Texas Never Whispers "Texas Never Whispers"

[http://www.texasneverwhispers.com/ // http://texasneverwhispersband.bandcamp.com/]

The term Americana can get used far too often these days but it's what Texas Never Whispers reminds me most of still.   That and I can hear a lot of The Wallflowers in here and I've never been a big fan of Jakob Dylan and company but Texas Never Whispers just somehow makes it work for them.

Like something off of the "Empire Records" soundtrack combined with a honky tonk there are elements of Counting Crows in these songs as well as Phantom Planet and The Hold Steady.    The singer can really belt out these melodic songs about being poor and making music.    One of my favorite lines on this entire album is about "the words we never figured out, we still sung along" as it does hit home for me.

I think there are a lot of songs out there that I've heard growing up from Nirvana to Pearl Jam to Smashing Pumpkins even and I might not have known the exact lyrics to the songs so I'd just sing it my way- something I still do to this day- and I'm not sure why.    I remember only really looking up lyrics to specific Nirvana songs maybe three or four years ago and thinking, "Is that what he said?"

There is a sort of mystery in that though-- making up the lyrics yourself as opposed to singing the correct ones.    When you learn the actual lyrics it's like the reveal of a magic trick or something, right?    It has that peaking behind the curtain effect which sometimes can make things seem less fun.

Texas Never Whispers is actually from Texas and they have that sound that you would expect to find from such a great state when you think of any sort of rock n roll or country artist such as Robert Ellis.     They don't lean as close to the country and western side of things as most artists from Texas do though, and that's okay by me, and they're not really folk either so I'm hesitant to call them Americana so... is there a genre yet for Texacana?   That would be where I put them.

Dan Deacon "Gliss Riffer" (Domino)

When I first heard of Dan Deacon he had just released "Spider-Man of the Rings".   As I look back at it now, I can see that was released in 2007 (really?) and so it's been about eight years since I last wrote about Dan Deacon.   I listened to his album that came before this, "America" (from 2012), but apparently didn't write about it.

From what I remember there was a lot of electronic experimentation on "Spider-Man of the Rings" and that doesn't seem to come out as much on "Gliss Riffer" or at least not right away.     On the first song this is more of a traditional distorted electronic rock with elements of pop and even female vocals accompanying him at times.     There are drum machines that offer up dancing beats and it kind of reminds me at times (on the second song at least) of "The Safety Dance".

But as this goes on it can shift from that rock sound of, say, Modest Mouse to what I remember in that far out way from Dan Deacon.    But I think the moral of the story here for me is that there were two albums released between "Spider-Man of the Rings" and "Gliss Riffer" so I should probably familiarize myself with both of them and maybe even the ones that came before "Spider-Man".

I don't remember much about "America" and am not even sure if I heard the one that came before that ("Bromst") but I will go back for them.     All I know is that I liked "Spider-Man of the Rings" and this seems like a bit of a jump from there (Again, missing pieces for me and all) but I still enjoy the hell out of it.

Braille "Everyone's Crazy" (Friends of Friends)

[$6 to Download // https://fofmusic.bandcamp.com/album/everyones-crazy]

When I looked up Friends of Friends I found out that they release music by Shlohmo who oddly enough was connected with Tropics and I've been listening to this EP with "Rapture" to the point where I want to put the two on a mixed tape together.    Can someone do that for me?  I really don't have the time right now.

In any case, this music is strange.   It's electronic manipulation with percussion that can make it feel like hip hop at times and other times it could be chillwave.     Synth progressions come out like jazz horns and by the fourth song I'm hearing C&C Music Factory which makes me want to get up and dance.

There are a number of ways to describe this but I just like to think of it as being weird.    Even if you only listen to the first song, which happens to be the titular track, then you should be able to enjoy this because even if I don't make that Tropics/Braille split cassette I might make a mixed tape and that would include the song "Everyone's Crazy" (or at least some sort of "Best of 2015" playlist by year's end)

Tropics "Rapture" (Innovative Leisure)

Perhaps one of my best reasons for liking Tropics is because I don't really listen to music like this and of course by my saying "music like this" it implies that other music of this nature exists and for all that I know it simply does not.    There is no good way to describe the music of Tropics using comparisons because there really isn't anything in my collection to compare it with exactly.

