Tag: review
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We The Kings: ‘Stripped’
In anticipation of their low-key tour through Florida next month, pop rock band We The Kings released an acoustic album today, just less than a year after their previous album.
The band struck platinum in Australia with their instant hit “Check Yes Juliet” in 2007 and sold over 250,000 copies of their debut album. Since then, the band’s albums have progressively debuted higher with each installment. Their fourth, most recent album Somewhere Somehow debuted at 44 on the Billboard 200 and has been their highest charting album to date. The band has found more success in other countries like Australia and the United Kingdom. With their pop style, the band is more suited for the likes of younger listeners and has been reluctant to acquire a solid, reliable fan base. We The Kings has invested much of their career into touring, including multiple sets on the Van’s Warped Tour, since their career first began. While the band has yet to earn a No. 1 single in the U.S., their past four albums have all charted within the Billboard 200. They just haven’t charted nearly as high as the band would probably have liked them to. With the release of their latest album, the pop band offers a lesser known side in hopes of gaining more fans.
Stripped, the band’s fifth and latest album, is entirely acoustic. It contains an acoustic version of eight songs from their previous album and two new songs. This is something the band has never done before and the success of it could launch them into a higher chart position, along with the success of their six-city tour through their home state of Florida. The album has proved moderately successful as it debuted in the top 30 albums on iTunes the day of its release. Because the album only features two new songs, fans will more than likely wait for the next full length album entirely comprised of new material.
The lead vocalist, Travis Clark, has a great voice that is only enhanced by the acoustic feel of the album. It’s no surprise they place heavy emphasis on touring, as they have an incredibly seasoned lead singer who can fluctuate between the heavy guitar sound and a much quieter, mellow sound. His voice carries the weight of each song, echoing the sound of one who has loved and lost on “Queen of Hearts” and a struggling teen on “Just Keep Breathing.” Years of trying to break the top charts have resulted in more mature songwriting. Fans have already begun to express their joy over the two new songs. “Stone Walls,” which shows off the band’s inspirational side, has gained the most attention so far. While most bands would’ve opted for a complete change in genre or quitting music altogether, We The Kings have been putting everything they’ve got into each task they attempt. From performing hundreds of shows every year to stepping out of their comfort zone with an acoustic album, they are truly a band of consistency and perseverance. While they may not be raking in the platinum or gold singles, the band is grateful for every opportunity they get and it shows throughout each album and set.
3/5
Rick Ross: ‘Hood Billionaire’
Hood Billionaire is Rick Ross’ seventh studio album set for a November 24th release date in light of the marginal success of his March release, Mastermind.
Ross doesn’t deviate from a set formula. I’ve never been a major fan of his work, but I’ve given him a considerable amount of attention not because of my enjoyment of his music, but because Ross is certainly an enigma. The content of his lyrics ranges from cocaine to crack-cocaine. Ross seemingly can’t get enough of the white. But despite his lack of originality and prowess in his music, Ross stands out among the other rappers to whom he is often compared. For the Teflon Don, there is no façade to uphold.
Unlike rappers such as Lil’ Wayne, Gucci Mane, and Waka Flocka Flame, Ross’ background as a correctional officer at a prison in Miami renders him incapable of presenting himself as “hood” in a genuine sense. His music comes off as serious and cutthroat, but Ross acknowledges his less-than-gangster past and o his peers often criticize his view from the other side of the bars as a discredit to his status in the rap community.
But Ross is exactly who he wants to be. The tattooed, overweight (although he recently adopted a healthier diet to lose that weight) presence on stage dispels any hint of a life anything other than what he claims in his music. He sincerely looks like a drug kingpin from Miami and nothing less. If you came across Ross’ at a show and had never heard of his past as a correctional officer, you wouldn’t think twice when he says “fishscale made me major profit margins/I’m a prophet stuffing my pockets, you n****s starving.” Rick Ross is a combination of his image and his lyrics. They are bound together inextricably and he knows that. If Ross looked like anything other than what he looks like now, his music would fly considerably under the radar.
