Family Force 5 are making some lineup changes. Solomon Olds
(A.K.A. Soul Glow Activatur) has stepped down from the lead vocalist position.
He will still be a part of the group in the song writing and remixing of their
music. He sited that he wanted to spend more time with his family. His brother,
Jacob Olds (A.K.A. Crouton) will be taking over the vocals for the group. They
have also picked up a new drummer, Teddy Boldt (A.K.A. Hollywood). The group
are currently working on a follow up to III. This new, untitled, album is
expected to be released in 2014. I am sad so hear that Solomon is leaving but
at the same time I am excited to see and hear the new changes for the group.
Sea Wolf has four days to go on its Kickstarter program. They
are at just over $35,000 but are shooting for $50,000. I don’t know if they are
going to make it. I hope that they do but it seems unlikely with an additional
$15,000 to go in four days. I have done a few of these for Pledge Music and
they have all hit their mark. This is my first Kickstarter.
Falling Up have a free additional track for the album Hours
that was released over the summer. You can pick it up at their Bandcamp page
Slumberland Records has put up the preorders for the new Veronica Falls single called Broken Toy and a
limited 12” from Girls Names called The Next Life.
Here we go...
This is the second solo album from Frankie Rose. It was
released this past week (Sept 24, 2013). It is released on Fat Possum Records
this time. It sounds very similar to Interstellar on first listen but after
multiple listens since then it has changed into something much more. There has
been no physical singles released from the album as of yet but one digital
single that I am aware of for sure. The cover doesn’t have a title written on
it at all. My vinyl copy has a sticker on the shrink wrap with her name and the
title of the album. I was hoping for a colored record but no such luck with
this release. The album has similar tonality as Interstellar but is completely
different from the first release. It is not quite as space sounding as
Interstellar. I think it is still up there but just high in the sky instead of
in space this time.
There are some very cool songs on this album but first the
single, Sorrow. The song is very beautiful with backing strings and simple
guitar riff with lots of echo on it. There is also a acoustic guitar that flows
in and out of the song giving a nice punch to the song. The drums seem to be
channeling the new wave 80s sounds that I like so much too. It is a great song
that I would recommend to anyone, really, anyone!
The overall arch of the album is very solid. She came back
to earth a bit more with this album sound wise. I really like the track called
The Depths. It relies on the bass guitar for the whole song. The drums are very
simple and rely mainly on the bass drum to keep the beat. The vocals are more
floaty, like clouds, at times more like rain clouds but still fluffy clouds.
There is also some synth sounds floating around in the backgrounds to give it a
light pink sky line at the same time. It is a very cool song, at times it
reminds me of New Order.
The track Cliffs As High is a slow song that leads with
light flowing vocals with lots of reverb and echo. There is something very
special about this song mainly in its simplicity. There is a very slow playing
piano along with strings and synth parts. It is as if I am watching someone
fall from a cliff but falling so very slowly to a gentile sleep. It is a very
sweet song indeed.
The following track, Minor Times, is a more up beat track
that reminds me of something from the previous album but at the same time new
and unique from the previous album. It has the cool 80s new wave feel too. It
is another great track on this album that seems familiar but new and different
at the same time.
I am really liking this album a lot. I think that I like it
as much as I liked Intersteller.
This is the eighth album from Saves The Day. It was funded
through Pledge Music. Pledge Music is run similar to Kickstarter but designed
for music only. I got in early and got the vinyl. I have not seen it arrive at
my door but was able to get the download as soon as it was made available. Fans
have already dubbed this album “The Orange Album” or “Grapefruit” because of
the cover graphic. It is really a refreshing album given that the last three
were locked in as a three part theme. It is like the group has had a weight
lifted from them. It shows in the music with fun rhythmic bounce that makes the
album fun to listen to.
There have been no singles released from the album that I am
aware of but there are some great tracks on the album that should be released
as such. The opener, Remember, is a great punk song that remembers what it was
like to be a punk kid. The repetitive bent notes on the electric guitar are
great fun in the verse. The contrast in the chorus is straight plucked notes. It
has a good beat and the song is quite fun.
I have come to adore the song Beyond All Of Time. It is a
sweet love song that could reference any couple reminiscing about their past. I
could easily put me and my wife in the story. It really pulls at my heart when
he sings, “I love you beyond all of time, together forever tonight, I’ll always
be right by your side tonight.”
Xenophobic Blind Left Hook is a strange song for me but the
music is spot on. I could only assume that it is a story of a fight that was
about to happen but ended with a sucker punch or worse. There is then a request
for someone to call the cops and their friend has a broken nose. It is an
interesting story but the music is so much more interesting really.
Another song that I really like from the album is called
Ring Pop. It is another pop punk track that is so fun and bouncy that it is
hard to avoid really. The lyrics talk about falling in love again. The
difference with this one is that the couple is broke and so they gave each
other ring pops instead of engagement rings. It is cute really.
The last song on the album is called Stand In The Stars. The
song reminds me of something from The Refreshments first album. It has that
sound that reminds me of country but the beat is too happy and bouncy to be
anything that resembles country music. It really is a lot of fun/happy go
lucky.
This is really a great album even if you are not into emo
music.
This is a limited edition 7” record that came bundled with
the new album, Paracosm. Both tracks that are on this single are non-album
tracks. Some bundles of the singles had download cards and some didn’t. The
copy that I got didn’t. I am not mad about this because I have the ability to
record vinyl directly to MP3 or what ever. The B side track had some vinyl
noise. I was mad about this at first but have come to like the sound. It gives
the song an organic feel with the record noise. Wikipedia doesn’t make mention
of the bonus 7” but Discogs does.
The first track, Pull You down, is a slower track like most
of his work but the song still has a bit of bounce to it in the bass line. The
vocals are still kind of slack jawed but sleepy at the same time. It doesn’t
have the sounds of the forest like most of the album it is associated with
though. This is probably why it was not included with the album. It is good
music but didn’t fit with the album.
The b side track, Exit, is very atmospheric and light. There
is a guitar part in there that is clean sounding with a bit of echo on it. The
synth part boosts it up into the atmospheric realms. The song is very short
with no vocal part. It probably would have been the last track on the album if
it were to have been on the album.
A couple of very good songs that could have easily been on
the album. Both tracks can be heard over here.
This is the third in a series of non album singles from
Beck. It was released as a download and as a double vinyl. From what I have
seen the download is just the one song. The vinyl has the original mix, an
instrumental version, a Georgic Mix and parts 1 & 2 of the Extended Version.
This song is very different from the previous two singles that were released.
There is a lot of xylophone sounds that are going through all the versions of
this track. It gets a bit distracting over time, especially when there is about
an hour of the same song over two records. You really have to be in the mood to
want to listen to an hour of the same song. There are really cool parts of the
songs but it gets so repetitive after a while. The extended version is
twenty-five minutes on its own. I am happy to have all three of these singles
but that is a lot of music and time spent listening to the music for three
songs. It makes me wonder if this is somehow an extension of the song reader
stuff that he put out last year.
I am excited for the next album or two that will probably be
out early next year, especially if this is the type of stuff that will be on
them.
That is all I have for this week...
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