True Colors

I downloaded this cd on a whim a few months ago, knowing only two songs by the band. Every time I hear it, I just get a huge smile on my face. They sound like three dudes in a recording studio, having a lot of fun as they wrote and recorded some fantastic songs.

Born Ruffians - Red, Yellow & Blue (2008)

Luke Lalonde, Mitch Derosier, and Steven Hamelin are a power trio in the most fun way. Yeah, they play guitar, bass, and drums, respectively, with Lalonde taking on lead vocals, but they also incorporate pianos, accordians, and more backing vocals than necessary. The music is catchy and nearly dancy, but very minimalist, relying more on syncopated and truncated rhythms and virtuosic playing than wall-of-sound production. The instruments, when played in headphones, nearly sound like they're spaced apart by the producer, and that's part of the charm; it makes what I declare a Sonic Sandwich: The drums and bass are spaced far to the sides, the guitar is right in the middle, leaving the area in between for vocals. Okay, you guys don't care.

So the songs bounce around; the drums are tom and cymbal heavy, the basslines walk up and down the fretboard, and the guitar is jangly as a set of car keys in a blender. The voices yell and stomp and croon beautifully with backing vocals often taking on a call-and-response form or simply harmonizing with Lalonde's playful vocals. Overall, this album is just a lot of fun and it's what I want to listen to over the summer just to have a good time.

Recommended Tracks: Barnacle Goose, Hummingbird, Hedonistic Me, Kurt Vonnegut
Genres: Indie, Folk, Pop, Rock
Link: http://www.mediafire.com(SLASH)?yutyyz5mjnn

We Don't Need No Bodies, We're Here For The Souls!

The Mae Shi play... um. Indie-pop. But... it's kind of angry. And kind of has a lot of weird sounds. Like beeps and bloops. I guess I'll let this video speak for itself. If you like this cover of a Miley Cyrus song, chances are you'll like the album.





Onto the real review!

The Mae Shi - HLLLYH (2008)

When I first heard about The Mae Shi, they were associated with John Zorn (grindcore/jazz saxophonist, psychopath); they worked with him at his ridiculous "music improvisation games," which means that they can pretty much play ridiculously awful music that is supposed to be excellent because it's so complex and mind-bending that it's therefore good.

However, they play a sort of indie pop punk that is at times serious, but is mostly just playful. With songtitles like "Pwnd" and "7xx7," this album about the apocalyptic sort of takes on a more cheerful tone about the wrath of god. Overall, it's just fun to listen to: they have chops to spare, but they choose to hold themselves back just to keep the music enjoyable. You can tell they're powerful just by how intricately woven every song is, despite being quite simple, pop-wise. Between the vocal arrangements that sound like a full chorus (despite being sung by what must be a single dude), the synthesizers that were picked up out of the 80s, and that amazing guitar tone that sounds like it was formulated in a garage, The Mae Shi are one of the most fun bands I've ever listened to and deserve to be in your collection if you like having fun or listening to fun music.

Genres: Indie, Punk, Pop, Post-Punk
Recommended Tracks: Lamb And The Lion, Pwnd, Boys In The Attic, Run To Your Grave,
Link: http://www.mediafire.com(SLASH)?ymmhtzfugmi

Guest Post: Amanda fucking Palmer - Who Killed Amanda Palmer?

Thanks for this awesome review of a seriously fantastic album, Dia! You guys should DEFINITELY get this if you liked Nick Cave, Tom Waits, or music in general; this piano virtuoso and extraordinary vocalist, Amanda Palmer is exactly what they would be like if they were female and slightly less ridiculous in some ways while being even more ridiculous in plenty others. Ampersand, the third track on this cd is probably one of the best songs I've ever heard in my life.

Amanda Palmer - Who Killed Amanda Palmer? (2008)

The Dresden Dolls may have split up, but Amanda Palmer’s ingenious creativity is still ever-present in her first solo album. Desperate for a new beginning, Palmer and co-producer Ben Folds put their musical mindsand their gifted piano skills to good use. The result – a powerful demonstration of music and composition at its finest. No two tracks sound alike, and yet Palmer's stories and her magnificently eerie voice bring the album together with astonishing perfection.

The album opens with the powerful chords of ‘Astronaut’, a catchy and yet stimulating song that immediately grabs your attention at full force. Throughout the album, the tracks continue to alternate between intense and heartfelt, tied together by Palmer's storytelling and piano virtuosity. Songs cover an unorthodox range of topics, such as mental instability and abortion. ‘Guitar Hero’, my favorite on the entire album, is about soldiers at war playing video games when not on the battlefield.

I wouldn't change anything about this album -- If you have yet to experience the sheer power and compassion that this woman brings into music, a single listen to this album is all you need for that genuine Amanda ‘Fucking’ Palmer experience.

For deeper insight into this album, I recommend watching the music videos she made for each song on the album, each one is artistic and captivating in their own way, and each one carries the words of the song even further.

