I make no apologies, I really like 3DD’s
debut album. Their second CD however, sounded like they were trying to
become Matchbox Twenty. All of the balls were gone and replaced with radio
friendly little numbers. Sad but true. I managed to catch them live a couple
of times on their never ending tour to support their debut and was impressed
with their performance. I wasn’t blown away, mind you, but they pack a
nice punch live and deliver the songs with power and conviction. For the
most part that was captured on this CD. “Duck and Run”, a cool cover of
Skynyrd’s classic “That Smell” and the megahit “Kryptonite” come across
as great live rockers. The rest of the CD focuses on the band’s ballads
and though I wasn’t bowled over by “When I’m Gone” on the studio album,
I do like this version. It has a bit less polish and more emotion. The
other ballads could have been replaced with rockers and I wouldn’t have
complained but that’s a personal preference.
I love artists that say screw it; let’s
go out on a limb. That’s Arms of Kismit, a singer / songwriter / mult-instrumentalist
by the name of Mark Doyon, who put together this album with a host of special
guests. Doyon draws a captivating musical picture with a mixture of alternative,
electronica, new wave and dance beats that are painted on a canvas of melodic
pop that easily catches the ears. This is definitely an album you
should check out if you are a fan of any of the above mentioned genres
or are just curious to hear something a bit left of center.
Boston power-popster’s Eden Row offer up
a little edgier take on the pop punk we have come to expect from TRL. The
vocals are a little rougher around the edges but the melodies really harkens
back to the 70’s era guitar driven power-pop, except given a modern make
over. I’m not a big fan of pop-punk but I found myself really enjoying
this one, could really be part of a soundtrack to a fun filled summer.
The first thought that came into my mind
when I put this one on, it reminds me of Riot circa their late 80’s comeback
album “Thundersteel”. When I say this is metal, I mean metal, they don’t
let any of that nu-metal crap creep in. If you love the old school epic
power metal, then Falconer should please you. They mix in a few metal sub-genres
and it flows smoothly. Those that love concept albums will also love this
one. If you want the story, you’ll have to pick up the CD, I won’t spoil
it for you. Tr00 Vikings should love this one.
Considering I already have GNR's greatest
hits, it's called "Appetite for Destruction" this was not an essential
CD to add to my collection, especially since I have Use Your Illusion I
& II, and Lies ('The Spaghetti Incident' met with a tragic gardening
accident). But for those that never picked up all the GNR catalog this
is a good primer of highlights, but by no means their best work. Where
is "Mr. Brownstone", "Think About You", "Estranged", "Nightrain", "One
in a Million" or "Coma"? Well they weren't hits, so we get a package of
mostly the MTV stuff (except "Estranged" and "Dead Horse".) But the good
thing is if someone that hasn't been turned on to GNR in the past happens
upon this CD it should expose them enough to go pick up the albums and
listen to the band the way they should be listened to. With only four CDs
(TSI doesn't count) you have no excuse not to own all of them, unless of
course Axl isn't the rose of your ear.
This indie release reminded me a lot of
the more commercial side of Incubus. It’s a good solid indie effort that
puts some of its major label competition to shame. Great production and
some excellent songwriting can be found among the eleven tracks. It has
a nice progressive feel and the band doesn’t seem to be afraid to mix things
up between tracks. In other words, it would be easy for a band in this
genre to pretty much reproduce the same song over and over, but Hayes will
never be accused of that. When you fast forward to the next track you get
an entirely new track.
This is supposed to suck by definition
and it does but what sucks even more is poor William only landed this novelty
record deal for 25K, he should have held out for more because people are
just stupid enough to buy this thing for a good laugh. Nice guy, but bad
singer and he doesn’t realize what a joke that is being made of him. I
would say he would have the last laugh all the way to the bank but it looks
like the last laugh is reserved for Koch.
I was ready to write off The Hurt Process
as yet another emo pretender just a few seconds into listening to this
disc but I kept listening and was actually surprised at what I found—a
good solid alt rock band that uses emo as a framework but goes beyond it
with more dynamics.
I hate country but really got a “kick”
out of this CD. How could you not love a band with lyrics like “you put
the cunt in country”. While obviously there is a lot of humor with this
band, you can’t fault their playing, musicianship or songwriting. Good
dirty fun for the whole dysfunctional family. BYO Records scores again!
I have just one question. This is what
took three years to produce? It's a rather uninspired by the numbers album
from Janet and in no way lives up to the heights of her career with "Control"
and "Rhythm Nation 1814". She used to take real chances but now the chances
have given way to trying to create controversy as a song like "Sexhibition"
demonstrates. However, that song is actually one of the strongest tracks
on the album and shows her trying to creep into the realm of Prince circa
"Parade". But for the most part this is not a very inspiring collection
of music. Janet die hards might be pleased to finally have new material,
but this one will have a hard time making the same kind of impact as her
late 80s releases.
