You can see why it took me a little longer to go through all the reviews this week for new music. Trying to find the best description that AFGM believes is the best rounded vibe of each album can sometimes have you sifting through 10+ reviews of just one album. Mind you, listening to each album and making your own points can be even longer. And referring back to the quantity of this week, it would take me much longer to reach that goal.
Either way, there are some great releases happening today and even some new ones for myself! Artists like Dirty Loops, Shovels & Rope, Benjamin Booker, King 810, Halcyon Way, Sleeping Giant, and Darkness Divided are all new to AFGM and will def look forward to spinning them this week/weekend. Others such as Buckcherry, Dragonforce, Ace Frehley, Trioscapes, and Imogen Heap are already good sign offs in my book. They have a great amount of consistency with the music and should not expect anything out of the ordinary. And to further that, be sure to check out my write ups on both Trioscapes and King 810 for further info about their groups.
Whether big band or small, they all need support. So go and buy the album from your local record store, online retailer, or an authorized digital source. Cheers and have a great listening week!
*Side note: Very much looking forward to checking out the Motley Crue tribute album and see how country attempts to cover one of rock n roll's greatest.*
(Trioscapes - Digital Dream Sequence)
Equally known for bringing great live energy, you can definitely see how that translates from the very first song, an upbeat and totally eccentric mixture of styles. The layers and bold elements on the title track are intense and, put simply, it only gets better from there.
‘Digital Dream Sequence’ is a unique album in a fundamental sense. Layers of bass, electronics, flutes and saxophone combine to make one colossal, crazy and utterly intriguing masterpiece. Trioscapes have managed to capture their great live presence and turn it into a record. -Kill Your Stereo
Although YouTube is home to a vast number of musicians of note, few bands have demonstrated YouTube’s marketing power as efficiently as Dirty Loops. A Swedish power trio whose fusion-flavoured take on Lady Gaga’s mega-hit Just Dance catapulted them into the online eye, Dirty Loops’ YouTube channel has attracted over 100,000 subscribers and 15.5m views while being home to just ten videos. Not bad for a group known as much for their collective technical abilities as their song-related skills.
...beyond Dirty Loops there are some seriously exciting new sounds bubbling away in the underground. From more established up-and-comers like Project RnL to grassroots acts like Maxi Curnow and Signals, fusion-pop / math-pop / prog-pop (or whatever you want to call it) is a real breath of fresh air in a business better known for retromanic recycling binges. With sufficient support, Loopified will pave the way for a wave of new musicians guaranteed to break pop fans free of the repetitive restraints of old. -The Musical Melting Pot
The collection of 14 sonic pieces (er, songs) is an abstract compilation of the English performer’s aural technological art, previously released one track at a time and brought together here with surprising cohesion considering the circumstances.
Heap dispenses a transcendent kind of improbable mysticism throughout “Sparks,” concluding with the quasi-stream-of-consciousness flow of closer “Propeller Seeds,” where she sings about growing roots through her toes and leaves from her fingertips and wonders, “What does this story hold for us?” -Knox News
Smokey Robinson remains one of the smoothest movers in music. The silky-voiced septuagenarian decided to round up some of his famous friends — from newcomers like Jessie J to old pals like Elton John — to help reimagine a clutch of the classic songs he either performed himself with the Miracles or penned for others in his Motown family. While the new versions have little chance of replacing the originals seared into our collective brains, both Smokey and his buddies certainly sound like they’re having a good time revisiting Hitsville. John gets the party started with a version of “Tracks of My Tears” lightly brushed with smoky organ and Southern accents. Steven Tyler and Nicole Scherzinger lean into the lite rock swagger of “You Really Got a Hold on Me.” A dreamy take on “My Girl” features a blend of different vocal textures as Miguel, Aloe Blacc, and JC Chasez of ’N Sync offer warm harmonies. John Legend comes closest to putting a truly personal stamp on the sultry ballad “Quiet Storm.” But it is Robinson’s ambling, bluesy romp through “Ain’t That Peculiar” with a game James Taylor that helps make the album swing. -Boston Globe
Country artists have long paid tribute to rock acts compatible with country music, from the Eagles to Buddy Holly to country-loving British acts the Beatles and Rolling Stones. But a heavy metal act like Motley Crue? For anyone listening to the arena-rock crunch in country music in recent years, country covering the Crue isn't a surprise at all.
