Say Anything is the brainchild of Max Bemis who started the project in 2001. Their first full length record entitled …Is a Real Boy (hence the Pinocchio inspired album art) came out in 2004. It is a collection of spastic rock songs that are fraught with well articulated outbursts of frustration. The songs are loosely connected by some sort of concept that isn’t entirely clear, but listening to this album is like watching someone have a nervous breakdown. In fact, Bemis was diagnosed with bi-polar disorder shortly after recording the album. Say Anything signed to J Records in 2005 and the album was re-released with a bonus disc of 7 new songs entitled …Was a Real Boy. They are reportedly working on a new record due out at the end of the year called In Defense of the Genre. Today’s song is the first one on …Is a Real Boy and it’s a great way to start a record. From the spoken word intro to the gang vocals in the bridge this is easily the best song on the album.
Saosin are a band that caused a lot of buzz before they were even signed to a label. Their debut EP Translating the Name, was self-released in 2003 but the band achieved national popularity largely due to word of mouth and the internet. Original lead singer Anthony Green left the band sometime in 2004 but Saosin managed to regroup, recruiting Cove Reber for vocal duties. Reber’s voice fits well with the music Saosin makes, not to mention it sounds quite similar to Green’s. Some fans still see Translating the Name as the band’s best work, but it’s not what turned me onto them. I first heard Saosin on the Atticus Dragging the Lake, Vol. 3 compilation. Their song “Bury Your Head” caught me with its intricate guitar work, catchy chorus, and rapid fire drumming. I was hooked but it was nearly two years later before Saosin would release a full length. When they finally released their self titled debut album last September I was impressed. Sure they sound similar to some other “emo” bands out there today but this album is completely void of any screaming, which in this case is a good thing. There are several heavy, fast songs on the record as well as a few slower, softer tracks, but I think today’s song does the best job of mixing those two elements to create the best song on the album.
Discover America’s Chris Staples is no stranger to the indie rock scene. For more than five years, he fronted the band Two Thirty Eight, most notably on 2002’s You Should Be Living. His band has since broken up and after a few solo acoustic EPs, he released his first solo album Psychology under the name Discover America. Staples plays every instrument on the record with the exception of a few guitar and bass lines. Psychology is an eclectic collection of great songs that find Staples branching outside of the straightforward rock that he played in Two Thirty Eight. The album opener “Call It in the Air” is one of the catchiest songs on the record. The instrumentation is unique because organ, xylophone, and acoustic guitar are used throughout the song. “1986” is song in which Staples recounts riding in the back seat of his mom’s car as a kid in 1986. The song boasts the albums best guitar lick and a memorable chorus. Psychologyis at it’s best on today’s song “Green Eyes,” a song that has a very danceable beat in which Staples experiments with electronics to give it an almost techno feel,yet it remains very relaxed. Psychology is the only Discover America record as of yet. The band is no longer on Tooth & Nail Records and Staples has been recording some tracks in the past two years. An EP has been made available on the band’s Myspace page. Whether Discover America lands on another label or not, expect Staples to keep make great indie rock music and be sure to stay tuned for he has up his sleeve next.
The Decemberists are a band I really wanted to dislike. I first became aware of them in 2005 when their song “16 Military Wives” from the album Picaresque was being buzzed about in every music magazine on newsstands. I listened to it a couple of times and wasn’t too impressed. As you can imagine the lyrics are somewhat political in nature and I just wrote them off as another band who were overly concerned with lacing their songs with political propaganda, hence becoming indie media darlings. Then last year I unwittingly listened to “O, Valencia!,” the first single from The Crane Wife. It was on a sampler CD I got with a magazine and I popped it in my CD player and went about my business. Before the song was over I found myself humming the tune. I checked the tracklisting and was surprised to learn that it was indeed The Decemberists. My curiosity grew and I ended up downloading the entire album and listening a few times through and then purchasing it. It turns out The Decemberists really aren't all that political and The Crane Wife ended up being one of my favorite albums of last year. The ten songs on this CD vary from acoustic and folk to driving prog-rock and a little bit of everything in between. One of the highlights of the record is the shapeshifting “The Island,” a three part song that clocks in at over twelve minutes. Today’s song is actually the first track on the album. The Decemberists did it like Tarantino and gave us the ending first while parts one and two of the title track come toward the end. The most engaging thing about the Decemberists is singer/songwriter Colin Meloy’s lyrical style. He doesn’t write any of the standard boy loves girl fare that is all over rock music today. In fact the album’s only real love song, “Yankee Bayonet” is set during the Civil War. Half the fun of this album is playing out the lyrics like a movie in your mind. When a band can make you do that, you’ve successfully been entertained.
