Chiodos - Illuminaudio [2010]

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.

With Craig left a lot of the band's unique sound provided by his irreplaceable voice. The new vocalist, Brandon Bolmer, does very well most of the time. He makes the smart move of not trying to copy Craig's style too closely, and instead, makes the music his own. His voice still soars through the high notes, but in his own style, and he puts much more emphasis on the screams. This has both positive and negative repercussions, because while it distinguishes his vocal work from the old style, it also makes the music sound a little more generic. Some of the instrumentation suffers from the same problem, and at times the lyrical content on the album just sounds lazy (e.g. Those Who Slay Together.) The added number of breakdowns and bass-drops give parts of the album an already-been-done-by-other-post-hardcore-groups feel.

Luckily, that feeling constitutes a minor portion of the album. More often while listening to Illuminaudio, I am impressed with the band and satisfied with the music. There are songs that show Chiodos experimenting with their sound, like Notes In Constellations which shows a more melodic, mature side of the band. There are also many moments on Illuminaudio when the signature Chiodos sound of their earlier albums comes through. They are still able to adeptly include gorgeous keyboard parts into their songs better than almost any other band in the genre. One of the qualities that originally made me a Chiodos fan is the intensity of some moments in their music, and they still deliver plenty of those, such as the first moments of frantic screaming on Scaremonger and about halfway through Modern Wolf Hair. The guitar parts fly across the fretboard on Hey Zeus! and Stratovolcano Mouth, two of the most irresistible tracks, even though the latter sounds a lot like an alternate version of Thermacare.

If you listen to this album expecting the old Chiodos, you may be disappointed, but if you go in with the same open-minded attitude with which you would listen to a completely new band, Illuminaudio delivers. It has a somewhat different sound, but is still easily enjoyable. This album holds onto parts of the band's old style, and still leaves room for improvement, but also represents an immensely important moment in Chiodos' musical career. At a pivotal moment when they could have called it quits, they decided to continue making music. Illuminaudio is the rebirth of Chiodos.

Genre: Post-Hardcore

For Fans Of: Peirce The Veil, Emarosa, The Receiving End Of Sirens

Contact: Myspace

Tracklisting:

1. Illuminaudio

2. Caves

3. Love Is A Cat From Hell

4. Modern Wolf Hair

5. Notes In Constellations

6. Scaremonger

7. His Story Repeats Itself

8. Let Us Burn One

9. Hey Zeus! The Dungeon

10. Stratovolcano Mouth

11. Those Who Slay Together, Stay Together

12. Closed Eyes Still Look Forward

-T

Circa Survive - MySpace Transmissions [2010]

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.

Genre: Melodic Post-Hardcore, Progressive

For Fans Of: Saosin, In:Aviate, Tides Of Man

Contact: Website

Tracklisting:

1. Glass Arrows

2. Get Out

3. I Felt Free

4. Imaginary Enemy

5. Through The Desert Alone

6. Scentless Apprentice (Nirvana Cover)

-T

New Bayside Song - Already Gone

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.

-T

Brand New - Deja Entendu [2003]

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.


The album opens with the soft spoken intro Tautou, then dives straight into their catchiest track, Sic Transit Gloria, which is full of dance-inducing energy, and will certainly make you nod your head along. Up next is I Will Play My Game, with mellow verses and an engaging chorus, and Okay I Believe You, which starts out very quietly, and then explodes into a loud and perfectly contrasting rock chorus where Jesse Lacey declares "I just wanna believe, in us." The Quiet Things enters with a powerful oscillating guitar, and keeps up the energy throughout the whole song by increasing the frantic, near-screaming vocals, making it one of the best vocal performances on the album.

The Boy Who Blocked His Own Shot returns to Brand New's more subdued, acoustic side, and the song feels exquisitely thoughtful with lyrics like "Call me a safe bet; I'm betting I'm not. I'm glad that you can forgive. I'm only hoping as time goes, you can forget." Jaws Theme Swimming is the most anthemic track on the album with driving guitars, and urgent vocals. Me vs. Maradona vs. Elvis is the most stripped-down song on the album; a single guitar and candid, harmonizing vocals for nearly the entire song with the rest of the band joining in at the end for a strong finish. Pounding drums usher in Guernica, an intense, energetic song with interesting lyrics allegedly about Jesse's grandfather being diagnosed with cancer. Brand New definitely displays their talent on Good To Know. It's the longest song on the album at just over seven minutes, but they easily keep it interesting for the entire length with the music (especially the wonderful guitar in the outro), the vocals, and especially the lyrics with lines like "Am I correct to defend the fist that holds this pen? It's ink that lies, the pen, the page, the paper." Deja Entendu closes with Play Crack The Sky, a final, reflective acoustic song complete with a Beatles reference at the end.

Deja Entendu is nearly flawless. Brand New simply makes genuine, original, intelligent music, so if you are into that kind of thing as much as I am, I'm certain you will also love this album.


Genre: Post-Hardcore, Indie

For Fans Of: Manchester Orchestra, Taking Back Sunday, Circa Survive

Contact: Myspace

Tracklisting:
1. Tautou
2. Sic Transit Gloria... Glory Fades
3. I Will Play My Game Beneath the Spin Light
4. Okay I Believe You, But My Tommy Gun Don't
5. The Quiet Things That No One Ever Knows
6. The Boy Who Blocked His Own Shot
7. Jaws Theme Swimming
8. Me vs. Maradona vs. Elvis
9. Guernica
10. Good to Know That if I Ever Need Attention All I Have to Do Is Die
11. Play Crack the Sky





-T

The Dear Hunter - The Branches EP [2010]

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.