What may be surprise, though, is how ferociously some of country's more mild-mannered acts rise to the occasion. Rascal Flatts has never come close to rocking as hard as on its version of "Kickstart My Heart," which rightly opens the album and sets the bar for others to match. -Times Colonist
(Shovels & Rope - Swimmin' Time)
While influences from Jack White to Tom Waits are evident throughout the record, Swimmin' Time is uniquely Hearst and Trent through and through. Full of raw energy, homegrown spirit, and rock 'n' roll magic, this whole album sublimely balances the bright with the bleak. Every note leaves us baffled as to how these two miraculously found each other, but we're awfully glad they did. -Charleston City Paper
Overall, this is a cracking score without any filler cues. It’s not all 5 star cues though, but even the 4 star cues have their role. I feel that this is an evolved and classy action score that perhaps could have used some more themes or used the themes that’s already present a bit more. I think Brian Tyler month started great and can’t wait to dig into Tyler’s whole catalogue of scores. -Soundtrack Geek
(Benjamin Booker - Benjamin Booker)
There are some poignant moments on this record that words can’t really do justice, because to look at him, you’d think Benjamin Booker was someone that’s studied the tapes of those that have walked the line before. The two-piece setup, the fuzz pedal, the love of blues, bla bla bla. The you come across tracks like ‘Slow Coming’ that could bring a stadium to silence, especially with the raspy howl of “the future is slow…the future is slow” coming out,before an all too brief fuzz/tremolo double attack literally bursts out the track, penetrating any heightened sense of emotion, only to end and bring you back a few seconds to that very moment before it’s abrupt (but equally excellent) musical tantrum. -Alt Sounds
(Jars of Clay - 20)
Specifically, Jars of Clay plans to record a fan-funded collection of their 20 most-loved songs in acoustic fashion—and fans will have a say on the final tracklist. When fans pledge their financial support via crowdfunding platform PledgeMusic, they not only will get the digital album of the 20 songs, but they also will get access to vote on which songs make it onto the record. The top two songs per album from the band's 10 studio albums will then make up the 20 songs. -New Release Tuesday
(Ace Frehley - Space Invader)
2014 sees a new deal with eOne Music and a new album in ‘Space Invader’ and the best thing you realise listening to the title track which opens is that this could well be a track from Frehley’s legendary 1978 solo album. Despite or maybe because of all the space-age technology available, Ace you see is still stuck in a time warp, and if I’m honest that’s the best thing about this album. ‘Gimme A Feelin’’ that follows has that trademark bombastic riff, a rough but charming vocal and slightly awkward lyrics that were always a huge part of Frehley’s boyish charm. When you add to that a ‘could only be Ace’ solo it’s a track that’s ‘perfectly imperfect’ like all of Ace’s best numbers. -The Rock Pit
(Accept - Blind Rage)
If there's any old-school metal band worthier of resurrection than ACCEPT, let them make their stand now. ACCEPT 2.0 with Mark Tornillo fronting them has been exemplary proof there's life after death and that you can buck the naysayers by believing in what you're doing and going full force regardless of who follows or not. Now laying down their third album within the five years since their re-launch, ACCEPT shows once again on "Blind Rage" they're masters of their trade, no matter who holds the mike. -Blabbermouth
(King 810 - Memoirs of a Murderer)
Granted, Memoirs of a Murderer may not be everybody’s cup of tea. There’s only so much blood-curdling screaming that one can take, and yes, 16 tracks do seem a little excessive. But you can’t deny that it’s raw and angry power, all derived from first hand experience. Look out for the breaks in between songs where Gunn narrates his turmoil in a low whisper, heightening that horror-movie atmosphere and the memoir theme. King 810 have a knack for expressing their personal angst through music art form. It’s a strong and emotional debut, and while it may not relate to everyone, at least they got something off their chest. -Renowned For Sound
(Dragonforce - Maximum Overload)
I came back after eight years and found the exact same thing I left, just more of it. -Metal Injection
(Deadlock - The Re-Arrival)
"The re-arrival" is a perfect record for everybody who missed releases from the band so far. It gives a good overview on the discography and the history of the band. You can catch up easily. And due to the extras the album is also interesting for every fans and metalheads. -Markus' Heavy Music Blog
Having since revived their alliance and spent some years on the live circuit to reconnect, the group finally return with “Heavy Fruit“. That heavy appears in the title almost says it all. That very adjective aptly describes the wrenchingly bittersweet rock ‘n’ roll they have cultivated here.
