AP.net Review - Forever The Sickest Kids - The Weekend: Friday

Track List:
1. Do Or Die
2. Tough Love
3. She Likes (Bitter Sweet Love)
4. Take It Slow
5. Hip Hop Chick
6. What Do You Want From Me
7. Hawkbot


You love them or you hate them. There seems to be no gray area for Forever The Sickest Kids. Their first album, Underdog Alma Mater, was a mega hit for their genre. Their follow up, The Weekend: Friday, is the first of a three part EP series instead of one full album. Hopefully the rest of the weekend is better than this Friday which starts out as a party and ends up blacking out. Painfully.

The first few tracks have them back to their signature style. Do Or Die is full of catchy hooks and a strong buildup to the chorus. However, the first sign of change from Underdog Alma Mater is definitely the increased synth. Tough Love is the first mishap of the weekend. The absolutely awful vocals in the first ten seconds already take much of the appeal out of the song. If you can get past those first ten seconds, the song isn't terrible, but good luck. Luckily, the highlights of Friday is up next. She Likes is easily the catchiest song on the album, and even though the chorus is easily a ripoff of about fifty songs out already, you won't forget this song. Friday hits a peak with Take It Slow. Forever The Sickest Kids moves away from their pop track with a pop-punk song All Time Low wishes they had thought of.

However, this is where the good Friday goes bad. Hip Hop Chick is so tremendously bad that you don't think they could get any worse. It's extremely electro heavy with awful lyrics such as Don't ask my why I'm with/A hip hop chick. Friday rebounds a bit with What Do You Want From Me. This song is a grower that may take some time to get into. That brings us to the last track; Hawkbot. This song makes Hip Hop Chick seem like a Grammy winning song. It is that horrid. I can't even go on how awful this song is. The band didn't even mention this song on their Alternative Press track by track review. I wonder why. It's a pathetic hip-hop song with absolutely no guitar. Just don't listen to this song. There's no point even giving it a chance.

Maybe Forever The Sickest Kids are geniuses. Maybe this is a concept album trying to focus on the progression of a Friday night. Maybe they purposely made the end bad to symbolize where partying hard on a Friday night can do. However, I think we all know that wasn't their intention. If only there was a way to split an EP in half, I'm sure many listeners would get this EP. But, sadly, the monstrosity of Hawkbot and Hip Hop Chick make the second half of it impossible to even listen to. It's definitely an album to purchase single songs online, but buying the whole album is a waste of your money. And let us hope that Saturday and Sunday have better outcomes.

AP.net Review - Late Nights And Lovers - Hello Hollywood

Tracklist:
1. Danger Danger
2. Celebutant
3. Summer Sweetness
4. So Late So Sorry
5. Kids Undercover
6. If I Could Be


Redoing this for AP.net. Original review can be found HERE.

Let’s cover this now. Hello Hollywood is not ground breaking music. They won’t sell millions of records (probably) and won’t change music forever (definitely). However, they’re darn catchy. And they’re having fun with what they do. Although they get a lot of criticism for their totally bland music, I would bet everything I have that they don’t care. At all. There’s hundreds and thousands of small bands just like Hello Hollywood. However, many bands don’t even reach anywhere near where they have gotten.

Danger Danger is a perfect example of the majority of their songs, containing simple lyrics having to do with love, simple guitar riffs, and a chorus full of extremely catchy hooks. It’s one of their better songs that will hook you from the first chords from the guitar. Celebutant follows the exact same formula, containing a chorus that could be mistaken for an edited version of the first song. The difference between Celebutant and Danger Danger is the extremely watered down verses. There’s just nothing fun about them at all. Summer Sweetness is another song of the same vein. It’s catchy, but bland. They do however gain credit for mentioning fireflies before Owl City did. So Late So Sorry adds another dimension with the guest vocals of Brian Dales from The Summer Set. His higher pitched voice definitely gives a change up from the usual low pitched voice of Hello Hollywood. The bland Kids Undercover has a lot of meaning to the band, but the lyrics are nothing special and neither is anything else in the song. If I Could Be finally switches things up a bit. And when I say a bit, I don’t mean much. The verses are basically slower versions of every other verse in the EP. It’s just another average song.

Hello Hollywood is definitely a band on the rise. They still need to work on diversifying their music. If they accomplish that, they could easily surge in popularity. They have plenty of potential. However, playing the same song over and over won’t get the band anywhere. You can listen to Hello Hollywood on myspace HERE.

Schedule

If you haven't heard by now, I have been asked to do a few reviews for absolutepunk.net. So, instead of continuing on with my best of the year, I'm going to work on these. Those albums/EPs will eventually be done, however separately. This is just a better opportunity for me. However, all of those will be posted here first, as always. I have been asked to do three so far; a remake of my Girls Get All The Action - White Lights, Hello Hollywood - Late Nights and Lovers, and Forever The Sickest Kids - The Weekend: Friday.

Smile, Kid Album Review - We The Kings

Track List
1. She Takes Me High
2. Promise The Stars
3. Heaven Can Wait
4. The Story Of Your Life
5. Rain Falls Down
6. Summer Love
7. In-N-Out (Animal Style)
8. Spin
9. Anna Marie (All We Need)
10. We’ll Be A Dream (feat. Demi Lovato)
11. What You Do To Me
12. Heaven Can Wait (Acoustic)
13. She Takes Me High (Acoustic)

Finally. It's been two years since their self titled album has come out. In those two years We The Kings broke into mainstream music, placed two songs in the Billboard top 100, had several headlining tours, and won over the hearts of hundreds of thousands of teenagers. We The Kings has steadily become a mainstay in iPods everywhere. As one of the last releases of the year, this album carried a significant amount of hype. I'll admit that I was worried for this album, however it is definitely a good pop album.

Currently, my favorite song is the opener, She Takes Me High. It contains the usual corny lyrics and extremely catchy lyrics, especially in the chorus. Travis also uses some of his best vocals in the chorus. The bonus acoustic version at the end of the album shows off the vocals even more. Promise The Stars is a fairly boring track in which nothing stands out. The verses are extremely boring and the lyrics are nothing special. Heaven Can Wait has already been talked about on the blog. My opinion has not deviated much, as I still am not a fan of the track. The song is finally bursting into top 40 radio, but I do not expect it to get anywhere. The acoustic version is much stronger vocally than the original, as Travis' voice is much more raw and shows much more emotion.

The next few songs are not anything special. However, they go right along with the album. The difference between individual songs and a full length album is that it is extremely difficult for every song to stand out. However, the more the album flows, the better the songs sound when played together. The Story Of Your Life is decent; the more I listen to it, the better it gets. However it is more filler than a single caliber track. The next track, Rain Falls Down, was originally supposed to feature Cassadee Pope. I am waiting for that version to leak, since I have a feeling it would drastically improve the song by adding another dimension to it. It's still extremely similar to Story Of Your Life. Summer Love continues with the streak of filler songs. The whistling can get fairly annoying.

The tracks finally begin to improve with In-N-Out (Animal Style). I'm not even going to comment on the track name, other than saying that's what the song is about. The synth definitely adds a lot to the song. The chorus is catchy and the bridge is definitely strong. A very good track, and single potential. Spin is one of the best songs on the album. The chorus has many similarities to Check Yes Juliet. The whole track seems to be produced a lot better than the filler tracks. It overall sounds different. If you liked the old WTK singles, this is your song. Anna Maria (All We Need) is a synth heavy song that although isn't as bad as the filler tracks, still is not anything special.

We'll Be A Dream is the song based on a similar theme to many other breakthrough bands of the year; a celebrity vocalist. In this song's case, it's Demi Lovato. I had an extremely bad feeling about this song, however I was extremely pleased with the outcome of the track. I had never been a Demi fan, however even I have to admit her voice is excellent in this song. The song seems like We The Kings' version of Two Is Better Than One. The song style is similar, with Demi coming in the second verse and the choruses building up intensity. The final track, What You Do To Me, was the second song released. It is also in the running to be the second single. If it does win that honor, it will be well deserved. It follows the blueprint We The Kings formula for success: catchy hooks and cute lyrics.

I was actually worried at the beginning of the review that I would have to rewrite the entire introduction due to the fact I wasn't sure that the album was as good as I thought it was. After listening through it several times, it's definitely better than I thought. It's a grower, but so are many full length albums. I disliked Nothing Personal at the first listen, but by the end of the year it has become one of my favorites. We The Kings has definitely created a catchy pop album that will almost sure produce several top 40 hits. Check out We The Kings on myspace HERE.

Top EP's Of The Year: Rookie Of The Year - Since I Left Your World

December is here, meaning it is time for the best of the year lists. To kick things off is Rookie Of The Year. I had heard of them before this EP, however I had not given much of a listen to them. After hearing such positive comments on AP.net, as well as there being an exclusive early listen of the track, I decided to look into it. Now it's one of my favorite EPs of the year.

