Review: The Voidz – Virtue

Adam Grundy Apr 30, 2018

The Voidz, led by The Strokes’ front-man Julian Casablancas, have gone through a few housekeeping changes since their debut album Tyranny. For starters, they have dropped Casablancas’ name from their moniker, probably for the intention of making it known that they are a true band, rather than just a side project. Additionally, the band has used their second album as an experimental canvas on which to paint with all types of styles. While their debut album came across as abrasive and hard to digest, Virtue brings out the best in this crew and if you can stomach the variety of approaches used on this record, it’s quite a fun and trippy ride.

Review: Janelle Monáe – Dirty Computer

Tommy Monroe Apr 27, 2018

It’s been more than ten years since Janelle Monáe launched her first project. She has since been identified by her unique sound. Being from a hard-working family and a musically bland city, she has always highlighted the under-appreciated and the outsider with her lyrics. Incorporating an unbelievable range of musical influences, she continues to innovate her own unique sound with her friends in the Wondaland Arts Society – a musical collective of rising artists she oversees. Prior to Dirty Computer, she’s been nominated for six Grammy Awards, of which she won none. However, Janelle’s consistency is a reminder of why this is a promising project.

Review: Thirty Seconds To Mars – America

Adam Grundy Apr 26, 2018

On Thirty Seconds to Mars’ fifth album, titled America, Jared Leto and his bandmates experiment with big U2-type choruses, patriotic themes, and the deeper meanings of life. The band has long-since been known for their anthemic choruses and there are plenty of those to go around on America, as well as great production and a polished sound fit for a major label and radio outlets alike.

The album itself is front-loaded with the previously released singles “Walk on Water” and “Dangerous Night.” The one-two punch of these tracks play off of each other well, with the latter being the more memorable of the two. Leto sings on the chorus that it’s a “dangerous night to fall in love/don’t know why we fight what we’ve become.” The themes of loss, heartbreak, and longing for a change in the status quo run rampant throughout the album.

Review: The Longshot – Love Is For Losers

Adam Grundy Apr 25, 2018

Side projects, in general, are healthy for the long-term well being of a band as it allows the multiple band members to experiment with new sounds and ideas that may not be best suited for the main unit. That being said, it’s hard to find too many differences between Billie Joe’s new side gig, The Longshot, and Green Day. Billie Joe sounds just as confident as ever on the new LP and it initially reminded me of the sleek and polish of another recent side project (Foxboro Hottubs) but with more production sheen on The Longshot’s debut album.

The Longshot is comprised of guitarist Kevin Preston, drummer David Field, and bassist Jeff Matika (who has toured extensively with Green Day). “Love is for Losers” spans over 11 easily digestible tracks, with a total running time of 32 minutes. Kicking off the set with “The Last Time” Billie Joe croons, “I’ll give you all my blood, til it’s a waste of time/If that’s not good enough, you’re always on my mind.” These tongue-in-cheek lyrics are what we have grown to expect from our fearless pop-punk leader, yet it’s also a good album disclaimer of “take it or leave it.”

Review: Lord Huron – Vide Noir

Adam Grundy Apr 23, 2018

Lord Huron, the indie rock group from Los Angeles, have had quite a few years to grow into their trademark sound of atmospheric landscapes and wandering journeys. Vide Noir, the third studio album and their first on a major label, was mixed by Dave Fridmann (Tame Impala, The Flaming Lips) and self-produced by front-man Ben Schneider, in which he has crafted his early career masterpiece. Schneider recently credited this album to a new habit of taking nighttime drives around LA and the “search for meaning amidst the cold indifference of the universe,” according to his recent social media posts.

Straight from the album opener, “Lost in Time and Space,” we are immediately transported to a dark yet clear night landscape with subtle sounds of buzzing lights, background whispers, a harp, and eventually the folk strumming of Schneider’s acoustic guitar cuts through the soft noise. In the track, Schneider admits, “I don’t know who I am, I don’t know where I am,” and the listener is immediately pulled in to go on this journey with the band.

Read More “Lord Huron – Vide Noir”

Review: From Ashes To New – The Future

Adam Grundy Apr 20, 2018

Change can be difficult, sometimes it feels like it is the most painful concept to deal with. That being said, the Central Pennsylvania rap-rock group, From Ashes to New, have dealt with the replacement of their clean vocalist Chris Masser, in favor of Danny Case, semi-seamlessly. In addition to Masser’s departure, the band has a new drummer in Matt Madiro. The band is able to retain the sound that they introduced through two EPs (Downfall and S/T) and a full length LP, Day One, with an effort that should be worthy of an occasional spin.