Genre: Indie
For Fans Of: As Tall As Lions, Circa Survive, Coheed and Cambria
Contact: Myspace
Tracklisting:
1. B. Linus
2. Isabella
3. Owls 1



-A

New Underoath Song!

Illuminator, the first single from Underoath's upcoming album, O (disambiguation) is here. Go stream it on their website and check it out. It has a similar feel to Lost In The Sound Of Separation, but is definitely fresh and quality. It actually reminds me a lot of Norma Jean's new album. So basically you need to listen to it now.

-T

What's Left Of The Trees - Where There's Water, There Must Be Shore [2010]

Absolute Punk's Free Music Friday is a godsend. I've found some awesome local groups from it and this is one of them. What's Left Of The Trees is a two-man group that has been kicking my musical ass for the past few days. The sound is reminiscent of Portugal. the Man's Church Mouth as well as As Tall As Lions and I'm loving it. Southern-ish but also soulful, it's kinda difficult to describe but also really familiar. The singer's vocals are pretty different from a lot out there, it's normal at some times then every now and again he'll do some vibrato-sounding bits as well. Really this is one that's kinda hard to critique but super fun to listen to and addictive. Support local music, yo.

Also, I'll have my download up as well as the band's bandcamp link in case you'd rather DL it from there (so they can have an accurate download count).

Genre: Indie
For Fans Of: Portugal. The Man, As Tall As Lions, Circa Survive
Contact: Myspace
Tracklisting:
1. Wake Me! You're Not Waking Me!
2. Always Was
3. As Long As We're Being Honest
4. All That Gold
5. Sugar And Brass


Bandcamp

- A

The Strokes - Is This It [2001]

Is This It is the debut album from the five member group, The Strokes, and is in my opinion, one of the best albums ever made. While that may sound like quite a pretentious claim, it is without a doubt justified in this case. Full of insightful lyrics about everyday life, laid over the relaxed, yet engaging music, the combination is flawless. Despite the laid back impression the album gives off at first, there is an underlying urgency to the music which nearly reaches anxiety at some points. This incredible helping of emotion drives Is This It far above other music of this style (including later albums by the band) and, for me, ascertains it as some of the most quality music of the decade.

Another quality of Is This It that I enjoy is the somewhat do-it-yourself sound. What I mean by that is you can actually hear the band behind the music; it doesn't sound overproduced at all. The guitars are infectious and the basslines will have you nodding your head along. The drumming fits into the music perfectly and Casablancas' vocals are raw and natural. Rather than having any one member stand out, each member of The Strokes' work blends together so well, almost intuitively, to produce their very distinctive sound.

One critique I would make is that the vocals on this album, while unique from any other band's vocal style, can get a bit monotonous at points (especially on Barely Legal) and don't vary much throughout the album. That being said, Casablancas' mouth-too-close-to-the-microphone style distorted singing is just what the music needs, and it never gets excessively tedious.

Is This It is a nearly perfect collection of songs, and an imperative album for any music lover. Personal favorites include the title track, Hard To Explain, and Someday, but each song contributes to the masterpiece as a whole. This album is a classic. Front man Julian Casablanca puts it very well in an interview with Rolling Stone: "[As] a songwriter, you play a few chords and sing a melody that's been done a thousand times, and now you're a singer-songwriter. I think it takes a little more than that to do something that matters." Well Julian, Is This It is just that.

Genre: Indie Rock
For Fans Of: The White Stripes, Arctic Monkeys, Bloc Party
Contact: Website
Tracklisting:
1. Is This It
2. The Modern Age
3. Soma
4. Barely Legal
5. Someday
6. Alone, Together
7. Last Nite
8. Hard to Explain
9. New York City Cops
10. Trying Your Luck
11. Take It or Leave It


-T

New Just Like Vinyl Song

After TFOT broke up earlier this year, Thomas (guitar/vocals) went on to form Just Like Vinyl. Just today they put up a new song entitled "Death Of The Sheep" and I'm diggin it. It sounds like a more punk version of The Fall of Troy and I'm really interested in seeing where this will go. Hopefully I can get a ripped version of this to download but if not you can hear it on their Myspace here.

This Town Needs Guns - This Town Needs Guns [2008]

This self-titled record from This Town Needs Guns is some of math-rock at its finest, with all the technical guitars and intricate melodies you could ask for. Tim Collis rockets over the fretboard with some ridiculous ability but still is able to keep the overall mood very chilled out and relaxed, which is not easy to do. Singer/rhythm guiarist Stuart Smith's vocals are absolutely perfect for the music, his crooning slides gently from song to song and somehow adds a laid-back atmosphere to the most eccentric of pieces. It's hard to accurately describe this band's sound in one paragraph so I recommend you just download the album and hear it for yourself. Let me know what you think!

Genre: Indie Math-Rock
For Fans Of: Maps and Atlases, Dartz!, Tubelord
Contact: Myspace
Tracklisting:
1. 26 Is Dancier Than 4
2. And I'll Tell You For Why
3. I'll Forget About You Throwing That Rock Cos That Dance Was Pretty Funny
4. 1470 Man
5. Want To Come Back To My Room And Listen To Some Belle And Sebastian?
6. If I Sit Still, Maybe I'll Get Out Of Here
7. Japanese Ultra-Violence In D-Minor (The Saddest Chord)
8. It's Not True Rufus, Don't Listen To The Hat



- A