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Having never before heard of Hillcrest Road, I was excited to see how they compared with the bands that were currently in line for a review. Life After Liftoff was excellent off the first listen, and not surprisingly, I was more than happy to give them my final review of the year. Hillcrest Road have taken the genre of pop-rock head on, and developed a sound that really solidifies them as the next generation. They have done an excellent job of retaining the fundamentals of the genre, but have also implemented an alternative feel to their sound. Their soulful influence is what puts them ahead of the pack, in what has become a highly critiqued, yet competitive year for the pop rock industry.

Hillcrest Road has great vocals, which is what really impressed me from the get go. Talent wise the vocals are good, but it’s the soft nature of, lead singer, Scott Dangerfield’s voice that attracts the soul, so to speak. Options Limit Actions is a song that gives off this exact notion, using a very catchy yet subtle guitar riff, accompanied by excellent vocals, the final product was a simple, yet great song.

Taking a slower pace than most other bands, Hillcrest Road gives the softer side of individuals an emotional trip. I get a really good vibe when listening to Hillcrest Road because they don’t try to do too much, which in the end, speaks volumes for their music. The use of slow verses quickly turning to faster paced chorus’ has been a winning strategy for other bands and is, no question, fitting for this band as well. Use of acoustic guitars, blended with electric guitars, bass, drums, and keyboards has developed a sound I’m really impressed with. It’s Been You shows the pop-rock style of Hillcrest Road, whereas as Marvelous goes back to the soulful alternative side of the band.

Overall, the vocals and instrumentals mesh well to produce simple satisfying songs. The lyrics are meaningful and match the vocals, providing listeners with something they can relate to. I would recommend this band to anyone who likes the slower paced pop rock that Hillcrest Road provides. Any fans of The Cab should also check out this band because they are very similar. Hopefully Hillcrest Road can do a show in Toronto, because in just a couple of listens they have become an instant favourite of mine.

Be sure to check out their Myspace to stream more songs.

You can also visit their Online Store for merch including their debut album Life After Liftoff.

Hillcrest Road – Options Limit Actions

Hillcrest Road – Marvelous

Bang! was released in 2006 without much hype however they did win the grand prize of the Canadian Radio Star National Songwriting Competition for 2007 for the song Dead or Alive. This award arguably doesn’t impress me at all as I hate radio and probably gave me the wrong impression on what this type of band would be.

If you’ve followed this blog long enough, I love female fronted bands and you could say I get suckered into it pretty easily. Anyway the more I look into the things that Hill Kourkoutis does, the more impressed I become. Basically all songs on “Bang!” are written AND produced by her. She has done some acting, plays a wide range of instruments and has directed a video for Tara Slone (of Joydrop). She’s born in ‘88 like me yet she’s probably done what many people dream of doing in their entire lifetime. I’m going to see if I can interview her (I’m very impressed!) but let’s get back to the music. Visit her personal myspace, she has a great cover of the Spice Girls – Say You’ll Be There.

Drowning Girl has some really catchy songs. What made me decide to check them out was the single Bang!. Lyrically I found the lyrics very sexual yet at times very innocent. Singing wise, Hill has a great vocal range from times she utilizes this deep sounding voice (especially on Bang!) at other times you can see that she gathers influences from Blondie and The Cure (Dead or Alive uses the ba-ba-ba which I attribute to the Cure).

Drowning Girl is basically pop rock but dressed up with more a cooler/alternative feel by using synths and not being afraid to change it up a bit. I think musically the best song is “Boys Underwear” as it has the most versatility. It’s not my favorite song, maybe due to the subject matter and I don’t really like the song title and I really like the catchy stuff on her record.

All the way through though, Bang! is a solid record and is good from top to bottom. I wouldn’t be surprised if 2008 is a big year for them because whether it’s mainstream or indie success, they have some great music and with a front-woman like Hill Kourkoutis (she is pretty hot I must admit) they can establish a fan base. I don’t really think a score is appropriate but it’s definitely somewhere between a 4 and 4.25 out of 5 in comparison to other popular indie acts so I’m quite high on it. I may decide to catch them in concert (anyone want to go with?)

Buy Bang! from Amazon (though it’s temporarily out of stock)

Check out my two favorite tracks:
Bang by Drowning Girl

Tragic Romantic by Drowning Girl

The video for Caught By The Rope:

“Myths of Near Future” was released in the UK on January 29 and in the US on March 27 of this year. To say I’m “late” is an under statement but music is supposed to be timeless so who cares. I really just wanted to judge for myself what the hype/anti-hype was and to form my own opinion.

