Revisited: Louder Now

This morning, like on most weekdays, I got up from bed at ungodly 6:20 a.m., I rolled up the window shade, looked at the street covered in freshly fallen snow (seriously, at easter? at these latitudes?), and started humming Twenty-Twenty Surgery by Taking Back Sunday. It actually took me a while to figure out what song it was because I haven't listened to this band in quite some time.

A few minutes later, even though the process of waking up still wasn't fully underway, it finally struck me why I was humming this particular song. The brain sometimes works in mysterious ways and the associations do not always make much sense. People who understand this, work in advertising. However, in hindsight, this one was kinda obvious...

Justin Timberlake is everywhere right now. His newest record sold almost one milion copies in the first week in the US alone, and the universal praise makes it impossible to avoid. Needless to say, 20/20 Experience already peacefully dwells on my hard drive, and as hard as it may be to admit, it has me curious. It must wait, though, because now, after all these years, it's time to give Louder Now a spin or two.

I used to be a lot into TBS. And by "a lot", I mean A LOT. Along with Green Day, Linkin Park or My Chemical Romance, they used to shape my music taste in the formative years. Louder Now was the record that got me into them and by far my most favourite. There wasn't one weak track, and every anthem, from Liar to Error: Operator hit me just as hard. The album delivered exactly what the title promised, and I would play it at maximum volume more often than it would've been healthy. However, what I didn't know back then, the band's career curve had already started going downhill...

But that's a whole another story. Louder Now is great for what it is, uncompromising and accomplished straightforward rock album. Right now, I'm enjoying it just as much as I used to.

Conventional break-up

It's always sad to see a band go, but it's all the more saddening when it happens to one of your all time favourite acts. My Chemical Romance were never really the "cool" band to listen to, but I did nonetheless, because besides their emo tag and the Kerrang-band stigma, which never did them justice, there was a huge amount of talent and passion to back up the crazy outfits and layers of make-up. My Chem were always the take-it-or-leave-it type of band, and I'm glad I stumbled upon them at the perfect time, after the release of The Black Parade, which then went on to become one of the most influential albums in my life.

I wasn't that much into them the whole time, though. During the long gap that preceded the release of Danger Days, there was a period of time when I thought I had outgrown that kind of music. Thankfully, their Fabulous Killjoys persona and the post-apocalyptic concept completely reinvigorated my enthusiasm. Two years later, My Chem released what had been supposed to fill that gap, and everything fell into place. Most importantly, fans finally had their Conventional Weapons. But what they didn't know at the time, the "new" album was to become a swan song for the band...

According to one of the interviews I vaguely recall from the pre-Danger Days era, Gerard Way & Co. wanted to become a proper rock band. Their uncompromising take on Dylan's classic, Desolation Row, from The Watchmen soundtrack offered a good glimpse at what they had in mind. And really, the first two electrifying tracks of Weapons were very much in the vein of the aforementioned cover. Because above all, the album is pure rock'n'roll. Intense, raging anthems, powerful ballads and black leather jackets. This would have been a fantastic record.

Nevertheless, when compared to Danger Days, it becomes obvious this wasn't the band's true self. They always had to go all Freddie Mercury on everything. The hyperbole and theatrics were an essential part of their catalogue, but never a cheap gimmick. Within the scene and beyond, only they had the guts to go all the way, and enough drive and vision not to stumble in the middle. When all is said and done, this is reason why they'll be missed.

During their twelve-year-long career, they didn't make a bad record. Sure, Bullets was a bit rushed and immature, but still managed to become a landmark album for the genre and a personal favourite of numerous people. That said, My Chemical Romance were only getting better and more interesting with everything they released ever since.

The break-up came out of nowhere. Sessions for the next album were reportedly going great and it was supposed to see the light of day later this year. However, when you read Gerard Way's perspective, it all actually makes perfect sense. One can only admire a band able to step out of the bussiness while they're still at the top. For me, the only possible news worse than this would be if Jimmy Eat World called it quits. Sure, there's always hope. Perhaps, it is all just one big elaborate hoax with the sole purpose of getting out of a label contract, but honestly, I think it sounds too good to be true. I only know one thing. I'll be spinning their albums all week and then maybe some more. And because I could never write something that good myself, I'll leave you with this one last article.

A bunch of new music videos...

First, let's kick off with the French indie pop band Phoenix, who reached international fame with their latest record, Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix. The band will continue its quest for world domination with their next album, Bankrupt, that comes out on April 22nd.

Then, we have The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus. Yeah, I completely forgot they were still a band too. But I recall quite well how much I enjoyed their song Face Down back in the day when I used to be into post-hardcore. Well, it's actually not heavy at all, but it's still pretty good. They will be releasing a new EP that will be produced by David Bendeth (producer of Don't You Fake It) which is due out March 15th.

And finally, some new She and Him. Volume 3 comes out on May 7th.

Don't Panic

As much as I love Douglas Adams and Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, I'm gonna be talking about All Time Low's newest album right now. As you may know, the band is one of my guilty pleasures. Even though, I mostly listen to Bob Dylan, George Harrison and other masters of classic rock nowadays, it doesn't mean I can't still enjoy me some good pop punk/power pop/whatever every now and then. And that time came again, not with Green Day, but with the supposedly less talented and accomplished band. Don't Panic is simply fun and furthermore, you can listen to it on a youtube stream.