Brand New are an amazing band from Long Island, NY who came up in the same scene as Taking Back Sunday, Glassjaw and a ton of other bands you’ve probably heard of. The thing that makes Brand New different is how they have changed their sound to something that is distinctly them and no one else. Their debut album Your Favorite Weapon was a great pop punk record, but not unlike several other releases that came out at the same time. They stepped up their game on 2003’s Deja Entendu which truthfully sounded like a different band. Last November they released one the most outstanding albums of 2006 with The Devil and God Are Raging Inside Me. As the title would indicate, there is a lot of spiritual struggle going on on the record. Lead singer/songwriter Jesse Lacey delivers some his most honest and heartfelt lyrics to date on songs like “Millstone” and the album’s standout track “Jesus.” Musically the band progressed even further beyond what they had done in the past. The album only slightly resembles Deja Entendu and it’s hard to believe this is even the same four guys that recorded Your Favorite Weapon. Three years was a long time between Brand New’s second and third albums. In that time they signed to a major label, which was then bought out by another major label. Then in early 2006 nine untitled demos leaked onto the internet. I usually hate it when that happens because I know that bands work hard to write great songs and they don’t want people to hear them in an unfinished state. I looked around on the net and everything I read about the demos said that they probably wouldn’t be on the new album and since it had been almost three whole years since I heard new Brand New, I checked them out. What I found were nine amazing songs that by themselves were better than 90 percent of other albums released last year. Sure, the songs aren’t mastered so the sound quality isn’t up to par but that doesn’t change the fact that they’re all great songs. In fact two of the tracks did make the new record but in drastically different forms. “Untitled 08” became “Sowing Season” and changed from a lightly strummed acoustic tune to a song with some of the most explosive guitars on the album. “Untitled 06” became “Luca” and added to it was probably the heaviest guitar breakdown on the whole record. “Luca (Reprisal Version)” which is a bonus track on the UK release, is actually just a mastered version of “Untitled 06.” Earlier this year “Untitled 03” saw release as “Brothers,” a b-side to the “Jesus” single. The version released on the single was just a mastered version of the original demo. Today’s song is probably my favorite of the demos. I think Lacey sounds more like Morrissey on this song than ever before and the guitars have a very cool 80s feel. There are rumors that the remaining demos will be released as an EP sometime in the near future and while that would be cool, it may make the songs lose a little of their mystique. You can still find all nine demos floating around the internet and I encourage you to check them out, but also pick up The Devil and God Are Raging Inside Me, and you’ll get to enjoy one of the most innovative bands out today.
Derek Webb started out as a member of the contemporary Christian band Caedmon’s Call. He released five successful albums with them from 1996 to 2003. In 2003 Webb branched out on his own and released his first solo album She Must and Shall Go Free. Musically it resembled Caedmon’s Call but it was lyrically deeper than Webb’s writing in that band. Earlier this year Webb released his fourth solo record The Ringing Bell, but today’s song comes from his third solo release Mockingbird. This album is probably Webb’s deepest lyrically. He touches on politics (“A King and a Kingdom”) and materialism (“Rich Young Ruler”) and today’s song deals with legalism in the American church. “A New Law” is about how we as Christians often aren’t as eager to find God for ourselves as we are to just be told what to think and what to do. Webb has recently rejoined with Caedmon’s Call for the recording of their new album Overdressed and it will be in stores Tuesday. I suggest you check out all of Derek Webb’s music because in a scene with a lot of cookie cutter artists and recycled lyrics and melodies, he actually has something to say.