Review: Donovan Woods – Both Ways

Craig Manning Apr 19, 2018

There’s a song on the new Donovan Woods album Both Ways called “Next Year,” about the very-human tendency to put things off. “We’ll do it next year,” Woods sings—five words we’ve probably all spoken a time or two before. Those words could refer to a lot of different things, depending on your situation. They could be about a trip you’re going to take, or a renovation you’re going to do on your house, or something fun you’re going to do with your kids. Too often, though, next year never becomes this year. It’s just always next year, always tomorrow. And eventually, all those things you were going to do pile up and you realize that you’re running out of time to actually do them. That’s what happens at the end of the song, where Woods sings about an ailing father and his wish to see the Grand Canyon. Instead of making plans for later, the dad and his son just get in the car and drive. Because, as Woods states, “There ain’t no next year.” The sand in the hourglass is almost gone. It’s now or never.

Read More “Donovan Woods – Both Ways”

Review: The Decemberists – I’ll Be Your Girl

Adam Grundy Apr 18, 2018

When looking back at the accomplishments for Indie Rock mainstays, The Decemberists, one may think that they have little left to prove on their eighth album. However, this group has never been afraid to make the music they want to make, and bring their loyal fans along for every thrilling and unique chorus. I’ll Be Your Girl finds The Decemberists not only comfortable with who they are, but also as an artist willing to paint with new and vibrant colors.

The flowery cover art and liner notes fit the content of the music well as the album shines brightly and helps paint the story on a canvas that fans of the band have grown accustomed to. The first single and album opener, “Once in My Life” starts the listeners’ experience on the LP on a high note with the familiar strumming of an acoustic guitar and the warm, anthemic vocals of singer Colin Meloy who puts everyone on notice that all is not well in the world. Given the current state of the political climate and the honesty portrayed in The Decemberists’ catalog, it’s easy to tune in for the ride the band takes us on for this album.

Review: The Aces – When My Heart Felt Volcanic

Adam Grundy Apr 17, 2018

Debut albums are typically a fun listen since the old adage goes, “You have your entire life to write your first album,” and The Aces’ When My Heart Felt Volcanic is no exception. The all-female group from Provo, Utah is composed of singer/guitarist Cristal Ramirez, her sister/drummer Alisa Ramirez, bassist McKenna Petty, and guitarist Katie Henderson. The Aces core strength relies on vibrant pop hooks and phenomenal guitar work. Their debut single “Stuck” has already been streamed well over 2 million times, and the band continues to build off their momentum with recent tours with the likes of COIN and X Ambassadors.

When My Heart Felt Volcanic is a shimmering debut, perfect for the beginning of Spring, and all of the good vibes that come along with better weather. Their sound on this album can be best described as a mixture between The 1975-esque guitars, and the well thought out hooks similar to HAIM and Paramore. The album starts off with “Volcanic Love” and helps set the tone for the majority of the song structures and concepts found throughout the LP. The aforementioned single, “Stuck” has a bouncy beat throughout and a memorable sing-a-long chorus. Singer, Cristal Ramirez, shines throughout their debut single and showcases an impressive vocal range and style.

Review: The Neighbourhood – The Neighbourhood

Adam Grundy Apr 16, 2018

Typically when a band, such as The Neighbourhood, choose to self-title an album, it signals either a re-branding or further solidifies how the band wants to be perceived from this point forward. This album (which is their third full-length LP) falls into the latter category as it thoroughly solidifies the type of music that The Neighbourhood have grown into. The album as a whole focuses on the band’s strengths: gloomy themes, synth-laden riffs, and outstanding vocals from front-man Jesse Rutherford.

The promotional approach for this album was different than what they had tried in the past, as they released two EPs (Hard & To Imagine) leading up to the release of the full-length. This creative approach of teasing the new styles and themes they were experimenting with gave their fans a glimpse into the creative process that went into this album. The lazy approach of releasing two EPs and having the same exact songs and sequencing on the album is not in this band’s DNA, as they have chosen the very best of the EPs content and created an album worth multiple repeat listens.

