Fall Out Boy – “Pax Am Days EP”

 

Fall Out Boy re-entered the scene earlier this year with “Save Rock and Roll.” Personally, I wasn’t a fan of their new, poppy sound. I craved the pop-punk sound à la “Take This to Your Grave” or “Evening Out With Your Girlfriend.” Needless to say, I was pretty disappointed with “Save Rock and Roll.”

But then the band announced a new EP entitled “Pax Am Days.” This EP was recorded in two days at the Pax Am Studios. The band quoted this EP as “a collection of songs we did for fun…” This EP takes influence from the olden days of hardcore punk and bands such as Minor Threat and Black Flag. The album starts off with the high-octane “Art of Keeping Up Disappearances” and keeps the energy high through the end single “Love, Sex, Death.” Gang vocals and chaotic guitar solos are apparent in this album, something that we’ve never really heard from Fall Out Boy. It’s a refreshing antithesis to the poppy “Save Rock and Roll.” The songwriting is superb and the band really pulls this hardcore punk sound off. The only complaint is that Patrick Stump’s voice isn’t really suited for punk. Sure, it did well in their early days. But the band, including Stump’s voice, have matured. Stump is an avid user of vibrato, which is something that isn’t really an attribute of hardcore punk. 

Other than Stump not really having the vocals for hardcore, this album is pretty good. It’s fast, it’s fun, and it takes listeners back to the golden days of Fall Out Boy. 

Best Tracks: Hot To The Touch, Cold On The Inside and American Made

Score: 7.5/10

Mayday Parade – Monsters in the Closet

Way back in 2006, Mayday Parade seemed poised to be one of the biggest bands in the scene. The band released the well-received Tales Told By Dead Friends EP that year, and followed around that year’s Warped Tour hocking CDs in the parking lot. Mayday released their full-length debut A Lesson in Romantics and their popularity exploded. Unfortunately for how the band’s future, they also parted ways with co-lead vocalist and chief lyricist Jason Lancaster that year, giving fans a ready-made talking point any time future releases didn’t live up to the hype of A Lesson in Romantics. To be fair, that is a valid point to be made. Comparing Lancaster’s post-Mayday career to Mayday’s post-Lancaster career, most would agree that Lancaster came out on top. He is pretty clearly the superior lyricist, and Go Radio’s total catalogue is much stronger than Mayday’s in this reviewer’s opinion.
Lancaster was not, however, the only talented musician in Mayday Parade. Derek Sanders is an excellent vocalist in his own right, and drummer Jake Bundrick is no slouch on the mic himself. A victim of their own success, Mayday Parade signed to a major label for 2009’s Anywhere But Here. By the band’s account, the label intruded on the writing process, foisted outside co-writers upon the band and ignoring the band’s vision for their sound. The result was an undoubtedly bland, mainstream mess of an album that fits more among the likes of The Maine (sorry, fans of that band) than in Mayday’s catalogue. The band re-captured ownership of their creative direction on 2011’s self-titled album, but the outcome was uneven: improved overall, but with several poor efforts.

With that complicated journey over the last six years, Monsters In The Closet seems to be the first Mayday Parade album to actually fly in under the radar. And with all the hype, rumors, and chaos mostly gone, Mayday has produced what is easily their best work since A Lesson in Romantics. While the band is unlikely to ever again reach the heights of that release, Monsters can stand on its own quite confidently. The record kicks off with an a cappella intro from Sanders, backed by a chorus of his band members, before launching into high gear. Right away, you notice a more focussed attempt to integrate Bundrick as a second vocalist, something missing on past releases. The opener “Ghosts” is plenty catchy, and features a strong guitar solo from Alex Garcia. The second track, “Girls,” is a miss lyrically, but it’s still catchy and fun. “Last Night for a Table for Two” has a punchy swagger to the guitar work and Jeremy Lenzo’s bass work on the track is excellent. The album only gets stronger as it goes along, with Sanders showing off his vocal talent on the piano-led “Even Robots Need Blankets.” 7th track, and really much of the album, “Repent and Repeat” has hooks for days and more solid guitar work from Garcia and Brooks Betts. The country-tinged ballad “Hold Onto Me” is  very strong, and the album ender, “Angels” may be the best individual song Mayday has written since ALiR. “Angels” features the first use of Bundrick as a true co-lead vocalist in a slow-burning back and forth number which would be right at home on that full-length debut.