Blackpool Lights is the new band of former Get Up Kids guitarist Jim Suptic. This Town’s Disaster, the group’s first release, finds Suptic treading a lot of the same ground he did in the Get Up Kids but nothing on this album sounds like a rehash. On This Town’s Disaster Suptic makes you realize that Matthew Pryor’s songwriting wasn't the only thing that made the Get Up Kids worth listening to. Suptic only sang lead on a couple of TGUK tracks (including one of my favorites “Campfire Kansas” from On a Wire) but here his gravely vocals take center stage. All of the guitar work has a very Midwestern feel and it makes for several songs that are best listened to when driving with the windows down. For instance “Empty Tank” is a song that is about driving and it just feels like a summer song. If your planning on road tripping before summer’s over, this song should definitely be on your iPod.
Our Lady Peace are a great band from Canada that are mostly remembered in the U.S. for their hit “Superman’s Dead” from their 1997 sophomore album Clumsy. On the power of “Superman’s Dead” and the title track, Clumsy went platinum in the U.S. It still remains their most known album but in my opinion it’s their second or third best. Our Lady Peace made another splash in the States in 2002 with “Somewhere Out There” and “Innocent” from their fifth album Gravity. It was a more straightforward modern rock record and fit well with the style of music that was popular at the time. They released their sixth studio album titled Healthy In Paranoid Times in 2005 and in 2006 they released A Decade, a collection of their greatest hits. It kills me that a horrendously crappy band such as Nickelback (who are also Canadian) can be such a hit here in the U.S. when Our Lady Peace make great music and receive little recognition. Maybe OLP isn’t marketed as well here, I don’t know. Even so, the band’s fourth album, and my favorite, Spiritual Machines was their least commercially successful. It’s pretty much a concept album inspired by the book The Age of Spiritual Machines by scientist/inventor Ray Kurzweil. The book deals with subjects such as artificial intelligence and how technology will impact humanity in the coming generations. It’s pretty deep stuff and I can see why some people might be turned off by the subject matter of the record, but I think it makes for OLP’s most compelling album ever. This is the last OLP record to feature Mike Turner as lead guitarist and you can tell the difference in the two albums since this one. The ten excellent songs on Spiritual Machines are accompanied by five short spoken word segments which are actually Kurzweil reading excerpts from the book. These cryptic snippets do a great job of connecting the dots on the album and bringing the whole theme together. I’ve attached the track “R.K. 2029” to the beginning of “In Repair” so you can get the full effect of how it flows on the album. Enjoy.
Nickel Creek is an acoustic trio comprised of guitarist Sean Watkins, his sister, violinist Sara Watkins, and mandolinist Chris Thile. Songs their first album, 2000’s Nickel Creek, saw significant play on CMT. While my taste is mostly rock music, I must note that I am not above country music. Sure there is a lot of crap on country radio these days, but when I was growing up in the early 90s that was not the case. Actually none of that even matters because Nickel Creek really don’t even sound country, I just happened to discover them on Country Music Television. I got that first album after hearing a few singles and it was good, but there were quite a few bluegrass inspired instrumentals. All three members are incredibly gifted musicians, but some of those tracks weren’t really my style. On their sophomore album This Side the band really branched out and more or less left the bluegrass behind. There were still some traces here and there and that is fine. I can handle it in small doses. A cool thing to me about Nickel Creek is that all three members sing lead vocals on different songs and all three do it very well. I must say however that I am partial to Chris Thile’s powerful and simultaneously delicate voice. He handled most of the singing on their most recent album Why Should the Fire Die? Easily their best work, the songs on Fire deal largely with dysfunctional relationships and use a sharp narrative voice to tell the tales of love and loss. The strongest track on the album is easily “Helena”, a song that begins slowly with a lightly strummed mandolin and culminates with a barrage of pounding drums, guitar and violin. In late 2006 Nickel Creek announced that they would be going on a hiatus at the end of 2007. Sean Watkins and Thile each released solo albums in 2006 and they will be exploring other musical endeavors. Even though they’re in their mid twenties, the members of Nickel Creek have been playing together for 18 years. For the majority of their lives they have been making music together and the results have been great, but I can understand why they would want to take a break. They begin their final tour in October and will finish at the end of November with two shows at the Ryman Auditorium in Nashville. I will definitely be listening for any new music the individual members will be putting out, but I have a feeling we haven’t heard the last of Nickel Creek.
