Just like last year, here are the albums I listened to this year and some tiny blurbs about them. Both local bands and national acts alike. Huzzah!. These are just my opinions and range from thought out reviews to just meh whatever I was thinking about, but whatevs.
Ok, I’ll admit that while I’m a fan of Foo Fighters, I’m not that big of a fan. I love the guys, I love the music, but just never seemed to really get into them. I’ve never listened to an album of theirs all the way through before this one and I’m sure that I’m really missing out. That being said I can’t really compare it to any of their other songs other than the singular songs that I’ve listened to. However, this album is really good. Right from the start it gets me hooked in and doesn’t let go until about 4 or 5 songs in then I start losing interest a little. Maybe I’m just ADD or something, but when I stop zoning out for a few tracks it gets me back towards the end of the album, but it’s just not one I can listen to from start to finish unless I’m doing something else and this is background music. Not the best review, but when it’s a cd I can’t seem to do that with, it usually is just one that doesn’t connect to me very well. I still love the songs and sing along, it’s just not my first choice when I reach for something to listen to.
I’ll be honest to say I loved their first album, was pretty ok with the 2nd one, but this is by far the best they’ve had yet. It’s a nice mix of the high energy of the first album, with the strong songwriting of the 2nd, gone are those ridiculous song titles and hey I’m giving you illusive poetry and images that you think are deep but are just random crap on paper. It’s just straight forward power pop-rock. Well it’s hard to add the word rock into that, because it’s not at all. But it is a good time to dance around to and that’s what I like. It also hit at the right place at the right time mirroring a lot of things I was thinking about when it came out so it’s got that connection kind of deal going on. Maybe that makes me a scene-kid whiney baby but I don’t care. It’s fun and that’s what I care about.
Summer of 2010 I saw these guys and was greatly impressed to hear tracks from their previous album live and how much better they were than on the album. I was disappointed when it came out to find they were moving in such a club sounding way and shying away from the pop-punk sound they had before and even the electro-pop sound of their 2nd album, but I was pleasantly surprised to see that it all sounded great live and in a venue so I was able to return to it with a better look. This was not the case with their 4th studio album Night Shades. The fact I hadn’t heard this album was coming out until a few days before the release date might have something to do with it. When I popped it into my cd player I came to discover that this album is essentially a club mix that sounds like one progressive evening out on the town. Eh…. I know that’s what’s popular at the moment and what is big, but I don’t really like it all that much. I pretty much walked away from the cd after that and came back a little later. After a few listens, the first half of the cd has started to grow on me, but it’s still just hard to get into for me. It’s not bad per say and I still like Cobra Starship, but this one just wasn’t for me. Maybe if I was a club kinda guy and heard it there I would, but not in my car anyway.
I’ll just start off by saying this is my pick of the year right here. I first heard about FTM from Mike back in 07 and have been attempting to see them live ever since. Every time they’ve either cancelled or I physically could not get to the show. I finally had a chance a week ago and I was not disappointed. It’s hard to explain exactly how they are. They’re not a metal band but they can be pretty heavy rock from time to time. It’s a very straight forward rock band that’s heavy on the guitar, complex on the bass and keys, very driving drums, and the vocals tie it all together. Darroh the vocalist has by far the widest range of anybody I’ve ever heard. He can go quite high in falsetto and bring it immediately down to an unearthly growl with ease. The lyrics are just as on their first album, nonsensical poetry of sorts. This album is much much heavier than their last, but it mellows out somewhere in the middle and settles in a hard rock groove that both metal fans and alt/prog rock fans can enjoy. What is alt/prog rock anyway? It has been lodged in my cd player nearly unchallenged since its release in August and I’m pretty sure it’s going to stay that way for some time to come.