Best Tracks: “Hold Onto Me,” “Angels,” “Nothing You Can Live Without, Nothing You Can Do About”
Worst Tracks: “Girls,” “12 Through 15”
Grade: 7.5/10 If Sanders was a stronger lyricist, and “Girls”/”12 Through 15” were replaced with better songs, this album could reach a 9. As it stands, a very strong effort from the scene veterans.

Spencer Chamberlain Filling in for TBS

With lead singer Adam Lazzara back home in North Carolina to be with his wife following the birth of their second child, former Underoath frontman (and close friend of Lazzara) Spencer Chamberlain has been tagged to fill in on the mic for Taking Back Sunday’s ongoing tour. Chamberlain’s first show with the band was yesterday, and our first video of the show surfaced this afternoon. This is basically my childhood in one video and it’s pretty great. Enjoy!

Melt-Banana – “Fetch”

 

Melt-Banana is by far one of the most unique bands I’ve ever heard. Melt-Banana is a Japanese noise-rock outfit consisting of two members, Yasuko Onuki (aka Yako) on vocals and Ichirou Agata on guitar. For drums, they either find a member to tour with them or use pre-recorded drum parts. Melt-Banana beautifully mix noise-rock, grindcore, electronics, and poppy song structures to make for a musical experience not for the faint of heart. That being said, “Fetch” is a personal contender for album of the year.

As my roommate put it, Melt-Banana sounds like an angry version of the Teen Titans theme song. Agata’s masterfully concocted guitar parts scream behind Yako’s high, intense vocals. The kind of vocals you would normally hear in a J-Pop type of song.

I’m gonna digress for a bit to talk about Agata’s guitar work. The magnitude of creativity put in to each guitar part is insanely high and shows both Agata’s skill and experimental creativity. Agata even made a highly acclaimed solo album that showcases his creativity as a noise-rock guitar player. When asked how he finds inspiration for his music, Agata said that he uses the feeling of euphoria when beating something difficult in a video game (using Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater as an example).

The opening track to this album, “Candy Gun,” is about the most radio-friendly thing Melt-Banana has released. The song starts of with a beautiful guitar soundscape, sounding almost like a shoegazing track. The track then explodes into a drum beat with an assortment of synthesizers in the back ground. Agata then re-enters the song with a quick, almost poppy guitar riff. Yako’s vocals enter the scene and the album hits its full stride.

The rest of the tracks are noisy, wild, and all-out fun. I don’t think I’ve ever had this much fun listening to an album the first time.

Grade 8.5/10

Tracks to check out: Candy Gun and Infection Defective. Both start out with noisy guitar soundscapes masterfully composed by Agata

 

Dance Gavin Dance – Acceptance Speech

It is unlikely that any band on the scene can match Sacramento outfit Dance Gavin Dance in drama and intrigue. That the band have survived long enough to release Acceptance Speech, their 5th full-length album is a bit of a miracle. It’s beyond the scope of this review to recap the long road the band took to get here, but suffice it to say, the band has been inextricably linked to former clean vocalist Jonny Craig ever since his powerhouse vocals won critical acclaim on their debut LP and cult hit Downtown Battle Mountain. After Craig was kicked out shortly after DBM‘s release, his star definitely out-shone the band’s over the next 3.5 years, as he released two well-received albums with Emarosa  and one much-ballyhooed EP with supergroup Isles and Glaciers. DGD went as far as to bring him back to the band, despite releasing 2 strong albums of their own in that period, with Kurt Travis manning the mic. The reunion didn’t last long, as Craig was kicked out once again before DGD could even do much touring to support Downtown Battle Mountain II. 