The title track, Since I Left Your World is a great introduction to Rookie Of The Year's style. Their acoustic guitar/piano combo works extremely well in separating themselves from other bands. They diversify by adding other instruments including drums, electric guitar, and even tambourine in some songs. The songs still stay catchy even with the tranquility of the album. The choruses of Slow Down and Hey Lauren show the catchy hooks Rookie Of The Year can create. This is supported even more by the Ba Ba Ba's in And We Sing The Melody. The album ends with Eight Eight Keys, my favorite song on the album. It's a brilliant piano ballad that has a peaceful intensity in it. Ryan's vocals are brilliant as he sings "Eighty Eight Keys" The soft piano ends both the song and the EP.

One of my favorite things about starting this blog is my willingness to listen to new and different music. Occasionally, I find extremely talented bands such as Rookie Of The Year. I have talked to Ryan several times and he is a great dude. That also is another plus of the blog. It's always great to talk to the band members, since my one and only job from writing this blog is to promote the very best bands out there. This is a great album and a definite must listen. Check them out on myspace HERE.

Song Of The Day 11/30/09 and Upcoming

As you all know, we are getting to the end of the year. The end of the year means it's time to make the "best of 09" lists. December will be the month of my top albums, EPs, and individual songs of the year. I have been trying to put a list together, however I have realized the order can change by the minute. I will post my top 10 alphabetically, with my top 3 actually stated. That will take up most of December.

Today's song of the day is Marla Singer Doesn't Take Standardized Tests (Disposable Smile) by Analog Rebellion. Analog Rebellion is Dan Hunter, formerly known as PlayRadioPlay! The recent name change was his choice in order to remove similarities between him and other bands such as NeverShoutNever. I don't agree with his decisions, however I do like this song. However, it is much different from the Texas album. Compared to PlayRadioPlay, it is much less electric and has more guitar. As always, Dan keeps his music extremely catchy. The bridge has a big guitar part, another major break from PlayRadioPlay songs. I'm curious to see how Analog Rebellion works out. He also has a 40 song PlayRadioPlay B-sides album out soon. Check him out on myspace HERE.

Artist Profie - Oh No Not Stereo

Let me start by wishing everyone a happy Thanksgiving. And with that, I also give thanks to a band that was extremely friendly to me at the Manatour. Oh No Not Stereo was not even supposed to be on the tour, but due to personal issues I Rival had to drop off the tour, opening a spot for ONNS. I don’t think I met a single person at the show who had heard of them beforehand.

They easily won the crowd over with their intense, wild rock music. The first song they played, Let’s Get It Started, is the perfect opener. The chorus is something everyone can get pumped up and sing along to. Hurricanes, played second, is another song that I knew before the show. The lyrics are strong, as shown by the extended metaphor encompassing the song. The powerful guitar solo easily fits in with the flow of the song. By the end of this song, people were finally getting interested in the band. They closed with This Friday Night, a song I had not known before the show. They made sure to get crowd participation by telling them what to do at the chorus. Along with the fact that the show took place on a Friday, the crowd was psyched. However, they did not play my favorite song of theirs; 12 Years Later. Due to the quiet acoustic nature of the song, I can see why they didn’t play it. Lyrically, the song is very strong and meaningful. The chorus is extremely catchy, especially for an acoustic song. The song builds up by the end and finishes with intensity.

After the show, they met with all their fans. They were extremely friendly guys, and the lead singer, Skyler, even gave out his cell number. I’ve talked to him on occasion and he’s a great guy. He and the rest of his band deserved to go out on this big tour with Hit The Lights and There For Tomorrow. Additionally, they are giving away their whole catalog on their website. Check it out here and download all of their music for FREE.

Song Of The Day - 11/24/09

Today's song of the day comes with a new feature. A free download! I have gotten permission from The Fold (the band who has this song) to spread it around. The link to download the song is HERE.

The song is Every Band In The USA by The Fold. If you can't tell by now, it's a parody of the Miley Cyrus "hit" "song". The song is an observation of all the fads in music this day and age. They talk about the "neon" craze of fans and autotuned bands. They then talk about the craze of popular song covers. The best part about it is the irony of putting that in a popular song. However, my favorite part of the song is in the bridge and last chorus. The phrase "Glamour Kills won't sponsor us, so All Time Low won't tour with us" is one of the best lines in the song. ATL seems to only tour with Glamour Kills bands, as seen by their hundreds of tours with the exact same bands. In the chorus, they even put in a "br00tal" breakdown which any hardcore band wouldn't be ashamed of. The Fold makes extremely good points about the state of music these days. And while doing that, they make one of the best parodies I've heard. Check them out on myspace here.

Song Of The Day - 11/23/09

Today's song of the day is Fall Asleep First by Go Radio. Or is it Mayday Parade? It sounds like them, so it must be them! However, it's Go Radio. Go Radio is actually the former second singer of Mayday Parade, Jason Lancaster. I've always felt he was the driving force behind Mayday. He was the song writer and his vocals were easily better than Derek's. Anyone who listens to Miserable At Best or any of the other old Mayday songs should realize that. This song is what Mayday could have been on their newest album. It's upsetting to see the old Mayday change; however, their sound is not gone. Go Radio has it and will continue to use it. Old Mayday fans need to learn Go Radio, because Go Radio's next album will be as good as A Lesson For Romantics. Check them out on myspace HERE.

Song Of The Day - 11/22/09

So, I'm bored and I haven't done a post yet today other than the R.I.P. post, so I'm going to do a SOTD post.

Today's song is Silhouettes by Swimming With Dolphins. One might think they sound exactly like Owl City. Well, Adam Young from Owl City actually produced SWD's album. Additionally, the female voice during the chorus of The Saltwater Room is actually featured in this song as well. Her name is Breanne Duren for whoever is wondering. They also have toured together several times, including one tour this summer with another of my favorite bands, Holiday Parade. SWD has the same ambient sound as Owl City, however with less random beeps and boops. Any Owl City fan will easily like SWD. Check them out on their myspace HERE.

R.I.P. Girls Get All The Action

I usually don't do actual news posts, but this is extremely important to me. These guys influenced me to start this blog. Once I got the idea of starting it, I took it to Jason, one of the members. He said it was a great idea. A few hours later the blog was up. A day later the first blog post was a review of them, which you can read here. My writing has drastically changed from there, but that article still means a lot to me. I even met Jason at the Hey Monday concert. That meeting was the moment of the night, which included meeting the members of all the other bands. That's how much they meant to me. This is a sad day in my musical life. I hate to see bands like that just break up due to things not working out. I will keep everyone updated on upcoming side projects for all the other bands. But this is just something I felt I needed to mention.

Damn Rough Night EP Review - Artist Vs. Poet

Track listing:
1. Damn Rough Night
2. Gateway
3. Rescue
4. To Hell With The Letdown

Artist Vs. Poet returns with their first released material since their self titled EP over a year ago. The first EP got a great review from me earlier on the blog. This catchy pop-rock EP is a great follow up to the EP and preview to the upcoming album.

The title track, Damn Rough Night, is a fun song about the epicness which is turning 21. The lyrics express all the emotions of going all out on that night, including the fun, the craziness, and the forgotten memories. The catchy chorus has been stuck in my head for a while. Additionally, Forever The Sickest Kids, currently on tour with Artist Vs. Poet, give some guest vocals in the bridge.

Gateway is another song of the similar formula: Catchy lyrics and a catchy beat. The verses aren't their best, but the chorus is still great. Rescue sounds like a song right out of an All Time Low album. I mean that in a good way. It's a great song that again follows their formula of success. To Hell With The Letdown is a song that isn't my favorite, but maybe it will grow on me. The chorus just seems boring to me. It's not a bad song, but it's not their best.

As said earlier, Artist Vs. Poet follows their formula to success. I would love to see them add some diversity, but with a four song EP that is not important. However, for their full length they need to add some change. These guys have a load of potential, especially on Fearless. Their full length is probably going to be one of my most awaited albums of 2010. Check Artist Vs Poet out on Myspace HERE.

Song Of The Day - 11/19/09

Just as a little advertisement, I now have my own facebook fan page. If you become a fan of it you will automatically be updated on your news feed every time I post an update. Makes your life a lot easier. Link is HERE.

Anyways, on to the song of the day.

Today's song of the day is by a band known as Chasing Thrill. I found them a few weeks ago and automatically fell in love. Did you love Saosin before they sucked? Well, I found a new favorite band for you. My Ballad is a slower song than most of their other songs, but it is epic. The singer's vocals are amazing and the vocals are powerful. And it sounds like old Saosin, if not better. Check them out on myspace HERE. I can't wait til these guys get out a full length.

Song Of The Day - 11/17/09

Today I'm starting a new feature. In order to keep posting even when I am busy, I'm going to do a song of the day segment. Basically I'll post a song, give a brief review of it, give similar artists, etc etc.

