just a quick update

Hello everyone,

As you may have noticed, I'm not updating this blog as frequently as I did when I first started it. With my work schedule being the way that it is, I don't have as many opportunities to search for new music, much less listen to and review it.

This doesn't mean that I'm giving up on this blog, because I know there are at least a few people that read it. At the moment, however, I'll probably be keeping up with my current pace of one new update a week (usually on Monday, time permitting).

Thanks for reading, and keep checking back for new free music!

Joe

We Swim You Jump - We Swim You Jump

Artist Website: We Swim You Jump
Netlabel Website: Subroutine Records

Track list:

1 - Sharks

2 - Sparks Fade Out
3 - 1234
4 - Frames On The Wall
5 - This Thing Will End

Download links: [Bandcamp]


Over the weekend I was pleasantly surprised to stumble upon a new music discovery website, thesixtyone and spent several hours playing around on it. The site is like an RPG of sorts, gain experience from discovering/listening to music, complete quests, grow in levels, etc. One of the many bands I discovered and enjoyed through the website was We Swim You Jump, with their self-titled EP.

According to one of their bios, We Swim You Jump draws influences from Elliot Smith, The Posies, and Loney Dear, but I've never listened to any of those groups before. Basically, We Swim You Jump is a five-piece indie/rock band with folk influences. One thing I enjoyed about their EP is that no point is their music too indie or too folk. They manage to maintain a nice balance throughout the five songs, which not only will help to make sure that they don't alienate possible listeners, but also makes the listening experience a more entertaining and exciting one, since you aren't exactly sure what the next track might sound like until it begins playing.

The album opens with Sharks, a lighthearted, shoegaze-ish feeling song. Right from the get-go, I was quite impressed with their tight vocal harmonies, and the fact that while the vocals were crystal clear throughout, they were not overpowering the band. After the first track, the mood of the EP immediately shifts to a more heavy-handed folk sound in Sparks Fade Out. This was my favorite track of the record, due to the presence of a piano and backing string section, as well as the somber mood of the song. 1234 resumes the faster paced, rock feeling of the first track, and Frames on the Wall follows suit. This Thing Will End is the shortest track on the album, but is the perfect closer, and a beautifully written song.

A great band with a great EP. Download it from their Bandcamp page for free.

Bomb the Music Industry! - Scrambles

Artist Website: Bomb the Music Industry! on Myspace
Netlabel Website: Quote Unquote Records

Track list:

1 - Cold Chillin' Cold Chillin'

2 - Stuff That I Like
3 - It Shits!!!
4 - Fresh Attitude, Young Body
5 - Wednesday Night Drinkball
6 - 25!!!
7 - $2,400,000
8 - Gang of Four Meets the Stooges (But Boring)
9 - 9/11 Fever!!!
10 - (Shut) Up The Punx!!!
11 - Can I Pay My Rent in Fun?
12 - Saddr Weirdr
13 - Sort of Like Being Pumped

Download links: [MP3]

--------------------------

Happy New Year everybody, sorry I'm a little late in getting back into the swing of things, but cross-sountry travel seems to have that effect on me. Anyways, here's the first review of 2010, hope you enjoy it.

--------------------------

I realize that I've dedicated several reviews so far to Jeff Rosenstock's various musical projects (including one BtMI! review), but I figured this was as good a time as any to review Scrambles, since it ranked at #2 in Punknews.org's Top 20 Albums of 2009 and #3 in the user-generated Top 20 list for Punknews.org (plus, this is my blog and I can do whatever I want!).

If you've listened to any BtMI! before (including their debut album which I've already covered), then you should have an idea what you're in for. The overall sound of the group has remained intact throughout their work, although Scrambles seems to have a little less ska and a little more acoustic to it (see Cold Chillin' Cold Chillin', Wednesday Night Drinkball, etc). This is not to say that I don't thoroughly enjoy the slight change of pace, and there are definitely enough catchy punk/ska tunes on the album to get my fix from. The punk songs that are present on the album, such as Stuff That I Like and Can I Pay My Rent in Fun? seem fuller and much more polished than songs in previous albums.

