The title for New Found Glory’s new album will be Radiosurgery.
Read More “New Found Glory Album Title”Review: Bruce Springsteen – Greetings From Asbury Park, N.J.
Greetings From Asbury Park, N.J. is one of the two records that Bruce Springsteen released before he was Bruce Springsteen. At this point in his career, a 23-year-old Springsteen was not yet The Boss, but a singer/songwriter who Columbia Records signed with the hope that he would blossom into the next Bob Dylan. To say the least, Columbia was not pleased with Springsteen’s January 1973 debut full-length, as Greetings had no huge singles and proved to be much more rock’n’roll than Columbia had bargained for.
The record was received well by critics at the time of release, but Springsteen didn’t become America’s favorite rock star right away. Columbia released “Blinded By the Light” and “Spirit In the Night” as singles, but neither had any impact whatsoever on any charts. Most people only know “Blinded By the Light” because of the remake by Manfred Mann’s Earth Band, and “Spirit By the Night” didn’t have the instant accessibility needed to become a regular number played on the radio. Considering the conditions under which the record was written, with Springsteen recording with producer/manager Mike Appel in one of the cheapest available studios in New York, it’s not much of a surprise that it only sold around 25,000 copies in its first year.
Read More “Bruce Springsteen – Greetings From Asbury Park, N.J.”Review: Bruce Springsteen – The Wild, The Innocent & The E Street Shuffle
With Columbia Records disappointed at the result of Greetings From Asbury Park, N.J., there was only one thing for Bruce Springsteen to do – give it another chance. So what did he do? He wrote, recorded and released an entire record in less than a year. Even lessthan less than a year, if that makes sense. Greetings was released on Jan. 5, 1973. The Wild, The Innocent& The E Street Shuffle came out barely seven months later – on Sep. 11, 1973.
Perhaps more impressive than the short turnaround is the quantum leap between the two records. Shuffle is more rock’n’roll while at the same time being more funky, the lyricism is improved to an exponential power, and it is the recorded debut of Springsteen’s E Street Band. An interesting point is that when Springsteen started off, he signed a contract with Columbia Records for Bruce Springsteen – no E Street Band existed for quite a while. Even on Shuffle, only three members of the E Street Band would continue on to work with The Boss for his entire career.
Read More “Bruce Springsteen – The Wild, The Innocent & The E Street Shuffle”Review: Bruce Springsteen – Live At Hammersmith Odeon, 1975
Next in the order of Bruce Springsteen’s studio records should be Darkness On The Edge Of Town. Rest assured, I’m not skipping Darkness, but I am skipping three other studio albums. Instead of doing reviews for The Ghost Of Tom Joad, Human Touch and Lucky Town, I am instead reviewing three live performances – Hammersmith Odeon, London ’75 (from the Born To Run 30th anniversary boxed set), Live In New York City ‘01 and London Calling. Since the Hammersmith Odeon concert happened in between Born to Run and Darkness, I’m just filing the review where it belongs in chronological order. The Darkness review will be up in next week’s batch.
If you read the last review in this series, about Born To Run, you probably noticed that I liked that record quite a bit. I wrote that I think it’s the best record of all time, so it should come as no surprise that I think Bruce Springsteen’s best touring days came after the release of that album. Many people subscribe to the opinion that Springsteen and The E Street Band were even more impressive after the release of Darkness On The Edge of Town, but I don’t think anything can compare to Springsteen’s performance at the Hammersmith Odeon in London in 1975.
Read More “Bruce Springsteen – Live At Hammersmith Odeon, 1975”Review: Balance and Composure – Separation
It’s May. A lot of reviewers write during this month about those summer albums that will define the next few months for America’s youth: the sky-high vocals and enormous hooks that will erupt from car stereo systems and overflow out open windows and into hot and humid summer air. Balance & Composure’s first full-length record, Separation, doesn’t have those airy, lightweight melodies that normally accompany beach trips or patriotic fireworks displays. It does, however, have one extremely important intrinsic quality to it – it’s probably the best record released in 2011 so far.
Read More “Balance and Composure – Separation”Review: Bruce Springsteen – Born To Run
Born To Run is the best album ever written. It contains within its eight tracks the two best rock and roll songs ever written and three other songs that are damn close. The album cover is the best album art ever put on a record. This review does not reflect my bias of Bruce Springsteen and The E Street Band, but rather my honest opinion about what I (and many others) consider to be the record that saved rock and roll music.
When a 25-year-old Springsteen released Born To Run in 1975, he was almost ready to hang up his hat on music. Columbia Records did not approve of the cult following that Greetings From Asbury Park, N.J. and The Wild, The Innocent & The E Street Shufflecreated; they signed Springsteen with the very specific idea that he was going to sell as many records as Bob Dylan. They wanted his face on billboards on the highway, and they wanted his name on top of the Billboard singles charts every week. Springsteen has said that the only thing that made him write Born To Run was that he never wanted to have a 9-to-5 job in his life. In Dave Marsh’s biography of Springsteen, Marsh writes that Springsteen was finally going to call it quits if Born To Run didn’t succeed. Well, the record didn’t just succeed – it went down as one of the most important records ever released, and Springsteen filled an empty void as America’s beloved and adored rock and roll superstar.
