Category: Alternative (Page 64 of 155)

Pat McGee: These Days (The Virginia Sessions)

April 24, 2009 / Mike Farley

Pat McGee has dropped the “Band” from his name and is going it alone, so to speak, in his solo debut and first effort for Rock Ridge Music, These Days (The Virginia Sessions). There is something breezy and easy to enjoy about McGee’s songs – they are delivered in a way reminiscent of ‘70s pop (think Jackson Browne) or akin to in more modern terms, Train or the Fray. McGee has a good, if not spectacular, voice; but as it’s always been, his songs are the driving force of his career, and he’s brought us another batch of good ones here. One of the only negative things you can say about Pat McGee is that much of the material, in melody, tone and arrangement, sounds very similar. But occasionally he steps things up, as he does on These Days with the stunning “Come Back Home,” a track originally written when McGee’s longtime drummer, John C. Williams, left the band, with the sentiment being how a military couple deals with separation during times of war. Sadly and somewhat symbolically, Williams’ younger brother lost his life in Iraq after McGee wrote the song last year. The Tonic-esque “The Hand That Holds You” is also a standout track. (Rock Ridge Music)

Pat McGee MySpace Page

Alternative, CD QuickTakes, CD Reviews, Pop, Rock

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This World Fair: This World Fair

April 24, 2009 / Mike Farley

It appears the next incarnation of Aware Records is here, in the form of Los Angeles-based Ping Pong Music. Ping Pong manages Epic Records’ Augustana, and they are bringing us the next wave of very talented baby bands such as This World Fair, the London, and Windsor Drive. The formula of Ping Pong’s bands is similar to Aware, which launched the careers of artists like Train, Vertical Horizon and John Mayer. And that formula is almost a no-brainer – finding talented acts with hooky, melodic songs – but it’s in stark contrast to today’s hipster-driven music industry that mostly relies on gimmicks and fabricated street cred meters. Still, there is always a demand for great bands like This World Fair, and their debut album is an absolute sonic gift to those who dig the likes of Augustana, Better Than Ezra or Keane. Chris Kalgren fronts the band with a smooth tenor that effectively delivers a balance of driving rockers such as “Can’t Stop Falling” and “Drama,” or dreamy tracks like “This is All.” But among ten tracks that are quite frankly straight A’s, This World Fair scores an A+ with the pulsing, stunning piano-driven “Seven Letters.” Despite where the music industry is headed, there is no good reason why This World Fair shouldn’t be as successful as the rest of the world will allow them to be. (Ping Pong Music)

This World Fair MySpace Page

Alternative, CD QuickTakes, CD Reviews, Indie Labels, Pop, Rock

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The Veils Release Third LP, Sun Gangs

April 21, 2009 / Alexzandra Hackford

From the UK comes the brooding rock outfit The Veils, with their third LP Sun Gangs. This foursome, complete with female bassist Sophia Burn, makes up one of the most unique and emotionally intoned musical groups since U2 or Radiohead. Their depth on Sun Gangs suggests a certain growth since the last record, and their talent for embellishments and arrangements makes this band one to listen to in 2009.

There’s a certain welcoming property about The Veils. They suck you into their emotionally complex world within seconds of the opener, “Sit Down By The Fire,” which BBC called, “a very modern mixture of prayers, love letters and personal record keeping.”

Another standout on the record is “Larkspur” which Dusted Magazine said, “follows a driving picked riff through swells of noise, returning to calm several times before building to a final eruption.” The orchestration on Sun Gangs is one of the main reasons the record is so intriguing. The twists and turns of melody and harmony, tiny instrumental splashes of color, and emotions that ebb and flow through song after song take this record from mundane and repetitive to interesting and easy to listen to.
As Supreme Management wrote,

“By turns warm and ethereal, thundering and cacophonous, The Veils set Sun Gangs apart from efforts by like-minded peers such as the Arcade Fire by imbuing their lush, at times grandiose arrangements with a sense of youthful honesty and personal reflection that seems to so often get lost under the sea of ideas within similarly ambitious efforts.”

The only down side to Sun Gangs is that it’s incredibly mellow. Don’t expect a head-banger here, but then again, that’s not what The Veils are known for. This band is pure emotion and it shows through each and every one of the tracks on Sun Gangs.

If you like U2, AutoVaughn, Kings Of Leon, or Arcade Fire, make sure to check out the latest release from UK rockers, The Veils.

Adult Contemporary, Alternative, CD Reviews, Pop, Rock

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The Datsuns: Headstunts

April 17, 2009 / Ed Murray

The fourth album by New Zealand rockers The Datsuns is mostly a more-of-the-same kind of affair, and that’s not necessarily a bad thing. In fact, after a couple of less-than-memorable releases – including their second album, produced by none other than Led Zeppelin’s John Paul Jones – Headstunts is somewhat of a throwback to the high energy, ’70s-style r-a-w-k that US listeners first got a taste of on their 2002 self-titled debut. “Highschool Hoodlums” recalls nothing if not their own “MF From Hell,” in in intent if not in sound. Other tasty sonic nuggets abound, such as the surf-y “Hey! Paranoid People!,” the grungy groove of “Your Bones” and the extended raunch ‘n’ roll of “Eye of the Needle.” While this album certainly isn’t going to start a new musical revolution, and the Datsuns aren’t the saviors of rock ‘n’ roll, Headstunts is a solid-if-safe effort that will still hit your gut a lot harder than your head, which, again, is not necessarily a bad thing. (Cooking Vinyl)

The Datsuns MySpace Page

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