Music Releases For July 1st, 2014

Since there were not that many releases catching my attention, I guess my focus was among other projects and things going on in the life of AFGM.  However, after doing some more sifting through the releases I found a few new artists (at least to my ear) that were worth mentioning.  

My metal friends were quite ecstatic and happy about the new releases from Every Time I Die and Corrosion of Conformity, but I also found some great value in the other releases such as [my once favourite] Seether, Old Crow Medicine Show,  Red Wanting Blue, The Quireboys, and The Dead Rabbitts.  Actually, I am looking forward to spinning the Dead Rabbitts album as I have seen nothing but decent/good reviews.  Maybe it's time we all took a new artist for a spin.

And with that, I leave you to the moral code of this blog.  Despite the fact we all download for different reasons (preview, free streams, music videos, etc), be sure to throw some of that money back to the label and the band.  Two birds with one stone mentality and visit a local record store.  If you want to grab it from the comfort of your computer, then pick it up from a online retailer.  If download is more your thing for a permanent collection, then pick it up from an authorized digital source.  Cheers and have a great week!

(Red Wanting Blue - Little America)

Red Wanting Blue wields a dramatic, widescreen hammer, even on the few less expansive tracks. Songs with titles such as “Don’t Lose Faith in Me Now,” “Keep Love Alive,” “The Rest of Our Lives” and the opening “Hallelujah” (an original which references Leonard Cohen’s classic track) are borderline clichés even as they imply the larger issues at stake in their lyrics. Terry sings every sentence with an urgency and commitment that’s impressive and compelling in small doses but wears thin over the course of this 51 minute disc. Even sunnier concepts such as the bouncy love song “Dumb Love” and the closing acoustic “You Are My Las Vegas” reverberate with singalong choruses as much a signature of Red Wanting Blue as the vocals. -American Song Writer

(Old Crow Medicine Show - Remedy)

Old Crow Medicine Show is one of the preeminent forces in the roots and Americana music world, and it’s easy to see why. (They were even inducted into the Grand Ole Opry in late 2013.) But for those who are able to look beyond the mandolins and fiddles and focus instead on the group’s loud, fast, and loose aesthetic, Old Crow becomes more than just a bunch of hillbillies warming up the crowd before they tap a keg of moonshine. Remedy is not just full of happy songs, but of protest songs belted at top speed and on full blast. Old Crow is having fun and playing songs without a thought toward self-importance, and these days, that might be the punkest thing a band can do. -AV Club

(The Quireboys - Black Eyed Sons)

The album is being released as a triple pack, containing the new record along with a collection of rarities as well as assorted ‘classic’ tracks from the group’s earlier albums. It’s a pretty cool deal for fans of the band to get everything in one, convenient package.

What THE QUIREBOYS prove on “Black Eyed Sons” is that while age is inevitable, good material stands the test of time, and this album has more than a few moments that stand up there with the band’s best works. Whether they’re playing foot-stomping Rock’n’Roll or softer, reflective acoustic passages, THE QUIREBOYS show that they have as much to offer now as they did back in the day. -Metal Temple

(Seether - Isolate and Medicate)

This is where O'Brien provides a huge assist to Seether. A dexterous, nimble producer, he gives Isolate and Medicate considerable color and variety, letting Shaun Morgan's growl and guitar breathe in equal measure, often giving the impression that the songs are a little more melodic than they actually are. Despite the creeping Chad Kroegerisms -- they're not just there on "Nobody Praying for Me," but on many of the record's boldest songs -- Seether often one-up their former tourmates because Morgan isn't a bellower, either as a vocalist or writer; he prefers muscular melodies to brute force, and sometimes they do hit hard on Isolate and Medicate. -All Music

(Every Time I Die - From Parts Unknown)

The pace here is almost physically blistering. Most Every Time I Die albums stick to a template of approximately thirty minutes long, but none of their records have felt this pacey – certainly not since Hot Damn!, at any rate. Barring “El Dorado“, none of the twelve songs breach three and a half minutes, and most are closer to two and a half. Every member of the band is at full tilt and it makes for a sense of absolute breathlessness, eased only by the sporadic, squealing feedback of the guitars between songs. It is small relief.

So From Parts Unknown is not the most revolutionary or adventurous Every Time I Die album, but amongst its peers it is still head and shoulders above. It’s coarse, breathless, and over far too soon. We’ll likely not have this much fun again all year. -The Monolith

(Corrosion of Conformity - IX)

It will be interesting to see how this album goes over with the more fence-sitting fans. On the one hand, COC have unequivocally improved on their previous Dean-helmed effort, but in doing so they've veered close enough to the Keenan-era sound that it may invite negative comparisons among the more superficial of those fans. For my part, though I think Mike Dean is an objectively lesser singer than Pepper Keenan I also think his higher pitched style serves an entirely different purpose. There are plenty of bands out there not named Corrosion of Conformity that bite far more of the Deliverance-era sound than the remaining members are currently doing themselves. Maybe it's time to cease holding them to that standard. -Metal Injection

(The Dead Rabbitts - Shapeshifter)

Shapeshifter shows that Craig Mabbitt still has what it takes to deliver a heaviness from which Escape the Fate has slowly drifted away. The Dead Rabbitts have found their voice, their style, and their niche. The album takes the heavy aspects from Mabbitt’s older projects and combines them with the melodic, rock and roll aspects of his newer work with Escape the Fate to balance out into a brutally sultry style.

They honestly just do heavy really well. The drums, bass, guitar, and vocals all work together flawlessly to create a hard hitting intensity. Basically, Shapeshifter puts The Dead Rabbitts on the map. -Substream Magazine