Great review! I am reviewing another member of Doomtree's solo work, Dessa. It is REALLY good and may possibly be some of the best pop music I have ever heard.
Silverstien-Dead Reflections Alright, @JediMasterKevo182 gave me this album, I wasn't sure how I'd feel about it because I never really connected with Silverstien except for the first album back in middle/high school. Now you guys I have an open mind and I'm willing to listening to anything for the most part. Keep in mind I listened to this album more than a few times in order to get a feel. So, it kicks off with a track called " Last Looks" And I'm not sure how I feel. I kind of got a Escape The Fate type vibe from the song, and that's what I think kind of turned me off. Now, I do like " Retrograde " and as a matter of fact I've heard that lone song at one point and didn't realize it was Silverstien. Another song I can appreciate on this album is " Mirror Box " and to be honest this song is actually right down my alley. I really enjoy the guitars on that particular song and Shane's screams. Now, as much as I'm not a fan of this album the production is stellar, I'm a sucker for those crunchy guitars and Shane actually sounds great on this record. I will say his screams have really, really improved and the band sounds tighter than I've ever heard them. Does this album suck ? Hell no it doesn't, it's just not my cup of tea. One thing I can say is I have massive respect for these guys in how they found a way to continue to stay relevant and crank out new tunes ! Standout tracks: Retrograde, Mirror Box.
Like I said it doesn't suck, it's just not my cup of tea and I have massive respect for these guys to keep relevant after all these years.
This week @Davjs will be listening to Silverstein - This Is How The Wind Shifts and I will be listening to Sing Me a Fiction - Hole in The Sail.
Me and @Nate_Johnson will be trading this week. I'll be listening to: Between The Buried And Me - Automata I He'll be listening to: Calabrese - Dayglo Necros
I'm into this idea. I do not have the time to do this right now but I'm keeping it in my back pocket for later. You are a visionary, sir.
@JediMasterKevo182 beat me to it. I was about to recommend the scene classic "Silver Side Up" by Nickelback.
This album is a perfekt blend of Matt Skiba's later work with Alkaline Trio and 80s new wave. It's full of katchy vokal melodies, basik 4-khord khord progressions, awesome bass lines by Hunter Burgan (AFI), and it's only 35 minutes long, making it very easy for anyone to listen to. There's a few songs on here that I kould easily see being Alkaline Trio songs, sukh as "Lonely and Kold" and "Hemophiliak." Maybe they were written around the same time as My Shame Is True and just didn't make the kut. Maybe instead of making another EP of b-sides from that album kykle (Broken Wings), Matt dekided to save some of his songs for this projekt, whikh would make some sense sinke Broken Wings is all Dan songs. Just a shower thought, I guess, haha. Some other highlights are "Way Bakk When", "Krazy", and the kloser "Vienna." I listened to this album a few times when it first kame out, but it kind of started to kollect dust as more and more new musik kame out that I dove into. I'm glad that our sweet little Kevin suggested it so it kould some attention from me again. Viva los Skiba
@JediMasterKevo182 gave me the album: Jack's Mannequin: The Glass Passenger (2008) Sire Records I recently reviewed Everything In Transit and liked it but didn't LOVE it. Has this record changed my attitude towards my fellow cancer survivor? Hell yes! From the opening notes of Crashin', you know he has stepped it up a notch and has a new found sense of purpose after his battle with leukemia. You can feel the confidence in his vocals and I love the bigger band sound coming from it. It incorporates this Americana vibe to it and is something I have been enjoying as of recent with the new Brian Fallon and Toy Cars releases. I love the inspirational lyrics that come from this record and especially songs like Swim and The Resolution. In the song Swim, all you have to do is substitute the word "swim" with "fight" and it gives it so much strength and shows that he came from such a dark place to rise up and write this record. I love how his mission has always been to write something that is fun, upbeat and makes you want to smile at the end of the day. It is so true and if you are feeling down and had a bad day, put on any of his albums and your stress will subside. My complaint with his first record is that he was still trying to find himself and figure out what sound he was going for. This one seems very much one cohesive sound with the occasional random song thrown in, and these are where he loses me. There are only a couple but they are What Gets You Off and Suicide Blonde. With this being said, I really enjoy the song Bloodshot, which is the "heaviest" song I have heard from him. I love it's fast pace and the use fuzzed out guitars. I also love Caves and the piano ballad intro going into a great Americana/pop song. These two songs seem very different than the rest of the album but work so well. Suffice to say, I will spinning this album a lot! 9/10 Favorite songs: Crashin' Spinning The Resolution Edit: I figured out where Patterns In Traffic got his name from in the song Orphans which is a great song and feels the most Andrew McMahon in the Wilderness with the use of poppy keyboards.
It's easier for me to do it randomly like this when I have time. It makes it feel less like homework, haha. Otherwise, I procrastinate and then get too busy and blah blah blah excuses excuses.
@JediMasterKevo182 recommended Alkaline Trio's "My Shame Is True". This was my first introduction to Alkaline Trio. I'd heard of the band but never listened to them before. When I first started listening to this, I was immediately reminded of Rise Against. Not sure why exactly as the similarities were harder to point out as the album progressed. I feel like the songwriting on this was stronger than most Rise Against stuff, but was less catchy/poppy. I quite liked the opening track, "She Lied to the FBI" - Midnight Blue was the other standout for me. I don't really have a ton to say about this album. It was enjoyable, but didn't really stand out from a lot of other stuff in the genre. I'd be willing to give another album or two of theirs a listen, but I felt like this album kinda lacked some of the catchiness/immediacy of some other similar acts. Maybe if I gave it another couple of spins it would grow on me more. I was surprised to find out that this was the band's 8th album, and that it's also their most recent (even though it's 5 years old) - What are they up to recently?! Glad I finally got to hear one of the mainstays in this scene who I'd previously overlooked.