Against this background, Dance Gavin Dance improbably rose from the grave of “an indefinite hiatus” to announce in late 2012 that they would indeed be making new music. Tillian Pearson, who coincidentally enough replaced Craig as the touring vocalist for Emarosa in 2011 after he rejoined DGD, was tabbed as the new clean vocalist. The product of this new lineup is, for my money, the best Dance Gavin Dance album since the original DBM. Acceptance Speech starts fast, showcasing unclean vocalist Jon Mess’s much improved screams on opener “Jesus H. Macy.” Mess is just as frenetic as ever, with the added bonus of the listener actually being able to understand what the hell he’s saying. For his part, Pearson avoids the temptation to try to imitate Jonny Craig’s signature vocal stylings, sounding for all the world like Anthony Green-lite. Pearson is also showcased heavily on “Strawberry Swisher pt. 3,” an eclectic track showing off his generous range that would be right at home on the original DBM.

One thing that struck me is how many straight-up heavy moments there are on Acceptance Speech. “Carve” features a near-traditional breakdown (of course with a progressive bend) that would be fit in on an early Every Time I Die album. As much as Mess has grown as a vocalist since even Downtown Battle Mountain II, Will Swan has matched that progress on guitar. His impressive skills are on display on the title track, which transitions from crunchy, math/prog wailing to an atmospheric ending, with Pearson’s vocals soaring over all. Swan’s fingerprints are all over Acceptance Speech, much as they were on Downtown Battle Mountain II. Swan matches Mess’s frenetic screams with rapid-fire riffs just as easily as he dials it back to float beautifully behind Pearson’s atmospheric vocals. The result is Dance Gavin Dance simultaneously fully realizing their progressive hardcore potential while mixing in some genuinely beautiful clean vocal moments.

Best Tracks: “Acceptance Speech,””The Robot with Human Hair Pt. 4,” “The Death of the Robot with Human Hair,” Strawberry Swisher Pt. 3,”

Worst Track: “Honey Revenge.” It’s rapey. Don’t do that.

Grade: 9/10. If Dance Gavin Dance wrote lyrics that made more sense, I might be tempted to give it a 10.

Danny Brown – “Old”

 

 

Danny Brown is here and is going to change the entire hip-hop game. Yes, this is my opinion. But I think everyone will somewhat agree with me after hearing “Old.” Danny Brown’s third studio album is, in my opinion, his magnum opus. 

Danny Brown hit the scene hard with his 2011 sophomore release, “XXX.” His honest lyrics about his drug-addled life and his impoverished childhood combined with a genius flow and a unique voice add to Brown’s charm. 

“Old” has the same charm as “XXX,” but done even better. “Old” is divided into two sides being split by the songs “Side A (Old)” and “Side B (Dope Song).” Side A consists of honest songs about Danny’s childhood and drug-addled adolescence. The titular track of this side explains Danny’s impoverished life in Michigan where he was “wearin’ jackets in the house” and eating “Ramen noodles for dinner.” The other songs on Side A continue with the same theme of drugs and poverty. He describes a trip to the store to get bread that ends in a mugging in the song “Wonderbread.” He documents his family’s poverty in the song “25 Bucks” that phenomenally features Purity Ring. 

Side B begins with the Rustie-produced “Side B (Dope Song).” While Side A has some softer, slower songs, Side B is filled with bangers. The themes vary from taking drugs recreationally and the stress of Danny’s newfound fame. Producers on this side include the amazing Rustie and the well-known skywlkr. The standout track on this side, to me, would either be “Dip” or “Dubstep.” “Dip” is an all-out banger about drugs and women. Danny’s flow and unique vocal timbre make this song a fun, club-friendly banger. “Dubstep” is another banger with, you guessed it, a dubstep-style backing track. Though Danny goes hard on this song, my favorite part is the feature Danny chose for this song. English grime MC, Scrufizzer, absolutely destroyed his verse. 