Not really an album, but a collection of songs that would have been an album. Birds are the side/was the main project of former front man of Resident Hero: Ryan White. He’s been a good friend of mine for a couple of years now and it’s always a treat to hear the new things that he’s been working on since RH’s demise. If I’m to understand correctly, he was working on releasing a full album with Birds at some point, possibly with newer material, possibly with the song by song releases that he had been doing all year long. Either way, 2011 saw at least five new songs from his catalogue (maybe less, I don’t remember when they were exactly released) that showed a lot of growth from the musical veteran. I first got my glimpse of Birds in the middle of last year with Incandescent World, I Hope You Understand, a re-tooled version of Happy Without Me, and finally a full band version of Give Me A Reason. At that point after a year or so of absence from RH I was just starving for new tunes. They were much more gentle an vulnerable, showcasing a bit more heartache without the punch. This year gave way to Books on Tape, Dreaming With The Lights On, Heart Shivers, Vendetta White, and Again Tomorrow. The first two seemed to continue the pacing of last year’s songs while upping the beat a bit, but there is a definite change starting with Heart Shivers. In Mr. White’s words: needs more rock. And that they did. Heart Shivesr, Vendetta White, and Again Tomorrow seem very reminiscent of later Resident Hero songs. They pack a punch are very honest and open and have a definite depth to them thanks to the key parts scattered throughout. Before Ryan decided to call it quits with Birds a little earlier this year it seemed like we were going to have a RH part 2 on our hands which is sad to see it go, but then again its giving rise to an actual RH part 2 called Okepi Revival. Now, I’m not sure what that means as of yet other than old RH songs are going to return with new material, but does this mean the Birds songs are gone too? Only time will tell. The only other thing to say here is that had Birds continued and if these were the songs on the album, it would have made
The second effort of belair is a similar EP that while shorter than their debut album, is no less of an impact of sound quality. Belair is a local band from Magnolia and some friends of mine. I was introduced to them by Derek late last year and was highly impressed by their live shows and high energy. It was a nice breath of fresh air to a lot of other bands I’ve seen locally as of late. While there is signs of growth from the first album to this one lyrically and by tone, it does feel a bit of a continuation from the first album, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing. The first 3 tracks a pretty high energy and have a good solid rock sound coupled with a strong vocal presence that seems to be more under control than on the first album. The vocals on the first album were fantastic and had a definite range to them, but after seeing them live and even talking to Wesley on a few occasions, they seem to be at the edge of his range and occasionally have a hard time hitting them completely. I’ve never heard it sound bad or anything, but they just seem safer this time around. On the flip side, by keeping them in a more controlled range it enables them to be much stronger it seems as the vocals are very dominant all throughout this EP. Very commanding. As usual the music speaks for itself and while a short collection, Move is a fun little cd to jump around to which I think was the point.
Another friend of mine from a ways back, This Holy House is the latest endeavor by singer Elliot Cotton. I’ve heard nearly every one of his musical projects from the past few years and the rotation of musicians he’s worked with. This time around however it seems that the addition of the Velek brothers has made a definite fit that works. I had seen them live on a few occasions so what I expected to find was a very loud and very pyscadellic guitar swelling bunch of music from start to finish. I was pleasantly surprised to see a very vast amount of depth on this album. Right from the start you hear banjos and mandolins to round out the first track. The album moves at such a pace that works very well. There was no recording some songs and just throwing them together here. It’s very apparent that a lot of thought went into the album order and exactly what each world in every song should contain. While a couple of these songs have been passed from band to band, they seem to fit in here just like they were written specifically for this album. There is a general feel and tone of the album and while some styles vary from song to song, they all seem to have a unifying sense to them that ties it all together. If Elliot’s thrashing about live isn’t quite your thing, I don’t know why it wouldn’t because it’s a ton of fun J, then perhaps the album is more your pace to really get the feeling behind each and every track. And hey, really anybody should check it out I really recommend it.
