23 might actually be one of the greatest songs ever written. 2 more days…
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I’ve watched @anberlin grow from energetic up-and-comers to a full fledged rock staple. Vital is beautiful, stunning, and polished to a perfect sheen. (Taken with Instagram)
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did anyone else notice this? becoming the archetype’s cover art for I Am vs the cover art of prada’s Dead Throne? remarkably similar. almost a christmas pair! haha.
i have no idea whether the new archetype material is worth listening to. i’ve heard the name for years, but never gave them a shot, so i’ll keep you posted.
in other news, i’m probably going to go out and pick up a copy of Mumford & Sons’ Babel, since i’ve been hearing first rate things on it.
cheers,
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i-will-wait-for-you-endlessly:
SPREAD THE WORD
Confide announced this morning that they were officially back together and are working on making a 2nd album, due to be released this Winter (In USA).
They have requested that fans help donate to them through their kickstarter in order to make the 2nd album.
They have many awesome prizes you get by donating such as:
- Digital download of the album 1-2 weeks before the official release
- Hard-copy of the album when it is released
- Signed hard-copy of the album when it is released
- Confide shirt
- Signed Confide shirt
- Getting your name in a ‘thank you’ list
- Skype call with any 2 members of the band
- A disposable camera with pictures of the band as they record the new album
- Getting your face in the album’s art cover
- A personal call with any 1 member of the band
- A personal tweet from the band thanking you for donating
- A live video chat to show you Confide’s progress in the studio
- Signed handwritten lyrics by Ross and Joel
- Signed pair of Joel’s drumsticks
- VIP beach and BBQ party with the band
- Being able to name one of their new songs
- A 1-day trip to Disneyland with the members of Confide and a friend of yours
- Getting your voice on the album
and remember
SPREAD THE WORD/SHOUT THE TRUTH
I LITERALLY HAVE NOT BEEN THIS EXCITED ABOUT A BAND REUNITING SINCE YELLOWCARD ANNOUNCED THE BIG NEWS.
i’ve said it before and i’ll say it again, confide was and even now, is, one of the most underrated bands in the genre. very, very fresh talent, and it’s great to have two of my heroes, ross kenyon and joel piper, back in the writing and on vocals and vocals/drums, respectively.
oh, this is gonna be beautiful. Recover, the newest album [2010] is still one of my favorite PHC albums.
cheers, and DONATE. cause i’m about to now.
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brand new track from ANBERLIN! there’s a name we haven’t heard much in a while. this one’s called Self-Starter, and it is 100% Anberlin. it maintains the hyper-polished sound that the floridians have taken on in the past few albums, but it’s a little [read: actually, a LITTLE] grittier.
stephen christian sounds as good as ever, and the instrumentation remains tight-knit but not particularly different from before. or at least, that’s what i’d say.
either way, good stuff. looking forward to the follow-up to 2010’s Dark is the Way, Light is A Place. looks like the new album will drop on october 16th of this year.
here’s the listen link, courtesy of billboard. http://bit.ly/PjsCzM
cheers,
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i’ll post my other warped tour pics later. but for now, here’s one from my phone.. MEMPHIS MAY FIRE’s MATTY MULLINS tearing faces off.
i’ve seen dozens of warped tour pictures now, and time and again matty mullins is probably one of the most iconic silhouettes of the tour, with his dope combover and perpetual sunglasses.
i’d only heard a little of their stuff prior to seeing them in auburn on saturday, but…WOW. live is amazing. i spent most of today with Challenger on in the car. again, completely and utterly blown away. this may be a contender for best hard rock album of 2012 so far, and possibly even a contender for best album of the year. Handwritten’s previously almost certain crown may now be in danger.
going back to listen to challenger some more.
cheers,
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finally. FINALLY. you don’t want to know/won’t believe how many stores i had to go to to freaking get my hands on this. i’m also disappointed by how many store employees had no idea what i was asking for.
cheers,
]]>a brand brand new lyric video from @yellowcard, Always Summer. i’m told this is the first single from the upcoming summer album.
yellowcard has always been a workhorse band, and the fact that they reunited less than a year ago and already have a full length, an acoustic version, quite a few excellent music videos, and another album in the works is more than can be said of a lot of other groups.
i’m pretty excited where yellowcard goes. When You’re Through Thinking, Say Yes was an amazing, amazing album considering the guys hadn’t been together in a few years, and this looks to be a similarly strong second-sophomore effort. alright ryan…show me what you’ve got.
edit: i forgot to say. i am SO glad the violin work has really been allowed to shine. it’s been one of the yellowcard staples, and sean mackin seems to get better with every new track.
