[B]Epoxies - Need More Time[/B]

I've read some stuff about this band in the punk forums but other than that this is the first time I'll be hearing from them.

Ok, some high-pitched synths at the start of the song, sounds like someone got punched in the nads and their voice got warped or something like that. Steady drum beat and Blondie-like female vocals kick in, it's got that 80's feeling to it. Pretty formulaic and straightforward, I don't think I'm gonna expect more than the usual verse-chorus-verse punk song structures. Well it is pretty catchy, with the girl going "I don't care why, I need more time" in the chorus and the backup guy vocals going "oooohhhhhhhhhh" and another one going "ooh-eeh-ooh-eeh-ooh-eeooh". The synth still goes on consistently throughout, and there's a short solo somewhere in between.

I can't decide whether this would be a new-wavey punk or punky new-wave song that was given a 21st century facelift, but really, I just found this as a candy-coated riot grrl tune that's about as standard as the songs in the same league that came before it. I won't say that this is a bad song, it's very catchy, I'll give it that, it just needs a little more oomph and variety. If I hear better songs from this band I'll probably listen to them some more. For now, I'm a bit disappointed.

[B]6/10[/B]

Songs:

Cougars - Flatbrush(noisy garage rock with horns?)
[url]http://s43.yousendit.com/d.aspx?id=2PKH35E7XIYW80BU2FU9FXVABP[/url]

Nation of Ulysses - N-Sub Ulysses(post-hardcore)
[url]http://www.southern.com/southern/band/ULYSS/17971.html[/url]

The Black Heart Procession - Tropics of Love(bossa-influenced)
[url]http://www.epitonic.com/artists/theblackheartprocession.html[/url]

Soul-Junk - Hogging All the Islands(Hip Hop)
[url]http://www.epitonic.com/artists/souljunk.html[/url]

bmup

Its been a while, I'll give it a try

I wanna try it, but if you beat me to it then by all means go ahead.

On a 'James' related note, I know the guitarist. He teaches at my college. He does a lesson called 'Live Performance Workshop' which basically teaches you various forms of aspects of improving live performances, and different forms of improvisation and stuff. It was a VERY cool lesson, and he's a majorly cool guy.

[B]Butch Walker - Into The Black[/B]

Intro - I quite like the drum sound, although it sounds a little over-produced, it works. The vocals aren't bad either. Quite typical indie-rock vocals but not in the annoying british-trend way.

0:46 - The guitar comes in, this bit made me jump at first, maybe it's because it's quite sudden, or it could be because it's 2.40am. Pleasant chorus, typically 'anthemic' and 'uplifting'.

1:09 - verse 2, I like the way they've added to the texture with the lead guitar and more drums. Was a nice addition. Just followed by a chorus.

1:57 - Guitar solo, bit boring, nothing stands out about it. Would've worked better with a sonic youth or a mars volta-esque solo, but thats just my taste probably.

2:16 - Bridge, now this is a bit sappy. This sort of ruined the song for me. Sounds like something from an Evanescence song (without a chick).
Then the outro is basically just the chorus repeated. There is also backing vocals singing another part to add texture though I thought it wasn't really needed here.

All in all, it was a good song, but in no means a great song. Nothing grabbed me about the song. I think I'll download the other song anyway and try that one out too, but this song didn't really do much for me. Overall about 6/10.

Yourcodenameis:milo - Audition
Biffy Clyro - My Recovery Injection
(download links will be up tomorrow)

hey I Had dibs

[b]Butch Walker - Into The Black[/b]

A smooth one note melodic synth riff and reverby drums are what I first hear, it's slightly industrial.. Vocals come in, and they sound nicely sad and a bit haunting even. It reminds me of a city at night, somehow... A stop-start bass line joins in. Everything is fitting together nicely.

ARH, the chorus hits, hard. I was hoping the quieter part would have gone on for longer, maybe with a build up to this. I should have guessed from previous BW songs that this would follow a typical structure. Anyway, the chorus is much more melodic than the verse, but the guitars are distorted, drums are harder and the singing is louder.

The softer verse returns to my enjoyment, just with some ringing guitar notes this time. Much like the first, it goes heavy for the chorus after a multiple-of-8 bars. The same chorus, but that leads into a mini guitar solo. Then there's a softer bridge section with some reverse synth effects, I know it won't last long...

