Dearest Luk/Luke/Lukey/Whatever You Are Calling Yourself These Days,
This is an open letter to you about your latest LP, Awakening Mercury’s Head for the Indies. I cannot, in good conscience, do a regular old review of this release, given the fact that you are a good friend of mine and my opinions are biased. That said, I want to be open, honest, and critical in a letter directly to you that my readers and your listeners can read in order to get a little bit of a feel for you as the artist that you are.
This release is a major step forward from anything you’ve ever done before. The music is more mature, the vocals are solid, and the lyrics are poetry. While your early days with Dreaming Under Mercury were fun and bubbly and your later material with the less pop oriented version of Dreaming Under Mercury is where you started to develop your voice, this release finds you coming into your own as a truly credible and powerful artist.
In earlier days, you wore your musical and vocal influences on your sleeves (or rather on your sleeveless arms) a bit too much. You have always rocked hard, but at times it felt like you were trying to be someone else. Whether it be your previous vocal emulations of Brandon Boyd or your intense musical similarities to Blindside, Chevelle, or (at one point specifically) Further Seems Forever, there always seemed a slight identity crisis in your musical past.
Today, however, those influences may still be evident, but in a much more unique way. Rather than sound like a copycat, you are your own you. Sure, like any great artist, the ghosts of other musical giants haunt your tunes, but never does Head for the Indies feel like music searching for an identity. This is you, all you… and it make me proud, both as a fan and a friend.
I’ve played this album for several friends, just to gauge a reaction. One friend, who listens primarily to arena rock (Creed, Fuel, etc.) found your music enjoyable but ultimately forgettable. This, however, is not the typical target audience for artier rock like this LP. The more appropriate prospective fan, a friend who’s musical tastes lie primarily in the realm of Further Seems Forever, Sensefield, Jimmy Eat World, and The Juliana Theory, found your LP thoroughly enjoyable and has been bugging me about a copy since that time. I guess your sound can hit home, afterall.
I’ve already been verbose, so I guess it’s time to starting wrapping up, especially seeing as I intend to post a full review at some point (by a guest reviewer, of course). I’d like to simply close this letter by saying that no one has ever deserved a chance to “make it” in music more than you. Always busting your ass to write, record, promote, and network, not to mention all the work you’ve done to help out other bands and artists… rock and roll is your lifestyle, but not in the sex and drugs kinda way, but rather in the way that you breathe, sleep, and eat music. One day, your dream will come true, but until that time I have no doubt that you’ll keep plugging along because no one I know loves music as much as you. Keep honing your craft and you’ll hit the big time… then I promise to ride your coattails as far as I can.
Your friend and fan,
Justin “thepaintedman” Harlan
No need for an intro, I’ve kept ya’ll waiting long enough.
1. the85bears w/ Alex Exile – Belly Down opens the mixtape with a great tune to dance to. thepaintedman would like to take (at least a little) credit for this awesome collaboration, as a TPM RemixThis! contest brought these forces together. The entire album, featuring more collabs with Alex Exile, a few new tracks, and a sweet remix from RemixThis! can be downloaded for FREE. And it’s currently #2 on noisetrade, so I suspect you’ll like it!
2. Enlou – Amphibian is a track from the Lujo Records act’s new EP. They’ll be hitting the road this Fall, so keep your eyes peeled.
3. Milk Plus – Digging Out proves that Nerdcore is alive and kicking in the UK. Check out this killer track.
4. Bodies in the Lake – Ohh… I’m Sorry for the Confusion will rock your face off… quite literally. It will actually hurt. But it will hurt so good… and once you are done hurting, you can listen to a bonus second track by BITL entitled “Visions of Chaos“. Both of these track were record at Atrium Audio in Lancaster by Carson Slovak, great production if I do say so myself.
WARNING: THE NEXT TRACK FEATURES AN ARTIST NAME WITH A NAUGHTY WORD IN IT!
7. The Glass Gentlemen – Love Story is a crappy cover of a crappy song. The Brads need to stop listening to bad pop! Seriously, though, it’s a fun an enjoyable cover of a song that all of us pretend to hate but secretly dig. Raise your hand if you have a Taylor Swift crush.
8. Jeremy Ritch and the Cowards – Crystal Beth is a track by that dude who wrote some reviews for TPM and pastors an indie church in Harrisburg, PA. Yeah! THAT dude. Did I ever mention to you that this guy is relatively obsessed with old country and is totally in love with Johnny Cash? Guess I did now.
