Yellowcard - Gifts and Curses

A song off the Spiderman 2 OST, I remember being head over heels in love with this song way back in the day. Trolling Youtube a little while ago, one thing led to another (you know how that works), and I found myself suddenly reminded of Yellowcard, and this song. I still find it brilliant, and to put that in context to myself, I don't even listen to alternative rock all that much anymore. A great, great song, and do not miss the instrumental section from about 2:30 (Again! What's with spectacular instrumental sections starting at 2:30 tracktime, on the dot?)

Video: Gifts and Curses

Saosin - In Search of Solid Ground

Saosin is an American alternative rock band. My first impression, and it’s not going anywhere, is that they sound a lot like 30 Seconds to Mars. Now the kind of music 30 Seconds to Mars play belongs to a genre they more or less own, unlike something like say metalcore. There’s still some space for a handful of bands to coexist. You don’t need to go around calling bands like Saosin clones just yet. Alternative rock is an easy label to apply, but I’ll try to describe in better detail the tone of their songs, from the album 'In Search of Solid Ground'.

Most songs have a fairly slow tempo. The bass lines are very pronounced and together with the slow pace and some of the chord progressions, lend most songs an air of despondency that I've grown to love with 30 Seconds to Mars. ‘The Alarming Sound of a Small Still Voice’ epitomizes all these things, and is my personal favourite from this album. It starts slowly, but picks up quick for a sensational chorus.

Video: The Alarming Sound Of A Small, Still Voice

On first listen, you get the impression that Saosin hit the sweet spot of alternative rock with their chorus and bridge sections. Most songs have melodic, catchy choruses and often stunning bridge sections. They seem very aware of this and that is their weakness. Some songs are rushed into the chorus without adequate development; this may serve to make a song appealing to first time listeners but the impact will fade soon. The guitaring is typical of alternative rock, with the addition of a fast picked, high pitched layer on top, again very reminiscent of 30 Seconds to Mars. There are no solos, and for most part Saosin shun palm muting of any kind at all. ‘Changing’, which was their first single off the album, is an excellent song. It has a brilliant chorus, a nice sounding stripped down bridge and ironically, some quiet palm muting providing a good lead up to the chorus.

Video: Changing

Vocalist Cove Reber is undoubtedly the life and blood of this band. He is a very good vocalist; and he does not try to overdo it with the unnecessary vocal flourishes that blight the efforts of others similarly gifted. His high pitched voice lends a couple of songs, notably ‘It’s All Over Now’ a distinctly punk feel. In the chorus sections, he seems to nearly, but not quite scream. That’s quite an enjoyable effect that I’ve grown to like with 30 Seconds to Mars.

‘Fireflies (Light Messengers)’, the last song on the album (and also the longest at over eight minutes) is a breathtakingly beautiful song. Starting off with soft keyboards, the song builds layer by layer and transports you into a little personal world where you will be all alone with your pensiveness. I can’t really put the idea across in words; it has to be listened to be grasped. ‘Nothing is What It Seems (Without You)’ and ‘Say Goodbye’ are two other great songs. They too, like ‘Fireflies…’ stick to a very slow tempo and do very well for it.

Video: Fireflies

‘Deep Down’, ‘Is This Real’ and ‘On My Own’ are faster and consequently begin to develop slight punk overtones. Nonetheless they are good in their own way, and I suspect, to another listener may even become the favourite tracks off this album. I must temper all the praise with a slight bit of criticism – the lyrics are quite clichéd and adequate at best.

Saosin do come across as an unpretentious sort of band. They know what they are good at, and they know what they want to do, with the unpretentious aspect being that the two ideals match closely. They are definitely influenced by 30 Seconds to Mars, and herein I must insert a few words of caution. If you do not like 30 Seconds to Mars, it is highly unlikely that you will enjoy Saosin. I do, and I think Saosin is a great alternative rock band.

(Vocals: 9/10, Guitaring: 9/10, Lyrics: 7/10, Overall: 8.3/10)

Chevelle - Sci- Fi Crimes

After 2007's Vena Sera, the Illinois hard rock band is back with their latest offering, Sci-Fi Crimes. Apart from the cringes of the SF fans over the name (I know you hate the term Sci-Fi), this is an album with a lot of expectations attached to it; Chevelle have gone from strength to strength since 2002's Wonder What's Next, and I for one was really curious to see what the band has brought to the table.

The album opener really raises expectations; Sleep Apnea begins with a refreshingly interesting piece of riffage, which promises to trump anything that Vena Sera had to offer in terms of punch-your-face riffs. As Pete Loeffler steps up to the plate to deliver the vocal side of the deal, you realise he's gone back to the vocal styles of This Type of Thinking(Could Do Us In); which is an extremely good thing. The same abstract form of vocals, the same inflections of voice perfectly complement the heavy riffs that the song provides.

Songs to follow largely maintain the same trend; they either have the punch of a song like Another Know It All or Emotional Drought; or the ballad-ish feel attached to songs like Well Enough Alone or Paint the Seconds. A special mention of the track Highland's Apparition; Chevelle have now added a full acoustic track to their repertoire. The lyrics are also classic Chevelle; poetry and rhyme, on odd timings and meters, juxtaposing a plethora of lyrical topics and themes. The result is that there is something in here for everyone.

The overall sound of the album is a new high point on the band's discography; they have successfully improved on all previous efforts, and have produced a sound which is both charachteristic Chevelle and completely unique at the same time. If you asked me to pick my favourite tracks from the album, I would be hard-pressed to do so; there really wasn't anything bad on the album. I shall however, pick a few: Sleep Apnea, Mexican Suns, Fell into your shoes, Letters from a Thief, The Circus and Highland's Apparition. Although I do recommend that you listen to the whole album.