Nope, back to the chorus, which I've heard twice already, nothing new to say about it. Fade outro of the soft stuff again...


What I want to hear some time is a Butch Walker song that doesn't follow any common structure. I did like the music in the intro/verse quite a bit, but they let the structure dictate the song and it changed far too quickly for me. The contrast with the heavy chorus was a bit too much as well, I thought. For a melodic pop-rock song, it was fine.

7/10. It could have been higher if the musical elements were given more room to grow.

___________________
[b][url=http://www.comcen.com.au/~caracarol/Decoder Ring - Spooky Action At A Distance - 01 - Collapse Coming On.mp3]Decoder Ring - Collapse Coming On[/url][/b] - indie post-pop...? instrumental






BUMP

Bump. Also:

[B][SIZE=4]Decoder Ring -- Collapse Coming On[/SIZE][/B]

Starts out with synth noises which fade out and give way to a piano line and reverby guitar. This slowly gains momentum and more layers until a drum line kicks in. The song is moving along nicely at this point, leading into a slower part, which explodes again into a more excited state with a lead guitar part and the piano and synth lines swelling around it. This is obviously the climax, which with a final note fades down to nothing.

Sounds like the end of a soundtrack to a movie with a happy ending. Highly melodic and rather catchy.

[B][SIZE=3]8/10[/SIZE][/B]
_________________________________________________________________

[B]The Eels -- Woman Driving, Man Sleeping (Alt. Rock)[/B]
[url]hddp://s63.yousendit.com/d.php?id=1LOBJEU7UJB4W1TOMLTSU7IYSO[/url]
[B]Sage Francis -- Sun vs. Moon (Underground Rap)[/B]
[url]hddp://s63.yousendit.com/d.php?id=RLAMOBBZVI8WYUZ4B4D7DB4G[/url]

[b]Eels - Woman Driving, Man Sleeping[/b]

I was very impressed by an Eels song the other day, so now I'm after some more.

It's got an acoustic guitar leading the music, some pretty simple chords. The vocalist is loud and clear.. singing about the song title pretty much. It's well worded, I like the line "white lines shooting by". Light drumming comes in to carry the guitar and singing. The music and words together do have a good relaxed night-driving feel about them, a little lonely too.

The chorus sounds different, theres some ambinet sounds.. It's about the man dreaming, but nothing interesting, just about apartments. The chorus is pretty short. I heard some piano in there too.

Another verse with some more good lines. "A little metal box under the stars" makes things seem really insignificant, but it's cool. Another chorus follows, same as before. It's a pretty simple song, and I'm liking it.

In the end of the song, the song title is repeated, and a very simple electric guitar line and a quiet piano joins in as it fades out.


Well.. probably one of the best simple songs I've heard in a while. It was all about setting the mood, and it did a great job. I really liked the lyrics too, it was poetry to music. Not such an exciting or interesting song, but what it lacked, it made up with, some hard to describe goodness. I'm definitely getting more Eels songs now. 8.7/10

________________________________________

[url=http://www.comcen.com.au/~caracarol/Karnivool - C.O.T.E..mp3][b]Karnivool - C.O.T.E.[/b][/url] - prog/technical nu-metal

Dibs

Karnivool - C.O.T.E

Starts with dark ambient noise...drums come in with a cool guitar effect. The drums are pretty intense. It's got a cool riff that sort of cuts of. Suddenly the song chills down after a drum break. The vocalist has a very soft tone, guided by electric piano. Drums and guitar comes in....drums are in a strange time signature. This part is pretty relaxing. The singer sings in falsetto now...it sounds a bit forced. The heavier distorted guitars move in nicely. The second part of the chorus if very built around the drums. I don't like it when the singer sings in falsetto...he sounds better in his normal singing voice. A brief part with acoustic guitar that blasts into a heavy melodic 3/4 part. A short guitar solo. This is turning out to be a bit of an epic tune. I like this part, when the acoustic guitar blends in with the electric part for a mo...with a breathy synth in the background. The song has good riffage, with heavier parts mounting into melodic tranquil parts. It's much better than most other 'nu-metal" but definately nothing I haven't heard before. The breathy light production is a breath of fresh air though. 7/10


My picks:

The Delgados - Bits Of Bone (alternative)
Thomas Dybdahl - From Grace (acoustic/singer-songwriter)
dEUS - Suds & Soda (alternative rock)

My msn is [email]stresspuzzlealmanac@hotmail.com[/email] ..... if you can't find them...you can get them off me.

dibs

Ok I decided to do [B]Deus - Suds and Soda[/B]. Because I know absolutely nothing about them.