According to Mike, Little Lords is for fans of 90’s post-hardcore. Listen, Mr. Signorelli, it’s emo. Deal with it! I know people are scared to use the term, but it is what it is…
3. The ThoughtCriminals – And She Goes is TOTALLY UNRELEASED up until now. Be one of the first to check out this fly track from one of my new favorites hip hop acts.
4. Elias – All I Want is more hip hop, but since when is that a bad thing. Elias rocked one of my favorite tracks on Illect’s Christmas album, here he continues to impress me.
5. Trumpeter Swan – Loose Lips is Drew Patrizi. Not enough? Ok, well… this dude is talented as all get-out. Austin TX bred and once featured in Gilmore Girls, what’s not to dig?
6. Doug Burr – Red Red is another great track in a long string of great tracks from the talented VBM staple. Enjoy!
7. Flannelmouth – Sharp Paper is a track from the the second Finnish band to embrace the ways of TPM lately. They sent me some stuff and I must say, I continue to be impressed with what Finland is cranking out!
9. Kwalified – I Like She Like is my favorite track from this dope Cali MC that has a contest with TPM coming up TOMORROW! Tune back in, folks.
10. Me You Us Them – Any Time is a track by a band who hangs out with The Prids, the band that has 250 hits and counting in a days time on TPM. That boasts well for them, don’t ya think?
To be frank, this is an album that I’d be much more into if I heard it about 10 years ago. Back then, I was a North Jersey scenester who promoted tons of shows, attended most that I wasn’t promoting, and ate up this pop-punk by the plateful. Sail by the Stars would likely have been heavy rotation on the discman that was plugged into my tape deck in my 1987 Mazda 626 covered front to back in bumper stickers (Oh, Mary Lou, how I miss ye!).
Unfortunately, this band is a tad late for that era in my life, but it’s not at all their fault… in fact, the band is tight, the vocals are well executed, and the production is stellar. Fans of well crafted, catchy rock tunes with punk, emo, and pop influences will enjoy The Night Owl EP as much or more than anything like it in the past few years. Mature enough to convert the former pop-punk faithful like myself but catchy enough to appeal to the masses, the target audience for Sail by the Stars is most appropriately the drones of kids listening to bands like Panic! at the Disco, NeverShoutNever, and Fall Out Boy that have yet to discover better things that this music scene has to offer. Hopefully this band (specifically, this EP) can be that gateway for those kids who need a nudge in the right direction.
As far as the actual tunes go, I am quite partial to “Wingspans and Flight Plans”. Extremely catchy and very danceable, the tune had me tapping my toe involuntarily. The classic pop-punk “whoas” in the chorus make me nostalgic, reminding me of singing along at shows in the salad days of that aforementioned Jersey scene. Gang vocals almost always make me smile and this song is no exception.
After listening to this EP, I did some research on Josh Koterba and this band. Listening to old tunes and where this band came from is impressive; the project has come a long way from the original one man band. 10 listens in, this EP strikes me as quite an impressive feet for an indie band without major label backing. Like I said before, they are mature and technically sound. But, no one will ever accuse these guys of being too solemn or too grown-up. If I were to sum this release up in a sentence, I’d have to simply say that The Night Owl EP sounds like a band having a lot of fun together playing catchy rock tunes that your little sister and you can jam to together. Think of them as a gateway drug in the indie world of pop-punk and emo that doesn’t sound like the Simple Plan-esque crap on the radio.
Brad and Brad are The Glass Gentlemen. Their new, self-released EP is entitled Listen Carefully and is available for download now. Featuring a few songs that you may have heard on previous monthly mixtapes (“Night Sleep Maybe” and “Ocean Stars”), the 8 song EP plays as equals parts The Anniversary, The Get Up Kids, Arcade Fire, and Brand New. With a seemingly steady diet of 90’s emo/indie rock and alternative Internet radio, the Brads exceed at one thing in particular… demonstrating promising musicianship and a knack for songwriting. While, I think it would be a fair assessment to say that these guys aren’t quite there yet, it seems fairly certain that they are well on their way to becoming a commercially viable alternative rock band that could easily be spoken in the same breath as bands like Taking Back Sunday.
As noted, what stands out most here is the band’s potential. Listening to what the band could do with little to no production value, it’s exciting to think of what they could sound like with a bit more of a budget. Their sound borrows a little bit from some scene influences, but is something it’s own. They demonstrate their rock chops on “Loudest Western Front” while showing a softer side on “Ocean Stars”. Each track has a feel it’s own, but there is continuity in their sound throughout.
