Monday, April 30, 2007
Texas Is The Reason - "S/T"
I don't own a whole lot of EPs as they always seem to be rip-offs, too few songs for too much money. However, occasionally there's a gathering of songs that just can't be ignored. The painfully short, 3 song predecessor to their only full length, this EP has two of not only the best Texas Is The Reason songs, but two of the better emo songs ever made. Unlike their later work, this EP did not forget to bring the rock to the party. The bright guitars present a powerful back drop to the emotionally charged vocal delivery, also something missing from their full length, but their real power was in delivering subtle yet gripping hooks through jangly, melodic chord progressions. It's bittersweet though as these three songs fly by far too quickly. Although I do like the full length for other reasons, it's too bad they didn't make an entire record of songs like these."If It's Here When We Get Back, It's Ours"
"Antique"
Buy @ Amazon - Texas Is the Reason
- Buy @ iTunes
Sunday, April 22, 2007
The Honor System - "Rise And Run"
When The Broadways broke up I was super bummed. Of course the bassist went on to punk rock stardom with The Lawrence Arms, which seems like a more poppy, non-political version of The Broadways, but the guitarist started, in my eyes, a band just as good, The Honor System, that because of their more obtuse style, not directly related to its predecessor, seemed to miss out on the fanfare showered on his old bandmates. The Honor System wrote music that was angular, jangly, non power chord driven and dissonant, like a more indie rock version of Fugazi. Sometimes this can come across as a bit boring but this particularly album was a bit more direct and faster paced than previous work which I think was the missing ingredient in really making this style shine. It gives it a more rock vibe while retaining the quirky songwriting. So if you're a big Fugazi fan or just wondered what happened to the other guy in The Broadways I'd certainly check this out."Eyebrow Of The Cobra"
"Cadence"
Buy @ Amazon - Rise and Run
- Buy @ iTunes
Tuesday, April 17, 2007
The Crush - "Here Is Where I Cross My Fingers"
Here's an overlooked classic from a few years back. At the time it seemed like The Crush were destined for Green Day like stardom. They were even signed to Billie Joe’s label and played some shows with them but for some reason never really took off. I'm not sure why as the songs on this album and their debut are some of the most heartfelt emo tinged pop punk gems I've ever had the pleasure of listening to. From the huge, bright guitar sound to the jangly indie rock accents to the powerful yet semi-effeminate vocals, these guys had everything stacked in their corner to be the next big MTV band but instead they’ve faded into obscurity. I think it was the fact they stood at the bridge between a couple opposing genres. Although the vocals were there, they sounded too hard/straight forward to appeal to straight emo types but, with more complex pacing and guitar riffs, didn't sound like the Ramones enough for pure pop punkers. That could be oversimplifying things but it's just hard to think of other reasons of why these guys didn't blow up. So go ahead and hear what you've been missing or if you're already a fan, remind yourself how great these guys were."Here Is Where I Cross My Fingers (Summer Song)"
"The Shaking Sensation"
Buy @ Amazon - Here Is Where I Cross My Fingers
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