Your Backstage Pass To The Music Industry
Your Backstage Pass To The Music Industry
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SNOWSERA Fictions 'EP" Self-Released |
| Chicago has become a hotbed for bands lately and most of them began to break out in their suburban hometowns before everyone else caught up. On occasion a band may not create the local following, but can be on the verge of breaking through on a much grander scale due to what they are doing behind the scenes rather than on stage. This is the case with Snowsera. For their new EP, "Fictions," they entered the studio with producer Brian Zieske (The Hush Sound, Academy Is) and brought it to Vlado Meller to master (Oasis, Red Hot Chili Peppers). With a combination of influences they bring a fresh, unique, sound to each song thus never boring you by sounding the same and at the same time leaving the listener to decide which song and style is their personal favorites. For me it was tracks like the spunky "I See," which brings a pounding bass line, outstanding lead vocals, and great sing-a-long harmonies to the table, and "Runaway" that continues to bring a groovy bass line that will easily have you moving along, that grabbed my attention on the first spin. That's not to say that there isn't something to love about the other tracks like the slower paced "Darling," which tends to focus more on the vocals and lyric, or "24" that combines choppy, punk driven, guitars with a pounding rhythm section into the chorus. If there is one thing an EP is supposed to do it is to get you excited about what's to come in the future and this EP has done just that making Snowsera a band to keep your eyes on. | |
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SOCIAL CODE He Said She Said Fifth Season Music, INC. |
| Breaking through in the United States for Canadian bands seems to be no easy task, though I am not certain as to why that is because Canada offers up some great music that should, in theory, do very well here in the US. Case in point, Social Code. After they found success in their native Canada, with over 20,000 units sold and tour dates with Fallout Boy, The Deftones, etc… they locked themselves in their basement and redefined their sound for their newest release, and first in the US, “He Said She Said.” All of their hard work has paid off thus far if this EP is any indication as to what we can expect from these guys. You get tossed into the album with the ultra catchy, poppy, title track and you will instantly start to bounce and sing along with the chorus and the raspy vocals of front man Travis Nesbitt. However, as strong a track as this one is, it is also a bit misleading as the other 4 tracks offer a drastically different approach. Backed by an acoustic guitar intro, Nesbitt’s vocals and the tremendous harmonies bring you into “Perfect Grave,” and this is a trend that we see later on the EP as well as they close out with “Everyday Late November,” where they let the vocals shine over subtle music. They do show a rocking side of the band, complete with crunchy guitars on “Beautiful,” which is sure to please fans of modern bands out there like My Chemical Romance. Though they shed the poppy sound that originally hooked me on this EP, they do deliver a very powerful blend of passionately delivered lyrics over acoustic and rockin’ guitars throughout the EP and have me excited about what’s to come. | |
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SOCRATIC Spread The Rumors Drive Thru Records |
| Mark Hoppus, who is best known for playing bass and sharing vocals in Blink 182 manned the production board for Socratic's sophomore effort "Spread The Rumors" and the great thing about Hoppus is that he didn't try to reinvent Socratic, but rather was a part of this album with them because he loved what they heard on their demos. With that being said, Socratic who gained critical acclaim with 2005's "Lunch For The Sky," has decided to kick things up to the next level with this release. They have always had a pop influence behind them and this album displays that more than any of their previous work. You can't help but sway along with them on tracks like "May I Bum A Smoke," bounce along with the catchy guitar riffs on tracks like ""This Opinion Of Mine," and you will quickly be singing along with the wonderfully crafted lyrics and smoothly delivered vocals on songs like "Constant Apology." If you are a part of the crowd that likes bands like Jimmy Eat World, Plain White T's, Weezer, etc… then you are going to absolutely love Socratic. With the goal in place of making an album where every song could be a single, it is safe to say Socratic achieved that goal and then some. | |
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BEN SOLLEE Something Worth Keeping EP SonaBLAST! Records |