The Academy Is… released one of the best pop-punk albums in recent history back in 2005 with Almost Here. Each of the album’s ten tracks was pretty much gold and you couldn’t resist singing along. Needless to say, their 2007 sophomore release Santi was highly anticipated by me and several other music fans. When I first heard the lead single “We’ve Got a Big Mess On Our Hands,” I was kind of thrown for a loop. What I heard was a big rock song with a huge guitars and a catchy melody, but it was not the Academy Is… of old. I actually have to applaud the Academy Is… for not sticking with what worked in the past. It probably would’ve been easy to make another record just like Almost Here, but perhaps they saw that that genre was getting stale. Santi isn’t as immediately appealing as its predecessor. It takes a few listens to get into and some songs are hit or miss, but there are some excellent tracks here. Today’s song is not one that is likely to be a single, but it’s probably my favorite on the album. It has a distinctive older feeling to it. I love the guitar tone and the slow building pace of the song. The chorus doesn’t hit until about two thirds of the way in, but when it does you’ll see that it was worth the wait.
The Jealous Sound are a band I first became aware of in 2004. I had just become music director at KXUL and I was constantly searching for new music to add to the station’s playlist. I came across this song on the 2004 edition of the Take Action! Tour Sampler. The CD was filled with songs from other punk/emo bands, some I heard of and some that were just plain awful but The Jealous Sound seemed to jump out at me. I loved the guitar tone and the melody was undeniably catchy. I dug around in the closet of discarded CDs at the station and I was able to find the album from which the song came, 2003’s Kill Them With Kindness. I checked out the rest of the album and found lots of cool tracks in the same vain as this one, but I ultimately added “Hope for Us” into rotation. Since then I’ve checked up on The Jealous Sound online from time to time. In 2005 they signed a deal with The Militia Group but have yet to release a record. Their Myspace appears to be dormant since last summer and their website offers little info about what they’re currently doing. It’s entirely possible that they are no longer together, but even if they go out only having released one record, this song definitely deserves to have a place in your library.
The story of Criteria is quite uncommon as far as rock bands go. Lead singer/guitarist Steve Pederson began playing music as a teenager and even had a hand in forming noted indie band Cursive. After some time with that band, Pederson decided to get his law degree. After graduating from DukeUniversity he came back to his hometown of Omaha, NE and while living in a friend's basement, started writing songs that would eventually become Criteria’s debut En Garde. The release didn’t do much outside of Omaha so Pederson took a job as a lawyer while still continuing to write songs in his free time. Criteria signed a deal with Omaha based Saddle Creek Records who re-released En Garde in 2005. Later that year came When We Break, Criteria’s second record full of anthemic rock songs. Pederson and co. are at their best on today’s song “Prevent the World,” which tells the story of the struggle between Pederson’s day job and his overwhelming desire to write music and tour in a band. I think this is a great song for people who are dissatisfied with their 9 to 5s and just want to do something that they enjoy. Plus, you know a band is cool when they can use the phrase “stilted social norms” in a song and not sound pretentious.