It starts interestingly, Im hearing a high-pitched noise and im not entirely sure whats making it, perhaps strings? A lightly distorted guitar enters with a really cool sound, is mixes things up a little with a few mutes. I like the voice quite alot although I can't really make out what he is saying due to the odd style of the backing vocals.
The guitar has now changed and has led into a chorus. the chorus is very catchy and now there is a womans voice too (the way this is done sounds , dare i say it, Ash-like). Then it kind of follows the same pattern back through anoher verse into the second chorus.
Im loving the instrumental, im rubbish at distinguishing instruments though so I dont know where its coming from. Anyway it fits the song brilliantly and adds a new vibe to the song. The backing vocals come in again (which have grown on me) and there is a sense of climax with two vocal lines going on. The song comes to an end almost abruptly despite the climatic feeling.

I thoroughly enjoyed this song, it was very catchy and I think Im going to check some of their other work now. I would give it a 9/10, nice song :thumb:

I will upload some songs and then edit them in..

Nebula - Long Day (stoner rock)
hxxp://s52.yousendit.com/d.php?id=2MPWF1A1J08WG326BU7RF2EG4S
J Mascis - Ammaring (laid back, Dinosaur Jr-ish rock :confused:)
hxxp://s52.yousendit.com/d.php?id=1QAK8PQ319Z442CZIHITJ6TUS8

well I guess dibs it is

[b]J Mascis & The Fog - Ammaring[/b]

I dont think I've ever heard either J Mascis or Dinosaur Jr, but I'm expecting something relatively indie-rockish.


Nice and easy intro, a relaxing feeling comes from the melodic guitar and that ambient sound. Singer starts, he sounds a bit.. familiar. Chris Cornell with a slight country accent? This all continues relaxedly for a while.

The chorus is similar in feel, just with different chords, and so it sounds sufficiently different while keeping the flow going. Guitar solo follows with the chorus music, its good, no off notes either.. nice. Late in the solo there are loud bursts of sound.

Back to the verse music with vocals, I think I like this part the best, it sounds nice. I just wish it was warm here now so I felt more a part of the mood created. I havent listened to a single word sung, I'm just taking in the sounds. The singing stops for a bit for some lead guitar over the verse. The slight country vibe is coming through in the music too.

After the second chorus is a noisy guitar solo, and it gets noisier.. this is a bit of a put off for me, especially that it's a random slide solo.. I don't like random. But soon everything backs right down after that and the ambient melody takes it softly to the end.


Pretty good, I'm finding simpler music more enjoyable lately. Stuff like this will help me further. I found nothing super impressive about the song, and apart from that slide solo, it was just a nice, easy song to listen to. I'd go for more.
8/10


___________________________
[b][url=http://www.comcen.com.au/~caracarol/Simon%20And%20Garfunkel%20-%20The%20Sound%20Of%20Silence.mp3]Simon And Garfunkel - The Sound Of Silence[/url][/b] - acoustic folk

[QUOTE=NachoChez]Glad to do so if you can explain YSI to me.[/QUOTE]

:lol:

dibs on simon and garfunkel

The Sounds Of Silence

I know this song, but I didn't know the title...now I do. Starts with a nice simple piano intro...with Paul and Art singing simultaneously "Hello darkness my old friend, I've come to talk with you again" with a soft tone. Their voices work really well together. The lyrics are amazing "...pure poetry...and without sacrificing the beautiful flow of the vocals. Throughout the song, Simon & Garfunkel sing simultaneously. Sometimes poetic songwriting really put the essence on lyrics, while the music takes a backseat, but it's not the case here. The music itself is simple and straight up but it serves it's purpose. The vocals give the song it's wry magic. The lyrics "the words of the prophets are written on the subway walls and tenement halls and whispered in the sound of silence" are sung in a more triumphant and haughty way...giving the song a nice climax. Great song...I'll check out more by them. 9/10



My picks:

