Posts by Matt:
TREOS To Play Skatefest 2010
March 10th, 2010
Yupp! You read that correctly. The Receiving End of Sirens are set to play Skatefest 2010 in Worcester, MA, on May 8, 2010. Joining them will be their former guitarist Casey Crescenzo, who is currently frontman of The Dear Hunter. Below is the list of bands currently set for the bill.
Tickets are $25 a piece, but, if you’re smart,you’ll get one now. Seeing as it is TREOS, and they are playing. SkateFest2010 Official Site.
FYS Hit Myspace with Previews
March 3rd, 2010
Part pop, part hardcore. It definitely doesn’t suck to be Four Year Strong right now.Before their album hits stores, MySpace Music will be premiering Four Year Strong’s Enemy Of The World from March 4th – March 5th.
Help spread the word by Tweeting the following phrase as many times as you can!
“Four Year Strong’s “Enemy Of The World” is premiering on MySpace from 3/4 – 3/5. Check it out here: http://bit.ly/cHBFog”
With the help of all of the The I’s followers, we’re gonna bombard Myspace’s servers, and make this the best Myspace preview date in history. It really doesn’t suck to be Four Year Strong.
Summer People – Good Problems
March 1st, 2010
Release Date: March 2nd, 2010
Record Label: Red Leader Records
RIYL: Manchester Orchestra, Constantines, The Cure
There has only been one occasion previous to this that I picked up a record and found that the album layout was more or less a case and a disc. It was The Sound of Animals Fighting’s Lover, the Lord Has Left Us. To be honest (although not exactly the most loved of their records by fans) I loved that record. I still pull it out from time to time, and turn off all the lights, get comfortable in bed, and just sink into the music.
Notice I said “…previous to this…” in my opening statement. The “this” I am referring to is Summer People’s Good Problems record.
When you un-wrap the album, and flip open the digipak, you see three things. The disc, pictures of bears on trees, and a very short credits list on the record. But put that disc into your stereo, computer, car stereo, anything that’ll play it, and there’s so much more than just three things that you just bought.
This record is very simple and very intricate at the same time. Simple because it has thirteen gems of pure indie rock. Intricate because, well, it has eight members to the band. All of which are only known by their first names (Graham, Alex, Jade, Steve, Pete, Brandon, Justin1 and Justin2).
The record opens up with “Two Hearted River”, a 1:46 long song that starts with bird-whistles, light drumming, and what sounds like a hoe-down in the background. It’s a very light song, with really fun gang vocals. There are only two lines the song, but they’re repeated throughout the track.
“It’s a two-hearted river
When one heart dies, we’ll be fed by the other
Glints of sun on the water in a burnt over country,
But still it’s a two-hearted river.”
“Two Hearted River” then leads into “Shallow Water People”, a song that could fit extremely well on The Cure’s next record. But this is not a carbon-copy of our friends from across the lake; at one point they sound like The Cure, and then break things down to a simple sound, that defines the record for Summer People.
For the rest of the record, the band does more and more of this style. They give you a taste of familiarity, and then pull you back down to Earth to tell you, “Hey! We wrote this record for you, hope you enjoy it!”
One of the greatest moments of the record comes during the almost ten minute epic “See Ya Later, Wouldn’t Wanna Be Ya”. The reason that this track shines is because it truly shows the band at its best. It is an instrumental track that doesn’t require any vocals, nor any sort of direction. It’s beautiful and poetic, while begging to fall into the following track. You ask it to be over, simply because of length, and then realize, you didn’t want it to end. (Don’t think that you could have that sort of feeling? Get in your car, turn it on, put the record in, skip to track eight, and drive. Get it? Got it? Good.)
I had never heard of this band until a copy of their record came in the mail. Would I have ever listened to them had it not? Probably not. But not for the fact that it isn’t my style. Simply for the fact that the band is so under the radar, that once found, you wish to show no one. You want it to be your little secret. But listen up kids; this isn’t something you want to keep a secret.
Sleeping With Sirens Post New Track
March 1st, 2010
Sleeping With Sirens have posted a new track from their up-coming full length from Rise Records With Ears to See and Eyes to Hear, called “Captain Tyin Knots” featuring Dave Stephens from We Came As Romans.
This track is said to be one of the band’s favorite tracks on the record, so look for it to be played on their upcoming tours.
Head over to their Myspace to check it out.
Four Year Strong – Enemy of the World
February 27th, 2010
Four Year Strong
Decaydance / Universal Motown
March 9th 2010
When you blow up the way Four Year Strong did with Rise or Die Trying, you’d expect them to sell out. Well, they got half way there when they released their cover record, Explains It All. Then they released Enemy of the World, and all they completely redeemed themselves.
