I started writing a full review for this album, but what I really want to do is just talk about how much I love it. On my first sheepish listened to “Fall Hard” the song was just good enough to get me to listen again. The second and third time however, the songs subtitles, which are never forced upon the listener, begin to show up and become bright and visible.

I love the way the songs start off slow (hook wise) and over the course of 4 minutes, sink (deep) in to your skin. Among the strongest songs are “Fall Hard,” “Candle Burned Out,” “Four By Four,” and “Show Me Something”, which is probably my favorite. The second of “Show Me Something New” jumps out of the speakers with so much flavor, yet in such a simple way. After listening to so much music, the way I can tell I really like something is that after each listen, I have a new favorite song that I think won’t change, but always does.

This is a record I have become so enamored with, yet I didn’t mean to. I actually don’t even know why I love these songs so much, but I do.

Shout Out Louds on MySpace

You can download a remix of “Fall Hard” by Passion Pit on the band’s site for free right now.

After listening to Andrew Belle, I can’t shake the similarities to Mat Kearney, which then got me thinking about the differences between the 2 artists. That, then got me thinking about Mat Kearney’s original sound and style back on his hard to find and rarely talked about album, ‘Bullet’. When I heard him back years before his break out ‘Nothing Left To Lose’, he was doing a lot more hip-pop, quickly sung and rhythmically diverse stuff and I miss that. He brought a little of that along with “Girl America” and “Bullet”, but not in the same way because of what appeared to be label intervention.

I would be willing to bet that more than 50% of the music you consume is through the speakers attached (or heaven forbid, built-in) to your computer. There is also a really good chance that you (or people in general) haven’t opted  to buy different speakers than what came with the computer. Let’s forget about the quality, or bit rate, of the music people are consuming for a minute and just ask, how important are computer speakers?

Feel free to also add recommendations for speakers, or anything else that goes along with the topic.

Sometimes I think people see the music industry as a high jump for bands, there’s a bar you need to clear, and if you don’t, you’re disqualified. The better analogy though would be to see it as a staircase. There are bands at the top and bands at the bottom, but all along the way there is a step for those in between to reside.

Recently I found some old demos for Larger Than Life, a local San Diego punk band. Back then it wasn’t MySpace, but rather Mp3.com where you would stream the lo-fi songs over your dial-up modem. The time travel experience of listening to this 10+ year old music made me take a step back and remember when it felt like there was either locals bands or mainstream acts. Most, not all, but most of the bands I come across are fighting to get heard and even though some can act too cool occasionally, I’m sure they appreciate all of you who take the time to listen to their music.

It’s beyond my comprehension that The Rocket Summer’s last record, ‘Do You Feel’, did not blow up. It’s almost unacceptable, how good it was compared to how well it should have done, it should have been a done deal. Moving on to the next chance, ‘Of Men & Angels’ drops February 23rd.

‘Walls’ is the latest song to be released showing a softer side of the record. It seems that every Rocket Summer record has out done the one before it both in recording quality and song quality. I don’t really see how ‘Of Men & Angels’ could out do ‘Do You Feel’ in sound quality, but still have hopes that all of the songs are at the same level as the ones currently available.

What are your thoughts on The Rocket Summer and the new album?

Update: Read The Album Project’s 1 liner

Photo Source: Altpress.com [obviously]

I don’t really believe in release dates [as evident by my arguments in fighting piracy] but man did Seabird seemingly get screwed with the December 15th release date of their second album. In fact, anyone releasing an album the last 3 weeks of December usually gets lost in the shuffle. What gives?

2009 was a big year for The Album Project. With the goal of recommending good music to people, we put out not one, but two free digital compilations full of lesser known, yet amazing bands on top of the album reviews and daily recs. It has been a year of good music and besides listing just the top 10 records for the year I’ve also included some other favorites, let downs and random facts. Thanks for the continued support.

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The new single “Don’t You Know You’re Beautiful” will be available on Nov. 3rd and then everyone who hasn’t heard the song on the radio or somewhere else can finally hear it and weight in.

This post is an open discussion to talk about Seabird’s new record. At this point it’s mostly speculation, but a lot of information is starting to come online about it.

The 2nd album from the band comes out December 15th. On the band’s pre-order page there is a special deal to receive the new album along with a limited edition Christmas EP titled ‘The Silent Night’ which will come out Nov. 24th

The track listing and rough cover for the album is below with the cover and track listing and cover for The Silent Night EP below that.

