Brightest Color

#2 (2013)
Bandcamp 

65daysofstatic

Wild Light (2013)
 Torrent


New 65daysofstatic up for grabs, might actually see this band play this Friday. I remember the first time I heard The Fall of Math, such an apocalyptic sound. 

Dance Gavin Dance

Acceptance Speech (2013)
Torrent 

Dance Gavin Dance has been through a multitude of line up changes and now they are back with a new clean vocalist (but don't worry Jon Mess is still on board, and still crazy). This album sticks true to the DGD genre, fun and heavy riffs, pulsating drums, catchy vocals and the insanity that is Jon Mess. The new vocalist certainly takes the cake for having the highest voice out of their past line ups, but I have learned to actually really enjoy it. Dance Gavin Dance just has such great lyrical flow you almost have to sing along if you know the words. My favorite song has got to be "Carve", especially the breakdown with the lyrics:

"That's my trope, and my sleight of hand
I'm about to predict the future
Any credit given will be swept under the rug
Or reduced to the fine print
I'm only silent when you're asking questions
The simple answer is "no I wasn't present""

But honestly every single song on this album is worth listening to and has its moment of "wow."

The Safety Fire

Mouth of Swords (2013)
Torrent 

I must admit that I was a little skeptical about this release after hearing Yellowism and Red Hatchet, but this album quickly became one of my favorites of the year.  My original skepticism came from the lack of heavy vocals that were replaced with a high pitched voice with a little to much post production. I have heard rumors that the lead singer was loosing his screaming voice and therefore had to tone it down but who knows. Either way, upon hearing the whole album I fell in love. The title track "Mouth of Swords" is simply epic, rolling into the aggressive "Glass Crush." The album makes great use of melody, especially on tracks such as "Wise Hands" and "I am Time, the Destroyer." The album ends on such a perfect note too with the song "Old Souls." Oh, and how can I forget "Beware the Leopard?" This album has such a perfect flow on it between songs that Grind the Ocean just didn't have, not to say I don't love that album as well.

Time to Get Back to Posting

It has been awhile since I've posted so it's time to do a little catch up. Mediafire and Mediafire like websites are pretty much extinct so I'll mostly be posting torrent links and Bandcamp.

Cloudkicker

Subsume (2013)
Bandcamp 

 

Native

Orthodox (2013)
Bandcamp 

Today is the day Native released their second full length album entitled Orthodox. This band easily makes it into my Top 10 favorite bands and I can't wait to fall in love with this album. They are going on a US tour with O' Brother soon to promote this album release. 
 

Maelström

Le Feu Follet (2013)

Bandcamp 

One day my buddy Danny told me that he was just starting an EP and that he would have it done by the end of the week. To my surprise he actually accomplished it and the result is Le Feu Follet, an interesting assortment of ambient tunes and beats.  Head over to the Bandcamp page to stream it and show your support!

Credit to Katie Acheson for the album art, another friend!

Dinner

And...Hearing Things (2009)
FileFactory

Dinner is a math/post rock band from Yamagata, Japan. This album was released in 2009. I have only listened to a few songs but I really like what I have heard so far. Give them a listen!

Langosta

Super Nature EP (2013)
Bandcamp

Well, langosta means lobster in Spanish, and we all know that lobster is a delicacy. This band is no different. This four song EP packs heat, name your price.

The Safety Fire (Switches from technical prog metal to glamcore)

So The Safety Fire has just released two new tracks entitled Red Hatchet and Yellowism, and I have to ask, is this even the same band anymore? The vocals have been seriously tweaked in post production, I've seen you play live before Sean and that is not your voice. Red Hatchet was simply okay, something I would expect out of a first single, but I am seriously disappointed in Yellowism. The band seems to be focusing more on their image as a bunch of goofballs who like to take their shirts off rather than the heavy, technical, no bullshit band that they were before. Sean you have a blood curdling scream, I'm not here to listen to you hit high notes and falsetto, and what was with the half assed break down at the end of Yellowism? I thought to myself, okay its not so good now but at the end of the song I'm sure they'll drop it, but no you left me with nothing but garbage and a shirtless alley throwdown. I was completely stoked to hear this new album after such impressive tracks like Floods of Colour, DMP (FDP), Animal King, and Circassian Beauties, but now I honestly feel sorry for you. You guys are going to get laughed at on tour with BTBAM and The Faceless.

If the rest of the album sounds like Yellowism then The Safety Fire is extinguished.

/rant

Sargasso

Metanoia (2013)
Bandcamp 

Plini

Other Things (2013)
Bandcamp


Chon-like instrumentals from Sydney, Australia. 

Halcyon

Pastures (2011)
Bandcamp 

Extremely talented one man jazz metal fusion band from Australia.  Reminds me in many ways of Jakub Żytecki. Awesome "background to life" music.

LITE

New single from LITE just released. The song is called "Hunger". I'm looking forward to the new release!

Chon

Newborn Sun (2013)
Bandcamp 

Finally, after 5 years of waiting, the Southern California progressive metal quartet Chon has released a new 8 song EP. It probably took them so damn long because they had to finish high school, these kids were really young when their first release came out. The drummer was 11 so he should be somewhere around 16-17 now.  But anyways, if you haven't heard of Chon you should really give them a listen, the lead guitarist, Mario, is certain to be recognized as one of the greatest guitarists on the scene right now.

Noxious Foxes

Epochalypso (2013)
Bandcamp 

Absolute insanity, I want to get inside the musicians heads and see just what the fuck they had on their minds when they wrote this album. Here is a link to a great review on the five songs on the release: FreshSpread

Bonobo

The North Borders (2013)
http://bonobomusic.com/

I don't know how I haven't posted this yet, Bonobo has quickly become a part of my top ten favorite artists, and after seeing them perform live they have become part of my top three live performances. This album truly has some of everything, Bonobo has really perfected his sound over the years. The occasional vocals really bring the songs to life. 

 

Cirrus

Heaven For the Sinner

Baths

Obsidian (2013)
http://www.bathsmusic.com/


Happy to finally hear the second full length release from Will Wisenfeld, aka Baths. His previous release, Cerulean, was an uplifting glitch hop album that sounded like the sun reflecting off a lake on a summer day. Cerulean is my go to album when resting on a boat or enjoying a hot day. Obsidian takes a one eighty from Cerulean. The album art alone is enough to give you an idea of what you will hear on the album. That's not to say that is is completely dark, but it definitely has its melancholy moments. Their are many warm songs on the album, such as the fifth track, "Incompatible." While it may be a downtempo track, one will see that is actually a heartfelt love song of Will Wisenfeld describing his feelings towards his boyfriend moving in with him in his house. I had to chuckle giggle smile when I first heared the line, "First boyfriend. You live in my house and we share a toilet seat." This album really has a ton of awesome moments and on first listen I realized it's just one of those albums that you have to listen to over and over again to really get, hell a lot of critics have been rating it above Cerulean.

I am excited to see Baths perform live in Detroit this Saturday! I believe this is first time touring, definitely will be dancing to some groovy Cerulean tracks. 

Shy Guy Says

Sucraphrenia (2011)

Bandcamp

For those of you still listening...

"Centered in Illinois, we've been playing music across the midwest since 2008. We like to throw ourselves in the "undefinable" genre category, although we've certainly been influenced by the region's historic DIY scene, as well as a long list of post-rock, shoegaze, ambient, and math-rock bands."