy cranking up Enema of the State and Ocean Avenue on a crisp, clear sunny day, I find that my real energy comes from straight-up punk rock.

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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: Circa Survive – On Letting Go

Circa Survive - On Letting Go
AbsolutePunk

There can be a great deal of expectations for a sophomore record – especially when a lot of people questioned if said record would ever even come to fruition. Luckily for fans, Circa Survive is indeed the “real deal” and not just some one-off creative sidebar for prolific frontman Anthony Green. So, riding the wave of success from the well-received Juturna, and an exhaustive tour schedule, the band is back with the hotly-anticipated On Letting Go to show just where they have been the past two years and what they have brought back with them.

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Interview: Paramore

Paramore
AbsolutePunk

It’s no secret that the members of Paramore have come under a scrutinizing eye. Be it their steadily mounting popularity or their front-girl with a solid and inspiring set of tubes, Hayley, Josh, Jeremy and Zac take it all on with a new album, titled Riot!, in tow. What happens if the album leaks? Who’s bothered by the over-concentration/near-objectification of Hayley and not on the music? What does Paramore blow up when they’re bored in the studio? Read on to find out. A big thanks goes out to Catharine McNelly at Atlantic for all her help, as well as Hayley and Josh for taking time to sit down with AP.net. 

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