For this post, I am going to stray from the usual styles of music that I listen to. Most of the time I stick to rock and its many sub-genres. I feel like when someone says "I listen to rock" that could mean so many things nowadays. So when I tell someone about a band, I try and explain as best I can what they specifically sound like. Anyway, this time I would like to talk about pop artist Utada Hikaru. She has had some of her music released in America, most notably her album, "Exodus". However, she is more well known in Japan. In one American interview, the reporter basically equated her to Brittany Spears. Personally I would take this as an insult because, unlike Brittany Spears, Utada can actually sing.
According to online sources, Utada was born in New York in 1983. Both her parents have musical backgrounds, which partially led to Utada's involvement in music. She has been active pretty much since the mid-90's. Utada has had many singles released in Japan and has also acquired many awards throughout her career.
Now usually I am not someone who is a huge fan of Pop music. I think that it all pretty much sounds the same. Sometimes its just a matter of finding that one amongst the crowd who is a little different. For some reason when I listen to Utada, I don't get the feeling that I am listening to just any other Pop artist.
The first place I discovered Utada was in a video game: Kingdom Hearts. She does the theme songs for both of the Playstation 2 games in the series. For some reason I just really enjoyed the two songs, especially "Simple and Clean". From there I decided to start looking up her music on iTunes and such and I was hooked. Like I said, some Pop artists just fade in with the rest, but I feel like Utada is different. Maybe it is because she hasn't really been influenced by our country's crappy mainstream music, but who knows.
I would say that you should certainly look into this artist. Maybe start with the album "Exodus", and also look for her songs "Simple and Clean" (Japanese version is called "Hikari") as well as "Santuary" (Japanese version is called "Passion"). Don't be afraid to try out her songs and albums in Japanese. You may not understand what she is saying, but I would say it is still worth listening too. I feel that sometimes something is lost once the songs are translated to english, but whatever. Listen to Utada Hikaru!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6RefdhRjRSM
Wednesday, March 25, 2009
Saturday, March 14, 2009
The Legend of: He is Legend
So its been awhile, but now I am here to tell you about another band I consider to be noteworthy: He is Legend. Now, unlike the last few bands I discussed, these guys might not be for everyone, but if you are open to trying new styles of music, you might be able to fall in love with these dudes.
I guess it was about tenth or eleventh grade when I first came across He is Legend. I was sort of beginning to broaden my horizons, starting to look for sounds coming from bands that I had never really heard before. The first song by He is Legend that I heard was called "The Seduction". I have to admit, at first it took some getting used to. Sometimes I do not give songs much of a chance, I'll listen to the first few seconds and pass my judgement. Once I gave the song a full listen though, I was pretty much hooked. The great thing about He is Legend is that they are metal, but not the gloomy, downcast, dark metal that many are used to. They almost have a "happy" or "mischievous" sound, which fits quite well with their short story-like lyrics. So, their first album "I Am Hollywood", was released in 2004 and gained He is Legend quick fans. That album was one of the most diverse albums to be released on Tooth and Nail/Solid State records.
In 2006, He is Legend released their second album, "Suck Out the Poison". Many fans of the band went crazy because He is Legend certainly made some changes in their sound and the album did not contain a lot of the same qualities as "I Am Hollywood". They leaned a little bit more towards the heaver side of metal and adopted a little more of asouthern rock type sound. Personally, I love "Suck Out the Poison". I can see why many fans were upset, it certainly was a departure from the He is Legend that was so familiar. I am, however, a huge believer in the fact that bands should be able to grow, adapt, and produce the kind of music they want, even if it makes some fans a little unhappy.