Hood Billionaire is just like every other Rick Ross album. It’s a mixtape recorded on a major label. All the qualities are there: the horns, the echoing mantra of “Maybach Music” that permeates Ross’ very musical essence, the various skits and sound samples referencing drug trade, both real and fictitious. Ross is nothing more than an image and his music serves its purpose by reinforcing that image. The song titles speak for themselves, such as “Coke Like The 80s,” “Neighborhood Drug Dealer,” and “Phone Trap.” They are repetitive and unoriginal concepts that Ross rehashes every six months or so to stay on top. But that isn’t the point of his music. Ross isn’t a rapper or a musician. He’s an image that’s upheld by a genre and he releases track after track in order to stay on top.
His music hasn’t changed since 2006 and his lyrical content has remained consistently juvenile and heavily reliant on the n-word (see “Coke Like The 80s) and drug-dealing, but no one expects Ross to be a wise, versatile rapper laying intricate rhymes over esoteric beats. Everyone that knows Rick Ross as he is expects him to stay the same. His success lies in his refusal to change or expand beyond his image. Tastes change, but Ross stays the same and that provides him with a verisimilitude, a realness that gains him followers by the thousands. To be real is to be respected and as far as Ross is concerned, he is the realist.
2/5
Alvvays at the Drunken Unicorn on November 15
We rely on music to transport us via our imaginations to far away places opposite of current surroundings. Last Saturday at the Drunken Unicorn, as the temperature dropped well below the national average for Atlanta, Toronto-based Alvvays carried the crowd away to a place to where sun and sand are plentiful and summer love is in bloom.
Decked out in their matching white converse, they opened the show with “The Agency Group”, a slow but climactic track that showcases the peaks and depth of Molly Rankin’s vocal range blended well with Alec O’Hanley’s crooning guitar.
With her thick Canadian accent and effortless rapport with the audience, Rankin’s stage presence is absolutely infectious. Perhaps it was just the ambiance of the venue that caused one audience member to say, “I think she’s the closest I’ll ever get to seeing an actual unicorn.”
Slow and deliberate, “Dives” featured Rankin and keyboardist Kerri MacLellan harmonizing fluidly, a testament to the long-term friendship between the two women.
In a refreshing change of pace, Alvvays chose to play their most notable single “Archie, Marry Me”well before the end of the show as the crowd sung along with Rankin. The track recently gained even more attention last week after being covered by Ben Gibbard in Seattle.
“Party Police” was perhaps the truest test of Rankin’s vocal range in a live setting and one she passed with flying colors as she raised her voice one octave towards the end of: Don’t have to leave, you could just stay here with me. This is just one example of the bands quirky and natural style that translates well from outlet to audience.
For the encore the band chose to play a new song called “Haircut”, a more post-punk influenced track that still encompasses the dreamy sound we’re used to. After the show we caught up with drummer, Phil MacIsaac who said that while they enjoy playing new songs, there are no plans to record a new album anytime soon. “We’ve been touring our asses off, there’s just not enough time right now,” He said. Alvvays kicks off their international tour in 2015 and will open for the Decemberists in March.
Watch: Deerhoof: “Paradise Girls”
Not entirely sure what I’m watching, but I’ve watched it at least five times already.
Tuesday, rock band Deerhoof released the video for their latest single, “Paradise Girls.” The song appears on their full-length album, La Isla Bonita. While the song seems to have a focus on the instrumentals with hardly any lyrics other than the same chant of “giiiirls” and “you are smart” among other little snippets, the video is extremely intriguing. For one, there are girls prancing around in costumes that look similar to the creature in that movie “Slither,” and there’s a primary woman throughout the whole video who has some incredibly bright eye shadow and lipstick.
She prances and dances around singing the three-four chants – to a dance-provoking beat that reminds one of tUnE-yArDs – while the others looking like Teletubbies rolling down a grass hill. In a turn of events, the girls give birth to themselves in a sense, breaking their heads out of the cocoon that they were fully wrapped in.
Needless to say, the video will make you stay, the music will make you replay, and the dance moves will drive you…cray.
Check out Deerhoof’s “Paradise Girls” below, and check out their new album, La Isla Bonita via iTunes!
