Archive for August, 2007
Eisley Combinations Review
Eisley is a family band from Texas consisting of 4 siblings and a cousin. I was first introduced randomly when talking about how much I enjoy female lead singers.
With Eisley their vocals are great and they are pretty hot if you look at that picture! Sherri of the band is married to a member of New Found Glory and had been dating Brand New’s Jesse Lacey when recording the Room Noises album.
Anyway, Combinations hit stores on August 14th. I was actually awaiting to hear some of their new stuff as I checked out Room Noises and various singles before hand. This album sounds older and more mature compared to their older stuff. It sounds much easier to listen to and I really dug this album easily (only 2 weeks since I downloaded it).
I plan to purchase this album and I give it a 5 out of 5. It has already received some good reviews and rightfully so. Check out their video for Invasion and stream Ten Cent Blues.
Should I see : We are Scientists?
We are Scientists are going to be in Toronto on September 6th in Lee’s Palace and I have liked them for over a year after hearing “With Love and Squalor”. I usually don’t have friends and I can’t see any October shows with the evil mid-terms.
I think if I drag my friend he will probably enjoy “We Are Scientists” and for only 20 bucks it definitely is worth it…
If you have never have heard of or listened to We Are Scientists:
they have the alternative sound that is kind of catchy. I don’t really like labeling in genres but this band is pretty good though they don’t really crack the list on my one of favorite bands quite yet.
I am trying to decide which song by We Are Scientists to upload(tons of good ones).. so I’ll go random(with the shuffle function):
City and Colour to play 4 sold out shows in Toronto!
I have always liked City and Colour (note the extra “u” for you Americans) but for whatever reason, I have yet to blog about him. His popularity in Toronto is enormous.
He is part of the screaming Canadian indie band Alexisonfire where he plays guitar, piano and adds in melodic vocals mixed with the normal screaming. I have always liked his part of the song where he sings and seems to have a natural talent and people are really liking his work.
His release “Sometimes” was awesome and I really enjoyed the mature sounds especially “Hello, I’m in Delaware” (listen below).
Anyway City and Colour or Dallas (city) Green (colour) is on slate to play 4 sold out shows in Toronto in the Danforth Music Hall. I unfortunately made the mistake on waiting to see if anyone friends wanted to see any of these shows and only the crappy tickets were left. Now all there is left is to try to buy them from a scalper which I would rather just wait to check him out another time.
I bought the City and Colour live album and his live stuff is hypnotizing. Here is some stuff by City and Colour if you’ve never heard of him before:
Peter Bjorn and John: Writer’s Block Review
Writer’s Block was originally released last year on August 14th, 2006 in the UK. It made way into North America in February. I decided to check out Peter, Bjorn and John after listening to the increasingly addictive “Young Folks”.
This album is a little bit like that. To me at first it sounds okay but nothing special but eventually it creeps up on you and you begin to like it.
This album isn’t what I would call absolutely amazing but it’s a solid album. I would give it a 3.5 out of 5. It’s decent but nothing spectacular or special in my opinion.
A song I really liked on the album is:
Paris 2004.mp3
Spoon: Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga Review
Spoon’s Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga was released on July 10 to great critical acclaim. I knew nothing about Spoon but due to the acclaim, I decided that I would try and listen to them. They are a band out of Austin, Texas.
This album is very easy to listen to right from the start with the song “Don’t Make Me A Target” and eventually all the way through. This album wasn’t one of those “addictive” albums where I will listen to hours and end and the band ends up becoming one of my favorites. However, this album due to it’s easy eventually becomes very catchy and ends up being very good in the end.
This album I can’t rate as a 5 out of 5 for me but due to being great it gets a 4.5 out of 5 from me.
Here is a song that I instantly liked from Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga:
Moonbabies At the Ballroom Review
The Moonbabies are a two-piece band from Sweden where their songs are classified as indie pop and the duo often incorporates singing at the same time which I personally love.
If you like stuff by Stars and the Pixies you will definitely enjoy the Moonbabies. They had a song featured on Grey’s Anatomy (War on Sound) which did bring in some popularity. I first discovered them myself by listening to the song “Take Me to the Ballroom” in which I was instantly in love. Eventually I found out they had an album released this year and I eventually downloaded it and I have been digging it ever since.
