We've Abandoned Our Sea Men

I thought with my last post that that would be all for today, but I was way wrong. The way the last group I reviewed appealed to the romantic side of the rain that's pouring outside, that is the way this one appeals to the darker side of it. It's the way their music makes something so dark seem to beautiful that first entranced me, and it's something that I continue to love.

Out of Leeds, England, U.K., I present Abandoned Sea Men, an alternative-rock four-piece that stretches the boundaries of alternative rock to new lengths. Comprising members Aaron Dulay (lead vocals and guitar), Oliver Blair (keyboards and vocals), Elliot Hillary (bass and vocals), and Will Long (drums), ASM are a fresh new sound on the U.K. alternative scene. Much like my previous post, these guys have a four-song demo that's available to listen to (and probably buy), and I love every song from it. I'll start at the beginning though, to do this demo the justice it deserves.

The demo starts off with "The Way You Do," a creepy, alternative-styled song with apparent influences by The Cure, Muse, The Cult, and other darker musical acts. The song starts with a Cure-like drumbeat by Long, and is quickly bounced out by a searing guitar riff from Dulay. In the back I can hear Hillary's bass providing an almost grunge-like element to the mix, while Blair's keyboards are cold and soulless; a perfect sound for this song. Dulay's vocals approach Muse-like levels, and the sound of the song makes the hair on the back of my neck stand up. I'm also more than partial to the stop/start flow of the song, going from a very choppy chorus to a very fluid verse. And towards the end, the meshing of all the instruments in an almost chaotic fashion deals a deadly blow to any reservations I might have. A brilliant starting song that deserves every one of the five out of five stars I give it. Definitely a would-be breakthrough single.

Song two is "Admittance," another Muse-style song that relies heavily on Dulay's unique vocal style to make the rest of the song work. But that's not to slight the other members; Blair's keys here are relentless in my ears, and Hillary's bass lines approach levels owned for years by Soundgarden. Then Long's drums take off, and while Dulay chokes his guitar for just the right alternative notes, Blair's keyboards explode with Hillary's bass behind him, and the song is a complete success in my book. Long's drumming is particularly excellent here, with rolling beats and fills, and Dulay reaches vocal notes not heard since The Darkness and "I Believe in a Thing Called Love." A song that continues ASM's techno-rock/alternative-rock sound, and definitely one I'd expect to hear on a greatest hits collection. 

After the soundstorm that was "Admittance," I move on to "More," a song that is slightly scaled back from the chaotic sound waves of its predecessor. Beginning on Long's count, Dulay slides in on a more indie-rock sounding guitar riff. His vocals are haunting and soulful, and during the chorus I hear backup vocals from Hillary and Blair as Hillary's bass lines are soft and almost undetectable, and Blair's keys add to the melody of Dulay's guitar notes. The real jewel of this song, however, is the interlude, where Dulay lets go with a clean riff while Blair goes to town on his keys. With accompaniment by Hillary and Long, the interlude in this song makes it a must-hear.

The last song on the demo is "Not the Same (Without You)." If I had to describe this track in just a few words, I would term it as ASM's ballad track. With melodic vocals by Dulay that you can sing along to, and guitar notes meshing perfectly with key strokes put down by Blair, this is a definite would-be staple during their live show. Long has scaled back his drumming to just the toms and a few crash hits, and Hillary's bass is firmly rooted in the background keeping the song moving with strong notes and tight control. This was the perfect song to wrap up the demo. A great end to a demo that demonstrates what an incredible group can do with its first four recordings. 

Sounds Like: Muse, The Cure, Pixies, The Cult

Key Tracks from demo CD: "Admittance," "The Way You Do," "More," "Not the Same (Without You)"

Check out Abandoned Sea Men more at: http://www.myspace.com/abandonedseamen and http://www.unsigned.com/abandonedseamen       

As I Go Marching with Irreverents

Man, between the college applications that are totally kicking my ass and the fact that I'm hungry as hell right now, it's been a hard night, lol. Luckily, I've found a couple of hard rockers that soothe the pain.

They come from Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, and they are ready to split your insides with high voltage rock and incredible melodies. Made up of Steve Watts (lead vocals and guitar), Levi James (bass and vocals), and Brian BADD (drums and percussion), Irreverents are a force to be reckoned with.

