Free Hidden Gems: Napoleon's Dogs - S/T

Free Hidden Gems is a new post about, well, free music you can download online that you probably wouldn't know unless some devotee, like me, posted it for you. That's about as much an explanation as I need.

The Free Hidden Gem of the day belongs to Napoleon's Dogs, hailing all the way from Glasgow. It's only a 5 track EP, but songs like "Submission" and "Control" are catchy enough to warrant the free download alone. They sound a little bit like Interpol, but with a dancier vibe to them, which is refreshing to hear in todays almost stagnant musical world. It's a little rough around the edges, but these guys are young, and I know it's hard to get people together to make a band in the first place, so when they make a new full length album, I'll be a little more critical and not just say, 'Hey! You! Download this!' (Although, as I wrote this, I did my work and found out the band was breaking up anyways, but might as well have some good, free music, right?). 

Check out and download the self-titled EP here! http://napoleonsdogs.bandcamp.com/album/napoleons-dogs

Review: Son Of Rams - S/T

There's a reason so many bands try to emulate the sound of the sixties today. Well, there's a multitude of reasons, but the biggest one is how iconic the sound is. For its time, it was a huge culture shock to an already jostled population, constantly worried about communism, Vietnam, whether or not they were going to miss The Andy Griffith Show, I mean, the list of terrors were endless. Psychedelic music took a stronghold, and shit hit the fan. It was dangerous, but not to the teenagers who would later become our parents, and certaintly not to us, the children they had and introduced the music to. It was iconic, displaying a lasting power really no other era of music can try to ever overtake (I'm looking at you 90's). With Son Of Rams self titled album, I could tell they too felt the eras overpowering influence. Maybe a bit too overpowering.

"In Kind" and "No Concept/No Logic" sound like bootlegs from some unknown British Invasion band. That's really a testament to how true these guys are to their craft, echoing a nostalgic cool a lot of bands try today, but fail to succeed at. "7th Wonder" adds another solid track to the album, really driving home an obvious influence by The Beatles. These were really my three favorite tracks on the album, and should be examples of how the band should approach their sound going forward. 

Son Of Rams also sound like they were influenced by the Brit-pop phenomenon of the late nineties, which, really shouldn't be mentioned since those bands tried to sound like The Beatles too. But with songs like "This Wisdom" and "Flying Tigers" adding a bit of a poppier vibe to them, it had to be mentioned. They're both terrific genres to try to copy, while making your own, and for the most part, Son Of Rams do that. They haven't fully mastered the sound yet, but once they do, these guys could be big in a heartbeat.

Some of the songs on the album fall short of their desired goals, and that may be the only big problem I have with this album. "Ancients", "Spanish Mansions" and "The Veteran: James Page" are fairly weak additions to an otherwise good album. They're not bad songs, I turn off bad songs instantly. They just felt lethargic and uninspired, which made me a little upset since their album was really flowing at a great pace. Even the Rolling Stones had songs I felt weren't great, so Son Of Rams needn't worry about anything. 

Son of Rams is worth a listen for the nostalgia alone. But these guys really know how to write a rock song, and that's worth a listen as well. It may not be the best album I've listened to this year, but it certainly adds them to an ever growing list of bands I need to keep an eye on going forward. And that's iconic in its own right - Shane

Review: Mountains For Clouds - Maybe It's Already Everywhere

I've always felt you could hear if a band was having fun while listening to an album. Somewhere among all the beats and vocals, a sense of pride and enjoyment could be felt pulsing through their music, affecting you as much as it did them. Put that fun on hold and your sound is punished for it, giving the audience a faux version of your music. With Maybe It's Already Everywhere, Mountains For Clouds thankfully focus mostly on the fun of making music.

Mountains For Clouds are equal parts experimental, emo and alternative. It's a sound that used to be big when I was in college, where bands like Minus The Bear made a killing playing it. Honestly, there's a slight focus on the emo more then anything else, and that's fine since the vocals never sound like one of your typical, run-of-the-mill pop-punk emo band singers. The singing actually feels sparse throughout the album, which is a small problem I had with the album as a whole. The levels also feel off with the vocals, which can be frustrating if you're one of those people who sing every word of every song at every live show you go to (My voice is actually considered a weapon of mass destruction, so I never sing at shows). 

Outside of the technical issues, Maybe It's Already Everywhere really builds its strength with its melodies. Songs like "Bear Country (Bring A Rifle)" and "Why I Fight Dragons" (Why are these guys so hostile towards these lovable beasts?) prove to be their strongest additions, simply because they're more melodic in nature and not as free-form as the others. Don't get me wrong, they're both still very experimental, but they definitely have a structure to them, which is essential for bands with this type of approach. 

