The best.
Wrestling Moves was something of a sleeper hit for me. I had listened to Native's EP We Delete; Erase a little bit, but not enough to really know their songs all that sell. So when Sargent House (who is far and away my favorite record label) released this album I didn't really jump on board. I downloaded it but didn't play it too much. Eventually I started digging the songs when they came on shuffle and found later Ponyboy to actually be one of my favorite songs of the year. This record really came out of nowhere and now I'm in love with it. The group's style is fast and aggressive at times and more atmospheric at others. Musically, the band is incredibly proficient. The duel guitarists are able to work together really well and make the lines interweave and cross over each other while the bass pulls a lot of it together without being notice. The drumming is excellent as well, the beats are never standard and are able to mesh perfectly with the music despite how crazy it can be. Even in Pitchfork's horrible review of the album (they gave it a 3.7 because Pitchfork likes shit music) they remarked on how Nick's drumming was the saving grace of the record. But one of the main things people notice about Native is singer/bassist Bobby's vocal work. It's harsh, sparse, and a lyrically intriguing. The sound is somewhere between singing and a Keith Buckley-esque yell, almost a Bear Vs. Shark sound but less melodic. The only downside to this album is it feels rather samey, a lot of the songs are difficult to distinguish from each other but I still consider it one of the best releases of 2010.
New Protest The Hero, need I say more? Well yeah, I probably should, but this album is almost as new to me as it is to you. I'm only halfway through it right now but it sounds awesome so far, like an extension on Fortress, which is a very good thing. Check it out if you know what's good for you.
Bayside have been one of consistently good pop-punk bands out there over the course of the last decade. All of their releases thus far have been emotionally charged, cleverly written, and catchy-as-hell and this newest album is no different. The record feels like a combination of their last album, Shudder and their first, Sirens And Condolences. It's interesting to hear as they seem to alternate styles from song to song. A harder, edgier sound from early Bayside material then a song of Shudder-esque material followed by another call to the past. Many tunes combine both of these as well as styles from their whole catalog. Bayside is a band that doesn't try and be horribly different from album to album, they know what they're good at and they stick to that. That being said, the material is some of the widest-spanning music under the "pop-punk" label. Though I've only listened to it a few times, Killing Time may be one of my favorite Bayside records as it's more comprehensive than progressive. Hopefully the rest of 2011 will live up to the bar that his album has set.
2010 has come and gone quickly, but in that seemingly small amount of time a large amount of good music has been put out. So now is the time when we celebrate. Here's 23 of my favorite songs this year. It's 22 completely different artists with only 1 group having more than one song (I'm sorry, I just loved Settler's album so much). So hopefully you'll give it a listen, find some new music, and discover why 2010 was really that good. Some albums I've reviewed, some I haven't (shame on me) so some will have links to the full album set up. Hopefully 2011 will be half as good as 2010.
Fang Island have been on my radar for about a year and half now when I first heard their early EPs, but when I found out they were releasing their first full-length on Sargent House I got super excited. My favorite label meets with an awesome band? Good things are bound to happen. And they did. Their self titled record is a anthemic rock album that sounds like, as the band describes it "everyone high-fiving everyone." The semi-instrumental songs are epic in scope yet have a really fun feel to them, making you want to dance sing along. The album starts off with Dreams Of Dreams which is builds into the head-rocking Careful Crossers and sets the tone for the record. The rest of Fang Island is a roller coaster of excitement, never giving the listener time to cool down until the closer Dorian. Fang Island has created one of the most fun records I've heard in a while and is definitely one of the best of 2010.
I don't know why I originally looked up Rx Bandits (probably because of The Sound of Animals Fighting) but when I did, the first song I heard by them was Prophetic off of 2003's The Resignation. For anyone who's heard this song, they know it's a great jumping-off point from a great album. The record in general is another step away from the 3rd wave ska that the band started. It's more experimental, more intricate guitar work, and more powerful than what they'd released before. The use of horns was slowly being phased out, eventually having ...And The Battle Begun be the least record using them but on The Resignation they accent the music beautifully. The songs flow excellently from one to the other, using instrumental transitions and ambient sounds, the whole album feels connected rather than just a collection of tracks. This album is another reason 2003 was an amazing year in music and is one of my personal favorites of all time.
The only reason I regret not being a teenager in the 80's/90's (I would have preferred early 2000's, honestly) is that I missed out on emo bands. Not the My Chemical Romance emo, mind you, but the Cap'n Jazz and Joan Of Arc style emo, which is exponentially better (no offense, scenesters, just not a fan). Fortunately, I've been blessed to discover what seems to be a resurgence of emo out on the East coast. Snowing, while not on the forefront, is one of those great bands coming from it. The band has somewhat technical guitar work over-lying generally upbeat songs with raw vocals on top. One of my favorite parts of Snowing is the singing which would better be characterized under "yelling" because it's harsher than singing but not really screaming, think Bear vs Shark. Another awesome part of the record is the production. Rough around the edges, the EP sounds like it was recorded with the cheapest equipment the band could find, and it very well could have been, but that's one of the reasons it's so great. I don't think the sound would work very well being recorded in a big studio with fancy equipment, it works much better when it's unpolished and direct. Basically, everything from this band works because of how raw and untouched the sound is. Awesome album for driving or just sitting around listening to, you can't go wrong either way.