From the very first chords of "Stopping Traffic," Irreverents delivers a punch to your gut that just knocks the air out of you. At just over 4:00 long, "Stopping Traffic" leads in on a great guitar riff from Watts and gut-busting beat from BADD. Then the crash comes, and James chimes in with a hardcore bass line, and Watts's guitar riffing might only be outdone by the incredible melody of his voice against the music, and the intelligent, lucid lyrics he slings against the backbeat. James's bass just drives me wild, and with BADD on the drums, I'm a happy camper in Hardrockville. I don't really know who I could compare these guys to. Van Halen? Anvil? No freakin' idea. That's how unique this sound is. My pulse keeps racing all the way through the incredible drum roll by BADD, and the screeching guitar solo by Watts. Just a fucking amazing song. I am totally satiated after listening to just this one track.

Then for the next track, James leads in on a solid bass line, and BADD and Watts soon follow, and "Wet Cigarettes" begins. With a a tune that I can really only describe as kinky, I'm shot through an amazing sing-along chorus, and with James's bass in this one, I give it five stars. This one is definitely one of James's finest hours. But that's not to sleight the other guys. BADD's drumming is tight, and Watts's guitar, again, just makes metal magic. With top-notch lyrics and vocals, this is definitely a single for radio.

The last track seems to move a little away from the straight-laced metal sound, with an interesting guitar intro and unorthodox drumming. "As We Go Marching" is definitely the oddball track on the record, but that is not to be mixed with it being a bad track. This one stands out, and that's great. These guys prove they can do more then just copy others. Between this, and the other two tracks, I can see that they have their own sound, and I love it. The stop-start drumming and the pulse-squeezing bass provide a great stage for Watts's killer guitar solo, and hardcore vocals. This track is different, but everything about it is perfect. I wouldn't change a thing.

Sounds Like: Van Halen, Anvil, Armored Saint

Key Tracks from For a Tranquil Life: "Stopping Traffic," "Wet Cigarettes," "As We Go Marching"

Check out Irreverents more at: http://www.myspace.com/irreverents and http://www.unsigned.com/irreverents

The Room Next Door

The last group I listened to out of Germany was Scorpions, so when I discovered that they and this group shared the same homeland, I was ready for another taste of German hard-rock and alternative-metal.

Out of Siegen, Germany I present to you and your soon-to-be-happy ears Room Next Door, a timeless mix of alternative, rock, grunge, and indie. In the fantastic tradition of the Ramones, these guys (and girl) adopt stage surnames, and frankly I love the way they sound. Made up of Steve Next Door (lead vocals and guitar), Tobi Next Door (lead guitar and vocals), Laura Next Door (bass), and Jan Next Door (drums), these guys know how to make a sound so versatile it goes from The Strokes to Nirvana in no time.

The first song  I listen to from their promo CD is "Get Out on It," a song that boasts the dirty, distortion of Mudhoney's "Touch Me I'm Sick" and the hardcore vocals of Black Flag laid next to smooth, Strokes-like vocals. Jan's simple drum beat reminds me of Meg White's minimalist drumming, which I love by the way, and Tobi's guitar riffs are reminiscent of '60s garage rock. The interplay on this song between Steve's rhythm guitar and Laura's bass is also something that strikes me, as it reminds me of the interplay heard in groups like Pixies and Sonic Youth.

The next track, "Just One Step Away from Here," is a departure from the muddled, dirty guitar, in favor of a more indie sound. Tobi, however, delivers some notes on this with the perfect distortion for me to compare them to seminal acid-rock bands like Quicksilver Messenger Service and 13th Floor Elevators. Steve's vocals on this one show he can be hardcore if he likes, but also slow himself down for a more easy-going song.

The chilled-out aspect doesn't last long though, as I'm soon launched into "Losing the Magic," a song that's got Green River's guitar riffs and U2's vocal style. There's no other way to describe this group with any other words than "different" and "versatile." I love the guitar solo on this song. It just creeps up on you and stabs you in the throat with a sick riff that would make the Scorpions foam at the mouth.  

The last track I'll touch on here is "Lost in This Town." While "Potato Man" is also an interesting track, "Lost in This Town" just screams classic punk to me, living up to the legacy of the Ramones and the Sex Pistols. In fact, not only does Steve's voice and guitar sound like Joey and Johnny Ramone, respectively, but the bass and drums also remind me of those classic punk groups. The only thing that seems to move away from the Ramones ideal is Tobi's great guitar solo. But I'm not complaining; it's sick. Check these guys out. Germany gave us the Scorpions, and now they've given us Room Next Door.

