Review: Coheed and Cambria – The Dark Sentencer

Adam Grundy Jun 7, 2018

Coheed and Cambria have returned with the expansive, space epic-inspired song “The Dark Sentencer.” The track itself has been broken into two unique parts: a short prologue and the aforementioned track itself. The prologue sets the stage for where this story takes place in the universe that Coheed has created through a multiple album series.

The prologue begins with a gentle piano playing, and then eventually the silences breaks for the narrator to say:

Know now there is no time, space between the Well & Unknowing. Our story starts there. Well into our future, yet far beyond our past. In a romance between a pair of Unheavenly Creatures. The Five Houses of the Star Supremacy have privatized the detention zones of the galaxy. These planetary prison pits reassembled from the cracked worlds of the Great Crash. Which brings us to our stage. Where the light must learn to love the black. The Dark Sentencer. It begins with them, but ends with me. Their son, Vaxus.

Still with Coheed on this one?

Review: Ben Howard – Noonday Dream

Adam Grundy Jun 6, 2018

On Ben Howard’s third solo album, entitled Noonday Dream, he continues to experiment with massive audio landscapes, precise musicianship, and his trademark low vocal delivery. The album was written and produced by Howard, with a few key production collaborations with band-mate Mickey Smith. On Howard’s first two albums, he established a rapport with his listeners that he has fine-tuned here on this third LP on Republic Records.

The album itself starts off with the intricate “Nica Libres at Dusk,” that sets the table nicely for the rest of the content found on this effort. Guiding the listener down this dark landscape on the first sprawling track showcases the talent that Howard has as not only an incredibly talented musician, but also a captivating storyteller. This opening track features textured arrangements and “every-man” gruff vocals from Howard.

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Review: Kanye West – ye

Tommy Monroe Jun 2, 2018

When Kanye West reactivated his Twitter account, that was a sign something was coming. Without keeping fans in suspense, he tweeted about the new projects from G.O.O.D. Music. This list included his own album — this album — which was only given the title ye the night before its release. However, his tweets about his album aren’t all that built up the anticipation for this project. Rather, his culturally disturbing posts on Twitter, which he later topped with his outrageous words during an interview on TMZ, created a negative hype and suspense prior to release. Certainly, every listener would pay attention to his lyrics before any other ingredient on ye. Right now, his lyrics act as the thin thread between him and the audience.

Review: Bruce Springsteen – Darkness on the Edge of Town

Craig Manning Jun 1, 2018

Born to Run was the album that sparked my appreciation for Bruce Springsteen’s music, but Darkness on the Edge of Town was the album that made me a fan.

In 2015, when Born to Run turned 40, I wrote about the day I fell in love with it. A chance discussion about Springsteen at a family reunion sent me reaching for the Bruce albums on my iPod the next day, as my family traversed an epic snowstorm to drive back home. I had five Bruce records on my mp3 player, but I’d never really given full attention to any of them. They were all records from my parents’ CD collection, and at the time, I still stupidly believed (perhaps self-consciously) that older music couldn’t be my music in the same way as something released in my lifetime.

On that snowy drive home, I cycled through the Bruce albums on my iPod: the bombastic, optimistic dream of Born to Run; the scrappy underdog symphony of Greetings from Asbury Park; the deeply ‘80s-sounding Born in the U.S.A.; the resilient recovery rock of The Rising; and the sparse storytelling of Devils and Dust. I loved Born to Run immediately. I liked The Rising a lot, too. I had trouble getting over how dated Greetings and Born in the U.S.A. sounded to my ears at the time, but I liked the songs. And Devils was fine, but mostly didn’t move me.