| Ben Sollee recently released his full-length album “Learning To Bend” and was quickly met with critical acclaim. He is setting out on tour this fall and to hype the tour has come back with a 2-song EP that offers a vastly different Ben Sollee than we are used to hearing, but at the same time has the charm and honesty in the lyrics as his previous efforts. Sollee looked around the world and found the beauty in the imperfections of people and discovered a melody and lyric to perfectly capture what he saw for our listening pleasure. The first of the two tracks, “Mute With A Bullhorn,” takes a look at people looking for their chance to be heard in this world whether through the shyness of approaching a woman, or handing out flyers promoting a cause, etc… “Only A Song,” the second of the tracks takes a look at the importance of the natural beauties of everyday life while taking a self-exploration into the simple things in life and being proud of what you find within while at the same time offering a simple melody that allows the lyrics to shine. As is typical with Sollee there is some politics and his own beliefs mixed into the songs but on these particular tracks it is done very subtly allowing this side of the lyric to not feel like he is forcing his belief on the listener. Musically, both tracks offer an orchestration that will satisfy fans of Beatles circa “Eleanor Rigby” era, and overall is sure to garner the hype for the tour that Sollee is searching for. | |
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SONG OF THE SIREN City Lights Are Blinding You Self-Released |
| The really great thing about a band like Song of the Siren is that they have no boundaries that are set by a record label, which has allowed them to really explore their music on their debut effort "City Lights Are Blinding." However, because of this you may not like everything that you hear as was the case with me when I first hit play. I really wasn't immediately sold, but as I found out as I dug deeper into the album, that was my problem cause this band has it all. Isul Kim's vocals encompass every emotion and then some going from an in your face punk rock style to seductive and innocent allowing her to really sell the lyrics on choruses of songs like "Dirty Magazine." Musically this is the perfect combination of power pop and alternative with some early punk rock influences thrown into the mix. It wouldn't have surprised me one bit if Song of the Siren was a part of the early 90's scene in Seattle due to easy comparisons to old Nirvana and Subpop bands from back in the day. With their feel for the current alternative music scene and the ability to take the mundane sound and push it out of the mix, Song of the Siren is definitely a band to keep your eye on in 2008 | |
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SONIC AGE Monster Inside Self-Released |
| After a member change or two, and honing in on their sound, Sonic Age have successfully transformed what was easily a bar band into a great, new, rock band with a classic feel to them with "Monster Inside." For you folks out there that miss the 80's styled hard rock then trust me when I say you need to keep on reading. What you get when you hit play is great guitar riffs that will instantly transform you back in time, but it is the vocals that truly make this the perfect companion for those of you that find yourself rocking out to the likes of Kiss as I was pretty quickly reminded of Paul Stanley. The good news is that this is the trend that continues to blast from your speakers and capture your attention and bring you into the song throughout the album. The outstanding guitar work smacks you around as it should in a hard rock band like Sonic Age, the bass lines keep you tapping along, and the vocals fit the mold of this style perfectly. While there is at times a modern twist to the tunes, for the most part you will be thinking you are listening to an album that was put out in the late 80's. The bad news is that modern radio doesn't seem to want to play good, rock music like this so a lot of people are going to miss out on the opportunity to hear this amazing band. I am always excited to hear great rock music that does things right when they leave the bars and hit the studio and Sonic Age more than succeeds with this on "Monster Inside." | |
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SOUND AND FURY Self-Titled Rebel Youth Records |
| There are a lot of folks out there right now, myself included, that from time to time sit around bitching about how punk rock music today isn’t what it used to be. I myself have been known from time to time to say that the modern era lacks the energy and spunk that made songs from the likes of The Sex Pistols, The Clash, etc… become anthems for a generation. The guys in Sound and Fury must have felt the same way as I did, but rather then doing nothing about it, they put together a band and created one heck of a solid, true punk rock, debut album, that has put a smile on my face. This is everything that punk rock should be. Loud guitars wrapped around cocky vocals that deliver the lyrics with enough teenage angst behind them to make me feel old. These spitfire anthems are quick and to the point in their musical delivery and the guitars seem on a mission to assault you when you least expect it. If you are looking for someone to whine about how their life sucks, or how they need to slit their wrists over a girl, then look somewhere else. Sound and Fury is a band dead set on making punk rock anthems and will no doubt have fans of bands like The River City Rebels, Bouncing Souls, etc… pumping a fist into the air. | |
