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

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.

Biffy Clyro Got Lucky

I'm going to see this bunch in a couple of days and my excitement is slowly escalating. Nevertheless, I was just made aware of their recent cover of Daft Punk's Get Lucky and I think it's pretty interesting.

Rewind the Film

Come their eleventh album, most bands would have already started to fade away, went through countless line-up changes or dissoluted altogether. When a band has been together for this long, it usually struggles to come up with something fresh, game-changing, or otherwise significant. More often than not, it sticks to repeating the same old formulas that paid off in the past. Not the Manics, though. Having been together since 1986, they've become quite good at reinventing their sound, and it doesn't seem they're gonna stop anytime soon.

To anyone, who followed this Welsh trio at least vaguely in the last few years, it may come as a surprise that Rewind the Film consists mostly of slower, mellow ballads, and that it even features very little of Nicky Wire's typical electric guitar. Send Away the Tigers and Postcards From a Young Man were both big, stadium rock records, while Journal for Plague Lovers, which was composed entirely of lyrics left behind by the presumably deceased guitarist and lyricist Richey Edwards, saw the band return to its raw, punk rock roots. On the contrary, Rewind the Film reminds mostly of This Is My Truth, Tell Me Yours, an 1998 album which included their most popular single to date If You Tolerate This Your Children Will Be Next. It's an acoustic based and melancholic album, full of gentle melodies and featuring some powerful guest vocals. But don't let this fool you, the Manics are as angry and biting as they've ever been.

This is the sound of a band clearly in its prime. The fact is all the more fascinating considering they've released an album like this almost thirty years into their career. Manic Street Preachers are an interesting phenomenon indeed and still a force to be reckoned with.

Rewind the Film's follow up, Futurology, is due out early next year. And it's gonna be a lot more spiky, heavy and guitar driven. Both albums were recorded simultaneously.

Best tracks: This Sullen Welsh Heart, Show Me the Wonder, Rewind the Film

There Goes Our Love

I used to love White Lies by the time their debut came out. I spinned the album heavily, along with music from Editors and Interpol. Those were my post-punk days... Unfortunately, their sophomore effort failed to excite me and I cared very little for them ever since.

However, this summer, White Lies are back with their third record, and judging from the two new songs that I've heard so far, it should be pretty good. Perhaps a bit in a Sam's-Town-era Killers way. Fingers crossed. The album comes out August 12. Thoughts?

Rewind the Film

Manic Street Preachers will be back this fall with Rewind The Film, their eleventh studio album, and the first since 2010′s Postcards From A Young Man. About a week ago, they’ve unveiled a video for the title track. I must say, the song itself is nothing short of brilliant. This is the sound of a band, that's been together since 1986. Unbelievable.

Well, the Manics actually recorded two albums simultaneously. The first one to come out will be more acoustic and gentle, while the other one will be way heavier with lots of electric guitars on it. I can't wait. Rewind the Film comes out September 16th.

Jimmy Eat World at Lucerna Music Bar

On Saturday, June 22nd, I finally had the chance to see my all time favourite band in person. Jimmy Eat World returned to Czech Republic almost two years after their last appearance on Rock for People festival, and as far as I know, this makes it their third concert here in total.

The band kicked off the show almost precisely at 8 p.m. in a no-time-to-lose manner, and continued the furious pace throughout the evening, playing 21 songs in about 85 minutes. Personally, I could hardly imagine a better setlist. If you're interested, check it out here. From what I've heard from friends and read on social networks, reactions were unanimously enthusiastic. Needless to say, I loved it and was left almost speechless (and deaf) at the end. You can take a look at the photos here and here. And that guy that you don't see in the second row? That's me. :)

Five Star Songs: Parallel Worlds

I realized I haven't written much in the past few weeks due to being constantly busy with school and perfecting my procrastination skills, and I thought that the Five Star Song section needed an update. So yesterday, I was going through my music library searching for something to write about, perhaps a band I haven't heard in years, some hidden gem of a song, or maybe an undying classic, and then I set my eyes on Elliot Minor.