What I found to be a real treat was the accompanying information that Rosenstock provided on the album page on Quote Unquote Record's website. Not only does Jeff describe how the album came to be (I find it amazing that they were able to record a whole album for so cheap), but he adds a little backstory before the lyrics of each song to provide insight into their meaning. It was the song info that I found so useful, seeing as how Jeff's music always centers around personal feelings and experiences, and the extra information helps the listener relate more to the music. The only real downside that I can find with the album is that Jeff's style of singing sometimes make it hard to understand the words (although if you are listening along with the lyrics page open, you shouldn't have a problem).

It was tough for me to pick out my favorite tracks of the album, because like I mentioned above, Rosenstock did a wonderful job of drawing me into each song and making me care about each one individually. If I had to pick a few tracks to definitely listen to, I'd probably go with Wednesday Night Drinkball, 25!, and Gang of Four Meets the Stooges (But Boring). I'm not going to go into details about what the songs mean or the lyrics, because honestly you should read them yourselves, I don't think I'd do them the justice they deserve (The link is listed in the previous paragraph).

In conclusion, mikexdude over at Punknews.org said in his review of Scrambles that "Jeff Rosenstock is slowly becoming the only voice in punk that matters", and I'm inclined to agree with him.

Blog update

Just a quick update to the ten or twelve of you who actually read this blog. I'll be traveling for the holidays and won't be adding any new entries until I return, which will be shortly after the new year.

Joe

Buffalo Buffalo Buffalo - Phobiaphilia EP

Artist Website: Buffalo Buffalo Buffalo on Myspace
Netlabel Website: Copyleft Records

Track list:

1 - Bookend I (In The Beginning)
2 - Mayfly Life
3 - Fuck!
4 - All In This Together Now
5 - Hey Luanne
6 - Three Wonderful Nights
7 - Bookend II (In The End)


Download links: [MP3] [FLAC] [Torrent]

I have a love/hate relationship with singer-songwriters. On the one hand, any idiot can pick up a guitar, learn three chords and write a sappy love song. It's artists like these that make me want to recreate the infamous guitar stairway scene from Animal House. On the other hand, some of the most beautiful songs I've ever heard have come from singer-songwriters. Strangely enough, some of these talented artists don't utilize anything more complicated than the aforementioned three chords, and if they can make it work that way, then why add more? Such is the case of Buffalo Buffalo Buffalo and his debut record, Phobiaphilia EP.

The record consists of Byron Hulcher (the real name of Buffalo x 3) by himself, singing and playing his acoustic guitar. The music is a cross between the acoustic melodies of traditional singer-songwriters and the frantic strumming traditionally found in punk rock. In fact, Mr. Hulcher has said that he drew the inspiration for this album from listening to Plan-It-X records (a label that produces similar music). While some may initially think that the lack of backing instruments might leave a punk rock outfit sounding rather bare, in this instance it works beautifully. Each song tells a different story of love, loss, and hope, and the single acoustic guitar is more than enough to carry the message home to the listeners.

The opening and closing tracks (Bookend I (In The Beginning) and Bookend II (In The End)) aren't the strongest on the album, but are quite fitting considering their names. Each of the following songs deal with specific topics that all teens worry about and some actually experience. Mayfly Life discusses HIV, Fuck! is obviously about teenage anger and feeling isolated and alone, while All In This Together Now is about sticking with those close to you and persevering through good times and bad. Hey Luanne deals with teen pregnancy, and Three Wonderful Nights touches on drug use.

There are many reasons why people might not enjoy this album as much as I did, like Byron's voice, the fast-paced guitar riffs, or the subject material, but I fell in love with this album from the first listen. I can't tell you if the experiences the singer talks about really happened to him, but he performs them in such an honest way that I'd be shocked if they didn't. Here's to hoping that Buffalo Buffalo Buffalo decides to release a full-length in the future, and that it maintains the bare-bones, honest feel of Phobiaphilia EP.