"Give Up On Giving Up", "Half Measures" and "Sorry I Didn't Realize I Was Already There" display the most prominent emo themes in the album, sounding more subdued in both style and tone. They showcase the bands ability to stay grounded in their style, while being able to explore different themes. I may never have really given this type of music any real thought outside of bands like Minus The Bear, but this album at least proved to me its something worth giving a second look at it.

As the album finished, I came to the conclusion that I didn't have many gripes with it. "I Am Nothing More Than I Ever Could Have Ever Been", which may be the most ridiculously hard title for a song to say I've ever seen, comes across as too emo and too barren a song to warrant inclusion in the album. It lands itself smack dab in the middle of the lineup, and adds almost nothing more then a showcase for the singers vocal talent. Speaking of the vocals, it seems like they're occasionally a bit off, which is fairly common with a genre like this.  Most people will completely discount what I have to say about the vocals, and that's fine, because it's more of a personal preference anyways. I'm just very picky when it comes to them..

Mountain For Clouds sound like they like to do what they do, and its obvious when you listen to the album. You never get the real sense that these guys are doing it for the notoriety, because, why would they? This style of music has always been more of an underground sensation anyways, either shying away from success intentionally or being too experimental for the DJ's to play them. All that would do is ruin their enjoyment - Shane

Review: Sail This Ship Alone - Coma

You may not want to believe this, but there is such a thing as 'too much of a good thing'. Thankfully, you never wind up hating the thing there's too much of, but you get frustrated, or sick, of it real quick. With Sail This Ship Alones new album, Coma, the frustration built very slowly.

S.T.S.A plays math-core, slightly reminiscent of The Dillinger Escape Plan, but a lot looser in terms of cohesion and a hell of a lot more chaotic. As where Dillinger has a slight melodic tone to their chaos, S.T.S.A sounds like one of their members started playing a song, and a bunch of talented nine year olds joined in on the jam session. A bunch of talented nine year olds who liked math-core that is. 

"Wrong Turns" sounds like the tightest song on the album, giving the chaos a sense of purpose. It has an unusual beat, even for a math-core song, and that made it that much more fun to listen to. Others like "Death Awaits" and "Amnesia" are solid tracks, really driving home the energy and sense of rhythm one needs to make music like this. In high school, I would often scoff at bands like this because of their nearly anarchistic ways of playing. Thankfully, I matured enough to understand the complexities it took to make hardcore like this possible. You have to have actual talent to play this kind of stuff.

Even with all their talent, S.T.S.A made me yearning for a bit more then they gave me. "Steppenwolf" and "Abort Self Destruction" are two tracks that are littered with too many things going on in them. Part of the allure of math-based hardcore is that there is this wall of sound that hits you when you listen to it, but it's not brutal. Its complexities are meant to be celebrated, and analyzed as you listen to them. Grindcore and speed metal are meant to be listened to for their brutality. Math-core, not so much, and that's something these two tracks did for sure.

This is a small example of what they do, but it's clear S.T.S.A has plenty going well for them. With Coma, they've established themselves as great musicians with promise, which, whilenot being the most glowing of reccomendations , is something worthy of notice. And you can never get enough of that. - Shane

Review: The Underground Youth - The Perfect Enemy For God

It's fun to have a band silence you with its power. Its happened so rarely that I almost can't remember the last time I just sat down and listened to an album all the way through, shutting the fuck up and just letting the album take me over. That's not to say the album is a favorite of mine, or is free of ridicule, it just means it has that certain something, that power that commands your attention enough to be taken to another world, musically. The Perfect Enemy For God is one such album. 

The Underground Youth play a very retro form of post-punk, sounding as if they're straight out of the eighties. Reminiscent of bands like Joy Division, The Underground Youth never try to copy much, instead focusing on infusing their sound with a dash of energy that keeps you from feeling depressed or lethargic (Much like Joy Division does for me). It may not be noticeable to everyone, but when you've been subjected to as much 80's post-punk as I have, it's a welcome change of pace.

"In The Dark I see" and "Rodion"  usher in such a sense of cool that I almost felt guilty for liking them. There's a pretentiousness to cool I've never felt fully embracing, but with these songs, I was fine with it. They're mature, and not pompous, which aids in their likability. "Tokyo Blue" and "Masquerade" lower the energy level a bit, but what they lack in vigor they more then make up for in atmosphere. As somber and drone-like as these songs are, they still manage to grab your attention, filling the air with such a sense of mysteriousness that I almost felt uncomfortable with it. 

