Review: The Villians – MEAT
It’s sort of unclear what is more enjoyable – good old fashion rock and roll, or the bands of now doing whatever they can to resurrect the original spirit. Getting a new twist on certain subject matters is exciting, but sometimes it just doesn’t work. Like reading Madame Bovary, then watching three episodes of The Tudors. That doesn’t work for old school England enthusiasts. But, here is something that works perfectly – The Villains and their very own exploitation of everything rock used to be! And their conveniently titled debut album MEAT is a perfect thesis towards their argument that modern rock, well, kind of sucks.
The Villains simply take charge and hit hard throughout this record. The spectacular guitar riffs tear deeper than Tim’s Chips rubbing on a cut pallet. Every track brings its own brand of blues inspired and rip roaring good time feel. But, like any well crafted rocksmith knows, there is always a good time to slow it down a bit. And the potato to the MEAT (zing!) has to be the mellow mannered and extremely touching track “Through The Cracks”.
Sprang from the depths of Wherever, Idaho, and relocating to the city of Roses, The Villains have emerged as superheroes in their own minds, and right. They’ve brought back the idea that rock was always meant to be simply a sub index of original blues. This is a group that just seems to understand. They’re a group of guys worshipping Jack White, but know in their hearts they can take his ideas and run further into the dark and ugly woods of the modern world.
Review: Dream The Electric Sleep – Lost and Gone Forever
When Neon Rain guitarist and frontman Trever Willmott announced that he was taking some time to work with his other band, I really thought nothing of it. I was thinking we might hear a good solid acoustic folk/shoegaze demo from his solo efforts. Boy was I wrong. Dream The Electric Sleep turned out to be so much more than a follow on project. I hate to use the word due to it not being respected, but it is suffice to say that DTES’s debut album Lost and Gone Forever, is “epic”. This album is about as perfect of a conceptual based indie Dream Theater-esque as you will ever hear.
The guitars from Page and Willmott are an obvious highlight, as there are constant absences of Pages chilling yet beautiful vocals spread throughout the album. When he does sing, Page tells the tale of a coal miners plight through such an important, but hardly understood way of life. Through cryptic and sometimes down right frightening tones and mannerisms, Lost and Gone Forever comes off as a progressive answer to the new wave of indie rockers who seem more oriented towards confusion and pretentiousness, rather than full fledged rock and roll abilities. Dream The Electric Sleep is a band that could definitely bring the concept of the power anthem back to a world that has discredited such a tool.
You really will not find a single faulting element throughout the tracklist of this album. If hard hitting drum and bass lines, ear splitting guitar solos, and illustrious and visual storytelling (all done in a mild mannered sense of chaos) are your forte, Dream The Electric Sleep’s debut album might very well be one of the finest albums you will hear all year long, and will surely become a staple in your already (probably) impressive music collection.
Review: Jacqui & Anthony – Weekend EP
Pastime Records has released some pretty cool lo-fi indie Brit pop in the last few years. But recently, they have taken a a strange detour into somewhat unfamiliar territory – down home singer/songwriter pop! Yes, this might be a made up category, but Jacqui and Anthony’s debut EP, Weekend, just might warrant the creation of an entirely new genre.
With roots in Pastime’s other spectacular group Falling Trees, there are still plenty of elements that are reminiscent of their regular roster, but when Jacqui ebbs and flows so sweetly on tracks like “Weekend” or “Dark Star”, you definitely get that sort of sitting in a coffee shop, reading Being In Time, and feeling that the world is yours and yours alone no matter how many patrons are crammed on the couches alongside of you. It feels as though is loving duo is sitting on a just stage left to you on a dusty platform, spilling their souls out to you for any dime you could spare.
The Exeter community seems to be very tightly knit, and for pretty good reasons. Andy Fonda, well known Pop Noise Records affiliate, picked up the production duties for Jacqui & Anthony. The result of the collaboration is without a doubt a very well conceived introduction to another fine male/female duo that is certainly not to be missed. Anthony strums. Jacqui hums. And with that, Weekend becomes one of the finest EP’s to be released this year thus far.
Video: The Seldon Plan – Love Your Way
Much has been said about The Seldon Plan as of lately. But not near enough for a group that covers so many different aspects of indie rock. From their 90’s influenced sense of alternative pop, to their more modern take on becoming stagnant indie rock scene. This Baltimore based group of ageless rockers know that the past always influences the future. They understand that there is not always a need to create anything more than good ole fashion rock and roll that with roots in the past.
Frontman Michael W. Nestor has been making waves within the band, as well as outside of the band with his not for profit record label The Beechfields Label (which features other fantastic acts such as Gary B. & The Notions, We Read Minds, Lowell, A Cat Called Cricket, & more) that release some of finest music available independently these days. The Seldon Plan is just the latest release from the label to emerge with a fantastic album, Coalizione del Volere, their third release that the band calls: “a step back to a more Dischord-era-like guitar-driven rock sound, akin to 2005′s Making Circles but with the softer, more mature edge of 2007’s The Collective Now.”
The Seldon Plan’s first single “Love Your Way” is a perfect articulation of everything the group tries to convey as musicians. And the video for the track, though simple in nature, is a perfect dramatization of the energy and stamina that these cats have to continue weaving and rolling through the new age. Watch these clean cut dudes shred their way throw that mature sound they are becoming widely known for. The dedication in their moves prove that they are beyond replicating the drive free sounds of the 90’s, and more likely to shove their determination down your throat one chord progression at a time. And isn’t that we were always looking for anyway?