Review: Pusha T – DAYTONA

Tommy Monroe May 30, 2018

With three albums in his discography, Pusha T isn’t a consistent artist, but when he releases an album, it feels like a ceremony. He always makes an impact with each project. His last album was in 2015, since then, fans have been anticipating, hoping, and dreaming of the day Push will drop a project. That was before Kanye brought the G.O.O.D. news to the world. In a series of tweets, he announced upcoming releases from Pusha T, Teyana Taylor, Nas, Kid Cudi and himself. Although initially titled King Pusha, Pusha T had to change the title because he felt “it didn’t represent the overall message” of the album. In another tweet, he said, “DAYTONA represents the fact that “I have the luxury of time. That luxury only comes when u have a skill set that you’re confident in.” As for what’s to be expected on DAYTONA, Push said the album was created especially for his “family, high taste level, luxury, and drug raps fans.”

Review: Chvrches – Love Is Dead

Adam Grundy May 29, 2018

For Chvrches’ third album, Love is Dead, they turned to veteran producer Greg Kurstin (Tegan & Sara, Foo Fighters) to help them craft their most memorable effort to date. Since forming in 2011, the synth-pop group has taken over the indie music scene with multiple prominent festival appearances and two well-received albums. Their fanbase was incredibly eager to hear what Lauren Mayberry, Iain Cook, and Martin Doherty had cooked up for the next chapter in their story.

On Love is Dead, Chvrches have accomplished the rare feat of staying true to their original sound, while still adding even more nuance and creativity into this final product. In an era where artists get blamed for either not changing enough from album to album, or for changing too much, Chvrches have found the perfect balance of experimenting with new sounds and song structures, while still staying honest to who they are as a band.

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Review: Lost In Society – Eager Heart

Deanna Chapman May 28, 2018

If you’re a fan of The Menzingers, Lost In Society is a band that you should be listening to. The punk trio signed to Wiretap Records for their latest release, Eager Heart. The EP consists of five songs that fly by, and I mean that in a good way. This band rips.

I remember seeing Lost In Society live for the first time at Programme Skate and Sound in Fullerton, CA. By day, the store sells skateboards and vinyl, but at night, they put on some great shows. Right away, the band’s live show impressed me. They have so much energy and that transfers to the new EP.

Review: William Ryan Key – Thirteen

Deanna Chapman May 25, 2018

When Yellowcard disbanded after their self-titled album, I didn’t think that would be the end of making music for everyone in the band. William Ryan Key proved me right by releasing Thirteen. While I will always miss the combination of his voice with Sean Mackin on violin, this EP helps to fill the void that was left when Yellowcard ended.

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Review: West Thebarton – Different Beings Being Different

Adam Grundy May 25, 2018

West Thebarton are a new punk rock band from Adelaide, Australia who pride themselves on translating their high energy live shows directly into their debut record, Different Beings Being Different. Led by their fearless and extremely charismatic singer, Reverend Ray, the six other band members mesh well with the front-man’s demand for attention right from the first track. Leading off the set is their debut single, “Moving Out,” which sets the tone early for the type of frenetic rock to expect throughout this blistering LP. My first impression of this band reminded me of two other punk rock bands such as Anti-Flag (with a more polished approach and fewer political themes) mixed with the pop sensibilities of The Explosion (mostly from their great Black Tape record).

Review: Superorganism – Superorganism

Adam Grundy May 23, 2018

The story behind how band members meet is typically an interesting topic of conversation when they are interviewed for a press release. This is no exception with Superorganism, as their story is incredibly unique, much like their dynamic brand of music. The group consists of eight members, spanning the globe from England, Japan, Australia, New Zealand, and South Korea. A large portion of the group met and formed a band called The Eversons, with now-lead vocalist Orono Noguchi finding the group from her YouTube recommends playlist, only to later submit vocals to an Eversons’ demo that the group collectively loved. With that, Superorganism relocated to London, England to form the majority of their debut, self-titled album.

With a recent stamp of approval from Sir Elton John himself and a shiny new record contract with Domino Records, Superorganism have crafted one of the strangest and mesmerizing debut albums to come out in quite some time. Featuring a blend of samples, programmed beats, heavy synths, and delicate vocals from Noguchi, the group is quickly making a name for themselves.

