[B]Meat Puppets - Aurora Borealis[/B]

This is very much indeed spacey rock. Spacey rock that sounds like its from 1972, where people reached an intergalactic presence via drugs. There are no vocals to distract from the mood the Meat Puppets are trying to establish. Instead downbeat guitars echo with reverb to a very basic mid tempo percussion section. The song itself is also very repetitive and could use a little of the old whistle and hum. It gets somewhat messy in the middle with more distortion but only for a mere few seconds. Overall the song is pretty relaxing and well put together, but serves better as psychedelic background music. Its got ballsy artful ambition, yet it’s not too offensive or too mild. [B]7/10[/B]

[I]Recommended:[/I]

Blitzkid - The Fog (horror punk)
Peeping Tom feat. Norah Jones - Sucker (alt. rock)
The Sword - Winter’s Wolves (stoner metal)
The Damned - Amen (experimental goth punk)
Swingin’Utters - The Black Pint (cow punk)
Son of Sam - Michael (new wave goth rock)

[b]Peeping Tom feat. Norah Jones - Sucker (alt. rock)[/b]

OK I've heard of Peeping Tom, and I know Mike Paton is involved, but I've never listened to them, so here goes nothing.

First thing I notice is the druggy male vocals which sound a little like Beck - clearly influenced by rap in the fluid spoken word delivery. The chorus is very hypnotic, with the female singer adding a distinctly seductive edge to the song -- overall, the vocals are very much centre stage on this song, which some glitchy background effects, spacey guitar and quiet drums completing the mix. It's like Massive Attack meets Beck meets Patton. A very chill song, which is quite enjoyable but nothing ultra special. [B]7/10[/B]

recommendations:

Big Boys - Jump the Fence (funky 80s hardcore)
Unwound - Star Spangled Hell (post hardcore / noise rock)
Wire - Mannequin (post punk)
Swirlies - Bell (alternative / noise pop)
Massive Attack - Thankful for What You've Got (trip hop)
Orchid - Aesthetic Dialectic (screamo)
Red House Painters - Shadows (acoustic indie-folk blah blah amazing)

[B]Unwound - Star Spangled Hell[/B]

Starts off with a winding guitar line, and then joined by drums and bass. I'm pretty sure this is from the early 90's. The gentleness of the intro is washed away with distortion and then the vocals begin. The vocals are alright. However, this whole thing still sounds like something high school kids recorded int heir basement, in terms of both quality and music.

HERE COMES THE BRIDGE. It basically repeats the same basic idea of the verse but with clean guitar. This is usually the part of the song where things are supposed to get tense, but it doesn't really do it for me.

The predictable conclusion of the bridge occurs with the guitars and drums pounding back into the verse, but this time with some octaves in the background with actually sound pretty good. But then it goes back into the verse again. Shame.

So the good part of this song was about ten seconds long. I give this a [B]2/10.[/B]

Suggestions!
Cross My Heart - Today I Discovered The World (Emo)
In the Face of War - Without You There Is Only Me (Hardcore/emo ish)
Puff Daddy - I'll Be Missing You (Hip-Hop)
Saves The Day - Sometimes, New Jersey (Pop Punk)
Stars Hide Fire - Still Breathing (Pop Punk)
Another Breath - I'm-Pro-You-Shutting-The-F[COLOR="Black"]u[/COLOR]ck-Up (Hardcore)
Grade - A Year In The Past, Forever In The Future (Pop punk)

Get at me on AIM for any of these tracks: DesksVsBikes

Stars Hide Fire - Still Breathing (Pop Punk)
Begins with a really cool guitar sound and strained vocals that remind me of high school.
The dual vocals are cool, but the voices are kind of weak. Either way, they're in tune and that's what counts for me. Plus, call and response is the shiz.

We get a little soft section and then transition into the chorus with a big vocal cue. Predictable, but done well enough to make it cool.

The band comes in full force for the first time at the chorus and it is a good choice. The parts work well together, but nothing groundbreaking. The vocals are probably my favorite part by now. The drummer is pretty nasty though. Lots of fills especially in the following verse section.
I also really like how they took the same verse material but redid it with the whole band.
Alright, at the bridge the band is showing their stripes. They go from the heaviest part of the song to the softest seamlessly. Nice drum production in the soft part.
Oh snap!
I thought we were destined for another rock section before the end but we get acoustic guitars instead first. Nice touch!
Ok final chorus, he's still breathing blah blah blah.
Overall, solid songwriting, bad lyrics and mediocre song for me. It was really nothing special but I wasn't suffering while I listened to it either.
7/10

Achilles - Dear Old Tyger That Sleeps (hardcore) [url]http://www(dot)mediafire.com/?dej3inyvozz[/url]
Able Baker Fox - October (rock) [url]http://www(dot)mediafire.com/?dzdjbcobjn4[/url]
The Environment - Bloom (mathrock) [url]http://www(dot)mediafire.com/?0v5mwxlcd4v[/url]

Achilles - Dear Old Tyger That Sleeps (hardcore)

Good guitar work, especially during the chorus. The drums are also quite original The vocals however are pretty much typical hardcore screaming. It's not necessarily a bad thing it's just I've heard it before so many times. The verses are the real highlight of this song, punctuated by a sharp guitar riff, with dual guitar harmonies that are very enjoyable.

A very good modern hardcore piece that displays technicality and skill. The production doesn't really bring forward the ferocity Achilles is trying to display though. 8/10

[B]recommended[/B]

Slint-Breadcrumb Trail (Post Rock)
Converge-Homewrecker(Metalcore)
Antischism-Sacrifice(Anarcho/hardcore)
Mastodon-Aqua Dementia(Metal)