Currently, He is Legend has posted some new recordings on Myspace and such, and I am stoked for their new album, which supposedly is coming out in the next month or two. No matter what, He is Legend has sound that I think is definitely their own, even if they continue to tweak things a bit. I still have not yet had a chance to see the live, but I have heard some crazy things about their stage antics and would love to go see them as soon as possible. If you like music that is often frantic and heavy, give these guys a listen. They certainly are in a league of their own, maybe even legendary. Get it, cause their name is He is Legend... oh never mind.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k-SiDge4hBU
He is Legend is:
Schuylar Croom, vocals
Adam Tanbouz, guitar
Steve Bache, drums
Matt Williams, bass
Worth Weaver, guitar
Albums:
"91025" EP- 2004
"I Am Hollywood"- 2004
"Suck Out the Poison"- 2006
I guess it was about tenth or eleventh grade when I first came across He is Legend. I was sort of beginning to broaden my horizons, starting to look for sounds coming from bands that I had never really heard before. The first song by He is Legend that I heard was called "The Seduction". I have to admit, at first it took some getting used to. Sometimes I do not give songs much of a chance, I'll listen to the first few seconds and pass my judgement. Once I gave the song a full listen though, I was pretty much hooked. The great thing about He is Legend is that they are metal, but not the gloomy, downcast, dark metal that many are used to. They almost have a "happy" or "mischievous" sound, which fits quite well with their short story-like lyrics. So, their first album "I Am Hollywood", was released in 2004 and gained He is Legend quick fans. That album was one of the most diverse albums to be released on Tooth and Nail/Solid State records.
In 2006, He is Legend released their second album, "Suck Out the Poison". Many fans of the band went crazy because He is Legend certainly made some changes in their sound and the album did not contain a lot of the same qualities as "I Am Hollywood". They leaned a little bit more towards the heaver side of metal and adopted a little more of asouthern rock type sound. Personally, I love "Suck Out the Poison". I can see why many fans were upset, it certainly was a departure from the He is Legend that was so familiar. I am, however, a huge believer in the fact that bands should be able to grow, adapt, and produce the kind of music they want, even if it makes some fans a little unhappy.
Currently, He is Legend has posted some new recordings on Myspace and such, and I am stoked for their new album, which supposedly is coming out in the next month or two. No matter what, He is Legend has sound that I think is definitely their own, even if they continue to tweak things a bit. I still have not yet had a chance to see the live, but I have heard some crazy things about their stage antics and would love to go see them as soon as possible. If you like music that is often frantic and heavy, give these guys a listen. They certainly are in a league of their own, maybe even legendary. Get it, cause their name is He is Legend... oh never mind.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k-SiDge4hBU
He is Legend is:
Schuylar Croom, vocals
Adam Tanbouz, guitar
Steve Bache, drums
Matt Williams, bass
Worth Weaver, guitar
Albums:
"91025" EP- 2004
"I Am Hollywood"- 2004
"Suck Out the Poison"- 2006
Sunday, February 15, 2009
Maybe, Just Mae be...
The next great band I would like to bring attention to is Mae. They formed around 2001 and released their first album, Destination: Beautiful, in 2003 on Tooth and Nail Records. 2005 saw the release of their second album, The Everglow, which garnered much acclaim from many reviewers. In 2007, Mae signed to Capitol records and released their third album, Singularity. Currently the band only has three of its original members, with a touring bassist and keyboard player.
"The Everglow" is one of my favorite albums and I think it would be great for anybody to pick-up without even having heard the band before. Mae's music has this uplifting quality to it, almost every song of theirs I listen to (especially on "The Everglow") makes me feel good, like I can take on the world. Sounds cheesy, I know, but it is something I don't always get with a lot of other bands. "The Everglow" plays like a story book (it is even suggested that you read the CD pamphlet along with the songs, and it actually is kind of cool) and each song really is like its own tale. I think I am most impressed with the guitar work on this album. Everything is just layered so nicely and each song just has a great cohesive quality.
I had the chance to catch these guys in concert last spring, and honestly I still say it was the best show I have ever seen. It was really cool too, because my friends and I just happened to stumble into a record store near the venue and Mae happened to be playing an in store acoustic set. So it was like we got to see two separate concerts that night, it was pretty sweet! Once we were in the club, however, the real magic began. Mae opened with an instrumental song called "Futuro" (I highly recommend purchasing it off iTunes, or just buying the whole B-sides album that it is on). While they were playing that song, it was like this warmth and joy just fell over the crowd. Again, Mae's music just always seems to have this great uplifting quality to it. The rest of the night was just killer, every song they played was executed beautifully and the depth that they put into their performance was truly a sight to see.
