Summer Listening

29 July 2009, Aaron @ 5:06 pm I’m going to go ahead and be perfectly honest. I have no idea what to write about this week. It’s an awkward time for me musically, as nothing of any substance has come out, and I’m just in a holding pattern, waiting for new music. The new Thrice album, Beggars has had it’s iTunes release date moved up to August 11, which has me salivating out of multiple orifices.

But, alas that is still two weeks away so, instead of a review, I’m going to let you know about a couple of bands that have been in heavy rotation on my ipod for the better part of this summer.

Warning: I’ve been on a mellow, Indie kick, so there’s no screaming below.

Mansions

Summer Listening Mansions is one of the bands, that managed to take that solemn, guitar driven singer, songwriter genre and actually do it in a way that is both original and really good.

Songs like Por Favor is Spanish take a story telling approach, and manages to be comedic, well worded as it tells the story of a a friend who cheated on her boyfriend while he (mansions) was out at a bar with her, and somehow he is getting in trouble for letting it happen, as the refrain is “…why am I responsible?”

The Worst Part starts out with the line, “fuck you and your god damned scene.” And the song goes on to rip apart self involved musicians who don’t realize that every scene comes to an end, and a new flavor of the week will always emerge.

Mansions is infectious and easy to listen to, and carries a depth that might surprise some. It can be hard to find but well worth the effort.

Good Old War

Summer Listening

Formed out of the ashes of Days Away, Good Old War have an old school vibe, that mixes modern alt-country with a bit of 60’s pop. Think Dustin Kensrue meets the Hollies. As someone who loves Kensrue’s music and grew up on a steady dose of oldies, this was right up my alley.

Their songs are melodic, and not overdone. They performed as Anthony Green’s band on his solo album Avalon, and then backed him up live while pulling double duty as an opening act.

Cony Island gives you a real sense of being at the fair on a summers day, both the good and the bad. “I’m going back to the city I love, because it’s already taken everything”.

Weak Man is melodic and charming, and really pushes the afore mentioned old school vibe. Featuring Anthony Green with some guest vocals that fit perfectly into the song instead of overshadowing what GOW are trying to accomplish.

Good Old War have a lot of buzz right now with many in the industry trumpeting them as one of the best bands out there right now, and rumor has it Tom Delonge of Blink 182 will tell anyone who’ll listen about Good Old War.

AWmusic