A “seven-piece orchestral pop explosion” from Grand Rapids, this band certainly fills out the spectrum on this deceptively cheery-sounding 11-track disc. Organs, guitars, drums, random instrumentation and sing-alongs make for a highly textured wall of joyful noises, all strung together with cohesive songwriting, creating an album that moves along its lengthy 55 minutes from start to finish with unapologetic sound-mashing and a sense of purpose. This won’t hit the pop charts, but you will probably hear it on internet radio or a college station late at night. Go to www.mightynarwhale.com to stream the album.
—
Ryan Cunningham
This metal quartet is focused like a magnifying glass burning an ant. It knows when to sing, when to growl, and when to let the music do the talking. The recording is full and loud – as it ought to be – and is a testament to the idea that hiring an outside producer can be an excellent idea if you’re ready to take your band seriously. Beyond the production value, the group sounds like a cross between Incubus and A Life Once Lost. The CD will be released Jan. 16 at the Intersection in GR, then in Lansing Jan. 24 at Oade’s Hidden Camel. Check out myspace.com/stocktongr for a listen.
—
Ryan Cunningham
This guitar-based indie quartet has released a nice-looking, locally recorded CD which has multiple flavors of rock ‘n’ roll randomly distributed throughout its 12 tracks. The music always moves, and the voice has urgency with a thick phlegmy timbre while it’s yelling. Giving the impression of a rushed recording/mixing process, there is an honest energy to the occasionally shaky performance which is worth checking out, and suggests a good live show. The cover art is the polished centerpiece of the album. Check out the band at the Skelletone’s farewell show Jan. 18, or check out their songs at www.myspace.com/mnisota.
—
Ryan Cunningham
The old wives’ tale that one is just a lesson or two away from being a serviceable drummer is destroyed with Iffy’s third album. Daine Hammerle is a stud. By the third track, “Destroyer” – I wondered how he pulls this off live. He’s flying around like a mad man while his bassist brother Ephraim Rosalez rocks a steady riff. Meanwhile, the guitars are flying in and out like vultures trying to pick at a fresh kill while cars drive by. It’s spellbinding. What makes this and so many of the 10 tracks on the disc special, however, is what you don’t hear. Tom Eilers and Brent Eckhardt’s vocals are strong – the two have even figured out a way to scream harmonies at times – but they don’t coat each song like a thick layer of frosting. Eyehategod singer Mike Williams makes a cameo on “Savior,” a great song that is a stand-out track for the poppy beginning. The seven-and-a-half-minute “Baptism By Fire” is also impressive.
—
Nick Stephenson
UP native (via Ypsilanti) Daniel Almus Florida brings an album of “folk” music, which in this case means the Violent Femmes meets One Foot In the Grave-era Beck, filtered through The Ramones. Sometimes slogging through faux-bluegrass, sometimes driving his go-kart through high school rock band basement tapes, Florida runs the whole circuit of the lo-fi, psychedelic, “guy with an acoustic guitar, a tape recorder and a bunch of willing friends” genre. There is diversity between the tracks, and an honest obscurity that precludes any negative criticism. Highlights include the melodic opener, “Apple Meat,” and the noise fest of “Mountain Peak.” Check out myspace.com/almusmagnus for a listen.
—
Ryan Cunningham
Local acts frequently fight against genre comparisons, but none fight as vigorously as La Dispute – whose songs have become punches and kicks to the conventions of post-hardcore music, whatever that is. The band will admittedly say they sound something like such bands as mewithoutYou and At The Drive-In, yet not even two minutes into this, their full-length debut, the young band has matured well beyond that; the hushed intensity of intro track “Such Small Hands” letting loose in the running gait of “Said The King To The River.” Vocalist Jordan Dreyer prides himself on placing poetry within his lyrics and extremely well-enunciated yet still viably vicious vocals, manipulating them to strengthen the band’s forceful sense of dynamic and compelling contrasts.