I don’t know really where to start when writing a review for this album but the Klaxons are placed in the category of Dance-punk or psychedelic pop so I would have to say it’s pretty enjoyable music to listen to as it’s rather upbeat and it offers you much more than what you would expect from a simple pop rock band. Some songs I really dug like “Gravity’s Rainbow” (I didn’t know it was the first single but I can see why), “Atlantis to Interzone”, “It’s Not Over Yet” and much more… this album definitely doesn’t challenge me in any way, lyrically and musically structured the same but hey it’s hard not to like for me.

The Klaxons are probably doing going to do extremely well in the mainstream here with most songs being under 4 minutes. I am not quite sure the Klaxons have the ability would be able to put out epic songs of a long period of time (like a 12 minute song).

Vocally, I’m not really all that impressed. I am not quite sure there’s anything I would be impressed about but their music (instrumental wise I guess) is catchy, with some great intros and pretty impressive hooks.

As you can see I am really leaning toward in favor of it but I find myself struggling to say why I am so impressed by it. I’m a sucker for pop rock and the Klaxons are slightly more complex in terms of their sound but I don’t feel like they really stand out from other bands. As for the album, I would call it great but hesitate to say it’s amazing/absolutely the best thing ever. It gets a 4.25 out of 5 from me. I would say it’s a solid choice for the Mercury Prize and if you visit the net and see how successful they are now, some wouldn’t disagree.

It’s Not Over Yet by The Klaxons

Buy Myths of the Near Future @ Amazon

Buy Myths of the Near Future at @Insound for $9.99 US

I actually hated doing this list…not that it was subpar but I think I would’ve felt better doing a review today. Just no writing quality in putting out this list though it’s great for traffic bait.

25. She’s a Rejector by Of Montreal (link)
24. Patty Lee by Les Savy Fav (link)
23. Open Doors by Josh Ritter (link)
22. White Dove by John Vanderslice (link)
21. Handsome Furs Hate This City by The Handsome Furs
20. Weekend Without Makeup by The Long Blondes (link)
19. Meat Market by Everybody Else (link)
18. 1234 by Feist
17. Wolf and Crane by Siberian (link)
16. Walcott by Vampire Weekend
15. Fluorescent Adolescent by The Arctic Monkeys
14. Apartment Story by The National (link)
13. Red Rabbits by The Shins
12. Impossible by The Shout Out Louds
11. Right Moves by Josh Ritter (link)
10. Up On Your Leopard, Upon The End of Your Feral Days by Sunset Rubdown (link)
9. (Antichrist) Television Blues by The Arcade Fire (link)
8. Bunny Ain’t No Kind of Rider by Of Montreal (link)
7. Unless It Kicks by Okkervil River (link)
6. Back in Your Head by Tegan & Sara
5. The Mending of the Gown by Sunset Rubdown
4. Oxford Comma by Vampire Weekend
3. Once and Never Again by The Long Blondes (link)
2. Mistaken For Strangers by The National
1. Our Life Is Not a Movie or Maybe by Okkervil River (link)

I did hate uploading tracks though and the linking stuff (takes forever). I also had to re-upload some tracks after annoying my friend Jack with bandwidth usage. Look out for the rest tomorrow.

50. A Girl in Port by Okkervil River
49. Shirin by Jens Lekman (link)
48. I Know I’ll See You by A Place To Bury Strangers (link)
47. For Science Fiction by Maritime (link)
46. Freak Out by Liars (link)
45. Phantom by Justice (link)
44. Sleep Deprivation by Simian Mobile Disco
43. Take Me To the Ballroom by the Moonbabies
42. Tthhee Ppaarrttyy by Justice (link)
41. Myriad Harbour by The New Pornographers (link)
40. Objects of My Affection by Peter, Bjorn and John
39. Blue Headlights by The Shout Out Louds (link)
38. No I in Threesome by Interpol
37. My Moon, My Man by Feist
36. Kookaburra by John Vanderslice
35. Paper Birds by Siberian (link)
34. Make A Plan To Love Me by the Bright Eyes
33. Philadelphia Grand Jury by the Fiery Furnaces
32. I Believe by Simian Mobile Disco
31. You Got Yr. Cherry Bomb by Spoon
30. I’m Not Going to Teach Your Boyfriend How To Dance With You by the Black Kids
29. You Can’t Hold the Hand of the Rock and Roll Man by Okkervil River
28. Airship by Siberian (link)
27. Turn On Me by The Shins (link)
26. White Winter Hymnal by the Fleet Foxes (link)

I tried to read up on what Panda Bear would be so I would know what to expect when playing “Person Pitch” but when it’s labeled as experimental, dance, pop, dub and electronic… if you can picture what you would be listening to after listening to those categories, you have to be a genius.