cheers,
]]>the latest @altpress issue [sleeping with sirens cover] has in the last article a comment about @relientk’s “who i am hates who i’ve been“….likened to a ben gibbard-sung sum 41 track. bummer. who i am… is easily, so easily one of the best tracks in the relientk catalog.
around the time of Two Lefts Don’t Make A Right… But Three Do, the old relientk known for goofy lyrics and 80’s and 90’s nostalgia transitioned out of adolescence and into one of the most fast-growing pop punk staples i’ve ever seen. song after song of witty, truthful lyrics layered comfortably over growing musicianship and expanded instrumentation made Mmhmm one of the greatest albums i’ve had the pleasure of owning. [i gave it to my then girlfriend, which converted her to a relientk fan. i miss it, and i miss her, but it was worth it.] topped with powerfully energetic live shows, relientk took growing up in stride.
after Mmhmm, two rock-solid albums have followed: Five Score and Seven Years Ago, and still the greatest breakup album of all time, Forget and Not Slow Down.
if you haven’t heard either of these, they are highly, highly recommended. this ohio five-piece hasn’t gotten where they are on power chords and cheesy lines. they’ve earned every screaming fan with 14 years of tireless writing, recording, touring, and honestly, just growing up.
the priceless acoustic version that altpress mentioned is here:
http://bit.ly/s9e3yU
it’s every bit as good as they say. trust me.
]]>now that i’ve had a few weeks to reflect on @sherwood’s finally calling it a day, i thought i’d post a little for those of you who haven’t heard much from this former california four/five piece.
in short: sherwood is one of the greatest pop rock bands to ever have been. maybe not a jimmy eat world, but on par in terms of influence with the late mae [which broke up late last year].
i picked up sherwood’s first big LP, Sing, But Keep Going, in 2006 or 2007 when tower records was closing. i think i got it for $3 or $4 completely new, and since it was essentially a fire sale everything in the store was for sale.. even the shelves and tables the cds were sitting on. i was trying to find some solid new music to take home, and sherwood caught my eye as one of the bands this particular girl i was really into at the time mentioned. she might not be a part of my life anymore, but for sherwood i’ll have to thank her lifetimes over.
Sing, But Keep Going was, for me, a poignant, honest, and beautiful cd about growing up. well thought-out tracks and clever/painfully honest lyrics kept me coming back for more. in particular, the town that you live in was a song i just listened to, over and over until i couldn’t remember where it started or ended.
Sing laid the groundwork for the 2007 follow-up album, A Different Light. to this day, ADL remains one of the most classic, timeless, perfect albums i’ve ever picked up. i had it signed when they visited [and filmed!] their seattle show at el corazon in 2008. every track [except for Give Up!, which i earnestly think is just okay…but every GREAT album has a track or two that are not quite as strong as the others] is truly a wonder of nostalgia, tight harmonies between bassist/frontman nate henry and telecaster riffer/background vocalist dan koch.
filling out the band was keyboardist/crazed dancer mikey leibovich, who could have and DID single-handedly pump up the crowd night after night, drummer joe greenetz, and, later, dave provenzano to make it a double-tele-outfit [and how else should it be, after all?].
i saw them three times in total: 2007 with mae, at that point still an up-and-comer, and relientk, whose newest cd at the time was five score… everyone flocked to the relientk table in the totally packed showbox venue, but that gave me a chance to talk to the sherwood fellas. they were all much taller than i expected, but also super down to earth and polite guys to hang out with. i told them that ADL as an album helped me keep smiling through my mom’s fight with cancer, and i could tell they were moved by that.
i saw them again on good friday in 2008, at el corazon with houston calls, the higher, and we shot the moon maybe? i had a chance to congratulate jonathan jones [of waking ashland and we shot the moon fame] outside the venue for making great music after waking ashland faded out.
i saw them last in 2010 or -11, i can’t be sure. probably ‘11, at chop suey with BARCELONA, a peerless pop band, moneta, and this day & age’s [also a peerless pop rock band….truly.] jazz-fusion reincarnation, the reign of kindo.
every show i saw, i could tell they brought everything of themselves on stage. whether it was playing their newer songs, covering classics, like the get up kids’ “holiday”, or catering to the longtime fans with older EP material, they always seemed elated to be sharing their work. and it was great work indeed.
at this point, sherwood has no plans of a goodbye tour, though i think most fans would appreciate it. the breakup was essentially due to everyone’s families needing them, a call i can respect. but these guys will be missed dearly.
i’ve attached the Best in Me music video, a delightfully charming little clip with an equally loveable song. it’s a bittersweet way to remember them, but i’d say, mostly sweet.
cheers, and rest in peace, sherwood. thanks for the memories.
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