The Forecast are not the kind of band you would expect to be signed to Victory Records. Their sound bears absolutely no resemblance to Victory’s flagship screamo acts like HawthorneHeights, Silverstein and Aiden. The Forecast play what I’d call “Midwestern rock,” with a little alt-country flavor thrown in. They make great road trip music. I think their songs would be an excellent complement to the scenery of a random American town through your car window. Both of their full lengths feature several songs with cool back and forth male and female vocals courtesy of lead singer/guitarist Dustin Addis and bassist Shannon Burns. In the Shadow of Two Gunmen has several songs that you can rock out and sing along to, but today’s tune is a little slice of alt-country goodness. I had this album for about year and listened to it intermittently but I had kind of passed over this song somehow. Back in the spring I saw the video for it online and realized how excellent it is. The song was stuck in my head for a few weeks after that and now it gets to be stuck in yours.
Aqualung is actually just one guy named Matt Hales. He rose to fame in his home country of Great Britain back in 2002 with the single “Strange and Beautiful” from Aqualung’s self-titled first album. His second album was titled Still Life and hit stores in 2003. Aqualung had still not made much of a splash in the U.S. until 2005 when Strange and Beautiful was released. This CD was actually just a collection of the best songs from the first two Aqualung records, but it made for a nice U.S. debut. Chances are you’ve heard “Brighter Than Sunshine,” an excellent piano driven pop song that seemed to be everywhere last year. Earlier this year Aqualung came back with Memory Man, the second U.S. release and third proper album. Today’s song was the first I heard from this album and it blew me away. I love how the electronics, percussion and strings work with the piano to create quite a unique pop song. To me this song just seems much fuller and more thought out than any other Aqualung song I’ve heard. Not to mention he sounds a little like Radiohead at the beginning. It was this song that drove me to purchase Memory Man without hearing any of the other tracks. While there are other good songs on this record, “Pressure Suit” is undoubtedly the best and it leaves me looking forward to what Aqualung will have to offer in the future.
Mae is a band I first discovered after seeing an ad for their debut Destination: Beautiful in Alternative Press Magazine. I listened to “Summertime” and “Embers and Envelopes” several times online and I eventually purchased the album. It was kind of the soundtrack to my summer in 2003 and I loved every track on that record. I was eagerly anticipating their follow up The Everglow and when it finally arrived in the spring of 2005, I was not disappointed. The Everglow was a bit of concept record and had a sort of storybook feel throughout, right down to the album art. The Everglow definitely rocked harder than D:B, which I think represented more of what Mae sounds like in a live setting. I have had the pleasure of seeing Mae live about five times and they are impressive. I think everyone has a band that they knew about before any of their friends did and they always take pride in introducing people to that band’s music. For me that band is Mae. I’ve always kind of felt like they were my band. That sounds kind of stupid now that I write it down, but I’ve enjoyed them since the beginning and I guess I just feel a personal connection to the music. Being that I like this band so much, I was a little worried when I read that they had signed to Capitol Records. Signing to a major label is not always a bad thing (Death Cab for Cutie’s Plans), but sometimes the transition is not so great (The Juliana Theory’s Love.)So I was a bit skeptical, but this is still Mae we’re talking about. They’re not going to release a mediocre record are they? Well now that I hold Singularity in my hands, I can say that the answer is no, with a little bit of yes. Make no mistake, this is still better that 95% of the rock albums that have been released in 2007. There just aren’t any songs here that reach out and grab me the way “Painless” from The Everglow did. Mae definitely upped the rock quotient on Singularity with more distorted guitars than ever before. The opener “Brink of Disaster” starts the album off great with a catchy synth line that leads to a chorus where you really get to hear singer Dave Elkins’ vocals soar. The first single “Sometimes I Can’t Make It Alone” is not something long time fans probably saw coming. It’s a great song, but definitely geared toward radio. Perhaps this is because Capitol had Mae go back into the studio to record a few more songs because they “didn’t hear a single.” That is what frustrates me about major labels: they only look at music in terms of how well it can sell and if they can push it to radio and MTV. “Sometimes” is a song that would not exist had Mae not been on Capitol and that vexes me just a little. You can hear more about this from the band by watching the webisodes they posted leading up to the release date. Enough ranting, there are several more great things that can be said about Singularity. For instance “Just Let Go” an excellent semi-ballad that sort of reaches back to “The Ocean” from The Everglow. It has great piano, great lyrics and a melody that stays in your head. I don’t want to ramble too much so I will now tell you about today’s song. “Rocket” is one of the heaviest rockers on Singularity but is probably the most outstanding track. What struck me the most the first time I heard it was how much it sounded like Failure, the excellent 90s rock band fronted by Everglow producer Ken Andrews. I thought it was interesting that even though he didn’t produce this album, his influence seemed to seep in anyway. Keep in mind that I’ve only listened to Singularity about three times thus far and I ‘m sure it will grow on me. It’s definitely a record you should own and if I have made you second guess, that was not my intention. Just listen to this.