—
Eric Mitts
This art-rock duo doesn’t think they sound like Primus. I’ll only say they sound like Ler and Les’ love child donned an Eyeball mask and forcefully took over Modest Mouse. That being said, the drummer is pretty awesome (no, he doesn’t play like Herb) and they sound like they’d be a blast live; they’re the kind of band that you see which reminds you that rock ‘n’ roll tends to be pretty simplistic and that there really is more out there to listen to. Quite a lot of times they sound like they’re collectively falling down stairs, but they never lose control of their instruments, which is comforting. Go right now to joyfulnoiserecordings.com.
—
Ryan Cunningham
This female-fronted rock quartet spared no production expense at Hudson Sound in Marshall, Mich., garnering a very polished, harmonized and loud sound from such a young group. The music is squarely modern pop metal-style rock, mirroring Breaking Benjamin, Three Days Grace and what I’m sure will be an ever-present comparison (for better or worse), Evanescence. Everything is in its place with plenty of dramatic melody fragments floating over anthemic power chords and rock drums. Some lead guitar twiddling takes place, but mostly the focus is on the vocal, taking over the mix with its harmony layers, begging for a spot on Top 40 Radio and a rack space at Hot Topic. Check the group out at www.darlingdown.com.
—
Ryan Cunningham
Led by the 12-string guitar-playing singer-songwriter Lynn Thompson, this record features a roster of great talent that brings an unusually professional texture to a local effort. Aside from the obvious Dave Matthews angle, the record has moments of Morphine, with beefy riffs and bari sax, along with Thompson’s direct lyrical style. Overall, a cool funk moves through the album, punctuated by the occasional rock grind and harmony-driven layers of horns. Produced and engineered by Grand Rapids veteran Al McAvoy, all the virtuosic, understated musical components are clearly audible for the keen listener. Check out lynn-thompson.com for details.
—
Ryan Cunningham
Simply put, this instrumental jazz-funk-space-rock trio has put together a beautiful collection of music. The hyper-articulate guitar locks in perfectly with the granite rhythm section throughout all 10 tunes. Even when using elements from rock music, it never hits you over the head – though the guitar can get noticeably dirty from time to time. Refreshingly, no one style marks the whole disc and there is a deceptively full sound throughout, despite there only being three members (and few overdubs). There’s a jazz fusion cover of “Back In Black,” and several forays into cerebral math-type passages for the theory inclined. Check out myspace.com/jamlab for a listen.
—
Ryan Cunningham
|
|
|
The music of this Chicago five-piece is as geometric as the group’s name implies – like Phish meeting King Crimson over a cup of gratuitous jam music. The voice and lyrics are weaker than the music which supports them, a disparity which can be forgiven, but relegates the recording to “a fun listen” instead of “holy crap, what are they doing?” If you’re on your way back from a hippie music festival, this is a pleasant album for your tape deck. If you want the mind-scrambling odd meter fun, a couple things will prick your ears, but other parts will leave you sleepy. See myspace.com/rhombusmusic.
—
Ryan Cunningham
Dustin Anderson makes music. Constantly. All of it is strangely charismatic, and all of it pushes the boundaries of what we can accept from a basement rock project. Dirty drum machines, saturated microphone signals, lots of guitar noises, throaty singing and whacked-out musical ideas are what make up this album, which is Anderson’s 12th solo release. The music itself requires only a lack of expectations and the willingness to sit in front of your stereo for 30 minutes, and it will lead you on a journey of adolescent “you can’t tell me what music is” rebellion. Go right now to www.myspace.com/dustac.
—
Ryan Cunningham
Fusing reggae and metal to make a “radio friendly music experience,” this Brighton-based four-piece has recorded a slick three song EP which is dressed to impress. Not without a sense of humor, the first track, “Suckerpunch,” has a nifty bit of whistling. Also not without pop-metal tricks, there are bouts of screaming and low-tuned guitars adding some much needed weight. Production value is reasonably high, and though not particularly menacing, it sounds heavy in spots. Though often compared to Sublime, System of a Down, or Rage Against the Machine – there are elements of each – this is its own beast. See darkreggae.com for details.