Right away I have this pegged as being somewhere between pop and soul.   It has that just overall non-threatening and pleasant vibe to it that I feel puts it somewhere on that pop scale.   Yet at the same time the music reminds me a bit of R&B and as such I can think of this as having soul if not directly being a reflection of soul music.

Between synthwave, new wave and just my banner of being smoov I really have no place to put this percussion filled slow jamz mix that can go from drums to drum machine.    On Spotify, some of the related artists include but are not limited to Giraffage, Com Truise, Mount Kimble, Balam Acab, Sun Glitters, Gang Colours and Shlohmo, who I've admittedly listened to and enjoyed but still don't recall hearing anything like "Rapture" before.

If not for that "it's unlike anything I've ever heard before" tangible, this is going to stand out as one of my favorite albums on 2015 simply because it is that good.    The fact that it is pleasing to the ears just makes me want to listen to it that much more, as it gets stuck in your head but in a good way.   Imagine if you could eat all the candy you wanted without getting sick.

Father John Misty "I Love You, Honeybear" (Bella Union / Sub Pop)

This is my second time hearing Father John Misty and I seem to recall the previous release "Fear Fun" coming with a lot of hype but me reducing it to simply being a mix of folk and psychedelic rock.    While this remains true on "I Love You, Honeybear" some other qualities are here that either weren't on "Fear Fun" or I was just eager to overlook them.

To say that this is folk meets psych is not quite a combination I've heard before but you can easily enough take bands from either side and put them together to get the general idea.   Or you could just imagine EFS if he had written an album that was explained to him in a dream by Jim Morrison, Jerry Garcia and John Lennon.

What I like most about this album that has an overall acoustic feel of melody to it though are perhaps the lyrics.   Having a chorus with the hook of "people are boring" makes me smile, and yet the other songs tend to tell stories of adolesence and sexual encounters.   That isn't to say that these are your traditional folk songs though, as there are a lot of f-bombs so they seem to have that dirty pirate tale feel to them.  (I believe one did reference a eunich slut)

A foul-mouthed Simon & Garfunkel (?), Father John Misty creates the type of songs that seem safe on the surface but deep down are found on records that kids would have to hide under their beds from parents.     And that is in a much more direct way than most of those artists like The Who and Hendrix who had implied lyrics and Father John Misty just flat out sings about being drunk and stoned.

A Place to Bury Strangers "Transfixiation" (Dead Oceans Records)

I've reviewed A Place to Bury Strangers twice before but both times have been brief and comments about them on the whole rather than the specific album I think.   So I felt that this was as good a place as any to give A Place to Bury Strangers a sort of proper review if only because this is that type of album that makes me want to give it a proper review.  (I could say that they've grown or evolved since I started listening to them but I'm not going to get into something that cliche)

With fuzzy guitars APTBS lands somewhere between garage and psychedelic rock n roll.    They remind me a lot of The Doors at times, yet on a song like "Deeper" they can get even darker and bring out a Marilyn Manson influence.     As other songs can have the static trembling in the guitar notes, "Deeper" also breaks down into sheer pandamonium by the end.

On a song such as "I'm so Clean" the Priests influence definitely comes out.   I also really like "We've Come So Far" if only because the way that the chorus is broken up into "I feel / right now / we've come / so far".     It' just another demonstration of how A Place to Bury Strangers manages to walk that fine line between commercial appeal and not.

Whether you listen to something on the modern rock radio charts or "college radio" (which seems to take on its own genre) or even if you're like me and are all over the place with what you happen to listen to musically (and how) then I still think there is something within these songs you can come to appreciate.  

Now the question is whether or not this is the first time that I've been able to write such a review about this music simply because it is the first time that I've heard it become this good.   Either way, this could be one of my favorite albums not just of 2015 but of all time.

California X "Nights in the Dark" (Don Giovanni)

California X are a band that makes you think about California and the wonderful weather of the west coast.    I don't know myself why it is exactly, but I've had this conversation with a number of people before (some of them as band interviews) and there is just something about growing up on the east coast and dreaming of moving to California because it's all bright and sunny skies and not... Well, if you're in New England look out your window.

The big guitar rock sound of California X reminds me of something between Weezer and Piebald but also has that similar Featherface appeal which I do enjoy so much.     It's fuzzy, yet it's rock n roll at its finest.     Some Replacements come out but I also like to think of this as from that same sort of genre that made Bill and Ted want to save the universe.  (Wyld Stallyns rule!!)

