Falling Up have set up a new kickstarter campaign for a new
album. They are shooting for $40,000 to get the album made. The campaign went
up two days ago now and they are already a quarter of the way there. They have
written such good music in the past that I can’t believe that this would be a
bad one either. Please, give what you can to get this off the ground.
Sea Wolf has gotten the test pressing for the Cedarsmoke
album. I am another step closer to getting that record! It will be translucent gold from the picture that I saw.
Eternal Summers is starting a tour with Surfer Blood this
fall! I am excited about that.
If you are a music writer and use Reason, they are coming
out with Reason 8 this fall. It will be quicker and easier to use.
Here we go...
This is the fourth album from Family Force 5 (FF5) not
including the two remix albums. The original lead singer, Solomon Olds (Soul
Glow Activator) has stepped down as lead singer from the group but will still
be active in song writing and remixing. Brother, Joshua Olds has taken over the
lead vocalist roll and Teddy Boldt has come up to play the drums for the group.
The new album hasn’t changed in sound from their past albums with the exception
of a slight tonality change in singing for obvious reasons. The album was
released on CD or DL this past week. There were two levels of preorder
available both with the same CD content. One with a signed poster and basket
ball jersey the other with just the poster not signed. I think that this is
their best album to date. I has the hard hitting songs that I like and has
songs that are very obviously talking about god in a vague sense. The latter
has been somewhat lacking in some of their previous albums but I am happy to
see them back. It is not that they haven’t been talking about god at all on the
past album but they had hidden it very well. I feel that if I wasn’t a
Christian and I listened to the last album I may not have known that
Christianity was the basis for the music on the album.
There have been four singles released from the album
digitally already. The first single is called BZRK. This song is super hard
hitting electronic music with lyrics that are so jerky that it melts your face
off as you can’t stop dancing to the music. It is a bit childish as the song
simply talks about all out dancing. The lyrics talk about getting your heart
rate up to the sky. This is a buried lyric about dancing for God. The bible
does talk about making a joyful noise and I think that it is hard to make a
joyful noise without moving your body in a way that adds to that feeling. All
this is done to make a connection to God. This is one of the best songs I have
heard from the band ever. I think that the best song and the one that means the
most to me comes from their first album, I Love You To Death. BZRK hits me as
hard as this one does.
The second single released from the album is called Let ItBe Love. This is a slow track that pushes the idea that love should be what
makes the world go around. The lyrics brefly talk about argument and protests
and how they don’t really solve the problem. What does solve the problems of
the world is love. It really is as simple as that. If human beings could let
profit go and live life in love we truly would be so much farther in life. This
is not to say that having a home over our heads isn’t needed but more that
putting our differences aside and working instead through love, kindness and
grace that the world would be such a better place. It is a grand message and idea
to live by.
The third single that has been put out is called Sweep TheLeg. It is a fun song that pulls on the 80s nostalgia of US desire to better understand
Asian martial arts. The lyrics reference The Karate Kid and Bruce Lee among
other references. The lyrics are so much fun for me being a kid of the 80s. It
is a great rock track with a heavy beat that makes me want to bob my head like
I was in a mosh pit in high school. This is a super hyper big beat track that
is so much fun to not only dance to but to sing along with. I can’t stop
smiling when playing this song.
The fourth and so far last single from the album is called
Glow In The Dark. This is another big beat track. The lyrics talk about glowing
in the dark. This is a reference to being the light of god. This is awesome to
me as the darkness is always around us and God wants us to be the light, his
light, in the darkness. The song is a re-imagining of the kids song that is
still sung in churches today. It is truly a perfect idea of what we should be
every day for god. Not only would this make us able to see the light for the
darkness but it also makes us able to see others who glow in the dark and
attract others to the light of God that have never seen it before. I really
like the idea of this song for those
reasons.
I think that this is my new favorite album. I hope you all
give it a chance!
This is the new album from Spoon, their eighth album. It was
released on Aug 5th, 2014. This is their first album put out on Loma
Vista. There have been a few different versions of this album put out. It was
put out on CD and DL but the Vinyl was put out on translucent blue with a glow
in the dark print on the sleeve over the standard graphic. It was also put out
on standard black, white and, through Urban Outfitters, a clear version. If you
pre-ordered the album from a local record store there was a limited 10” record
with three tracks from the album given away for free. This usually was
accompanied with the white vinyl version on the release date.
At this point there have been two digital singles released.
The first is called Rent I Pay. I like spoon for what they create but they do
have a style that I feel most of their music has. That style is very staccato
in nature. This song is not lacking in that style at all. I would not have
bought all of their albums if I didn’t like the sound that they have created. I
don’t think that there is any other band that has put this type of sound all
over so many albums. This is not to say that there aren’t soaring sounds in the
background to fill in the gaps of the staccato notes. I think that this is part
of what makes the band so great. Rent I Pay is more of an up beat track even
though it talks about having to spend money on things that keep life moving
smoothly.
The second single from the album is called Do You. The song
seems to be about asking who ever your with if they just want to escape for a
bit and do something different and unexpected. It is a fun idea. I like this
idea and when I get the chance to do something like this is ends up being
something really fun and memorable. The sound of the song is a bit different in
that the lead guitar part is mostly acoustic. This is a happy change for me,
not that the band has not done this in the past but more that I have been
listening to a lot of electrified music recently. This is a nice change for me.
I have a feeling that the third song, Inside Out, that is on
the pre-order 10” will probably be the third single. Keep your ears pealed for
this one on the radio
With the upcoming second album from phil I decided to fill
out my lacking collection in his solo career. I recently picked up the limited
10” called Running Blind and this single for the single from his first solo
album. This single features not only the lead single from the album but also
the lead single from the EP, Running Blind, which hadn’t been released quite
yet. Maybe I will get to a full review of the EP at some point in the near
future but for now here is the two songs from the single.
By Some Miracle is a very smooth track. The song is very
slow with both acoustic and electric guitars. The drums seem to be played with
brushes giving the beat a dreamy wash sound. There are also some other stringed
instruments being played in the back ground adding to the emotionality of the
song. The backing vocals add to this organic emotional feel to the song as
well. And then it is over before you can blink. The song is short at two and a
half minutes. The emotion that the song stirs though is what makes the song
special.
The second track on the single is called Running Blind. This
song adds bells to the song that sparkle like stars in the darkness above the
beautiful acoustic guitar and bass parts with heartfelt lyrics from Phil. Later
in the song there is an instrument that I can’t put my finger on but it adds
soaring notes that almost overtake the song. This is perfect considering that
the lyrics are over at this point and these notes draw the listeners’ attention.
It is another beautiful track from phil and co.
I am happy to have this single and saddened that I never
picked it up in the past. It is a bright gem that I have now added to my
collection.
That is all for now...
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