Review: Animal Flag – Void Ripper

Aj LaGambina Apr 13, 2018

Hard as it may be to believe, Void Ripper is in fact Animal Flag’s fifth full-length album, and a more-than-worthy followup to 2016’s LP. While the project has always been the brainchild of Matt Politoski, this is the first album featuring the current lineup of Zach Weeks, Sai Boddupalli and Alex Pickert. This time around, the group have crafted an explosive and comprehensive group of songs that Politoski described to Modern Vinyl as a three part process of “order, disorder, and re-order.”

As you might imagine, “disorder” implies a certain chaotic and loud element when applied to a band’s music. In the case of Animal Flag, that’s nothing new. Anyone that has seen this band live can attest to their absolute mastery of dynamics, and while that mastery is hard to capture on record: Void Ripper comes damn close. The production, courtesy of bassist Zach Weeks, is about as raw as it gets, with pounding drums often threatening to drown out other instrumentation.

Read More “Animal Flag – Void Ripper”

Review: The Wonder Years – Sister Cities

Drew Beringer Apr 6, 2018

If you were to describe the course of The Wonder Years’ decade-plus career, you may find the word “growth” as the most fitting. The band’s breakthrough trilogy of albums (2010’s The Upsides, 2011’s Suburbia I’ve Given You All and Now I’m Nothing, and 2013’s The Greatest Generation) were all about growing up. Each release addressed various stages of getting older all while the band continually got better as musicians and songwriters. Which is why 2015’s No Closer To Heaven felt like such an aberration. Instead of taking the leaps that the prior three albums did, No Closer To Heaven sounded like a lateral move, an album unsure of which version of the band it wanted to be. It resulted in some half-baked, rushed ideas and were the pressure of “what’s next” might have gotten to vocalist Dan Campbell and his bandmates. That’s not to say that Heaven doesn’t feature some of the band’s best work ever (“Cigarettes and Saints”, “The Bluest Things on Earth”, and “Stained Glass Ceilings” are peak Wonder Years), but it was frustrating that the band didn’t fully dive in. Yet it’s that past frustration that makes the band’s incredible new album, Sister Cities, feel so rewarding and refreshing.

Review: Kacey Musgraves – Golden Hour

Craig Manning Mar 30, 2018

Kacey Musgraves released one of the two or three most important country albums of the decade back in 2013. The LP—her breakthrough, Same Trailer, Different Park—tossed a whole slew of country conventions in the garbage disposal with an “I don’t give a fuck” smile. Musgraves sounded sarcastic, but not disrespectful. Jaded, but not overly cynical. Instead of praising hometowns like most of her contemporaries, she painted them as havens for close-minded, philandering burnouts. Instead of steering well-clear of anything resembling a progressive political message, she sang about kissing lots of boys…or kissing lots of girls, if that’s what you’re into. Compared to the bro country wave that was on a cruise at the time, Musgraves was a breath of fresh air.

In the years since, a lot more artists like Kacey have come out of the woodwork—to the point where there’s no longer even a point in painting an “us vs. them” battle between the country mainstream and the “insurgency.” These days, most of the biggest “insurgent” heroes are shifting a boatload of records, scoring Grammy nominations, and selling out major headlining tours. It shouldn’t be understated how instrumental Musgraves was in creating an environment where that kind of harmonious balance could happen.

Review: Out of Service – Morning

Zac Djamoos Mar 23, 2018

When Out of Service burst onto the scene last year with What We Bring With Us, it was the sound of a band indebted to the sounds of the early 2000s. Bands like Jimmy Eat World, Cartel, and Taking Back Sunday had left fingerprints all across the EP, making for a pleasant if not entirely unique introduction to the New Jersey band. Still, the energy and talent on display were undeniable, and thankfully, on Morning, Out of Service have come into their own.

Read More “Out of Service – Morning”

Review: Field Report – Summertime Songs

Craig Manning Mar 22, 2018

Chris Porterfield is one of the most honest songwriters alive.

It might not seem that way from a cursory listen to the music of Field Report, the band Porterfield has fronted now for three albums. As a writer, he couches much of his observations about relationships and human struggles in layers of metaphor. But start to peel back the meaning of the songs and you’ll arrive at deeply moving messages about the heart and what keeps it beating. That was the case with 2014’s Marigolden, a starkly intimate record where Porterfield came clean about his struggles with alcoholism. That album often felt like a dreamscape, like coming down from the haze of a buzz for the first time in weeks, only to find that the clarity of an undrunk mind felt as surreal as being on an alien planet. “The fog’s been lifting, and I’m doin’ alright,” Porterfield sang on a sublimely beautiful song called “Summons,” “But I still can’t look nobody in the eye.”