So running around doing the day job stuff almost made me lose focus of yet another great release week here in North America. Highly anticipated albums such as The Winery Dogs, Edward Sharp, We Came As Romans, Counterparts, and Misery Signals are all going to see the light of day (no pun intended for Misery Signals) as we dust off the shelves for another round of music releases.
A few other bands such as American Head Charge, Secrets, Fight or Flight, and Karnivool have personally caught my attention and will go under appreciated for their great work on these albums. Either way, I'm sure you all will give some of these albums a spin and decide for yourself what works and what doesn't.
So, have you heard that bands need album sales for tours and profit (aka make back the money they invested)? I don't expect you all to rush to your local record shop, online retailer or other legal source and drop a mortgage payment on all these albums but at least show some love and grab one or two. Same as your hard work should be paid for, these musicians are no different. Enjoy!
(The Winery Dogs - The Winery Dogs)
"The pristine production is powerful and crystal clear, still organic with a strong vintage feel but not muddy, in fact it sounds like how Classic Rock in its purest form should sound in 2013. Just unadulterated genuine Rock played by an exemplary bunch of extremely talented musicians and it’s an understatement." -Metal Temple
(Guy Clark - My Favorite Picture of You)
"That blunt autobiography, and the masculine sentimentality it contains, encapsulates Clark's distinctive gifts. A legend among fans of acoustic music steeped in country, folk and blues, the 71-year-old Clark hasn't been the most prolific recording artist over a nearly 40-year recording career. But he is among the most consistent, setting the bar for raw-boned, open-hearted, slow-rolling narratives." -Winnipeg Free Press
(Relient K - Collapsible Lung)
"I know I’ve used words like “change” a lot in this review, but don’t let that lead you into the thought that change is necessarily a bad thing. Things like this happen over the years to any artist. Creativity and versatility are great, but only when they’re done right. Collapsible Lung provides us with some of the most unique and best songs from Relient K, while forcing us to listen through a couple of their most forgettable and mediocre tracks in the process." -Under The Gun
(Edward Sharp & The Magnetic Zeros - Edward Sharp & The Magnetic Zeros)
"While the group is often lumped into the radio folk-rock revival genre, garnering more love from the mainstream masses than critics, and sometimes badgered for commonplace back porch anthems, the stomp-clap is merely this record’s backbone. Psychedelic San Francisco guitars and harmonies, along with a collection of intricate tambourines, horns, and whiskey chatter all prove a sound far more complex than that of, say, the commercial freight folk train Mumford and Sons." -Consequence of Sound
(Fight or Flight - A Life By Design?)
"A Life By Design? is musically and lyrically stimulating. Without aggressively pressing an agenda on the listener it clearing wants the listener to develop their own opinions. Going into the record you may have expected another Disturbed style band but you will be incorrect. The progression of the music is organic and more straight ahead rock. The combination of Chandler’s voice and Donegan’s guitar style works well together. It appears the two have a song writing chemistry and it shows in each track having a texture and unique quality side by side." -Cryptic Rock
(We Came As Romans - Tracing Back Roots)
"Metalcore and Post-Hardcore fans now need to rejoice and celebrate, for one of the legendries WE CAME AS ROMANS are back with a 3rd full length album and I assure you, it destroys everything you’ve heard so far by them and will revive that early euphoric passion we’ve had for the genre. That, is guaranteed." -Metal Temple
(*not sure how I feel about a 10/10, but the review did raise some good points)
AFGM: We Came As Romans - Tracing Back Roots
(Misery Signals - Absent Light)
"Stylistically, Absent Light is Misery Signals most rounded material to date in terms of the sonic punishment dished out on each track, while at the same time leaning more heavily on the tried-and-true breakdown than anything else in their previous discography. Keys and, at times, full orchestral arrangements are littered throughout the track list and while Misery Signals have used them sparingly in several moments in their career (“A Victim, A Target”, “Coma”, etc.), Absent Light brings them unabashedly to the forefront, whether it’s through taking center stage to monstrous breakdowns (“Ursa Minor”, “Luminary”), epic build-ups behind multi-layered strings (“Reborn (An Execution)”), or soft ballads to close out songs (“Shadows & Depth”) Misery Signals wholeheartedly adopts an almost Bleeding Through-esque sound that, when used correctly (as done on Absent Light), brings a whole new dimension to a band that still, after all this time, finds ways to reinvent their sound." -Sputnik Music
(Karnivool - Asymmetry)
"Asymmetry is certainly a crowning achievement, regardless of one small fluke which in the scope of things; becomes absolutely microscopic. While I don’t believe there’s a way to bargain the band into the removal of “The Refusal” as the discs have already been pressed and booklets printed; I will certainly revel in the joy that I can just skip right over that one and continue the fantastic voyage of mind let loose with this newest opus. Which leads me back to the point I made in the beginning: Let it be clear that Australian progsters Karnivool have yet to disappoint." -New Noise Magazine
(Secrets - Fragile Figures)
"SECRETS are a great band, and Fragile Figures is a great album, but there are many moments where it seems as if the band are constantly channeling what has come before, and because of this they bring very little that is new to their music. There are some good moments despite this though." -Kill Your Stereo
"If you really sit down and pick apart this record, you will notice how much more Counterparts put into this release and how much they progressed yet again. The Difference Between Hell and Home really is a display of the band at their absolute best – it's a melodic hardcore masterpiece. Old fans will absolutely love it, and so will the kids who choose teams between Prophets and The Current Will Carry Us like this is some damn Twilight movie. I feel that even those kids can mutually agree that this is Counterparts at their best." -Megusta Reviews
(Armed For The Apocalypse - The Road Will End)
"Hardcore forcefulness, pit-rousing groove, Helmet worship, and d-beat swagger put the meat on the bones of the living breathing weapon that makes up one of the flat out heaviest records of the year. As angry as the band sounds, the spirit of battle and perseverance resonate from the immensely powerful sludge of AforA. It all builds to a climax on “Happy Hour (Disciple of Death)” and finishes with the acoustic dénouement of “Ends Meet” leaving the listener beaten and sore but invigorated and yearning for more." -Scratch The Surface
(Baroness - Live at Maida Vale)
"Few bands deserve a victory lap more than Baroness in 2013. In 2012, they gave us the excellent double-record Yellow & Green, but they also survived a horrific bus crash while on tour (which would eventually cause two players to leave the band). Live at Maida Vale was recorded just a month before that accident and captures the band playing full-tilt four gems from Yellow & Green." -Pop Matters
EPs:
(American Head Charge - Shoot)
"I like Shoot a lot. It’s not tried to fit in by shoehorning in 8-string guitars or funny time signatures. It’s just a cool heavy rock record with pop hooks and big riffs. Heacock is still a star too, the world (still) just doesn’t know it yet. It could maybe do with sounding a bit denser and meatier, and another original song might have been preferable to a cover, but whatever.
I’m glad they’re back, and this is more along the lines of Earthtone9’s triumphant return than that… thing Soundgarden dribbled out. I hope they don’t implode before they do a new album too. God knows I’ll need something to drone on to everyone about in another 12 years time." -Thrash Hits
Box Sets:
(Smashing Pumpkins - The Aeroplane Flies High *reissue*)
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