Sent By Ravens - Mean What You Say

Our Graceful Words was not my favorite record. There are some songs that I really like on the record and some good songs that showed that Sent By Ravens could be a great band. But the record seemed to lack clarity. The songs didn’t flow and each song wasn’t strong enough on it’s own to make flow a non-factor. The potential was there but there was no wow factor.

Mean What You Say has that wow factor. Prudence comes blazing in and grabs your attention and then hits you with a punk style chorus. Listen and Rebuild, Release have huge guitars on the chorus that compliment the hooks. It’s hard not to notice how huge the record is. It’s socially more interesting than the band’s debut. Learn From the Night takes things down a notch, but just slightly. The songs play more like a song from Our Graceful Words but the energy is more evident.

Mean What You Say record isn’t just sonically impressive and loud. Yes, Sent By Ravens have given us a great rock record but it’s a memorable record. Each hook is just as catchy as the last. Never Be Enough and Best In Me help showcase the band’s diversity (a little). Never Be Enough is a great piano ballad and Best In Me plays like a great early 2000’s radio rock ballad.

Sent By Ravens sophomore record is a huge improvement and shows tons of growth. From the first time you push play to, to the time you hit stop, Mean What You Say is a compelling album and great listen. Every song is solid. And at 10 tracks, 32 minutes long, Sent By Ravens doesn’t waste time with filler or super long songs that lose the listener. Mean What You Say will for sure be in the running for one of the best albums of 2012.

The Meltdown 67

Music from Everdown, Wish For Eden, and Audio Adrenaline.

The Way - Helpless But Not Hopeless

I think Christian punk can be a little one tracked at times. Songs can be all about having a good time with friends and songs about girls. Lots of songs about love and girls. ANd when you get spiritual punk lyrics, they can be cheesy or just played over super fun punk music. And when bands tread on deeper lyric topics they get thrown into a category of being one of those "controversial" bands (Craig's Brother).

The Way don't veer into controversial territory but the band uses their music to make a lyrics statement. I don't know if I would say they're super political or theological with their lyrics but the band isn't shying away from making a point with their music. Great punk rock in the vain of Bad Religion, Social Distortion, and Pennywise (a sound that's largely been missing in Christian punk).

Helpless But Not Hopeless is another great release from Thumper Punk Records.

Damien Jurado - Maraqopa

2010's Saint Bartlett was a weird release for Damien Jurado. Not bad... Just odd. His first time working with producer Richard Swift created an album that felt disjointed. Half the songs played like Jurado singing Swift songs and the other half sounded like Sift playing on Jurado songs. It created an interesting record and was really new ground for Jurado who's signature haunting folk songs were none existent on Saint Bartlett.

The duo's second record together, Maraqopa, is a much better marriage. Swift and Jurado have grown and have created a record that I think better fits Jurado's musical stylings without abandoning the production that Swift brings to the table. The quirkiness isn't gone, it's just changed into something that fits together better.

Nothing Is The News kicks the record off and shows instantly how the two have grown together. Acoustic guitar and heavy reverb on Jurado's vocals kick off the song before Swift comes in with a dirty rock guitar riff that slows over the rest of the track. It's not an indicator has to how the record sounds but it's a distinct change from most of Jurado's discography. Life Away From The Garden is a fantastic track that reminds me of an updated version of Waters Ave South. The title track is about as close to sounding like anything Jurado's done previously in his career as you get on this album.

Maraqopa is full of great songs. Swift's production is almost always perfect. It's lo-fi at it's best. A step forward from Saint Bartlett but still stepping away from the Jurado I fell in love with. A great record nonetheless.

Ryan Blake Martin - Fragile EP

Whenever an artist does a solo album, it's always interesting to see which direction they go and how far removed it is from whatever band or genre they normally play. And for Ryan Blake Martin, who's normal gig is playing guitar for A Plea For Purging, Fragile couldn't be a further departure. (Ok, I guess country or hip-hop could be a further departure but that's not the point).

The past two Plea records have featured Martin's singing voice. So it comes as no surprise that Ryan is such a great vocalist. But the songs on Fragile are heartfelt... Almost innocent, coming from the soul. It shouldn't be a surprise when people involved in heavy music branch out and do something completely different.

