Handwritten

The brightest and shiniest moment in the band's career is also their biggest setback. The Gaslight Anthem have already released their best album and I don't see how anything they'll ever produce in the future could top The 59' Sound. With that being said, Handwritten is, of course, a great piece of work in its own right.

Their sophomore effort took the world by surprise with its perfect combination of punk rock tools, retro imagery and Brian Fallon's irresistible growl. All its components were refined to the point of near perfection, supplying listeners with a monthly (at least) dose of nostalgia. American Slang only continued the trend, more or less, and so does Handwritten.

The lyrics have never spoken more urgently and the instruments have never sounded better or bigger, as they reliably send shivers down my spine on several occassions (the ending of Mullholand Drive for example).  Handwritten is no short of grand moments as well as honest statements, with themes being more personal than ever before.

However, there are a few obstacles along the way. Using the same old formula, The Gaslight Anthem couldn't avoid repeating themselves. Not that they even tried to, because this is everything the band is about now. Heart on sleeve, catchy riffs and a great deal of sentiment. You either play along, or you don't. But let's be honest, if they'll stick to what they do so easily come their fifth album, there's a chance the audience may become increasingly indifferent.

Pretended or not, the band's sincerity largely makes up for any of the album's flaws or the lack of progression. And while being a bit ponderous at times, Handwritten is still a fine example of good old rock'n'roll craftsmanship. Within the span of the last three albums, The Gaslight Anthem have gone a long way from being punk rock's best kept secret to having #3 album on Billboard and selling out shows across the ocean. Nevertheless, The 59' Sound will remain the band's defining work for a little longer.

Best tracks: "45", Handwritten, National Anthem, (Blue Dahlia - bonus track)

By the way, I just realized, they might as well call themselves ABBA... :)

Influential albums

This was actually one of the ideas I had on my mind when I was writing the first paragraph of the Nada Surf review back in January. I was planning to do this as a part of the "older albums revisited" section but it was st. tropez who finally forced me to get down to it. It took me three months...

I got into music much, much later than most of you. It wasn't until I discovered the secret of downloading. Yes, big surprise, I'm a pirate. Therefore almost all the albums mentioned here will be from the noughties. I may not listen to many of them anymore, but these records had a tremendous impact on my life and I'll always have a soft spot for them. Let's start with 21 albums that didn't make the final cut. I'm pretty sure I'll revisit them one day too.

AFI Sing the Sorrow
Arcade Fire The Suburbs
Ash Meltdown
Avenged Sevenfold City of Evil
Biffy Clyro Only Revolutions
Blink 182 Enema of the State
The Cure Disintegration
Fightstar Be Human
The Gaslight Anthem The '59 Sound
Idlewild Broken Promises
Journey Escape
The Killers Sam's Town
Lostprophets Liberation Transmission
Muse Black Holes And Revelations
Oasis What's the Story Morning Glory?
Rise Against The Sufferer & the Witness
Saosin Saosin
Silversun Pickups Swoon
Snow Patrol Eyes Open
Story of the Year Page Avenue
Taking Back Sunday Louder Now
Travis The Boy With No Name

The Beatles Help!

I think it's safe to say, that the Beatles have been with me all my life. I digged all of their songs when I heard them on the radio. But it wasn't until the 2009 remaster, which offered a great opportunity, that I checked their whole catalogue out and discovered there's a lot more to love than just the notoriously known singles. I could easily choose any Beatles' album, but I chose Help!, because the first track of the same name was literally the very first song ever to gain the title "my favourite song". Although, I was in elementary school and probably didn't even know any other band at that time. But that's not the point. I love the Beatles, period.

Imagine Dragons

I tried to avoid this band at all costs because I hated the name "imagine dragons". To me, it sounded childish and stupid. But something about the album art provoked me to check out the bands Continued Silence EP, and after one listen I was hooked. The band, hailing from Las Vegas, mix elements of Kings of Leon with moments of city-mates The Killers, Neon Trees, and modern day indie radio bands like fun., Walk The Moon, and Young The Giant. Their major label debut album, Night Visions, is due out September 4th. Below are my two favorite tracks from the EP, "Radioactive" (also heard on the Olympics) and the alt-radio jam "It's Time".

imagine dragons "radioactive"

imagine dragons "it's time"

Far Far Away

I just can't get the chorus out of my head. It's been stuck there for the last few days. One more reason to love the seventies.