The music is mature, both in content and songwriting. The music is well written, with some varied song structures and elements that make the sound completely non-generic. The lyrical content is not juvenile or overly angstful, as the genre tends to fall prey to. It’s obvious that despite being an unsigned, independent band, The Glass Gentlemen are not a couple of high school kids that just started playing.
That said, there are a few things that the duo will need to work on to fulfill their aforementioned potential. Vocally, there are definitely moments where notes are flat and/or forced. Perhaps this is more an issue of production quality and perhaps it could be addressed by reassessing the vocal range of the singers when writing the vocal parts. They strained vocals, ala Chris Carraba, employed in many of the musical peaks of the songs on this EP are solid, what sometimes falls short are the harmonies and soft, higher pitched vocals both in the forefront and background. There is an overall good sound to the vocally, but it can be better.
The band seems to have found their sound. It needs to continue to be refined, but it’s there. Couple this with a little more production value and some vocal tweaks and I find it quite likely that The Glass Gentlemen is a band that could catch the attention of the labels. For this band, it’s all about taking this solid effort and building on it. Tap into the obvious potential that’s there. These two guys named Brad should have a bright musical future and this EP is a solid starting point.
Don’t take my above statement lightly as Piebald is top 10-15 band of all-time for me. Piebald was the best band ever given the tag of “emo” this side of Jimmy Eat World… quirky, fun, witty, nerdy, and with rock and/or roll flowing through every vein of every member of the band. With members finally going their separate ways to pursue other life endeavors after years of rocking our faces off, a new entity had to fill their shoes.
Brian Warren, formerly of a band named after Piebald song, “My American Heart”, has stepped up to the plate with his Weatherbox’s second release, The Cosmic Drama, released exclusively on vinyl and via digital download. The band’s first release was pretty good from what I remember, but unfortunately I am not certain exactly what I thought about the album when I reviewed it… which is a sign of an average album. And while I can’t remember much of their first album, I promise you that will not happen with this one. Their new status as Piebald’s successor cements them into my musical rotation for a long time to come.
It’s hard to know where to start with this album, it ranges from acoustic tracks (“They’re Ready for Us to Come Home”) to songs with hard rocking choruses amidst slower verse structures (“Mindthings to W.A.S.T.E.”) to a truly classic Piebald rock sound (“…And You Will Know Me By The Trail Of Dead”). The quirkyness and offbeat song structures are fantastic in just about every way. It’s just hard to put this album into any other words than, “Weatherbox is the new Piebald” so perhaps I quote their wikipedia page:
Weatherbox is a 5th wave emo band with 2nd wave emo tendencies from San Diego, California, led by ex-Mister Valentine & My American Heart member, Brian Warren. Other members of the band include drummer, Drew Bent, guitarist, Garrett Prange, and bassist, Nathan Aguilar.
“5th wave emo” with “2nd wave” tendencies… BRILLIANT!
But wait, there’s more… a CONTEST (I mean, it is Contest Week, right?)…
A DIY Promotion Contest entitled: Stick It to the Man!
The Prize:
Limited edition copy of “The Cosmic Drama” on BLUE vinyl
Post this banner on messageboards, blogs, and websites with links to this article using this embed code: (and remember to email justincharlesharlan@gmail.com)
The most interesting use(s) of the stickers and/or banner wins. There will only be one winner and all entries must be received by Halloween (October 31st). This allows you one last stickering hurrah on Mischief Night!
While you are sticking it to the man, make sure to whet your whistle for your new album by enjoying this free MP3 track from the band: “Ask My Flashlight”
I am working on a review of the85bears‘ album entitled 10 Years Look Good on You for Decapolis, but I though it would be cool to share my complete unedited notes with my readers here, as well. In short, this is an album of good music that is poorly recorded, but I’m okay with that, completely. Fix up the recording and trim a few songs to make it an EP, and it’s a solid 8, but as is, we’ll call it a 6.5.
Here are my unedited notes, the only changes from my original scratch are the links I added. Enjoy.
“Quaint and Country” – I’ve read tons of praise by many for this song on my first mixtape. It’s enjoyable and reminds me of an acoustic musician I liked a lot in my teen years called Feeling Left Out.
“Shadows” – Harder edge, the vocals remind me of a song now defunct punk influenced rock band Giving Way (Jon is now lead vocalist in Holler Wild Rose!, Lou is in the band with him, not sure where Jimmy is now, but he played with Anberlin for a bit and was in Evelyn Hope, too). The overall feel of the song is very reminiscent of Full Surrender, in the acoustic guitars and hand drums juxtaposing with a hardcore type edge.