Today's song of the day is actually a cover song of a song almost everyone knows. Just listen to the lyrics. The song is Sunshine by Good Morning Milo. I found the band on Purevolume in the top 15, listened to them, and downloaded their album. Only after I started listening to the whole album did I hear Sunshine. I was shocked when I heard the song. Most of the song is simple acoustic guitar, although there's some full band at the end. This is one of the best covers I have heard. It takes a song almost everyone knows and totally remakes it. The rest of the album reminds me of Ludo, so if you are a fan I'd listen to the rest of the album. It's pretty good in general, so definitely give it a chance on Purevolume.

Album Roundup - 9/22/09 - 11/16/09

Okay. I am officially back in action. Due to my long hiatus, I have missed reviewing many albums. This post will be a brief overview of several of the ones I don't feel like doing a long review with.

Paramore - brand new eyes:
This is the album that destroyed my blog. It was mostly my fault though. I finished a really nice review, but it got deleted. I had no feelings of redoing it at all. However, the album is great. It is totally different than Riot!, but in a much more mature way. There aren't as many sure cut radio hits and there are more slow songs. Ignorance, Careful, and Bring By Boring Brick are for the Riot! fans, and the acoustic The Only Exception and the absolutely beautiful epic ballad All I Wanted are two songs that anyone should love. http://myspace.com/paramore

Mayday Parade - Anywhere But Here:
What a disappointment. A Lesson In Romantics was an absolutely brilliant album. However, the loss of their songwriter and second singer Jason Lancaster, now singer of Go Radio, affected the entire band's style. Derek's voice just does not belong with these songs. There's a few good songs, however there are no amazing ones. The Silence, If You Can't Live Without Me, Why Aren't You Dead Yet, and The End are the three I will suggest to listen to. The bonus track, The Memory, is one of the best and if you can get that song I would. http://myspace.com/maydayparade

Relient K - Forget And Not Slow Down:
A pretty good album. I've never been a huge Relient K fan, mostly only liking the radio hits. However, I like it. It's a bit more alternative than I usually listen to, so my opinion isn't strong on this album. Songs I suggest are Forget And Not Slow Down, If You Believe Me, and the sister songs This Is The End and (If You Want It) http://myspace.com/relientk

A Rocket To The Moon - On Your Side:
Absolutely DREADFUL. Honestly, I don't even listen to it. It's totally different than their EP, which was great. This album is more acoustic alternative and less pop/rock. It's boring, the songs sound the same, and I really don't even see one song that I like. Annabelle is decent, Mr. Right isn't horrible, and On Your Side is okay. The new Dakota is nothing compared to the original and everything else is lousy. http://myspace.com/arockettothemoon

The Summer Set - Love Like This:
Absolutely BRILLIANT. And yes, the similarities in the first sentence between this and ARTTM album are on purpose. The albums both came out on the same day, both carried the same amount of hype, and both seemed very similar in the past. However, this album blows it out of the water. It exceeded even my expectations. It's easily one of my favorite albums of the year. Chelsea, The Boys You Do, Love Like This, Girls Freak Me Out, This Is How We Live, and Punch Drunk Love are all excellent sons worth taking a listen to. http://myspace.com/thesummerset

Cartel - Cycles:
I hadn't listened to Cartel in years. I liked Honestly when it was on the radio, but I was never a huge Cartel fan. However, I decided to take a listen. I actually really like this album. It's a real good pop-punk album. Let's Go, the first single, is just decent, however The Perfect Mistake, Faster Ride, It Still Remains, and the acoustic Only You are my favorites. http://myspace.com/cartel

Every Avenue - Picture Perfect.
I LOVE this album. I liked their last album, and this one beats it easily. This and The Summer Set are the two best albums during this two month time period. Tell Me I'm A Wreck was a perfect choice for the single and could easily be on the radio. I Forgive You and Mindset are two fun songs with powerful riffs. The Story Left Untold has probably the best transition in a song I have ever heard, seamlessly shifting from 4/4 to 3/4. I barely even noticed the change until I listened carefully. That's musical brilliance right there. Other great songs are Picture Perfect, Happy The Hard Way, and Clumsy Little Heart. http://myspace.com/everyavenue

I've also listened to the new Dashboard album and Faber Drive album, but not enough to give an opinion. Also I've listened to several EPs, including the Rocket Summer, Forever The Sickest Kids, and The Years Gone By. Those are possibly going to be done later this week. Additionally, I've been to two concerts in the past month with another few coming up before the end of the year. Reviews of them might come as well. Plus several other misc. things. Keep checking in, telling people about the blog, and become a fan on Facebook!

Muzik Dizcovery Now On Facebook! And Updates

Join the Muzik Dizcovery fan page on Facebook! http://www.facebook.com/home.php?ref=home#/pages/Muzik-Dizcovery-Blog/327159180262?ref=nf

Additionally, I'm planning on starting writing again soon. Any requests please post in comments.

Artist Profile - Picture Me Broken

I'll admit it now. I think I have a new crush. It's Layla from Picture Me Broken. She has the clean vocals of Katy Perry, she's a female screamer, and her band is awesome. Oh yeah, did I mention she's 16?

Dearest I'm So Sorry immediately hits you with a wicked breakdown. You immediately notice the similarity of vocals to Katy Perry. Well, maybe if Katy Perry blasted insane screams. This is one of the first female screamo bands I've heard of. Eyes Set To Kill is screamo, but their female does not scream. There may be a few rough edges around parts of the song, but otherwise it sounds great.

Breaking The Fall combines another breakdown with great synth. Layla does the synth in the band along with vocals. You get to hear the male screams during this song. It's crazy how a 16 year old kid can do screams like this. I'm 16 and there's absolutely no way I could do any of that.

They show they can do slow songs as well. If I Never Wake Again slows things down with passionate vocals along with occasional screams. The piano along with the sirens during the intro creates the emotional mood. The vocals are not great in the beginning, but she goes up very high on the register and her voice obviously isn't ready for that. With some practice and rerecording this song could be amazing.

The other three songs on the EP are just as good as these three. Picture Me Broken just won a VMA for best breakout Bay Area Artist. It may be surprising, but they deserved it. I see this band getting into the 15-20 million listen range on Myspace. All they need is someone to give them a chance. Tragic Hero, Epitaph, and Fearless are definitely great fits for them. I think Tragic Hero would be the best for them at this point, seeing as TH started both Alesana and A Skylit Drive's careers. They are currently giving away their EP on purevolume for free, so go check it out HERE.

Brand New Eyes Listening Party - Paramore

I was at the listening party for the new Paramore album. Instead of the full review I did last time, I'm just going to put some my quick take in bullets. Once the album leaks, I will have a full review.
And I just noticed they didn't play track one. Depressing much...

• There were many more slow songs than were in Riot! The album title reflects that. It seems kind of obvious that Riot! would have more energy than Brand New Eyes. There were 4 or 5 slow songs in the whole album.
• Ignorance and Brick By Boring Brick are great. Those are the two songs I've heard more than once. They will definitely be my favorite tracks at the end of my adjusting to the album.
• Track 6, The Only Exception, was an all out acoustic song. That's brand new to Paramore. It was actually a very good song. The chorus can get a bit repetitive, but I see it becoming a constant in my playlists.
• Track 9 started soft. Very soft. And slow. But the guitar exploded right before the second chorus. I'm serious. I jumped. It definitely puts excitement back into the album.

Overall it's different for Paramore. I really think it's another album that needs adjusting to. Hayley's voice is amazing (as usual), but the band has changed. However, the change is just maturation. All bands go through this. This album will separate the real fans from the ones that only liked them when they went top 40. You can listen to Paramore on myspace HERE.

Paramore Brand New Eyes Listening Party

I'll be there tonight. Will definitely post something about it later.

Apologies

I've been extremely busy lately with school starting. For a while I will probably only write for big album reviews. The site isn't dead. Keep showing up.

Love Drunk Album Review - Boys Like Girls

1. Heart Heart Heartbreak
2. Love Drunk
3. She's Got a Boyfriend Now
4. Two is Better Than One (featuring Taylor Swift)
5. Contagious
6. Real Thing
7. Someone Like You
8. The Shot Heard 'Round the World
9. The First One
10. Chemicals Collide
11. Go

This album very quickly became one of my most awaited albums of the late summer. Once I became "Love Drunk" for the single, there was no ending of the hype I had for this album. Even Jason Tate from AbsolutePunk said that it was one of the best Pop/Rock mainstream albums of the year. As of now, most of the album is living up to its hype.

Heart Heart Heartbreak was one of the first clips from the album to be heard. BLG released it soon after getting 250k friends on facebook. The song definitely has single potential. The angry guitar of the verses definitely agree with the point of the song. The guitar lightens up for the chorus and is full of addicting hooks. I won't be surprised if this song hits the charts.