All in all, this album is probably the hip-hop album of the year and a huge contender for album of the year. 

Grade: 9.5/10

Tracks to check out: “Dubstep” and “Dope Fiend Rental” Scrufizzer’s verse in “Dubstep” is phenomenal and the Schoolboy Q-featured “Dope Fiend Rental” mixes a trap beat with honest lyrics.

A Skylit Drive – Rise

A Skylit Drive are something of a post-hardcore stalwart. I remember getting their EP, loving it, being concerned when founding clean vocalist Jordan Blake left for undisclosed reasons, and being ecstatic with their debut full-length with vocalist Michael “Jag” Jagmin Wires and the Concept of Breathing –released one day after my 16th birthday. Rise marks the band’s 4th full-length since adding Jag, and, for my money, their best since 2009’s Adelphia. Jag’s vocals are probably the best they’ve ever been, straying away from the at-times-nasally tone heard on their first three records.

The album starts out with the slick “Save Me Tragedy” which is a good A Skylit Drive entry point -It’s pretty much the perfect representation of their sound. The second track, “Unbreakable” makes good use of keys/programmer Kyle Simmons’ talents, something that happens often throughout Rise’s 12 tracks. Title track “Rise” and “Crazy” are both standout tracks sure to bring some great energy to live shows. The latter also features one of the better breakdowns in the ASD catalogue, mixing White, Jag, and drummer Cory la Quay’s unclean vocals together for serious power. The album gets better as it goes along, finishing with 4 really strong tracks, including “I, the Enemy” which is the best showcase of Jag’s ample range, and “Dreaming in Blue” which features his pop sensibilities at their best. La Quay is also at his best throughout the record, with his standard creative fills and cymbal work.

The album is not without it’s flaws, however. Rise is ASD’s first album with producer Cameron Mizell, and I am not in love with the mix. La Quay’s drums are buried a bit too much for me, as the guitar tracks overwhelm both La Quay and Simmons at times. The album also marks the band’s first venture without lead guitarist Joey Wilson. Nick Miller is not incapable of holding down the fort, but the guitar work on the album leaves something to be desired. While there are some cool riffs on tracks like “Crazy” and “Shadows” some of the other tracks fall a bit flat: striking a monotone tenor and lacking in creativity. There’s some promise there, but ASD would do well to find a 2nd guitarist.

Best tracks: “Rise” and “Stay,” the best song on the album lyrically, touching on what it’s like missing out on life back home while out on the road.

Worst tracks: “Said and Done” and “Pendulum,” where they really miss Wilson.

Grade: 8/10

Panic! At The Disco – “Too Weird to Live, Too Rare to Die!”

7.0

 

Panic! At The Disco’s fourth studio album hasn’t officially released yet, but it streamed today so I think I can review it. For those of you who have been following Panic! since their debut album know that their last two albums have been pretty un-Panicky.  This album is no different. But, the new spin Panic! puts on “Too Weird to Live…” is a unique one for this band. They’re trying their hands at a more poppy, less cabaret sound. And it worked. I was skeptical going in to this album because a lot of Fueled by Ramen bands have been going too poppy (i.e. Paramore.) I was pleasantly surprised when I heard the two singles, Miss Jackson and This Is Gospel. 

Miss Jackson is a dark, raunchy-sounding pop hit with heavy hitting percussion. Brendan Urie’s lyricism hasn’t been lost at all as he uses well-written lyrics to describe a murder. Even the video is darker than Panic! has ever gone. The video starts off with Urie covered in blood. 

This Is Gospel is another dark song, but in more of a ballad form. Panic! nixes all traditional instruments to produce this heavy-hitting electropop song. In the chorus, Urie emotionally sings “If you love me, let me go” as electronic instruments fill the background.

Overall, this album’s no “A Fever You Can’t Sweat Out,” but it’s a turn in the right direction for Panic! At The Disco.