Archive for the ‘Album Review’ Category
Album Review:
Horseshoes And Hand Grenades
by Disciple
By Paul Anthony | August 28th, 2010
September 14, 2010
{INO Records}
Close only counts in horseshoes and hand grenades.
That’s the saying, anyway, and it’s the reference for Disciple’s new album, Horseshoes and Handgrenades.
It’s also an apt description for this life, in which perfection is the only way to gain an eternity with God, and in which our best, no matter how close to perfection it is, well … it just isn’t good enough, and close doesn’t count.
Disciple hammers this theme home in its latest disc, which doesn’t just get close to the musical mark but easily clanks around the pole. This is a ringer, about as close to perfect as any band is likely to get.
Following up on Disciple’s disappointing – though aptly titled – Southern Hospitality, the band has returned to the formula that made its self-titled CD and Scars Remain so effective: the mix of melody and metal that has rarely been put to such effective use in hard music. Disciple clearly has figured out how…
MORE »Album Review:
Suburba By House Of Heroes
Parts 1,2 & 3
By Paul Gibson | August 23rd, 2010
August 3, 2010
{Gotee}
Okay, this is an album that I have been waiting for ever since I learned to truly appreciate the genius that is Tim Skipper and co. on The End Is Not The End. So over the next 3 days I am going to share how I feel about Suburba and how my opinion stays the same or shifts.
Part 1: I have just finished listening to Suburba all the way though for the first time. This album is flippin’ awesome! I love that they took a chance on going more classic arena rock, ala Queen on this one. It has a balance of pop, rock, prog metal, and fun to make this music lover drool on himself.
I don’t have a favorite track just quite yet; let’s face it I just listened to it from start to finish for the first time. But I didn’t hear a single clunker in the bunch.
First impressions of Suburba vs. The End Is Not The End are this feels a little more uniform, upbeat, and yet epic than The End Is Not The End. More Queen and less Beatles influence.
I love this album.
Thus Far
Part 2 (and 3):
Okay, I had good intentions of writing the first three days of listening to Suburba. Now don’t get me wrong. I have been listening to it ever since, but life has been busy.
So after listening to it for a good 2 weeks or so now, I am…
Album Review: Vessels by Ivoryline
By Paul Gibson | August 23rd, 2010
July 27, 2010
{Tooth And Nail}
Ivoryline has had a lot of radio success in the past with huge songs including “Remind Me I’m Alive,” “Hearts and Minds,” and “Days End.” So you always have to wonder how a band will follow such a hit-ridden-success of a debut.
Vessels is a step up in just about every way possible in my book. It has a bit more of a dance rock style drums, more intricate guitar work, and feel just as emotive as Along Came A Lion, and then some.
Vessels has a more aggressive feel to it even if it doesn’t necessarily sound heavier. The band describes it as having a more indie vibe. I suppose the use of pedals and delays on the guitar add to its indie-ness, but for those of you who see indie as a bad thing, don’t. This isn’t…
Album Review: Meridional By Norma Jean
By Paul Gibson | August 2nd, 2010
July 6, 2010
{Razor And Tie}
First off, I have to admit that I have slowly had less and less desire to keep up with Norma Jean since they became Norma Jean instead of Luti-Kriss. Their chaotic style was good, but I longed for them to have more structure. Then The Anti-Mother came out and I was really lost.
But, their new album Meridional has found the band in a place where they seem to be happy with all their sides. This is where the band needs to be. They can still post-hardcore songs that are good, while still having others that will slap you around a bit.
I really like The “Anthem Of The Angry Brides,” a great tune with angry
MORE »Album Review: Let Love Win
By The Museum
By Mike Gibson | July 23rd, 2010
July 27,2010
{BEC}
This stuff is OK. Solid lyrics, nice hooks, decent vocals and good production mean that The Museum should do well. The band has an interesting story. The moniker has a good history. It makes for a good product.
