79

Last Days of April, the Swedish indie-pop band best known for their early 2000's emo indie albums on Deep Elm Records that have influenced acts like Charlie Simpson & Fightstar, are back with their newest CD, 79, the bands second since reforming in 2008. While the transition made from the early work of Angel Youth and Ascend To The Stars to the newer work on Gooey is still very visible, we get to see some of the old LDAO songwriting on 79, in particular in the tracks "Lily" and "Where We Belong". With a more indie flare, a dash of twang, and with obvious influence from bands like The Weakerthans, Springsteen, and Band of Horses, Last Days of April have officially merged their early 2000's emo influence into a more robust indie influence, reinventing themselves to a new sound and a new fan base. Below is a sampling of three songs off the new CD:

45

Well, it was about time. The Gaslight Anthem's new single has been out for quite some time, but it wasn't until now that they've released a music video for the song too. Here it is. I have no doubts the new record's gonna be fantastic, and that's something I can't say about any other band right now...



The new album, Handwritten, comes out on July 24.

Young The Giant

Over the last year, i've been slowly getting into Young The Giant, the indie alt rock outfit from the OC. If you have yet to check out their debut self-titled album, I suggest you do so. Recently, the band sat in with entertainment & music magazine/website A.V. Club and partook in their series "Undercover", sponsored by Starbucks, which features acts covering songs selected by the site and magazines readers. They compile a list of most voted on songs, and allow the bands, one-by-one, to pick which track they'd like to cover. The song is then performed, the song is crossed off the list, and the band leaves the recording space having penned their signature, comments, and song on the wall. Here is Young the Giants offering of a the early 2000's rap classic, "Ignition (Remix)" originally by R.Kelly, with a indie rock twist to it.




It should also be noted, I am a HUGE fan of alt rock bands/acoustic singer/songwriters covering rap songs. If you are as well, I highly suggest you check out the once-viral video of Mat Weddle covering "Hey Ya" or Goot and his piano cover of "Changes" by 2pac.

Sleeping At Last going 8-bit

Well, there's never enough of Sleeping At Last. The “8-Bits“ EP features 1 song from each of their records, transformed into retro Nintendo-style video game music and you can download it for free. Pretty cool.

Rize of the Fenix

Six years after their sophomore album, the D are finally back. Was it worth the long wait?

Well, of course. There are some absolute gems on the record, like the title track, for example. But as a whole, it isn't quite the stunner fans were hoping for. There are some tracks that came out rather boring and left you wondering if they were treated with the same amount of care as the rest. Furthermore, if it were up to me, I'd leave out the spoken tracks for good. Nevertheless, Gass and Black are still both extremely accomplished musicians and when they unleash the guitar mayhem, it's always one hell of a ride. Besides, any '70s metal band would've been lucky to have "Hollywood Jack" on the mic. And then, there's Dave Grohl. The Foo Fighters' frontman adds a whole new layer to most songs with his drumming skills.



This time around, the band moved from their "Led Zeppelin" roots to a more '80s rock sound, adding some synths here and there, bringing a slight change of style. As always, there's a story that pervades throughout the album. As the title suggests, it follows the band as they reunite, after their last album had bombed, and against all odds and in spite of all the evil critics try to carry on their once disrupted quest for world domination. Needless to say, the lyrics are as hilariously inapropriate/borderline vulgar as ever.

To sum it up, there's still some room for growth and hopefully, the D are yet to release their opus magnum. The Pick of Destiny will have to hold the title of their best record to date a bit longer.

Best tracks: Rize of the Fenix, Deth Starr, Roadie