The Meltdown Archive

Because funds are limited I've only been able to keep 4 or 5 shows on the Meltdown live at one time. So if you've gone back to look for older episodes, they're not there. I've now uploaded the older episodes to mediafire for you to download and enjoy. The link is on the side of the page or you can click here: http://www.mediafire.com/?34drka881bc2x

Remember you can always go to www.mybloodypatton.podomatic.com and subscribe to The Meltdown on iTunes and get every new episode downloaded automatically.

Thanks for listening.

My Epic - Broken Voice

A song comes along every so often that just wins you over. I wasn't a huge fan of My Epic but when I heard Lower Still off the bands second record Yet, I was sold. Yet was fantastic album and I was looking forward to hearing new music from My Epic. But when the band announced they would be releasing a new acoustic ep, I wasn't sure how much I'd like it. What distinguished Yet from the band's debut, I am Undone, was an intensity in the music.

Broken Voice on the long side for an ep, at 8 songs and nearly 33 minutes. Centuries is a nice instrumental intro the goes into Beloved. A simple song: just acoustic guitar, cello, and vocals. It's beautiful, a little underwhelming but beautiful none the less.

And then Alone kicks in. Alone hit me the same way Lower Still did. The hand claps start and then acoustic guitar and vocals come in. When the chorus hits and the drums come in, I stopped what I was doing to truly pay attention to the song. Lyrically Alone is a 3 sided song. The first verse deals with the idea of being wrong about God or God not being there anymore. We'd be alone without the Father. Verse 2 is about Jesus and how he always with the Father and God never left him and Jesus, with all that he went through, was never alone. Verse 3 talks about the death of Christ and how in that moment, when Jesus took on our sins, Christ was completely alone. It's such a beautiful haunting song and the lyrics "You didn't die for sin, you died covered in them" hit me super hard. Alone is one of my favorite tracks of the year and it makes Broken Voice worth buying.

The whole ep is really beautiful. Lazarus reminds me a lot of Page France (RIP). A nice laid back, shuffle groove, with a touch of country. I love ending the ep with the Doxology. It's like the perfect ending. Broken Voice is a fantastic ep and My Epic continues to get better and impress.

Classic Album: Pedro the Lion - It's Hard to FInd a Friend

Before David Bazan was a solo artist chronicling his "break-up" with God and before (and even after) he was a controversial Christian artist, David Bazan was a champion to Christian indie rock kids everywhere with Pedro the Lion. While each Pedro the Lion album is great, It's Hard To Find a Friend has always been my favorite. The bands first full-length album and first release on Jade Tree records.

Bazan has always been an amazing story teller with his lyrics and he shines on It's Hard to Find a Friend. Of Up and Coming Monarchs tells the story of a draft dodger. Big Trucks is the conversation between a father and son and the importance of having patience. Bad Diary Days is about a cheating wife; When They Really Get to Know You They Will Run Away is about the pressures of fashion and looking good all the time.

But even outside the great story telling that Bazan delivers is the spiritual honesty in his lyrics (which made Curse Your Branches such a great album). The Longer I Lay Here is Bazan in need of God to help him get through life. Secret of the Easy Yoke is the song that got me really hooked on Pedro the Lion. This is the earliest moment of Bazan dissatisfaction with Christians on recorded music as he laments about not being able to find God in church and within the Church. It's a killer song. Honest, heartfelt, beautiful. Promise is a fantastic closer and a great song about blind faith.

David Bazan has always made great albums and Pedro the Lion holds a special place in my heart.

Free Music Friday: The Radio Sky - The Radio Sky

The Radio Sky is a rock band that features Corey Brandon from Norma Jean on guitar. Last year they released their self-titled debut album and put it online for free. I haven't heard any new news from the band (as all the info on their album is still on myspace) but their record is great. A solid rock album that should be checked out and enjoyed.

You download the record for free here: http://www.megaupload.com/?d=ORLBJRY5

And I know that looks sketchy and like I'm having you pirate the record but that's the link the band has available. Really. http://www.myspace.com/theradiosky/blog/532506689

The Meltdown 37

My favorite bands featuring Strongarm, Sunny Day Real Estate, Zao, and The Cure.