It must've been a very long time since I listened to them for the last time, because I completely forgot they existed. And boy, was I missing a lot. Five years since its release, Elliot Minor's eponymous debut hasn't aged a day, and the melodies are just as infectious as they've always been. It's no wonder that that kind of magic only happened once and the band's following effort didn't live up to its promise.

Parallel World was the lead single from their first album, and still serves as a perfect example of the band's refined sound and instrumental skills, but is often overshadowed by their most notorious song, Jessica. They both hold five star rating in my library, alhough I've always kind of prefered the former. That being said, Elliot Minor's self-titled includes several other fantastic songs and it wouldn't be fair not to mention them. Time After Time, Lucky Star, Still Figuring Out... And once you start listening to the album, it's hard to let go.

Unfortunately, as I mentioned above, after the release of Elliot Minor in 2008, the band quickly started to lose momentum and eventually went on a hiatus three years later. Since then, most of the members started their own projects, so there probably isn't any future for the band. Thankfully, they left us with at least one great album.

Are we too damaged now to possibly connect?

11 days left. To the official release date, of course...

Monday night edit: Jimmy Eat World are now streaming the album in full on their official facebook page. Enjoy. :)

Editors

I just found out that Editors are releasing a new album in July. I have no idea how this news could be escaping me for so long. Anyway, here's the first teaser of their fourth full-length record, a song called A Ton of Love. Had I not known it was from Editors, I honestly wouldn't recognise them. It sounds so much different from anything they have released so far and completely contradicts the direction they had taken with In This Light and on This Evening.

I wasn't impressed with the song at first, but after a while, it grows on you. In Tom Smith's own words, the band was going towards a more straightforward sound of bands like R.E.M. or Arcade Fire, and the album was mostly recorded live. Nothing wrong with that. The Weight of Love comes out July 1st. Thoughts?

Up In the Air

Can't believe it's been almost four years since This Is War. Although I might have doubted the lasting value of the album, I still like it, and I do listen to Kings and Queens fairly often.

Yesterday, the band premiered a music video for their newest single. The song itself is kind of meh, but the video takes it to another level. Their new album, Love, Lust, Faith and Dreams, comes out May 17th, and I'm slowly starting to look forward to it. Knowing, that the band took on the help of a prominent producer Steve Lillywhite (U2, The Killers), has only increased my expectations.

Five Star Songs: Big Casino

To further honour the release of a brand new Jimmy Eat World track, let's look back at one of their best songs to date. In my opinion at least. The band has put out quite a few gems in the span of their twenty-year-long career, and many of them retain five star rating in my library. This is just the first one in a long line, and more are sure to come...

For me, out of the whole Jimmy Eat World's catalogue, Big Casino has always been the song of choice. It's instant accessibility, huge chorus, everything I love about the band embodied in one of their rockiest moments.

Chase This Light tends to be unjustly overlooked in the band's discography. The cleaner production, radio-friendly sound and uplifting lyrics -- especially in contrast to the gloomy mood of Futures -- aren't usually the type of things that get much love from more serious listeners. However, the tunes are just as good as they've always been. And Big Casino is just as good an opener as Futures or Bleed American were. Flat out one of their top songs.

Jimmy Eat World Will Steal You Back

Hell yes! I cannot contain my excitement. Almost three years after Invented, Jimmy Eat World are back with a new album, Damage, which hits stores on June 11th. Just about an hour ago, they released this little teaser of a song, and, well, it's *beep* brilliant. It's been playing on a constant loop for a while now, as I am writing this post, and I just can't seem to get enough of it. It has a big Futures vibe to it, and since I consider that album to be Jimmy Eat World's best, I couldn't be more stoked for Damage. I'm not really feeling the artwork yet, but I have literally no doubts the music will be as good as we've come to expect from this band. Thoughts?

Here's an interesing quote from the band's drummer, Zach Lind, who stopped by in a thread over on AbsolutePunk.net.

