Valadares

This band really surprised me. I was browsing the website of a local record company here in Washington, and saw their EP for sale. It was marked at only $5, and I liked the name, so I listened to a few sample clips and took a chance on it. The opening track, Manifesto (Don't Tell), begins with an a Capella intro, then kicks into straight up rock. The vocalist sounds a lot like Tess Wiley (early Sixpence None the Richer, Velour 100), one of my favorite female singers. The main style is reminiscent of Paramore, but with a more raw, rough-around-the-edges feel to it. Unfortunately, I could only find one of their songs on YouTube. Here's "Manifesto (Don't Tell)":



The record label has this SoundCloud widget featuring short clips of each song on their EP:


And other than a mention of a new track on Spotify, which I can't get to play for some reason, I haven't seen any update from them since 2017. I hope that's not the last of them, they're a fantastic band in my opinion.
If you like what you hear in the samples and video, consider purchasing their EP here.

New Year, New Music?

The past few years I've mostly forgotten about our little music blog and the friends I've made through this little endeavor. As is often the case, life snuck up on me and I haven't had much time to focus on posting music, introducing new bands and other such things. But I've come to miss it quite a lot. So, if I don't get too busy with the myriad other things (I'm now a full-time caregiver for my 91-year-old grandpa, I'm soon to be engaged, and my family has already started making plans for the wedding), I'll try to share some of the music I've discovered recently. Here's a few off the top of my head:

Valadares
Burdens Within
Small Town Titans
Brightgray
Cloud Break
NF

So... stay tuned! Here's hoping we can revive this thing!

Oh... Have I ever mentioned I write my own music? This year I'm going to try and get some more professional recordings done of songs I've written. So if you're curious what I sound like, be on the lookout for that! lol

OverKast

OverKast is a local band whose vocalist I befriended recently. They play faith-based hard rock with a late '90s-early 2000's feel to it. Sounds like Disciple and Pillar on the Christian end, Breaking Benjamin and Seether on the mainstream end. As usual, I'll offer a few examples of their music to let you get an idea of what they play. They're currently working on a new album, so if you have a couple extra bucks, I'd encourage you to donate. I'll include the link to their campaign after the music.

From their 2009 self-titled album, here's "The Edge"

Also from their self-titled album, here's "Unwanted". Definitely hear some Alter Bridge/Creed influences here.

From their demo CD, here's "To Live For"

And a song from their upcoming album, "You're Not Alone", recorded live at the Hard Rock Cafe in Seattle

If you like what you hear, please consider donating to help them record their next album.

Donation Page: https://myevent.com/overkastmusic/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/overkastmusic3/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/overkastmusic

Maylene & the Sons of Disaster

Been listening to Maylene for a while now. Heard them first on a compilation CD back in '09, and they've been kinda growing on me since. They have a kind of southern hard rock mixed with metal sound. Like if George Thorogood decided to start screaming metalcore vocals instead of singing. Maybe that's not the best description. Like always, give a couple songs a listen and decide for yourself.
Here's a song from their first album, also my initial introduction to them. "Tough as John Jacobs":

From their second album, here's "Raised by the Tide":

Their third album is the only one I owned for a while, so I love pretty much every song. I'll share 2 of my favorites. Here's a song with mostly clean vocals and good ol' Southern rock n' roll vibes, "Listen Close":

And here's "Oh Lonely Grave":

They have a 4th album out, but I haven't gotten to listen to it yet. Let me know what you think of it all.

Love and Death

If you know the band Korn, you probably have heard of their guitarist, Brian "Head" Welch. He was a backing vocalist and one of the founding members of the band. In 2005, he left Korn after becoming a Christian. He released a solo album in 2008 titled "Save Me from Myself", and in 2013, he formed the band Love and Death and released an album titled "Between Here & Lost". I picked that album up on a whim recently, and found that I really like it. If you're into Korn you're probably going to really like this one. As is the case with most of my posts, I'll share a few of my favorite tracks and encourage you to check the rest out for yourself.
One of my favorite tracks off this album is titled "Chemicals", about the struggle with drug addiction:


Here's "I W8 4 U", featuring Mattie Montgomery of For Today:

Here's "By the Way":

One stand-out track on this album is "Whip It", a Devo cover song. Yeah, you read that right. DEVO. But give it a listen, it's almost nothing like the original. And I like it:

Crazy, right? :)

Well, that's a decent idea of what you're getting into with Love and Death. Let me know what you think, as always.

Big Dismal

Remember that brief period in the late '90s and early 2000s where everyone tried to sound like Scott Stapp? Well, the lead singer of this band pulls off a pretty convincing double. Although the musical style doesn't exactly match that of Creed, if you were listening and not really paying attention, you might begin to wonder if it was a long-lost Creed song. Sadly, they only recorded one album before fading into relative obscurity. I thought I'd share a few of my favorite Big Dismal songs in the hopes that you'd also enjoy them. For my first example, here's a kind of power ballad-type song, "Remember (I.O.U)":
Here's one featuring Amy Lee (of Evanescence fame), entitled "Missing You":
This song was my introduction to the band, way back in the early 2000's. Called "Running Through My Mind":
And finally, a song which doesn't even sound like the same band. Kind of a Matchbox Twenty or early Train vibe to it. Titled "Just the Same":
Let me know what you think of this band. I'm a sucker for anything similar to Creed, so I automatically liked them the first time I heard them. Most, if not all, of their songs can be found on YouTube.

But it pours. Man, it pours.

I'll just leave this here...

Please, use this song

Jon Lajoie strikes back.

