Swing The Coast - Deluxe

Tracklist

1. Suburban Girls (Make Me Crazy)

2. Take This City

3. Scream (With The Radio)

4. Hold On

5. O.K.D.

6. She's So Rock And Roll

7. Young In Love (Feat. Dave Melilo)

8. Suburban Girls Acoustic

Who:

Swing The Coast is a recently started four piece pop-rock band from Detroit, Michigan. They have recently started getting lots of buzz, including being voted into the Top 3 of the Rock Yourself To Sleep Tour contest. Both major and indie labels are looking to acquire this rising band.

How Is It:

Although a pretty generic haircut band, these guys know how to write a pop song. "Suburban Girls" is your typical pop-rock song, showcasing lead vocalist Josh Belanger's impressive voice. Its chorus is a sing-along crowd pleaser that will surely attract many teenagers on their upcoming tour. "Take This City" is your typical pop-rock song, with a sing-along crowd pleasing chorus that will surely attract many teenagers on their upcoming tour. "Scream (With The Radio)" is your typical pop-rock song, with a sing-along crowd pleasing chorus that will surely attract many teenagers on their upcoming tour. Is this review getting redundant and monotonous? Well, that's exactly how I feel listening to the album. The first six tracks are basically the same song, with different lyrics and a slightly different melody. "Young In Love" would also be in that category, except for Dave Melilo's impressive guest vocals. In order to slow the album down, they simply recorded an acoustic cover of "Suburban Girls" which does not live up to the original due to the unnecessary drumming. Although lead vocalist Josh Belanger has a great voice, the band needs to diversify. However, it works extremely well for their targeted audience. But they will never move out of the huge mess of similar bands until change happens.

Recommended If You Like - The Right Coast, outRAGEus, listening to the same song over and over again, simple pop rock

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We Are The In Crowd - Guaranteed To Disagree

Tracklist
1. Carry Me Home
2. Never Be What You Want
3. Both Sides Of The Story
4. Lights Out
5. We Need A Break
6. For The Win
7. Calendar Pages

Welcome to your new summer band. We Are The In Crowd is the epitome of fun pop-rock. The combination of the Paramore-like vocals of Tay Jardine and the supporting vocals of Jordan Eckes blends perfectly to create poppy magic. This is the kind of music you will blast in your car with the top down and screaming every word of every song. One of the most recent Hopeless Records signings, We Are The In Crowd is soon to hit radios everywhere.

From the first phrase of the first song, Tay shows off her excellent pipes as she shouts "Carry me home tonight", before bursting into the upbeat verses. Jordan also helps create some excellent harmonies between the two voices as fire and water. "Carry Me Home" will easily be a track you sing along every word to by the second listen of the song. "Never Be What You Want" is one of the highlights of the EP as one of the catchiest songs on the album, which isn't easy. The song isn't lyrically powerful, but it doesn't need to be. Some songs don't need to be full of substance to be enjoyable. However, Will Pugh's (Cartel) lent vocals to the twinkling bridge dwarf Jordan's, almost leading one to want Pugh to sing in place of Jordan throughout the whole album. "Both Sides Of The Story" is a synth heavy track that is the first downfall of the EP. Nothing about it stands out, and it is pretty much a throw away track. The band does however show some of their best lyrics in the chorus. "Lights Out" is the first single and will make the listener quickly forget about the last track. The keystrokes of the piano in the chorus accompany one of Tay's strongest vocal efforts. Even Jordan has highlights on his vocals in this track. "For The Win" is my personal favorite track on the album. A major improvement from the demo version by removing the autotune and replacing it with soft piano. The chorus is superb as the voices harmonize perfectly. The seven song EP may lack quantity, but there is no missing quality.

We Are The In Crowd has the perfect ingredients to blow up and become huge; the sweet yet spicy vocals, the undeniable catchiness, and the choice of signing to the same label as All Time Low. After a trip throughout the country on the entire Warped Tour, it is inevitable that those two bands will meet paths and tour together. All Time Low fans will eat We Are The In Crowd up from the first listen. In a supersaturated genre containing many similar bands, We Are The In Crowd does enough to stand out and reach out to people who wouldn't expect it.

Recommended If You Like - A combination of Paramore, All Time Low, and Forever The Sickest Kids

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Breathing Blue Self Titled EP Review

Tracklist

1. A Star in the West
2. Chase the World
3. Roads
4. Real Eyes (Realize; Real Lies)
5. From Athens to Alcatraz
6. Sparkle (Bonus Track)

Who?

Breathing Blue is a young progressive rock band that has been touring and performing for about three years now, but are just starting to get attention. They have played with bands such as The Ataris, and made their way onto Bamboozle as a reward for winning a contest. These young men make sure to create real music without the use of autotune or other unnatural music techniques.

How Is It?

Pretty good. The music is very similar to Circa Survive, although the vocals are much lower. The opening track, "A Star In The West", showcases the band's skilled musicianship. The soaring guitar riffs in the background give power to the song. "Chase The World" shows the band can diversify the music with soft keys in the opening and time shifts in chorus. It also displays the positive message that the band is trying to give. "Real Eyes" contains several other messages (real eyes, realize, real lies) simply in the title. The staccato guitar plucks give it a unique sound and creates another EP highlight. The final track, "Sparkle" adds a synth line along with an inspiring chorus. Breathing Blue is a band just scratching their potential. They've already shown their talent in this album, and have excited me for future releases.

Recommended If You Like - Circa Survive, Mute Math

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