Walk the Moon: “Different Colors”
While the band itself has been around since 2008, Walk the Moon‘s Dec. 2 release will only be their second studio album. One of their first releases, titled “Anna Sun,” launched the band’s musical career. The single was named Song of the Summer by Esquire, MTV and Seventeen. They achieved monumental success with the song without even being signed to a label. After signing, they released their self-titled debut album in 2012 and are preparing for their second album release next month. With “Shut Up and Dance” soaring up the alternative charts, the band both released a new single and announced the launch of their Spring tour.
“Different Colors” is a beautifully exciting single that only increases listeners’ anticipation of a new album from the indie band. The song is sure to induce some form of dancing from everyone, even if you happen to be from the town in Footloose. In this way, the song follows the same style of their previous single, but incorporates more electronic and techno sounds. The lyrics revert back to the feel of teenage innocence with the lyrics, “’Cause when the people get to dancin’/They forget about taking sides.” The music and lyrics work together to provide a biting sense of nostalgia for those longing to return to their teenage years.
4/5
TV On The Radio: ‘Seeds’
Indie band TV On The Radio released their fifth album Seeds on Nov. 17.
After undergoing a year-long hiatus in 2009 and even dealing with the death of a band member, TV On The Radio has had their fair share of hard times. Given that they’re a good ways into their musical career that began in 2001, now is the make-or-break phase. It’s difficult for an indie band to break onto the top charts, but their past three albums have charted in the top 50, with the last two peaking at 12. While they are included in the indie genre, the band has noted their influences include everything from classic artists like Earth, Wind & Fire to the Pixies. These influences are apparent through the creation of their own unique style, complete with an array of different instruments used as they see fit. The use of strings, horns, and an organ at times filter through much of their two most recent albums that also charted the highest.
Seeds is a surprise that wasn’t even expected by its creators. The lead vocalist has said the band wasn’t even sure about making an album after the death of their bassist in 2011. Although it was unexpected, the album proves to be a period of awakening for the band as it differs from anything that’s been released before. Long-time fans will appreciate TV On The Radio’s loyalty to the genre and opting for a more clean, tightened album.
While their previous albums have incorporated maybe too much into each song, Seeds is slightly more simplified version while still keeping with the style the band has built up over the years. It’s reluctant to venture far from the much-acclaimed spot they’ve achieved in indie rock. The songs are intentional and full of purpose to get the concept across.
The album begins with a whimsical song called “Quartz,” complete with an array of different sounds ranging from synthesizer to handclaps. While it may not be exactly what the band’s fans are used to, the song definitely incorporates their style. The band’s first single from the album, “Happy Idiot,” is a catchy song that hasn’t quite peaked on the top charts yet. The band placed heavy emphasis on this song to announce their album with Paul Reubens and Karen Gillan taking part in the music video.
While the radio hasn’t yet picked up on the potential of the single, it has received many positive reviews. Other notable songs are the heartbreaking “Careful You” and “Ride.” Each song segues into a new one about love and loss, complete with an effective array of guitar rhythms. They’ve done a rare thing to incorporate so many influences throughout each song while still keeping with their unique style.
TV On The Radio has come a long way since their debut. This first album since the death of a member is a new start. While many bands would be reluctant to continue after such a tragedy, this one refuses to quit. Seeds is a turning point for the band and holds much potential for future albums to come. This album is a proclamation of acceptance and propels the band forward.
3.5/5
Cole Swindell: ‘Down Home Sessions’ EP
Due to the success of his self-titled debut album, Cole Swindell released a follow-up EP Down Home Sessions on Nov. 17.
Little did Swindell know his role as Luke Bryan’s merch seller would be interrupted by the start of his own musical career. Born in Bronwood, Georgia, Swindell attended Georgia Southern University, where he met and became fraternity brothers with Bryan. The singer proved to be a successful songwriter after writing a large portion of Bryan’s most recent songs, “Outta My Head” by Craig Campbell, and rising star Thomas Rhett’s biggest hit “Get Me Some of That.” In 2013, he released his biggest hit to date, “Chillin’ It” independently and later signed with a label after the single showed some headway up the charts.
His first single simultaneously became his first No. 1 song, certified platinum by RIAA. His debut album, Cole Swindell, rose to No. 3 on the US chart and No. 2 on the US Country chart. He was invited to open on Luke Bryan’s That’s My Kind of Night Tour and promoted his album there, while selling over 200,000 copies. He also claimed the title of New Artist of the Year at the 2013 CMA Awards. Swindell has achieved a monumental amount of success just in the 11 months since his career kicked off.