Each song is simple. Just Martin's voice and guitar. It draws the listener to the lyrics of each song (which honestly can be hard to understand at times). While The Controller features a stellar electric guitar lead blues line, it's out while Martin is singing. While Martin's work with A Plea might keep some away from this record, Fragile is an album that fans of Denison Witmer and Gary Murray will enjoy.

The production is strong and the songs are all quality. Martin has transitioned from heavy metal guitarist to soulful singer/songwriter quite nicely.

Owl City - Live From Los Angeles

Live albums... A pointless release or something special that fans will really enjoy and appreciate? If you're not a diehard fan do you care about a live release? If you've never gotten to see a band in concert, is the live album good enough? I own a couple of live albums and have some bootleg live recordings in my iTunes library. Mostly bands I love (Mxpx, Starflyer 59, Five Iron Frenzy), but largely the live album just doesn't work for me. Rarely is the performance or recording good enough to justify spending the money. And the album never fully captures the live experience so I feel like if I've never seen the band live that the album will make up for it.

Insert Owl City's Live From LA. I actually caught this tour when it came through DC and enjoyed it for the most part. The best part of the live album is that it gives me a reference for all the songs they played that I didn't know but really enjoyed.

The recording itself is excellent, which isn't surprising seen as there's a dvd that goes along with the album. I love the new intro to Fireflies and the live performance gives the songs an extra shot of energy.

But more than anything the album solidifies how good a band Owl City is and how solid a musician Adam Young is. No studio tricks, no multi-tracked anything. The songs sound right on point and Young's vocal's never waiver. It reenforces how much I like Owl City.

No new songs but a solid live album all around and something fans of Owl City will want to pick up.

SONS - Keep Quiet

There was some pretty big hype surrounding SONS before the release of Keep Quiet. People were ready for Keep Quiet to be the record of year and SONS were on the verge of having a nice 2012. It's a pretty tall task for a band on a relatively new and small label.

The hype is pretty well warranted though. Keep Quiet is a great record. My ignorance showed when after several listens through, I finally looked up info on the band and discovered that SONS is the same band as Sons of God, who's debut The Genesis Project is one of my favorite Come and Live releases. (It also explained why Doubt was such a familiar song to me).

SONS reminds me of a more indie/more post-hardcore version of My Epic. A little bit of a contradiction, I know. But Keep Quiet has a really nice subtle intensity to it. Where My Epic is all or nothing, big or small, SONS balances the two in a way you don't hear outside of post-rock very often. The quiet still moments are captivating and hold your attention until the music explodes. At times it seems like caged intensity (Under the Sun) but other times it hits you square between the eyes (Masters of Flattery, Doubt). Tracks like Believe In Something and Keep Quiet walk a fine line between full on explosion and beautiful melodies. The guitar riffs are captivating and the timely synth lines that flow in and out help build each track. The album flows like watching waves hit the shore. In and out, quiet then intense, each one beautiful and compelling.

I'd be lying if I said the record hit me instantly because it didn't. It took a couple of listens and some real quality listens before the songs really started to hit me. But once they did, they didn't leave me. The lyrics are thoughtful but the delivery of the words still makes it so the songs get stuck in your head.

Keep Quiet is a stellar record that deserves the hype it's gotten so far. This is one of the best albums I've heard in this young year.

The Meltdown 66

New music from Sons, Eisley, Ryan Blake Martin, Rosie Thomas, and more.

Nine Lashes - World We View

Hard Rock is a tricky genre for me. Bands start to run together and sound the same after a while. What distinguishes the good from the mediocre? How catchy are the hooks? How memorable or interesting are the guitar riffs? It's the little things that grab the listeners attention that make a hard rock record worth ones time.

Insert Tooth and Nail's latest signing Nine Lashes. For a quick description the band falls somewhere between Red and Thousand Foot Krutch. Trevor McNevan of TFk even has a guest appearance on World We View (The album also features a guest appearance from Ryan Clark of Demon Hunter). There are some great tracks on World We View. Believe Your Eyes is more a ballad but it strikes a nice note. Our Darkest Days has a killer guitar riff that reminds me of Red's Until We Have Faces (which I love). Plus the bridge features Ryan Clark.

The problem with World We View is it's just a nice record. I've listened to it at least a dozen times and every time it's a good rock record. But there's nothing that stands out to me. The hooks won't stick in your head so you're singing these songs for days on end. It's just not that type of record.

Nine Lashes have delivered a hard rock album. No more, no less.