—
Ryan Cunningham
This is a genuinely strange album. Queen-like vocal layers, big meat-stick guitars, rocking drums – is this really a duo, as the act’s website suggests? How do they pull it off live? I suppose it doesn’t matter; the album stands on its own with its very awkward and unpredictable musical directions, bordering on prog-rock but never quite leaving the crunching Alice In Chains-meets-Styx in a dark alley knife fight. Theatrical and epic through and through, Lollipop Factory is easily imaginable as being someone in a faded Meatloaf T-shirt’s favorite band. If nothing else, this is an oddity that is worth having heard. Go to myspace.com/lollipopfactory for a listen.
—
Ryan Cunningham
The hook to “Perfect” off King of the Forest’s debut CD is just that. Lead singer Michelle Russell’s voice, fragile and fierce at the same time, claws deep with conviction, as she sings of “going off the deep end” so invitingly listeners want to take the plunge with her. Diving into the album, the band’s array of alt-rock influences come out on cuts like the fantastic “Misunderstanding” – one of many filled with busy work by bassist Willy Klein – and the harmony-laden “Green,” with its captivating guitar solo worthy of the B.C. hard-rock scene where King of the Forest has flourished. Elsewhere guitarists Joe Klein and Kitty Russell show off their chops, especially on strong-start opener “Mosca,” a mesmerizing track that slowly burns into a fiery final riff illuminating the promise of this young band.
—
Eric Mitts
Still rocking through the territory of Dino Jr. and The Replacements, this power trio from eastern Michigan has turned their amps up even more than their last record, as well as mashed their abilities even tighter into a more mature sound. A gritty but resigned baritone voice complains over fuzzy guitars and a stage-shaking rhythm section, sometimes with a country twang, but mostly burning like a rusty car doused with gasoline. This album wants to buy you an Old Style at Mulligan’s, then take you out to that burning car while explaining how it was right about its old girlfriend that dropped out of high school. Go to www.theofframps.com.
—
Ryan Cunningham
The high-quality shoegazing indie-strumental soundscapes on this Grand Rapids’ quintet’s six-track EP are sure to inspire the purchase of a delay/looping pedal, or at least make you polish up your old Fender Jaguar reissue that you stopped playing because rock is dead. Like a background for not doing your English homework in college, or like a 20-hour bus ride to see your forgotten friend in Texas, this music is the embodiment of an active self-involved mind with too much time on its hands. The drums propel the entire mess into space, never stopping, never looking back. Go to myspace.com/lightsatsea for a listen.
—
Ryan Cunningham
Produced for downtown Holland eyewear merchant GLOBE Design and Vision, the proceeds from this disc go to benefit Holland-related charities. Implied by the rider, the music has been captured “before contracts and recognition, when is most raw and pure.” Presuppositions about the future selling-out of these artists aside, the music is certainly worth a listen. The 11 songs are mostly acoustic-driven; floating in between pop, faux jazz and alt-country, the quality carries through from the first to last track. You’ll have to go to the GLOBE, The Full Circle, or Lemonjello’s in Holland to get a copy, but it may just be worth your time. Go to www.globe-vision.com for eyewear and reggae video clips.
—
Ryan Cunningham
Practicing true compassion, the four members of this hardcore punk band seek the purification of hearts and minds through artistic accusations of weakness and lethargy. They think your problems are dumb, and you are merely unwilling to engage life. They want you to get over yourself. They want you to buy things locally to spite the corporations which give nothing to your community. They want lame generic punk rock bar bands to fuck off. I would love to quote some lyrics, but they’re on the back of the included mini-poster which I already tacked to my wall, and I can’t understand them over the loud-ass guitar. Go to myspace.com/punksbeforeprofits.
—
Ryan Cunningham
On the new seven-inch from this Ann Arbor four-piece, the music is a mash of metal, hardcore punk and good ol’ garage rock, with the yelling as the important feature. Lyrically speaking, there’s only one silly song on the album; the rest are aggressive and articulate. As the rule goes for punk/hardcore albums, if you think the song sucks, wait a minute and a half and it will be over. There is no suck on this album – although, since it is hardcore and an EP, it will unfortunately be over in a few minutes anyway. Look up thestatenoillusions.com for a look at the band and what they’ve been up to over the past couple of decades.
—
Ryan Cunningham
|
|
|
Interviews
CD Reviews
Unsigned Artists
© 2001 - 2008 Blue V Productions, LLC, All rights reserved.