A perfect fit on the "Mallrats" soundtrack or just out in the sun California X is the feeling we all long for of perfect weather and even those who do have still want to sing about it.   Snow might be taking over outside right now as I type this, but you can at least have a warmer weather state of mind by listening to "Nights in the Dark".

Desperate Journalist "Desperate Journalist" (Fierce Panda / Minty Fresh)

[£12 // Edition of 250 // http://desperatejournalist.bandcamp.com/merch/desperate-journalist-12-album]

Falling somewhere between the 1980's and the present, Desperate Journalist combines a good number of sounds to craft one their own.   From Duran Duran, Blondie, Concrete Blonde and R.E.M. to The Cranberries, The Box Tiger, Heart, Thursday and The Cure these songs are somewhere between punk and not because they can be fast paced at times while other times not as much.

It's a musical complexity as there are guitar notes galore and precision drumming and bass lines combined to make something that you might not otherwise think possible.   The songs have this appeal to them where the choruses tend to have hooks that get stuck in your head so in that way I'd also say they're a little pop but I can get metal riffs stuck in my head just as easily so don't quote me on the pop part.

I became a fan of Desperate Journalist listening to this album and hearing the various influence of other artists that I like, and even those which I don't like I can think of this as being a better version of them.    I only truly began to appreciate this though when I realized that for all of its influences I can name this still just stands tallest on its own merits.

RVNES+MASS "ALL MEN ARE PREY TO THE SAME BEAST"

[€5 to download //€12 for record // Edition of 100 // http://rvnes.bandcamp.com/album/all-men-are-prey-to-the-same-beast]

While I have previously heard and reviewed RVNES I'm not sure I've ever heard MASS before.   As I looked at these tracks I was trying to figure out which one went with which artist before remembering it was a collaboration (duh!) so that does make it a bit more interesting I'd say.

Right away this begins with some quieter background static and then the screams come out and random times.    The background tones of some aura do manage to pick up, as if to send us up and into the heavens, and I'm being reminded of I Like You, Go Home because of the screaming.    This takes on an almost eerie feeling, like a cemetary, as it drones on through.     We've gone from something in that uplifting sense to more of a realization and the screams do come back again after a short break as well.

As the first track gets closer to the end it does come out a bit heavier as well.   It's not so much that everything is falling apart or coming crashing down it's just the fact that it's all happening so quickly and all at once it would seem.    Everything you were feeling before about either dying or fear is just being escalated.

The second side begins like the first only without the screaming.    It's that foggy type of basement feel like you might find yourself stuck in during video game play.    Eventually, yes, the screams do come back but they seem muted at first, as if in the distance rather than at the forefront they were before.    As the music grows louder it almost becomes industrial, mechanical.

Interestingly enough this was put out as a record by An Out Recordings who also happen to have released the cassette I do like ever so much by Anna Vo called "The Condition".   Small world, eh?   Whether or not you're a fan of vinyl you should be looking for this one to own in a physical sense because, well, RVNES, you know?

Sylvia Monnier / Class of 69 split (supermalprodelica)

[€5 for Cassette // €7 to Download // https://supermalprodelica.bandcamp.com/album/sylvia-monnier-class-of-69-split]

I was a big fan of Sylvia Monnier's cassette "Lucinda's River" and as such I wanted to hear this one.    It's on a label from Paris though, so I'm sort of okay with just hearing the digital for now but eventually I will probably buy this on cassette if I can because it is rather good.

Sylvia Monnier has two tracks and the first begins with a ringing bowl hum.   There is guitar distortion in the background and then tones like a dialtone begin to beep as well.   Is it cliche to call it tone drone?    How about electronic ambient?   With space laser whirrs come record scratches and then tones begin to drop like gems, to borrow a phrase.     There is an eerie mystique to the next set of tones which come through will full on beats.

From here, Monnier shifts into a long stretch of drone which can only ever remind me of the opening to The Who's "Baba O'Riley" (just sit back, close your eyes and think about it)   Some whirrs come in with sonic lasers before it's over and then it ends on some banging for good measure.