Electric Sea Spider - The Thief

Artist Website: Electric Sea Spider at Myspace
Netlabel Website: Mine, All Mine! Records

Track list:

1 - Rico's Theme
2 - And Start West
3 - The Looming Alleys
4 - Chinatown
5 - Snowfield
6 - Augustus Sebastian The Murderer
7 - Stethoscope
8 - Tear
9 - Arrowfrog
10 - Yolk (Cut Up Sounds From '66)
11 - Rubik's Cube
12 - Mollusk

Download links: [Torrent] [MP3] [FLAC]

"Electric Sea Spider makes his long-awaited return to mam!records with this amazing set of electronic tracks. Often mixing trip-hop, ambient and idm sounds, Electric Sea Spider has created an album that will keep you hitting repeat." -Blog entry from Mine, All Mine! Records

The Thief is the 93rd album released from veteran netlabel Mine, All Mine! Records, and the third release on said netlabel from Electric Sea Spider. As always, I approach any music labeled "Electronic" with a little apprehension due to my lack of exposure to it, but in this case, Electric Sea Spider has met and exceeded my expectations.

The album starts off fittingly enough with Rico's Theme, which is what I assume to be the "trip-hop" mentioned in the MAM blog description (I can't say for certain because I've never really listened to trip-hop, but if that's what this track is, then I like it). And Starts West is a little more familiar with what I've come to know as IDM from artists such as Xihilisk and Aphex Twin. While the percussion beat is quite impressive on this track, the floating, ethereal harmonies from above really give the piece direction.

The Looming Alleys might be my favorite track on the album. Certain songs such as this one have a way of completely taking me out of my element and transporting me to another plane of consciousness. I'm not sure exactly what distinguishes tracks such as this one from others like it, but I always appreciate finding a gem like this on a new album.

Chinatown utilizes some interesting choices of vocal sampling, while Snowfield relies on its engaging piano melodies rather than the traditional heavy percussion to provide the foundation for the song.

The rest of the album is just as much fun to listen to as the first half which I described, and although I am the type of person to usually skip around songs to find the ones I like, I didn't feel the need to do that at all with this album. Electric Sea Spider's The Thief is another wonderful example of the electronic genre, and a great album to listen to in almost any setting. A great work for newcomers and veterans of the genre alike.

Stagedivehighfive - Everybody Has Their Highs And Lows

Artist Website: Stagedivehighfive at Myspace
Netlabel Website: Nite Owl Records

Track list:

1 - I Love You
2 - She Dumped Me..Finally
3 - Tragedies Happen
4 - Wreck Da Couch
5 - I Eat Bitches for Breakfast, Bitch
6 - Bloody Monsters

Download links: [MP3] [Stream]


Along with my woeful ignorance of IDM/electronica music until recently, I was also unaware that there were musicians out there making 8-bit music (think original Nintendo game soundtracks). Apparently this is not a rare occurrence either, as the act of using gaming sound chips to make music is big enough to warrant its own genre: Chiptune. While there are netlabels out there with their entire catalog being made up of nothing but chiptune music (and I'll probably touch on some of them in the future), today I focused my attention on the newly formed Nite Owl Records and their first proper release, Everybody Has Their Highs And Lows by Stagedivehighfive.

While this music may not appeal to everybody (I find it hard to envision drunken fratboys cruising the town with this blasting in their car speakers), I find it strangely charming. It might have something to do with my long history with Nintendo systems, but each track I listen to makes me nostalgic for classic gaming. For example, when I being listening to She Dumped Me..Finally, it immediately brings to mind the training sequence of the classic NES boxing title "Punch-Out".

This music is not all about the nostalgic factor though. If you sit and really listen to each track from start to finish, you'll hear a multitude of 8-bit noises being used as building blocks to construct each song. These songs can get extremely intricate, not only in song structure, but also in the number of noises utilized and how they are layered into the music.

While a few of the tracks such as Bloody Monsters and Wreck Da Couch have openings that are slightly grating and might deter casual listeners, other tracks like Tragedies Happen are incredibly easy on the ears and might actually bring a smile to your face (in fact, I'd go so far as to say the aforementioned Tragedies Happen is so well constructed that it could have easily been utilized in a video game soundtrack of the era).

If you've never listened to any chiptune music (or if, like me, you had no idea that it was even a musical genre), I'd say Stagedivehighfive is a great jumping-off point for people looking to get deeper into the genre. Go download the album, or if you would like to listen to it before you download it, click the button above listed [Stream].