Your Backstage Pass To The Music Industry
Your Backstage Pass To The Music Industry
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THE GALLERY If You Know What I Mean Blue Duck Records |
| The Gallery is a band that has embraced personal changes and changed their lives around, all in an effort to make their vision come to life and their debut full-length, "If You Know What I Mean," is the result. After making a decision to relocate the band to Florida so they can stay in school while pursuing their music, their original lead singer stepped away from the band forcing Brendan Cooney to step up to the mic with his guitar in tow. What an incredible act of God that was for the band, because Brendan has managed to find his voice and bring his incredible songwriting to life. This is a very solid debut effort that will have you singing, jumping, and dancing along from start to finish no matter if the song is upbeat or if it is slower paced. The choppy guitars that you find on songs like "Kingdoms," and "Consider This" will no doubt have you bouncing along with their catchiness, while on songs like "The Introduction" and "The Lonely Disease," the music takes a backseat to the lead vocal and lets them carry home the deeper lyrics on the album. A good rock band that encompasses influences from a wide variety of places including bands like Saves The Day and The Exit, and delivers a great album that they can call their own is hard to come by these days, until now. The Gallery's "If You Know What I Mean," is a must have album for any fan of good, solid, modern rock music. | |
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GG ELVIS & THE TCP BAND Back From The Dead Mental Records |
| So what happens when you take members of NOFX, Aggression, Ill Repute, and the Bad Samaritans and dress them up like Elvis? Well you get a punk rock super band and a tribute to the king of rock-n-roll, of course!!! Everyone and their brother, no matter where you live in these fine United States has seen someone live that impersonates Elvis, but I can guarantee that you have never heard anything like this. What more can you expect from a true punk rock band than complete obnoxiousness, fast & rude versions of classic songs, and when it all boils down to it, complete and udder genius. If you like the true brand of punk rock then you will more than likely love these gritty, raw attempts at Elvis classics like "Suspicious Minds," "Burning Love," "Blue Suede Shoes," "Love Me Tender," and much much more. This collection wouldn't be complete without the controversial, Never-Before-Seen, DVD and the scratch-n-sniff edition of the album is absolutely hilarious and well worth the cost. I am not going to give anything away with that… you will just have to buy the album and see it for yourself. A must have punk rock record for any punk record collection. Buy Album Here | |
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GHOSTFIRE 4-Song EP Self-Released |
| Rock music has evolved throughout the years and seems to have uncovered layers and layers of what is underneath the genres umbrella. It isn't any surprise that the UK is chalked full of great indie music that takes more and more chances then anything we really get the chance to hear in the states. Case in point; Ghostfire. Their new 4-song EP is full of chances and depth just waiting to be uncovered. They don't stick to one style or another, but rather just play music the way that they want to play it, no questions asked. Examples; the ska tinged "Vaudevillain" allows you to see an upbeat side to this band as they fuse together influences of ska with moody pop and with the rough around the edges vocals you will tend to compare this to someone like the Voodoo Glow Skulls, however that comparison ends there. As you dig through the EP you will stumble upon songs like "Masters of the Sea" and shanty of sorts, or "Ghostways of Paris," a song which sees them embracing their surroundings and presenting a moody, pop driven rocker ala influences like Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds. The prominent use of the Hammond organ on this song as well as throughout the EP adds a darker feel to the songs that can best be classified as alternative. The styles presented here are comparable to other artists as we've done above, but Ghostfire is a band that presents their music in an unconventional way helping them to be unique in an over crowded scene. Dive into these four tracks knowing that from song to song you will be peeling back the layers of who this band is and you can expect to hear are touches of folk, rock, pop, and more.(JK) | |
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JENNY GILLESPIE Light Year Self-Released |
| When you start to look for great music there are certain criteria's that you may have for what makes a song, an artist, or an album great. For me those criteria's run a pretty wide spectrum but it all comes back to this one thing, what kind of mood am I in at that moment and does this satisfy my mood? To be honest with you I was pretty wound up, a little agitated, and overall just feeling kind of overwhelmed when I popped on Jenny Gillespie's new album "Light Year." Upon the first notes of "Vanishing Point" being played and her softly and tenderly delivered vocal being put on display my mood instantly changed. I became a bit more relaxed as the blend of Aimee Mann and Martha Wainwright came from my speakers. As the album pressed on I started to forget about whatever it was that was bothering me as her voice continued to captivate me as it remained out in front on tracks like "Little Blood" and "Hummingbirds" and essentially became the focal point to the songs as the music very subtly helped sustain the mood of the lyric without ever overpowering them. I couldn't believe how this album could take a bad mood and turn it good and totally relax me the way it did and just like that it was over, 8 songs and 40 minutes later. Debut albums sometimes can offer a false look at what's to come in the future from an artist, but for Jenny Gillespie it was just the opposite. She spent time to find herself musically before presenting this album to the public. This is a great album that offers a tranquil, relaxed quality to it that I think everyone can use at some point or another and is well worth a spin. | |