The weight of life’s decisions feels like everything to these tracks. Given the bands history one could almost envision their music as being the fruit and themselves being the proverbial tree. Despite all the nurturing and joy their craft brought, the burdens and battle scars that came with it eventually snapped the branches. -The PRP
There is much more to the concept of “Conquer” than the underlying message. Where there has always been great maturity and strength in the songwriting, the band has incorporated some of the most muscular riffs in its history, making this release by far its heaviest material recorded to date. Melody mongers need not fret, as the soulful whims of a hard rock band lurk deep inside the madness. The best way to describe the performance on “Conquer” is “armor-plated Saigon Kick with industrial tentacles.” Knowing much of the influences that each member brings into the fold, I can easily envision a death match where the old hard rock roots being pummeled and distorted by the modern meat mallets of Monster Magnet and Samael. -Metal Underground
(Darkness Divided - Written In Blood)
Having already amassed a roster reeking of heavy metal bands, Victory Records saw fit to add San Antonio’s, Darkness Divided, to their ranks. With only EP, ‘Chronicles,’ to their name, the Christian metalcore quartet are set to release their debut full length, ‘Written In Blood.’
‘Written In Blood’ is the sound of a band full of promise and unwilling to compromise when it comes to the bog standard metalcore rulebook. Sure, it does have its generic moments but these kids are still learning their trade and to all those looking to emulate should take a leaf out of their book. -Hit The Floor
It’s highly enjoyable, to be sure, but there are fairly few compositions on Finished People that are designed to be surprising. Instead, the passion of the lyrics fuels the music, resulting in fairly powerful stuff, even when it feels like the band relies too heavily on breakdowns.
Overall, Finished People is probably not as objectively solid as this review paints it, but the passion easily flows through the speakers. Surely this music will sound better in a live setting than on earbuds, but everyone needs a little head-banging in their lives, right? Plus, how many albums nearly demand that you hug another human being? -New Noise Magazine
EPs:
(Buckcherry - F**k)
With the amount of times “f**k” is mentioned in this EP, you kind of learn not to take it too seriously because you can tell that Buckcherry are just having a good time and translating fun into their songs. Needless to say, we’re having fun listening to it, because these songs are downright kick ass. -Hit The Floor
Box Sets:
The Smash 20th Anniversary Edition will include the following:
- LP version containing the original 14 album tracks newly remastered on 180-gram vinyl
- CD version containing the original 14 album tracks from the most recent remastering
- Restyled album package artwork in a deluxe custom die-cut LP box
- Large format 24 page booklet featuring never before seen archive photos by Lisa Johnson
- Firsthand recollections and quotes from the band and others telling the story of that historic time
"Smash" has sold over six million copies in the United States alone – certified 6x platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America. Selling 11 million copies worldwide, Smash is the best-selling independent label album of all time. -Innocent Words
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