One thing that has made me a little angry is the fact that some fans seem to be giving Mae a hard time about their most recent album, "Singularity". It is certainly different than "The Everglow", more guitar heavy and lacks a little of that "brightness" that "The Everglow" presented. Despite these things, I still think "Singularity" is a good album and I feel that some fans basically just want bands to write the same album over and over again. Bands need to grow and change, even if that means the next album won't sound like the last.
Mae is a band that everyone should check out, and I think their style is one that is easily adaptable to anyone's musical taste. But like I always say, don't just take my word for it (that means go check them out for yourself).
Noteworthy songs:
"Embers and Envelopes"
"Tisbury Lane"
"Sun"
"Suspension"
"Painless"
"This is the Countdown"
"Brink of Disaster"
"Rocket"
"Just Let Go"
Mae:
Dave Elkins, vocals and guitar
Zach Gehring, guitar
Jacob Marshall, drums
Albums:
"Destination: Beautiful" 2003
"Destination: B-sides" 2004
"The Everglow" 2005
"Singularity" 2007
"The Everglow" is one of my favorite albums and I think it would be great for anybody to pick-up without even having heard the band before. Mae's music has this uplifting quality to it, almost every song of theirs I listen to (especially on "The Everglow") makes me feel good, like I can take on the world. Sounds cheesy, I know, but it is something I don't always get with a lot of other bands. "The Everglow" plays like a story book (it is even suggested that you read the CD pamphlet along with the songs, and it actually is kind of cool) and each song really is like its own tale. I think I am most impressed with the guitar work on this album. Everything is just layered so nicely and each song just has a great cohesive quality.
I had the chance to catch these guys in concert last spring, and honestly I still say it was the best show I have ever seen. It was really cool too, because my friends and I just happened to stumble into a record store near the venue and Mae happened to be playing an in store acoustic set. So it was like we got to see two separate concerts that night, it was pretty sweet! Once we were in the club, however, the real magic began. Mae opened with an instrumental song called "Futuro" (I highly recommend purchasing it off iTunes, or just buying the whole B-sides album that it is on). While they were playing that song, it was like this warmth and joy just fell over the crowd. Again, Mae's music just always seems to have this great uplifting quality to it. The rest of the night was just killer, every song they played was executed beautifully and the depth that they put into their performance was truly a sight to see.
One thing that has made me a little angry is the fact that some fans seem to be giving Mae a hard time about their most recent album, "Singularity". It is certainly different than "The Everglow", more guitar heavy and lacks a little of that "brightness" that "The Everglow" presented. Despite these things, I still think "Singularity" is a good album and I feel that some fans basically just want bands to write the same album over and over again. Bands need to grow and change, even if that means the next album won't sound like the last.
Mae is a band that everyone should check out, and I think their style is one that is easily adaptable to anyone's musical taste. But like I always say, don't just take my word for it (that means go check them out for yourself).
Noteworthy songs:
"Embers and Envelopes"
"Tisbury Lane"
"Sun"
"Suspension"
"Painless"
"This is the Countdown"
"Brink of Disaster"
"Rocket"
"Just Let Go"
Mae:
Dave Elkins, vocals and guitar
Zach Gehring, guitar
Jacob Marshall, drums
Albums:
"Destination: Beautiful" 2003
"Destination: B-sides" 2004
"The Everglow" 2005
"Singularity" 2007
Sunday, February 1, 2009
A brief look at: Emery
Another one of my favorite bands is Emery. These guys have been around since about 2001, releasing their first album, "The Weak's End", in 2003. Emery has been one of the most recognizable bands on Tooth and Nail records and have also been noted as one of the hardest working bands today. They released their second album, "The Question", in 2005, which garnered much acclaim among the indie scene. "The Question" has been one of the most interesting and defining albums I have ever listened to. The album is balanced very nicely, so you're not listening to a ton of songs that sound similar in a row. I still have yet to find an album that I personally feel stands up to some of the standards that Emery pulled off with "The Question".