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GOODNIGHT SUNRISE Stop, Drop, & Roll Self-Released |
| Although the punk, pop, and rock scenes have fused together over the years and in some cases have really watered things down a bit, if you dig far enough you will find a handful of really great bands that combine the elements of all three of the genres perfectly. Goodnight Sunrise is one of those bands that does that and they show it on their brand new, 7-song EP Stop, Drop, & Roll. "Trophy Girls" pulls you into the album with a choppy guitar riff that instantly gets you moving as the pop punk begins to swell around it and this is before the vocals even kick in, but once they do you are going to be hooked if you weren't already. The pop-punk blended sound coming from your speakers will remind you of those older, rawer, Fallout Boy records and this is the feel that continues pouring from the EP as you dive further into it. Songs like "On Your Birthday" and "Tell Me If I'm Wrong" lean heavy on the guitars as they bounce you through the songs, but this band isn't a one trick pony either. They do show that they can slow things down from time to time with great cuts like the EP's closer "Wouldn't Change A Thing," which starts slow before giving away to a more rock driven sound and features a lyric that sees a more vulnerable feel come to the forefront as it describes the one that's getting away and the changes that he, the narrator, plans to make to keep her from leaving. Goodnight Sunrise may not yet have that big time record deal, but with the track record that they have already had and music like this it is simply a matter of time. This is a band to keep an eye on if this EP is any indication of what we can expect from the future. | |
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TOM GOSS Back To Love... Self-Released |
| The singer/songwriter genre is a great genre for anyone to explore due in part to its real life lyrics that the artist seems to draw from their own real lives to create a well-crafted lyric for any given song. Tom Goss is one of these artists that has done just that with his latest release "Back To Love…" Though the music in the genre can range, Goss chooses a very radio friendly, pop style to hammer home his lyrics about the most relatable subject there is for any listener; Love. Who hasn't been in love? Who hasn't felt the pain of love? Who hasn't wanted to run away with the one they love? These are all very simple questions with very simple answers. Everyone has experienced love of some kind and that is what makes this album such an easy listen. His relatable lyrics and passionate delivery on songs like "Til The End," where Goss calms any nerves his lover may have as he proclaims that he will be there through it all and ultimately until the end. The piano laced ballad, "Sometimes We Fall" explores the heartbreaks and the inevitable fall that comes with them even when you try to fight it. All in all he sums up the aspects and emotions of love throughout this album and makes sure that he hits every side of it. His delivery is perfect for this set of songs and with such relatable lyrics this is a disc worth checking out. Make sure to look for it upon it's release this April (2009). | |
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SAM GROW Ignition Harlow Records |
| An artist that combines influences of rock, pop, and soul isn't something that is unheard of, but someone that is doing as seemingly easy as Sam Grow has on his debut album is. After spending time on the road sharing the stages with the likes of Josh Kelley and Kayne West, the Maryland based singer-songwriter has brought his music to our ears and we are better for it. From the moment you hit play and are brought into the album with opener, "Wait A Minute," Grow shows us exactly how powerful a simple, pop driven acoustic guitar can be as long as it is driven home with a solid vocal and great lyrics that Grow displays both of right away. This pop driven sound that originally wraps you up and drags you into the album is present throughout the remainder of the record on tracks like the guitar drivin' title track "Ignition" and "O So Jaded." However, just as with the upbeat tracks, the vocal and lyric grabs your attention to begin with and they do that even more so when Grow turns things down a notch and let's them really be the focal point on the songs as the music is there merely as accompaniment rather than the driving portion of the song. Tracks like "Lethal Deep" see a powerful lyric delivered with a heartfelt passion that is captivated with the usage of a piano, while tracks like "If You Just Believe" offer up a relatable lyric about letting your heart go and believing in the love that is right in front of you. This album has catapulted its way to the top of my list and is easily a contender for the best of 2009 so far and it will be a long time before it leaves my CD player. Great debut album that incorporates every aspect of various genres and perfectly executes the best parts of each of them. | |