But it doesn’t…
Album Review: S/T By Paper Tongues
By Paul Gibson | July 17th, 2010
March 30, 2010
{A&M/Octone}
Describing Paper Tongues has to be one of the hardest tasks I have ever been charged with. I have been jamming this album for well over a month and a half tying to get up the nerve to make any sort of comparison that would make any sense at all. They are rock to be sure, and they do have elements of hip-hop. Now see, I already know everyone is starting to mentally steer toward bands like Limp Bizkit, early P.O.D. or even Linkin Park. To put these guys in the same genre just doesn’t work. Imagine, if you will, taking a really good indie rock band, mixing them with a good alternative band, and have them write songs with a hip-hop enthusiast. Strange I know.
They always have a hint of hip-hop but to varying degrees. About half of the tracks utilize the hip-hop vocals to an extent, “Ride To California,” and “Rich And Poor,” especially, the rest of the album only hints at it.
Now that I have made them sound like a mythical creature that surely can’t really exist, let’s talk about some songs.
“Ride To California,” inspired by the journey their lead singer took to get to Cali to try to get signed by
MORE »Album Review: In Character By Blood And Water
By Shawn Anderson | July 16th, 2010
July 13, 2010
{Eden Records}
The release of Blood and Water, In Character, is a catchy, high-energy collection of fun summer tunes that will certainly cement the band’s mark on the Christian music industry.
Blood and Water is a foursome comprised of two brothers, Brad Hagmann (guitars, vocals) and Matt Hagmann (vocals, bass), along with Jason Barnes (drums) and Matt Trettin (guitar). They hail from Fremont, California, a city on the east bay of San Francisco.
Blood and Water is a blend of Punk and Ska, with influences from bands such as OC Supertones, the W’s, Weezer, and Five Iron Frenzy. In Character was skillfully engineered with dove-award winning Masaki Liu, who also produced bands such as the W’s and Five Iron Frenzy.
As the sophomoric release of Blood Water, In Character reveals a more…
MORE »Album Review: Jesus High By AppleJaxx
By Paul Gibson | July 14th, 2010
June 22, 2010
{Fadacy}
Before listening to this ep, I was not familiar with Applejaxx. But having worked at a rhythmic leaning pop station for almost half of my radio career I know what I like in rap.
Applejaxx has style, his music sounds mainstream, the beats are good and the flows are smooth, think E-40 but more laid back. Some of the lyrics suffer from the longest-running affliction in spirit-filled rhymes, they’re a little …
MORE »Album Review:
Rains’ A Comin’ By Children 18:3
By Paul Gibson | July 14th, 2010
July 6, 2010
{Tooth And Nail}
Have you ever been scared to try a new offering by your favorite movie director or actor? You just have such a high place set aside for them in your mind that you are terrified of having them dislodged. Every time I see a new Tim Burton or M. Knight Shyamalan film I get a knot of apprehension because I fear disappointment.
So as I pushed play on the new disc from Children 18:3 I felt something strikingly similar, Lost So Long is a good single, but how will the rest of Rain’s A Comin’ stack up? Their self-titled was so perfect in so many ways, it had a cool raw quality that I knew could be lost with more production. Lost So Long had more polish but was still good, But often movie trailers look great but the movie itself is nothing worth your $8.50.
All my doubts were stripped away with pure awesomeness that is punk rock n roll. I love every track, each has a perfect mix of punk, pop, chaos, and rock n roll.
The album kicks off with the title track, which acts both as an mood setter for the rest of the album but also a…
MORE »Album Review:
Burning Like The Midnight Sun
By The Choir
By Mike Gibson | June 26th, 2010
{June 29, 2010}
Galaxy21
Ahhhhh.
Like a circle slide twenty years long that invites you to once again chase a kangaroo, this is good stuff.
I age myself by recalling the purchase of a cassette by a new group called “Youth Choir.” Since that time in the mid-eighties, I have been an auditory observer to the evolution of one of my favorite bands in alternative music. And this one makes it a baker’s dozen. Twelve that is so good it could…
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