I’ve been a fan of Family Force 5 for a few years now and I’m starting to change my opinion about who I think has the best live show ever. The more I see them the more I’m pointing in FF5’s direction. The same really can’t be said about their new album however. Earlier this year they released the III EP that has 3 tracks off of their full length, much like they did when they released Dance or Die. At first I didn’t like either of the 3 tracks, but once I heard them live I got hooked on them. I didn’t seem to have the same result after I saw them live a second time this year in Little Rock after they had released the full length album. Sure some of the tracks had more life to them and I was able to enjoy them more, but something in their sound has changed to a point that it’s not bad, just not what I want to listen to currently. Their first album was all about guitars and a little synth, the second album was all dance synth guitar, and now it feels like nearly all club music to a point. There’s nothing wrong with that, except that I don’t expect that kind of thing from a really energetic punk type dance band I dunno. Don’t get me wrong, there are a few highlights on the album that are a lot of fun, but other tracks seem to just play out without anything special in particular. I find myself skipping around a lot on this cd even after listening to it for a month or so. It’s not bad, just not the first album of theirs that I’ll grab to listen to if I have a choice.
I can’t not like these guys, I really can’t. Their new album is essentially a carbon copy of their previous endeavor and that’s not necessarily a bad thing. It’s more of what’s fun. It is sort of club music, but done in a silly and fun way. It’s more like guilty pleasure music that I really enjoy dancing around to while I’m driving or when nobody else is home. Or even things I like to repeat when I feel like being goofy with friends. However, the downside to this is that if you’re not a huge fan of their first album you won’t be with this one either. Just like their other cd I’ll listen to 2 or 3 tracks then shelf it. Kind of like getting the wiggles out of my system.
Preston is a man I met back in college way back in 2006. I’ve followed his musical endeavors from a few different bands, each time citing a different genre. Each time it’s been my new favorite local act to follow however as he’s just full of energy and a masterful front man. His voice is crystal clear and ranges from mid to high tones with surprisingly little effort. This album is his first foray into the world of solo musicianship. He’s been performing by himself for a long while, but this is his first real studio effort. You wouldn’t know that however by listening to it. You see preston’s setup is a sort of one man band style. He uses looping effects from his pedal board to create on the spot backing tracks that range from drums, guitar riffs, and his own backing vocals. It’s really interesting to watch him create a track from scratch live and have it play out right in front of you from one man. Of course you’re not getting that from the album, you just get the music itself, but that’s ok. The music speaks for itself here in a very earnest and open manner. It’s a laid back coffeshop styled music that has a lot of layers in it. Some tracks are slow and pretty, others are more upbeat and fun, but overall it’s a great listen and something you can really zone out to either in the car or while hanging out at home.
Patrick Stump impressed me a long time ago with the insane range of his voice and how intense it can be at times. Marked with the combination of upbeat pop-punk style music made for why I enjoyed to an extent Fall Out Boy. However, now that he’s doing his own this we get to see his real roots of soul, r&b, and a lot of funk. His solo effort EP is just a sampling of his full album that came out later in the year that I have yet to listen to, but if this is any indication of what’s to come I’m really looking forward to it. There is the same old Patrick vocal style that soars and is clear everywhere on it, but you won’t find any real heavy guitar or fall out boy-esce anything here. Like I said, it’s really reminiscent of a funk jive party with a lot of upbeat r&b style hooks and vocal styles. It’s definitely worth a listen and a lot of fun even if it’s only an EP with a few tracks on it.
I think this was a mini EP that was sold exclusively at Wal-Mart for a time. It’s nothing new really, just acoustic renditions of songs mostly from 2009’s TriPolar with a song or two from Dressed Up As Life mixed in. The neat thing is that they aren’t just straight acoustic versions, but rather are backed up by a string quartet on various songs. It’s interesting to hear these songs on a much more stripped down level to get a deeper meaning from them, but it’s pretty much not something you’re probably going to listen to very often even if you’re a big fan of the Sick Puppies.