Read More “Bruce Springsteen – Born To Run”Review: Manchester Orchestra – Simple Math
”I remember seeing the Blood Brothers play at the Masquerade and it scaring me to my core. I’d never heard of them. I just went with a friend, and then shortly after that I realized that I want that power. I wanted that power just to shock people with sound.” – Andy Hull
The first time I ever met Andy Hull, we connected a bit on a love for The Blood Brothers. Not a band you would expect the frontman and lyricist of Manchester Orchestra to have a heart for, but in reality, Hull has quite a musical archive of influence, even telling me how he likes turning fans onto new bands or ones they may never have heard of. Aside from his admiration as a music fan, the above pulled quote also speaks volumes in a quest to be not only challenged, but have the audacity to simply “put up or shut up.” With 2009’s Mean Everything to Nothing, the band saw a sophomore incline of sorts: two radio singles and a well-received album that personally landed in my lap at one of the biggest changes in my life thus far. On the most personal of levels, the band’s second release was the perfect soundtrack to leaving college and moving away as Deja Entendu was the score when entering it.
Read More “Manchester Orchestra – Simple Math”Interview: Chris Freeman of Manchester Orchestra
Keyboardist Chris Freeman talks about the conceptual progression behind Manchester Orchestra’s third album Simple Math, the different natures of the group’s sound, and staying true to what you like.
Interview: Sims
Sims dishes on his new record Bad Time Zoo, the time he quit rapping and was forced to revaluate music, the isolating aspects of technology, turning the mirror on your own hypocrisies, and always being plugged into the here and now.
Review: Silverstein – Rescue
Music fans are usually faced with quite the dilemma when they are looking forward to a new record, especially if it’s coming from a band they’re particularly fond of. Do you want them to evolve – perhaps taking a leap to something you might not enjoy as much – or do you want them to stay…consistent? For the most part, the consensus seems to be that bands need to evolve to stay relevant. Grow with their audience, as some might say. Some bands do just fine by staying static, though. Look at New Found Glory: a consistent sound has lead them to become perhaps the greatest pop punk band ever. When they strayed a bit, on Coming Home, fans were generally displeased.
Silverstein is another band that has utilized a tried-and-true formula throughout its career, and Rescue, the band’s fifth studio album and debut for Hopeless Records, sees the Canadians doing more of the same. While the band won many over with its 2005 breakout, Discovering the Waterfront, fans of the band seemed to either grow more loyal or completely become disinterested when Arrivals and Departures and A Shipwreck In The Sand showcased similar sounds. The latter was Silverstein’s last record, a concept album which I considered to be fairly underrated.
Read More “Silverstein – Rescue”Review: Thursday – No Devolución
Honestly, we all should have seen this coming from Thursday. They’ve been dropping hints of a more atmospheric and textured sound in their records over the past five years (A City By The Light Divided, their split EP with Envy, and Common Existence). So anyone who is saying that their new album, No Devolución, is a new beginning or rebirth for the band just haven’t been paying attention. The common Thursday traits are still present: Geoff Rickly’s not-perfect-yet-so-perfect croon, distorted guitars, thick instrumentation, and, of course, Rickly’s realistic and cathartic lyrics. What’s different is that No Devolución isn’t as abrasive as Thursday albums past, rather it’s soaked in luscious, experimental tones and dark melodies.
Read More “Thursday – No Devolución”Interview: Dan Campbell of The Wonder Years
In the last year and a half, The Wonder Years have ridden their early 2010 release The Upsides to levels of attention they had never experienced before. That record helped them jump from the up-and-coming No Sleep Records to indie powerhouse Hopeless Records, exposed the group to new fans and got them credibility all over the globe. After roughly an entire year of touring, the six-piece Philadelphia pop-punkers took a month to record a follow-up full-length in Los Angeles with the legendary Steve Evetts. Announced earlier today, Suburbia I’ve Give You All And Now I’m Nothing will be released June 14 via Hopeless Records. Now we’ve got for you an exclusive interview with frontman Dan “Soupy” Campbell, where Soupy and I discuss the band’s current state, a big-picture look into the new record, the first song we’re exclusively streaming, and the band’s mindset going into the release of Suburbia. Much thanks to Soupy for taking the time to answer these questions, to Hopeless for letting us bring you this great exclusive, and to The Wonder Years and their entire team for being awesome people to work with.
Read More “Dan Campbell of The Wonder Years”Interview: Spencer Smith of Panic! at the Disco
Drummer Spencer Smith ties up some loose ends about Panic! at the Disco’s third album Vices & Virtues, explains how the recent lineup change has redefined the duo, and recalls the perspective of blowing up at an early age.
Review: Mansions – Dig Up The Dead
Ya know, Christopher Browder isn’t so different from you and me. Based on his previous work, I’d bet that we’ve felt the same as him at point or another in our lives, whether it be the same fears, thoughts, or aspirations. We’re all heavily flawed, and Browder isn’t afraid to share that. And that’s what makes Mansions’ second full length album, Dig Up The Dead, so instantly relatable. Throughout the ten tracks, Browder spins together intricate tales of loneliness, heartbreak, and doubt backed by layers of fuzzy, distorted guitars.
Read More “Mansions – Dig Up The Dead”Interview: Daniel Layus of Augustana
Frontman Daniel Layus discusses the expansive process behind Augustana’s self-titled album, how growing older has affected his writing, getting more in touch with early influences, and life on a major label.