This is my first time hearing Class of 69 and while I was in this split for Sylvia Monnier I must say that Class of 69 is more than just filler.    There is a lot of sharp ringing on repeat, cymbal rim taps and then it just seemingly grows louder until that Jay Peele bowl playing feel comes out.    It's somewhere between angels and ghosts before the change to sonar which reminds me of a submarine.    My point is only further proved by the beeping that presents itself as the sounds begin to come through in waves.

The beeping becomes more distant as the signal is seemingly growing lost and then the sounds of Jay Peele come back before all is said and done.    This split really had me because of the involvement of Sylvia Monnier but Class of 69 makes this a must have cassette.

Breakfast in Fur "Flyaway Garden" (Bar/None Records)

When I was first introduced to Breakfast in Fur it was because of a split record they did with Shana Falana, the poster of which is still on my wall, reminding me of them every day.   I instantly fell in love with them when I bought that record and now they have released their first proper full length and I'm glad to be listening to it.  

For the most part, the songs found on "Flyaway Garden" are dreamy like something from the "Juno" soundtrack but then there is also something else to them where they're not quite from the 1980's or 1990's in that new wave sense but along those same lines.    The first song is fast paced but then throughout the rest of the album they can be moderately paced or slower.

With whispy vocals ala Smashing Pumpkins or Silversun Picksups there are moments where the vocals project sound rather than actual words and at other times they are simply not there.   Woodwinds come into play to set the tone for this feeling like Jim Morrison lost in the desert so, yes, you could also say it has a bit of classic rock/psychedelic appeal to it.

To be fair, the title track is 1:11 with meditated breathing exercises for vocals as opposed to something catchy where the title is sung in the chorus or just once so when you hear it you go, "Ooooh!  That's the name of the record!!" and as such this isn't too much traditional about "Flyaway Garden" but I wouldn't have it any other way.

The Dreaming "Rise Again"

I loved Stabbing Westward and still do to this very day.    The Dreaming is "former members" of Stabbing Westward but, yeah, this sounds exactly like them so I think it's only different in its name.     The thing about Stabbing Westward though is that they haven't had new music since 2001 which was fourteen years ago.   i see them as a 1990's band (even though their last release came in early 21st century) and having them take that break between then and new music (though under a new name) leaves this questionable.

Don't get me wrong: I love these songs.   They are the shot of adrenaline that music needs right now.   For a new generation, a younger bunch of music listeners who have perhaps not heard of Stabbing Westward before, this will be great for them.   But any time an aritst puts out a new album it's always a question of why listen to the new one when I have the old one which I've grown fond of and have had for so long already.

For The Dreaming they're working at an uphill battle because I've had some of those Stabbing Westward albums for longer than most people who might need to hear this one have been alive.    So, yes, I might go to Stabbing Westward more than not but sometimes I will try and slip "Rise Again" into the mix because I still see it as a Stabbing Westward album.

Meat Wave "Brother" (Brace Yourself)

Meat Wave brings forth seven songs of punk rock n roll that can be anything from Trail of Dead and Local H to Foo Fighters.   Elements of Cadillac Blindside can also come out in these songs, which feel like a step above something you'd hear on Burger Records, and it just has that heavier side to it as well, so hence the emphasis on the word ROCK.

Mr Oizo "The Church"

Though this was released digitally in 2014 the CD version came out in 2015 and whatever the date is it doesn't matter because I've been looking for a reason to start listening to Mr. Oizo and this is my- and perhaps your- best way to get into these songs.    They're electronic at their heart but they have so much more than that.    It's audio samplings and beats mixed in ways I cannot describe.

You know, often times when I listen to music it can paint images in my head which in turn makes me think of it being the soundtrack to a movie.   It's hard to think of this as being the soundtrack to anything other than one of his films (I suggest "Wrong Cops") but the fact remains that if you like those films and the music in them then you shall like this as well.   And yes, that works both ways.     Just all around respect for this talented human being.

Raphi Gottesman "Signed, Noisemaker" (fluere tapes)

[$5 to Download // SOLD OUT on cassette // https://flueretapes.bandcamp.com/album/signed-noisemaker]

This was sent to me as a download and I am reviewing it as such because the cassette version of it sold out rather quickly from what I gather.    As I came to find via Bandcamp this is on a label called Fluere Tapes which has released music by Grand Mal, Strange Mountain and a cloudsound cassette I thought I was getting once upon a time, but anyway it is in good company so the fact that this artist reached out to me coupled with the company this release keeps has me interested before I even listen to it.