01 DONT YOU KNOW YOU’RE BEAUTIFUL
02 BELIEVE ME
03 SING TO SAVE MY LIFE
04 TRUST
05 THE GOOD KING
06 BABY, I’M IN LOVE
07 THIS AINT HOME
08 THE SOUND OF YOU AND I
09 DON’T CHANGE A THING
10 THIS ROAD
11 FINALLY DONE RIGHT
12 ROCKS INTO RIVERS

01 SILENT NIGHT
02 JOY TO THE WORLD

Dear Jack is the documentary of Andrew McMahon’s fight with leukemia. The singer/songwriter for bands like Something Corporate and Jack’s Mannequin documented his fight with cancer which plays out in painfully raw footage that is both inspiring and heart breaking.

Though the scenes are hard to watch, the film is a power journey. I will be doing a full write up, but if you get a chance to see the movie don’t hesitate to.

Read our full write up

Well, now that the 5 song ‘Monster’ EP is out about a month before the full length record, I think we can start talking about the album. Based off the EP, I am now very excited for this record. Songs like “Lonely Wheel” and “Birmingham” lead the way with unbelievably catchy choruses that don’t get old quick. Both “Hands” and “July” come next in the order of goodness, with “Monster” pulling up the rear.

“Monster” is actually probably a better song than “Hands”, but it seems so formulaic and rehashes the 2 similar songs from the last album. Regardless of looking back, this new material is good stuff, even if occasionally generic.

[UPDATE: You can now stream the full album. Leave your thoughts and comments.]

Whose looking forward to this album and what do you think of the currently available songs?

Who knew Joy Electric was still making records, let alone putting out one full of modern cover songs. Most of the songs should be very familiar coming from artists like The Killers, Coldplay, Keane, Blink 182, Feist, and Paramore.

Never being a big fan of Joy Electric music I can safely say this album is really good. Both fun and interesting, this is something I would actually listen to beyond having to review the record. The album comes off a remix album of sorts considering the electronic style.

Updated Info:

Joy Electric “Favorites At Play”
The new JE covers album featuring:

1. 1,2,3,4 (Fiest)
2. Viva La Vida (Coldplay)
3. I Miss You (Blink 182)
4. Falling Slowly (Once Soundtrack)
5. When You Were Young (The Killers)
6. Somewhere Only We Know (Keane)
7. It Ends Tonight (All American Rejects)
8. Decode (Paramore)
9. Say It Right (Nelly Furtado)

In stores and online November 3rd.

You’ve heard the single, “Ignorance”, and the record drops in a little over a week on September 29th, so who is excited?

I’ll be honest for a minute and say Paramore has never been a huge hit with me, no particular reason, they’ve just always fallen in the “that was good” category and never really gone beyond that. Of course songs like “Misery Business” are too catchy not to thoroughly enjoy, especially for [I assume] those in the song’s situation.

‘Brand New Eyes’ comes in highly anticipated unlike ‘Riot’ which didn’t really have anything to prove. Are your expectations high? Leave your comments, thoughts, or any other conversation about the album in the comments.

Read our brief 1 Line review

Chris Carrabba (or Dashboard Confessional) announced tonight that in November he will release a new record. That got me thinking, what is the best, or your favorite, Dashboard record so far and why?

My answer: The best Dashboard album to date is ‘A Mark, A Mission, A Brand, A Scar’. Everything about this record hit a sweet spot when it came out and holds up over 6 years later. Besides the obvious hits like “Hands Down”, which is flat out a good song either acoustic or with a band, and “As Lovers Go”, there are also my personal favorites like “Bend And Not Break” and “Crave Your Heart Out”. “Ghost Of A Good Thing”, which is an ode to his musical past and fans from the beginning, is able to bridge the gap from the previous album in a good way. Maybe it was the timing of this record in my life as well as his music making it big in the mainstream, but this album will probably always beat out the others.

Personally it feels like Weezer just released an album and this one is coming out a little too soon. Then again, as long as it’s good music, I’m all for it.

After listening to the lead single “If You Are Wondering…” I am excited for this release. After looking over the track listing [or possible track listing], I’m a little bit nervous for it. Considering the words to “Buddy Holly”, this band has always had a sense of fun to them and never taken themselves too serious, but (just thinking out loud) is there a point when it becomes too silly and isn’t enough seriousness?

The album has a release date of October 27, 2009

Copied from Wikipedia:

These are the names of the songs that have been confirmed to appear on the album, however the order in which they will appear on the album has yet to be announced. This track list is not complete.