Sounds Like: Scorpions, Ramones, Sex Pistols, The Strokes, The Vines, Mudhoney

Key Tracks from their 2009 Promo CD: "Get Out on It," "Losing the Magic," "Lost in This Town," "Just One Step Away from Here"

Check out Room Next Door more at: http://www.roomnextdoor.de/htm/index.htm and http://www.unsigned.com/roomnextdoor

Fire At Will

Normally, I'm not much one for the screamo side of hardcore. Not that it's bad or anything, I just personally tend to find it not my taste. Tonight, however, I found a group that I HAD to listen to. I literally couldn't bring myself to hit the "Back" button because I was so intrigued by their sound. To me personally, not the typical hardcore or screamo. From the first chords of "Rapture," I was just hooked by the incredible guitar riffs and the juxtaposition of the smooth lead vocals next to the animalistic screams in the background. Made up of Nick Puzzo (lead vocals), Andru Murphy (guitar), Vince Puzzo (lead guitar, vocals, and screams), Mike Messmer (bass, vocals, and screams), and Dwayne Barnet (drums), FAW is all over the place genre-wise, but in a day when everything is labeled and commercialized, that's something I like.

The group continues in the hardcore vein with "Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels" and "Flee the Scene." Two hardcore numbers that harken back to AFI and Lostprophets, "Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels" and "Flee the Scene" sound almost like they belong on Decemberunderground or Thefakesoundofprogress. 

However, the group shows their funny side with "The Lesbian Song," a funny little anecdote that seems worthy of sharing a playlist with Bowling for Soup's "The Bitch Song" and Blink-182's "Mutt." 

FAW finish strong with "She Lied," a harder song that seems like it would be comfortable among something Red Jumpsuit Apparatus or Alexisonfire. Yet wherever these songs find themselves, their still awesome, and like Pantera's "Walk" did the first time I heard it, they just make me want to hit someone. Pure anger and brute force, that's real power, and that's the power of these songs.

Sounds Like: AFI, The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus, Lostprophets, Alexisonfire

Key Tracks from Fire At Will: "Rapture," "Lost, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels," "Flee the Scene," "She Lied"

Check out Fire At Will more at: http://www.unsigned.com/faw   

The Electric Noise Act

So today's story is on The Electric Noise Act, a quartet specializing is '60s garage rock and lo-fi. Think of a mix between two or three of the other "The" bands; like The Strokes with pinches of The White Stripes and The Vines thrown in. However you want to mix it though, The Electric Noise Act produces a sound that's very unique. So unique, in fact, I couldn't decide if I liked it or hated it. But that's how you know something's great: it's different. It's easy to find something that sounds like everything else and say you like it because of that. But it's very difficult to find something so different you think you might hate it even as you're realizing you love it.

Comprised of Jared Horner (guitar and vocals), Michael Lane (guitar), Sebastian Coppotelli (bass), and Matt Potter (drums and percussion), TENA delivers driving bass lines, a sloppy-yet-catchy drum and cymbal beat, and dirty, almost Mudhoney-like guitar licks. Separately these could be things that might ruin bands if they don't know how to put them together properly, but here it works perfectly. I LOVE the beginning guitar lick and snare beat on "Street 103." It just GRABS you. If anything, listen to this song first. By far the best in my opinion. But that's not to say the others are bad. I also love the rhythmic bass line on "I'm the Only One for Me," and the quirky guitar chords on "FM Frequency." Besides that, the songs are pervaded by the lo-fi, minimalist, White Stripes-esque drumming of Potter, who compliments Coppotelli's bass, and Horner's and Lane's guitars extremely well. And on top of it, Horner's indie-style vocals just make this group a must-here. If you like anything White Stripes-like, indie, or pertaining to the garage rock genre, check out this Connecticut quartet. They won't be ignored.

Sounds Like: The White Stripes, The Strokes, The Vines, The Posies

Key Tracks: "Street 103," "FM Frequency," "I'm the Only One for Me"

Check out The Electric Noise Act more at: http://www.unsigned.com/theelectricnoiseact and http://www.myspace.com/electricnoiseact  

Sonic Boom

Two words: they're back. It's been three years since Sonic Youth's last studio album, Rather Ripped, and since then they've been busy, busy, busy. But now they're back, with a new label, a new member, and a new album. Sonic Youth's The Eternal debuted in June 2009, and features a new member to the group, Mark Ibold (bass). The other four founders are still there and going strong, Thurston Moore (guitar and vocals), Kim Gordon (guitar, bass and vocals), Lee Ranaldo (guitar and vocals) and Steve Shelley (drums).

After a nine album history with Geffen since 1990's Goo, Sonic Youth has decided to release The Eternal on a fresh new label, Matador Records. The new album includes 12 new tracks and continues with the SY tradition of pounding bass, distorted guitars, and tight drums. If you haven't heard the new record yet, I suggest picking it up. I haven't listened to it enough yet to give you any key tracks I love more than the rest, but I will say this record is something to get excited about. The Eternal, Sonic Youth's answer the the year 2009. Check it out.

Sounds Like: Pixies, The Breeders