The boys of Circa Survive work fast. Their last album, Blue Sky Noise, was released in April and only 7 months later they put out the Appendage EP. The EP is a short 5 songs long which include 4 new tunes and full band remake of Everyway (the song was originally released on the deluxe edition of Blue Sky Noise as an acoustic bonus track). Overall, this release feels a little lighter for the band. The songs feel a bit less organized than on other albums, they seem to float by and don't have much direction. One of the highlights is the explosive ending of Lazarus. Though I don't like it as much as the band's previous record, it still is a great EP and adds to Circa's already impressive discography.
After every Circa Survive concert that I have been to, I've thought that it was the best concert that I've ever seen, and this time was no exception. They just keep improving their show. They expanded their setlist, added a captivating light show, had glow-stick filled beach balls bouncing over the audience, and as always, displayed their immense musical talent.Brilliant music video, made with toast, for OK Go's song Last Leaf off their latest album. Watch it:
-T
The new Underoath music video for In Division off their soon to be released album O (disambiguation). Also, the entire album is available to stream on Underoath's myspace, so go give it a spin.
-T
I attended the Bayside concert last Saturday, and they are incredible live. After enduring the mediocre at best opening bands, Bayside played a perfect set featuring a lot of songs off The Walking Wounded, a few off their self titled and Shudder albums, and their new song Already Gone. They are amazingly talented musicians, and Anthony's voice is possibly even better live than on the albums; he sings with an added energy and plenty of help from the audience. One of my favorite parts was watching their unbelievable guitarist Jack O'Shea shred on the solos. One thing I would have changed about the set was their cover of My Name Is Jonas. While it is fun to see a band do a good cover of a song they like, it would have been more satisfactory to see them play another of their own songs (perhaps I and I or Masterpiece.)
Imagine the Transformers without Optimus Prime. Or pizza without cheese. Neither would be any good. I expected the same thing to happen to Chiodos when lead singer Craig Owens left. I am a huge fan of all of his musical ventures, and especially of his work with Chiodos. With his departure, and the other lineup changes the band went through, I had fairly low hopes for any of Chiodos future releases. But since I enjoy Chiodos' other albums so much, I decided to give Illuminaudio a spin when it came out, and was pleasantly surprised with what I heard.
Circa Survive recently put up their MySpace Transmissions, which consists of alternate versions of some of the songs off their latest album Blue Sky Noise, and a brilliant cover of Nirvana's Scentless Apprentice. You can download the EP for free, watch videos of performances of all the songs, and videos of interviews with the band about influences on the album, thoughts about their songs, and more. Although you don't necessarily get much "new material" on the EP, this is incredible stuff for anyone who loves Circa as much as I do, and is without a doubt worth checking out (it's one of the best bands out there giving you some awesome music!) Circa's live performances are, as always, entertaining to watch; their talent as musicians is evident and their improvisations on some of the songs are fun to hear.
Bayside recently released Already Gone, from their new album Killing Time. Stream it at Absolute Punk. For this track they bring back their Walking Wounded era style with a hint of the rawness of their self titled showing as well. Definitely worth a listen, and shows a lot of promise for their new album dropping in February 2011. Preorders for that album start soon.
Brand New plays an incredible blend of aggressive post-hardcore and acoustic indie, filled with groovy bass, sing-along choruses, and introspective, soul searching lyrics. Deja Entendu (french for "already heard") is, to me, their masterpiece.
Now I was pretty hesitant to put this out. It was originally released with the Lifetime Fan Club Package as an exclusive download. Casey even wrote a little note saying he wanted to keep it within the members. Well I was holding back putting it up for that reason, but now it's going on here for 2 reasons, 1) it already "leaked" a while back and 2) when I talked to Josh (guitarist) at their show he just emailed it to a random kid that asked about it. If the band's down with sending it out, then so am I. And it's a good thing too, this little EP is pretty excellent. It's only 3 songs long but there's a lot of variety there. B. Linus (presumably named after the Lost character) is upbeat and sounds like a b-side of Act III. One of the really cool things about the track is that it's in 7/8 yet still has a really nice groove to it. The next song, Isabella is a slowed down soulful song ala Son or Life And Death. It's mellow, laid-back, and fits in great with Casey's voice. Closing the EP is Owls 1 which is really a strange song. Overall it's pretty simplistic and uses some different instrumentals such as a bell kit and electronic drums. Not a huge fan of the song but I know some people love it. If this EP is a tell of how the Colors EPs will sound then I'm beyond excited.