Five Star Songs: Care of Cell 44

I don't watch Mad Men. I'd like to, I find the show to be very appealing, but I didn't jump on the bandwagon before the seasons piled up and it was too late. Anyway, the latest episode featured a song by The Zombies and it immediately stirred some waves between the oldies lovers. Slate wrote a nice article about it and I encourage everyone to read it. The song is called This Will Be Our Year and is taken from the band's 1968 masterpiece album, Odessey & Oracle. For today's edition of Five Star Songs, though, I chose a different song from that record, Care of Cell 44. It's the album opener and, as such, sets an incredibly high standard. Luckily enough, the rest of the LP keeps up wonderfully.

The Zombies are one of the lesser known bands from the 1960s, but also one of the very best. They released only two studio albums in their first incarnation, that lasted from 1962 to 1968. The debut is mostly significant for containing their biggest hit, She's Not There, which was recently used in a Coco Chanel commercial. But that song was only a sign of things to come, because The Zombies' vastly superior sophomore album is what they will be remembered for.

The Zombies weren't breaking any new ground with Odessey, as the psychedelic era had already been a few years underway by the time they recorded it. Originally, the album wasn't even very succesful. But time proved to be very generous to its blend of baroque pop and jazz, and it has since become one of those endearing classics. Rolling Stone has it at #100 in its "500 Greatest Albums of All Time" list, it's included in the book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die and, above all, is a staple of my humble CD collection. I hope you enjoy it too.

The New Pornographers

If anyone asks, tell 'em I'm busy. But just between us, I can always find the time for discovering new music.

The New Pornographers are a Canadian indie rock band who have released five studio albums to date. The song Crash Years is taken from the last one, which came out in 2010. I must admit, though, that all of the albums are rather brilliant. I've been spinning them constantly for these past few days and honestly cannot get enough of them. Your thoughts?

You'll Never Leave Harlan Alive

I love Justified. It's one of the best scripted shows on TV. The penultimate fifth season has just finished, and while it may have been a little uneven in parts, the final episodes were once again nothing short of breathtaking. The best thing about the show is that you never know what's going to happen next. The writers have their way of coming up with completely unpredictable twists and solutions, thus keeping the audience constantly on their toes. The world of Justified is inhabited by a wide range of colourful, fascinating characters, most of whom don't get enough screen time, but the heart of the show lies in the relationship between U.S. Marshal Raylan Givens and his rival, criminal Boyd Crowder, the main duo portrayed brilliantly by Timothy Olyphant and Walton Goggins. Their chemistry is terrific, and so is every scene they share.

A lot of the show's plot takes place in Harlan, Kentucky, and so far, all seasons but one have ended with various covers of Darrell Scott's song You'll Never Leave Harlan Alive. It's a powerful song about the town's coal mining history, but it also sums up Justified perfectly. It has been covered by Brad Paisley or Patty Loveless, among others. Here's the original version.

Future Islands

I'm familiar with most US talk show hosts, though I don't watch regularly any of them. I wanted to share a video of Future Islands, who's brand new album Singles is rather brilliant, and this popped up. It was by far the most viewed musical segment on Letterman, and I can see why. Future Islands' frontman Samuel T. Herring dances way better than Thom Yorke. Your thoughts?

Fake Your Death

One more post today. My Chemical Romance released their greatest hits compilation, May Death Never Stop You, earlier this week. This is the first track on the album. It was one of the last songs the band recorded together, presumably some time in 2012. Last week, it had been a year since My Chem called it quits and, I hope I won't sound overly melodramatic, left a void that cannot be filled. Fake Your Death is their eulogy.

I Wanna Get Better

One of this year's big surprises. I was just wondering what fun. were doing, because I haven't heard about them in a while, and as it turns out, the members were keeping themselves quite busy. The band's lead guitarist, Jack Antonoff, for example, has been working on a solo album which is due out later this year. He's only released one song from it, but what a song it is. Your thoughts?

Fever

It's been over two years since El Camino came out, so it was about time The Black Keys released something new. Well, there it is. If you missed the the teaser for the new album, named Turn Blue, earlier this month, check it out here. It's worth it. Or you can just listen to the first song from the upcoming record, called Fever.

As for me, I think the song is pretty enjoyable and I can totally see some progress there; however, I guess I'm not as excited for it as I could be. Your thoughts?

Lost In The Dream

Best album of the first quarter of 2014? Well, I think I have a winner. If you're feeling any kind of nostalgia for the '80s, or even if you don't, dive right in.

Winter Hymns

To be honest, I haven't listened to Charlie Simpson for quite some time now. His debut album, Young Pilgrim, was great and all, but it got overplayed eventually. Nevertheless, there he is again with fresh material. Musically, it's nothing new, this road has been walked down many times before, but it's still quite pleasant, and as a long time fan of Charlie's, I'll always be interested in whatever he's up to. I only wonder if he's ever gonna release another album with Fightstar. Your thoughts?

Did somebody say "eclectic taste"?

Something for the friday evening -- a song from one of my playlists from the sixties. It used to be popular here in its czech version from a while ago by I don't know who, because we Czechs have the bad habbit of re-doing everything, which is painfully evident especially in music. But the original is, of course, miles better.

Why I'm posting this? I don't know. It has just come up on my playlist, I think it's a great song and I think they don't make them like that anymore. Enjoy.

Cuckoo!???

So the other day I was researching a band I like on Wikipedia, and saw that the lead singer was involved in another band, called Neon Horse. I had never heard of them, so I looked them up on YouTube. I have to admit, it's strange but intriguing. And I've been racking my brain trying to figure out who they sound like. The lead singer's voice during the first verse sounds so familiar! Any suggestions? At first I was thinking maybe Cage the Elephant, but that's not quite it. All I know is I like it.