Matthew Good is probably the biggest Canadian rock star you’ve never heard of. He came to fame in the late 90s when Matthew Good Band were climbing the Canadian charts with hits from their albums Underdogs and most notably Beautiful Midnight, which was the only MGB album to see a U.S. release. Unfortunately Matthew Good never caught on in the States, but I have a feeling that’s the way he wants it. He’s never seemed to enjoy the spotlight, always boycotting the Juno Awards (the Canadian Grammys) despite the fact that his albums are almost always nominated for something. When MGB broke up in 2001 after the release of their last album The Audio of Being, Good kept writing music and his first solo album, 2003’s Avalanche came into being. I still contend that Avalanche is his best album, solo or otherwise. It just showcases his songwriting talent so well. Since he wasn’t constrained to make another record that sounded like MGB, he could really spread his wings and create songs the way he wanted to. Avalanche employed everything from a full orchestra to electronic loops and everything in between, giving each song a depth that Good hadn’t achieved before. He followed up with White Light Rock & Roll Review in 2004. This was a decidedly more straightforward rock record, the bulk of which was recorded in one nine day session. Now Matthew Good has released his third solo full length entitled Hospital Music, and it is quite a gem. The title was born out Good’s recent diagnosis with bipolar disorder and a subsequent stint in the hospital. The songs on Hospital Music are Good’s most personal yet. A few (“Metal Airplanes,” “She’s In It for the Money”) deal with his recent divorce. The epic nine minute opener “Champions of Nothing” wouldn’t have been out of place on Avalanche with it’s several layers of instrumentation and liberal use of eerie vocal samples. Fans of WLRRR’s country tinged “Empty Road” will also love the first single “Born Losers” which marries a great guitar lick with the biggest chorus on the album. For me the standout track is today’s song “Black Helicopter.” It embodies everything that makes a great Matthew Good song: an excellent guitar line, a hint of strings, some of the aforementioned vocal samples, and Good’s unmistakable voice bringing us his own brand of cynicism. I am usually turned off when an artist inserts his or her political views into their work and tries to push a particular party or hatred of a party down the listener’s throat, but for some reason I let it slide with Matthew Good. Maybe I’m not turned off by Good because he doesn’t shove it down my throat, he just states his opinion and I can respect that. And when the music is this excellent, little else needs to be said.