The music on "Signed, Noisemaker" is quiet and of the FNL variety.   There are mostly guitar notes played with a trumpet on the first song and piano notes later on (some of which have that church organ vibe)   It's calm, serene and soothing but not enough to put you to sleep.   Sometimes a song such as "Older Than Ferns", the last song, can even remind me of The Cancer Conspiracy.

Overall this seems to grow more solemn from start to finish, almost as if to make the end result- a transition into nothingness because it's over- feel like that much easier to take.    This might not be available on cassette any more but you should still listen to this and keep your ear to the ground for Raphi Gottesman who is sure to do more beautiful things following this one.

Nidhamu "Live Electronics & Drones" (supermalprodelica)

[€5 for Cassette // €7 to Download // https://supermalprodelica.bandcamp.com/album/live-electronics-drones]

This cassette is broken down into three different tracks, which two of would have to be on the first side due to length.   It's hard to imagine this being anything outside of its title but here we go anyway.

The first track is the middle in terms of length (neither the shortest nor longest) and it has high pitched electronics which sometimes can come through too sharply for even these veteran ears.   There are only slight frequency changes and as such it's got those elements of drone, which again is what the title claims.   It's almost like whale sounds or some form of sonar but before it ends there are darker tones of drone with some reverberating waves.

The second track is the shortest but is also "Part 2" to the first track so it makes sense they'd go together on Side A in that regard.    This track is full of stomping beats which have ooooh's in the background like a game of Pong.   They almost can turn into sonic booms with an aura of mystery and though it is the shortest of the tracks it does show the most character (That is to say seems the least bit drone)

Finally we have the third and final track which is also Side B and not coincidentally happens to be the same length as the first two tracks combined.    These are dark tone waves and eventually they have some slight beats in them (but ever so slightly, not too noticeable or heavy) and this is just the pure epitomy of what you think of when you see the word drone.

It is somewhat difficult to say anything about this that the title doesn't already sum up in a much more concise manner but I still do enjoy it and for fans of, um, what the title says you'll be wanting to add this one to your wish list as a cassette.

CVBox "What You Hear Is What You Get" (Lunatic Records)

[€11 for Record // Edition of 300 // €3 for Download // https://lunaticrecords.bandcamp.com/album/what-you-hear-is-what-you-get-lun03]

Moderately paced electronic numbers that tow the line between electronica and 8bit music.   Somewhat of The Prodigy or something else I am unfamiliar with and somewhat of the Beastie Boys these instrumental songs will either have you in a trance or make your body dance.

The first of these four songs is actually exclusive to the record release as well, so if you want to hear that one you're going to have to buy the record because it will not come as a download for you.     After listening to this enough times and without the first track I can tell you that having "Hitchhike the Plain" kick things off does seem to help the overall flow of this.

While I realize that a U.S. dollar is not worth as much as a pound you have to think of this download as being a pound per song (which hence is more than a dollar per song, but still) so in that sense it does kind of work out for you but I'd still say you need that first movement for the complete experience and as any DJ in any club can tell you, yes, this will sound most excellent spinning on vinyl.

Boom Said Thunder "Summer Twin"

[Name Your Price Download // http://boomsaidthunder.bandcamp.com/album/summer-twin]

I'm not sure what helped me find these two new songs by Boom Said Thunder, but Bandcamp is dropping the ball by not telling me that they were released.    Much like with their full length album this is just vocals belted out amidst complex rock and distortion.   It's somewhat like K's Choice and yet also somewhat calmer than certain songs found on their full length.    It kicks in a lot though and reminds me of Hum in other ways.

If you've really ever read what I write then these two songs will be a nice companion to the full length you should already be rocking by Boom Said Thunder.    The thing is, these two songs aren't so much like a single as they are an entire EP because they're just full of so much.    But I wouldn't be surprised to see them released as a 7" or cassingle in the very near future.  (Please?)

