rock
Live at the Fillmore | Dredg
I’ve learned something over the past few months. It’s hard work searching for new good bands on your own. You can spend hours upon hours poking through various websites or music services and not find something you’d even consider stealing. Of course, I’ve had a few success stories starting out just like that. But doesn’t feel great when your friends do the work for you? Hopefully that’s us in your case… but Nirav and I actually have friends too.
Holographic Universe | Scar Symmetry
It’s been a long while since I posted on some heavy metal. Metal really does dominate my music library, and seems I’m not justly representing that statement. I guess I just didn’t want to overwhelm Nirav with too much screaming and speed guitar. I recently came across Scar Symmetry from another music aficionado at school. Between his recommendation and two whole 30-second clips… the purchase was already made.
Street Signs | Ozomatli
Using over three languages to compose their verses and stanzas, Ozomatli sounds like an international band and rap group. But they are actually from our good ol’ state of California. The 10-piece band, composed of multi ethnic members, use their family cultures and languages to compose their music. Ozomatli to me is the best collaboration of rock, hip hop, jazz, funk, and salsa that I’ve ever heard in my life. And I’m generally not a fan when an artist even tries to mix 2 genres. If only latin influenced music sounded more like Ozomatli instead of reggaeton, how different would the world be?!?
Self-Titled | Days of the New
How often does heavy rock band let the acoustic guitar take the lead? How often does a band with a few hit singles actually produce a great album in entirety? The answer is essentially never to both of those questions. I’d put Days of the New along side The Toadies in terms of stealth. We heard their singles so often that we just naturally assumed they were no good. We assumed wrong.
Escape/Restart | Radius system
I came across Radius system only a few months ago. Their album caught my eye again today, I listened to it twice, and got the inspiration to spread the good news. As I do for all my posts, I check out the band’s website and do a little bit of research… but poignant only vaguely describes the feeling I get when I remember that making great music isn’t enough to keep the dream alive. As of August 27th, 2008, Radius system announced the project is over. They’re offering their album as a free download… get it while you still can!
Grace | Jeff Buckley
I know I’ve mentioned Jeff Buckley before in my Strongest Voices in Rock post, but his voice was just too phenomenal to actually think his music deserved just a passing mention. Sometimes he played alternative, straight-up rock, blues, or even folk. But what remained constant throughout was his amazing voice.
Crime of the Century | Supertramp
There’s definitely a few surprises lurking in my music collection. Take a look at my Favorite’s page. You’ll get a pretty good idea of a particular style of music that really hits it home for me. But it’s impossible for any quick list to account for all the outliers… and they often don’t account for any at all. I’ve let a few of these outliers out here and there, and now seems as good as time as any for another.
Selling Insincerity | Abigail’s Ghost
Have you ever heard a short clip of a song from a new band a knew immediately you were going to buy the album and love every second of it? Isn’t that a great feeling? See for me, that’s as good as it gets. It’s my crack and iTunes is my dealer. Honestly, shit this good can’t be legal. If you like Porcupine Tree, Riverside, Dream Theater… buy this album and see how quickly Abigail’s Ghost floats to the top of your progressive rock recommendation list.
Flies the Fields | Shipping News
Occasionally I come across a band with a sound I can’t quite put my fingers on. Shipping News has some elements of indie-rock and some sort of mellow grunge. But neither genre does them justice. This band is all about tension and a simple sound to get across a theme.
Danger Invites Rescue
It’s no secret, I’ve clearly got a fetish for progressive/post-rock/metal or whatever us kids are calling it these days. Isis, Pelican, Del Rey, and Russian Circles are among my favorites… but these guys are all pretty well known at this point (some more than others obviously). I’ve recently found another band among this genre that brings a fresh look.
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