Hands - Give Me Rest

When Creator came out, it was a breath of fresh air in a scene quickly becoming stagnant. It was also a reintroduction to Facedown records and hardcore in general for me. I had spent a lot of time out of the genre and Hands was a nice welcome back.

Give Me Rest blows Creator away. There's a tension in the music, in the lyrics. There's an intensity that lacked on Creator, but to contrast that, Give Me Rest has some of the most beautiful pieces of music you'll hear this year.

The drums come pounding in on I Will as Shane Ochsner screams "Rise! From the Quiet I Will Rise!" The guitar comes in quietly and as the clean vocals come in singing "Rest my soul in you alone" the tension slowly builds and the listener is waiting on this ever-expanding musical field to fully gain steam and explode and then it does. It's like an exhalation. Water doesn't waste any time building. But even on Water, as the music slowly dies and the vocals whisper, "Be still so we may hear his voice", it creates this tension with the listener and as the music erupts back in, it's like an exhalation.

Hands do a good job at making sure the music stays fresh and isn't a constant building tension into a crescendoing exhalation. Cube has more of a straight rock riff on the guitar and while the song is still heavy, the vibe on the intro to the song is a nice transition. But when Shane screams "Somebody throw the switch, shut it down", the music explodes back into the listeners face. As the vocals and ambient guitar open up Helix, you're relaxed and concentrating on the lyrics. Even when the band fully kicks in, the ambient lead guitar line playing under everything sets a mood of tension and unease and the lyrics accompany that unease.

"I believe Your hands hold the sun. But in the deepest of my mind, I question everything you've done."

So when the music fades and the guitar line lingers, as the band begins to build, you're ready for the downpour of sound that comes rushing through your speakers.

Here I Am is where the album starts to shift. The bass line intro is nice and has a very familiar feel to it. Even as the vocals scream this tension that Ochsner is feeling, the music carries a different weight. Jovian has a weird interplay between some choir vocals and the guitar riff that create a unique sound. Not unpleasant, just different. Northern Light is where the post-rock influence on Hands' music really kicks in. Very Appleseed Cast esque, and as a huge Appleseed Cast fan, I'm all for it. It's the end of a slow shift that had been happening over the course of the last couple of songs so unlike modern metalcore records where the ballad attacks out of the blue, Northern Light is just a beautiful piece of music and Hands pulls off the atmospheric sound really well.

After the relaxation and deep breath that was Northern Light, 2005 brings the tension element of the music back into play. "Burn this body down. To the ashes and the dust, from which it came." "I am bound by the chains of temptation. I am bound by the demons, staring back." The song cresendos with the declaration "By Your Grace I am released!” Restart is like the great close and acceptance we've been waiting for. Not an end, but a move towards acceptance and an end of tension.

Give Me Rest ends the album beautifully. It's that peaceful calm that is the perfect end to a record full of tension and questioning.

Give Me Rest is the concept of the album, as the phrase, along with Be Still, is repeated several times. The lyrics accompany the music perfectly and vice versa. It's heavy and beautiful, tense and calm. Give Me Rest is by far the best record I've heard this year.

Free Music Friday: Ska Lives Volume 2

Summer is in full swing. Trips to the beach and the pool are well underway. 4th of July is upon us. Barbecues and fireworks out in the heat. Great memories are made in the summer time. A lot of my summer time memories include going to Creation, Cornerstone, and Warp Tour, suited up and skanking in a dusty pit to my favorite ska bands.

Sitting out by the pool isn't complete for me if it isn't accompanied by upbeats and a horn section. Ska and summer go to together like peanut butter and jelly. They were made for each other.

Indie Vision Music, like myself, believes that ska is a great thing and isn't dead yet. So just in time for the 4th, they released Ska Lives Volume 2. 29 tracks of ska goodness including new tracks from The Insyderz and The Dingees, the OC Supertones 2005 version of Adonai, plus music from Blood and Water, Staked Liked Pancakes, Tiki Joe and the Bamboo Band, Skamikaze!, and more. It's a fun compilation.

You can download Ska Live Volume 2 for free here: http://www.indievisionmusic.com/2011/06/29/ska-lives-vol-2/