GUEST POAST: Heatmiser's Mic City Sons

Alec has been very patient. He sent me this review aboouuutttt 2 months ago and I forgot to put it up. So here it is, in all of its awesome pseudo-depressing-but-with-some-real-joy-and-a-great-album-cover glory! Sorry it's so late, everybody, but I hope you enjoy it just the same <3

Heatmiser - Mic City Sons (1996)



Heatmiser was sort of a congregation of big Indie names. While I won't detail each member and their credits, you may recognize Elliot Smith as the main vocalist. And while you may recognize his hand in a few of the songs, this is definitely not an Elliot Smith cd with another band name tagged to it. Lyrics depicting sorrow and helplessness span throughout the album, yet some are accompanied by songs with a catchy guitar, very creative writing for all of instruments, and in some songs, you may just forget there's anything else behind the vocals. Musically there's hardly any lyrical connection from song to song, yet it flows very, very well. Mic City Sons was the third and final CD by this "supergroup," and really stood out from the first two because you could tell the members were finally starting to click as an actual band, mixing their individual creative styles in such a way that produced a great, coherent album. It would have been nice to see them continue on, however most, if not all, of the members enjoyed some success individually. In my opinion, however, this transcends any of their solo songs and is really a masterful piece to sum up a few different approaches to a moody, emotional, soft indie-style album.

Recommended Tracks: Plainclothes Man
Genres: Indie, Rock
Link: http://www.mediafire.com(SLASH)?jzyhgtezyaz

EDITED NEWSNEWSNEWS

Yeah, I just confirmed with Brooks: We will be broadcasting from 4-6 PM and NOT 4-6 AM! This is great news for people in this time zone! Hurray!!

NEWSNEWSNEWSNEWSNEWS!!!

Hey all! I have some BIG NEWS for all Hallelujah! Hallelujah! readers!!

Starting THIS Saturday, we will be going LIVE!! Yes, that's right! Hallelujah! Hallelujah! will be available on the radio, which is available on the intertubes!

My good friend, bandmate, and guest reviewer, Brooks, and I will be chatting it up while kicking out the jams every Saturday from... well, 4AM-6AM. But it's gonna be awesome!!

YOU BETTER BELIEVE IT.

Ugly Is Beautiful

I've waited so long to put this album up! It's one of the best I've ever heard and it's seriously fucking awesome! So check it out!!


Cursive - The Ugly Organ (2003)

Cursive's music sounds like it was soaked in some kind of developing fluid; like they recorded the music on tape, brought it into a darkroom and produced it into photographs. Every song sounds like it was drenched in every single color of red and black until the photo came out looking like the negative.

Tim Kasher's vocals are full of fire and intensity; his songs about his messy divorce mimic his every emotion: the guitars squeal through a punk-like-but-mostly-indie emo record, the cellos... Oh the cellos are beautiful, and the rhythms start and stop through every heartbeat. Every song makes up a part of this album, definitely one of my oldest favorites, definitely one of the bands that got me into the entire indie genre. Listening to the album from front to back gives me such a tremendous feeling; the last song's gradual rise and fall is absolutely stunning, when matched with the other songs.

Recommended songs: Red-Handed Sleight Of Hand, Art Is Hard, The Recluse, A Gentleman Caller
Genres: Indie, Emo, Punk
Link: http://www.mediafire.com(SLASH)?2nmmtm3imok

An Idea For A Fireworks Display

A young woman named Valerie messaged me the other day letting me know that she was really into Amanda Palmer and Nick Cave, so I'm going to upload an album by my all-time favorite musician, who I think sounds kind of similar to both of those artists! Awesome!



Tom Waits - Swordfishtrombones (1983)

Yes, yes, we all know I have a raging love for Tom Waits that will extinguish only after I die. This album is no exception. Written just before Rain Dogs and a few years after Small Change, this album is in the direct center of Tom Waits' jazzy years and his experimental ones. This can sometimes make Swordfishtrombones seem a little schizophrenic, but more often than not, it strengthens the album by solidifying Waits' stranger ideas within conventional ones.

Overall, this is a great place to START with Tom Waits because it hits both of his worlds, but it also has a few of his absolute best pieces, and listening to it always transports me back to the first time I ever heard it, so I know that it has a special place in my heart. Also, Johnsburg, Illinois is one of the single most heartwarming pieces of music ever. Just Tom Waits, a piano, and a bassist. Conversely, Franks Wild Years is one of the creepiest and funniest pieces of music I've ever heard. Waits speaks over a funky organ track about... um, well, burning down your house to kill your wife's dog. Or something. This album is awesome, just try it out! See you next week!

Recommended Tracks: Shore Leave, Johnsburg Illinois, In The Neighborhood, Frank's Wild Years, Swordfishtrombone
Genres: Rock, Experimental
Link: http://www.mediafire.com(SLASH)?uo3bmmgmyg0

Okay, We're Back Online!

I lost the ability to access this account for a while, but now I'm back and with a very quick review for a very good cd. It's a classic, so get it while the gettin's good! Brand New's newest album, Daisy, leaked, but I won't be putting it up here until after it's already out. Sorry guys, I'm not running a leak website, and I think bands really hate it when their albums are out before the publish date, so I'm going to try and do them as many services as I can.



Brand New - Deja Entendu (2003)

So, apparently not everyone has this cd... Also, some people think that Brand New is kind of lame or something? Dudes, get with the program. This cd is so excellent on so many levels; it's a catchy record with thoughtful, interesting lyrics, and, yeah, spot on musicianship from the New York quartet, led by lead vocalist and guitarist, Jesse Lacy.

The record is, uh, yeah, technically a seminal "emo" work... but, it's NOT like My Chemical Romance or any of that nonsense... It's much more like Cursive or Jets To Brazil; fun, interesting music with lyrics that have a lot of thought put into them. Kind of closer to indie or punk, I would say.

Here's a sample track to give you an idea of what they're like, but I can't recommend this album higher, it's a great piece of music and I find myself listening to it pretty frequently these days. Enjoy you guys!



Recommended Tracks: Sic Transit Gloria... (Glory Fades), Guernica, The Quiet Things That No One Ever Knows
Genres: Indie, Punk, Emo
Link: http://www.mediafire.com(SLASH)?zzdminmr2yd