"Engineered/Produced by Alain Johannes

Mixed by James Brown (also mixed the Sound City Movie soundtrack)

The thing about this album in general is that's pretty natural. Zero digital editing beyond comping. No auto tune, no beat detective, no samples. What you hear is what we played. If it ends up sounding muddier or more raw than what folks might be used to, we can live with that. Production wise, this is easily my favorite record, especially for me on the drums. BTW, we love Gil. Would be open to working with him in the future. The sound of Futures had a lot more to do with engineering and mixing. Gil is really great with arrangements and overall vibe. He's a fucking slave driver but a great dude. He does have an arrangement style that really fills the songs up hooks. That's not necessarily a bad thing but lately we've been wanting to keep the arrangements more simplified. Not sure of that makes sense but there you go."

Biffy Clyro: Opposites

Biffy Clyro first came into my attention with their fourth studio album, Puzzle, which turned out to be a huge critical and commercial success and deprived the band of its indie status. At that time, though, it was no more than a random okay rock record for me. I didn't really got into Biffy until I listened to their subsequent effort, even more successfull, Mercury Prize nominated, Only Revolutions. That was the moment when they finally won me over. I spinned Revolutions to death and it eventually came in second in my AOTY list of 2009 and also made me appreciate their back catalague, especially Puzzle.

However, things were never that simple for the Scottish trio. Step by step, over the course of the past three albums, Biffy Clyro were slowly turning into a more and more mainstream act. Whether this was a natural growth in musical terms or they were in it just for the money, only they know. I'm inclined to believe the first, since the same thing has been happening to almost every other band, ever. Nevertheless, it didn't stop their former diehard fans from uncompromisingly branding the band sell-outs and triggerring a major shitstorm all over the interwebs in such a way, that was unparalleled to any other artist. It's a shame, really, because their albums aren't nowhere near as bad by any measures.

Fortunately though, the general public doesn't seem to care, and the critics are generally much more welcoming too. With the release of Opposites, we finally saw the Biff topping the UK albums chart and the continuous rise of popularity will culminate later this year when the band will be headlining Reading and Leeds festivals. But despite being huge on their native ground, Biffy have yet to reach a similar level of stardom outside the UK borders. And that's something the new album should do. So far, it seems like all odds are in its favour.

First off, Opposites is, of course, a double album. But it's shorter than most of its kind. With only twenty songs (twenty two, if you count the instrumental bonus tracks) and running time just under 80 minutes, it could actually fit onto one CD. It also isn't a concept record per se, as the early reports made it look like, although each disc is loosely thematic.

"One's about putting things in the worst possible way and thinking you're getting yourself into a hole. The other looks at things more positively" (Simon Neil)

Experimentation was another important topic during interviews prior to the release; and both the band and the double album format promised no small things. While the first disc, titled The Land at the End of Our Toes, takes a rather traditional approach to songwriting, the second one, The Sand at the Core of Our Bones, is where most of the fresh and invigorating stuff takes place. Still, it wouldn't be accurate to label Opposites as an experimental record, rather, it is something of a missed opportunity. Despite introducing many unusual elements, bagpipes, organ, or even a mariachi band, the band never really strays away from its comfort zone, which is, frankly, one of the biggest drawbacks of the new album. Considering this fact, I can see why some people might find it a bit disappointing. Nevertheless, it deserves your attention.

Opposites is the sort of an album that is best fit for big stadiums and major festivals. The songs are built around huge choruses that are meant to be played in front of as many people as possible and that no small club could contain. Never before have Biffy Clyro sounded so big. The ballads, which the band always does so well, play a minor role this time around, although songs such as The Fog or The Thaw definitely count among the highlights of the album.

My personal favourites, though, come at the end of the second disc. Accident Without Emergency, Woo Woo and Picture a Knife Fight form the monumental and satisfying pinnacle of the album, ending the whole of Opposites on a definite high note.

It takes big cojones to make a double album, "the dreaded D", two discs of worthy material, and few bands did ever really pull it off. In all honesty, I think Biffy Clyro are now among them. They are fearlessly going down the road paved by the likes of Muse and Foo Fighters to become one of the biggest live bands in the world. It's yet unclear whether they'll ever succeed, but Opposites has the potential to get them at least much closer to their destination.