Recommended tracks: Astronaut, Runs In The Family, Had to Drive, Guitar Hero, The Point of it All
Genres: Rock, Indie, Experimental, Pop
Link: http://www.mediafire.com(SLASH)?fy2mzw5g4m2

A Few Thursday EPs

Sorry guys, I can't think of anything exciting to put up tonight, so maybe I'll make a habit out of putting up two little EPs every Thursday over the summer, instead of a full album? Who knows, let's try it out.

These two are some of my favorites, so I figure I'll put them out sooner than later. Enjoy, dudes!

Cursive - Burst And Bloom EP (2002)

This cd has got everything. Yelling parts, calm parts, cellos, cool sounding guitars, and some of the best lyrics this side of Omaha! Cursive are one of my favorites and this release is just fantastic. Anyone who likes music should definitely pick this up, it's one the best.

Genres: Punk, Indie rock, Emo
Recommended Tracks: Mothership, Mothership, Do You Read Me?, Fairy Tales Tell Tales
Link: http://www.mediafire.com(SLASH)?owdyqmk24nc





Arcs - Arcs (2006)

This is a band from Toronto (aren't all indie rock bands these days?) who I constantly find myself turning to when I'm in the mood to listen to something that has a hard edge to it and is big sounding, but not overdone. This band is just fantastic; catchy and fun, but serious.


Genres: Indie Rock, Punk, Pop
Recommended Tracks: Ghosts Of Shopping Malls, I'm An A-Sharp
Link: http://www.mediafire.com(SLASH)?oungeynhz22





There you have it! Sorry this is so lame, guys. If you like it, though, LET ME KNOW! I'll start doing this sort of stuff more often if I hear that people like this sort of thing

Tuesday Guest Post: Sufjan Stevens (Washington Irving'd/Irving Washington'd)

Sufjan Stevens - Come On! Feel The Illinoise! (2006)


So I asked my friend Donald to write a review for Sufjan Stevens - Come On! Feel The Illinoise! Unfortunately, what I got was a three page essay about the album. Because I don't have the time or the patience to go through and edit such a triumphant and beautiful review, I've come up with a solution. In spirit of Yossarian, I will only give you the adjectives. The full review will soon be available on his own website here.

So, without further ado, here are the adjectives that Donald saw fit to describe Sufjan Stevens' (in my opinion) best cd:

Dazzling, awe-inspiring, smooth, mercurial, crowning, ambitious, critical, pseudo-Christian folk, legitimate, Salinger-esque, powerful, historical, cultural, small, fascinating, quirky, calm, effervescent, subdued, young, serene, quasi-chronological, beautiful, monument to grandeur and glory, lamentful (this one isn't a word, Donald), brooding, triumphant, faint, upbeat, syncopated, blossoming, poetic, personal, haunting, harrowing, graphic, serial killing, hidden, unsuspected, intimate, urban, local, thematic, fertile, magnificent, good, great, minimalistic, strumming, plucking, soft, passionate, haunted, soul-bearing, heartfelt, subdued, ethereal, prevailing, touching, Christian, religious, Christ-like, hard-edged, surreal, otherworldly, introspective, chilling, razor sharp, atmospheric, chilling, religious, haunting, jazzy, Brubeckian, dreamlike, storied, expressionistic, mystically repetitive, percussive, calamitous, HE PLAYS NEARLY EVERY INSTRUMENT USED ON THE ALBUM, seemingly oversaturated, brilliance.


I generally agree with each of those words. This album is absolutely beautiful and it is THE ALBUM that got me into indie rock; the way it melds history and modern culture is absolutely brilliant and the way the album sounds is perfect. This album was the crossover point for me between punk and whatever I am today, and it is definitely in my top 10 favorite albums of all time. If you'd like to read the full review, it is/will be up at http://www.wjgroundruledouble.weebly.com and I highly suggest reading the full thing. Thank you very much, Donald! I hope you don't mind my butchery. I thought it was funny...

Genres: Indie, Folk, Rock, Pop
Recommended Songs: Chicago, John Wayne Gacy Jr., They Are Night Zombies!! They Are Neighbors!! They Have Come Back From The Dead!! Ahhhh!
Link: http://www.mediafire.com(SLASH)download.php?jnunzzmmnvw

Praise Made In Haste (But Totally Deserved)

Good Luck - Into Lake Griffy (2008)

So, on Friday, I went to a 7-11 in Washington DC to see Bomb The Music Industry! play. One of the openers was a small trio called Good Luck. Consisting of one bassist, one guitarist, and a drummer, the small group managed to let their punky pop utterly destroy the small room.

Matt Tobey's emotional voice goes so well with the fast-paced, technical punk music that it's just obscene; his tapping guitar lines that act as bridges are so much more than I would've ever expected out of a punk trio born in Indiana. Not to mention Ginger Alford's powerful vocals on plenty of the tracks, just as well. Between the two of them, the songs are easily blazed through and the heartfelt lyrics are belted. Every song is a singlalong, every song is done perfectly. I'm very, very, very impressed with them and would say to keep tabs on this band; they're definitely going places.


Genres: punk, technical, lyrical, pop-punk
Link: http://www.mediafire.com(slash)?mztdocimnnd