Free Music Friday: You Can't Explain Logic - No More Waiting

You Can't Explain Logic was featured on Noisetrade's home page a couple weeks back and the art work got me interested enough to download the record. This EP is the solo project of Bryan Laurenson (formerly of Copeland) and it's composed of songs inspired by his new daughter. Fans of Hammock, The Album Leaf and other ambient/post rock acts will love this ep.

You can downloaded No More Waiting for free here: http://www.noisetrade.com/youcantexplainlogic

Eisley - Deep Space EP

The first time Marvelous Things graced my stereo and hit my ears, I was an Eisley fan. The Dupree sisters make beautiful pop music and each record has been a continual progression and maturation, lyrically and musically. Each record more beautiful and deeper than the one before.

Deep Space is another musical progression for Eisey that I'm absolutely in love with. Where The Valley moved the band forward into pop/roc perfection and was really a band becoming comfortable in their craft and making something great, Deep Space is a move forward into something different.

Deep Space is a move away from pop rock. While the sound is still clearly Eisley, Deep Space has a shoegaze/indie rock vibe. That sound made minor appearances on Combinations but wasn't as fully fleshed out and explored as it is on Deep Space. And don't take the word shoegaze to literally. This isn't a fuzzed out, massive reverb attack. But it's airy and open. Think Ride. Lo-fi my comparison to the Valley but lo-fi can sound like a dirty word and Deep Space is an excellent ep.

The guitars on Lights Out and Deep Space have a warm, open air quality to them that makes it sound like the guitar is sitting in the room with you. The guitar solo on the title track is the best solo the girls have cranked out ever. 192 Days shifts where the first three songs have taken you and goes with a more folk direction, which caught me off guard my first time through the record. The quirkiness (by comparison to the rest of the album) is quickly forgotten because Eisley still writes some of the best melodies and harmonies in music. It must be a sister thing. One Last Song closes the album out on a more familiar note but the song is so lush and reminds me of what band's like Ester Drang did so well.

It's clear that Eisley chose to try something different with Deep Space and it works perfectly. The record is so lush and open that it sounds like the band is performing in your living room. My favorite record of the year so far.

The Meltdown 65

New music from The Fray and Blessed By a Broken Heart. Plus tracks from Mxpx, Project 86, and Sunny Day Real Estate.

Rosie Thomas - With Love

Rosie Thomas is an artist I absolutely love but don't really like many of her songs. I know, it's backwards. Her Christmas album is one of my favorites and songs like Wedding Day and Farewell would rank as some of my favorite songs period. But as a whole, her discography is a little underwhelming in my book. I will go see Rosie Thomas live any time she's in town but her records just don't click with me.

With Love is her fifth full-length and her first since These Friends of Mine (which came out in 06). It's her best record since her debut (When We Were Small) and is my favorite record to date. The songs are stronger. That draw that's always made Thomas such a great live performance seems to finally come through on a record (that's not her Christmas album, which is full of charm).

With Love is just good pop music. Which is probably what separates this album from the rest of Thomas' discography. While the singer/songwriter folk element is still in tact, there's a distinct change in sound on With Love. Over the Moon is the perfect example of the change in direction for Thomas. A sugary sweet love song that's catchy, memorable, and extremely enjoyable. On the flip, In Time is a song that feels very familiar to what Thomas has produced before. And that balance is what helps move Rosie Thomas forward into new territory without abandoning what fans have come to love and enjoy.

With Love is the album where Rosie Thomas clicked for me. Just enough a departure in sound for me to get it but not enough where long time fans of hers will freak out. Great pop songs about love. Who can hate that?

uniSEF - Discography

Where Blood and Ink is picking uo the slack and releasing the best hardcore the scene has to offer, Thumper Punk is giving the Christian punk rock scene a much needed shot in the arm. From old school punk to modern pop punk, Thumper Punk's discography is filling a hole.

The label's latest offering the complete discography from Boise, Idaho's uniSEF. The discography spans the band's career from 2004-2009 and features 41 songs of killer hardcore punk. The band reminds me of Officer Negative, Rancid, Headnoise, and the Crucified. uniSEF instantly takes me back to junior high and high school, watching skate videos on G-Rock.

Although a little on the lo-fi side, uniSEF's Discography is full of fantastic punk songs. Their catalog would've fit in perfectly with the Screaming Giant rotation of bands. While 41 songs that runs an hour and forty-four minutes is a long play that can get tiring. But the upside is there's ton of music to dive into, so there's always something new. There's even a cover of Officer Negative's Dead to The Word (which is excellent).