This album is simply addictive and it’s another one of those albums that instantly convert you into a big fan. This album is 5/5 material for me. You can stream the entire album on their home page (or download some songs here). There have been other blog posts which is where I believe I was first introduced to them but I don’t quite know but I feel a responsibility to give the Moonbabies as much respect as possible.
Here a few songs that I’m really digging by The Moonbabies:
Take Me to The Ballroom.mp3 (the song that got the train started in liking the Moonbabies)
Cocobelle.mp3 (favorite song on the album)
Albums Out This Week: Rilo Kiley, M.I.A. and New Pornographers
This week 3 albums came out that I will have to definitely check out.
First off Rilo Kiley is listed as one of my favorite bands and while I really dig them “Under the Blacklight” is having mixed results from reviewers. I generally don’t care what critics are going to say and I am definitely going to give this one a review in the future and add in my two cents.
Here’s my favorite Rilo Kiley song (I really like Blake Sennett’s vocals):
I am not really big fans of either the New Pornographers or M.I.A. but I have liked of a lot of the singles that I have managed to download. Since I am familiar with them it feels as if it couldn’t hurt to check them out. M.I.A.’s Kala is tearin’ up the reviews at the moment and I usually check out unknown bands that have good reviews. Look for their albums to be reviewed in the upcoming months (this was an excuse to get some Rilo Kiley on here).
Bright Eyes: Cassadaga Review
I have slowly become a Bright Eyes fan after downloading many of their songs online. They released Cassadaga in April 10th and while I did download sometime in May. Sometimes albums are difficult to listen to and I never get to it. I found Cassadaga very hard to listen to at first as it was more country.
I have been listening to it more recently and admittedly it has grown on me a little. I still find hard to listen to but at least there are some tracks that I really like right now. It’s just too different stylistically to like too much.
My favorite track (download/stream below) is called “Make a Plan To Love Me” which features band members of Eisley on backup vocals. They really add something special to this song and I doubt this album would get as a high of rating without this song. This album gets a 3.5 out of 5 from me.
Tegan and Sara: The Con Review
The Con was released on July 24th by Tegan and Sara. It was produced by Chris Walla of Death Cab From Cutie which is another band I really like. Tegan and Sara are an indie pop rock band out of Canada (yay!) specifically Calgary, Alberta. Tegan and Sara Quinn are identical twins that have identical voices to me. The twin that writes the song apparently sings the melody of the songs but I could never tell.
I had no idea about Tegan and Sara before picking up this album. I downloaded it, heard some recommendations, and just played it on my laptop. I have been addicted to it ever since. I am a huge fan of indie pop and female singers so this was easily to like from the start. This band has quickly become a favorite of mine and has made me look at their other works (which are just as good).
This album is poppy, catchy, versatile and overall one of the better albums I have heard. It seems both dark yet poppy. Vocally they are very versatile and at times they reminded of Rihanna (strange comparison eh?) but lyrically deeper.
For getting me addicted, making me a fan and making me feel compelled to buy the album (I bought it on Tuesday) I have to give this album a 5 out of 5. I strongly recommend this album and I have uploaded THREE songs that I absolute in love with (Back In Your Head, The Con, Burn Your Life Down). However this album has great songs throughout. Just listen to the songs below and dare to tell me that these songs aren’t good.
My favorite song – Back in Your Head.mp3
Vampire Weekend is coming to Toronto!
Vampire Weekend is one of my favorite bands currently due to purely making good music. I was very impressed by their CD-R and unfortunately I have been put into a terrible position.
Vampire Weekend plays at Sneaky Dee’s on Saturday and while I was incredibly excited to go, a birthday party with my friends is coming up. I really wanted to see this with a random friend and introducing them to such an incredible band that not many people have heard of yet (at least with my friends).
Unfortunately I couldn’t find someone to go with and I am going to miss out on Vampire Weekend. At least I can enjoy their music still and I do promise to see Vampire Weekend if they do come back. They have an album coming out on October 22nd so I am very excited as their stuff is the best.
Here’s two songs you can listen to if you have not heard about Vampire Weekend (or if you are looking for more stuff):
(You can look at their website and they are streaming some songs)