Love Drunk is a song everyone has heard. I have also reviewed it in the past. All I need to say is that this song instantly became one of my favorites. It is on the way surging to the top of the charts. In the other post I said it would go top 10. It's looking like that is going to come true.

She's Got A Boyfriend Now is the second single released. It is also the only other song currently on sale on Itunes. It's a catchy and fun song that will be on many teens' playlists. Nothing about the song is amazing, but the individual parts add up. The verses, chorus, beats, melodies, and everything else are good. Another song to definitely add.

Two Is Better Than One is much slower than the first three songs. It also is the song I say will rule the charts. I mostly say that because Taylor Swift is in it. Her recent radio success guarantees domination with this song. I'm not saying that this song isn't good (it is) but Swift will bring many more listeners. It's a slow song that starts acoustic while gradually picking up instrumentation and intensity. By the end of the song it is a powerful ballad that stands out in the album. The album is now 4/4 so far on great songs.

Contagious is the song that instantly stood out to me from the first listen. Definitely one of the most upbeat songs on the album, the strong guitar and flow of the song make it more towards the rock spectrum of the album. This is the song that will probably be most praised by the less mainstream people. The chorus is extremely catchy and energetic. This song would have single potential, but compared to the first four songs it won't have a chance to live up to its potential.

The next song, The Real Thing, is the end of the single caliber music. This song just doesn't stand out to me at all. It seems more filler than anything. The verses aren't great and I don't like the flow or the vocals of the chorus. It reminds me of my opinion of Hello Brooklyn. Definitely the first track on the album I wouldn't suggest buying if you have limited resources.

Someone Like You sounds like it doesn't belong on this album. It's a slow, Christian ballad. The lyrics are obviously about faith. This is just nothing like anything they have done before. I sure hope they don't go on this direction anymore. This song won't get them anywhere.

The Shot Heard Round The World finally puts the album back on track. It opens strong and continues with intensity throughout the song. I'm not a fan of Martin's vocals in this song. This and the last few songs don't sound like old BLG. The chorus is good, but takes a few listens to enjoy. This song is better than the last two, but still isn't great.

The First One is another slow song. I'm surprised to see this many slow songs on the album. So far this is three. The vocals are much improved and I really enjoy them. The chorus is great with lots of emotion. I'm really glad that the album got back on track with this song. There doesn't seem to be much middle territory in this album. The songs are either great or lousy.

Chemicals Collide is definitely another more punk pop song. The verses definitely seem like something out of Relient K. The chorus is much more mainstream and I really enjoy it. This song is definitely up with the first five on the album.

The final track, Go, is also the final slow song. It's also the only true acoustic song. The lyrics are great and the vocals are great as well. The chorus definitely shows both of those. It's a perfect end to a great album.

The album definitely has its ups and downs. However, the ups are exponentially more impacting than the downs. I'm not sure if it's a top 5 album for me this year so far, but it's definitely top 10. I'm expecting mainstream chart domination from this album for the next year. This album was definitely created wanting to rule the charts. It'll live up to that. Check out the whole album on myspace HERE.

Playlist - August Singles Part 1

This post will go along fragmented. I will do one song at a time, but will update the post often.

The Summer Set - Chelsea. This song is the first single of The Summer Set's soon to be released album, Love Like This. It is actually the new version of a very old demo by them. I've had the demo song for months while waiting for the real version. It's easily a very catchy song and could also easily break mainstream. The chorus is irresistible and the verses are catchy. Definitely a huge highlight to one of my most awaited albums. Love Like This will be out October 13th. Listen to The Summer Set on myspace HERE.

Hayley Williams - Teenagers. This song is part of the Jennifer's Body soundtrack. It is also Hayley's first solo song. It's an extremely short song, just clocking in over two minutes. It sounds like nothing Paramore has ever done. It is an acoustic guitar song with handclaps in the end. Hayley does the guitar herself, making it a solo song. I really like it. It's nothing like anything I usually listen to, but it's grown on me quickly. Check out Hayley in Paramore on myspace HERE.

We The Kings - Heaven Can Wait. This song was just released on iTunes yesterday, but I had heard it for a week or two now. I actually really did not like this song when it first came out, but it has grown on me a lot. The chorus sounds exactly like The Academy Is on Fast Times At Barrington High. I'm still not much of a fan of the chorus, but it may grow on me. The verses definitely are great. I hope this song is not going to be the best on the album. This doesn't even compare to Check Yes Juliet and Secret Valentine. Check out We The Kings on Myspace HERE.

Updates

So, the blog has been running for approximately two months now. In that time I've had over 8000 page views. I'm genuinely shocked how well this is doing. I never thought when I started this I'd last for even this long. You people are the only reason I keep doing this. I'm glad you all appreciate what I do.

I'm leaving in half an hour for the week. As a result there will be no articles until at least next Saturday. I have a request. I want everyone to come onto this post and comment. Make a request. Praise the blog. Beat down the blog with a giant stick. I don't care. But comment. Also, the best thing you guys can do is surprise me with the view counts when I get back. I understand they will be down from usual, but hopefully you guys can bring me some more. Every single person counts.

I've added several things in the past few weeks. On the right hand column there is a list of bands that have advertised the blog. I'd like to thank every one of them personally here; Girls Get All The Action, The Arrival, Catch The Sunrise, Hello Hollywood, Runner Runner, Show Me The Skyline, Boys Will Be Boys, and The Icarus Account. They are all amazing bands full of amazing people and you all should check them out. Also, I will be updating the upcoming album list I posted last week. I made it easily linked to also in the right hand column.

After I get home, I hope to do a few more articles. Then school starts. From there I might not be able to do an article a day. I will continue to do the best I can. I hope to reintroduce the cover song articles soon. I totally ran out of ones to write about so any suggestions are definitely appreciated and will be noted in the review.

Finally, I'd like to thank some individual people that have helped me so far. Andy for attempting to work on the layout. Megan for making the banner (and much much more). Jason from Girls Get All The Action for being a big inspiration to the creation of this blog. All the people from AP.net that have totally bashed me for writing but at the same time have inspired me to go on longer. My three (four?) chatbox fangirls that always bring me both entertainment and annoyance. All my friends for helping me advertise and for giving me a big start. And my family, especially my mom for giving me this idea and would never have been made without it.

- Casey

Emotion EP Review - Breathe Electric

Tracklist:
01. Emotion
02. What Would You Say
03. The Best Of All
04. Let Go
05. The Average
06. The Endless Fight


The title track, Emotion, hooked me instantly. Every time I hear the opening beat it reminds me of a Paul Oakenfold song I heard on the radio a few years ago. I think it was called Faster Kill Pussycat. If you know it, tell me if you agree. The beats are extremely catchy although not heard before by Breathe Electric. The chorus hooks with the secondary vocals before going back into the lead singer's lower pitched voice. This is a great electropop song and definitely introduces many new techniques into the band's arsenal of tricks.

What Would You Say features the lead singer of a fairly well known band as guest vocals. The guest vocalist is Tom Higgenson from the Plain White T's. It's a pretty unorthodox combination of vocalists. The piano goes along with the electronics extremely well. It also seems more mainstream than usual. Tom Higgenson might even lead the song to top 40 radio. I wouldn't be surprised at all of that happens. It's different to hear Tom's voice electrofied instead of his usual raw vocals. He will get a lot of complaints for that. It is still a good song and definitely a highlight of the album.

The Best Of All sounds like a song that Between The Trees would do if they were a little bit poppier. The piano led first verse definitely resembles Between The Trees. The first verse doesn't seem to go along with the rest of the song. The chorus sounds just like I Can Get Back Now by You, Me, And Everyone We Know. It's another song that is a lot less electronic than usual Breathe Electric. The last chorus includes another slow piano part that as earlier does not fit in at all. The song would be much better without those slow parts. Overall, the song is still pretty good.

Let Go is another great song. It's pretty much a pure electronic track. The vocals are covered with Autotune throughout most of the song. However, Breathe Electric was always full of that. The whole song is extremely upbeat and there are almost no resting moments. The chorus is full of energy and is extremely catchy. It sounds different than every other song so far. The last album sounded pretty much the same all the way through, but this one definitely diversifies.

The Average is a remade version of the song from the first EP. I can't notice too many differences between the versions. The vocals seem a bit more sustained and covered by more autotune. This was my absolute favorite song from the first album. It was extremely catchy and never got tiring for me. I have replaced the old version with this one. There isn't enough difference to carry both versions, so I decided that renovated is better. Pick whichever version you want, but you better download it.

The Endless Fight is another totally different sounding track. It is another piano led track that is softer and less energetic. His vocals sound a little different but are still great. The chorus is basically a powerful chant. Also, uncustomary (for the band) guitar is throughout the song. This could be the beginning of a less electric BE. The guitar is definitely pleasing to hear after hearing so little beforehand. This song may have to grow on you, but it is definitely something good.