If you're looking for some quality old school hardcore punk, uniSEF's Discography fill's a gap that's been missing in music for many years. It's a shame this band is no more and this is all the music they have to offer.

Free Music Friday: Rosie Thomas - These Friends Of Mine

On February 14th Rosie Thomas released With Love (review coming soon). In advance of her new album Rosie put her 2006 record, These Friends Of Mine, up for free on Noisetrade. These Friends OF Mine features appearances from Sufjan Stevens, Jeremy Enigk, Denison Witmer, and David Bazan. It's a great record!

You can download These Friends of Mine for free here: http://noisetrade.com/rosiethomas

The Fray - Scars & Stories

The worst thing for a band is for people to be indifferent to you. Most people will talk about what they like and what they hate but if they're indifferent and just don't care about your band, there is no conversation happening.

I have been pretty indifferent towards The Fray. Not because I've thought they were a bad band. Mostly out of ignorance and not caring. Cable Car and How To Save a Life were nice songs but didn't stick with me enough to check out their album. I didn't even realize the band had released a self-titled album in 2009. I wasn't even going to give Scars & Stories a spin at first.

Perhaps like the band itself, Scars & Stories is a record that grows on you. My first time through I thought that this wasn't a record that would find it's place in my collection. The songs were fine but nothing very attention grabbing. But a second, third, fourth spin in I started hearing more. The music draws you in. But it's the lyrics that really grab your attention (which I think is the point of the Fray's music).

Heartbeat kicks the record off on the right foot and even my first listen through I liked the song. The Fighter is another upbeat rock song that starts Scars & Stories off nicely. Songs like Run For Your Life, The Wind, I Can Barley Say are heartfelt, "softer" songs that help bring balance to the record. Not to say every song isn't heartfelt as Scars & Stories is full of great songs with strong meaningful lyrics. It's not a top heavy record, as 48 To Go, Rainy Zurich, and Be Still help bring the record to a strong close. 48 To Go is probably my favorite track on the record.

The Fray isn't a band one should be indifferent towards and Scars & Stories has me interested in hitting up their back catalog. The songs are strong and the lyrics mean something, which isn't always the case in mainstream music. Scars & Stories is a record to pick up and let grow on you.

The Meltdown 64

Come and Live Records Spotlight

Showbread - A Man With a Hammer
The Frozen Ocean - Swan Song
Sons of God - Doubt
So Long Forgotten - Hills Humbled, Mountains Made Low
I Am The Alpha and Omega - The Lost and The Captor
Abel - Saints
The Ember Days - Cocoon
Ian McIntosh - Beautiful
The Rock Music - Burn For You
Life In Your Way - Who I Am
Holding Onto Hope - Between Failure and Fraud
Everett - The Crown
Ascend The Hill - How Great Thou Art
The Sleep Design - Hope Is The Dream of a Soul Awake

††† (Crosses) - EP ††

Crosses released a fantastic EP last year for free. My guess is it was free to get the word out about the band (but does a band fronted by Chino Moreno really need to get the word out?). The debut ep was a fantastic piece of dark electronic music with Chino's smooth vocals over top.

Crosses is back with EP ††. In many regards EP †† is better than the band's debut. The sound is fuller with the addition of real drums on most the songs. It's less cold sounding. The first three songs on the ep (Frontier, Prudent, and Telepathy) are fantastic. Telepathy is a killer dark new wave track. But as that statement makes clear, the last two tracks on the album fall a little flat. They aren't bad songs, but Crosses up their game on the first three songs that the last two just don't hold up.

Regardless of how I feel about the last two songs on the album, EP †† is stellar and anyone who's a fan of the first ep or Chino will want to pick up this ep.

Free Music Friday: Come and Live Records Part Deux

One of the first Free Music Friday segments I did was a feature on Come and Live Records. I highlighted some of my favorite releases. But I downloaded pretty much the entire Come and Live discography on Monday and have really been digging into their releases. Not only is there some seriously killer music on the label but the worship tunes have been a blessing in my life this week.

Tons and tons of great albums available for free here: http://comeandlive.com/

The Meltdown 63

Music from Sleeping Giant, P.O.D, Owl City, and new music from Theory Hazit.