A Stunning Return To Form!

Sorry about that break, guys! Jeez, it's been a while. Let's get right into it, shall we? This is a good one, you guys.

The Mountain Goats - All Hail West Texas (2002)



John Darnielle recorded fourteen songs that take place in the arid searing landscapes of Western Texas using just an acoustic guitar and a boombox. This is the final album he made on a boombox before switching over to the polished studio sound. The music itself is, quite simply, a kind of modern folk. John's nasally voice is so full of raw power and emotion, and the buzzing of the recording equipment in the background mix well with the acoustic guitars.

The album twines, intertwines, and unwinds at the ends through the seven characters and the two houses. Good luck trying to figure out who is who, much of it is cryptically (and purposefully) attributable to any of the characters that pop in and out of the album, but in all honesty, it's not a problem. Every character that appears is so beautifully rendered and voiced that it doesn't make any difference who is singing. Every song makes me feel so tender and raw, listening to this album just makes me want to hail Satan forever.

Recommended Tracks: The Best Ever Death Metal Band In Denton, Color In Your Cheeks, The Mess Inside, Absolute Lithops Effect
Genre: Folk, Indie
Link: http://www.mediafire.com(SLASH)?k2zmnnymizn

It Commands You!

The Mars Volta are getting fairly famous, but what a lot of people don't realize is that the two main members of the band got their start in an awesome punk group called At The Drive-In. I even like ATDI a little more than the Mars Volta, to tell the truth. This is my favorite album by them!



At The Drive-In - Relationship Of Command (2000)

This album picks you up by your face and shakes you around through discordant guitar lines, shaking drum beats, soaring vocals, and labyrinthian words. ATDI are a punk band at their heart, but their music seems to stand on a genre of its own design; the band puts you at the epicenter of a hurricane of sounds that carry you far, far away from home. Lead vocalist Cedric Bixler-Zavala's singing matches well with guitarist's Jim Wards occasional shouts; their vocals dance around Omar Rodriguez-Lopez' intricate guitar melodies.

This was the last album by At The Drive-In before they split up to become Cedric and Omar's The Mars Volta and Jim Ward's Sparta. This album is the culmination of 7 years of hard work and it shows; it's a beautiful record and it defines its own genre. I love listening to this cd and I always forget to tell people about it, so now you know! Pick it up!

Here's a song! You guys seemed to like that from before:


Recommended Tracks: Arcarsenal, One Armed Scissor, Sleepwalk Capsules
Genres: Punk, Rock
Link: http://www.mediafire.com(SLASH)?4kto0mzutyt

Hey, Kids, Rock And Roll

Guest Post Tuesday returns! Thanks for the review, Alec! REM is one of the coolest and most influential bands around, and I'm happy to have them up on this site. Enjoy, you guys.



REM - Automatic For The People (1992)

Hey, kids, rock and roll. So says Michael Stipe in the first song on what I believe to be REM's most significant album of their long and impressive career. Lots of REM albums use relatively similar rock styles in order to convey a mood or message, while Automatic for the People, while definitely mood driven, stands out from all their other albums in terms of musical style. Almost the entire album has a dark feel to it, much of the songs dealing either directly with death or with the effects it has on people, yet it is delivered in such a way that there's a calming effect despite the harsh subjects -- by the end of the album, you'll realize that this is one of the most soothing collections of music that you'll ever listen to. It's not what you would expect out of REM, but it's excellent nonetheless. I could give a detailed paragraph about each song, maybe more, but you should honestly just listen to it, as words can't possibly give an accurate description of the feelings that the album pours over you as it progresses.

Recommended Tracks: Drive, Sweetness Follows, Monty Got a Raw Deal
Genres: Rock, Alternative
Link: http://www.mediafire.com(SLASH)?tim2iu1dm1m

Because We Need This, Oh, So Bad

This is a crisis, you guys. I feel bad putting this full album up, as these guys are just barely getting started and are in need of some honest lovin'. If you download this cd and like it, I recommend seeing them live if they happen to be in your area or even buying it from Saddle Creek when it comes out (tomorrow). So yeah, this cd has been my latest obsession, I've been listening to it nonstop for the past few weeks. Just realy great.


The Rural Alberta Advantage - Hometowns (2009)

The Rural Alberta Advantage came up from the depths of a terrible homesickness. Singer/songwriter Nils Edenloff moved from his hometown in wilds of Alberta to the crushing, crowded cityscape of Toronto. In an apartment, he penned love songs for his hometown; songs about the icy north in Canada, love, lost love, bridges, and anything else that reminded him of home.

His voice bleats like John Darnielle of The Mountain Goats, the drums flail about in syncopations that resemble the genre of Drum And Bass, and the lyrics hit closer to home than you'd like to believe. Each song lives and breathes and leads into the next; the album goes from quiet introspection to noisy punk rock whenever necessary. Overall, this album is great for anyone who liked The Weakerthans, Ted Leo, Cursive, or The Mountain Goats, but I'd say check it out regardless, because it's just a cool cd.

Let's try this: here's a sample video!



Recommended Tracks: Don't Haunt This Place, The Dethbridge In Lethbridge, Luciana
Genres: Indie, Folk
Link: http://www.mediafire.com(SLASH)?nyzkym2jzim