Jaga Jazzist - All I Know Is Tonight (prog rock/electronica/jazz)
Thomas Dybdahl - Pale Green Eyes (folk pop)
Timesbold - Bone Song (folk/americana)
Kaada - Black California (alternative/experimental)
Ella Fitzgerald - Cry Me A River (jazz)

dibs

All I Know Is Tonight - Jaga Jazzist

For the first 20 or so seconds there's some little beeping reverby stuff and then the song explodes into a arrangement of numerous insturments. I know alot about Jaga Jazzist, so it's pretty amazing that they went from a drum and bass duo to something like this. All the insturments are very well mixed, and you can clearly hear them all. There is also some chanting and "ahing" in the background. The clear leader of the song is the horns at the moment. Around 2:10 most of the insturments settle and there is a brief guitar solo with some bass and drum backing. Then the horns make a return. After the horns make their return it breaks into what could be describe as "the chorus" although it's an insturmental song so it's hard to describe. It's basically the point that the song is really building up too. Around 4:00 a brief flute causes the song to descend into some low horns, there is some bass, drums and quiet stirngs in the background. It's all really well put together and this is one of my favorite tracks off of What We Must. After about 2 minutes of the quiet stuff, the song breaks back into the chorus which is a very emotional release in my opinion. Lots of insturments start to come in and make it feel really built up and then it ends.

9/10

[B]Picks[/B]
Jeromes Dream - Everyday at 3:05 (Screamo)
Jens Lekman - Tram # 7 To Heaven (Indie-Poppp)
The Gorillaz - Every Planet We Reach is Dead

Dibs

[B]Jens Lekman - Tram # 7 To Heaven[/B]

I like the lofi vibe it gives off. It starts with a pleasent little simple guitar melody, and then the vocals come in. Sounds very similar to Nick Drake, only not as sad, the vox I mean. They lyrics are bit interesting. A bit of synth like sounds appear now and then. I like how it sorta really gets big at the 2:20s and after.

It's a cute little song, I liked it.

8/10


[B]My pick:[/B]

Bonnie Prince Billy and the Marquis de Tren - 2/15 (a mellow, sweet song)

[url]http://s46.yousendit.com/d.aspx?id=16FNTKV7XNFOF3QC929914UNW3[/url]

dibs

I've never heard of the band/song so I enter with an open mind;

Starts tentatively with the sound of several guitars, It seems carefully orchestrated and has a melancholic tone to it. I like the voice, but its adds to the tender quality of the song. I think I also hear a piano in places, this works really well, The subtelty of the instruments is outstanding.

The voice has started to pick up now with "I know you take pleasure in my singing", I can't quite grasp the lyrics but they sound powerful, that might however just be the context of the song. There is now a small passage with a really whiney backing vocal, this is the wakest part of the song yet, but doesn't really damage my overall impression. The song continues through another verse, which is much the same as the rest of the song.

Overall this is a neat song which seems to do alot without doing much if that makes any sense. Although I like the subtelty which I mentioned I would have liked to the singers voice really stretched towards the end in one powerful serge, but that is obviously not what they are going for. I would give this song about an [B]8/10[/B], I found it quite listenable and I might have rated it higher had I not been in a slightly more energetic mood.


hxxp://s54.yousendit.com/d.php?id=8UXVGP76STSS27NSCPC282M8C

^^This is 'Alone' preformed by members of Alice in Chains and Pearl Jam. I suppose the genre is grunge but the song is mostly acoustic.

dib it is, its a 9mb file, so give me some time..

[b]Alice in Chains with Pearl Jam - Alone (acoustic)[/b]

I've heard both bands, but not this song.

Acoustic guitar chords starts it off, I guess it wouldn't be an electric would it? Sounds like an AIC song, just going by the sound of that guitar. Layne starts singing, goes on a bit. Sounds nice, another singer joins in, but it doesnt sound like Eddie Vedder.

In the chorus, someone else joins in to harmonize "I'm alone" while Layne sings on. The harmonies are sung pretty powerfully, the guitar chords havn't changed at all.

After about 2 mins the drums start keeping the beat and a there's a short guitar solo. The drums stop when the solo does.. some feedback. Acoustic guitar still doing the same thing, its nice in its simplicity.

More of the singing, the verse after the solo sounds really good for some reason, then the chorus again. And there it ends.