Review: Cold War Kids – Audience (Live)

Adam Grundy May 18, 2018

Live albums are typically used by a record label to either fill in the time between album releases by an artist, or to take advantage of when a band is at its peak popularity. With no shortage of catalog material, Cold War Kids have released their first live album entitled Audience. The band has released six studio albums to date, with very little lag coming in between each of the releases. Recorded on September 24, 2017 in Athens, GA, Audience capitalizes on the band’s live strengths, which is to keep the music flowing from song to song, all the while engaging the crowd in belting out each memorable hook.

Review: Hidden Hospitals – Liars

Deanna Chapman May 18, 2018

Hidden Hospitals have cemented themselves as one of my favorite current rock bands. As I was listening through Liars, I was taken back to what got me into the band in the first place. Their 2015 album, Surface Tension, was a breath of fresh air. They didn’t sound like anything on the radio. They aren’t afraid to try new things when it comes to their music and with Liars they encapsulate rock ‘n roll in their own way.

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Review: The Sidekicks – Happiness Hours

Aaron Mook May 17, 2018

Happiness Hours should go down as one of the great pop artifacts of 2018. It may not be suited for Top 40, but it checks all the boxes of a great pop album. Frontman Steve Ciolek has mastered the art of turning highly personalized lyrics into something absorbing and universal; like a DIY Matt Berninger, he possesses the songwriting ability to make anyone nostalgic for a specific time in their life while distinctly singing about his own. An exercise in duality, the album’s guitars are sunny and clean, except for when they go down a darker, more distorted path. Happiness Hours presents pop music in two different lights, equally as weird and ambitious as it is bright and polished, often within the same four minute song.

Review: Illuminati Hotties – Kiss Yr Frenemies

Zac Djamoos May 15, 2018

After listening to Illuminati Hotties’ first single, “(You’re Better) Than Ever,” it would be reasonable to assume the project’s debut album would be full of similarly jaunty vaguely-surfy indie pop songs. That’s maybe half-right. Kiss Yr Frenemies is about a fifty-fifty split of bright fuzzed-out jams and moodier, slow-burning ballads.

If the lead single represents the former category, then second single “Cuff” is probably most indicative of the latter. It’s ambient and atmospheric, and even its blown out chorus feels restrained compared to the loudest moments on the record, Sarah Tudzin’s voice never rising above a plaintive croon. It doesn’t even sound like the same band as “(You’re Better) Than Ever,” let alone like it belongs on the same album. And this is a trend throughout Kiss Yr Frenemies; nearly every single song brings something entirely different to the table. There’s an “ooh-ooh-ooh” backed chorus on the sugary gem “Paying Off the Happiness,” there’s a noisy, brassy climax to the meditative “For Cheez (My Friend, Not the Food),” there’s the raw singalong energy of “boi,” and none of it feels out of place.

Review: Parker Millsap – Other Arrangements

Craig Manning May 15, 2018

Parker Millsap’s last record was Biblical. On 2016’s The Very Last Day, Millsap—just 23 years old at the time—wrote songs about Lucifer, the apocalypse, preachers, fire, and forgiveness. It was an intense, ambitious set of songs, and it only worked because of Millsap’s big hurricane of a voice. Here was someone with the kind of unhinged bellow that could sell a song about the devil trying to entice a pretty girl to climb into the front seat of his car. Here was a singer who could sell the desperation of a story where a preacher’s son had to come clean to his dad that he’d fallen in love with a boy. As a piece of writing and a display of vocal work, The Very Last Day was easily one of the most impressive albums of 2016.

On the follow-up, called Other Arrangements, Millsap drives pointedly in the opposite direction. This record sheds the stakes, ambition, and Biblical themes of its predecessor for a straighter, simpler proposition: pop music, circa 1963. The average song length is less than three minutes, and the best tune on the record—the propulsive, infectious “Gotta Get to You,” clocks in at 2:03. Instead of shooting for larger than life, Millsap is trying to serve up small, perfectly honed nuggets of throwback rock ‘n’ roll glory.