I am a huge fan of their first full-length, and their second, Rise or Die Trying (RODT), solidified them in my iTunes as a poignant band to be listened to on a daily basis. They took what New Found Glory did, added a little of their own style, and came out with a perfect record. Nothing can top that, so what happens when they put out a third full-length? Better than the first two? Worse? Any progression at all?
Only one thing can be said about this record. It has balls.
When you name your first single/opening track after the title of an article that basically said another band was doing your genre better than you, that’s just basically giving a big “middle finger” to the music industry. But… can they pull out that same mind-set through the rest of the record?
To answer your question… yes.
What follows is a mixture of pop punk, hardcore, and rock. This is some of the most melodic music that Four Year Strong has ever recorded. While they cut out a lot of the breakdowns, it doesn’t take away from their style. Explains It All made them learn that it’s not about minute and a half long breakdowns at the end of a song. The majority of the breakdowns are now found in five to ten second increments in the middle of songs, like “What the Hell is a Gigawatt?” (Named after a quote from everyone’s favorite sci-fi movie, Back to the Future).
I have two big problems with the record. One: the gang vocals, I understand; hardcore music, breakdowns, and gang vocals. It goes with the territory right? Of course. But can you get rid of like 90% of the ones on this record? Seems like everywhere you turn there’s a gang vocal section, and they usually suck.
The second big problem I have has to deal with the melodic side of this record. Honestly, I liked the heavier FYS better. It gave me a reason to mosh with a smile on my face. This FYS though, makes me want to sit on my ass and watch my fiancé pull flowers while I play my acoustic guitar. Cute and all, but I want heavy.
Four Year Strong wrote an incredibly fun and catchy record. It is a nice meld of all three of their previous full-length records (including the compilation Explains It All). I am honestly excited to see them play these tracks live to see how the crowd reacts. A large part of my heart believes everyone will end up loving them and moshing, hugging and high-fiving each other afterwards. Good job, FYS.
Emarosa Blow Up New Video
February 21st, 2010Everyone’s favorite vocalist’s current band, Emarosa, has posted their video for the song “Set It Off Like Napalm”. You can check it out below.
Also, check out their Myspace for up to date information about their upcoming album. Emarosa @ Myspace.
Close Your Eyes-We Will Overcome
February 17th, 2010
Close Your Eyes
We Will Overcome
Victory Records
February 16th, 2010
Band URL: http://www.myspace.com/closeyoureyes
It’s hard to make a name for yourself on a label where a lot of the bands that are on it with you are bands that you are constantly getting compared to. Not to mention that these two bands are huge, and in today’s world, getting compared to bands of that stature often results in being called posers, or rip-offs. Well, then comes Close Your Eyes, who, basically, don’t care about those comparisons. They make themselves different.
On their Victory Records debut, Close Your Eyes set out to do two things; make you move, and make you feel good. They didn’t do too bad on either of those.
The overall feel for the album is melodic punk, similar to A Day to Remember, but they do it a lot smoother. Where as ADTR takes the pop punk route, Close Your Eyes takes the more melodic hardcore side. Example: In the third song, “xChet Steadmanx”, roughly about 2:30 into it, there’s a guitar solo worthy of metal status. All while beautiful vocals fill in the rest of the track.
Now let’s take a step back. The track previous to that, “Friends are Friends Forever” is easily the greatest track on the record. They re-recorded this track from their 2008 self-titled EP, and really cleaned it up. It’s heavy. Real heavy. The reason it’s so great is the breakdown in it. The majority of the song has a straight punk sound to it, but as soon as they throw that breakdown in there, it seals the deal for track of the record. The track is obviously about sticking by your friends, when they need you the most.
The album continues to roll along in similar style to the first couple tracks. Fast paced hardcore punk, and slamming drums. Standing out above the rest of the album is the production. For a first record, the album is clean, while still maintaining the rawness that this genre has. That is at times hard to do; the vocals are rough, the cymbals on the drums are rough, but a lot of the guitar work is very clean. A perfect example is the tenth track “Something Needs to Change”. It absolutely fits.
To say that this album is generic is a lie. But to say that this album is perfect would also be lying. It’s almost there. Give it a few months on tour with some great bands, some extra time to write, and another album, and I could see CYE being heavy weights right up there with the bands they’re constantly compared to.
Key Tracks: “Friends are Friends Forever”, “Song for the Broken”, “Bitter Path”
Get Alive with Story of The Year
February 17th, 2010St. Louis, MO’s finest rock group, Story Of The Year, have released the video to their first single “I’m Alive” off of their fourth full-length, The Constant. You can watch it below. Or head over to their Myspace to check out tour dates.
Story of the Year – “I’m Alive”
STORY OF THE YEAR | MySpace Music Videos