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SPARKS, DONITA Transmiticate SparksFly Records |
| Donita Sparks is widely recognized throughout the music world as the front woman for the alternative rock band L7 and with that band on hiatus, Sparks and her new band the Stellar Moments have been making a name for themselves with their live shows. She is now primed and ready to put out her debut solo album, "Transmiticate," and you can expect a few different things and a couple really similar things as well. Sparks doesn't seem to shy away from the L7 style too much in some areas so you fans of them will be excited to hear tracks like the album opener "Fly Feather Fly," and the punk rock tinged tracks like "Need To Numb," and "Into The Hi-Fi." However Sparks does stray a bit from the L7 sound spread throughout the album and offer something a little bit different and these are the tracks that will help separate Sparks from her past work. Dancy styled songs like "Dare Dare," and the moody pop gems like "My Skin's Too Thin," mixed together with the Motown influenced "Creampuff," took this album from being good to being a must have. In a day and age where band's seem to follow a trend, Sparks is a breath of fresh air as she takes an old idea and adds a new twist to it and effectively separates herself from the pack. This is a great debut album and a must listen for any fan of good music. | |
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STAR FUCKING HIPSTERS Until We're Dead Fat Wreck Chrods |
| In this day and age where what falls into the punk rock category of music includes lyrics about slitting wrists to bleed over the love you lost, it has become harder and harder to find solid punk rock music with fist pumping anthems. Fat Mike seems to be on a mission to keep the fist pumping anthems alive and well amongst a watered down, diet punk scene, and The Star Fucking Hipsters is the next band to be on the lookout for. Formed out of the remains of Ska-punksters, Leftover Crack, the Star Fucking Hipsters never got off the ground due to the untimely death of Brandon Chevalier, but Fat Mike has now leant them a hand on the vocals and made it possible to get this great music out there to the people. Thank you!!!! With dual vocals between a female and male vocalist you are easily going to love this album if you are anything like me. Yula’s spunky, kick you in your teeth, female side of the vocals are a breath of fresh air to the scene, and when combined with those of Sturg’s whose are a bit more rough around the collar and comparable to Dropkick Murphy’s, this offers a bit of a unique sound in the voice. Musically, this is what a punk rock band should sound like. For the most part this album is chalked full of loud guitars, with riffs that tend to walk you on a journey through the verses and assault you into the choruses. So pop this baby on, give a spin to songs like “Until We’re Dead,” the ska-tinged “Snitch to the Suture,” or “Zombie Christ,” and get that fist pumping in the air. It has been a series of changes, ups and downs, starts and stops, that have prevented this album from coming out, but it was well worth the wait. | |
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STATUS So This Is Definitely Progress Doghouse Records |
| With friends like Bayside and Taking Back Sunday on your side, not to mention both Adam Lazzarra and Anthony Raneri lending backing vocals on your debut album, you are sure to attract a bit of attention. However, with that being said, you still have to deliver a solid album now that the curiosity has been peaked. With their debut album “So This Is Definitely Progress,” The Status not only deliver a solid effort but also have quickly become one of my favorite new bands. With so many watered down acts out there right now that try too hard to experiment while losing focus of what they do best, The Status is just the opposite. Their modern blend of pop-infused rock instantly has you bouncing right along with them as the choppy guitar riff and pounding drums toss you into album opener “Get Back On Your Feet.” The great thing about this album is that they continue to bring the catchy, upbeat material throughout that hooks you from the get go on tracks like “Can You Hear Me” and “Waiting.” Vocally this is perfection. The leads are delivered very smoothly without any screaming intertwining, while the backups and choruses are going to grab you and make you sing along. They only really turn things down a notch twice, both on the second half of the album on “If There’s Love” and album closer “I Was Sinking.” I love an album like this one that is full of hooks and melodies that easily capture the listeners attention and instantly make you a fan by doing what they do best. Great debut effort and a band I will be keeping my eye. | |
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SUICIDE KINGS Self-Titled Blue Plate Music |