Emery has a real knack for incorporating diversity in their songs. They can be screaming, loud, and in your face the one minute, and then melodic and ambient the next. A great example of this comes from their latest album released in 2007, "I'm Only A Man". The song I am referring to is "Don't Bore Us, Get to the Chorus". This song seamlessly goes from rock to pop, then rock again, then back to pop one more time before slamming you at the end with a short blast of screamo. Although I feel that "I'm Only A Man" is Emery's best full-length yet, it was put down by a lot of people because it was not quite as "loud" as their previous efforts. Basically all I mean by that is that there was less screaming on the album, which seemed to bum some people.
Recently, Emery put out an EP called "When Broken Hearts Prevail". I love it, and many older fans love it because the band seemed to pull from their older sound for the songs on the EP. All this means is that their was a little more screaming in these songs, but like I said, Emery is great at keeping things balanced. One cool thing Emery does on this EP is that they have two songs that are in a way essentially the same as far as chord proggression, etc. However, each version has a different set of lyrics as well as a different sound dynamically. One is fast and louder, the other is softer and more chilled.
Some notebly cool things about Emery include the fact that the band has essentially two lead vocalists, Toby and Devin. When Toby is up front, Devin does backing vocals and plays bass. Then when Devin is singing lead, Toby takes care of the bass and backing vocals. Again, this really adds to the diversity of their songs. Another nice thing about Emery is their lyrics. While they do often sing about bad relationships and that sort of thing, the never sound corny or cliched, which is nice because we have enough cheesey "girl I need you" break-up songs.
As with any other band that I have, or will talk about, ultimately you should just check them out for yourself to see if they sound like something you would like blasting through your speakers. Emery is certainly a great choice in my book.
Emery is:
Toby Morrell, vocals and bass
Devin Shelton, vocals and bass
Josh Head, keyboards, screaming, and additional percussion
Matt Carter, guitar
Dave Powell, drums
albums:
"The Weak's End" 2003
"The Question" 2005
"I'm Only A Man" 2007
"When Broken Hearts Prevail EP" 2008
Emery has a real knack for incorporating diversity in their songs. They can be screaming, loud, and in your face the one minute, and then melodic and ambient the next. A great example of this comes from their latest album released in 2007, "I'm Only A Man". The song I am referring to is "Don't Bore Us, Get to the Chorus". This song seamlessly goes from rock to pop, then rock again, then back to pop one more time before slamming you at the end with a short blast of screamo. Although I feel that "I'm Only A Man" is Emery's best full-length yet, it was put down by a lot of people because it was not quite as "loud" as their previous efforts. Basically all I mean by that is that there was less screaming on the album, which seemed to bum some people.
Recently, Emery put out an EP called "When Broken Hearts Prevail". I love it, and many older fans love it because the band seemed to pull from their older sound for the songs on the EP. All this means is that their was a little more screaming in these songs, but like I said, Emery is great at keeping things balanced. One cool thing Emery does on this EP is that they have two songs that are in a way essentially the same as far as chord proggression, etc. However, each version has a different set of lyrics as well as a different sound dynamically. One is fast and louder, the other is softer and more chilled.
Some notebly cool things about Emery include the fact that the band has essentially two lead vocalists, Toby and Devin. When Toby is up front, Devin does backing vocals and plays bass. Then when Devin is singing lead, Toby takes care of the bass and backing vocals. Again, this really adds to the diversity of their songs. Another nice thing about Emery is their lyrics. While they do often sing about bad relationships and that sort of thing, the never sound corny or cliched, which is nice because we have enough cheesey "girl I need you" break-up songs.
As with any other band that I have, or will talk about, ultimately you should just check them out for yourself to see if they sound like something you would like blasting through your speakers. Emery is certainly a great choice in my book.
Emery is:
Toby Morrell, vocals and bass
Devin Shelton, vocals and bass
Josh Head, keyboards, screaming, and additional percussion
Matt Carter, guitar
Dave Powell, drums
albums:
"The Weak's End" 2003
"The Question" 2005
"I'm Only A Man" 2007
"When Broken Hearts Prevail EP" 2008
Saturday, January 24, 2009
First Up: Anberlin
Ok, so I figured for my first post I would talk about my favorite band, Anberlin. Although the purpose of this blog is to discuss lesser known bands, and Anberlin seems to be gaining popularity, I still find those who have never been introduced to this (in my view) great and hard-working band. One of the first things I love about Anberlin, or any band for that matter, is progression and maturity. I feel that with each new release, Anberlin steps it up and redefines themselves over and over again.