Not bad, though not terribly exciting. Vocals were pretty good. Just a nice acoustic song, It's hard to think of anything else to say. 7/10


_____________________
[b][url=http://www.comcen.com.au/~caracarol/Rumors%20Of%20The%20Big%20Wave%20-%20Burning%20Times.mp3]Rumors Of The Big Wave - Burning Times[/url][/b] - pagan

[QUOTE=blueyxd]Not bad, though not terribly exciting. Vocals were pretty good. Just a nice acoustic song, It's hard to think of anything else to say. 7/10[/QUOTE]
The vocals are the reason I like that song.

dibs

[B]Rumors of The Big Wave - Burning Times[/B]

Looking at the band's name I wouldn't have known that they played pagan music if I wasn't told about it. I can't say I know much about this genre, much less listen to it often.

Some low and mellow cellos(?) open the song.They sound very swirly and mystical, like the tunes they use for medieval themes. On the 50 second mark they slow down a bit and an even lower melody takes it place, this time with kind of a stomping rhythm. Then a male and female vocalist join in singing at the same time, still very low-pitched like the cellos accompanying them.

Okay, some piano and short bursts of flute come in as well and.... the vocalists start chanting words I'm not familiar with, most probably an ethnic language, for a few seconds then they stop. Drums and bass enter and they start singing again. Very nice buildup, and the "mystic" mood is constant throughout.

I don't really know what the lyrics are about but since it's pagan I guess it's about the witches who were burned down("in this holocaust against the nature people/9 million European women died") I forgot when. The instruments take command for a minute or so, the song has more of a tribal feel now. When the singers come in they sound a lot livelier now and they end abruptly at "it is our will to survive".

I don't think I've heard anything like this before, it's a very unique and original song. Honestly, it's not my thing but it was a very interesting listen but I'll see if I can get into this stuff sometime.

[B]7/10[/B]

Songs:

Hideki Tobeta, Yui Araka(Katamari Damacy OST) - Katamaritaino(pop/samba-ish) hxxp://s37.yousendit.com/d.aspx?id=222818J6XX8CQ176UR3HA95HEU

Soul-Junk - Hogging All the Islands(rap)
[url]http://www.epitonic.com/artists/souljunk.html[/url]

Nation of Ulysses - N-Sub Ulysses(post-hardcore)
[url]http://www.southern.com/southern/band/ULYSS/sounds/N-Sub_Ulysses.mp2[/url]

Tiger Bear Wolf - Wrong Lens, Wrong Film(Fugazi-ish)
[url]http://www.purevolume.com/tigerbearwolf[/url]

dibs

[B][U]Hogging all the Islands[/U] - Soul-Junk[/B]

[QUOTE=www.epitonic.com]...free jazz and noise...[/QUOTE]

That sounds horendous.

/goesintothiswithdoubts

Surprisingly though the very first couple of seconds sound fantastic. The beat and bass sound promising, then some annoying steel drum kinda thing starts up which sounds terrible. Not only that though, but Soul-Junk's flow doesn't appeal to me at all, very sloppy, add some bad lyrics and he isn't making this experience any better. Dear Lord.

Very repetitive for a very long time, a particularly bad part though is the 'JeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeesusUsASsssusUSs!!!!' bit.

Short review, bland song.

ergh, I can't do anything more for this than rate it, at [B]1.5/10[/B] - I did like some of the rapping and that first couple of seconds was worth a half a point.

[B]Forced Listenings[/B]

Efterklang - Kloy Gyn (7:24); Electronic Stuff.

hxxp://s38.yousendit.com/d.aspx?id=0POZ8MON421GS0Q0E1SXQ8CON1

Elfonía - Modos Humanos (4;25); Prog. (Spacey-kinda) Rock.

hxxp://s39.yousendit.com/d.aspx?id=253M5KGYGQVGW2UVZJXD43LAVT

Flunk - See Thru You (5:18); Trip-Hop

hxxp://s38.yousendit.com/d.aspx?id=0XRACHWZ6AH4G2RLE134621T50

The Roots - Dynamite! (4:45); Rap

hxxp://s37.yousendit.com/d.aspx?id=3BJF7O2EQZMIM25W3KCZY9URHZ

Biffy Clyro - Instructio4 (5:53); Alt. Rock

hxxp://s37.yousendit.com/d.aspx?id=0D51F2W7GVIBN0IX8W25YT3466