Dreamghost "Everything Is Alright" (Shoeboxx Recordings)

[Name Your Price Download // https://shoeboxxrecordings.bandcamp.com/album/everything-is-alright]

When I first got the email about a new release from Shoeboxx Recordings via Bandcamp I was hoping that it was going to be Dreamghost and though it is a digital only release I'll take what I can get from this amazing melody maker

These four songs should put you on an electric cloud between their piano and harp riffs that can only be pulled off in this manner by so many artists.    Basically, it's taking something special to do what is happening here without it sounding wrong and Dreamghost is doing just that.

As much as I was pleased with the Dreamghost cassette I reviewed before this I also enjoy these songs which you could be cliche about and say they put you on "Cloud 9", with their uplifting appeal, but I like to think of them more as being on some sort of bliss cloud and, yes, someone should totally make "bliss-cloud" a thing.

ENL1TE "Five Tracks"

https://soundcloud.com/enl1te

I downloaded five songs from ENL1TE's Soundcloud and are reviewing them as an EP of sorts even though they seem to be singles.   The first two are with Tammy Infusion and are called "Greedy" and "Way Out".    The other three are with Valerie Broussard and are titled "Silent", "Superman" and "Vertigo".

These are all pop songs as they all have hooks, but they have that soul quality to them as well.    It's electronic on some levels but in other ways it reminds me of something straight out pop on the radio and all I can think right now is back to the songs where Nicki Minaj sings as opposed to raps and Rihanna... that sort of idea.

The thing is that any of these five songs should be on the radio right now and it'd make for an easy number one hit.    To offer up some full disclosure, I've been listening to the radio somewhat lately and I do hear pop songs more because my three year old likes them.    So there is this one particular song I keep hearing and I kind of like it but never hear the artist name.  

One day when I was at home thinking about it (and not driving because I always hear it when I'm driving and can't google then) I googled the lyrics to see who it was by.    I'm not going to tell you who it was by because it's somewhat embarassing and I don't embarass easily, but I will tell you that any of these tracks by ENL1TE would not be embarassing to admit you like.    Play them loud so your neighbors can thank you later.

新しいコンピュータのOS 98 "新しいコンピュータのOS 98" (STC Records)

[$3 for Cassette // Edition of 8 // https://stcrecords.bandcamp.com/album/os-98]

The first song on here is a somewhat acoustic, dreamy, blissful serene number.   The second is a short interlude before the final two songs come on and have that 1980's/Miami Vice/Beverly Hills Cop feel mixed with New Kids on the Block.     This is very nice for what you should release on cassette and I would like to know more.    Everybody wants to rule the world, indeed.

On the last song it sounds specifically like something is about to go down in some movie from the late 1980's or early 1990's, maybe like Christian Slater's "Kuffs".    The description also says that the cassette comes with bonus tracks so I might have to consider buying this one.   I don't know, but I do want to hear more songs like this.

vongut "Vongut" (jujufrootcoop)

[[$5 // Edition of 10 // https://jujufrootcoop.bandcamp.com/album/vongut ]]

At the time of my writing this, there are only four copies remaining but I expect them to go quickly.    These are two songs from Canadian noise maker vongut and I'm not sure why I've heard the name jujufrootcoop before but it does ring a bell with me also.

Each of these songs (and thus side of the cassette) is around a minute and a half of harsh noise.  It's distorted static that keeps blasting right until it cuts off at the very end.   I can hear words at times either being spoken or screamed but they are muffled behind the cloud of it all.

Even though this is something that I will probably not be able to get on cassette (By the time I get the money and all the stars align they'll be sold out for sure) there are two other cassette releases from vongut, though the "Demo" lets you order it but has a footnote that it is sold out so I'm not sure what's going on there.

If nothing else, this is a nice sampling of what vongut can do as I hope to hear more of this and hopefully at least one of the next reviews I do ("BitchSlitter" most likely) will be as a cassette.

Additional Links: vongut Bandcamp

Missiles of October "Don't Panic (2014)"

[Name Your Price Download // http://missilesofoctober.bandcamp.com/album/dont-panic-2014]

This is available as a CD or LP as well as a digital download but whatever medium you choose to listen to it on you must play these songs LOUD.    This is a cross between Motorhead, Rise Against and We Were Promised Jet Packs.    It's that mix of older AFI with Mudhoney as it is heavily distorted and very much on the verge of metal.

I'm not sure if I'd consider it a pure sense of metal, though it does tend to lean that way, but there are those elements as well of hardcore.   As much as this is A Perfect Murder it can be Sick Of It All or Suicidal Tendencies.  