Even when a song clocks in at nine minutes, like "Veil" does, The Underground Youth never manage to bore you. You can say they're not your thing, but there's no denying their music demands your immediate concentration. "Juliette" and "In Sofias Reflection" round out the album, providing solid tracks that don't bore you, which is incredible since most bands filler songs always feel uninspired. I might get some unkind words from my friends here in the states, but the British really do know how to do music right. So do we Americans, but they do have the upper hand on us a bit.

The Perfect Enemy For God is the perfect album to be alone with. Not that I want any of you to be alone, but there's just something to listening to this album by yourself. and not having any outside influences around the mess it up for you, that gives you such a sense of relief. It put me at ease after such a terrible day at work, and when an album can do that as quickly as theirs did, it generates plenty of respect. - Shane

Review: The White Whales - Lakestate

Most things in life have a set time for their creation. Babies? Yeah, you got roughly 9 months for that sucker to bake in the stomach til he comes screaming into this world. Brownies? That's about 20 minutes at 350 degrees (I didn't consult a brownie box to see if I was right, I was just lazy and chose numbers I thought was right). But music? Well, there's a finite amount of time for you to play it (With old age and such), and there's a finite amount of time for your to craft your sound until you simply get too old or too bored too care anymore, but for the most part, you have all the time in the world. This premise stayed with me as I listened to The White Whales new album, Lakestate.

The White Whales sound a lot like The Killers, which isn't meant as a jab to them, it just seems clear that these guys probably listen to them on their free time. Everyone has their influences, and thousands of bands wouldn't be here today if they didn't try to sound almost exactly like one of their favorite artists. It's more of recommendation than a warning.

Songs like "Transfiguration", "Flowers" and "Fake History" provide instant examples of what this band is trying to play. Mixing new wave themes with alternative-rock sounds, The White Whales try hard to be different, but retain much of what their predecessors set up before them. This too, is more of a recommendation than a warning, but it's more to the band. I never want to see a band fail, but when you're a near clone of a band that already does everything better than you do, it might be time to rethink your approach.

"Babe The Blue Ox" drives home an edgier vibe to their material, which honestly made it so much more enjoyable to listen to. "Grappling Iron" tries to do the same, giving the album a much needed adrenaline boost. If only they'd tried to add in more songs like these, or at least balanced out their sound a bit, Lakestate might have been a better album.

Others like "Do Not Let Me Go" and "Lakestate" give the album some depth, but leave almost no lasting value. It's a pity because it's clear these guys are talented, but they're not giving it their all. Sometimes the vocals seem a pitch or two off, and sometimes the levels aren't balanced right on the album. It's kind of like these guys had an endless stretch of really bad days and just said, 'Fuck it!', throwing their arms up in disgust and deciding to finish the album no matter how it sounded. I'm probably way off on that, but that's the optimistic side of me working here.

Lakestate doesn't feel like a finished album, and that's one of my biggest problems with it. Somewhere along the ways, these guys gave up on trying to do something good and decided to settle on something unfinished. They know what they're doing, and given some time, they could produce an album that would make me forget this one completely. I guess I'll need more time to find that out. - Shane

Blitz Review: Eastern Phoebes - Sprouts

Normally, a 5 song EP wouldn't warrant a review. It's really too short an album length to be considered, and I would simply tell people about it in person instead of writing about it on my blog. Thing is, I had to take exception with Sprouts by Eastern Phoebes. To say I loved it would be an understatement. 

The bands sound is pure pop, but not radio pop like we know today. It's retro pop, but modernized, which makes it easily accessible for fans of Foxygen and the like. The opening track, "Monsoon", which has a very easy but powerful drive to it's beat, is accentuated by a simple keyboard part that gives the song a surprisingly darker tone then I would have thought. It stays fun though, never going out of its comfort zone and introducing the band instantly as one to keep on your radar.

"Rolling Nightmare, I believe In You" and "Easter Blade", which sound like songs The Beatles might have written if they were given more time, display a maturity I've rarely seen in a band this underground. Both of these songs deserve to be on the radio, and for good reason. They're well constructed, the vocals are nice and they bring us back to a time when music was made simply for the art of it, and not the monetary gain of it. If for no other reason then these two songs, you should pick up this album.

The other two tracks, "Science + Mysticism" and "If I Could Ever Disappear", are fine additions to the EP, balancing out the album with a few solid songs. They maintain the bands approach, and don't try anything weird or tacky, which is a tremendous relief considering a lot of the acts I've reviewed have tried to do something too different to warrant it  a success. 

Sprouts is essential listening, and I don't feel weird saying that. I can't say enough about how much I love this bands sound, and how, if only for 14 minutes, they made me forget about my problems and the people who deliver them to me on a daily basis. Do yourself a favor and listen to it now. - Shane