Punky, garage rock good times are to be
had with this self-titled EP from the Murdocks. Fuzzy guitars, rough vocals
over addictive melodies. This isn’t the Strokes doing Iggy but more like
The Melvins doing Iggy. My only complaint-- why only four songs?
PTHALO’s post grunge sound skates the edges
of numetal and modern rock and offer up a strong effort for fans of both
genres, a tad bit more progressive then your usual numetal and while the
vocals are well executed they don’t standout as original, leading this
band to easily be confused with any number of modern rock bands trying
to sound like a new take on Soundgarden or Pearl Jam. What is cool about
this band is their subtle diversity. The songs flow together nicely but
don’t run together like most bands in this genre. Recommend for fans of
Nickleback, Creed, or similar groups, but they have been a few years late
to the party to really make a big impact.
If your taste for power-pop leans towards
the “emo” variety then The Pale should be just the ticket for you. With
a sound very similar to Death Cab For Cutie and Weezer, the Pale offer
up an album's worth of polished pop with lamenting lyrics. “Gravity Gets
Things Done” is a fun CD and should open doors for the band with emo-centered
fans. Nothing is earth shatteringly original here, but again it’s a fun
CD and well worth the price of admission if this kind of music that gets
you going.
Let’s set the record straight-- Courtney
Love is not the queen of punk that her PR people would love you believe.
Singing out of key does not a punker make. Chicago’s The Paperbacks on
the other hand wear their punk rock on their sleeves and there is no confusing
their credentials, especially frontwoman L Hotshot. Packing plenty of attitude
with real punk rock bite, not that cheesy pop crap, The Paperbacks offer
up six reasons to spit in the face of conformity with this self-titled
EP.
When Telsa first came out they did standout
from the cock-rock all over MTV and gave us some kickass hard rock. Unfortunately,
this cd does live up to it's title "In the Now" as the band seemed to have
traded their hard rock in for nu metal and modern rock styling. That being
said if this CD had come out under a different band name, I would have
given it a higher rating because despite the nu metal pandering, it is
a lot more solid in songwriting and musicianship than most of the kids
they are trying to compete with. But this is definitely not Tesla picking
up where they left off.
We had female fronted punk with The Paperbacks
but what about hardcore? If you like your punk on the hardcore side then
Vice Dolls just might be it for you. The driving music should get you moving
but the vocals on the other hand might turn some off as they come across
more as Japanese cartoon then smash the s*** out everyone in the pit. But
in the end, it comes to personal taste and others may take the vocals a
bit more seriously. After all people do buy Kittie albums.
Posted by not second:
i feel horrible. i hit a squirrel on the way home today im a MONSTER!
Posted by ??:
Most get more than 25K unless they are on a small little label. It's called an advance. He get's 25K and the label gets 10 times that? Yeah, people are idiots for pointing that out. Give me a break.
Posted by get a clue:
Okay not all of you are idiots that are making comments here but some.... well let me just say where the hell do you get your information from. Number 1. Bands never get huge ammounts of cash for record deals, all revenue comes from touring. Number 2. Incase you did not read the post before about Hung being a engineer student, well even if he was dumb he's getting a crap load of money for doing nothing. So wouldn't that be taking advantage of us? Go figure.
Posted by Dangly Phloot:
I think Willy Hung was lucky to get 25 cents for his 15 minutes, much less 25 large. How many of the legit contenders who were booted will make 25k? Probably none. He'll probably be doing commercials and his own movie next. Good for the ugly talentless Asian guy. A duet with Avril would be priceless.
Posted by Hobo:
I'm with you Mr. Huh. Who is the evil mastermind behind the 'Hit Machine' series, and how can they be stopped?
Posted by BigBaldRon:
William Hung is a engineerin student. I seriously doubt he "wouldnt be able to comprehend it". He got 25G to make a crappy Album. More than he got from being on American Idol. He has a video, and he has probably gotten laid from all this. More than I can say for any of you bitching about how stupid he is.
Posted by muisc:
He only got 25 grand for a record deal? Thats terrible, he should have gotten more.
Posted by Mr. huh? saying, "My Generation Sucks!":
Someone needs to die for making those NOW compilations.
Posted by fsdfsd:
i feel terrible for william hung. he's being used by the mass media, but doesn't know it. and, if people tried to explain it to him, he wouldn't be able to comprehend it. pathetic what society gets amusement out of.