“Meshac” – A beautiful, worshipful song. The female backing vocals enhance this track more than in previous track (though they never took away, this track specifically benefits from them). The hand drums continue to bring forth comparisons of NJ’s Full Surrender.
“Speak Now” – Similar tone and feel to what has been established on the album thus far, the chorus picks up the tempo from the verses, like the handclaps in the chorus a lot. Adds a fun feel to the track.
“What You Hate” – More bands keep coming to mind as I move forth through the album, this track brings all that was good about early emo to mind, as well as a great rock band that was on Tooth & Nail a few years back called Fighting Jacks… though the acoustic instruments are a stark contrast to Fighting Jacks’ powerful electric sound. The female backing vocals are perfect here, sounds like a cello in there somewhere too.
“Needles” – Good, downbeat track, another worshipful tune at first, picks up after first verse a bit with some classical guitar that screams “Esteban!” The recording on this track detracts from the song a great deal.
“Abraham” – Not a big fan of this track, slowest track up until this point. Honestly, just don’t really like it.
“Mercy Unending” – Another track that suffers from a poor recording. Have a hard time getting past the lack of production on this, but underneath it, sounds like a good song, again presenting a worshipful tone like “Meshac” or “Needles”.
“The Vine” – Love this track. Again I am reminded of what was good about early emo music. Powerful lyrics, emotive vocals, good song structure. This is the kinda of song that could make me cry if heard at the appropriate time, like I did whenever I saw the Operation (Damn mewithoutYou for blowing up and burning out their first and better band), even though I tried not to.
“Friends with Benefits” – Piano is a good way to win me over in most case, this is no exception, good song about love, lust, and life.
“Feather White” – Completely different from the rest of this album. This is basically a spoken word track, a poem spoken on top of music. Different, but interesting. Dig it.
“Never” – I enjoy the guitar work on this track, not much else to say. Short song.
“It’s All His” – Cool instrumental (complete with xylophone), the guitar work seems to build up and up, but never seems to fully deliver. Sounds more like a track that comes in between two others or is the background to a transitional scene in a movie. Not the best way to close the album, but overall a decent track.
Overall: Poor production value, but that’s okay when an album is essentially a collection of self recorded tracks distributed for free. Lacked flow, meaning it sounded as a collection of songs, not an album, per se.
Sometimes I find it hard to put into words what I think about music. I find reviewing EPs particularly tough, in fact. I often feel like there isn’t enough music to make me decide fully what I think. While this is completely untrue for most of the EPs release by Velvet Blue (a great label that I have contested for some time is at its best when releasing EPs), it tends to be the case for most other bands and labels. The Skylife’s self-titled EP is no exception.
As I had intended on posting this review last week, I have continually pushed it back due to the fact that I have less to say about the release than I’d prefer. I’ll start with some of my basic feelings about the EP, then I will share my raw, unedited notes (originally scribble on a steno notebook at work):
Despite being an East Coast act (specifically from my home area of Philly), the band has a very West Coast sound with vocals that are hauntingly familiar, despite the fact I can’t pinpoint who the vocals remind me of exactly. The EP is very radio friendly, as it sounds like radio punk inspired alternative rock at times and emo tinged indie rock at others; fans of Panic! at the Disco, Fall Out Boy, Silversun Pickups, Anberlin, and Taking Back Sunday will all find something here they like. As a fan of Jimmy Eat World, The Juliana Theory, and Sunny Day Real State, I can hear an older emo/indie influence, as well. Overall, the sound is extremely radio friendly and far from “original” but it’s not teeny bopper garbage. It can simply be best described played and well produced alternative rock with emo and pop-punk leanings. While the EP was enjoyable, it loses a few points with me for being a bit generic. I don’t expect that it will be in heavy rotation for me, by any means… but I wouldn’t be surprised to pull it out for a listen here and there.
As far as the songs go, here are some quick thoughts I had on each track:
1 – Opening riff reminds me of an opening riff to one of my favorite tracks by Dead Poetic. Good vocal harmonies, well written lyrics.
2 – Something a bit Jimmy Eat World-ish early in the track, yet somehow something made me think of At the Drive-In, too… maybe the background yell at the open of the track. The voice is very familiar, especially during the harmonies. Good tempo change going into chorus. Overall Anberlin type feel here… only it’s not crap.
3 – First downtempo track here. Emo emo emo. I kinda hear a bit of a Snow Patrol type thing here, too.
4 – Another song that makes me think of Anberlin. Very West Coast sound (Anberlin isn’t a WC band, but they have “that” sound)
5 – I think this is my favorite track. By this 5th track, it seems like they are hitting their stride a bit. An LP should do them more justice.