In a recent interview with Rolling Stone, Swindell said:
“The fans are always wanting new music, and with as much as I love to write I might as well give them the music while I’ve got it. I just don’t want any songs to go unheard.”
Swindell has achieved a high honor in such a short time, headlining his own Down Home Tour this year and heading on tour with superstar Jason Aldean next year. What better way to prepare for a tour than release some new music? The EP will consist of songs that wouldn’t fit on his debut album. With so much success in songwriting, it’s no surprise the singer had an excess of material.
Unfortunately, Swindell’s songwriting abilities come up short on this album. “Ready” kicks off the EP with the typical country song about a beautiful girl and her dance moves. Groundbreaking, right? If anything, this song is an unoriginal attempt at every top hit in the country genre. It seems the headliners he’s opening for have a heavy influence on his own music.
“The Way You’re Lovin’ Me Now” sounds similar if not exactly the same, echoing the style of Jason Aldean and Florida Georgia Line. The next song, “Kiss,” is, you guessed it, exactly the same. Over half the EP sounds like the same song, and listeners will be bored after the first minute. If you’re looking for some mediocre country love songs, this is a must-have.
The Down Home Sessions EP contains five songs that sound exactly the same. Swindell makes a feeble attempt at being “one of the guys” sitting atop the charts with the same material continuously heard on country radio. If he would stop trying to imitate the artists he opens for on tour, he would stand a decent chance of releasing some unique music.
2/5
Father John Misty: “Bored in the USA”
Father John Misty has released the first single off of his new album.
“Bored in The USA” is a slow, piano-based satire, backed with Josh Tillman’s powerful vocals and even more powerful lyrics.
As a play off the 1984 Bruce Springsteen hit “Born in The USA”, Father John Misty strikes the same political chord 30 years later. Lines like “they gave me a useless education” and “keep my prescriptions filled” are echoed with corny laughter typical of a game show from the sixties.
In a sea of singles about shaking your assets and self-centered love, it is, at the least, refreshing. This beautifully written melody matched with a well-informed perspective of American culture is more of a twin to Springsteen than a rip-off.
Father John Misty is the newest side project of singer-songwriter J. Tillman, former Fleet Foxes drummer. “Bored in The USA” is the introduction to the second Father John album, “I Love You Honeybear”, set for release in February 2015.
According to SubPop, “I Love You, Honeybear is a concept album about a guy named Josh Tillman who spends quite a bit of time banging his head against walls, cultivating weak ties with strangers and generally avoiding intimacy at all costs”.
The highly anticipated album will be available in four different formats that include 11 songs total – hopefully all as wonderfully mastered as this release.
4/5
Damien Rice: ‘My Favourite Faded Fantasy’
After an eight-year hiatus from the studio, Damien Rice has released his third album, My Favourite Faded Fantasy.
Since his last studio release, 9, in 2006, Rice has been touring and working on collaborations with a multitude of artists, including Ray LaMontagne and David Gray. Rice’s last individual release was a live album in 2007, Live at Fingerprints: Warts and All.
Although it’s been almost a decade, fans of Rice don’t have to worry about this album being a complete re-vamp of his soft style.
My Favourite Faded Fantasy is a collection of rainy day music, complete with piano, guitar, violin, and Rice’s signature raspy, soothing vocals.
The album begins with the title track, a mysteriously dark and high-pitched melody. As the song builds, layers of different instruments and distorted sounds metabolize into a grander picture that defines the album, then ends abruptly.
The second song, “It Take A Lot To Know A Man”, introduces Rice’s familiar use of violin and catchy yet profound lyrics. However, from there, the album seems to ride a steady stream of a lot of the same.
Golden tracks include “I Don’t Want to Change You” and the beautiful eight-minute long “Trusty And True”, which oddly, holds a slight reminiscent feel you could compare to that of The Decemberists.
The album rounds out with a token Rice tune, “Long Long Way”, featuring slow, repetitive lyrics that are supported by ghostly female backing vocals and a plethora of soft instruments, including a clarinet that helps the album fade out.