* “(If You’re Wondering If I Want You To) I Want You To” (Co-written with Butch Walker)
* “The Girl Got Hot” (Co-written with Butch Walker)
* “I’m Your Daddy” (Co-written with Dr Luke)
* “Can’t Stop Partying” (Co-written with Jermaine Dupri)
* “Let It All Hang Out” (Co-written with Jermaine Dupri)
* “Put Me Back Together” (Co-written with Tyson Ritter and Nick Wheeler of All-American Rejects)
* “Trippin’ Down the Freeway”
* “Run Over by a Truck”
* “The Prettiest Girl” (re-recording of “The Prettiest Girl in the Whole Wide World” adapted from Alone II: The Home Recordings of Rivers Cuomo)
* “In the Mall” (Written by Patrick Wilson)
* “Sheila Can Do (It)” (re-recording of 1997 song written by Rivers Cuomo, originally intended for his side-project at the time, Homie.
* “Island in the Sun (Live)” Japanese/UK Bonus Track

Well, if not the most anticipated release of everyone, everyone is at least a bit curious as to the result of the Brand New’s latest release.

Just a quick recap of past albums leading up to this one. ‘Your Favorite Weapon’, the pop/punkish debut record was good, but didn’t foreshadow what was to come. ‘Deja Entendu’ was, either by unbridled skill or just dumb luck, one of the great albums able to send shock waves through the indie scene also able to influence bands of all statures. ‘The Devil And God Are Raging Inside Me’ could not have come with more anticipation, but used brutal honesty coupled with great melodies to extend their rein.

My first thoughts on ‘Daisy’? The band has gotten to the point of boredom and these songs are some of the most experimental that the band has done to date. A mix of hardcore screams and slower indie rock instrumentation may not sound ‘experimental’ for Brand New, but the way these songs are done are not ones of instant connection.

My very first thought, I must admit, was “What is up with the album title, I don’t get it”. Moving past that though, my second thought was, “Man, this is the Sherwood I fell in love with back when I originally heard “The Summer Sends It’s Love”".

Not as much musically speaking, but more so about the type of feeling you get from the music, ‘QU’ is very similar to those beginning days of the band. The simplicity of summer wrapped around a catchy melody.

My general first impression is that if you have liked anything from this band in the past, you’re going to love this new album.

Well what do you know, after trying to get a review copy of DCB’s new album and getting no response I figured I’d have to wait this one out. Magically, but also awesomely, a copy showed up yesterday.

‘Church Music’ is a bit confusing at first and is actually a lot to take in because it’s complex simplicity. The reason for the album title? The band wanted to tell it like it was and not confuse anyone, this is church music as the secular scene might say. The ironic thing about being honest is that this music does not sound like music from any church I know of…[yet].

[Updated]

[Read our full review]

[Read our brief 1 liner review]

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We are coming up on being finished with 3/4 of 2009 already and while there are some sites focusing on the best music so far, I think we should take a moment and remember the fallen records. Hype is just as big of a killer as bad music is and that’s why you never want to combine the two.

I was driving the other day when “I’ve Got Friends” from Manchester Orchestra came on the radio. As it played I tapped the steering wheel as few times and sung a line or two but most of the song was spent thinking, “I’ve already forgotten about this album and it just came out”. I decided I would give the band’s record another spin when I got home to see how I felt about now that a few months had passed, but I felt the exact same about it as I did when writing the full review. This whole (mini) experince did get me thinking though, what music has been over hyped so far in 2009?

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There was just something about MUTEMATH that I fell in love with the first time I heard “Control” from their ‘Reset’ EP. I was captivated by their self titled full length record which is arguably one of my favorite records of all time. Roughly 5 years since I became acquainted with MUTEMATH, then Mute Math to everyone, I feel an oddly personal connection to both the band and now their second record, ‘Armistice’.

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“At The Bottom” is the first glimpse the band is giving us as to what ‘Daisy’ will be. The song itself definitely has a unique style, something not really found on any of the bands other records, but closer to TDAGARIM than other releases. The song does throw in just the slightest hint of southern rock influence both in the vocals and the guitars, but it’s not clear whether this is just “At The Bottom” or some indication of the rest of the songs. Any thoughts on the song? Let us know.

“At The Bottom” will be streaming on Monday August 10th

UPDATE: The song is now up and streaming. Leave your thoughts and impressions.

This band has been through many different stages and style within their “pop/punk” genre, finally arriving at ‘Live Life Loud’. At one point early on I sort of saw this band as the Christian version of Sum 41, but their last and most recent record ‘…Is My Friend’ was so bland and boring that I wrote them off for future releases.