| A Nashville based band that is steeped heavy in the tradition of country music’s roots isn’t hard to come by these days. So what makes the Suicide King’s stand out amongst the pact with their self-titled debut album? For starters, as much as they are based in tradition, their rough and tumble styled vocals give it more of an outlaw feel, and the on again/off again crunch in guitars adds an alt. Country flavor to this album, which separates them a bit from everyone else. You will notice as your listening to this disc that you really can’t pigeonhole this band into one particular side of the country based genres. If it’s a Johnny Cash flavored song that you are looking for in that the bass line is simple and prominent than you need to look no further than “Marie.” However, if you like the boot stompin’ country that takes you back to the days of Willie, Merle, and Waylon, then there is plenty of that on here as well from the boogie-woogie, honky-tonk flavored “Hometown Willie” to the guitar driven “Whiskey Row.” While you can lump these guys into the country genre with relative ease, you’d be selling this album short if you did that, as they tend to blue the genres lines throughout. They fuse together a rock based backbone perfectly with their influences of traditional country, but rather than try to change the traditional sound, they tend to wear their influences right out on their sleeves and deliver an album that will more often then not make you forget that you are listening to a new album and not a classic re-issue. | |
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SUPERSUCKERS Get It Together Mid-Fi Recordings |
| The Supersuckers are a band that needs absolutely no introduction. Anyone that has been paying any attention to the rock scene over the past 20 years knows this band and has probably seen them live sharing the stage with the likes of Pearl Jam, Social Distortion, etc… To celebrate their 20th anniversary, the Supersuckers are releasing "Get It Together," their long awaited, full-length, follow-up to 2003's "Motherfuckers Be Trippin." The pounding Ramones-esque drums and guitar riff on album opener "What It Takes" brings you into an album chalked full of the spunk and punk rock energy throughout. Tracks like "I'm a Fucking Genius" beg to be compared to the likes of the Clash, while "I Like It All, Man" is going to grab the attention of those punks that like a little rock flare mixed in for good measure. However, besides the punk and rock influences, they show a bit of their country music and southern influence as well. With a shot of adrenaline into the country blended rock they will have you tapping your boot on the floor with tracks like "When I Go, I'm Gone," the ZZ Top inspired, southern rocker, "Something Good For You," and "She Is Leaving." 20 years is a long time in the music industry and the Supersuckers have earned an incredible amount of success and learned many do's and don'ts along the way which has led to an album that will easily please longtime fans and newcomers, and is quite possibly the most solid album they have released yet. As an added bonus they have also tossed in a live DVD recorded in 2007 that shows fans what the Supersuckers do best and allows them to hear some of the new material live, and more importantly showcases their past 20 years as a live band. | |
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SWINGIN' UTTERS Hatest Grits: B-Sides and Bullshit Fat Wreck Chords |
| After spending fifteen plus years in the business, releasing countless albums, splits, EP’s, etc…The Swingin’ Utters have taken a musical journey into the past and have allowed fans the opportunity to travel down memory lane with them through a series of “B-Sides, rare demos, unreleased tracks, and more. You are thrust into this collection with “No Groove in the Gunsights,” a song that embodies their working class, blue-collar attitude and street punk sound that forged their outstanding career. From here you are thrown through a series of songs that could have all been album cuts. They are just simply that good and show just why The Swingin’ Utters have been able to last throughout the years; when your B-sides are better than half of the albums out there, I personally think that says something about the music you are creating. They offer a couple covers as well that pay homage to one of their main influences, Cocksparrer on “Where Are They Now” and “Sunday Stripper,” as well as a slew of originals that fans of the true punk rock sound will love and The Swingin’ Utters fan base will embrace with open arms. The liner notes are very well done and offer the opinions of the songs from the band members themselves making this collection very fun as you get the ideas behind the songs, the places they came from, why they didn’t make the albums, etc… I have always loved the Swingin’ Utters since I saw them open for Rancid andt his is a great collection that shows you why they have lasted and as in typical Utters fashion, they give their fans a few extra surprises as well. A must have collection of great songs from a great band. | |