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.
Sunday, September 20, 2009
Friday, September 18, 2009
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...
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.
Paramore Brand New Eyes Listening Party
I'll be there tonight. Will definitely post something about it later.
Sunday, September 13, 2009
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.
Saturday, September 5, 2009
Love Drunk Album Review - Boys Like Girls
1. Heart Heart Heartbreak2. 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.
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.
Wednesday, September 2, 2009
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.
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.