Whereas many of Rice’s most popular slow ballads provide an array of technical instrumental solos or surprise monk-like vocals, the majority of My Favourite Faded Fantasy has a simpler feel.
For die-hard fans, the album would be considered a great and long-awaited response to 9; for long-time listeners and more surface level fans, the album has a couple of solid, interesting tracks that uniquely fit with Rice’s previous work. However, for virgins of Rice’s music, this album is not suggested for your first listen.
Compared to 9 and the album that shot him to success, O, My Favourite Faded Fantasy is, for the most part, a mundane compilation. The album is far from “bad” and still holds a couple of great songs, but the album as a whole doesn’t rise to the same of level of Rice’s previous masterpieces.
Although the Ireland native’s newest album has skyrocketed to number one in his home country, I’m not sure it will do the same outside of the U.K.
While My Favourite Faded Fantasy is a good album to flip through on a drizzly day, refer back to O to soak up the true brilliance of Damien Rice.
3/5
Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jr. at Terminal West on November 11
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Approaching the box office at Terminal West on Tuesday night, I could hear what sounded like an acoustic version of Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jr.‘s “Beautiful Dream” and I had to check my watch. Doors at 8pm. Music at 9pm. And there’s an opener, right? It’s not even 9:30. How can this be? Am I really missing the show? And one of my favorite songs at that? Sh*t.
I walk inside and indeed, it is true. Detroit boys Daniel Zott and Joshua Epstein are on stage, instruments in hand, singing away. It was only after the next song (which they explained was written for the first album but didn’t make the cut) that I learned what was happening here. The opening act didn’t show. Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jr. was opening for themselves. Sort of awkward. Sort of awesome. They continued with a couple covers, admitting they were killing time, ended with The Beach Boys’ “God Only Knows,” and let the crowd know they’d be back out in a bit.
Returning to the stage after the typical 20ish minute break, the duo are now joined by a live drummer and multi-instrumentalist in the backstage to fill out that bigger sound we were missing in their stripped-down opening set and clad in different outfits (Daniel even dropped the blanket he had wrapped himself in and wrestled his guitar strap over). Like a whole new band, right?
Beginning the “real” set with “Morning Thought,” the first song off their 2011 album It’s a Corporate World, they cruised through a handful of familiar favorites employing the energy and explosiveness we’ve come to love from these guys, with Joshua wasting no time hopping off stage and getting down into the crowd only three songs into the set.
Their newest single, “James Dean” was prefaced with an anecdote explaining that they released the track without the knowledge or consent of their record label, and albeit lacking label support, it’s gone on to be the most successful song they’ve ever put out. Personally, it’s not a favorite. But the crowd most certainly had a more palpable reaction than to any other song so far in the evening, which included some great ones… (“Don’t Tell Me”, “Simple Girl”, “Vocal Chords”…)
Following the new with the old, next up was “When I Open My Eyes” trailed by one of my favorite songs of the evening “Run” off their 2013 release The Speed of Things. This one was a close second to the super-melodic “War Zone” which came up after they played another new one, titled “In the Middle.” This new song was much more promising than “James Dean”… I kept thinking of “Burning Down the House” every time they went into the chorus. Not a bad thing at all.
The telephone mic Josh had been using on and off throughout the show gets called into action to mic his sax for “War Zone,” and they closed the main set out with the anthemic “Almost Lost Detroit” before returning with “A Haunting” to open up the encore. Complete with bubbles galore and the most wild light show we had seen thus far in the evening, they continued with arguably their biggest hit and certainly most dance-inducing song “If You Didn’t See Me [Then You Weren’t On The Dancefloor]”.
The evening closed on a make-you-want-to-hold-hands-with-the-person-next-to-you note with “Nothing But Our Love” and both Joshua and Daniel immediately bolted from the stage to the merch booth, embracing clamoring fans and happily signing countless autographs.
If opening for themselves wasn’t already a fairly big hint, this was a true sign that this couple of Detroit boys, despite their success, haven’t lost their humility and gratitude for their supporters. A good reason to keep on loving Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jr. and coming out to enjoy their rowdy and shamelessly enjoyable live shows.
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