This album is much different than their last. There is much more diversity within the tracks. Hopefully there will be a full length out sometime soon. Definitely something to look forward to. You can listen to the whole album on their myspace HERE.

Hello Fascination Brief Review - Breathe Carolina

Tracklist:
01 - Hello Fascination
02 - I'm The Type Of Person to Take It Personal
03 - Take Me To Infinity
04 - Dressed Up to Undress
05 - I.D.G.A.F
06 - Welcome To Savannah
07 - I Have to Go Return Some Video Tapes
08 - The Dressing Room
09 - Tripped and Fell in Portland
10 - Can I Take You Home
11 - My Obsession
12 - Velvet
13 - Rescue

I've already talked about Hello Fascination, so here's what I said earlier. The title track of the new Breathe Carolina CD, Hello Fascination, is much different than songs such as Birds and the Bees, Diamonds, and the cover of See You Again. There's definitely more guitar than I am used to in a BC track. It begins off sounding like a hardcore song and goes back into hardcore mode at several points during the song. I also have to admit that their vocals in the song sound similarly to The Used. I'll probably get shunned from the music world for that comment, but oh well. BC seems like they are trying to separate themselves from the other "shunned" bands of the crunkcore world. Fearless is definitely doing a good job with BC.

However, the next track I'm The Kind Of Person To Take It Personal brings them back to their old lousy self. Nothing about the song stands out. The back and forth clean vocals and screaming do nothing for me in this song. Take Me To Infinity starts catchy but gets extremely monotonous after a while. Dressed Up To Undress finally is a song I can listen to. It almost sounds like a pop song at the beginning. The beats are extremely catchy and fun. The chorus is pretty good, although not great. The bridge sounds like 3oh!3 made beats for them. There is basically no screaming throughout the whole song. While not great, it's listenable.

The next song is hard to describe. It's called I.D.G.A.F. If you don't know what that means, you shouldn't be listening to this band. The first listen through this song made my lips drop on how bad the chorus was. I still think it's bad, but it stood out to me. If a part of a song stands out this much, there must be something to it. I'll admit it's semi catchy. And about 10 minutes from now I'll slap myself for saying that. Now, before I give myself more reasons to scold myself...

Welcome To Savannah comes on next. This song is great. The chorus is extremely catchy and the screaming as backup vocals definitely brings the vocals out. It sounds nothing like BC's old songs. Which is a good thing since I only liked one or two of them. The beginning of I Have To Go Return Some Video Tapes almost stopped me from listening to it. I'm glad I took time to time to listen through that part. It still isn't a great song, but it's decent instead of horrid. The second half of the first verse is a screaming/singing part while the chorus is definitely pretty good. The verses after the first are also much better than the intro.

The Dressing Room is another song with a good chorus and decent verses. The beats definitely sound like something from their first album. However, the chorus flows extremely well and is extremely catchy. Tripped And Fell In Portland is something totally new for BC. It sounds like a hardcore song at the beginning. There's as little electronica as you can imagine in a BC song. The screaming part isn't great in this song and could definitely have been done better. The chorus is great as well. This is a song that is a huge surprise for the band. I've even heard AP.net people praising this song. Well...more than usual for BC.

Can I Take You Home is one of the best songs on the album. However, the best hasn't come yet. The beats are great and the chorus is even better. This is another song in which BC sounds nothing like their past style. My Obsession is a strange song. The beats in the verses sound like it was made from kitchen utensils. The chorus is pretty good, but still nothing special. Of course, it leads up to...

Velvet. Easily the best song on the album. The beats are upbeat and strangely addictive. The chorus has been stuck in my head for days. The lyrics flow perfectly together and are full of intensity. This is probably the most intense song I have heard by BC. The lyrics aren't great, but the song is just too darn catchy. The album then ends on Rescue. Not a great song. The lyrics sound like chants. Breathe Carolina shouldn't attempt to do a slow song. It's not part of their style. At all.

Overall, this album is decent. It reminds me of the Cobra album in my opinion of it. There's a few songs I like, but most of the album isn't special at all. However, Velvet makes the album go up more than a few points. The album comes out in two and a half hours. It will be released on myspace at midnight HERE.

Artist Profile - Thee Armada

Some of you might have seen the Toyota Rock The Space contest on Myspace. Thee Armada is one of the final five bands in the contest. I've had the pleasure of knowing this band for about a year now. They definitely deserve to win the record deal. They're a pop/rock band from Texas and they take much pride in their hometown. Their first song was actually a song played during Houston Astros games.

That first song I heard for the first time on Sirius Hits 1. Rock Shock and Load is a great rock anthem that could have gotten tons of airplay if it had more publicity. They proclaim themselves the "Boys of Texas" while claps are going along with the beat. The claps then turn into drums and guitar. The Rock Shock And Load hook is shouted right before the chorus. You can tell why this song was a stadium smash hit.

However, the next song I heard by them became one of my favorite songs. Along The Way is the perfect song about having great friends. For my sister's party montage she needed a song for friends. I suggested to use this song. She loved it and it fit in perfectly with the montage. The lyrics have tons of meaning at the riffs are strong. The chorus flows perfectly and the bridge keeps the song moving. You need to download this song now. It's one of the best songs I've ever heard.

They released a new EP in May of this year. I'm not a real fan of it. However, the song on their Toyota Contest player is from this EP. It is easily the best on the EP. It's a fun little song with an amazing hook. The "lalalalala" during the chorus is absolutely irresistible and will hook a listener from the start. If you have any doubt about the catchiness of the song, the whoas during the chorus will remedy that. The guitar also goes along with this song and gives it a great rock feel.

Thee Armada is currently working on their first full length. I think getting signed to Myspace Records would help their record reach its full potential. A real record label would get plenty of publicity for them and allow them to break through. Definitely go vote for them. Check out their myspace HERE.

Artist Profile - i Rival

I know many of the readers of the blog are interested in the DanceRawrDance tour featuring Breathe Carolina, Family Force Five, and Cash Cash. One band most of you might not know that will be on the tour is i Rival. They are an experimental rock band using styles from both rock and electronica. Also, they were formerly known as Esme. Their music on iTunes is still under the old name. That's why you might not have been able to find them on iTunes. However, some member changes including additions of members of National Product convinced them to change their name. The name change did not change their music as they still sound exactly the same as before. Thus all their old songs are still used.

The first song I heard by them was Dreams Are Real. It definitely begins sounding like a dream before drums and guitar come in. The "sparkle sound" affect is used throughout the song to continue the dream feel. The lyrics in the chorus go perfectly with the theme of the song. The verses aren't the best, but they aren't terrible either. The drums and guitar are both extremely impressive during the bridge. They are definitely worth listening for. This song immediately turned me on to the band long before i Rival was even an idea.

Close Your Eyes was the second song by them I really loved. This song is basically the album title track. If the song would be any other name, it would be the album name. It is definitely a prominent theme in the song. The chorus is what won me over. The "don't wake up" hook instantly got stuck in my head. It flows extremely well as well as being instrumentally impressive. The bridge also keeps the song mysterious and powerful. Definitely another song to download.
However, their best track so far is their first i Rival song Make Me Scream. They had previews of the song up on myspace for months without having the full version. Recently the full version was added. The electronics in the first verse stay mysterious until the song comes on strong with guitar. The chorus is even better than Close Your Eyes. Powerful lyrics and strong but catchy melodies create an amazing chorus. The first half of the bridge is mysterious while the second half is one of the best electronical rock combinations I have ever heard. I think you know my verdict on this song. Get it as soon as possible.

This band is about to bust out huge with this upcoming tour. Additionally, they are touring with Hit The Lights, Sparks The Rescue, and There For Tomorrow in October and November. That is one tour which if I do not go to then bad things will happen. They are also releasing a new album, Don't Wake Up Extended, on September 6th. I'm guessing this will be the old EP + several new songs. Check out i Rival on Myspace HERE.