Living Things

Well, I'm gonna be leaving for another vacation later today, thus I decided to go ahead and post one last thing before I go as a brief goodbye.

I used to totally adore Linkin Park back in the day. Hybrid Theory and Meteora were the jam and the soundtrack to almost any party we threw as kids. Nu metal craze was at its peak (or at least what everyone thought nu metal was) and there wasn't a single kid who wouldn't like one or two LP songs. But the band's omnipresence couldn't last forever and like any other act, Linkin Park slowly started to lose their momentum. Most significantly some time around Midnight.

Minutes to Midnight was supposed to show the band's poppier, more melodic sensibilities and show they're capable of stretching their sound. Linkin Park wanted to become a bigger band, U2 for the 21st century. And the album itself wasn't all that bad, some of its songs belong to the better part of the band's catalogue. Unfortunately, though, it also marked their transformation into a more mainstream and generic act with songs like Leave Out All the Rest or Shadow of the Day. Besides, collaboration with Micheal Bay certainly didn't help. (Not to speak about Chester Bennington's sideproject Dead by Sunrise, what was that supposed to mean?)

So they did what most actual bands would do. With fear of fading into irrelevance, they tried experimental stuff in order to find a new distinct sound, their own thing. And they succeeded. There were a lot of people who enjoyed the hell out of A Thousand Suns. For me, unfortunately, that album was a complete misstep and marked the moment I lost my faith and interest in the band almost completely.

Two years later, Linkin Park released their fifth studio album, named fittingly Living Things, as if they wanted to assure everyone they still exist. And I gotta admit, it came out as a rather pleasant surprise.

First of all, this is their rawest album since Meteora. Once again, the band isn't afraid to let the anger out and show us Chester Bennington's screaming capabilities. He's still got it. As a result, any song from Living Things has more energy than all the tracks from A Thousand Suns combined.

On the other hand, this record isn't the sound of progress. Rather, it's a consolidation of forces. The band took all the ingrediences that paid them off in the past, big guitar riffs, catchy choruses, rap and their newly found electronic self, added them into one mix and voilà, it works pretty well together. However, if you wanna find something even remotely new and unheard, look elsewhere.

Nonetheless, this is a solid record, which, I'm pretty sure, will appeal to most of their old fans. And if that was the goal, then LP succeeded quite well. I must say I didn't expect I would enjoy Living Things so much. I can totally see the appeal to my fifteen-year-old self. Although the days of Hybrid Theory and Meteora are long gone, Linkin Park's latest effort does quite a good job of bringing back the memories.

Best tracks: Lost in the Echo, I'll Be Gone, Castle of Glass

Introducing: Sound of Guns

First and foremost, let me be the first to say I think this is an awful band name. Now that that's past us, let's talk music. It's hard to put a genre on this band. The bands debut, Angels and Enemies, covers everything from brit pop to rock to indie. When I first heard the new single, "Sometimes", I got a vibe of Cold War Kids mixed with instrumentation of The Midway State. Upon further listen to their most popular tune of date, "Antarctica", I got a strange recall of early The Killers, Glasvegas and Doves. With such a wide reach and a gaining support from the likes of radio1 & friends Funeral For a Friend passing fans to their video to millions, to selling out shows in England at the O2, Mint, and The Cockpit, Sounds of Guns is an up-and-coming band with a lot of vigor and heart, making them a band to watch going forward. 

RIYL: The Midway State, All The Young, Glasvegas, Longview

"Antartica", the bands most popular song to date.

the bands new single, "sometimes"

Japandroids

At first, I wasn't a big fan of Japandroids' sophomore record, but eventually, Celebration Rock won me over. Even though after a few tracks the choruses kinda blend together, I can't but enjoy every single one of its humble 35 minutes. This is a straightforward rock album. So much it even makes you wonder when rock bands forgot to record albums like this. There's no catch, no twist, no synths. Just one anthem after another without ever losing pace.

When you listen to the single below, you'll get a good glimpse of what you can expect from the whole record. Your thoughts?

Runaways

Yes, yes and thousand times yes. The Killers' new single sounds just like it fell out from Sam's Town. Great news considering it's arguably their best album to date. Now, I really can't wait for Battle Born to come out.



There hasn't been a bigger chorus this year. Your thoughts?

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.

Survival

Long time, no see...



Official song for London 2012 Olympics by Muse.