After the rather bland Dirty Work, there comes quite a surprising follow-up. Opinions?

Yellowcard's Awakening and Billy Talent's Viking Death March

There's a lyrics video for a brand new Yellowcard song. I'm posting it simply because it sounds that good. Even though I'm not in my pop punk mood at the moment, the song just hits all the right strings in me, taking me back to my high school years.



I always like me some new Yellowcard. Your thoughts?

Also the new Billy Talent song doesn't sound half that bad. They've always been a singles band for me. Surrender or This Suffering are fantastic, but overall, their albums never stood out as a whole. I bet their fourth record will be a similar case. However, the song promises a return to form, hands down.

No One Does It Better

Newest music video from You Me At Six, probably the biggest UK pop punk band right now. When the band released their debut album, Take Off Your Colours, in 2008 I hated it and couldn't understand the hype at all. But then I enjoyed their sophomore effort, Hold Me Down, and gave the band a second chance. Their latest single is from last year's album, Sinners Never Sleep, which was again hyped to the sky but didn't quite meet the expectations. Maybe next time...

The song itself is perhaps the slowest and softest from the whole album.



In an interview, the band once mentioned Futures and Jimmy Eat World in general to be a huge influence on them. Obviously, they have a good taste.

"Vegas" Bands

I decided to put together a little compilation of songs by bands with the word "Vegas" in their name.

First on the list is French band Oh Dear Vegas with their song, "Little Thing".



Next we have Irish band Leaving Las Vegas with their song, "Exit".



Then we go to Californian band Vegas Is North with their song, "Parking Lot Kings"



And finally we have Indiana band Hello Vegas with their song "No One Knows"



I don't know if you know who Student Rick is, but three of the members of that band formed the band Hello Vegas. Here's the song "Falling For You" by Student Rick:

"You'll get what you deserve"

In case anyone is wondering, The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus are still a band. It seemed like no one cared about them anymore after they released the vastly uninteresting Lonely Road in 2008. Don't You Fake It wasn't anything groundbreaking either but it featured a bunch of pretty catchy tracks that didn't allow me to completely forget about them... Well, they've just released a brand new song and so far, it seems like a return to form. Your thoughts?

Time Bomb

All Time Low will release their upcoming album some time between March and June. It's gonna be called Dirty Work and I hope I'll enjoy it at least as much as Nothing Personal. The first of the new songs, Time Bomb, certainly delivers...

Your thoughts?

"Sick, sick, sick"

Bayside will be releasing new album Killing Time on February 22th and I'm getting pretty excited about it. This song only proved their position on my anticipation list. I always like me some good pop punk tune. Plus, the singer has a great voice. Way to go.

Already Gone

Standard Thompson - Fireworks

A music video by my friends Standard Thompson. It was recently featured on Fuse TV's Noise Blog as video of the day. Enjoy!



Standard Thompson's Myspace
http://www.myspace.com/standardthompson

Standard Thompson's website has some free downloads!
http://standardthompson.bandcamp.com/

Sing

I'm loving MCR's advertising campaign for the new album set in a post-apocalyptic world. They've just released another trailer for a new song, called Sing, and yet again it sounds completely different from what we were used to hear from these guys.



Listen to the whole song here:

On an unrelated topic, Good Charlotte's new album Cardiology can be considered a return to form, since it contains a bunch of pretty solid tracks. If you want to know what is the story behind all of them, look here.

Unexpected Guests

These 2 tracks are so far the only songs released by the band from their upcoming CD, Starting from the End. I hope you will like them as much as I do.

1. Company Ink
2. Falling Into You

I am posting these songs with permission from the band, in order to help get their name out there. Enjoy!

Streaming Skeletons

Finally, Hawthorne Heights are back with a brand new album, now streaming on their MySpace. Thoughts?

Today's post featuring two Seattle bands Amber Pacific and The Classic Crime

As the summer aproaches I find myself more and more getting drawn into the faster and heavier genres of rock 'n' roll. This year, it all seems to start with pop punk band Amber Pacific. Their newest record, named Virtues and arriving after an EP, two full-lengths and a singer change, is gonna be released in two days and it's filled with fast paced pop punk anthems such as the opening track An Anthem for the Young at Heart.

Band's MySpace

I'm attaching only the myspace link because the singles and music videos have yet to be released.

Recommended if you like Cartel, Yellowcard, Blink 182




The Classic Crime's new album was released just a few days ago. Their sound is sort of similar to Brand New, Emery or Taking Back Sunday. I liked it from the first instant.

Band's MySpace

Today's post featuring dutch pop punk band Destine

Today, I'm introducing an amazing dutch band "Destine", which I think has a lot of potential. They've recently released their debut full-length album "Lightspeed". They had me the second I heard "In Your Arms" on their first EP. Recommended if you like bands like Paramore, The Audition or Fall Out Boy.

Band's MySpace
iTunes