When first playing it, I felt like saying “oh no…” since the first track “Comfy in Nautica” starts off with what I would call the grinding noise of machinery I just HATE. Thankfully that pace doesn’t keep up and it slows down for my listening pleasure. One note I found with Panda Bear’s style is that this music is definitely what I would call “weird’ to the extreme. There is definitely nothing like it. It’s not quite dance, some pop elements, it’s experimental yet something else. There is a uniqueness around it that makes Panda Bear stand out I guess when comparing to other electronic acts.

This album features two tracks that are greater then 12 minutes long. Knowing myself, finding the ability to listen to one 12 minute song alone I find a task upon itself. With Person Pitch however Panda Bear managed to keep me listening to the entire tracks. With his smooth voice (maybe comparable to White Williams) and keeping to a consistent beat while throwing some random screeches, beats, and indescribable noises really helped me pay attention. I think what makes “Bros” and “Good Girls/Carrots” so great with all it’s randomness intertwined, is that it feels as everything fits perfectly, no sound feels unnecessary and the songs aren’t carried by one thing specifically but all perfectly mixed together.

If there any downsides to this album, I’ll point to the two tracks I disliked the most or the “tracks I liked the least”. I just didn’t feel it on the tracks “Take Pills” and “Search for Delicious”. These tracks weren’t bad by any means but they were generally quiet. Take Pills takes too long to get started and Search For Delicious is rather forgettable and is more like background music rather then standing out. I think these tracks are just so overshadowed by the tracks surrounding it that I can’t find myself listening to tracks for a long time.

Overall, I have no problem with this album being considered top album of the year. I don’t believe it would make my top 20 just because stylistically it isn’t my thing but it would be very close had I considered it. I’ll give it a 4.75 out of 5.

Check out these tracks (may have to alter my top songs of 2007 now):

Bros by Panda Bear (29MB!)

Ponytail by Panda Bear (had to switch to this song for space concerns!)

Buy Person Pitch @ Amazon
Buy Person Pitch @ Insound (2 X LP edition)

From his on-and-off relationship with supermodel Kate Moss to his regular confrontation with the law, 2007 was a year that made headlines for Pete Doherty. Babyshambles, an indie rock band he formed while taking a break from The Libertines, also released their latest album, Shotter’s Nation, in October of this year. Shotter’s Nation is their second album and is, in my opinion, way more superior than their first effort, Down In Albion.

Shotter’s Nation contains 12 tracks and a guest appearance by 60’s folk legend Bert Jansch in the acoustic closer, ‘Lost Art Of Murder’. Personally, I think Shotter’s Nation is a great album. From the thrilling guitar opening of ‘Carry On Up The Morning’ to the
confessional lyrics of the Clash-style ‘You Talk’ to the the acoustic ballad of ‘Lost Art Of Murder’, this album is full of solid tunes. Although not a masterpiece, this is certainly a step-up from their messy 2005 debut.

Babyshambles – Delivery

Babyshambles – You Talk
Babyshambles – UnBiloTitled
Babyshambles – Lost Art Of Murder
Support this band and our blog by buying this CD at:
Amazon.ca
Insound.com

We The Kings are amazingly catchy, and there are several reasons for this. The vocals aren’t high pitched or nasally, nor are they low, sounding little less than just regular speech. Instead We The Kings opted for a normal voice with good vocal talents, always staying in a range that’s appropriate and comfortable for the songs. The guitar riffs are kept simple, neither over the top or lacking, it fits perfectly for their sound. It’s the lyrics that really drive most of the songs, especially the chorus lines. Typically, every song contains a chorus that is both catchy and memorable.

Skyway Avenue, is their most popular song, and it takes a typical pop punk topic (love) and transforms it into something that’s meaningful, and most importantly, optimistic. I find that what makes me angry with the songs on MTV are that emo bands have literally taken romance and turned it into a tragedy, whereas love is supposed to be something beautiful. We The Kings attempts to brings back an exciting emotion to such an overbeaten subject matter. Judging from the sound alone, the vocals take a change in pace through the verses, bridges and chorus which keeps the song from being passive, repetitive and boring. The guitar riffs are kept simple, while still being catchy overall fitting nicely with the vocals and the theme of the song. The lyrics are what really stirs the emotions when listening Skyway Avenue, although neither complex nor particularly artistic, it is perfect for the pop punk scene and best of all it’s simple. The rest of the album is much of the same, with the most notables off the top of my head being Check Yes Juliet, and This Is Our Town (a ballad).