Anberlin's first release, "Blueprints for the Blackmarket", debuted in 2003. At the time, I had never heard of them. That was until about 2004-2005 when I recieved a sampler disc from a christian music store with a ton of different bands on it. The last song on the disc was "Change the World" off of Anberlin's first release. When I listened to that particular song, for some reason, something just clicked. Their style at the time wasn't completely mind-blowing, but at the same time I had never heard anything really like it before. The song conveyed such raw emotion and honesty, I couldn't stop listening to it.
In 2005, Anberlin released their second album, "Never Take Friendship Personal". I still had not purchased their first album. A friend at school had NTFP, and once she gave me her CD player with that album in it to listen to, I had a hard time giving the player back to her. I fell in love with the album and bought it soon after. For me, it was just one of those albums that I could listen to from begining to end without skipping any of the songs. Every song was so different, but at the same time they pulled together into a very cohesive album. At that point I was sold. I bought their first album as well and became an honest to goodness Anberlin fan.
I have only seen Anberlin once in concert, back in 2006, but it was one of the best live shows I have ever been to. I hardly paid any attention to the other bands playing (except for a band called The Classic Crime), and it was kind of annoying hanging out with a bunch of drunk people around wanting to crowd surf. But once Anberlin took to the stage, all the other crap from the night just faded into the background. I am not really sure how to explain Anberlin live, it's just that they really have a lot of energy and you can tell that they are giving it their all. And unlike some bands that play live, they actually sounded good. Unfortunately I did not get to meet the band afterwards. Long story short, the security dudes at that particular venue were jerks and once my friends and I walked outside for a second, we weren't allowed back in. Never the less, Anberlin rocked the stage that night.
Then there was 2007, the year Anberlin would release their third studio effort, "Cities". This album garnered much aclaim and got Anberlin a spot on the Bilboard charts, I believe the album got to number 19. Not only did their sound mature and grow, but this album also introduced fans to a slightly darker Anberlin. Now, darker isn't really a bad thing, but it certainly brought a fresh characteristic to some of their songs. Lyrically, the album dealed more with inner struggles then any of the previous albums had, which I just felt was very honest and real. That is another thing I love about this band, every album they produce seems to a have a few songs that really resonate with me, that I can really relate to. Personally, I felt Anberlin had reached their peak, but I soon learned that you can always go further and grow into something even stronger than before.
In the time between "Cities" and Anberlin's latest release, "New Surrender", the band signed to a major label and would end up working with a brand new producer, namely Neal Avron, who has worked with many big bands in the scene today. The results of the new label and new producer turned out great. "New Surrender" is not only a great album, but Anberlin once again proved how versatile they are. Although their sound was not quite as dark on this album, it still contains depth and variety, both lyrically and musically. They can go from fast paced rock the one second, then catchy and up-beat pop the next. Once again, thats why I love them so much. Every song doesn't sound the same, like a lot of bands I know, and the album has great transitions song to song.
Alright, so I talked about my background with the band and discussed their albums, now I'll throw a few more things at you. Again, I can't say it enough, this band is all about progression. Stephen, the band's vocalist, has always had a good and unique voice. But if you were to listen to each album in order, it is clear that his voice has grown stronger and better, inot a voice that truely stands out. Lyrically, what Stephen writes about is usually very down to earth and easy to coneect with, but at the same time not cheesey and cliched. While the other members of the band are also great musicians, I feel that the other member who has shown great progression is the band's drummer, Nate. He was only about 14-15 when the band started, and with each album his drumming has grown more intricate and sophisticated. I guess you could take my word on all these things, but I would say you should go out and buy and album or two just to see what I am talking about. I guess thats all for now.