Perhaps one of my biggest problems with this genre of music that combines metal and hardcore is that too many bands in it end up sounding the same and they all just sort of blend together.     The good bands- the best ones in this genre- always find a way to stand out.   Missiles of October has found that way to stand out and if I had to pinpoint what it is exactly that makes them stand out to me it's just that this music is so raw.

Collection "Late in the night" [VIDEO]

The video for "Late in the night" by Collection reminds me a bit of something I would have seen on Mtv from the Smashing Pumpkins, though the two bands aren't really that similar otherwise.  

The song itself is also the first track on a four song EP which is available now to download for free from their Bandcamp page here: http://wearecollection.bandcamp.com/

While the first song is in the video it also appears as the fourth track but with the label of "old school" behind it.    The songs themselves are somewhere between Modest Mouse and Cage the Elephant but I really can't compare them with anything else because I just haven't heard anything else like this sort of whispering indie rock with elements of strings from an orchestra.

This all serves as a prelude to an eventual full length due out in May 2015 and I couldn't be more excited.  

Lunivers "Happy Route"

[http://lunivers.bandcamp.com/]

In March of 2013 these four songs were released as a record, compact disc and digitally outside of the United States but on February 16th (which happens to be my sister's birthday) these songs will be released worldwide on record as an edition of 500.    So if you are into collecting records, then be on the look out for this one to come a bit closer to you than the previous release of it.

It's kind of funny though because these four songs have been sitting on Bandcamp for almost two years now and they have a record to go with them so it's not just some sort of free download hidden in the sea of digital reviews I might encounter, so why has it taken me this long to find Lunivers?     If this wasn't going to be released worldwide I doubt I'd ever hear of Lunivers (Okay, one day I inevitably would) and so I am happy it is getting that because I got to hear it.

These four songs are electro techno synth powered bliss that channel Ladytron and Polly Scattergood.   Lyrics like "the sun is made out of kisses" recall Polly Scattergood and this is just overall pleasant and melodic.    There are beats and laser screeches in the songs, but it can also be a little bit of Kimbra.      With audio clips in French, spliced up and served fresh, there are also greater moments when the singing can remind me of Corrine Bailey Rae.

The best way to undoubtedly describe this is an electronic madness and I love it.    As I jot down notes about these songs all I can think when reading them back is that this seems like it might be too in your face, too obnoxious.    The fact of the matter is though that despite the fact that this can be described with a certain bit of madness there is also a calm reserve to it and I really enjoy that mix.    Don't get me wrong, this is high energy but it is the perfect amount of it.

QuiVive "Astral Gatecrashing"

[Name Your Price Download // http://quivive.bandcamp.com/album/astral-gatecrashing]

This is my first time hearing QuiVive not on cassette and it's the first release after the cassette I reviewed, so with all of the statistics out of the way let's get into the music.    It begins with these dark sort of rock n roll guitars and then drums come in as well.   The first song just has this overall tribal feel to it as there are ahh's and what also sounds like bongos and steel drum rhythms.     The second song changes it up into these bell tone patterns that skip and then the drum machine kicks in with them.

Within the second song that is this certain rhythm that although instrumental makes you want to sing still.   It goes do-do-do-doo-do-do-doot-doo and unless you hear it then it might not make sense to you.    This is key because the next song has female vocals of sorts over it as hip hop beats are spliced into it as well.    The hip hop beats do become a theme during some of the other songs as well, so it's hard for me to say that this is a specific genre but rather an exploration of several genres.

Really slick guitar notes come out on a song that is fittingly called "fast.cars" while some sort of frequency changes groove with the beats on the last track.    I have different perceptions of what vaporwave is but I can tell you that this is probably not that.   It could be chillwave, but that seems like such a broad term to me and I only want to use it because a) this music is chill and b) I feel like it should be in a genre that ends in "wave".

      As much as I always tend to think about how that is that and this is this, I want to sit around one day and really get a true understanding of not only what all of these different genre names mean (look at the tags on Bandcamp if you genre search) but just how if we take a certain number of them and cross them over into one another what that could be.   (What is chillwave + hip hop + the guitars + etc.)    The trouble is I simply don't have time because instead of attempting anything of that sort I would much rather listen to music such as this.