Best tracks, disc 1: The Joke's On Us, Biblical, The Fog

Best tracks, disc 2: Spanish Radio, Modern Magic Formula, Accident Without Emergency

Five Star Songs: Awakening

Well, this was just an idea... Since I am into the whole star ratings business, I thought why not throw in my some of my favourite five star songs every once in a while and express my love for them. So from this moment onwards, expect notorious singles, timeless classics and songs that tend to be kinda overlooked and underappreciated or even unknown.

Let's kick off the new column with Switchfoot's Awakening from their sixth album, Oh! Gravity. This is not the first song that pops into people's heads when they think about the band, nor it is the second, nor the third... But it is by far my favourite of them all. It is the reason why I even listen to the band in the first place. The chorus is just huge and irresistible, and it's an instant reminder of how good Switchfoot have always been. Ladies and gentlemen, behold...

B3

Placebo did release their latest extended play last september, but I didn't pay it much attention up until now. I was actually quite surprised to find it pretty good. In contrast to Placebo's last full-length, Battle for the Sun, it sounds quite fresh and got me stoked for the band's new album, which should be out either in March, or later in the summer... Thoughts?

Where Are We Now

Let's kick off the year with the best possible news...

So I've been listening to a lot of David Bowie lately. Partly thanks to the movie The Perks of Being a Wallflower, in which his song Heroes plays an important role.

Coincidentally, few days ago, David Bowie released a new single and announced his first album in ten years. According to Bowie's producer Tony Visconti, the new album, The Next Day, will have "rock" sound, and that makes me beyond stoked. The video is weird, to say the least, but it's still pretty good. The music, on the other hand, is simply brilliant. Bowie hasn't aged a day. And if this melancholic and retrospective track is of any indication, we have much to look forward to.

Thoughts?

Older albums revisited: Meltdown

I discovered Ash through Kerrang, back in the day when I still thought that magazine was worth following. They actually featured a useful article, which was a guide to the essential bands of an average present-day rock fan. Among all the AC/DCs, Metallicas, Placebos and Jimmy Eat Worlds, there was a band I hadn't heard of before but started to love them straight away. (As a matter of fact, that guide is still on Kerrang's webstite.)

As clichéd as it may sound, in the following years, Ash became one of the bands that helped to form my taste in music. I used to spin their records endlessly. From the sophomore album 1977, which approprietly kicks off with the sound of a TIE fighter passing by, to their last, much darker, Twilight of the Innocent. Because above all, the band has always stayed unbelievably consistent throughout the years. You won't run into many weaker songs in their discography. Instead, you are bound to find lots of brilliant ones.

Shining Light is the band's biggest selling single to date and was also covered by Annie Lennox. There can be no better invitation into their music...

Free All Angeles might the their most popular album so far, since it contains the phenomenal singles Shining Light and Burn Baby Burn and was their biggest critical success to date. It's most probably the best showcase of Ash's ability to write truly great lovesongs, as well as the tenderness and vulnerability in their music.

Although I treasure all their albums deeply, Meltdown have always remained my favourite. (Or perhaps on par with Free All Angeles, the more I think about it.) It presented a much darker and heavier side of Ash, with the sound infused with even a dash of metal at times. Thankfully however, that doesn't mean their melodic sensibilities got lost in the mix. If anything, the exact opposite thing happened. From the opening title track to the closer Vampire Love, the songs are all killer, no filler. And they're all so damn fun and catchy, with guitar riffs you just can't get out of your head.

Well, I guess I can't praise this band enough. Simply put, I think Ash are one of the most underappreciated and overlooked bands on the planet. They must be shaking hands with Feeder and Idlewild somewhere right now. It's a shame, really, that Ash refuse to release any more albums after Twilight of the Innocent, focusing only on stand-alone singles. Because if those are of any indication, fans would've had much to look forward to.

Thouhgts?

Black Chandelier

In 2009, Only Revolutions not only catapulted Biffy Clyro even higher on the charts than their previous breakthrough album, Puzzle, but it also started my obsession with the band. Their next output, the double album Opposites, comes out on 28 January and my expectation are pretty high at this point. There's a brand new song...



Thoughts? I have no doubt Opposites will be a serious AOTY contender next year.