It’s always baffled me that Idlewild are not huge in the U.S. when other U.K. imports such as Snow Patrol and Coldplay have blown up here. I’m not saying that I dislike Snow Patrol and Coldplay, quite the contrary, but I believe Idlewild deserve the same success and recognition. Perhaps Roddy Woomble’s voice is just too Scottish for American listeners, but I really can’t think of a valid reason. Now having released their fifth album, Make Another World, earlier this year, Idlewild are as strong as ever. While their songs range from wall of sound rockers to acoustic balladry, Idlewild never seem out of their element. I first heard of them in 2001 when the local college radio station that I would eventually work for began playing “Little Discourage” from their second album 100 Broken Windows. I must admit that I was a little annoyed be the repetitive nature of that song at first. I eventually grew to like it but I more or less forgot about the band until 2003, while working at KXUL, I heard “A Modern Way of Letting Go” and “You Held the World In Your Arms,” both from their third album The Remote Part. I was very impressed by these two songs and eventually got the album and I loved every track. Shortly thereafter I discovered a cool thing about U.K. bands: they put out singles with lots of non-album b-sides. When I realized that there were several Idlewild tracks that I had yet to hear, I scoured eBay and eventually collected all the CD singles that were released from The Remote Part. Most Idlewild singles have two b-sides and they release two CDs per single. This makes between 12 and 16 non-album tracks. Another thing that baffles me is that Idlewild’s b-sides are almost always as good as their albums. I can imagine it would be difficult to narrow it down to 10 or 12 songs to compile an album. Today’s song comes from CD1 of the “American English” single. It can still be found on eBay and some used copies are available on Amazon. This is definitely my favorite song of theirs that didn’t make an album and probably one my overall favorites from their entire catalog.
It can be both a blessing and a curse to have your first single become a novelty hit on radio and MTV. On one hand, everyone knows your song for a while; on the other, the interest doesn’t last very long and people are less concerned with what you really sound like. Such was the case in 1996 when Nada Surf broke onto the scene with “Popular,” a tongue-in-cheek look at teenage life that was half sung/half spoken. The band released their second and third records in 1998 and 2002 with little fanfare, but a good deal of critical acclaim. In 2005 they came back with one of the strongest indie records of the year entitled The Weight Is a Gift. Nada Surf came into their own on this album with catchy songs about life lessons learned. Their fifth album is tentatively scheduled for a January 2008 release, and if it’s anywhere near as good as Weight, Nada Surf will hopefully be remembered as more than just a blurb on VH1’s I Love the 90s.
I was first introduced to Mute Math in late 2004 when I heard “Control” from their debut release, the Reset EP. I was intrigued, so I got the EP. It was good, but “Control” was the only really standout track. My perception of Mute Math changed about year later when I had the pleasure of seeing them open for Mae. Usually when an opening band is playing, I’m checking my watch and wondering how long before the headliner comes out. This was not the case with Mute Math. They exploded on the stage with more energy that I’ve ever seen from a live band. Singer/keyboardist Paul Meany was bouncing all over the place, jumping off of his keyboard stand and captivating the crowd with a keytar. Yes, I said a keytar. When their six song set came to a close I found myself not wanting it to end. Their self titled full length album came out shortly after that and it is full of great songs. I got to see them perform a full set on their CD release tour in early 2006 and I was even more blown away. Mute Math has been garnering some attention lately for their first official single “Typical,” which has a very innovative video. They also got to show off their live prowess to the entire nation when they played the song on Letterman. They've also recently released a live DVD entitled Flesh and Bones Electric Fun, which I have yet to see but I'm almost certain it will not disappoint. Today’s song was one of those six I first heard them play live and it is one of my favorites on the record. I suggest you get to know Mute Math now, so you can say you knew them before they were huge.
Ken Andrews has been writing, recording and producing music for the better part of two decades. He started in the early 90s with his band Failure. They released three albums, most notably 1996’s Fantastic Planet which Andrews also produced. After Failure ended, Andrews released two solo albums under the moniker On. The first, Shifting Skin, was decidedly more electronic than his work in Failure. In 2003 Andrews formed a new band called Year of the Rabbit. They released one self-titled album before going on “indefinite hiatus.” Andrews has also been the man behind boards for several artists ranging from Pete Yorn to Mae. Check out his entire list of credits here. Earlier this year Andrews released his first album under his own name called Secrets of the Lost Satellite. The album was written in a somewhat unconventional way in that Andrews would record a guitar or bass track and send the file to one of his friends who would then add more elements to the song. Out of this give and take, Secrets was born and it is some of Andrews’ strongest work to date. On a side note, if you get the chance to see Ken Andrews perform live, take it. I was lucky enough to catch him earlier this year in a small venue and it was one of the best rock shows I have ever been to. He played songs spanning his entire career as well as several tracks from Secrets, including this one.