Spain Album Review - Between The Trees

Tracklist:
01. We Can Try
02. Spain
03. The One Thing
04. One Last Time (Darlin' II)
05. Story Of A Boy
06. Miss You
07. Move
08. Scarecrow
09. Gentleman
10. Changed By You

We Can Try was the first single released off the album. The intro starts with an instrumental version of the chorus with guitar as the melody and piano as the lyrics. The verses are calm with background drums and piano. The guitar comes in right before the chorus and gives plenty of intensity. The chorus flows extremely well and has gotten stuck in my head many times. The bridge is a great guitar part followed by a great final chorus. This was definitely a perfect choice for the first single. An amazing track to start off one of my favorite albums so far this year.
Spain begins with upbeat keyboard as guitar comes in to accompany it. The verses are definitely a huge contrast to We Can Try. However, the chorus is extremely good. The lyrics and vocals are both amazing. It flows perfectly and as in We Can Try has gotten stuck in my head. It contrasts from the verses in a way that works well. The final chorus builds up intensity as the instruments come in the second time through. Another amazing track.
The One Thing begins acoustically with piano. Between The Trees has definitely created diversity between each song. The verses are very calm and peaceful. Drums give the chorus a little more intensity without totally disrupting the mood. The drums continue on through the chorus along with the verse. The intensity is at its highest during the bridge until it eases off slightly in the chorus. After the first two songs on this album, this one seems only decent. It's a very good song, but pales in comparison to the first ones.
One Last Time begins with another musical difference; the time signature. It's 6/8. Every song to this point has had it's differences from the others. That is what is perfect for a band. Making songs different without losing their general sound. The chorus is what really stands out about the song. There is plenty of intensity while still being sweet. The bridge is a great instrumental part that definitely stands out in the song. This is another great song on the level of the first two tracks.
Story Of A Boy begins with piano driving the lyrics until drums and a little guitar come in. The chorus again stands out in the song. It almost seems like the tempo speeds up. It's much different sounding than the other songs so far. The tempo seems to slow back down at the end to go back to the original pace. The bridge is a piano solo with a little guitar backing it. The song ends with a guitar solo before a final slow singing part. Another great song. 5 songs through and no one song sounds the same.
Miss You is the first song that I don't think is great. I do think the first verse is pretty good however. The unplugged electric guitar sounds very good. However, once the drums come in I become less of a fan of the flow and the vocals. The vocalist however does show off his great range. I'm not a fan of the chorus either. This song just isn't my style in general. However, it does not diminish from the greatness of the album so far.
Move is another song that begins differently. It has a rock/reggae feel with the guitars for the first verse. The bridge to the chorus displays amazing vocals while the chorus is another great chorus in the style of the first two tracks. It is not as good as them though. The bridge is another guitar led segment with decent vocals. Another good song, however it is middle of the pack.
Scarecrow is a slower piano song. The opening sounds like what The Fray wishes they could have done in Never Say Never. The chorus is repetitive but is sweet in its own way. The first chorus fades out with tons of emotion as drums and guitar come in to support. The bridge is great as it is full of emotion and intensity. Another really good song.
Gentleman begins cutely lyrically, vocally, and instrumentally. The guitar comes in to add intensity before the chorus. The chorus is fairly good. I'm a fan of several parts of it, but some parts just don't seem to fit for me. The chorus and the verses stick out from each other. The bridge is great although it sounds a little bit like Viva La Vida. The songs still are all totally different. Can the last song keep up the trend?
It does. Changed By You is a slow piano ballad that never adds guitar. The vocals are very good especially during the chorus. The vocalist definitely takes advantage of the slow song to express his voice. It's an extremely good love song that combines the simplistic nature of the piano with the lyrics and vocals. This song is a definite standout song as the only song without guitar in it.
This is probably one of the best albums I have heard. I was never a real fan of Between The Trees. Although I had their last album, it never grew on me. This album has been playing on my ipod for the last few days now. I've played it so often I had to review it. Support the band. Buy the album. Listen to them on myspace HERE.

Rain Or Shine EP Review - Show Me The Skyline

Tracklist:
1. Clocks & Calendars
2. It's On Me
3. Get On Your Feet
4. Put Your Money Where Your Mouth Is
5. Speak Up



Before I start reviewing the album, I will start by saying that this is not a lousy electropop album. The cover may make you think that. It's actually a really good pop/rock album with better guitar than you might expect. Also, they're only 2500 plays away from a million. So help em out by listening on myspace below.
Clocks & Calendars begins with a combination of synthesizers and guitar blended together. The verses flow well and definitely stand out. The chorus however is even better. The lyrics and the rhythms all move together perfectly. It is also extremely catchy and will get you to sing along. I definitely think the lyrics sound like Artist Vs Poet. The bridge has hints of All Time Low in it. The final chorus has great riffs throughout the whole thing. This is definitely a great song that can appeal to many different musical tastes. A definite must listen.
The beginning of It's On Me is a bit of a turnoff to me. The electro sounds definitely do not appeal to me. However, if you take 5 seconds for the guitars to come in, the song definitely gets better. The bridge to the chorus is full of extremely catchy hooks. The chorus is good, but nothing special. The bridge does not stand out to me. This is a good song, but nothing special.
Get On Your Feet begins with an extremely depressed tone. The lyrics and piano help with the tone. The guitars then come in and gives the song some energy. Just as suddenly as the guitars come in, the tone changes. It starts to become somewhat of a party song. The chorus is extremely well put together. I can imagine it being a huge crowd song in a concert. The bridge is full of glisses (a note then instantly scaling down quickly a couple of notes) that definitely add some style to it. This song has many stylistic changes that are different from the rest of the album. Definitely another song to check out.
Put Your Money Where You Mouth Is is another song that does not stand out much to me. The verses are decent, but nothing about them is great. The chorus is pretty good, but nothing special. The bridge might be the best part of the song. I love the rhythm and the electronic melody instead of guitar. I suppose the song is catchy, especially the hook in the chorus, but other than that there isn't much more to say.
Speak Up instantly begins with a lot of energy and remains that way throughout the entire song. The guitar and electronics stay very enthusiastic. The chorus isn't as good as the verses, but at least the energy never leaves. The bridge is quieter but the beats definitely keep intensity. The bridge is a repeated chant that could definitely be another great concert part. This song is middle of the pack; not as great as Clocks and Calendars and Get On Your Feet, but still with the other two tracks.
This album is definitely a great Pop/Rock album. You may not think it from the cover artwork, but you might be pleasantly surprised. The members are extremely friendly and will definitely talk to their fans. They are in the studio recording their new album right now, and I am extremely excited. Check them out on myspace HERE.

Upcoming Album Releases

Post in comments which ones you want reviews for. Or any others that I do not have listed.
This is preliminary, as I do not know which ones will be added and such.
Actually, I am going to link this on the side. If you ever need album/single releases, it will be here.

September 22nd:
Monty Are I - Break Through The Silence
Three Days Grace - Life Starts Now

September 29th:
Paramore - Brand New Eyes
Breaking Benjamin - Dear Agony

October 6th
Family Force 5 - The Family Force 5 Christmas Pageant
Mayday Parade - Anywhere But Here (Full Review)
Relient K - Forget and Not Slow Down
The Years Gone By - Something You Know Nothing About
Racing Kites - Right Here, Right Now

October 13th
A Rocket To The Moon - On Your Side
The Summer Set - Love Like This

October 20th
Cartel - Cycles

November 3rd
Every Avenue - Picture Perfect
The Almost - Monster, Monster

November 17th
Forever The Sickest Kids - This Weekend, Part One: Friday

You Are Forgotten EP Review - Conditions

Track List:
1. American Castles
2. Born Again Question
3. Man To Mannequin
4. Citizen
5. Illuminati
6. Goodbye Good Name



Conditions starts the CD with American Castles. This verses are high energy and while the chorus seems to have less energy, it is just because the vocals take more of a prominent role. The political lyrics have lots of meaning in them. The bridge has guitar that does not sound like it belongs to the rest of the song, but it gives a different feel while the lyrics mysteriously are quiet in the background. This song isn't anything special, but it is a great opening to the album.
Born Again Question is another song similar to American Castles. The songs begins with great guitar and is very high energy. I'm not really a fan of the chorus. It's just not my style of idea chorus. The bridge has a small fill that definitely adds a kick to the song. The last chorus has chant vocals harmonized in the background. Another decent song, but again it is nothing special.
The next track, Man To Mannequin, is their most popular song. As with Artist Vs Poet, it was featured on the iPod app Tap Tap Revenge 2. That is actually where I first heard of the band. The song opens with a great drum buildup into great guitar. This is definitely one of my favorite songs from the album. I love the flow and pace of both the chorus and the verses. This song is also a bit more mainstream than their other songs. If you only can download one song from the album, then this is the one for you.
Citizen reverts back to the rock style of their first two songs. The intro is full of great guitar, but then crashes in the verse. I do not like the verses at all. It's the scattered style I do not like at all. I prefer lyrics to be more connected than broken apart. I hear hints of Saosin in the chorus. I am talking about recent Saosin, not Anthony Green Saosin. Saosin's last album is actually what I would most compare Conditions to. I'm a fan of the chorus and bridge, redeeming the song from the miserable verses. A song to check out if you're a Saosin lover.
The next song, Illuminati, is actually a bit of a coincidence for me. I just finished reading Angels And Demons. Great book by the way. Read it if you haven't. The song starts slow in the intro before having a phrase of big guitar. The verses then fade back out and go back to the relative calm of the intro. The chorus again sounds like Saosin. However, I like this song more than Citizen. The better verses definitely make a difference. One of the songs I like most on the album.
The verses of the final track, Goodbye Good Name sounds like another band I really like; Anberlin. The vocals definitely sound similar to Anberlin songs such as Godspeed. I did not see this comparison in any of the other songs. The good news is that this means the vocals are great. Anberlin is revered for their great vocals. This is another high energy song that flows pretty well. The bridge is full of good riffs and definitely helps finish off this good album.
This melodic rock album definitely has it's ups and downs. Conditions is a band just starting to get out there. They are actually just about to hit 1 million plays on myspace. Definitely go listen to help support them. Listen to them on myspace HERE.