We The Kings debut album is excellent, the only issue being it’s too short. Thirty-five minutes of really honest music has left me with the desire for more. Some may find the album to be a tad repetitive, but I think We The Kings have tapped onto a style fitting for them and should continue their musical efforts in much the same manner. I’m sure We The Kings will continue to grow and change musically, but if this is their prime, I would not be upset at all. Keeping everything simple is what has made this album both catchy and memorable, and it is the talents of We The Kings that have produced such ‘simply’ good songs. I’m excited to see them in January, and if all goes to plan, it may be the best day of my life, of course that’s a story for another blog.

Be sure to check out their Myspace to stream more songs.

Skyway Avenue Video:

We The Kings – Check Yes Juliet
Buy the We The Kings self titled debut CD here

It’s likely you haven’t heard about them either. When it comes to independent music it feels like there’s a zillion bands I haven’t heard of. The Hermit actually beat out the likes of Caribou and Junior Boys for Favorite Canadian Indie Electronica band in 2006.

I would say The Hermit feels more like a dance group. It doesn’t feel like Electronic music and it’s not quite* pop. Classifying in genres is difficult and it differs from song to song. I must say after listening to their EP, I am in love with Allison Shevernoha’s vocals. I think she definitely carries the music with her sweet/dreamy voice. The Hermit’s stuff isn’t challenging and I think it would be great to hear on radio since the tunes you can dance to, with nice vocals and nothing overly weird/strange. I definitely like this type of dance/electronic more as it’s more in style of the pop music I seem to thoroughly enjoy.

Unfortunately I am only able to put one song up for download (really enjoyed the other tracks). You can stream the rest of tracks at The Hermit’s myspace or buy it at emusic.

You can buy at Amazon previous released album: Wonderment (2005)

Be sure to check out the trippy music video. Not an original idea but definitely cool to watch.
It Was A Better Time by The Hermit

Paul Oakenfold is arguably one of the most well-known trance DJ worldwide. His latest CD, Oakenfold: Greatest Hits & Remixes, contains a blend of his own original dance tunes along with his remixes of many other popular hits. Although I’m not too acquainted with this type of music, I enjoyed the album as it contained remixes of many songs that I like.

Of the 20 songs on the album, there were only 6 songs that were originally his. I heard ‘Starry Eyed Surprise’ before. I found it cheesy and didn’t like it very much. Planet Rock was no better, I hated the lyrics and the low voice made parts of the song sound like 90’s Run-DMC raps. ‘Faster Kill Pussycat’ was just meh. Apparently a lot of people like that song but I don’t really know what all the hype is about. His songs that I really liked are ‘Southern Sun’, ‘Dread Rock’ (from Matrix Revolution), and ‘Ready Steady Go’. The beginning for ‘Ready Steady Go’, though, was pretty much the same as the beginning of his Dirty Vegas remix, just in a different octave.

The rest of the songs are all his remix of other popular songs. The ones I liked are ‘My Love’ by Justin Timberlake ft. T.I., ‘James Bond Theme’ by David Arnold, ‘Everything In Its Right Place’ by Radiohead, ‘Sorry’ by Madonna, and ‘Beautiful Day’ by U2. Although I really liked the original version of ‘My Love’, the Oakenfold remix is a lot faster and energetic and would probably be more appropriate in a dance club setting. I do miss the “hehehehehe” munchkin parts though. The beginning of the ‘James Bond Theme’ remix is really good as it’s got the speed and hype of a good action flick that really pumps adrenaline into you.

There were some songs that I didn’t like much and felt should be left out. First is ‘Days Go By’ by Dirty Vegas. I remember listening to the original song like 6 years ago. It was electronica to begin with and the remixed version wasn’t very much different. ‘Jack Theme Suite’ by Hans Zimmer was a good remix, but Tiesto already did one for a Pirate of the Carribean theme song and his was better. The remix of ‘Perfect’ by The Smashing Pumpkins was very energetic and fast in the beginning, but as soon as it got to the part where Billy Corgan sings, the song just kinda lost all its hype and it never really regained it until Billy Corgan stopped singing.

Overall, the album flowed nicely but wasn’t great. There were some songs that I really liked but the rest just feels like “fillers” to me, which is kind of disappointing since it is a Greatest Hits CD. Maybe I’m a complete noob when it comes to techno and don’t know what the hell I’m talking about but it’s $15 I’d keep in my pocket.

Justin Timberlake (Featuring T. I.) – My Love [Paul Oakenfold Remix]

Radiohead – Everything in Its Right Place [Exclusive New Oakenfold 2008 Remix]

Paul Oakenfold (Feat. Brittany Murphy) – Faster Kill Pussycat

Check out Oakenfold’s website and MySpace for more tunes and concert listings:
www.pauloakenfold.com
www.myspace.com/pauloakenfold

Click here to buy this CD