Lovedrug broke onto the scene in the summer of 2004 with their debut full length Pretend You’re Alive. It came out on The Militia Group, the label known for launching the careers of bands like Copeland, The Rocket Summer and most recently Cartel. Don’t let the record label lead you to believe that Lovedrug has anything to do with the current incarnation of “emo,” these guys are a straight up rock band. That is evidenced in today’s song from their sophomore release Everything Starts Where It Ends. This record came out back in March and I got it around the same time I got a few other CDs and it ended up getting overlooked. I recently started listening to it and I am thoroughly impressed. What Lovedrug has created is an album full of capable rock songs that are just a little left of center, but still catchy enough stay in your head for a few a days at a time. The lyrics are abstract, metaphorical, and not easily discernable but are delivered with conviction from lead singer/guitarist/keyboardist Matthew Shepard. Some of the guitar parts are reminiscent of 90s rock, especially the bridge of this song. When it comes to Lovedrug, leave your assumptions at the door and let the music speak for itself.
Better Than Ezra are a band that I will forever associate with my adolescence. Their first record, Deluxe came out in 1995, the year I entered the sixth grade. Their fourth album, Closer, came out right before I began my senior year of high school in 2001. They're one of the first bands I really got into and any time I listen to one of their albums it reminds me of my not so distant youth. I think it’s unfortunate that most of America only remembers BTE for their hit “Good” from Deluxe. While “Good” is an excellent song, Ezra has become so much more than that three minutes of pop gold. Their second record Friction, Baby is probably my favorite, but you really can’t go wrong with any of their albums. While they may be just a one hit wonder to some people, Better Than Ezra continue to put out great records and they manage to sell out the House of Blues in their hometown of New Orleans on a regular basis. Today’s song comes from their b-sides and rarities compilation Artifakt. Included on this CD are some remastered versions of songs that appeared on their original 1989 demo cassette Surprise, as well as an outstanding cover of the Bill Withers classic “UseMe.” “Rarely Spoken” wasn’t on Surprise, but I believe it predates Deluxe. Regardless of when it was written, it is one of my favorite Better Than Ezra tunes and hopefully will be one of yours too.
mewithoutYou are one of the most difficult to describe bands in the current music scene. Last fall when I was telling my brother about their excellent third record Brother, Sister, he asked me who I would compare them to. Literally no bands came to mind. This is due mostly to the singing/talking vocal delivery of lead singer/songwriter Aaron Weiss. His songs are basically poems set to music. Brother, Sister is easily the most focused and accessible of mewithoutYou’s three albums. This is truly a record that is best listened to from start to finish. Everything just flows together to create a very unique collection of music. Enough of me trying to explain it: just listen.
The Format were one of the first signings to Western Tread Recordings, a label started by Jimmy Eat World front man Jim Adkins. Their first release for the label was a five song CD simply titled EP. Shortly thereafter the major labels came calling the Format signed on to Elektra and released their full lengtdebut Interventions and Lullabies in the fall of 2003. Despite being full of radio friendly pop tunes with catchy melodies, Interventions was more or less neglected after Elektra merged with Warner Bros. The band and label didn’t see eye to eye when it came to recording a follow up record and the Format were released from the label. The band wasn’t phased by this and went on to record their fantastic sophomore record Dog Problems. While I enjoyed Dog Problems I have to admit that it had to grow on me. The hooks just weren’t as immediate as Interventions and Lullabies, which has that priceless quality of making you sing along by the time a song hits the second chorus. That’s the way it was with this song and since this is my first post I thought it only fitting that the first song would be “The First Single.”
One new song everyday until I get tired of doing it again. Click on the artist's name to get more information about them. Click on the album art for purchase information. Click on the play button to listen for yourself. Enjoy.