Artist Profile - Artist Vs Poet

Artist Vs Poet is a 5 piece powerpop/rock band from Dallas, Texas. They formed in late 2007 and were signed to Fearless in about a year. They released their first self titled EP in November 2008 before being named by Alternative Press as "one of the 100 Bands You Need to Know in 2009". They are currently in the studio working on their first full length album. This catchy band has emerged quickly and as shown by their signing to Fearless they are becoming well known.
Catchy hooks such as in the chorus of Run Away are what makes AVP stand out. Run Away was a song many people found through the popular iPod app Tap Tap Revenge 2. The opening of the song has great guitar. Additionally, I'm a real fan of the singer's vocals. The chorus is full of hooks that will easily make you love this song. If you need to download one song by them, download this.
Assurance, Closure is another great song. It starts small while building up instruments to the chorus. The guitar comes in strong at the chorus and is another catchy song. There might be a hint of autotune in the chorus, but it sounds great in the one place it might have been used. I'm not 100% sure, so don't take my word for this. There is some cool sounding guitar in the bridge that doesn't seem to show up anywhere else. Overall it sounds similar to Run Away, but as I've mentioned in other reviews that a sound is okay to continue using as long as it's not the band's only sound.
All In is a song that definitely has a different style than the other songs. The song is almost entirely a slow acoustic song. There is also some piano placed in throughout the song. I'm not a real fan of the verses. The pace just doesn't work to me. The chorus is definitely much better as intensity is added. There's also a small electric guitar part during the bridge. It doesn't seem to fit too much. It's a good song, but definitely not my ideal acoustic song.
Artist Vs Poet definitely got off on a good start. Their new album is one of my most awaited albums. There has not been a release date released yet, but when it is I will definitely inform you all. Other songs such as Infallible and Lisa Marie stick to the Run Away/Assurance/Closure style. I would definitely suggest downloading the whole album. Check out Artist Vs Poet on myspace HERE.

Playlist - August 7th Edition

All Time Low - Toxic Valentine. Toxic Valentine is a song coming off the soundtrack for Jennifer's Body. The soundtrack also includes the new Panic! song, a new Cobra song, and a Hayley Williams solo song. There was a real reason this song was not placed on Nothing Personal. It's rather simple. The song sounds nothing like the rest of the album. From the beginning the guitars sound nothing like any of the songs from Nothing Personal. It definitely sounds more like a song from Put Up or Shut Up. It's less upbeat and more rock feeling than the pop-punk sounds of usual All Time Low. So far, the first two songs from the soundtrack are really good. I'm really excited about the Hayley song especially. Check out ATL on myspace HERE.

Owl City - Fireflies. I first heard this song as a free download on Itunes. I had heard songs by Owl City before, but they didn't stand out to me. However, I heard this song and fell in love with it. Adam Young is an extremely good lyricist that puts good relaxing beats to his lyrics. The beat is extremely playful and goes along perfectly with the lyrics. It sounds like fireflies dancing in the wind during the song. I am sorry for anyone who missed the free song, since this was probably the best free song since Check Yes Juliet. You can listen to Owl City on myspace HERE.

The Higher - The Runaway Artist. This song is a lot more mellow than some of their other songs off the album. It is about a girl who ran away from home to live her dreams of becoming a singer. Although she accomplishes her dream, she leaves her home behind and changes everything about her. The song starts with soft guitar and light drum beats and continues on throughout the whole song. This song definitely is more of a story song than a party song especially when compared with the R&B influences of the rest of the album. It's different than the other songs, but still is one of my favorites. In a future playlist article I'm probably going to talk about one of the more upbeat songs by them. Until then, listen to The Higher on myspace HERE.

Better Now Than Never EP Review - The Real You

Tracklist
1. The Truth About Liars
2. Unwound
3. Worse For The Wear
4. Wrong Side Of My Head
5. What It Means To (Love)





The first thing that needs to be said is that The Real You uses piano in all of their songs, separating them from other bands. The Truth About Liars begins sounding almost exactly like Bubbly by Colbie Calliat. However, it is more upbeat and led by piano instead of guitar. Cymbols come in as beats while the piano keeps driving the song. The vocalist performs amazingly and the lyrics are great. The song is musically very diverse as there are just scales of piano stuck in at times. I actually just downloaded this song tonight, and I already like it a lot.
The next song, Unwound, is the reason I wanted to start writing this review. This song could possibly be in my top 10, if not 5 favorite songs of all time. The opening piano is absolutely amazing and as soon as I heard it I was hooked. The lyrics in the chorus are amazing as well as the flow. The piano and guitar work together perfectly to create an absolute masterpiece of a song. I wasn't exaggerating when I said this could be one of my favorite songs ever.
Worse For The Wear was another song I downloaded tonight. It opens by sounding like elevator music with a little bit of a rock feel. The piano slowly comes in when the verse comes. It seems to be a lot less prevalent than the first few songs until the piano solo during the bridge. Jingle bells are heard in the background during the chorus. This song definitely has a different feel to it than the other songs. It's not my favorite, but maybe it will grow on me. It's still a song worth getting.
Wrong Side Of My Head is another song with more guitar than the first two songs. The piano plays more of a background role again. However, it does add some cool effects such as the wind chime sounding scales. I'm not a real fan of this song. It seems a bit too boring to me. There's not much that stands out to me as in Unwound or The Truth About Liars. If you can only get two or three songs, I wouldn't suggest this one.
What It Means To (Love) is another piano led track. The piano continuously leads the song throughout the full length of it. There's some cool guitar between the verse and the chorus which is only heard if you pay attention. Just a little something to listen for. The chorus is catchy with all the "la la la love" phrases and can get you to sing along. This is another good song that I would definitely suggest downloading.
The Real You is definitely a band on the rise. Their piano based alt rock sound is one not heard in many bands nowadays. More bands should try to follow this format. It definitely adds a whole other dimension to the music. I would recommend everyone to buy Unwound right about now. Check them out on myspace HERE.

To Love And Back Album Review - This Century

Track List:
1. Battling A Heavy Heart
2. To Love And Back
3. Running
4. No Way Out
5. Go Get Her
6. So Cruel



Battling A Heavy Heart begins with drums accompanied by electronics. The electronics fade out to simple drums and bass. The guitar comes in during the first verse and continues on through the chorus. The song is a simple song, yet is catchy and refreshing. I can't see anything that stands out to me, but that doesn't make it a bad song. Simple catchy pop songs work well as long as there is some diversity within the songs.
The title track, To Love And Back, definitely stands out much more. It begins with piano covering the melody with guitar covering the beat. This basically goes on throughout the song. The chorus flows extremely well lyrically and melodically. It still keeps the simple pop song style, but the piano adds another element to the song. I also think that even though they beat of the chorus isn't as catchy, the lyrics flow much better. A highlight from the album.
Running is a longer song; over a minute longer than the rest of the songs. I'm not a huge fan of the verses. They aren't bad, but nothing about them stands out. The pickup to the chorus is several loud heavy drum beats. That is the beginning of the improvement to the song. The chorus is catchy and easy to hum along to. The guitar after the chorus comes in much stronger than the rest of the song. Although it stays to the same style, it definitely sounds different than the other songs. Another great track.
The verses of No Way Out are simple piano and cymbol taps. The lyrics are soft and sweet. The chorus comes in with louder guitar and drums and extremely catchy hooks. The backup vocals definitely help make the song stand out. They create the catchiness of the hooks and along with the claps during the bridge create crowd participation.
Go Get Her definitely sounds different than the rest of the album. It definitely seems more rock than the other songs. The louder guitars and stylistic changes make that easy to realize. The bridge and the pickup to the final chorus also add more rock elements to the song. It's a good song that adds diversity to the album.
So Cruel is a great ending to the album. The song is a heartbreak song about a cheating girl. The melody is piano with drums and guitar as the beat. The chorus is simple but catchy. Actually, simple but catchy can be the theme of the whole album. As I said before, that's not a bad thing. Music does not have to be life changing and epic to be good. Sometimes simple music is all that's needed to have a good time.
This Century's album is definitely full of fun and fairly upbeat music. A great band for guys to play for their girlfriends. Definitely a good album to listen to. You can listen to This Century on myspace HERE.

Hot Mess Album Quickie Review - Cobra Starship

This is a quick review of the album. I'm not doing a full track review; instead I will go over the Highlights and Lowlights.