Reception from the who's who of the music world have been lukewarm, to positive in some cases. Considering thats never stopped anyone from trying to corroborate the viewpoint, you will want to hear this album for yourself. I doubt you'd be disappointed.

Lyrics: 8/10 Riffs: 9/10 Overall: 8.5/10

The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus - Lonely Road

The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus is an American punk/post-hardcore band. Post-hardcore is an interesting new genre; it’s not quite punk, not quite metalcore and not quite heavy metal. It’s a mixture of all three. The vocalist of such a band is most likely to have a pop-punk kind of voice, which he would temper with modulation, screaming and whispering. The guitars’ tone is punk-like, but post-hardcore bands go beyond punk constraints to even put in the odd solo. RJA’s latest offering, ‘Lonely Road’, however moves away from post-hardcore and towards a more generic punk/alternative rock sound. I say this because the screaming’s mostly done away with, and there are a couple of acoustic songs too.

‘You Better Pray’ was the first single released from this album, and it was the first song I listened to. The vocalist’s electronically touched singing in the verse parts, and the characteristic nasal crooning during the chorus parts are catchy, but not what make the song great. It’s the stop-start discordance of the rhythm guitars, coupled with a nicely overlaid solo that top it off. ‘Pen and paper’, the second single off the album, is a decent song; it tends to get sickeningly sweet, but a nice bridge section halts the process. It is probably the most punk-like song on the album, but that works in its favour.

Video: You Better Pray

RJA make a conscious effort to stay clear of pure punk rock. They sometimes overdo it however, with vocalist Ronnie Winter particularly guilty; he sometimes over-modulates and appends an irritating gasp to his words. ‘Believe’, which would have otherwise been an outstanding romantic/acoustic piece, is only great because of precisely this. Nevertheless, it has excellent lyrics and when Winter’s voice steps up through the frequency spectrum during the chorus, it really is quite delightful. One technique that I’ve already talked about is the stop –start guitaring, and RJA use it to great effect. ‘Step Right Up’ is a really nice example of this, and is my pick for the second best song on this album. ‘Pull Me Back’ has a nice solo section, and a catchy chorus. The title track ‘Lonely Road’ is another great song. Again, RJA introduce just the right amount of discordance, a chord here and a voice modulation there, that transform decent punk rock into good punk rock. Watch out for the musical exhibition RJA put on towards the end of this song. ‘Represent’ and ‘Godspeed’ are slower, softer and more melodic, but there’s nothing particularly distinctive about them; consequently they don’t get the promotion from good to great in my book. ‘Senioritis’ and ‘No spell’ are disappointing; here RJA fail in their quest for uniqueness, they sound trite and in all likelihood will be skipped from the playlist after one listen.

Video: Believe
Video: Step Right Up

On the whole, ‘Lonely Road’ is a nice album. I’ve read reviews where’s it’s been unfavourably compared to their earlier album. I’ve also seen accusations of selling out: apparently because RJA have traded their heavier post-hardcore sound for a softer, more punk-like approach. I haven’t listened to their older album yet, and if you haven’t either, this is quite a good album. A word of warning however: if you detest punk rock and high pitched, nasal vocals, I fear even RJA’s attempts at challenging convention will not make you like this album.

Rating: (Vocals: 8/10, Guitaring: 7.5/10, Lyrics: 7.5/10, Overall: 7.8/10)

Foo Fighters - Echoes, Silence, Patience & Grace

Foo Fighters is an American alternative rock band, and considerably more mainstream than the other bands we’ve discussed here. Calling their music alternative rock is about as useful as identifying them as a rock band, and also not completely fair to them. After all, they have managed to evolve a musical style of their own, which cannot be fully described by that label. Incidentally FF have always been Grammy favourites, with all their six albums being nominated, and three winning it. ‘Echoes, Patience, Silence & Grace’ is rock music at its palatable best. A couple of songs stick to the tried and tested FF formula: an extended acoustic opening section, followed by a quick amp-up into harder rock. ‘Let It Die’, and ‘But, honestly’ are perfect examples. Both songs are excellent listens, with the acoustic portions making you long for the electrics and when they do arrive, leaving you satisfied.

Video: Let It Die

‘The Pretender’ is the first single they released from this album, and is probably the only traditional alternative rock song in the entire album. Dave Grohl, the vocalist and former drummer for Nirvana, is good but not awesome. He knows he doesn’t possess a stupendous vocal range, but also knows that his harsh acoustic-backed vocals nicely complement his whining screams in the harder portions. The guitaring is again not too complex, but quite creative, and the simplicity is their greatest strength. This band doesn’t punch above its weight.

Video: The Pretender
Video: But, Honestly

Many hard rock bands make acoustic songs, and with a decent melody and standard chords, manage to make them sound good. But you realize what a really good acoustic song is supposed to sound like when you listen to ‘Stranger things have happened’. The tune is mesmerizing, and the sweet little solo towards the end of the song is spot on. Keyboard backed soft songs ‘Statues’, and ‘Home’ take some growing into, but you eventually will. ‘Ballad Of the Beaconsfield Miners’, an instrumental acoustic piece, is bound to appeal with its fast, almost quirky guitaring. There is a problem with this album, however, and it is that some of the songs give the impression that they are only there to make up the numbers. If you dislike a particular song, then it is quite likely that there will be another person who will absolutely love it. It’s much more worrying if there’s a song that makes no impression at all. And that is what detracts from an otherwise fine album. I mentioned earlier that FF is rock music at its most palatable, and I reiterate the point. If you are a ‘pop person’ moving into rock, listen to this album. If you a ‘rock person’, take some time to appreciate the best of alternative rock today.

Video: Stranger Things Have Happened

Rating: (Vocals: 8/10, Guitaring: 7.5/10, Originality: 9/10, Overall: 8.2/10)