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Where to begin. Thrice will be releasing their new album, ‘Beggars’ in October, but much ahead of schedule it leaked out earlier this week. The band has made their comments which made me think of the article I wrote on curbing music piracy by offering it up for sell digitally as soon as possible. [You can read the article here]

“Beggars” will be available for download, legally and voiceover free–the way it was intended to be heard–as soon as we can possibly make it happen. Leaks happen overnight. Changing an entire retail marketing plan doesn’t.

Finally, we’d like to thank those of you who have resisted the urge to download this leak.

Read the full update from the band on Thrice.net

We don’t want to advocate piracy in the least, but if you have heard it feel free to leave you thoughts on the music. We will be updating this post to discuss the album and how the band continues to evolve. I will say that the album artwork is awesome!

Read our 1 Liner review of ‘Beggars’

After listening to ‘Armistice’ once through from start to finish it is safe to say that the band has made a great record. The problem is that this band is so technical that most of the stuff which will make this album playable over and over is lost on the listener the first time through. Here is a breakdown of the feel of each song.

UPDATE: Read our full review of the album

1. The Nerve: Listen to it at the band’s site
2. Backfire: Super catchy chorus and slick song in general
3. Clipping: Very electronic and a different sound for the band. Good, but will need to hear it a few times
4. Spotlight: Listen to it at the band’s site
5. No Response: Slower with nothing really sticking out on first listen
6. Pins & Needles: Another slower track which had a stings section at the end
7. Goodbye: Upbeat with a somewhat dancey groove, easy to like quickly
8. Odds: Great vocal intro with a clappy rhythm
9. Electrify: quicker and energetic like the name might imply
10. Armistice: Amazing bass lines throughout the whole track, great song
11. Lost Year: Acoustic piano intro and similar feeling to “Picture”
12. Burden: Another dancey track that takes some chances vocally

Photo Credit: Jerry Ray

Read our brief 1 liner review of the album

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This is my most anticipated record for 2009 and it’s almost time to out whether the band was able to top their unbelievable debut album or not. So far the band has officially released 2 new songs from the record consisting of “Spotlight” and “The Nerve” [which I believe is the lead single] and unofficially released 3 b-sides, 2 of which came with the purchase of their VIP tour tickets. The 3rd song “Clockwork” came out earlier this year on the EP promoting “Spotlight” which of course was promoting the movie Twilight.

Out of all the songs I’ve mentioned and heard so far it does concern me that “Clockwork” is one of my favorites. This is a song which the band had had for a while and finally worked out but then it was decidedly cast out by the album’s producer [and band]. There is just something so relaxing though about the intro and beginning of “Clockwork” which you can just sink into like a lazy summer afternoon.

My first thought is that Armistice will be too technical for its own good. This is one of the best bands in every way and it would be a shame for them to be outdone only by themselves. The Mute Math listening party rolls into town tomorrow [7/12] and all speculation will then be put to rest. What are your thoughts about this band and upcoming album? As more and more cities get to hear the album, please leave your feedback.

I have now posted the first impressions of the new record which can be found here.

It has been along time coming, something Stephen said was like 4 or so years, and so it’s good to actually hear the debut album from Anchor & Braille. This band and record is almost inside baseball type of stuff that will be unknown to the general public, but I think it’s better that way.

The first thing you notice about the songs is how different they are from typical Anberlin material. Most of the songs are somberly slow and even though Anberlin hasn’t shyed away from slow songs the ones on ‘Felt’ don’t resemble anything similar.

The easiest comparision for these songs is to Copeland. Stephen has voice which is clearly different from Aaron Marsh but still in the same vain and so these songs push the lush vocal side from Christian [By the way the 2 singers have a bit of a duet on "Forget Love"]. If you are excited about this release leave your reasons why in the comments.

Update: Read our initial review [1 Liner]

Update 2: Read our full review of the album

This is neither a rec nor a 1 liner, but merely a discussion about Meese and their new album ‘Broadcast’. Please join in with your comments or thoughts about this band and their newest album which was released today.

I’ll admit I haven’t heard much about this band until recently and am still undecided as to what I think. The pop/rock style is not particularly unique but at the same time it’s still tight and well crafted. The band has 3 songs streaming and after listening to them a few times they seem to grab ahold a bit more than on the first go round. “Next In Line” is definitely the standout track with the subtle verses and drum driven chorus, but not the only good song with others like “Bonfire” or “Movie Screens” clearly being able to stand on their own.

If you have not have not heard of this band or not listened to any of the new songs you can do on the band’s site and then you leave your comments below.