Well am I ever glad that Tuesday is here! While it may not be everyone's cup o tea for the week, Tuesday is a music lover's best day. Lots of new music from across the board. Some seem comical, some seem extremely serious but all sound great. Canadians obvisouly take the forefront with Barenaked Ladies and Dallas Green. Both extremely popular artists in their home country have even made the top lists for some American charts. This is why I have faith in Canadian music.
Other great artists such as Queens of The Stone Age, Filter, Megadeth, and Trail of Tears have all composed some solid albums for 2013 and have been reflected in the various reviews I have come across. (Just as a side note, I go through approximately 3-5 reviews from each album to get the best objective opinion about it, so you the reader gets the best idea of the album) Other albums worth a mention such as Sleeping With Sirens, Ben Folds Five, Vans Warped Tour and Sir Christopher Lee ended up on the list. They strike my curiosity and never mind taking a listen to something different from the norm.
So those are my thoughts in a nutshell. The usual rant to remind you all that these artists wouldn't be doing what they do without our support. In light of that, go to your local record shop, favourite online retailer or other online legal source to grab a few of these albums. I know I will be doing so...
(The Barenaked Ladies - Grinning Streak)
The band sticks to this approach on Grinning Streak with thoughtfully crafted arrangements that mix melodic pop with liberal electronic flourishes. In fact, the album has a bit of an ironic title, as the songs generally feature a tone of poignant reflection. Which isn't to say that the band has lost its sense of humor. On the contrary, it’s still there, but with more of a melancholy edge than when the band was an MTV favorite in the late ‘90s and early 2000s. -All Music
(Dallas Green - The Hurry and the Harm)
But while ‘The Hurry And The Harm’ is by no means revolutionary - he admits this himself in ‘Commentators’ - in expanding City And Colour’s sound further into a fully flourished sound, Dallas Green has proved that he was right in his decision. After a decade of dividing between his priorities, this is Dallas finally taking the step out on his own. And it suits him extremely well. -DIY
For longtime fans of Ben Folds' biting, piano-based power-pop songs, the past two years have been full of excitement. In 2011, Folds reunited with bassist Robert Sledge and drummer Darren Jessee to record the first new Ben Folds Five songs since 1999 for the career-spanning compilation The Best Imitation Of Myself: A Retrospective. Inspired by the collaborative spark after so many years apart, the trio reconvened in Folds' Nashville studio to record their fourth studio album, The Sound Of The Life Of The Mind. The album was an immediate hit, peaking within Billboard's Top 10 - the band's highest-charting release.
Ben Folds Five consistently thrills audiences with their high energy performances, and Ben Folds Five Live captures the band in top form across four continents through 2012 and 2013. The band deliver powerful renditions of their most beloved classics like "Jackson Cannery," "Brick" and "Song For The Dumped" as well as new hits from The Sound Of The Life Of The Mind, including "Do It Anyway," "Draw A Crowd" and "Sky High." -Amazon
The album’s high point, it channels Gary Numan’s glacial new wave—without skimping on Homme’s sinuous lead guitar—while Alex Turner of Arctic Monkeys drones coldly about “cities of glass” and “expensive holes to bury things.” The latter image may as well be a metaphor for Clockwork as a whole: a record of decadent, perverse, feel-weird hits of the winter. Just in time for summer. -AV Club
In the end, The Sun Comes Out Tonight is another worthy addition to Filter's increasing discography. It's cohesive, interesting and varied enough to please both old fans and newcomers alike, while offering some strong tracks that can easily be compared with past favorites. Even so, the whole journey was dragged down trying to leave the songs appealing for as many people as possible. The riffs are there, but most of the time buried underneath a clean production. Maybe a conscious decision or just a desire to experiment with different sounds, The Sun Comes Out Tonight will probably enjoy more commercial success, but won’t necessarily be heralded as a new peak. Still, lately, Richard Patrick and the gang are on the right track and more consistent than ever. -Sputnik Music
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(Various Artists - Vans Warped Tour Compilation 2013)
The Warped Tour is a touring music and extreme sports festival. The tour is held in venues such as parking lots or fields upon which the stages and other structures are erected. The skateboard shoe manufacturer Vans, among others, has sponsored the tour every year since 1995, and it is often referred to as the Vans Warped Tour. The tour started out as a showcase for punk rock music, but its more recent line-ups have featured a diversity of genres. -Wiki
(Christopher Lee - Charlemagne: The Omens of Death)
While the entire album is filled with skillful guitar and catchy drums, it’s Lee’s voice telling the story of Charlemagne from the first person point of view that makes it a worthwhile experience. The lyrics are so perfectly written and flawlessly sung that it feels like blistering guitars and pounding drums could have present on the battlefields where the legendary king fought. The historical tale told with sound effects, heavy metal and Lee’s unmistakably recognizable voice are well-worth listening to over and over again. -Immersion Online
(Megadeth - Super Collider)
As a result, Endgame, Thirteen and everything after Rust in Peace is never graded fairly by fans and critics; many are of the opinion that they peaked in the early 90′s and nothing can beat those albums, that they should just play the thrash status quo for the remainder of their careers. This is both narrow and counterproductive, as art is all about expression, creativity, personal growth and risk. Super Collider is not Rust in Peace nor is it Peace Sells, but it is not a bad album. It is a ballsy attempt to try and grow as artists. I feel that once the heat dies down around this album, it will be viewed more favourably. Super Collider overall gets a personal rating of 7 out of 10, or 4.5 stars. -What Culture
(Sleeping With Sirens - Feel)
Collaborations are also responsible for Feel’s best and worst moments: On one hand, there’s the powerful, rumbling modern-rock number “I’ll Take You There,” featuring Shayley Bourget, which is just a fucking phenomenal song. On the other, there’s “Congratulations,” the misguided collab with Memphis May Fire’s Matty Mullins. Mullins and SWS frontman Kellin Quinn brag about their recent chart successes and challenge all comers over a rudimentary nü-metal riff, resulting in a song where talented people flounder with substandard material. Still, the good more than outweighs the bad, and as a whole, Feel is a big step up. -Alt Press
(Trail of Tears - Oscillation)
In general, “Oscillation” didn’t showcase any newly made ground work. Positively, I think that this crew could have worked with one another for another decade with possibilities to shape up something incredible like the previous release and the group’s old era. “Oscillation” is undoubtedly piercing and distinctive than your average Goth Metal experimentalism, though it’s obvious catchiness (one of the genre’s markings), but it didn’t excite me that much. I appreciated the coldness, bursting flamboyant emotions engulfing the soul through the icy chilling effect of the instruments, but I would have cherished a musical piece that would set my mood on fire even more. TRAIL OF TEARS might not be revealing a truce any time soon, but at least it would bring something fresh, possibly two bands aiming at the same thing. Ohh the irony… -Metal Temple
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