I’ve been a fan of the Aquabats for a couple of years now and they’ve been a pretty significant inspiration when it comes to me writing T3 material. They’re just goofy and they know it and don’t care. From what I understand they parted ways with their record label a few years back and have been sitting on this album until they were able to release it with the backing they needed. It kind of hard to pin down exactly what genre the Aquabats are as their sound seems to progressively change with each album, but lately they’ve learned more towards a pop synth sound wither fewer and fewer ties to their ska roots they began with over a decade ago. This album is sort of a mash up of their last album with a touch of what music has evolved into these days I suppose. There is a lot of auto-tune on this album. But from what I can tell it’s used to mock people who use it as much as they do. The track BFF springs to mind for example as the auto tuning goes completely out of control by the end of the song, but that makes it even funnier to me. I dunno, there’s not much to say about this album other than its more of the same Aquabats. Its fun, it’s danceable, and it’s friendly. What more is there anyway?
I got this album earlier this year and honestly forgot about it until recently. I like Red and their sound and even though this honestly feels like a carbon copy of both of their previous albums, it doesn’t necessarily feel like a bad thing. It feels much like Chevelle in that sense that you know exactly what you’re getting yourself into when you pick up their new album. You’re still going to get some pretty heavy guitar and driving vocals coupled with that undertone of strings that steal the show on a lot of these songs that gives it almost a new gothic sort of feel like the first evanescence album did. Not best album ever, and a little forgettable, but not bad either.
Now I discovered these guys at the end of last year, but it wasn’t until earlier this year that I picked up their self titled debut album. Sure it came out last year, but I was starting to see them on MTV2 a lot in the early months of the year. It’s a very simple formula of drums, guitar, backing/leading vocals, and the actual lead vocalist. They do a sort of vocal trade off, usually for rap style verses and very a very melodic chorus. Sure there is a lot of political undertones for this cd, but again it’s pretty high energy and funky. Unfortunately it’s a genre that I personally get a little tired of after about the mid-point of the cd since their isn’t too much of a variety in style, but that doesn’t mean that I don’t really enjoy it when I first pop it in.
Yes I put my own cd on this list, but that’s because well it did come out this year and it was a big part of 2011. I’ll save the in-deptness for another blog that I’m thinking about, but in essence this feels like our biggest step forward yet, musically anyway. I’ve taken this cd in a listen in two forms: with and without the skits. Without the skits the album seems to flow very well together and it sounds better than anything we’ve done before. I’m still surprised to hear how good the quality is when we recorded it ourselves just like all of our other albums. The final version with all the skits is hit or miss with me to be honest. A few of them seem like they were put there just to be there and don’t flow as well as on our debut album. Also a few drown on kind of long. Maybe it’s because I’ve been right there in the middle of it all from the start and I’ve forgotten, but that’s how I feel on them anyway. I just feel like I could have done better. That’s not to say they’re bad, because it still has the same effect on everyone I’ve had listen to the album to and that’s them laughing, but I just feel that bar could have been higher. Again however, that’s just me wanting it to be perfect. Long story short, I’ve been told by many that with this album it sounds like we’ve been maturing and evolving and coming into our own. Something I was hoping people would think after listening to older material. To quote my favorite quote of the album regarding that: “those are not the testicles I remember”
I about overlooked these gentlemen from Australia earlier this month. They were the main supporting act for Fair to Midland when they came to town and I just assumed that they were some metal band. I’m glad I decided to give them a shot because they’re a lot of fun. It’s a very driving near techno/rave/rock experience to listen to them. All the tracks on the album have a very simple beat to them that repeats but it’s all very high intensity and makes you want to dance around right from the start. There’s not a lot of crescendo here, just right to the good stuff and that’s honestly what I really like in a lot of albums. Its good rock, has a great beat, and the vocals are all over the place that are just as high energy as the rest. I’m sure I’m going to be listening to this one for a good while now.