Members of Anberlin:
Stephen Christian: vocals
Nate Young: drums
Joseph Milligan: guitar
Deon Rexroat: bass
Christian McAlhaney: guitar
Albums:
"Blueprints for the Blackmarket" 2003
"Never Take Friendship Personal" 2005
"Cities" 2007
"Lost Songs" (compilation of unreleased and remixed tracks) 2007
"New Surrender" 2008
Anberlin's first release, "Blueprints for the Blackmarket", debuted in 2003. At the time, I had never heard of them. That was until about 2004-2005 when I recieved a sampler disc from a christian music store with a ton of different bands on it. The last song on the disc was "Change the World" off of Anberlin's first release. When I listened to that particular song, for some reason, something just clicked. Their style at the time wasn't completely mind-blowing, but at the same time I had never heard anything really like it before. The song conveyed such raw emotion and honesty, I couldn't stop listening to it.
In 2005, Anberlin released their second album, "Never Take Friendship Personal". I still had not purchased their first album. A friend at school had NTFP, and once she gave me her CD player with that album in it to listen to, I had a hard time giving the player back to her. I fell in love with the album and bought it soon after. For me, it was just one of those albums that I could listen to from begining to end without skipping any of the songs. Every song was so different, but at the same time they pulled together into a very cohesive album. At that point I was sold. I bought their first album as well and became an honest to goodness Anberlin fan.
I have only seen Anberlin once in concert, back in 2006, but it was one of the best live shows I have ever been to. I hardly paid any attention to the other bands playing (except for a band called The Classic Crime), and it was kind of annoying hanging out with a bunch of drunk people around wanting to crowd surf. But once Anberlin took to the stage, all the other crap from the night just faded into the background. I am not really sure how to explain Anberlin live, it's just that they really have a lot of energy and you can tell that they are giving it their all. And unlike some bands that play live, they actually sounded good. Unfortunately I did not get to meet the band afterwards. Long story short, the security dudes at that particular venue were jerks and once my friends and I walked outside for a second, we weren't allowed back in. Never the less, Anberlin rocked the stage that night.
Then there was 2007, the year Anberlin would release their third studio effort, "Cities". This album garnered much aclaim and got Anberlin a spot on the Bilboard charts, I believe the album got to number 19. Not only did their sound mature and grow, but this album also introduced fans to a slightly darker Anberlin. Now, darker isn't really a bad thing, but it certainly brought a fresh characteristic to some of their songs. Lyrically, the album dealed more with inner struggles then any of the previous albums had, which I just felt was very honest and real. That is another thing I love about this band, every album they produce seems to a have a few songs that really resonate with me, that I can really relate to. Personally, I felt Anberlin had reached their peak, but I soon learned that you can always go further and grow into something even stronger than before.
In the time between "Cities" and Anberlin's latest release, "New Surrender", the band signed to a major label and would end up working with a brand new producer, namely Neal Avron, who has worked with many big bands in the scene today. The results of the new label and new producer turned out great. "New Surrender" is not only a great album, but Anberlin once again proved how versatile they are. Although their sound was not quite as dark on this album, it still contains depth and variety, both lyrically and musically. They can go from fast paced rock the one second, then catchy and up-beat pop the next. Once again, thats why I love them so much. Every song doesn't sound the same, like a lot of bands I know, and the album has great transitions song to song.
Alright, so I talked about my background with the band and discussed their albums, now I'll throw a few more things at you. Again, I can't say it enough, this band is all about progression. Stephen, the band's vocalist, has always had a good and unique voice. But if you were to listen to each album in order, it is clear that his voice has grown stronger and better, inot a voice that truely stands out. Lyrically, what Stephen writes about is usually very down to earth and easy to coneect with, but at the same time not cheesey and cliched. While the other members of the band are also great musicians, I feel that the other member who has shown great progression is the band's drummer, Nate. He was only about 14-15 when the band started, and with each album his drumming has grown more intricate and sophisticated. I guess you could take my word on all these things, but I would say you should go out and buy and album or two just to see what I am talking about. I guess thats all for now.
Members of Anberlin:
Stephen Christian: vocals
Nate Young: drums
Joseph Milligan: guitar
Deon Rexroat: bass
Christian McAlhaney: guitar
Albums:
"Blueprints for the Blackmarket" 2003
"Never Take Friendship Personal" 2005
"Cities" 2007
"Lost Songs" (compilation of unreleased and remixed tracks) 2007
"New Surrender" 2008
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