I'm not a huge fan of Cobra, but I have liked several songs on each album. Plus, after the major success of Good Girls Go Bad I was curious to see what the album would sound like. To be honest I'm not thrilled with it.
Nice Guys Finish Last is a decent song. It's very electric and jumpy and is a pretty good opening to the album. Cobra even inserted a guitar solo in the bridge. After the guitar solo there's a weird call and response part with a female voice. The more I listen to this song I can see it's pretty catchy. This might be one of the ones I like.
Pete Wentz Is The Only Reason We're Famous was the first song released long before Good Girls Go Bad came out. This song instantly became a song I liked a lot. The chorus is extremely catchy with great hooks. This song could and should be the second single off the album. It's less electric than many of their other songs while still being just as catchy as the others.
Everyone knows Good Girls Go Bad. I see no point reviewing it, however I do have something to say. I know many people are angry that this song went popular. Who cares? Like the music for the music. Not for the popularity of it. Don't hate the band just because they sell out. If you still like the music, keep liking it. If they change it so you don't like it, move on. Don't hate.
You're Not In On The Joke is a song that I actually like. The chorus is extremely catchy with "T-t-t-t-t-tongue in my cheek" as a great hook. The lyrics throughout the whole song flow extremely well. This song stood out to me from the first listen. That's important to me. Those songs are usually the ones that turn out to be the best. The bridge is very unusual in which there are screams. Rumors say that it's Pete Wentz. The song then continues with only a piano accompanyment.
Hot Mess is a song that grew on me over time. I originally thought it was pretty bad, but the chorus definitely won me over. The catchy hooks along with the background bongo drums created a great club-rock song.
Living In The Sky With Diamonds stood out to me with the name as being similar to the Beatles song. The chorus doesn't sound like anything that Cobra has done.
The last song, The World Will Never Do, is absolutely terrible. The beat reminds me of a bad song in the background during a porno. Yes, I seriously just said that. They even threw a rap part in at the end. I can't imagine why they would do that. It did nothing to make this lousy song any better.

I'm not a fan of the remixes or the bonus track, so I don't see a point of getting the bonus album. To me, someone who does not know much of Cobra's older stuff other than their few singles, I wasn't thrilled at all. This seems like an album which might grow on me, but also might not. If any other Cobra fans would like to disagree with me, go ahead. I'm willing to take input on this compared to their old stuff. Listen to Cobra on myspace HERE.

Boys Will Be Boys Album Release Show - Videos

Boys Will Be Boys Album Release Show - Review

**All pictures and videos taken by Megan**

I went to the Boys Will Be Boys album release show last night at Jammin Java. 8 bands played in total. Almost all of them were small bands I had never heard of. Me and my friend were the first people in line at about 4:15 PM. The eighth band was not added until 10 minutes before the show, however they were definitely one of the best.
The first band to perform was Cowabunga. Although they had a TON of energy performing, they were not very good musically live. The guitars totally covered up all the singing. I could barely hear any of the lyrics. The recorded versions of their songs seem to sound a lot like Hit The Lights. The good news is that they had fun and that is all that is important for them.
I was a much bigger fan of Ever Since Ebbwood. They were definitely much better musically. It's great to see this kind of ability from small bands. They did a cover of Whatever You Like which is currently on their myspace. I don't have too much else to say about them, but are definitely worth checking out.
The next band, McTwist, is actually a band from my city. It's actually really cool seeing bands that know places that you know. Their music wasn't bad, but it didn't really stand out to me. It was still decent pop-punk. The best part about them was after the performance the guitarist challenged everyone to Super Smash Brothers on N64. He was good. I'll say that. And good is a relative term. He was
amazing.
The next band, Pathway To Providence, was a band I had found the night before getting prepared for the concert. And wow, they are great. Also, they are amazingly nice guys. I bought a shirt from them and they made sure to round up the entire band to sign the shirt. I also got a picture afterwards. They're from Florida and are good friends with two of my favorite bands; There For Tomorrow and Amely. They definitely have a somewhat similar style to the two bands as well. Three songs I have to recommend are I Am The Tower, Hypochondria, and Meet Me At The Terminal. The first two are great rock songs while Meet Me At The Terminal is an amazing acoustic love song. Definitely a must listen band.
I did not get a very good listen to the next band, Life On High, since I was busy getting the signatures from Pathway. However, I did return in time to hear their single and only recorded song, Say Hello. This song is on Itunes and is a must listen. This song makes me look forward to their next recorded material. They did do a Jonas Brothers cover, which made them lose points on my coolness scale (just kidding guys).
The next band was the band that was added last second. The Icarus Account is a band of two brothers playing acoustic rock. They switch off voices similar to The Scene Aesthetic. They were absolutely amazing live. To be honest I wasn't too thrilled to hear them since I knew I thought it wouldn't be that fun of a performance. That didn't matter. They have amazing voices and are extremely nice guys that care about their fans. I met them before their performance and after it when I went up to them to buy my friend her CD/Shirt (totally worth it) they remembered our names. This band could easily bust out in the way of The Scene Aesthetic. They put their Burn (Usher) Cover up on purevolume for free download.
The next performance was by B.Faithful. He is a former rapper who recently turned to electric pop. It was absolutely terrible in my opinion. He overdid the autotune and basically boasted about using it. He also had a "fanclub" of absolutely drunk girls that went up stage and "danced." I really don't have much more to say about this at all.
Finally, Boys Will Be Boys went on. Although I had seen them play before, I never saw them play full band. I was not let down at all. The singer, Lehi, had a cold and had a bit of difficulty performing; however he still did a great job. The guitarist, Joe, was absolutely amazing on guitar. Some of the solos during songs I had no clue were actually played. He totally owned them and throughout the night played some of the best guitar I had ever personally seen. They played Make This Count, Forever, Jaded (Forget You), Word On The Street, Stop Calling Me, a cover of All The Small Things, Until I Leave, and Thats What's Up. I definitely suggest to everyone to buy the CD. It's great.










The show was definitely worth going to. I do want to say that I feel honored that BWBB has looked at the blog and actually remembered me from their other show. It means a lot that bands actually support the blog. That was one of my reasons for making the blog. I want to get to know bands and I want to tell people about them. I also became friends with many of the other bands during the evening. Support them all!

Playlist - July Singles Part 3

Today is the new Breathe Carolina single along with the new Mayday Parade song.

The title track of the new Breathe Carolina CD, Hello Fascination, is much different than songs such as Birds and the Bees, Diamonds, and the cover of See You Again. There's definitely more guitar than I am used to in a BC track. It begins off sounding like a hardcore song and goes back into hardcore mode at several points during the song. I also have to admit that their vocals in the song sound similarly to The Used. I'll probably get shunned from the music world for that comment, but oh well. BC seems like they are trying to separate themselves from the other "shunned" bands of the crunkcore world. Fearless is definitely doing a good job with BC. I prefer Welcome to Savannah over this song, but it's still good. Listen to BC on myspace HERE. The album comes out on September 16th.

I'll admit I was scared when I first listened to Anywhere But Here by Mayday Parade, and I still am about the album. I'm afraid that without the duel vocals they won't sound as great. I still like the new song, it's just different. This song actually isn't their first single; just the first song they are releasing. It seems a bit more rock from songs such as Jamie All Over and When I Get Home You're So Dead, but it's still good. It just doesn't seem like Mayday Parade. That is exactly what I'm afraid of. I'm not a fan of end of the chorus. It just seems to end way too suddenly. I think they should have added one more phrase at the end. I can see me listening to this song a bunch of times but never really getting into it. I love Mayday Parade and I would hate for them to become just another band. Listen to Mayday Parade on myspace HERE. The album drops October 6th.

Playlist - July Singles Part 2

Today I will talk about Faber Drive and Panic! At The Disco. Tomorrow is Breathe Carolina and Mayday Parade.

Faber Drive's new single, G-Get Up And Dance, is a huge shock to anyone who has heard them before. This song sounds nothing like any of their past stuff. Their past stuff was good pop-rock, however this new song is an extremely catchy dance song. None of their songs had any synthesizers before while this one is covered with them. There seems to be autotune sprinkled in once in a while, but it adds to the style of the song. The chorus alone is more catchy than any Faber Drive song in the past. This song could easily be a top 40 hit. It probably won't in the US, however in Canada I can see it happening easily. It's amazing how bands can change themselves. This makes me extremely curious to hear the CD. I wonder if more songs will be like this. Listen to Faber HERE.

Panic! At The Disco is releasing their first single, New Perspective, since the controversial split of the band. Two of the members, including *Edit* Lead Guitarist Ryan Ross left the band to start their own project. Brendon Urie re-added the exclamation point to the name and released this new single. I'm actually a real fan of it. I was really let down by Pretty. Odd. and this is a great return to their old stuff. It is similar to Fever with some traces of P.O. It still keeps the jolly feel as in P.O. while still being good pop-rock songs. Definitely check it out. I wasn't looking forward to the album until this song. Check it out HERE.